When the first grove of trees came into view, Luo Jia slowed down.

It was her first time setting foot on the Northern Lands – a land of plenty that she had heard so much about: evergreen forests, endless streams; green grass that could cover entire plains, and when you reached into the earth, you could feel its dampness and softness. The rivers were full of fish and crabs, and there was no need to worry about lurking sand worms swallowing the legs of those drawing water. In short, like the Southernmost Territory she once knew, it was full of greenery and life.

But she didn't feel that way.

Perhaps it was because the Evil Moon was not yet over. The tree trunks only had lonely branches, and the ground was covered with withered yellow grass. In terms of greenery, it was not even as good as the Great Oasis occupied by Iron Sand City. The only change she felt was that the yellow sand on the ground had gradually turned dark brown.

Luo Jia looked around and found a wind-sheltered place. She shrank from a giant wolf to a normal size, then put on her clothes, smelled the lingering scent in the air, and continued toward the caravan.

She had been doing this for days, running wildly in wolf form after sunset. As long as she headed roughly north, sand worms and ironclad scorpions were her alternative foods. Sometimes, she even attracted a pack of desert wolves to follow her. During the day, she followed the Silver Stream Trade Route, and she could replenish her water bag by running into traveling merchants.

Of course, the journey was not without "accidents."

As the Third Princess of Blazing Flames, Luo Jia was always generous, and the bag of gold dragons in her luggage naturally attracted the attention of others. Plus, the tall, erect ears on her head were very sensitive, so she would always know about the merchants' malicious plans in advance. At first, she would make those vicious people pay a painful price, but later she simply followed the caravan from a distance, using scent to determine their location.

Half a day later, Luo Jia finally heard the sound of the sea.

This northern harbor town had no thick city walls, and she could see everything from the high slope. Tents stood along the river, and near the sea, there was a hubbub of voices. Many people were busy repairing square flat buildings, which looked very lively. What surprised her was that only a small part of these people were sand people, and most of them were from the Northern Lands.

Entering the territory of Azure Water Port, she quickly found the camp where the First Army was stationed.

After reporting her identity to the guards, Luo Jia soon saw the black-haired woman who made her heart beat faster.

Ashes.

Before she could think of what to say first, the other party had already spoken, "I knew you would come." Her tone was calm, and there was no sense of unfamiliarity in her golden eyes, as if they had just separated yesterday.

Luo Jia's ears couldn't help but twitch, "Why?"

"Because you are a lot like I used to be," Ashes slightly raised the corners of her mouth, "with a goal in your heart that you want to pursue."

"Is it battle?" Her eyes lit up.

"No… it's revenge," the Extraordinary Witch shook her head and turned to say, "Come with me, Echo will be very happy to see you."

Revenge? Luo Jia was stunned before realizing that she said they were similar only because they both had goals, but their goals were different. She followed the other party's pace, "Revenge on whom?"

"The Hermes Church," Ashes shrugged, "At first, it was just to vent my hatred, but over time it became a habit. It wasn't until I met Princess Tilly that I realized there were more important things in this world than killing them all."

Princess Tilly… The wolf girl noticed that when the other party mentioned this name, there was a rare hint of gentleness in her voice. Is this the person who changed Great Mountain? She knew that once someone like Ashes set a goal, it was difficult to be swayed by the outside world. Someone who could have such an influence on her must also be an extraordinary person.

She secretly remembered this name.

Passing by a flat building under construction, Luo Jia asked Ashes about another doubt in her heart, "I heard that since the Azure Water Queen left this place, Azure Water Port has been burned to ruins. These people shouldn't be local refugees, right? Why do they seem to have more sand people migrating here?"

"Of course not, they are all from Neverwinter City."

"Neverwinter City… Are you

saying, the territory of Roland Wimbledon, the King of Graycastle?" Luo Jia said in disbelief, "He sent his own people to repair houses for the Mojin people?"

"There is no need to send them, these people are all volunteers, because the salary for working here is five to ten silver wolves more. I heard from the workers that the Construction Department has just issued a message, and the people who signed up have filled the City Hall."

Construction Department? City Hall? The wolf girl shook her tail blankly, "Then… what about the sand people?"

She remembered that the first few small tribes that migrated added up to two or three thousand people. The Great Chieftain would not rather dispatch people from thousands of miles away than drive the sand people to work, right? If he really did that, she would have to doubt his motives.

"Most of them have gone to Endless Cape, His Majesty wants to build a new city there." Ashes answered quickly, "The Aosha tribe is no exception – only the tribes that participate in this construction task can live in the new residence and receive the same food supply as the Neverwinter City subjects."

Building a city on that barren land with no oasis and no people? If she didn't know that someone as proud as Ashes would never lie, she would never believe it was true.

What on earth is the King of Graycastle thinking?

"Then… what about the people who can't go?"

"If it's because of physical reasons, they can stay and help the construction team build Azure Water Port, and their treatment is exactly the same. In other words, as long as you are willing to work, you don't have to worry about going hungry." Ashes seemed to sigh at this point, "Princess Tilly once said that the world she envisions is one where you get what you put in, and people don't win everything by force, but accumulate wealth with their own hands. It sounds incredible, but I didn't expect her unreliable brother to actually do it."

Luo Jia automatically ignored the last sentence, "But… why did the Great Chieftain want to build a city in Endless Cape? There's nothing there…"

"There's Blackwater," Ashes spread her hands, "His Majesty wants to collect them in large quantities."

", For this reason?" The wolf girl froze in place, "He did so many things, just for Blackwater? He could just buy them from Iron Sand City like the Azure Water Queen!"

She didn't believe in unprovoked kindness. What most superiors seek is nothing more than money and land, but this series of actions completely goes against both – not only did he give the land to the sand people, but then he reclaimed the desert and sent troops to garrison it. It looked like a big project that cost a lot of money. This expense alone could buy hundreds of barrels of Blackwater.

If that was his real purpose, the King of Graycastle's style of doing things was a bit too bizarre. She couldn't help but worry about her father's decision.

She thought Ashes would refute or explain, but the other party just raised her eyebrows, "Yeah… God knows what he's thinking."

"Huh?"

"There aren't many people in Neverwinter City who can understand his absurd theories. Andrea might be able to say one or two things, after all, she's an aristocrat who breathes through the same nostril. Others probably can't tell you the answer," she said indifferently, "But who cares? I'm not here for him, as long as Tilly thinks it's right." After saying that, she stopped, "We're here."