Unsheathed

The Green Oriole Nation was located near the eastern shore of the Northern Complete Reed Continent, and traveling north from the Five Mountain Nation, one still needed to pass through the Southern Thorn Nation and the Northern Swallow Nation first.

Neither of these was a large nation, but they weren't the vassal states of large empires either.

There were many lakes and marshes in the Southern Thorn Nation, while there were many mountains and peaks in the Northern Swallow Nation.

However, the Southern Thorn Nation had always been on bad terms with the Five Mountain Nation, with many skirmishes taking place on the borders. Even so, there had been very few large battles involving more than ten thousand border soldiers in the past one hundred years.

The border armies of the Five Mountain Nation were largely stationed at precarious passes in the north, while the Southern Thorn Nation possessed a more powerful marine army. It was very difficult for either nation to infiltrate the depths of their enemy nation, so if the border generals on both sides preferred defense over offense, then the border regions would experience a period of peace and prosperity.

On the other hand, if the border generals liked to accumulate military merit for the sake of renown in the imperial court, then there would be countless small battles taking place on the borders. However, these battles would never transform into large wars that drew on the full resources of both nations, allowing the border forces to fight to their heart's content.

There was a strong sense of tacit understanding between the emperors of the two nations, and they would try their best to avoid appointing border generals who liked to do battle at the same time. However, the outside relatives of the Southern Thorn Nation's royal family held significant power right now, and a dozen or so years ago, a young outsider relative had actively asked to be transferred to the southern borders. He had drilled the troops and groomed the horses, establishing an army of cavalrymen and attacking the borders of the Five Mountain Nation several times.

Meanwhile, the Five Mountain Nation had also produced a rare local talent at the border regions, with a Confucian general who was extremely skilled at military strategy rising to the fore. He had been responsible for defending the northern border several years ago, and this had led to a series of small skirmishes at the border.

If it weren't for Wang Dun coincidentally traveling near the northern border ten years ago and inadvertently blocking the elite cavalrymen of the Southern Thorn Nation from launching a surprise attack and infiltrating the nation, it was entirely possible that the Five Mountain Nation would have lost one or two critical border towns as a result. They would have naturally been able to snatch these towns back, but doing so would have definitely led to the largest number of casualties in the past one hundred years.

Chen Ping'an and Sui Jingcheng handed over their travel documents at a small pass of the Five Mountain Nation that wasn't guarded by many soldiers, and after passing through, they crossed the border and avoided stepping onto the official road of the Southern Thorn Nation. Instead, they stuck to Chen Ping'an's planned route, choosing to travel along the small paths that traversed mountains and crossed rivers.

Not long after crossing the border, they were able to witness a distant skirmish from a small and serene path.

There were two groups of scouts, each consisting of a dozen or so cavalrymen.