Death... and me

Rean asked something else, following up on Roan's question. "Does that mean we're fighting other powers around Yukirrom at the moment?"

"Yes," Cynthia answered without showing much concern. "But that's a very common thing in this small part of the Realm of Gods. The regions are always fighting each other for resources and things like that, so you shouldn't worry too much about it."

"Are there recruitments to participate in those battles, or does the alliance use a reactive approach?" Roan obviously took the opportunity to learn more about it.

"They take the reactive approach. Each country in the Yukirrom Region has its own armies, but they're far from enough to cover all the borders. In the end, the Realm of Gods is too big, and so is each region, continent, and other types of territories inside it." Cynthia then looked at Rean and Roan and asked, "Could it be that it was different from where you came from?"

"Not really," Rean answered. The last planet they had been at was covered in ice most of the time before Celis was taken away. They still remembered how most cities were located really far away from each other.. The situation would probably improve now that the ice is gone, but that would still take a very long time. 

Roan could not help but think to himself, though. 'In any case, the distance between the area we arrived at and the closest city is definitely several times bigger than the distance between most cities back then.'

"Anyway, our Kamos Country is bordering the Furueru Region on the east side. Well, to be more specific, the Banxove Country that's located there. Every now and then, we attack their territories, and the same happens vice versa. When that happens, the Royal Family sends news to all cities of the country. You can enlist yourselves to participate in the defense or offense during those times," Cynthia explained.

Roan couldn't help but narrow his eyes and ask, "Why does it feel useless? From what you're telling me, both sides rarely, if ever, succeed in conquering the other's territories. Aren't both countries simply sending their cultivators to die for nothing?"

Cynthia laughed in response as she said in full honesty, "Hahaha! Yes, that's definitely the case! However, there's a reason for that as well. The problem is always the alliances. Every time one country is about to succeed in achieving a huge victory, the alliance always sends out reinforcements. The same is valid for all the countries in Yukirrom or in the other regions. Naturally, that single country attacking the other can't cope with the reinforcements of the other six countries at once. In the end, they're forced to retreat and would usually conquer a few small parts of the territories, which would be conquered back when the other country strikes back."

Roan began to get a picture of the weird balance kept in this place. Simply put, everyone does that, so they kept most of their territories in this situation where no one gained anything. On the other hand, they also didn't lose anything and kept their own. Considering the size of each country that far surpassed any country Rean and Roan had been in the Realm of Mortals, it wasn't a bad deal.

"Now that I think about it, it's more probable that none of the regions around us want to conquer anything to start with. Otherwise, it's easier to simply wait for a region to reinforce a specific country and attack them during that time. Although they wouldn't conquer everything, they definitely could take a huge chunk of territory every time."

Cynthia shrugged her shoulders, saying, "Exactly. It's just that it also means the same can happen to you. That's how complicated things are. No one wants to become a target because they took the initiative to exploit someone's weaknesses."

After that, Cynthia narrowed her eyes as she continued, "However, I heard a few rumors in Huvol City where I was before. Oh, right! You aren't from here. Huvol is a much bigger city, and also the city where I first accompanied another caravan from Cosec City. Cosec City is quite small in comparison. This caravan we're now in is the second one I'm protecting while we head back to Cosec."

Cynthia went back to her original topic after going off on a slight tangent. "Anyways, I heard rumors of a new alliance being created with the intention of attacking and fully conquering an entire region. It's just that the sources of this information aren't exactly trustworthy. I tried to inquire in the City Lord's residence, but they seemed uncertain either."

Celis couldn't help but say, "So, those rumors can't even tell who are the regions allying to each other and who's the target? That sounds a lot more like a facade than anything else."

Roan agreed with Celis. "Indeed. However, we don't know how things here work, so it might really be the case."

Cynthia then shrugged her shoulders once more. "Well, that's not something you should concern yourselves about anytime soon."

Kentucky immediately asked in response, "Why?"

"Because of the impact of such a move like this," Cynthia replied. "Think of the time necessary to talk with all parties involved, agreement on the spoils, the size of each region, all that bullshit. This is something I've just heard of, so such a move would take many years to come to fruition. For now, not even the royal families would care too much, let alone small fries like us."

"That's true." Roan agreed with Cynthia. In a medieval realm where technology didn't exist, any huge movement would take way too long to happen. Let alone in the Realm of Gods, where distances were blown up to greater proportions.

Rean, Roan, Kentucky, and Cynthia continued to talk on the way to Cosec City. Ukilas Valley wasn't too far from Cosec City to start with, so they already noticed the number of cultivators from various different races gradually increasing in the next two days. On the third day after leaving the valley, the caravan finally spotted the city wall far in the distance.

"Lady Cynthia." A guard quickly came to pass the news. "We've arrived in Cosec City."

Rean also noticed that and asked Kentucky to fly a little for him to see. However, Rean's mouth twitched once he reached a high altitude. 'Cosec is a small city...? Cynthia can't be serious!'