Chapter 164 - The Meeting
"Hurry up already, we have to get there before the others!" Rong Li shouted from the front. He was on a 7 meter big Mammoth Tiger beast. The Tiger beasts massive muscles flexed as it jumped from one tree to another.
There were about 20 people behind him, riding different beasts while sprinting at full speed.
"Relax. Even if we get there before the others, do you really think they will let us enter first?" a monotone voice came from the beast right behind Rong Li. A man of about 25 years of age was sitting on top of the beast smoking a pipe casually.
"It doesn't matter. I want to see all the new heroes in-person before they enter the realm. It took us over a month to travel all the way from Holy Mountain, wouldn't it be a shame to miss this opportunity by just a few minutes?" Rong Li shouted back energetically and sped up even more.
*Sigh*
The man shook his head and patted his beast which somewhat looked like a boar, trying to catch up.
*Giggle*
"Junior brother sure is in high spirits," a girl of about 22 years of age, dressed in a pink cheongsam said playfully. She had long black hair and a very fair skin, looking like someone that had spent most of her life without doing any hard work.
There were five female guards surrounding her from all sides, dressed in shining copper armor.
"Haha, apologies for the brats behavior, princess. This is the first time he has left the Holy Mountain so he is a bit too excited," the man turned around and looked at her with a smile.
Even though he had a higher cultivation than her, his tone was slightly subservient which showed the difference in their status.
"Brother Hyson doesn't need to worry, something this small wouldn't be enough to put me off," she laughed and patted the white beast underneath which was like a mix between an ostrich and a dove.
The beast cawed and speed up at once, leaving everyone behind.
"Princess!" her guards also whipped their beasts trying to catch up with her and sped up.
Seeing the distance between them and the princess and her guard's increase, a young boy of about 16 years of age with red hair came up next to Hyson, "Senior brother, you give too much face to her. We aren't her servants, why did we have to bring her along anyway?" he chafed at his behavior.
"Because of her family and her lineage. Even though she might be weak now, she will surpass most of you soon," Hyson berated in a low voice.
"I heard that the old master was even trying to get her into the Royal Academy of Mei Kingdom. Isn't he putting a bit too much trust in her?" a girl chimed in from the side.
All these people belonged to a small nation north of Mei called 'Fasauri'. This nation did not even have a grade of its own. It occupied only a fraction of land as compared to the Grade 2 kingdoms like Mei and Jia, and had no extraordinary natural resources to speak off.
Their 'king' was a kind and smart man who always maintained good relations with all the neighbors, sending gifts and envoy's on almost every occasion.
One thing of note was his information channel. He always seemed to be present at the right moments, waiting to pick up the scraps left behind by the bigger powers.
That and a few other reasons were why none of the other kingdoms bothered with them. To them, they simply weren't worth the trouble.
The Holy Mountain they spoke off was the capital of Fasauri, a gargantuan mountain in the center of the country. It alone comprised over sixty percent of the total area of the country.
But other than its size, nothing else stood out even after repeated examinations by other kingdoms.
Hyson took a puff from the pipe and shook his head, "If she gets in, its because the Mei values her talents, not because of the old master. We are but a small country in the outskirts, a single expert from one of the bigger cities could lay waste to our entire nation," he said gloomily, but it was the truth and they all knew it.
In their own country they would be able to act arrogantly, but not here.
"Hmm?" Hyson heard a commotion from the front and sped up along with the others.
"Stop!" there was a clearing ahead of them with a few dozen guards standing on full alert. There were spikes placed in a circle outside a wooden wall that was about 5 meters tall. It blocked the path ahead.
The guards were standing along the only path that led in, looking at Rong Li and the Princess with stern expressions.
The guard at the front looked around and frowned when he saw all the mounts.
"Put away all your beasts, you have to walk on foot from here onwards. Show proof of your identity at the checkpoint and they will give you a token which you must keep on you at all times," the leader said in an imposing tone.
Everyone including the princess and her guards followed his instructions quietly and called back their mounts. They walked past the guards and were stopped near the wooden gate.
There was one soldier sitting in a small wooden shack. He simply extended his hand and everyone passed him their Spirit bands. He checked all of their information and returned the bands along with circular coins.
"If you lose the token, you will be kicked out without exception. Keep this on you," he said in a deadpan voice and turned away.
"Don't make any trouble here. No one can help you if you piss off someone strong. Your status means nothing here," Hyson looked at Rong Li and said in a deep voice, but everyone still heard him and knew that it wasn't actually meant for him.
The princess let out a small smile and moved past them. She pressed her hand on the three-meter tall wooden door and it opened up on its own.
As soon as it opened, loud clamoring noises came rushing out. Just a second ago it was dead silent, but the wooden door seemed like an entrance to another world entirely.
Everyone including the sheltered little princess was left with her mouth agape. There were hundreds of people on the other side, either walking about or standing near stalls.
Yes, there were dozens of stalls placed on either side of the path.
The people were also very different. There were a few birdmen that looked like humanoid versions of different birds, some people with horns, tails, hoves, rockmen, what have you.
They were chatting and laughing with one another like it was completely normal.
Fasauri's population was about ninety-nine percent human with a few lone people from other races. So seeing so many of them at once and in the same place left them speechless.
A few of them turned around and looked at the newcomers jeeringly.
"Where did these hicks come from?" a man with the head of an iguana said mockingly, making everyone break out in laughter.
"Ha..haha..." Hyson woke up from his daze with a red face.
"Let's go," he said in a low voice and walked into the crowd with his head down.