Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 552 - 20 On the Road_1

Chapter 552: Chapter 20 On the Road_1

The Mountain Country Kulan is located in the northwest corner of the Yarran Continent, a country established within majestic mountains. The entire territory of Kulan is composed of mountains and is spread across more than three hundred thousand square kilometers of land, consisting of a collection of mountain ranges, a spectacle among the landscapes of the Yarran Continent. It’s difficult to conceive what a country full of towering mountains would look like for most people, a question that only unravels once they personally visit Kulan.

Kulan’s territory is narrow and elongated, comprised of eight mountain ranges with varying lengths. It spans an area of more than three hundred thousand square kilometers and houses five million citizens. In this country of mountains, the primary race is Dwarves, accounting for three-fourths of the entire population. Besides Dwarves, the second largest populations are humans and Beastmen, many of whom fled to the Mountain Country to escape wars and natural disasters in their homeland. Both these races number in the hundreds of thousands and have adapted so well to the life in the Mountain Country that it’s unlikely they could integrate back into their tribes. The fourth race living in the Mountains Country is goblins, descendants of the survivors of the Second Epoch, whose population numbers have grown to more than two hundred thousand after nearly ten thousand years of development. During the middle of the Third Epoch, with the aid of Dwarves, the Goblin survivors found refuge in the Mountain Country. Though they had lost the techniques and knowledge of their ancestors, their knack for technological research didn’t fade. Instead, they started right from scratch and developed quite a few new technologies. Perhaps due to their height, the goblins have a particularly close relationship with the Dwarves in the Mountain Country, and the level of trust between them is very high too.

There are only three ways to reach Kulan. The first is to ascend the Eastern Winged People Mountain Range, pass through the Eden Canyon, keep moving along the Eugene Path, and ultimately reach the eastern gateway - Gal City. Apart from the route from Eden Canyon to Eugene Path, the rest of the Eastern Country Mountain is steep and precipitous, which is practically impassable for ordinary people. Even for Upper Rank professionals, crossing these mountains is a cumbersome task, nearly an impossible mission. Therefore, the Gal City in the east has become the only passageway, but as the Winged People Mountain Range is also challenging to traverse, and the Winged People aren’t fond of strangers traveling across their territory, few people elect to take this path.

The second way into Kulan is by land and sea, where one would need to sail along the coastline to the northwest coast. Though this area is mostly steep sea cliffs, there are several natural ports where seafarers can temporarily dock and rest. These natural ports, encircled by cliffs, have level land where Gabriel Port, one of them, is the only harbor operated by humans. After landing at Gabriel Port and crossing the entire harbor, you can see the most majestic project in the history of the Yarran Continent - Gabriel Tunnel - at the recess behind the harbor. With the help of goblins’ measurement technology, Dwarves constructed a 73-kilometer artificial tunnel at the base of the cliff behind the port. The tunnel maintains a constant width of thirty meters and a height of ten meters, winds upwards along the mountain peak from inside the mountain, and eventually reaches the mid-level of the mountain, Sea View City. This masterpiece of goblins and Dwarves is quite reliable. Over the past two thousand years, there hasn’t been a single collapse in this tunnel. However, due to the difficulties of sailing and the discomfort of the long tunnel, this path is mainly used as a goods transportation route, and travelers would only choose this as a pass to the Mountain country if there are no other alternatives.

The third and the most commonly chosen way to enter Kulan is through Grand Highland City, the gateway located in the south of the Mountain Country. This city lies on the southern border of the Mountain Country, precisely at the tripoint of the Beastmen Prairie, the Sea Kingdom of Kassa, and the Mountain Country. Grand Highland City is the most critical transit point in the Mountain Country, with nearly all land transportation passing through this city. Consequently, it has become the busiest city in Mountain Country, and perhaps the most diverse in terms of racial composition.

Given that the members of Nellie’s adventure group had chosen to travel by land, they naturally targeted Grand Highland City as their destination. Therefore, they opted for a commonly chosen route: starting from the City of Knowledge, entering the Neville Federation, heading northwest until reaching the vicinity of the Shining Forest, and then moving northwards along the edge of the Shining Forest to enter the Beastmen Prairie. They continued to move northwest along the forest border in the Beastmen Prairie internals, all the way up to Grand Highland City. This route isn’t the shortest nor the fastest and isn’t considered a mainstream choice. For most of the journey, travelers can’t use the spacious highways and often have to traverse the wilderness, which is way more dangerous than traveling on highways. Furthermore, upon entering the Beastmen Prairie, encounters with roaming herds of magical beasts or wild beasts are unpredictable. It would be quite challenging for a team of ordinary travelers to reach their destination safely.

