Chapter 367: River Mouth Town Main Town — Spending the Night, Dividing the Team, Heading North Again, and the Crown Moose

The group traveled across the thick, frozen river surface, taking quite a while to reach the ferry landing on the opposite bank.

The sloping pier was not very steep, and the old hunters cracked their whips to drive the horses, steering the carriage up the rocky slope onto the pier in one go.

Knight Lanisha had already been waiting for some time with the people from the ferry landing, and everyone moved the items from the small boats back onto the carriage. The three small boats, now untied from their ropes, were returned to the people at the landing.

Thus, Jier and the others finally arrived at the main town area of River Mouth Town.

Although it was snowing heavily, because the population here was large, there were still occasional pedestrians on the streets despite the weather.

"Go straight to the Jiedian; we will spend the night there. Early tomorrow morning, a few people will purchase food and supplies locally, while the others and I will depart directly for the supply point on the west side of Umi Lake," Knight Lanisha said.

Consequently, everyone followed behind the carriage, while the carriage followed Knight Lanisha, who was leading the way.

At first glance, River Mouth Town was no different from other human settlements in Kendall County; under the cover of the heavy snow, it appeared even more gloomy and quiet. Jier noticed that compared to other places, the local houses made more use of decorations in the shapes of river water and fish.

The ends of the wooden beams on the houses were all carved into the simple, honest appearance of big-headed fish. The other ends of the wooden beams on the houses were shaped like wagging fish tails.

The houses along the street were brick-and-wood structures, while the houses deeper inside were all low, purely wooden cabins.

The streets were covered in thick, accumulated snow, and no one had come to clear it, so Jier and the others had to take other paths from time to time on the uneven streets to allow the carriage, which was loaded with heavy cargo, to pass.

Fortunately, Knight Lanisha seemed very familiar with River Mouth Town, and she could easily find suitable paths.

After a good while, just as the sun behind the dark clouds was about to set, they arrived outside the Jiedian house that Knight Lanisha had prepared for the hunters in River Mouth Town.

This house did not have a courtyard; it was just a two-story brick-and-wood building along the street. A large lock, which looked unwelcoming just by its appearance, hung on the sturdy wooden door.

The key was naturally carried by the Knight, and after she went over and fiddled with it for a good while, she opened the lock.

After pushing open the sturdy wooden door, she lit an oil lamp at the entrance.

"Everyone come in, it's quite warm inside." The Knight placed an oil lamp in the center of the main hall, then found a bundle of thick yellow candles in the wooden cabinet nearby.

With the illumination from the candles, the three old hunters climbed off the carriage, entered the house, and checked every corner to light up the place.

"It's no different from when I left two months ago," one old hunter said.

"I was worried that some light-fingered fellows might have broken in during this time. But looking at it now, the public order in River Mouth Town is still quite good; there are no light-fingered young people in the town."

When Knight Lanisha walked to the door, she spoke up: "That is because I specifically sent a letter to the Knight Lord here, asking the other party to send people to look after this place a little."

"Jier, you and Tuosite come with me. We can't keep the carriage and horses here; tonight we will temporarily place them in the town's town house. Everyone, we will be back in a while; there is a tavern diagonally across the street, we'll get some food and bring it back," Knight Lanisha instructed.

"Understood, Knight," an old hunter replied.

Jier rode on his horse: "I still have some fried fish here; just prepare a bowl of hot soup for me."

Having said that, they followed behind the Knight's horse, turning left and right along the messy streets and roads of River Mouth Town, until they arrived at the central area of the town.

It was much livelier here; although the doors were tightly shut for warmth, one could still faintly hear the sounds of musical instruments being played in several taverns and entertainment venues around the small square in the center of the town.

The Gatekeeper guarding the town house, which was the town administration office, recognized Knight Lanisha and hurried out to open the gate, welcoming the female Knight, the carriage, and the horses inside.

Seeming to notice the confusion in the eyes of Jier, who was following on horseback, Knight Lanisha explained: "My father had a very good friendship with the Knight here, and I often came here to play when I was young."

The old Gatekeeper nearby, after closing the gate, also added: "Yes, yes. Miss Janni used to love coming here; it's a pity, she has come less often in recent years."

