I can see experience bars after being transported to another world.

"Is he the only one?"

"Yes. Besides him, are there two or three others?" Oden paused.

"Of course, it's not just him. It should be one and a half, or more accurately, two. But it's not that he's involved with the second one. The main one is the person on the wall, who counts as half, and the one connected to the person on the wall, who counts as one."

"Hey, you know what," Auden suddenly said, "the name 'The Man on the Wall' can actually be uttered. Don't you have any doubts? How can such a taboo name be known by so many people, and even communicated with?"

Lu Yuan shook his head; he hadn't noticed it or realized it.

However, since it's related to the Wall-Ups, it seems that Oden must have been involved, or at least knew, the truth about the Wall-Ups' defeat.

Lu Yuan suddenly felt a little guilty.

On the evening of the fifth day, Lu Yuan and the Blue Knights' convoy finally arrived at the first supply point.

Heijing Town.

The town is built on the mountainside, and you can see a dark mass of houses on the hillside from afar.

"This mountain marks the boundary between the north and south," the Blue Knight explained to Lu Yuan. "Beyond this mountain to the north lies the true cold region. You'll need to wear more layers then."

The town is located on the south side of the mountain, and the cool air is just beginning to set in. It's not unbearable; in fact, it's quite pleasant.

Following the mountain road all the way to the town, Lu Yuan understood what kind of business this town was in.

A derrick stands at the entrance of the town, with tracks extending from the derrick all the way to the storage yard on the edge of the town.

The piles of gangue beside the tracks formed a mountain, dark and murky.

The houses of every household are built of wood and stone, with stone making up the majority of the structure.

The light gray stones were blackened by coal ash, and smoke constantly billowed from the chimney on the roof, carrying a distinctive coal smell.

"Is this a town that makes a living from coal mining?" Lu Yuan said, looking at the scene before him.

"Hmm." The Blue Knight nodded. "Winter comes early in the north, so we have to keep the fire burning to get through the winter. Coal is our lifeline, and this is the time when the whole town is stocking up on coal."

After settling the carriage, the Blue Knight took out a map from his pocket and spread it out in front of him.

Lu Yuan leaned over for a look and was slightly stunned.

It was a huge map of the empire, with mountains, rivers, and towns marked in great detail.

However, the marked mountains and towns seem to only include those along the college route; in other open areas, there are only a few scattered points.

Bronze City was the very little place where they started.

The map shows several lines running from south to north, passing through prefectures and counties. One of these lines passes right through Heijing Town.

"This is the Knight Academy's exclusive map." The Blue Knight's finger traced the line upwards.

"These lines are roads that have been opened up by the Knight Academy over the years. Every time a mission is launched, or rather, every knight who graduates from the academy and goes to a specific city to do a mission, will receive a unique map. It shows where the academy is, where the supply points are along the way, and where to go around."

Her finger stopped at the northernmost point.

"The northern branch is located here."

Lu Yuan looked in the direction she was pointing.

That point was located in a blank space in the northeast corner of the empire, with almost no towns marked around it.

"Was it deliberately left out, or is it genuinely located in a very remote area?"

"It is indeed very remote, but that's precisely what's meant to be remote." The Blue Knight put away the map. "The Knight Academy is standing there not to seek peace and quiet, but as a wall to the north. If something goes wrong, the people from the Knight Academy can arrive immediately."

As they talked, the two put away the map and prepared to wander around Blackwell Town to find the Night Watch's branch.

According to custom, Night's Watch members passing through a region must report to the Night's Watch cohort upon arrival.

Of course, it just means showing one's face.

The Night's Watch was stationed at the west end of town, in a small courtyard, with the Night's Watch emblem hanging at the entrance.

When Lu Yuan and the Blue Knight arrived, they immediately sensed something was off as soon as they entered.

The courtyard was eerily quiet. Two young night watchmen sat on the porch, crossbows beside them.

Upon seeing someone approaching, he was initially taken aback, then nervously grabbed his crossbow.

Only after seeing Lu Yuan's attire and the badge on his chest did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"One of our own."

One of the young men gestured for the other to put down his crossbow, and then he dashed into the house.

After a while, an old man came out to greet them.

He was in his sixties, a little hunchbacked, and his old leather armor was worn smooth and shiny, but the badge on his chest was clean.

"A captain from Bronze City?" The old man looked at the badge on Lu Yuan's chest and his eyes widened immediately. "Wow, from a big city."

When he saw the badge on the Blue Knight's chest again, his hand trembled.

The badge had a very distinctive design, but anyone in the know could recognize it at a glance as belonging to a knight from the Knight Academy.

"Please come in, both of you."

The old man immediately ushered the two into the house and poured them hot water.

This tiny branch of the Night's Watch has a rather shabby layout.

The house was made entirely of a mixture of stone and unidentified mud, and inside there were several tables piled with files and other such items.

Next to it was a lit fireplace, the flames crackling and popping inside.

There are two more rooms next door, which look like either accommodations or equipment storage areas.

After pouring the water, the old man rubbed his hands awkwardly, and hesitated several times before speaking.

Lu Yuan noticed it, took a sip of tea, and felt warm all over.

"Has something happened in town?"

"Hmm." The old man sighed, not intending to beat around the bush any longer. "Yes, something happened."

"First, the livestock that roamed freely in the town disappeared one by one. Then, the long-haired dogs that guarded the livestock also went missing. A few days ago, the miners who had finished their night shifts didn't come back."

"A few of us went down to chase it once." The old man's voice lowered. "There was something down in the mine that ate people. It must have been dug out by those miners, but nobody knows where it came from. And it can burrow underground, its body is like a vein of ore, it's impossible to catch. We almost lost one of our kids. We reported it to the authorities, but the files they gave us didn't provide any clues."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan put down his cup.

"Is that mine entrance sealed off now?"

"We've sealed it halfway," the old man said with a wry smile. "We've blocked the entrance with stones and wood. But if we don't seal it, there's something inside; if we seal it, the whole town will starve. We're stuck here now, there's nothing we can do."

"Actually, I was just about to send a message outside, asking someone to come down and take a look," the old man said, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two of them before finally settling on Lu Yuan's face. He rubbed his hands together and chuckled twice. "And then you two arrived."