A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

Bray raised an eyebrow; he hadn't expected to end up on the Western Continent.

He thought the stone slab would take him back to the past of the Central Continent.

It seems the coordinates are random, and yet he managed to run into Dorothea. Besides "unbelievable," Bray can't think of a better word to describe it.

"..." Bray pondered for a moment; the tiger sentinel's question was a bit difficult to answer.

"Speak quickly!" One of the tiger-clan sentries raised his crossbow and aimed it at the mine.

The crossbow was covered with complex magic arrays, but it was unclear what those arrays were.

Anyway, getting hit by that crossbow bolt is definitely not going to be pleasant.

“From the Middle Continent,” Bray replied.

This is the most honest answer Bray can think of right now.

If you say you came from the future, these tiger sentinels certainly won't believe you.

The tiger-clan sentries exchanged glances, seemingly discussing what to do.

What they were most afraid of was that Bray was an angel's spy.

If the angels find out about this place, they will surely attack.

This village could not withstand the ravages of angels; just three or four angels would be enough to sweep it away.

The village remained undiscovered thanks to the efforts of the tiger-tribe priests within it.

But once the exact location is revealed, everything will be over.

These sentries had to be cautious, as the safety of the village behind them depended on their every move.

The once prosperous Tiger City is now reduced to a small, safe village.

There was no second village in the ruins of this city, and these were the only survivors.

"Don't be ridiculous, coming all the way from the Central Continent! Do you think you're some kind of messenger?!" The Tiger Clan sentry sneered.

A look of doubt flashed in Bray's dead fish eyes.

Messenger? What is that?

"Stop being rude!" Just then, an old but powerful voice rang out.

The two tiger sentries were instantly enraged upon hearing the roar.

However, they weren't furious, but rather terrified.

"Lord Ryukdo..." The tiger-clan sentry stared in astonishment at the old man who was walking around the huge wooden plank.

"The world is already so wretched, yet you still harbor hostility towards your fellow Black Iron race?" the old man said helplessly.

The world is now dominated by the Bronze race, and the Iron race is now a community with a shared future.

It would be incredibly foolish to start fighting amongst ourselves now.

Some people might join forces with the Bronze race for survival, but in the end, it turns out that joining the Bronze race is the most foolish thing to do.

Because the bronze type disdains the surrender of the iron type.

All those who sided with the Bronze race met a bad end.

“But they are just too suspicious,” one of the tiger sentries stammered.

"They said they came from the Middle Continent..."

"Lord Ryukdo, how is this possible? The sea routes have all been occupied by the sea creatures, there is simply no way to cross the sea."

"From the Middle Continent?" The old man looked at Bray with his aged eyes after hearing this.

“Yes.” Bray nodded honestly.

“But she’s from the Northern Continent.” Bray pointed to Dorothea behind him.

“The Central Continent and the Northern Continent are truly two very distant places,” Ryukdo remarked.

"Let them pass," Ryukdo said to the two dutiful sentries.

"..." Ryukdo was the most respected person in the village, and after hesitating for a moment, the sentry decided to let him pass.

"Boom!!!" After a loud bang, the wooden plank was wiped away like foam.

Before Bray appeared a massive stone gate, blocking all the way ahead and sealing off almost every direction.

Despite the many pits and bumps on the stone gate, the carvings hanging on it and the design of the edges make it easy to see how exquisite the stone gate was originally a work of art.

The wooden board was just a cover-up; it was merely a projected image.

Because the Tiger Clan understood that most of the illusions used by the Iron race were ineffective against the Bronze race, they abandoned the use of illusions and instead used more direct projections to deceive their opponents' vision.

Even if you deceive them, it won't have much practical effect.

But at the very least, it can make the opponent underestimate you.

"Spectacular, isn't it?" Ryukdo looked at Bray with a half-smile.

“Magnificent.” Bray nodded. The stone gate was indeed magnificent. Even though it was so badly damaged, one could still feel its majesty.

“This is the only thing our village can boast about,” said Ryukdo. This stone gate was originally a main gate of the city, used to defend against enemies.

It took them some effort to move the nearby door over.

"Come in with me."

"And you two, really, don't go out anymore. It's for everyone's good." Ryukdo said earnestly, patting Bird and Melissa's heads helplessly.

"I'm sorry, Lord Ryukdo," Melissa said softly, bowing her head.

However, Bird pursed his lips but ultimately did not apologize.

“The outside world is indeed colorful, but unfortunately it no longer belongs to us,” Ryukdo said with a sorrowful tone.

"If you do this again, you'll be punished."

How could he not know that children yearn for freedom?

You were lucky last time, you were lucky this time, but what about next time?

