They left Archean Mountain in the morning and arrived at North River Pass in the afternoon.
“North River Pass is up ahead.” Marquis Southcloud pointed ahead.
Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue looked ahead carefully.
A towering, steep city pass appeared in front of them. Unlike other city passes in human history, the city passes for fending off demons were rather special. North River Pass was split into an inner-city pass, and an outer-city pass! The inner-city pass was a circular pass with a diameter of 1.5 kilometers. The city wall was 800 feet tall and about 200 feet thick! It was as majestic as a mountain. It was too difficult for mortals to build something like this. Medium-sized city passes were built by Regis Godfiends personally.
Regis Godfiends had the ability to move mountains. They could move countless boulders and cut them into neat, massive blocks of rock. This was how a city pass was built.
The outer-city pass encircled the inner-city pass. It was 2.5 kilometers in diameter, and the city wall was 300 feet tall.
“That’s the World Entrance.” Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue saw it.
Inside the towering inner-city pass was a World Entrance—roughly a kilometer long and a quarter-kilometer wide! Through the World Entrance, one could see the Demon Realm vaguely.
Liu Qiyue looked down and spoke via voice transmission, “For the next three years, this will be our battlefield.”
“Yes.” Meng Chuan nodded.
Many people lived in North River Pass. Hundreds of thousands of people lived south of North River Pass. Lesser demons capable of flight slipped through the cracks at North River Pass and would pose a threat to the surrounding village forts. Therefore, there weren’t any large forts for dozens of kilometers. The forts were all at North River Pass! Human Godfiends mainly dealt with demon monarchs. They couldn’t deal with all the demons.
To mortals, North River Pass was relatively safe. It was much safer than ordinary forts outside of North River Pass. In order to continue the sustained fight on the battlefield, there was a need for many mortals. There were over 20,000 mortal soldiers stationed here perpetually; 30,000 people were in charge of logistics, and over 5000 craftsmen populated their ranks. There were also personnel that provided medical help, delivered grain, etc.
With a high population, there would naturally be commerce. North River Pass was prosperous.
Whoosh.
The giant fiery-red bird swooped down.
In a brothel’s quiet loft at North River Pass, a handsome red-robed man lay in the arms of a beautiful courtesan. He drank as he took in the scenery outside the window.
Oh? The red-robed man suddenly sat up straight and looked at the giant fiery-red bird from afar.
He immediately saw Marquis Southcloud on the giant fiery-red bird’s back. He also saw five other Godfiends.
Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue are here? The red-robed man smiled and returned back to the courtesan’s arms, continuing to enjoy himself.
In a garden at North River Pass, several plum blossoms had already bloomed.
A woman sat cross-legged with two swords placed on her lap. As she breathed, black and white energy emerged from her nostrils and fused with the two swords on her lap. The two swords also released a sword aura that the woman sucked back into her body.
Huh?
The woman opened her eyes—her gaze was as sharp as swords. As she stared at the giant fiery-red bird that swooped down from the sky, her gaze stopped on Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue. Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue are here? Meng Chuan will fight alongside me in the future. Is he trustworthy?
...
The giant fiery-red bird’s arrival attracted the attention of many Godfiends in North River Pass.
Whoosh. The giant fiery-red bird landed within General Manor.
“Greetings, Uncle-Master.”
A thin man from General Manor came to receive him. His face was somewhat wrinkled, and he looked rather old.
The five Godfiend disciples and Marquis Southcloud jumped off. Marquis Southcloud smiled and said, “Meng Chuan, Liu Qiyue, let me introduce you. This is North River Pass’s Defense General Zhang Yunhu.”
“Greetings, Senior Brother Zhang.” Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue bowed.
Zhang Yunhu was North River Pass’s Defense General! He had been fighting his entire life and had been on many battlefields. Now, he was a general of a medium-sized city pass. It was clear that Archean Mountain trusted him! He had made plenty of contributions and had been conferred the title of earl. Among the original ten Great Solar Godfiends in North River Pass, only Zhang Yunhu had been conferred the title of earl. His strength was also the greatest.
“Haha, I’ve long been waiting for the two of you to come.” Zhang Yunhu looked at Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue, his eyes glowing with a child’s excitement. “I never even imagined having two juniors who have perfected transcendent-grade Godfiend bodies here. By sending you to me, Mountain Lord has made life a lot easier for me.”
