Swords, magic, and martial arts

After several days of travel, Rhodes and his party arrived at the banks of a wide river. On the other side of the river was the place where Weber had sacrificed himself, Riverview Plain.

This great river flows from the north of Nords southwestward into the central region of the Kingdom of Fish, eventually emptying into the sea near Gulfstream.

The river has many names and different names in different places. The Ice River near Ice River City in Snowwind Province of the Kingdom of No is this river, while in the Kingdom of Fish it is called the Clear River or the White River.

Rhodes and his companions planned to find a port near the river to board a ship and travel south along the river, first to the Bay River City of the Fish Kingdom, then take a ship from Bay River City to the River City of the Roman Empire, and finally travel overland to the Radiant City where the priestess was going.

Although this route is much more circuitous, it avoids the areas where the Nords and the Empire might clash.

This great river is a hundred meters wide in this section of Dawn Province, forming a natural direction. In the past, when the Riverview Plain belonged to the Empire, they would only attack Nord from Winterfell Fortress.

The Empire's main force could not cross this river to attack Dawn Province; their warships would have to pass through the Kingdom of Fish to reach this river.

The Kingdom of Fish would never allow the Imperial fleet to enter their inland areas, and it would be impossible to build a shipyard and manufacture ships on the Riverview Plain.

Such obvious actions are always discovered by the Nords, who then send troops to sabotage them, and now there are not enough tall trees in the Riverview Plains to build ships.

Following the great river southward, Rhodes and his companions arrived at Clearstream City, a relatively well-known commercial city in Nord.

Before they even entered Qingliu City, they saw countless ships of all sizes docked at the city's port.

After paying the city entrance fee, it was already evening. They decided to find a tavern to eat and rest for the night, and also to inquire about the approximate price of taking a boat to Gulfstream City, so as not to be ripped off.

Before entering the city, Rhode handed the female warrior's veil, which he had kept in his system space and had never taken out, to Messiah, asking her to wear it to cover her stunning face and avoid causing any unnecessary trouble.

Misell didn't refuse; without a second thought, she put it on her face. The effect was quite good; her features were indeed no longer clearly visible.

After entering a tavern called "Fat Salmon," the four of them found an empty table and sat down.

"I've heard that the grilled fish in Clearstream City is delicious. Would you like to try it?" Baron said to Hammer, who was still grieving beside him.

Time heals all wounds; Rod and Baron have recovered from Weber's passing, but Hammer has not.

"No, there are too many thorns," Hammer replied.

"It's famous because the grilled fish here has very few bones," Baron added.

"Alright, I'll give it a try." Hammer nodded.

"What are you eating?" Baron asked Rhodes and Misell.

"I'm fine with either," Misell replied.

After sitting down, Rhodes kept looking around, observing the attire of the tavern's guests. He noticed that there were very few adventurers here; most of the people were probably dockworkers.

After hearing Baron's question, he snapped out of his reverie and replied, "I'm fine with either."

Soon, the tavern waiter brought out four servings of grilled fish, a large pot of fish soup, and a basket of bread.

Picking up a knife and fork, Rod cut off a piece and tasted it. He thought it tasted alright, mainly because the spices were good and the fish was very fresh.

As Rod ate, he listened to the loud conversations of the people at the nearby tables.

"There are more merchant ships coming here lately, so there's a lot of work to do. Before, the captains would pick us, and they wouldn't take the skinny ones. Hehe, now it's our turn to pick them. We'll only help whoever pays the most to unload cargo," said a man who was as thin as a bamboo pole.

A drunk man next to him said, "Indeed, after I finish this drink, I'll go to the docks again. They're really short-staffed right now."

"Aren't you afraid of getting drunk and falling into the river?" Bamboo Pole asked.

"How could that be? I could carry a suitcase across the dock even when I'm asleep with my eyes closed and sleepwalking," the drunkard shouted.

"Don't brag. You fell into the river last time, and I was the one who went down and fished you out," a chubby middle-aged man joined the conversation.

"That was at least ten years ago," the drunkard said. "Now, if you jump into the water, you'll sink first."

"I am indeed old now, but I did go down into the river to rescue you before. You were crying and shouting for help in the river," the overweight middle-aged man said.

"That time, I heard that the river pirate king's treasure was hidden in the river, so I jumped into the water to retrieve it. Later, I couldn't swim anymore and my legs cramped up, so I had to shout for help," the drunkard said, his face flushed.

"You still believe the story of the River Pirate King's treasure? Isn't that the story my grandma used to tell me to lull me to sleep when I was little?" Bamboo Pole said from the side.

"So only people who drink too much every day and live in a dream world would believe that," the overweight middle-aged man laughed loudly beside him. "I've never seen a river pirate on this river in my entire life, let alone a river pirate king."

"There are river pirates on this river, but everyone who encounters them dies," the drunkard said unwillingly.

……

After dinner, Rod, who had been walking all day, washed up and lay down on his bed, which smelled of sunshine.

It's summer now, and he can take a shower with cold water, but he still feels oily without shampoo and shower gel.

Today, when he took off the female warrior's veil, he saw something that pained him again: the mother-and-child throwing knives.

Ever since he woke up in that cave, he had forgotten to let it generate a flying knife. He decided to find an opportunity to give it away later, so that he wouldn't feel like he had lost a lot of money every time he saw it.

Baron had been planning to buy Rhodes a horse these past few days, but Rhodes refused. He wanted to improve his Snowwalking proficiency by walking on his own two feet, but after several days, he still hadn't leveled up.

Rhodes had never had the chance to complete the missions he had previously accepted. The security in Dawn Province was quite good, and they had not encountered any bandits along the way.

Perhaps the people here can live a decent life with just a little effort. For example, those porters who sat near him while he was eating earlier could still have a few drinks at the tavern after a long day of work.

In comparison, being a bandit is really not worth it. Every day you have to live in fear of being wiped out by the lord's troops. You also have to choose your robbery locations carefully, making sure there are neither too many nor too few people passing by.

When choosing a target to rob, you should pick a decent one. If you run into someone like Baron, you'll definitely be wiped out. You chose someone who looked weaker, but after all that effort, you found out that the person you robbed was even poorer than you.

However, Rhodes was also happy to see this way; it would be best if there were no bandits.

Sitting on the bed, Rod practiced the Divine Illumination Technique all night. Perhaps it was because bathing in dragon blood improved his physique, but now his meridians were much wider, unlike before when they were very narrow.

When you have more internal energy, circulating it through those narrow places can cause a feeling of fullness and pain.

The night passed peacefully, and early the next morning, Baron called him out, instructing him to go with him to the docks to negotiate prices with the captains...