"Lord of the Mountains?"

Thales was stunned: "How come I haven't heard of it at all?"

“Because this god has no human spokesperson, it has neither a temple nor a church,” Putilai explained with a chuckle: “There are even very few credible records of the apparitions. It only exists through word of mouth among the people.

In stories and legends. For travelers on the mountainous land, worshiping the Lord of the Mountains means more of safety and peace of mind when traveling far away. The gifts of the mountains are more like a passing ceremony, helping

A way for travelers to overcome the cold."

"Word of mouth?"

"In the era of the ancient empire, the Lord of the Mountains was once the common belief of all mankind. Not only us northerners, but also you, the Ludor people who established the empire in the center of the world, as well as those from the southwest thorn land and the dragon's kiss land.

The Kelunsa people, the barren people in the great desert, the 'robber' Nieda people in the Near East, the Githori people grazing on the eastern grasslands, the dark-skinned red earth people in the extreme south, the Kasai people who roam the islands, in addition to the Far East

Humans, almost all human beings know and acknowledge the existence of the Lord of the Mountains," the old man Kaslan himself took a sip of ale and sighed behind the bar:

"But now, even in the North, this simple belief can be seen except in the countryside with simple folk customs... The name of the Lord of the Mountains has disappeared - just like countless precious Northland traditions - what remains

There are only major temples wrapped in power and money."

"Ludoers and Northlanders?" Thales lowered his head curiously and gnawed on the next piece of bread: "I remember the title of the Supreme King of the Stars..."

"Yes, we all know," Viscount Cambida, the counselor of the Grand Duke of Lombard, said with a sarcastic smile: "'The common master of the Dor people and the Northlanders on the Western Continent'. But I sincerely suggest that you, in Egypt,

Buster, you can omit the second half - the Northlanders have never recognized your right to rule us."

"As far as I know," Putilai retorted sharply: "Two-thirds of the Northland province in the ancient empire was in Exeter, and the remaining one-third was in the North of the Stars.

——Those Star People also called themselves Northlanders and recognized the High King's rule over them."

"That's the problem," Viscount Cambida thoughtfully knocked on the bar: "The Northland only belongs to the Northlanders, why should it belong to the stars, why should it belong to the rule of a Ludorian king?

"

Thales suddenly understood that "Northland" refers to the Northland province during the ancient empire thousands of years ago. It is a regional concept, and "Northlanders" are people who existed before the establishment of the empire and lived in this land.

As for the human race in the world, "Exter" was a country established only after the End War, and its weight was far inferior to that of "Northland", let alone "Northlanders".

Just like Xingchen is a country that only existed after the End War, in fact, the humans living in the land of Xingchen were called "Ludor people" thousands of years ago, and they seemed to be from the ancient empire.

The main ethnic group.

Today, the Northlanders and Ludor people have long lived together in the Black Sand Territory of Exeter and the northern border of the stars.

Thales lowered his head and inadvertently saw the wheat dregs settling in the wine glass. He suddenly remembered the Sunset Bar in the underground street of XC District of Yongxing City, the carefree female bartender Yara, the vicious fat cook Edmund, and the

The bar owner who appeared once or twice.

"Why? Because of history," Putilai said calmly: "To this day, whether it is the Black Sand Territory or the Northern Territory, the Ludor people and the Northerners have lived together for many years, and they have long been indistinguishable from each other."

"Huh, that's the land and people you snatched from the North," Cambida retorted: "For example, the Cold Castle four hundred years ago, or the Lonely Old Tower two hundred years ago - your northern border is

Our southern land!."

The owner of the tavern, Kaslan, listened to the dispute between Cambida and Putilai and couldn't help but burst out laughing in a way that others didn't understand.

Thales was shocked: So this is what the Exters thought?

He recalled that when he first entered the Lumba military camp, the attitude and behavior of the sergeants towards them became immediately clear.

Star wants to defend its northern territory, but Exeter wants to regain the territory belonging to the Northlanders.

It's really ironic that the two sides are fighting for their own justice.

These are sounds he can't hear in the country of stars.

"If you really want to say that 'the North belongs only to the people of the North'," Putilai said here, he chuckled: "The Arlend family in the northern border of the stars once managed the entire Northland province for the emperor.

Where is the royal family of dukes that has lasted for thousands of years..."

"Hmph, the Star People are so vainly proud," Viscount Cambida snorted coldly: "In the end, you still want to go back to the ancient empire that perished for a long time, right? Are you still missing the supreme power and authority of the Pegasus Throne?

Glory, miss those emperors who made the whole world tremble with a wave of their sleeves, miss the era when you could spread the map of the national border from one end of the room to the other?"

"The empire is the most precious heritage, the most glorious page, and the most powerful existence in human history. There is no doubt about it." Putilai replied coldly: "Even if it no longer exists, its glory has been passed down to this day.

It never fades.”

"Ha! I almost forgot!" Cambida raised his hands and laughed sarcastically at Thales: "'If the stars are there, the empire will last forever', right? Your Highness?"

Thales shrugged and smiled at him.

"Don't make fun of the royal family," Putilai said coldly: "His bloodline once stood on top of the world and witnessed the rise and fall of mankind."

"Bloodline?" Cambida snorted with a thick nasal voice.