The old Gatekeeper was very old; not only was his hair gray, but even his beard was pure white. In this world where the average life expectancy of an ordinary person was only fifty, he looked to be about sixty or seventy years old.

Although he was very old, he looked sturdy and his movements were not slow at all; walking in the snow-covered courtyard, his steps were steady, and one could tell at a glance that he was an incredible Warrior when he was young.

Knight Lanisha did say a word to the Gatekeeper: "I went away to study in previous years, and later, you know, after becoming a Knight, things were busy."

"Is Knight Ailisha in town?" she asked next.

"The Lord has gone to the Border Knight Order in the north, saying he wants to compete in snow events with the Knights in the order during the Winter Festival," the old Gatekeeper answered with a smile.

"Snow events?" Jier asked in confusion.

The old Gatekeeper looked at the Long Sword at Jier's waist and answered his question: "They are just some entertainment activities on the snow. Now that there is heavy snow, after the wind and snow, it is exactly the kind of day those Empire people like. Compared to us who have seen snow every year since childhood, many Knights from the south of the Empire like to create some snow-related entertainment after the winter snow falls."

Jier was a bit interested, but his thoughts were seen through by the old Gatekeeper at a glance: "Forget it, your skills aren't up to it. Those events are only for the adults of the Knight Rank to participate in safely."

"How can it be that exaggerated? It's just some ice and snow entertainment, surely not?" Jier did not believe it.

Knight Lanisha jumped off her warhorse and, while removing the horse armor from her steed, explained to Jier: "Don't disbelieve it. I'll mention one and you'll understand."

Jier also began to remove the backpack, Muan, and Jiansheng hanging from his horse.

"The Imperial Border Knights in the north have a small squad of Gryphons. The Knights will bring some equipment, then ride the Gryphons to the mountains near the border, choose a high mountain, and then drop the participating Knights directly from the air."

Jier opened his eyes wide.

"The Knights need to open a Flying Suit made of bat wing membranes in the air and glide to land on the snow-covered side of the high mountain. Then they use tools like Sleds or Snowboards to slide down from the thousands-of-meters-high mountain along the snowy surface."

Jier even opened his mouth.

"After that, they will continue for three days without rest, crossing no-man's-land, retrieving tokens from several dangerous Monster gathering areas, and then return to the Knight Order base without sleeping or resting."

After finishing, Knight Lanisha raised her eyebrows and said to Jier: "So, can you do the one above?"

Jier was speechless and could only keep exclaiming, is this kind of competition considered entertainment? It's too hardcore.

"But I heard that in recent years, the one with the shortest time was actually the result achieved by our Knight Kela. After dropping from the Gryphon, he only used two and a half days to retrieve the token from a Winter Snow Worm nest and then successfully returned to the base."

The old Gatekeeper nearby also nodded along.

It seems Knight Kela is truly very capable, Jier thought to himself.

Whether it is leading troops in battle or participating in these kinds of extreme, hardcore competitions, he is very impressive.

Their four horses were placed directly in the stables of the town house courtyard, and the old Gatekeeper said he would feed the horses in a while. As for the carriage, it could just be left in the corner of the courtyard.

It was very safe here; no one dared to steal anything here. Besides, they would be leaving tomorrow morning.

Jier carried his backpack and his weapons and equipment, following Knight Lanisha and the old hunters back to the previous Jiedian.

To be honest, after dark in River Mouth Town, one could not see the direction of the streets or the road surface at all; fortunately, Jier's Long Sword had been self-illuminating since it was reforged, and using this thing for lighting was quite useful.

As for Knight Lanisha, she took out an Amulet imprinted with the Sun God. She hung this thing at her waist, and she could use the light emitted after the Amulet was rubbed to provide illumination.

"Sorry, Tuosite. The Amulets you used before were all confiscated by the Church; this is the only one left in my hand that they haven't asked for yet."

"It's fine, My Lord. Didn't we not have them in previous years? We still went out to suppress and hunt the Wolf Pack in winter. But Jier, your sword is truly amazing; it can actually shine so brightly!"

The topic turned to Jier, and Knight Lanisha knew what was going on; after all, she had contributed some effort behind the scenes during the reforging process of Jier's Long Sword.

Jier saw that the entire street was illuminated by his Long Sword, scratched his head, and then sheathed the Long Sword back into the Sword Sheath, leaving only half a palm's width of the blade exposed.

