Chapter 249: The Parties Involved

Chapter 249: The Parties Involved

The arrival of Ancient Tree Tansuo became an important turning point. After that, Northlanders who received wedding invitations began arriving here one after another. Having nothing better to do, they started wandering around and, out of curiosity, made contact with unfamiliar outsiders.

Through constant interaction and friction, people slowly learned about each other’s living habits and taboos, gradually becoming familiar with one another.

As more and more clansmen poured in, Danny also became increasingly busy. Bran did not let Mary, as the bride-to-be, enjoy special treatment but instead made her Danny’s assistant. Mary’s enviable memory ability was of great help in handling these trivial and complicated matters.

To ease the pressure on Danny and others, Bran specifically invited a special talent—Heavy Axe. Bran had always been fond of this outspoken and somewhat cunning woman. Most importantly, it was her culinary skill. Anything could be lacking at a wedding, but one could not be short of a cook. At Bran’s enthusiastic invitation, she was also among the first to arrive.

As soon as Heavy Axe got here, she took over the kitchen and made herself a fine meal, showing no awareness of having been recruited. She was also very happy to receive Bran’s invitation.

The victory in the Western Territory, though it yielded unimaginable supplies, left little in her hands. The long distance made transportation costs far too great. As a result, Sancha Town gained very little from the post-war feast. For the sake of Sancha Town, she set her sights on Northland City. However, she could not simply ask for benefits without reason.

On her way here, she had already seen the herds of cattle and horses here. Although they were still untamed, they were enviable as meat reserves. The grasslands of the Northlands were never short of these, but how many people could capture them on a large scale?

She was content with her current busyness, believing that Bran would not make her work for nothing. When the time came to leave, asking Bran for something would then have a legitimate reason.

Zack and Mary originally wanted to get married sooner, but Bran kept postponing the date. Now that Bran had achieved success and fame, receiving his invitation was still very prestigious, so the vast majority of people responded positively. And since he had issued the invitation and made the promise, everyone had to wait.

He also hoped the wait would be as long as possible, allowing those who arrived early to understand this place as much as they could and have as much contact with the outside world as possible.

In this regard, Zack did very well. Under his introduction, those Anya People were getting along famously with the Northlanders. The common origins verified by Bran became the psychological foundation for both sides to quickly accept each other. No matter what had happened before, it could be written off as internal conflict, and Bran also tacitly agreed with this explanation.

The city was not exactly festive now, but it was lively enough. Some Northland youths who came with their elders, after eating and drinking their fill, couldn’t help but show off their muscles. Thus, the empty Arena in the city became their gathering place for brawls.

The youths’ fights made the Arena lively again and attracted many idlers, among them were Jenny and Lui. Jenny’s impulsive nature quickly turned her from a spectator into a participant. But she did not know that competitions in the Northlands were always sacred, and there was nothing to say about such disruptive behavior—only one word: fight!

After a merciless gang beating, amid Lui’s complaints, the two left the Arena with disheveled hair.

Jenny paid no attention to Lui’s grumbling but instead shouted that this was not over! She made an appointment with the youths to fight another day. Those who were truly important and respectable would not stand up for Jenny. But there were always plenty of troublemaking young people, and Jenny and Lui soon found a few to help them out.

A friendly match thus unfolded. As both sides fought more and more intensely and became more and more familiar, more and more idlers came to watch. Both sides were restrained, and the truly skilled fighters did not join in. Most of those people sat on the sidelines watching the fun, casually commenting.

Although the matches seemed like play, many issues could be observed. From the reactions, speed, and strength of both sides, one could roughly gauge each other’s living environment and training level.

Regarding training, both sides had summed up their experiences through life-and-death struggles, but their focuses were different. It was hard to say who was superior or inferior, as their respective environments differed greatly. Specialized training also could not be judged apart from its environment.

Although the Northland youths were somewhat disadvantaged in age, their reactions and speed made up for these shortcomings. For now, the Northlanders had an advantage in physical fitness.

They held no hope for the power of Wizards. But if even the most basic physical advantage was lost, how would they stand their ground?

Through contact, the parties involved constantly assessed each other’s strengths and weaknesses, constantly adjusting their own positions. The improvement of personal relationships allowed the parties to understand each other better, providing a foundation for further communication. Many people were observing, letting the young people fool around, watching them gradually build friendships.

Because of friendship, they gradually let down their guard and became increasingly outspoken. This information was quickly collected, analyzed, and utilized.

This wedding became a prologue, a link that connected all the participants. The parties involved had gained a lot during this time, already understanding each other’s general bottom lines and what they themselves should offer.

Bran spent most of this time with Ancient Tree Tansuo, paying little attention to the noise outside. He discovered that each Ancient Tree was a complete World, with huge differences in details. Bran repeatedly compared and observed between two Ancient Trees, trying to find their differences.

He was now like a mirror, simultaneously reflecting the two Ancient Trees in his Spiritual World, allowing the two Ancient Trees to observe each other here. The three Monsters stayed motionless there, engrossed in each other’s Spiritual Worlds.

At this moment, Huahua in Bran’s arms finally reacted. The Fruit of ability was about to be conceived. Waves of Mana spread like ripples from his small body.