“The two of us don’t have any battle experience. We still need your guidance, Senior Brother,” said Meng Chuan.
“Experience comes with time, but there’s no way to cheat strength.” Zhang Yunhu laughed.
“They are here? They are here?” A loud voice rang out. A fat man ran over with a little fatty in his arms. He immediately bowed respectfully to Marquis Southcloud. “Greetings, Uncle-Master.”
Marquis Southcloud nodded slightly.
The fat man’s smile was sincere as he looked at Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue. “My name is Fan Cheng. I’ve been down the mountain for over twenty years. However, I heard that there’s a couple on Archean Mountain that makes one envious when you see them. They have perfected-grade Godfiend bodies. I never expected to fight alongside you. I’m really happy. Oh, this is my son, Fivekilo Fan! He was five kilograms when he was born. He kept clamoring about meeting the new Uncle-Master and Aunt-Master.”
The fat child’s eyes lit up as he looked at Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue curiously.
“Fivekilo Fan. This name is really interesting.” Liu Qiyue waved her hand and summoned some sand and flames. The sand slowly melted in the flames and eventually solidified. It turned into a tiny sculpture of the little fatty. “I didn’t prepare any gifts. Here’s a trinket for you.” She handed the little sculpture to the little fatty.
The little fatty happily received it and immediately thanked her, “Thank you, Aunt-Master.”
Meng Chuan was embarrassed. He didn’t make any preparations, nor was he as capable as Liu Qiyue.
“Alright. Junior Brother Fan, have fun with your son. I still have some business to attend to,” said Zhang Yunhu with a smile.
“Alright. I’ll treat the two of you to a meal in the future. My wife’s cooking is especially delicious.” The fat man smiled as he carried his son away.
“Definitely,” replied Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue.
Fan Cheng was one of the deputy generals at North River Pass!
Those who could be deputy generals at medium-sized city passes were considered experts among Great Solar Godfiends. In the future, they would be Liu Qiyue and Meng Chuan’s comrades.
“Junior Sister Liu, other junior brothers, and sisters. Have some rest first,” said Zhang Yunhu with a smile. “Junior Brother Meng and I have some business to discuss with Uncle-Master.”
“Okay.” Liu Qiyue and the others nodded. Under the warm reception of the housekeeper, they went elsewhere to rest.
Meng Chuan was somewhat puzzled as he followed Zhang Yunhu and Marquis Southcloud to a nearby hall.
The three of them sat down. Marquis Southcloud said, “Meng Chuan, other than being a deputy general at North River Pass, you have another duty.”
“Another duty?” Meng Chuan was puzzled.
“Yes.” Marquis Southcloud nodded and took out a white square token. He casually tossed it at him, and the white jade token floated to Meng Chuan’s side. After receiving it, he saw that the front of the token had the word “Patrol,” while the back had a rather complicated map. It was a map of 18 surrounding prefectures within 500 kilometers of North River pass.
Marquis Southcloud said, “You are much faster than Marquis Godfiends. Your speed can match a Regis Godfiend’s! Therefore, you are to be a Patroller. With North River Pass at the center, you will patrol these 18 prefectures! If there are any pleas for help within the 18 prefectures, your token will alert you. You must head there as fast as possible and rescue them.
“Usually, it would already be too late when Marquis Godfiends rush over to cities that are being attacked or city passes that are being breached. You are much faster than Marquis Godfiends. You can reinforce these prefectures much faster than us. We would take an hour to reach these prefectures, but you would only take ten minutes. The faster you are, the less damage the demons can cause. You can save more lives and even turn the tables.”
“I understand.” Meng Chuan took the token and thought of Eastcalm Prefecture.
Back when Eastcalm Prefecture was invaded by demons, there would’ve been fewer deaths if powerful Godfiends could arrive quickly. However, there were just too few Marquis and Regis Godfiends. They needed to guard important areas, and couldn’t leave without reason. Only two or three Regis Godfiends roamed the world freely. There was no way for them to help the vast Great Zhou Dynasty.
“Your strength is enough to resolve an ordinary demon invasion. You can play a huge role in any battle that doesn’t require Marquis or Regis Godfiends,” said Marquis Southcloud. “You will receive 100,000 credits every year as a Patroller. If you succeed in protecting various areas, you will also be rewarded.”