Izumo Province is one of the many small countries located in the western part of the country, and because it is a region connected to the land of Rakuchi and the land of Hanji, the people who live here are very different from the eastern part of the country. This difference is not only in the customs and customs, but also in the shape and appearance.

But Izumo is an outlier among these small countries. The appearance of the Izumo people is closer to that of the people of Tohan, and it is said that it was originally a kingdom that was gradually established after the defeat of one of the Tohan dynasties, who fled the fertile Tohan and moved westward to the west.

Because of its proximity to the South China Sea, the mountain range on the coastline stretches for tens of thousands of miles, and there is a towering mountain on the boundary of Izumo's location, which is called Izumo Kinzan by the locals.

Therefore, the kingdom established at the foot of the mountain was named Izumo Province. It is said that this mountain is rich in a variety of extremely valuable minerals, which are excellent materials for making blades.

Those who fled Donghan chose to settle here. And opened a kiln to cast swords, and established a country of swordsmen and a country of sword casting that would be famous far and wide in the future.

Ronan carried the heavy sword on his back, looked back at his master, and waved goodbye with a reluctant face. He is about to embark on the journey of the sword, all the way east to the once prosperous Donghan Empire.

Master told himself that the eastern part of Handi is the place of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Although Izumo also has top swordsmen, no one will accept the challenge of a fledgling hairy boy like Ronan because of his reputation.

But Donghan is different, it is said that the martial arts over there are extremely open, and a duel between the strong can happen at any time. And there are strong people there, and in terms of numbers, they are not comparable to a small country like Izumo.

If you go there, you will have more opportunities to fight with real powerhouses, so that your kendo will go against the current and continue to climb towards the realm of following the high.

Looking at Ronan, who was about to leave, his teacher's old face was also full of worry. However, he understands that the young eagle must fly alone in order to become an eagle with wings spread.

And his body is getting worse day by day, and being able to watch Ronan embark on this path with his own eyes is also a matter of one thing in his heart.

"Go back and see, your father has not set foot in his homeland since his death. You are his son, how can you return to your homeland in this life, don't wander in this foreign land anymore. ”

Ronan nodded slightly, and then bowed to show the master's teaching over the years. Then he resolutely turned his head and left the place he had not left since he was born.

Although Donghan is his father's homeland, this is his homeland for him. But there is nothing worth his nostalgia here, since the senior sister left, he has only one goal.

"Lianyi, you can take a good look at that world. I will definitely become the best in the world, so as to prove that you who can easily defeat me are the real number one swordsman in the world. Ronan muttered silently in his heart, and his eyes were even more determined.

Looking at Ronan who was leaving, his teacher calmed down after coughing a few times, closed his eyes slightly and said, "Luo Ning, Xuantie is about to return to his homeland, and Ronan will definitely take back the name of the Eight Swords again." I know you don't care about that, but you value the Darkiron so much, you need to get back what belongs to it for the sake of the Darkiron. ”

From Izumo, head east to enter the kingdom of Esther. In fact, strictly speaking, this place does not belong to the Donghan Empire, counting back a few decades, this is still a small country among the many countries in this area. However, during the founding of the Kingdom of Esther, it was annexed to the territory of the kingdom.

Bordering Izumo is the W area of the Esther Kingdom, perhaps because of the fear of trouble, or simply for memorization. The Kingdom of Esther named the various administrations in its country after the mother characters in the Cilo aristocratic script.

After passing through Zone W, further east is Zone R. These administrative districts near the border, although nominally part of the kingdom. However, they are actually the territories of each family in Luodi, and the governance of each territory is completely determined by the lord who is stationed here by the family.

In the former Dahan Empire, it was the existence of a vassal state.

When he passed through Area W, Ronan saw what it meant to be in dire straits. From the beginning of righteous indignation to the current gradual numbness, the most admonition he heard when he grew up was that he must not be disrespectful to the nobles.

On the two continents of Lohan, the only thing that cannot be provoked is the nobility. Although there are no nobles in Izumo, and even in the other countries there are very few nobles, but these small countries still adhere to such a code. Because as the most powerful of the Salant Empire that rules two continents today. These small states, who survived in the cracks, had long been loyal to the empire and had become loyal vassals of the empire.

Therefore, the supremacy of the nobility is also practiced here.

At the same time, he also understood that if he couldn't help but make a move on those nobles, not to mention whether he had the ability or not, it would make it more difficult for the local common people to live.

These areas were given to various noble families, and the nobles in them only maximized the benefits of this fief. Although the locals worked a little harder for the nobles. But for valuable tools, the nobles will also be rewarded with some barely subsistence payments.

