Chapter 143: The Seven Northern Kingdoms

"This... damn it!"

Looking at the people wearing only cloth robes that could cover their bodies but provided no warmth, their faces confused and numb.

Having reached this conclusion, Iron-Nose was both shocked and angry.

If His Majesty the King were to see his compatriots living in such a state, he would undoubtedly execute the leaders in charge of this region and then whip their corpses repeatedly.

"This..."

Many of the field army soldiers behind Iron-Nose had experienced similar hardships in their childhoods, but ever since joining the Cube Kingdom, they had left those precarious and painful days far behind, and the memories of the past had gradually faded... Now, seeing this eye-piercing scene before them, they were reminded once again of those dark times. Their hearts naturally filled with incomparable sorrow, and they finally understood.

"Not all kingdoms are as wonderful as our homeland. How wonderful it is to live in the motherland!"

Pulling out a piece of roasted beef and a bottle of milk in a glass container from his pocket, Iron-Nose dismounted, stepped into the crowd, and handed these two items to the young girl kneeling at the doorway.

The roasted beef was for the girl to eat, and the milk was for the baby in her arms.

This was not out of Iron-Nose's personal mercy; it was simply the norm for most Cube people in this era.

Cube people would never hesitate to offer the utmost help and care they could afford to their compatriots whenever they had enough food and clothing, even if they were complete strangers to one another.

It was precisely because of this reason that those drifting in foreign lands were able to survive.

"Eat it. It's good for you and your younger sister."

The girl looked up at Iron-Nose, who was fully clad in iron armor, with tear stains at the corners of her eyes.

"Thank you... You are not like them..."

"Them?"

The attentive Iron-Nose caught yet another piece of useful information.

Deeply touched by the sight, the field army soldiers behind him also pulled out their own food and handed it to the people building houses outside the city walls.

"Why are you building your homes here? Even if you can't enter the city to live, you could move to other villages..."

Through communication and dialogue with these villagers, Iron-Nose learned that for some unknown reason, the city refused to accept them, leaving these people outside the city walls with no way to get in.

Yet he still didn't understand why, if they couldn't enter, they were just wasting away here. Couldn't they go look for another habitat?

Hearing this, the villagers who were chewing on the food obtained from the field army all fell silent, their eyes revealing anger and sorrow.

"We cannot leave... nor are we allowed to leave..."

Before one of them could finish speaking, the long-closed city gates opened, and several figures walked out. They wore strange garments that Iron-Nose had never seen before; they must have been crafted from a completely different synthesis recipe unknown to the Cube Kingdom.

Their appearance interrupted the conversation between Iron-Nose and the crowd.

Seeing these people walking toward them, the crowd that had gathered around the field army instantly dispersed.

"I am the captain of the city guards of the Water River Kingdom. May I ask who you are?"

The leader was a middle-aged villager. The field army's act of distributing supplies outside the city had already alarmed them. Seeing that all eleven individuals were combat professionals, the middle-aged guard captain spoke very politely.

"Hello, we come from the far south, carrying the will of our king to greet your king."

Witnessing the scene from moments before, Iron-Nose was in a terrible mood. To abandon the people outside the city to fend for themselves—this was undoubtedly the mark of a foolish and selfish ruler, and his favorable impression of this so-called Water River Kingdom plummeted to rock bottom.

He skipped any excessive rhetoric or embellishments, stating directly where they came from: they were an envoy group from a kingdom, bearing the will of their king to pay a visit.

"An envoy group from the south?"

The middle-aged guard captain was utterly astonished. Wasn't the south nothing but endless black mountain ranges? How could anyone possibly cross them?

No one answered his question, but out of respect, he still invited the field army soldiers into the city.

"Clack!"

The heavy gates swung wide open, and the interior scene was revealed to the soldiers.

Not bad, though still somewhat inferior to the cities of the Cube Kingdom.

Residents could be seen walking about within the city, and their complexions looked fairly good.

Through his observations of the surrounding architecture and the Cube people, Iron-Nose gave an objective evaluation.

Yet, remembering the residents outside who endured the bitter cold and misery inside their dirt hovels, Iron-Nose felt a sudden surge of disgust toward this city.

"With so much space available, why segregate your compatriots?"

He noticed that these wooden houses didn't even have many people living in them; why not spare some room for the compatriots outside? Were they not human beings?

Having been nurtured by Mo Fangyuan's value concept of "all Cube people are born equal" for three years, Iron-Nose had long since believed this statement with unwavering faith.

"Please wait a moment. I will go and inform His Majesty the King."

With the seven nations in close contact for a long time, diplomacy had naturally developed to facilitate communication between them.

Perhaps because Iron-Nose and his companions were all combat professionals, the middle-aged guard captain chose to trust them.

Led into a classical-style wooden building, the guard captain went to notify the rulers of this place.

Sitting in a wooden chair, Iron-Nose held his breath and replayed in his mind what the person outside had said to him earlier.

"Not allowed to leave?"

He believed there was definitely a story behind this.

"Greetings, friends from afar!"

The Water River Kingdom operated with fair efficiency; the guard captain had not been gone long before he returned with three people.

The tall figure in the lead greeted them with a smile.

"My name is Wang De, and I am in charge of diplomacy for the Water River Kingdom. You may consult me regarding any matters..."

With that, he extended his right hand and swept it downward in a peculiar gesture. Iron-Nose assumed this must be their local etiquette, so he imitated the motion and made a similar bow.

"Then, friends from afar, where do you hail from?"

Because of Iron-Nose's returning gesture, the diplomat had already confirmed that they indeed came from a civilized kingdom, as only a civilized kingdom possessed the manners and awareness to respect others.

"Respected Excellency the Diplomat, we come from the Cube Kingdom in the south. Hearing that there were other Cube kingdoms in the distant north, we have traveled thousands of miles across mountains and rivers to bring our friendship here."

Having spent a long time interacting with Mo Fangyuan, Iron-Nose had also honed solid verbal communication skills.

Faced with the inquiries of the diplomat before him, he handled the situation with ease.

"Diplomat? Does that refer to me?"

The diplomat smiled and replied to Iron-Nose.

"The Water River Kingdom welcomes all Cube compatriots to visit..."

"Welcome? Hmph! Then what is going on with those compatriots outside the city?!"

Iron-Nose cursed inwardly.

"May I ask how many compatriot nations there are in your dominion?"

Iron-Nose asked the question he most wanted answered.

"Seven."

"Seven?"

"That's right, my friend, there are seven fraternal nations here that help one another."