"The people of the North do not believe in blood. A hero who can carry the country and the people will naturally be the king." The next moment, His Excellency Viscount Exeter narrowed his eyes and said seriously: "And you listen carefully, Your Highness, where do you come from?"

The empire under the rule of the so-called imperial family has left the world only a chaotic nightmare!"

"Uh, thank you for the reminder," Thales scratched his hair in embarrassment and laughed twice: "It's really a novel point of view."

"Novelty?" Cambida stared at him and said calmly: "Have you heard the story of Queso Lombard? Your Highness?"

"Queso Lombard? The ancestor of the Lombard family? The rebel king?" Thales replied enthusiastically.

"You don't need to ask from a subordinate of a local grand duke..." Putilai was about to speak, but found Thales raising his hand with interest to stop him.

"Please continue talking, His Excellency Viscount Cambida," Thales said with a smile, "I am interested in all knowledge."

Both Putilai and Cambida glanced at Thales in surprise.

"Do you know the Grand Duke Trudida who rebuilt the Tower? One of the ten Grand Dukes of Exeter," Cambida pondered for a while, then said silently: "The Rebuilding Tower is adjacent to your Lonely Old Tower and is connected by the Northland.

It is ruled by the Trudida family, a famous knight family in history, and their family emblem is a radiant sword blade."

"I don't know much about it. Sorry, I'm only seven years old," Thales shook his head awkwardly: "But I'm happy to listen to your explanation - what happened to the Trudida family? What does it have to do with Queso Lombard?"

"It has nothing to do with the Trudida family, but their territory, the Reconstruction Tower and its surroundings," Cambida sighed: "It is the far east of the North, and it is also one of the entrances to the Sighing Mountains. Before the continental fission,

In the ancient empire era, the Reconstruction Tower was once synonymous with barbarism and chaos - do you know how the Reconstruction Tower got its name?"

Thales shook his head cooperatively.

"It used to be a prison and execution ground in the ancient empire. Everyone who goes there needs to be 'reconstructed'," Cambida shook his head and said: "The Reconstructed Tower... It's a pity that most of the prisoners inside didn't make it out alive.

Rebuild their lives.”

Thales nodded thoughtfully.

"And in the ancient empire, a famous man, Queso Lombard, was imprisoned there."

Thales frowned slightly.

Queso Lombard.

He knows this person.

At least this is what Gilbert told him in the world history he made up for - Queso Lombard, the "Rebellion King" of the North.

The man who kicked off the first civil strife in the ancient empire.

But in the book, he was a green forest bandit who roamed the Great Needle Forest in the North. He accidentally killed an official official of the empire during a robbery, so he was captured by Imperial Sona. His accomplices attacked the execution ground and rescued him.

Desperate, Queso knew that he could not escape the pursuit of the empire forever, so he simply did not stop, and took advantage of the dissatisfaction of the Northlanders with Duke Arend's harsh rule, spreading rumors to divide the Northland, setting off a storm of chaos in the Northland, and completely embarked on a rebellion

Following the path of the empire, his rebellion was eventually easily extinguished by the empire's legion on the side of Gu Lao Peak.

But the first civil strife in the empire started from this and became more and more intense.

But today, Cambida told him a completely different story.

Cambida said calmly: "It is said that the Lomba family is the descendant of Tamu, the ancestor of the north in the savage era before the orcs invaded."

"More than 1,500 years ago, Queso Lombard was just an ordinary lumberjack in the Northland Province of the ancient empire. However, he was highly skilled, generous and righteous, helping the poor and the weak. He was very famous in the local area, even in the Northland Province.

All the Dukes and Arends know such a person."

"It was the so-called most glorious era of the empire - the elves compromised with the empire, the dwarves became craftsmen, and after the orcs escaped from the glacier, the dragons disappeared, leaving only the Far East unconquered."

"So, when the empire's campaign to attack the Far East was in full swing, Quesso was drafted into the army. With the supreme honor and pride of fighting for the empire in mind, he happily went to the battlefield. Quesso was brave and capable of fighting, and because he was

The prestige in the hearts of the people of the North rose all the way until the empire made him the count of the empire and appointed him the general of the North Army."

Thales was shocked.

This story is completely different from the one he remembered.

"With the efforts of Queso and other legions, the Far Easterners retreated steadily and were trapped in the isolated city. Only the Qilin Holy City, which was depleted of troops and food, lifeless and about to fall, was about to fall. The empire's feat of unifying the world was about to be realized.

"

"As a result, the emperor, who was immersed in supreme hegemony, became more and more excessive in his desires. His demands seemed to be endless. The recruitment of labor never stopped. Taxes and fees were increasing day by day. The Northland Province was the best source of troops.

, is the first to bear the brunt.”

"The people of the North could no longer bear it. They began to resist taxes, began to escape from service, drove away the emperor's tax collectors, and began to face the authority of the empire with anger and abuse instead of enthusiasm and obedience."

"So the Duke of Arlend, the emperor's servant, could no longer collect enough taxes, could not collect enough labor, and even had repeated tax resistance incidents: even the army of the Arlend family was often disgraced."

"The servants of the empire came up with a way: find the most famous man in the North—Quiso, the commander of the North Army who is returning home to recuperate during the legion's rotation, and let him convince his hometown people."

Kaslan sighed and Putilai remained silent.
To be continued...