Weather in the Land of a Hundred Rivers was strange. There were five weeks of spring right in the dead of winter, meaning that one day when River woke up the weather was great, and snow flowers were blooming all around them.

The air smelled fresh and everyone was full of energy. It was harvest season, which meant that a lot of carriages and carts traveled on the road these days, so the Guest House saw a lot of traffic.

It was during that period that River also found out why the noble races had visited. For as long as anyone could remember, the Land of a Hundred Rivers was ruled by Mount Decius, which was also the origin of all hundred rivers.

The allied forces, under Mount Decius’ command, fought against the forces of the Barren Estuary - a collective force consisting of orcs, demons and monsters all commanded by an entity similar to the one at Mount Decius.

Though it sounded straight forward - an enmity between two forces at opposite ends of some rivers, in truth the terrain was highly complex and ongoing conflict was just as complex. There was a reason that neither force had ever been able to take full advantage of the other. While it seemed to Lex that the situation developed as such to purposefully train the various races in matters of conflict and strategy from the very beginning, that did not mean that the actual battles were merely orchestrated. No, each side acted with proper determination to eliminate the other, coming up with ingenious strategies and manoeuvres over time.

At some times, the allied forces of Mount Decius had an advantage, and at other times, the forces of the Barren Estuary.

As if that was not enough, there were various schemes and politics within the allied forces as well, with the noble and vassal races vying for power, position and resources.

It was amidst this already chaotic situation that the allied forces noticed the presence of the Abyssals - an unexpected third contender in this conflict. Since Abyssals were ruled by instincts, and did not gain sentience before existing for thousands of years at the very least, their current state was equivalent to wild animals capable of causing immense damage to both sides.

Of course, River did not hear actual news of what the situation on the battlefields was like, however he did hear various versions of the conscription news. Apparently, all lords had to submit thirty percent of their standing armies who were being conscripted for the war efforts of the allied forces. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Fighting the Abyssals and protecting strategic locations was integral for the war efforts. Unfortunately, because the humans were themselves vassals, they would need to make additional efforts to protect their own strategic locations, for the allied forces would only protect the most important places in all the lands.

He did not know if that was the case for the other vassal races just yet, but that seemed to be the case for the humans at least.

He also heard rumors that the royal family had also sent one royal prince and princess to contribute in the war efforts and lead the human armies.

Speaking of which, one rumor that caught River’s attention was regarding a certain Baron Nester! It seemed that his lands were one of the first to suffer from the Abyssal attacks, which explained why for months River and Pearl had managed to evade his forces.

Once the five weeks of spring ended, winter returned with an even greater fury, but everyone was already prepared for that. One unlucky group of people who got lost on the road were forced to stay at the Guest House for three days during a long storm. Fortunately, they had restocked goods sufficiently, so their stay was not terrible.

As it happened, as soon as that storm calmed, a party of Brutes - a sub-species of humans who was taller, stronger, but more simple minded - arrived with news. The elves were going to depart the human lands, and had invited River to accompany them.

The claim was that they would register an investigation into why the Sunborne family was attacked, but the truth was that it was an opportunity for them to trade. The reason why Pearl had never done this on her own before was simply because she didn’t have any of the techniques.

No matter what anyone thought, the only thing from her family she retained was the necklace. Thus, the technique River planned on trading was the one Cliff had taught Pearl. He’d already asked, and Cliff didn’t seem to care at all about it - claiming that he could make a dozen such techniques on a whim.

River suppressed his urge to roll his eyes and simply thanked the show off. If he were really that impressive, why was he stuck in a necklace, unable to help?

Then again, he shouldn’t be ungrateful. Even the guidance Cliff did offer was incredibly invaluable. After all, River was a man with poisoned meridians, and yet here he was, accumulating strength.

River and Pearl closed the Guest House, and Pearl activated a sealing formation she had prepared in advance. It would take a Foundation level cultivator to break the seal, and those were too rare so the chances of one showing up was minimal to none.

The guests staying in the Guest House accompanied them, and under the protection of the Brutes they traveled through heavy winter snow, and quickly joined the delegation of noble races right before they crossed the frozen 62nd river, and to the territory between 62 and 63.

This territory belonged to the Giants - an incredibly formidable and long lived race who were masters of geomancy - a type of divination that involved the earth. They were also incredibly skilled in landscaping, and designing the world according to their whims.

As such, the terrain across the river was extremely different from the human territory, as it existed in steps, with each step serving a specific purpose.