Because the streets and roads were covered in white snow, even a small amount of light could illuminate quite a long distance.

Before returning to the Jiedian, Jier sheathed his Long Sword. Although the item was good, it could not be flaunted; he understood this much.

The Jiedian was fully equipped with various utensils, though because no one had lived there for a long time, it felt devoid of human presence. However, whether it was the firewood for the fire or the fresh water fetched from the tavern, it was enough to sustain the eleven of them.

Jier took out the fried fish he hadn't finished at noon, heated it up using the kitchenware in the Jiedian, and enjoyed a wonderful meal accompanied by Bread and hot soup.

The fatigue from the journey led him to find a spot in the main hall to spread out his Dog Fur Sleeping Bag, crawl inside, and fall asleep.

The female Knight and the old Hunters discussed their subsequent arrangements in the hall for a long time, and only after the other young Hunters had laid out their bedding on the floor and fallen asleep did they head upstairs one by one to rest in their respective rooms.

Early the next morning, Jier finished washing up by wiping his face with snow. He packed up his bedding, sleeping bag, and other items, waiting for the arrangements of Knight Lanisha.

They would split into two teams here; one team needed to procure food supplies for their long-term use in the wild mountains and forests, as well as a small amount of tools for self-made bow and arrow repairs. The others needed to first head to the wild supply point they had always used to transport the large quantity of Metal Clamps, which were crucial for this subjugation operation.

Afterward, they would make a second trip to bring back the people and supplies left at River Mouth Town.

Knight Lanisha would go with the first group, and after arriving at the supply point, she would go alone across the Umi River to Umi Lake Village to arrange for some Villagers who had served as Militia to help them guard the safety of the supplies at the supply point.

Knight Lanisha assigned two old Hunters to take three young Hunters to procure food and supplies locally, while the others followed her.

After making the arrangements, she handed the house key to an old Hunter and also gave him enough coins.

Afterward, they each went out, those going to the market went to the market, those watching the door watched the door, and those departing departed.

River Mouth Town in the daytime was livelier than it had been yesterday evening; after all, no matter how heavy the snow was, going to the town market to buy daily necessities was something people had to do.

Correspondingly, some of the staff working in the town offices also had to go out to work, regardless of how heavy the snow was outside.

Knight Lanisha handed a letter she had written last night to a staff member at the town office, instructing them to give it to Knight Ailisha when he returned later.

Then, everyone put the Jiansheng on their horses and secured the Muan and stirrups. Knight Lanisha also had to equip her warhorse with a winter horse blanket. Once everyone was prepared, they began their departure.

Since there were nearly half as many people, the other two young Hunters sat directly on the carriage, and Jier also mounted his horse; no one was walking anymore, and their forward speed increased significantly.

After exiting the north gate of the town, there were patches of disconnected fields.

He had already sensed it while in River Mouth Town; the roads inside the town were undulating and not level. Now, upon leaving the town, it was indeed as expected: from the intersection of the two rivers heading north, the terrain was no longer level.

Even so, it was still passable for the carriage.

According to Knight Lanisha, who knew much about River Mouth Town, and the old Hunters who patrolled and hunted year-round between River Mouth Town and Umi Lake Village, although the terrain was poor and full of pits and undulations, it was basically passable for a heavily loaded carriage.

It was just necessary to bypass steep slopes when encountered, taking more level paths instead.

Walking in these wild areas, Jier would always think of the true horror stories told by the old Hunters. After all, in his previous life, so-called ghost stories and the like were basically made up by people to scare others.

But in this different world, it was the exact opposite; the purpose of horror stories was not to frighten people or make them feel stimulated, but to warn careless citizens, allowing them to have some mental preparation for all the strange events that had happened or had yet to happen.

Following the carriage, Jier was always looking around after mounting his horse, which drew the attention of his companions.

"Jier, you keep looking back and forth, what exactly are you looking at?" a young Hunter companion asked, sitting on the seat in front of the carriage.

"What else could it be? Of course, it's that Strange House the old men were talking about earlier. Didn't that thing appear near River Mouth Town?"