However, it certainly is the most comfortable route out of all. Leveraging the Witch-powered motorbike’s speed and agility, they could easily find nearby villages or tribes for rest in every territory they visited. Traveling this route, you don’t even need to plan; you can spend every night in the comfort of an inn or a civilian bed without enduring the hardships of camping or constantly being alert to dangers in the wild. This approach turns this expedition from an adventure trip into a comfortable long-distance journey. As for danger, if they encountered a threat that would cause fear in four Legendary Rank adventurers and a Demigod, then there doubtfully would be any existing villages or tribes along the route.

It is evident, no explanation is necessary. No one would question the route planned by Pannis and Catherine. Everyone understands why they have chosen this path and fully supports it.

"Rumble, rumble, rumble", accompanied by distant rumbling noises, two magic-powered motorbikes raced at high speed across the vast Beastmen Prairie. The waist-high grass on both sides hit the passengers on the motorbikes like whip lashes. However, for the Legendary Rank adventurers, these whip lashings were only gentle touches that couldn’t cause any painful sensations due to their robust physical strength.

The drivers currently are Pannis and Freya, with Freya’s motorbike leading the way. Catherine hugs her waist from the back seat. Of course, embracing Freya’s waist is indeed not an easy task, but needless to say, Catherine, the powerful one she is, did it. Although only two of them are seated, Catherine’s heavy equipment and Freya’s weighty body make you feel sorry for the magic-powered motorbike beneath them. Pannis follows close behind Freya, with Vivian curled up in his arms. Lina hugs Pannis’s waist, sitting side saddle style, her silvery hair dancing in the air with the high-speed wind.

Summer has passed, and it’s early autumn once again. Although the sun still blazes hot during the day, the weather gradually cools by evening. Especially in the prairie, day and night seem like two different seasons, which makes it hard for first-time prairie visitors to adapt.

"It’s about time." Catherine turned around and yelled to Pannis, "We should find a place to rest. I just saw traces of pasturing nearby. There should be a nomadic tribe around here. Let’s rest there tonight."

"What did you say?" Pannis yelled back, unable to comprehend her words above the sound of the wind. "The wind is too strong; I can’t hear clearly."

"I said we need to be looking for a place to spend the night," Catherine called out louder. "Look at the sky, if we don’t find a place soon, we’ll have to sleep outside."

"I still didn’t catch that." Pannis continued to shout: "Can you repeat it?"

"I said..." Catherine started to holler, then suddenly paused as if she had realized something. She then glared murderously at Pannis: "You bastard, you’re behind us. The wind is blowing towards you, carrying our voices that way as well. It would be weird if you couldn’t hear us! You remember this, there will be hell to pay once we stop."

"Sister, sock him one." Lina, who loved a good spectacle, popped her head out from behind Pannis, giggling as she called out: "When he said he couldn’t hear, he was shaking so much from trying not to laugh. He’s simply detestable! If he goes a few days without being chased around by your sword, he gets restless. You must give him a proper lesson."

"Yes, hammer him." Having let loose, Vivian was comfortably nestled in Pannis’ arms. She sneakily set up a Windproof Barrier in front of her face, but maliciously didn’t afford Pannis the same luxury. Upon hearing the discord, she immediately began shaking a small clenched fist and shouted: "He’s definitely doing it on purpose. I have a Windproof Barrier in front of me and can hear everything. He doesn’t even have a barrier."

"You actually used a barrier without me." Pannis shouted, unsatisfied. "What happened to being a family, and loving and caring for each other? How can you treat me like this? It’s too cruel."

"This is for your own good, dear." Vivian was in a great mood as she pantomimed a distressed expression. "Only through the trials of intense wind and rain can you truly grow. Alas! You don’t understand me. It really hurts my feelings."

"What a noble person you are!" Pannis rolled his eyes and huffed: "But you’re talking about rock eagles, not humans. Humans who go through intense wind and rain just become sick and don’t physically grow from that. I think you’re mixed up."

"You bunch of idiots!" Catherine roared angrily from her magic-powered motorbike at the front. "Are you done fooling around? If you keep it up, you’ll all be standing out on the prairie tonight in the cold wind."

"Ah, Big Sister is angry." Lina and Vivian giggled, ducking back behind Pannis to pretend nothing had happened. Vivian even managed to shout out a complaint: "It’s all your fault, Pannis! Look, you’ve made Big Sister angry again."

"Hey!" Pannis’s eyes bulged: "Is it really appropriate for you to say that? Weren’t you also having a lot of fun playing?"

"Enough fooling around." Freya suddenly shouted: "I can already feel the warmth of a bonfire, I can already smell the aroma of food, it must be..."

"Just say it if you see a tribe, you idiot!" Not being able to wave her magic staff, Vivian can only regretfully shake her fist. (To be continued. If you like this story, come give us your vote at qidian.com. Your support is a great motivator for us. Mobile users can go to m.qidian.com to read.)