Ryukdo didn't want to indulge them, but he also didn't want to overly criticize them.

---

After taking a step, Bray quickly looked back and realized he had forgotten about Dorothea.

However, Dorothea didn't need him to worry at all. After he finished talking with Ryukdo, Dorothea followed him on her own.

No, it's not just keeping up, it's surpassing Bray.

"Why are you standing there? Don't you want to see what it's like inside?" Dorothea asked, looking at Bray, who had slowed down.

“…” Bray rolled his eyes. Despite being underground, the surrounding space was surprisingly spacious.

That makes sense, really. If they can actually lower the city gates, it can't be that small.

Of course, compared to the ruins on the ground, this village is relatively small.

And, just as Melissa said, it's dark and damp here.

The main reason is that it is underground, and many places cannot be repaired due to insufficient resources.

Ryukdo, along with Bray and Dorothea, walked through the village.

Bird and Melissa followed along because Ryukdo didn't chase them away.

The surrounding tigers looked at Bray and Dorothea, the two outsiders, with astonishment.

They hadn't seen anyone come in from outside for a long time.

"You say you come from the Central Continent and the Northern Continent. Are you messengers?" Ryukdo walked slowly ahead of the two men, his hands behind his back.

Although Ryukdo's voice was very old, it was still clear enough for people to understand what he was saying.

“I just heard the sentry ask me if I was a messenger. Who are these people?” Bray, adhering to his principle of asking questions whenever he was asked, inquired of the elder in front of him.

“Since you’ve asked this question, it seems you’re not a messenger,” Ryukdo sighed.

"A messenger is someone who spreads news about other continents."

“You can think of them as messengers,” Ryukdo said, his tone revealing respect for these people.

“…” Bray listened attentively, but he didn’t understand why the old man respected the messenger so much.

“Being a messenger must be dangerous,” Dorothea said, tilting her chin slightly.

“That’s right, it’s very dangerous. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it’s a matter of life and death,” said Ryukdo.

"You know what? They're all bronze-grade stones, not just one or two, not just a dozen..."

"Instead, there are tens of thousands of bronze types."

"Crossing the continent under these circumstances is simply playing with your life."

Dorothea glanced sideways at Ryukto, seemingly waiting for his next words.

She only went back to the past for fun.

Therefore, she was very interested in this past world, and in all sorts of things, such as the messenger that Ryukto now speaks of.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have taken the initiative to speak.

"And what the messenger did was very simple, really very simple..."

“It’s about telling people on other continents what happens on other continents.” Ryukdo narrowed his old eyes, his voice deep and resonant.

The connections between the various continents of Kapras were abruptly severed by the Bronze Age.

Information isolation—this term might not sound like a big deal.

But when it actually happened, it brought endless panic—and a lag in civilization.

The fact that the Black Iron race can still retain various civilizations and maintain what can be considered powerful means of self-defense is largely due to the activity of these messengers.

They are the link; without the link, everything will be interrupted, but even that interrupted hope.

The most important role of messengers is to tell people that people elsewhere are still striving, still alive, and have not yet failed.

Without them, it would be impossible to know whether Kapras still had any Black Iron warriors fighting alongside him.

“Do you know what motivates us?” Ryukdo said quietly.

“How would I know if you don’t tell me?” Bray said bluntly.

"Hahaha, you really don't know how to give people a way out." Ryukdo didn't seem embarrassed at all, he just laughed a few times.

In general, people will say "I don't know" and let others continue the explanation.

But Bray doesn't follow the rules at all.

"It's a human. I never imagined in my life that a human would be the one to give us orcs hope in our struggle," Ryukdo said with deep emotion.

"Who is that human?" This time, Bray finally made it easier for Ryukdo to respond.

"Have you heard of Carlogaris of the Middle Continent?"

He is called a "great hero" by many.

"He was the first Ironborn to raise his sword in rebellion. Without his leadership, the others wouldn't have had the courage."

There will inevitably be leaders who will emerge; this is the inevitable course of history.

But it makes a difference who actively chooses to become that person.

Whether the struggle will succeed is not a certainty.

“Originally, the tiger clan in our city had given up on themselves. It was because a messenger told us about this that we built this village.” Ryukdo glanced around the village.

“Carlogaris…” Bray knew him well, but he never expected to hear that name from someone else.

"What are you planning to do next? I guess you don't intend to stay here for long."

“I don’t plan to stay long,” Dorothea replied before Bray could answer.

Dorothea plans to travel around this past world, wanting to see more interesting things.

The Second Age, for which the Third Age is poorly documented, is a place worthy of observation in every aspect.

"..." Bray swallowed the words he hadn't yet uttered.