"Hahahaha, setting aside whether you'd be unlucky enough to run into it, how many years ago was that? How could a Strange House that walks on its own still be near River Mouth Town? Didn't the Knight say it walks to the hometown of the deceased Mage on its own? It most likely just passed through here."

Another pointed out a decisive error of Jier's: "Jier, you've also gotten one thing wrong."

"What?"

"That thing appeared at the ferry on the west side of River Mouth Town back then. That's where we passed yesterday. You're worrying about that thing on the north side of River Mouth Town now; did you get something wrong?"

Jier had actually forgotten some details of the story, and upon being reminded, he remembered that the location in the story was elsewhere.

He awkwardly scratched the soft beard on his chin, not knowing what to say.

"Alright, although the Strange House Jier is worried about definitely isn't here, we have already moved away from areas frequently visited by Humans. Compared to the south of the county, this place is closer to the border. Heading north from here, there isn't a single Human settlement. I estimate that besides us, you couldn't even find ten people." Knight Lanisha paused, pointing with her armored Glove at the distant undulating mountains, wild hills, and deserted riverbanks.

"Stay alert. Those on the carriage, two of you take turns driving the horses in the front, and two of you keep an eye on the back from the rear carriage door. Every movement must be watched with extreme care. Keep your bows and arrows at hand, and be ready for battle at any time."

"Yes, Knight," everyone replied in unison.

Jier wasn't wearing armor, and it wasn't convenient to stop and put it on while on horseback, so he had to wait until he got up the next day to wear it. He took out his Long Spear with a wooden shaft and carried it on his shoulder. Although the pure metal double-edged spear had astonishing power, his strength wasn't good enough to use it on horseback yet.

He couldn't use it with one hand at all right now, whereas the wooden Long Spear could be used flexibly.

He shouldered the spear, ready to participate in battle at any moment.

But despite saying that, they didn't encounter any danger. They only saw a group of 'deer' with horns on their heads midway; they were huge, and a single one was larger than their carriage.

Although these huge animals looked dangerous, they were actually herbivores. They were just heading to the Umi River to drink water.

Upon seeing those animals, Knight Lanisha signaled everyone to stop, and then they watched from afar, trying their best not to make a sound, as those huge animals used the horns on their heads to smash open the frozen river surface with a Boom—.

Then they stuck their heads under the river surface where a hole had been smashed, drinking the cold river water in large gulps.

There were at least twenty or more animals in that group, big and small, with many young beasts the size of horses.

Afterward, when they had all drunk their fill and turned behind the distant hills, Jier asked: "Knight, do you know what kind of animal that is? So big!"

"It's a Crown Moose. Did you see the horns on their heads, regardless of whether they were male or female? That is their all-purpose tool; fighting, pushing away snow, and breaking through ice—they can use that thing for all of it," the Knight explained to Jier.

And an old Hunter added with a grin: "They also use those horns for courtship! The males have to use their horns to defeat other males first, and after that, they have to compare the size of the crown horns on their heads with the females. If yours are smaller than the female's horns, that won't do either; she won't pay any attention to you, haha."

Knight Lanisha ignored the joking old Hunter: "The vast Forest to the north is their territory, and there are many of them. Although they are invincible relying on their huge size and quite combat-capable crown horns, I have seen the Northern Wolf Pack hunt a lone Crown Moose with my own eyes."

The Knight guided everyone toward the crack in the river ice that the moose had just broken. She led the way and said: "They first use constant wolf howls to cause panic in the Crown Moose family, and then they continuously use the strongest wolves to charge at the moose herd. They will encounter counterattacks from the Crown Moose in the middle, and this behavior will continue until the old or young moose in the herd are separated from the family group."

"Then, they will be swarmed and hunted by the Wolf Pack."

Jier then asked why they didn't try to tame those big guys.

"A little bit of free-range is fine, but large-scale farming is impossible. They must be kept in very large areas separately, otherwise, Crown Moose of different bloodlines and families will fight and attack each other. You saw it yourself; with their huge size, if they really lower their heads and run wildly, ordinary wooden houses simply can't stop them."

"I heard Knight Kela inquire about it at the Knight Order; in the Dwarf settlements outside the northern border, they have Crown Moose cavalry. But I heard one Crown Moose can carry four or five Dwarves. Heh, just thinking about it is funny." Speaking of this, laughter came from under Knight Lanisha's Helmet.