Chapter 176
After leaving the Moon Guardian Duchy, Charlotte increased her pace.
The Castel caravan did not stop in the two Earldoms but headed northward. After traveling for about ten more days, they finally entered the northern part of the New Moon Kingdom and came to the Violet Duchy, which bordered Count Castel’s Domain.
As they entered the Violet Duchy, the surrounding terrain changed visibly; the vast plains disappeared, replaced with rolling hills and endless forests.
Under the azure sky, rivers like ribbons of silver wound through the hills and low mountains, flowing quietly and glistening with sparkling light in the sunlight, reflecting the white clouds above.
Every so often, carefree deer and wild rabbits could be seen leaping from between the trees, playing and drinking by the streams, with large clusters of wildflowers dotted among the bushes, attracting colorful butterflies fluttering in competition.
It was hard for Charlotte not to be drawn to such picturesque beauty, and such beautiful scenery was everywhere in the Violet Duchy.
However, in contrast to these idyllic scenes was the stark realization that the number of villages and towns here had become noticeably fewer, with some areas even considered sparsely populated.
At times, one could also see signs of battlefields that had aged many years.
Decrepit and moss-covered war chariots, barely discernible skeletons, and fragments of rust-covered armor or weapons…
“The Violet Duchy was once one of the main battlefields of the Star Moon War. These traces of battle are from the second Star Moon War, which happened over a decade ago,” Sebastian explained upon noticing Charlotte’s curious gaze.
Charlotte nodded slightly.
She had read about the Star Moon War when she was in Bold; the decades-long conflict had nearly halved the population of the entire northern New Moon Kingdom, especially in the main battlefield, the Violet Duchy.
Only Count Castel’s Domain escaped devastation, guarded by the Kingdom’s heavy forces.
At such times, the importance of the Secret Silver Mine became apparent. To prevent losing this extremely strategic resource to the Falling Star Kingdom, the New Moon Royal Family had spared no expense, stationing a legion directly on the border between the Falling Star Kingdom’s enclave on the continent, the Romany Duchy, and Castel.
After decades of war, almost the entire north had been devastated, but Count Castel’s Domain to the north flourished increasingly, thanks in no small part to this.
Without the destruction of war, absorbing a large number of refugees from the Kingdom’s north, and situated at a crossroads of various powers and main trade routes, not to mention their own mines, it would be astonishing if Castel didn’t thrive under such Heavenly Chosen conditions.
By contrast, the Violet Duchy, which was at the center of the conflict, faced a bleaker fate.
The rare traces of human activity amidst the enchanting scenery were certainly captivating, but this beauty also represented poverty and backwardness.
War is never grand and passionate, but cruel and filled with tragedy.
Along the way, Charlotte could even see ruins of villages where bones were not uncommon––obvious remnants of battles long past.
To Charlotte’s surprise, although the Violet Duchy could be described as strewn with bones, she felt almost no presence of the Undead.
After all, battlefields are often the birthplaces of the Undead.
Priests find it difficult to perform Holy Prayers for so many casualties in time to help their wandering souls return to the Divine Country; therefore, residual spirits often wander the battlefields.
Yet throughout her journey, Charlotte had not seen a single Undead.
Even at night, all they could hear were the roars of demon beasts.
“Undead? Perhaps they’ve been hunted down by mercenaries? The Violet Duchy has extensive forests, a veritable paradise for demon beasts, and it teems with mercenaries—and, of course, plenty of bandits,” Sebastian speculated.
To ordinary people, demon beasts were to be feared, but to the Transcendents, they were walking treasures.
The vast forests of the Violet, a haven for both demon beasts and mercenaries.
The Violet Duchy, the Eastern Yonette Black Land, the Snake Spine Mountain Range…
These three places were where the freelance mercenaries of Mireya were most active.
However, Charlotte was not completely satisfied with Sebastian’s answer.
As a member of the Bloodline who commanded dead spirit magic, she knew a fair amount about the Undead.
The Undead are special spiritual entities, good at hiding, and they retain some of the wisdom from their lifetimes. Such beings are not easily vanquished by just anyone; even mercenaries couldn’t manage to eradicate them so thoroughly.
Furthermore, upon entering the Violet Duchy, Charlotte distinctly felt that the concentration of magic power in the air was higher than in other regions.
The Duchy’s abundance of demon beasts was probably also related to this high-magic environment, which certainly makes the birth of Undead more likely.
Especially since the magic in the Violet was conspicuously chaotic and mixed, making it an even more favorable environment for the Undead.
Charlotte did not believe that mercenaries could so easily cleanse the land of wandering Undead.
Unless… an organization like the Holy Royal Court, a Church Power, intervened, periodically “purifying” the entire Violet from end to end.
But Charlotte did not think the Holy Royal Court would have such spare time.
Despite her doubts, Charlotte merely buried them within her heart.
She was just passing through the Violet.
Strange as it was, and although she was curious, she was not about to stay behind to conduct her study and investigation.