The destination of the Eye of the Federation is a small town called Cansaril on the outskirts of the Third Neutral Border, a name that has been mentioned in local prophecy as the "Silk Road".

It is hard to imagine that the now closed Third Neutral State was in fact one of the first countries to explore foreign trade, and that the people who survived the Third War had carved out a trade route to their neighbors in the harsh soil of radiation before the Eclipse Cult became the state religion of the country.

This is the first stop on the entire border trade route.

The "Silk Road" once represented the best post-war aspirations of the people of the Third Neutral Republic for the restoration of its pre-war prosperity, and their longing lasted until the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Third Neutral State, under the long-term threat of mutated organisms and radiation, a man who claimed to help the country return to its former prosperity walked into the sacred and solemn council chamber of the capital.

Archbishop Heliface, this is destined to be a name that will be remembered by the people of the Third Neutral and indeed by the whole world.

Her arrival also represents the official transformation of the Third Neutral State into a clerical state.

In the series of policies implemented by the Eclipse Cult, the trade routes were hit like never before, the Church defined the merchants who spread anti-Church ideas as apostles of evil gods, and the ideas they brought back from other countries would shake the foundations of the kingdom, and in order to resist the suppression of the Eclipse Cult, in the 37th year of the establishment of the Third Neutral State, the Merchant Guild and the dissatisfied politicians of Heliface united to start a two-year civil war.

The Combine was eventually defeated by the unexplained forces of the Eclipse Cultists, and they fell apart, and the Merchant became the lowest level of the Third Neutral Nation.

They were strictly restricted by the Church, all goods were subjected to near-strict scrutiny, and if they were suspected, they were immediately taken to the Church for torture.

The remnants of the Merchants' Association, which had been forced to leave their homeland, were reorganized in the following years, thus giving birth to the prototype of the Barossa Group.

Today, Kansarel is nothing but desolation, and like all towns surrounded by radiation, mutated creatures, its inhabitants live in fear, insecurity, and pain every day.

Before the Strategic-class airship bearing the Ragus Foundation insignia arrived in the skies above Kansariel, Song Lan finished reading the e-book about the town and the changes in the Third Neutral Kingdom.

It is said that the author of this book is a veteran who once participated in the "Mercantile War".

But Nightheron has the opposite of these pessimistic words, and she has been to the town several times because of the tasks given to her by the church.

Cambriel was both the first stop on the border trade route and the only way for apostates to flee the Third Neutral State.

In addition to guarding the "mines", another duty of the church's "Angel of Death" is to hunt down apostates, and it was in this town that she met Father Bruno, so Nightheron's memory of this town is good.

The inhabitants of the town are hospitable and welcome them warmly whenever they pass through the town.

They are still positive and optimistic, and they are always full of hope for life.

Unlike the grand narrative in the e-book, Nightheron mentions many details about her relationship with the townspeople.

After getting along for a period of time, Song Lan also roughly figured out the temperament of the night heron.

Although this girl kills people without blinking, she has a very simple heart, and as long as you are kind to her, she will return the same kindness, so he does not doubt the story told by the night heron.

As long as you don't have doctrinal conflicts with her, she won't show her claws and fangs at you.

The Eye of the Federation hovered over the town.

The three of them were almost pushed and driven by the elites of the coalition government to get off the airboat, and when they were airdropped into the town, the front-line troops were also assembled, and according to the original plan, they would launch an airstrike on the interior of the Third Neutral in half an hour.

In order to prevent radiation contamination, he and Lu Xiang also had to wear exoskeleton armor.

Night Heron didn't care about the impending war, and as soon as she landed, she took the initiative to act as a local guide, taking Lu Xiang and Song Lan to the homes of the townspeople she mentioned in the story.

The family greeted them with the same warmth as the story described.

After seeing the faces of the residents of the town, Song Lan also had a new understanding of the words "positive and optimistic".

The door was opened by the man of the house, who could barely find a piece of finished skin on his face, and when he smiled, he could see the unusually sharp fangs in his mouth.

He wore nothing but tattered short sleeves, and his exposed arms were covered with wounds that never seemed to heal.

Song Lan dared to use his personality to vouch for that if this middle-aged man appeared in any city of the coalition government, he would be regarded as a zombie by people for the first time.

This may be due to the fact that the townspeople do not have exoskeleton armor and expose their bodies to radiation for long periods of time, or it may be the unpredictable consciousness of the moon god at work.

Because in the e-book that records the history of the Third Neutral Nation just now, there is also a mention of strange things that happened during the "Mercantile War".

Many of the Combine forces went insane after being illuminated by the moon, and launched indiscriminate attacks on their comrades around them, and the subdued soldiers soon showed symptoms of festering and decay, and even spoke some unknown language when night fell.

Song Lan was now very worried that the middle-aged man in front of him would bite him without saying a word.

However, they soon discovered that although the man's appearance looked somewhat similar to those affected by the Luna consciousness, he retained his sanity.

He beckoned the three of them into the house, claiming to prepare their favorite food for the night heron.

The couple quickly got busy, and about half an hour later, a sumptuous "dinner" was served to the table.

During this period, Song Lan tried to comfort himself with "these are local specialties" countless times, but the food that was pitch black, or scarlet, and even slightly squirming when it was served to the table made his mood sink to the bottom.

Even the gourmand Lu Xiang showed an expression of resistance in the face of this table of food.

Only the night heron happily tasted the local cuisine of Cansariel.

At this moment, Song Lan finally understood the standard of "food" for night heron.

On the basis of being able to eat, if you add the feature of "easy to chew", it will be enough for her.

Song Lan had to look at the couple who were urging him and Lu Xiang with earnest eyes, wanting to see some clues from them.

】

But from the couple's determined and confident eyes, he came to a conclusion.

They did it on purpose.

It's not some dark ritual of sacrifice, it's their everyday food – the authentic local cuisine of Cansaril.

Fortunately, just as Song Lan was thinking about the reason for rejecting the couple, a loud noise from outside the house saved them.

It sounded like the sound of the drop booth landing, and the surface of the town seemed to shake with the arrival of the drop bay.

Through the window, they saw the townspeople who had taken refuge in their homes, as well as ......

Soldiers walking out of the drop bay wearing exoskeleton armor with guns and rose insignia and carrying standard rifles.

"Barossa Group."

Lu Xiang vigilantly said the identity of the comer.

Their relationship with the Barossa Group is not harmonious, and only a few months ago, they destroyed a sub-base of the Barossa Group because of the struggle for border trade routes, which is undoubtedly a huge beam for the largest arms dealer in the "outside".

And judging from the equipment and equipment, this elite unit is obviously not the same as the garrison of the division.

Their exoskeleton armor was even better equipped than that of the expeditionary force, and just standing there made them look like iron giants.

"We've got to go."