adventurers in the sewers

Chapter 164 Corinth City and the First Hero!

The checkpoint process went smoothly; there were no body searches or attempts to solicit bribes.

This is certainly not because the soldiers of the Kingdom of Lortheran are all moral exemplars.

Corruption exists everywhere, and the Kingdom of Lortheran, as a feudal state, is no exception.

There is only one reason why corruption did not affect Louis's team.

That means they are strong enough!

Daina's status as a Level Two Sun Knight is highly prestigious, and most people wouldn't dare to provoke her.

Before leaving the country, Louis bought a simple map of Forrest from a nearby stall to avoid getting lost.

The reason why maps are sold here is because there are many adventurer teams like Louis's team that are also heading to the Kingdom of Forrest to pass through the checkpoint.

These teams varied in strength; some simply wanted to broaden their horizons, while others possessed the professional-level capabilities to provide assistance to neighboring countries.

Some professional teams recognized the extraordinary nature of Louis and his group and invited them to join them, but Louis declined all offers.

Where there is demand, there will naturally be supply.

To cater to adventurers, this area has developed into a small market selling all sorts of things.

The group traveled several kilometers before encountering another checkpoint.

However, this checkpoint wasn't stopping its own people, but rather blocking refugees from the Kingdom of Forrest.

These refugees were all emaciated and looked like zombies, huddled together in a dense mass.

They stood outside the checkpoint, eagerly wanting to get through.

But under the intimidation of the soldiers, professionals in the army, and priests, none of them dared to cross the line.

Ironically, adventurers are eager to explore dangerous places, while the locals just want to seek refuge in safe havens.

This scene was so heartbreaking for Dai Na to witness.

Tiga recalled the time when her tribe begged Blackrock City to take them in after their defeat, and her feelings were complicated.

Louis stared at the vast number of refugees, speechless.

The Kingdom of Lortheran is undoubtedly an agricultural country, at best with a slight degree of industrialization. It has a great need for people and normally accepts all refugees.

However, refugees from the Kingdom of Forrest are not people you can just take in whenever you want.

How many of them have had their minds influenced by the demons, and how many are simply demon spies?

It's impossible to explain.

Even church pastors can only tell whether someone has demonic energy, but whether their heart has been corrupted is something even the gods cannot see through.

What if a refugee, after being sent to a city in the Kingdom of Lortheran, sacrifices himself and everyone around him, summoning demons?

But completely refusing to accept these refugees is not an option either.

Under pressure from external enemies, the five major human kingdoms are, in principle, a close alliance.

We can only screen them one by one, taking it slowly.

If things slow down like this, countless people will starve to death.

Louis had no good solution to this, so he could only leave quietly with his teammates.

Refugees continued to arrive along the way.

They inquired with some of the refugees who seemed educated and learned that the information about Erihill was outdated.

In just over twenty days, dozens of cities, large and small, in the Kingdom of Forrest have fallen, and more than half of the kingdom has become a paradise for demons and monsters.

Fortunately, Molly's hometown has not yet fallen.

It was a small city called Pine Leaf City, which bordered a large city of 500,000 people called Golin City.

The relationship between the two is roughly equivalent to that between Wind Chime City and Black Rock City.

Currently, Gelin City is the front line of resistance against the demons, and it seems that it is about to fall.

Louis took Colin out of the magic pocket and told the old man about it.

Old man Colin wasn't stubborn. He said that since Pine Leaf City could fall at any time, it meant that now was not a good time to bury the hero Molly.

Otherwise, what if the hero's body is buried and then Pine Leaf City falls, and the demons find the hero's body again using special methods and dig it up?

He even went so far as to persuade Louis that if things couldn't be salvaged, they should cremate Molly's body and scatter the ashes on her homeland, which would be a decent ending.

Louis agreed.

However, he didn't rush to cremate the hero's body on the spot, but instead planned to go to the city of Golin first.

He needs to find an opportunity to complete the great task of saving five million people and condense the third-level hero's secret manual.

If Golin City can be defended and pushed back during this period, then everything will be fine.

Not only myself, but also Dai Na.

She must also accomplish the great feat of saving five million people before she can merge with the Level 3 Hero's Codex from Molly.

In short, Louis's purpose in this trip is to level up, and he will not back down just because he cannot bury the hero's remains.

They advanced swiftly, bypassing Pine Leaf City and entering Golin City.

Louis estimated that Erisil would also stay in the city to fight against the demons.

The city of Golin was originally located in the inland region of the Kingdom of Forrest. It had no city walls and was a city built on trees.

Apart from the main city roads being relatively smooth, most of the buildings here are built on top of towering trees.

These large trees themselves served as excellent building foundations. Without harming the trees, the people of Kolin dug holes in them to create dwellings and shops.

They didn't waste the timber that was dug up; they used it to build wooden houses on the thick branches of the trees.

Sometimes, there are more than a dozen treehouses and cabins on a single tree, each corresponding to a family.

The inhabitants of Golin City live alongside the animals of the forest. They do not cultivate crops; their staple food is a type of bread similar to baobab.

Fruits rich in starch and nutrients.

Most of the dishes were made from whatever grew on the trees and was edible. Occasionally, when they craved meat, they could hunt some wild boar or rabbits that were abundant in the area, or some other wild game that Louis found rather exotic.

From some perspectives, the Kingdom of Forrest was not entirely an agricultural country.

This country is so rich in resources that one can live comfortably without farming. They earn foreign exchange by exporting wood products, bamboo products, rare medicinal herbs and medicines.

Especially in the field of medicine, thanks to the unique environment for the growth of medicinal herbs, most of the top doctors come from this country.

Strictly speaking, what we call foreign exchange can't really be considered foreign exchange, because gold, silver, and copper coins were used by all five kingdoms, but the common people of Forrest rarely used them.

Louis learned all of this information through research.

But when Louis actually arrived in Corinth, he found that the city was completely different from what was described in the books.

The overall layout and architectural style here are no different from those recorded in ancient books, but what is astonishing is that the bark of the trees in the city has been almost completely eaten away!

Forget about harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. The trees along the roadside have lost their bark and leaves. Many large trees have been cut down to just stumps, and the trunks have been used to build defensive fortifications.

Desolate, dilapidated, and hopeless—that was Louis's first impression of the city.

What surprised Louis's team even more was that although the city's residents were thin and pale, they were in good spirits and seemed to have hope for the future.

Louis learned that the First Hero had arrived in Golin City just two days ago.

The First Hero, the first hero born in this era from the five great kingdoms of humanity, appeared in the world five years earlier than Erisil and six years earlier than Louis became a hero!

Thanks to his first-mover advantage, this warrior's strength has already reached the peak of level three.