Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1235 - 21: The Unchanging City of Knowledge

Chapter 1235: Chapter 21: The Unchanging City of Knowledge

In the evening, the City of Knowledge was still bustling and noisy, just like any other day. The dark clouds of war did not cast much shadow over the Holy City; the commercial district was still crowded with shops abound, and people of various attires strolled through the area, scattering generous handfuls of gold coins in shops and entertainment facilities, even more than in times without war. Such a change was easy to understand: after all, Neutral Land was at the junction of three major powers. To reach the Country of Sand and proceed to the Sighing Desert, one had to pass through Neutral Land. Therefore, for both the Merchant Travelers commuting through the eastern and western continents and those youth filled with blood and dreams hoping to find opportunities to establish their merits on the front lines, the Holy City was the most suitable and last major transit hub. Especially for those young ones who wanted to join the front-line forces on their own, chasing their dreams and glory, once they left this city, they would soon enter the vast desert. What awaited them was uncertain, living or dying. Instead of holding onto meaningless gold coins in front of the Undead, it was better to exchange them in advance for excellent equipment and ample supplies, to increase their chances of survival.

"In all the powers, actually, there are quite a lot of such young people." Walking on the familiar streets of the commercial area, six people each held a bag of red pearl fruits, but the other few girls were merely holding theirs, only Pannis casually grabbed handfuls of red pearl fruits and stuffed them into her mouth, showing an expression of enjoyment. No, not just Pannis alone. At Pannis’s side, an expressionless blonde girl did the same thing at the same frequency, with the same hair color and actions, creating an indescribable harmony. However, the two of them were not conscious of this. Pannis casually stuffed some particularly plump fruits into the blonde girl’s mouth, explaining to the girls, "A hundred years ago during the Undead War, it was the same, everywhere you could see such young people, especially those kids who had never experienced war. They really believed in the fairy-tale-like stories in books, viewing war and sacrifice as something romantic, throwing themselves into it recklessly. As controllers of Neutral Land, the three major cities are quite happy to see such a situation, not only because of the wartime economy but more so because these young people could supply a great deal of fresh blood to the various Guilds. After getting used to the atmosphere of the City of Freedom and the City of Knowledge, they would probably find it difficult to adapt to their native homes again, thus attracting these potential young talents from various forces, which is a great gain for Neutral Land."

"But isn’t that a big problem?" Catherine said with some worry, "Most of these young people are just Lower Rank professionals, judging by their age, they’ve just left school or their parents’ side. To let them rush into war so rashly is no different from sending them to their deaths; even if we filter out a very few who are still alive, it is too cruel to filter them with their lives."

"Catherine, you are too naive," Pannis said, snickering and shaking her head, "At least three-fourths of these passionate kids, once they enter the Country of Sand, will soon realize the harsh realities under the torment of the scathing heat and drought. Some of them, after advancing a few days in the desert with companions, will lose their initial impulsiveness and sneakily return to Neutral Land. The unluckier ones will just get lost in the vast desert, exhausting their food and water, and then be discovered by the search and rescue teams formed by the adventurers’ Guild and the Country of Sand, who will send them back to Neutral Land. As for the remaining one-fourth or even less who manage to reach the border between the Country of Sand and the Sighing Desert, they could only go as far as there. At the border, they would be stopped by the blockade troops and then sent to various racial logistic camps to start high-intensity training in the desert. The harsh desert training will eliminate at least eighty percent of these kids, making them voluntarily ask to return to the peaceful areas. This means, only those kids who ultimately decide to stay will be integrated into the reserve troops and might get a chance to fight against the Undead on the battlefield. As for those eliminated at different stages, most of them, too embarrassed to go home, will linger in the cities of Neutral Land, but having nearly spent all their gold coins, they will end up taking paths as adventurers or mercenaries."

"Uh, that’s not quite what I imagined," Catherine muttered, smiling wryly, "So that’s the outcome?"

"Of course. No one, no matter how cold-blooded, would want these kids to die, whether they’re not yet adults or have just reached adulthood, until the last moment," Pannis shrugged, "But you can’t dampen their passion right from the start, so we have to use this method to let them see the gap between the knight stories and reality. As for those kids with firm beliefs, they still have a chance to fulfill their dreams and fight desperately against the Undead."

"Hey, hey, big sister, Pannis, we’re finally going home; stop talking about these boring things. We won’t rest for long anyway, we’ll definitely join the Guild’s combat troops soon enough. If you really want to discuss this, there’ll be plenty of time later." The priest girl finally couldn’t restrain her dissatisfaction, "As for now, since we’ve already come back, we should rest properly. We’ve nearly traveled the whole world these past two years and are almost dead tired."

"Alright, alright, it’s my fault." Catherine laughed helplessly and patted the girl’s head covered with soft, short, dense silver hair. "Let’s put the war aside and take a good rest. I just don’t know how many days we can rest this time? I guess not too long."

Catherine’s words seemed to imply something, and the girls seemed to have understood the unspoken thoughts of the knight girl, each displaying a mischievous smile.

However, Pannis, unfortunately, knew nothing. He chewed on a red pearl fruit while looking around, and suddenly raised his hand to shout at a figure not far away, "Hey, little one, selling damaged goods again today? Let me see if you’ve put out the Tree of Life for sale again."

"Who are you? I don’t know you." The little girl at the roadside stall lifted her head expressionlessly and said in a gloomy voice, "Don’t touch. Mom said, for an ugly-looking uncle like you, if you touch it, you must buy it—100 gold coins, no, 200 gold coins each."

"Why is the price increased again?" Pannis sheepishly withdrew his hand reaching towards the stall and chuckled, "Wasn’t it only 80 gold coins last time?"

"Mom said, the uglier someone is, the higher the price should be." The little girl sized up Pannis, "200 gold coins might be a bit low, we’ll increase it next time. Oh, some sisters are here, too. Want to take a look at the wood carvings? Two silver coins each."

Pfft, Pannis, you deserve it," Catherine said as she grabbed him by the collar and pulled away the Pannis who was ready to argue with the little girl. She waved goodbye, saying, "We just got back. We’ll leave it for today. We’ll look next time. Bye, little one."