It took two days to reach the castle city of the other side. It looked exactly the same as the Empire one. Well, the basic layout was. It seemed like they made some changes here though. They fortified the perimeter, added traps and such. It showed how much more importance was put in this border defense. Considering how the Empire and Sarhjin were different in sizes, it seemed fair.

One area might seem to be very important for someone who only had a dozen while not that important to another who had a hundred and more. It was all about access and dependence. The Empire was incredibly bigger than Sarhjin and so, this Area did not mean much. They used it as training grounds for next generations of royals, giving them some experience about wars...

To Sarhjin on the other hand, this kind of area was very important as it could help nurture generations of their cultivators for a hundred years after each victory. Obviously, they would take it more seriously. That brings the question as to why the Empire doesn't just go and annex Sarhjin since the differences are so big. And the answer to that is very simple: Might. The strongest of both sides were of similar might so, of course, they would not go to war.

Who cared if there were millions of small low-level cultivators? One single powerhouse could destroy them all. That was the case here and regarding most factions and countries. As long as they had a powerhouse strong enough, they could keep on existing. But the moment they didn't...

Anyways, Jin was quite glad that he found a nice group to join before reaching this place. If he had tried to infiltrate by himself, he would have likely end up trapped inside an array. And then die. Arrays were quite interesting weapons. Jin would have really liked to study them. It was unfortunate that when he had tried back in the sect, he was scolded by the faction brother who taught him.

He didn't mind the scolding, no, that wasn't much. His age and experience weren't for show. Being scolded? He didn't really care. The problem was that he was told to have no talents in the domain. He wasn't precise, he couldn't draw for shit and he was even worse when it came to calculating the environment's impacts and such. Turned out that creating arrays required precision and high-level of calculations.

He could become more precise with efforts. Putting in effort was something he knew how to do. He wasn't worried about that. It wasn't that he couldn't be precise but rather not used to enough. The problem laid in the calculations. He knew maths. But this was beyond the scope of simple maths he knew. He couldn't understand a single shit he was taught and had to give up. Which is why, right now, as he saw the countless array formations flashing lights here and there around the castle, he couldn't help but be amazed.

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He knew how tough it was to create one array. And there were hundreds here, likely many different types too! It was fortunate that he kept his mask on. The look of surprise would have been difficult to hide otherwise...

They reached the gates soon enough and he was startled once more. There were no guards. Of course, he couldn't just ask his new friends why there weren't any. Wouldn't they become suspicious of him if he asked this kind of question? He kept it to himself and followed along.

The streets were crowded and everyone seemed full of life. Not much different from the Empire side before it went awry. As they walked, one of the four mercs asked Jin: "So, Owl, we were thinking of going for a few drinks and such, you in?"and Jin answered with a "Of course, count me in"

He drank no alcohol since he arrived in this new world and he missed it. He was never a drunkard but he did enjoy a glass from time to time. Simply for the taste. He was not after the feeling of light-headedness but instead the taste of a good whiskey.

As he went with the young mercs, he only got himself a small glass of alcohol. It wasn't whiskey unfortunately. There was probably no whiskey in this different world after all. This drink was called 'Frone' and was quite reputable and cheap. Similar in fame to the beer back in his old world.

It tasted nothing like it though. It was fruity and sweet but refreshing like nothing else. As he sipped it, he couldn't help losing himself in the enjoyable fragrance and delicate after-taste. His new friends on the other hand were downing their glasses and asking for more. It was very clear that they were here to get drunk.

Could cultivators get drunk? Now that he thought of it, he wasn't sure. He got his answer not long later as his friends began to act differently. Yes, cultivators could get drunk. And they were a real pain to deal with when they were too. Jin did not take any more than that one glass that he enjoyed for a long time. He certainly relished on the taste.

It was only hours later that the group left the tavern and went to reclaim the rewards for their work. The mercs had harvested a few plates to redeem and Jin planned to use the opportunity to do the same. There were 43 plates sitting in his pouch and he was going to shed 42 of those. Keeping his original one in case...

It turned out that they exchanged the plates for monetary rewards here. No equipment, no treasures, just hard cold cash. And that made sense. There were so many warriors joining this war. It was far easier to pay them in cash than keep a warehouse filled with treasures... It pleased Jin as well. Money could be used everywhere and for everything.

He did feel bad for killing- Scratch that! He didn't. He was very pleased with himself as he left the redeeming center with a pouch filled with money.