But if there is a voice of resistance, no one will doubt that those nobles will not hesitate to suppress it by force. Even to directly clean up most of the people, and then move some commoners from other places, it doesn't matter to the nobles.

So along the way, although the people living here are very different from Izumo country, Ronan can only choose to accept this.

However, the oppression of the nobility could not be resisted, and the bullying from the same clan could not be ignored.

Because the nobles here only cared about the benefits they could get, and they didn't think about how to govern this territory at all. So along the way, Ronan found that the most common thing about Zone W and Zone R is that there are almost no rules here.

Aside from the supremacy of the nobility, it is a land of lawlessness. The law of the jungle, where is it like a civilized human society?

It's a throwback to the ancient barbaric era.

Because these two regions were once neighboring countries in Izumo, there are many references to these neighboring countries in Izumo's books.

Ronan has also read these books, which tell that this place used to be full of birds and flowers, abundant materials, and people would find time to sing and dance no matter how busy they were.

But what I saw and heard along the way, there was a bit of resemblance to the book, desolate and barren, and I didn't want to be like a country near the coast.

Except for the fertile land owned by the nobles, which was specially cultivated by others, most of the remaining fields were abandoned because there were not enough strong laborers. The fields that were left for the common people were not only uncultivated, but the grain produced was also of extremely poor quality and extremely low yield.

Most of the strong laborers basically work in the mines. The mountains near the sea are of the same origin as the mountains of Izumo, and they are also home to a large number of mineral deposits. These iron ores are the materials that those nobles urgently need.

Of course, a small amount of gold was also one of the reasons why the nobles were eager to gather strong men.

Shashi Town, Area R, is full of wind and sand.

In this kind of weather in the town, every household has already closed the doors and windows, and after the wooden planks seal the windows, they have to paste another layer of linoleum cloth, or the sand and gravel will be scraped into the house along the cracks.

"Bell"

The knock on the door was hard, but the sound was muffled by the howling wind. But the shopkeeper's ears were obviously very good, and he still heard the knock on the door in the midst of this whistling.

It took a lot of effort for the young man to remove the sealed door panel, and when he opened it, he welcomed a traveler who had arrived. He watched as the traveler took off his linoleum hat and his dusty cloak.

"Izumo people?" the guy asked, looking at each other's faces and dress.

Unlike most of the countries of the Western Regions, where they wear beards, the people of Izumo always wear their hair neatly and tie it back to form a ponytail-like shape.

And their appearance is also different from the well-defined people of the Western Regions, and is closer to the appearance of Donghan, so they are still very recognizable in the west.

Ronan shook the dust off his body, nodded and said, "That's right, from Izumo." Help me boil a pot of wine and serve a plate of meat and dry food. ”

"Okay!" shouted the guy to the back kitchen, "Cook the pot of wine!"

Then beckoned Ronan to sit down in the corner seat, and then went about other things. Ronan looked at the tavern, there were quite a few people here, and nearly fifty tables were almost full at this time.

This was very different from the scene he had seen along the way, and it was usually difficult to see a few middle-aged men in small villages and towns, no matter how big or small.

But at this time, almost all of them are men in the prime of life, and a few are also men who are slightly older. Most men have a similarity, that is, their faces are fierce and fierce.

It's not good stubble. It was the first thought that came to Ronan's mind, but this kind of scene didn't matter to him. Wasn't the purpose of his eastward journey to sharpen his kendo?

If he could meet a few swordsmanship masters before he arrived in Donghan, that would be what he was happy to see. It's just that everyone present at this time didn't make him interested.

Although almost all of them had blades pinned to their waists, Ronan could still clearly feel that none of them were so-called masters and powerhouses at this time.

At this time, the man came over with meat and wine, and Ronan asked, "Man, I want to ask you something." Along the way, I rarely saw a few men in either the W or R sections. Why is it ...... here?"

Before Ronan could finish asking, the guy understood what he was asking. The guy laughed and said, "Guest, you're from Izumo, so naturally you don't know that we're here." If you are in the surrounding area, there are few people who have never heard of Sandstone Town. ”

"What's different about this Sandstone Town?"

"You can also see the geographical location of our sandstone town. In the past, this was a desert town with few people, and there were some merchants and horses who would stop here as a transit point. "The guy is a talkative person, and he explains very enthusiastically" At that time, this desert was also a place in the coastal countries that everyone was tired of. ”

"But today's world, it's really a reversal of yin and yang. This once place where birds didn't poop has become a paradise for everyone to scramble to come. ”

"Why is there such a change?" Ronan's curiosity was easily hooked in a few words.