"And what place is that??"
"Phoenix City!" Harper exclaimed. She then stared at each one of the group and slowly explained, "If we want to reach the Great Jade Kingdom, we have to pass through the whole swamp. Although I have prepared a lot of medicinal materials, and we can also get some from here, it's still very dangerous to cross the swamp. So we have to go to Phoenix City. From there, we will return to the Birch Pass."
"How far away is the swamp from Phoenix City?" Diana asked, now with curiosity. She had always known about the existence of Phoenix City, but had never been there. It was not only because of its special location, but because the people from the South Kingdom were forbidden to enter that city!
Looking into the distance, Harper answered, "It's three hundred miles away from here. With our current pace, we should be able to get out of the swamp and enter the domain of Phoenix City tomorrow evening. But I'm afraid that it's not easy to get into it."
Harper started walking and Diana silently followed her while rubbing her nose. In the past, the South Kingdom had a conflict with Phoenix City. So the lord of the city refused to let the people from the South Kingdom enter it. Diana knew that it would be difficult for Harper to take her into the city.
"Harper," Diana called out. After thinking about it in silence, Diana thought that it was necessary to tell Harper about it.
"What is it?"
"If you take me with you, the people in Phoenix City won't allow you to enter." In fact, Diana was worried that Harper would abandon her. However, ever since they had entered the swamp and she got the chance to spend time with her, Diana realized that she couldn't really hate Harper. She then added, "There is a conflict between the South Kingdom and Phoenix City. Because of that, people from my kingdom are forbidden to enter their city."
However, Harper didn't mind the revelation. She only smiled and said, "Don't worry. Once we've passed through the Labyrinth Swamp, just don't say you're from the South Kingdom. After all, they have to let us in. The Labyrinth Swamp has always been a dangerous place in the past few years. It has been serving as Phoenix City's defense. So even if you killed their family in the past or even if you're from the South Kingdom, they would still have to invite you in. Ultimately, if someone can cross the swamp and reach their city in one piece, the lord of their city will be troubled."
Diana thought it over and nodded in agreement. "In particular, I'm a princess of the South Kingdom. The people in Phoenix City might think that our kingdom has developed some strategies and found a way to cross the Labyrinth Swamp. They might believe that we want to do something brutal to their city. Instead of inviting us in, I'm afraid that they'll kill us on the spot."
"That's a problem. If we were killed on the spot, we would die with false accusations since we're innocent. Perhaps, we could find someone to help us," Harper said, becoming more serious.
While they continued their journey, Howard did not speak a word. Since he had been spending time with Harper for long, he had uncovered more and more secrets about her. At first, he thought that Harper was a meek woman whose place was just at home. It turned out that she was so ruthless that she even led to the death of all of the women in the same house. Later, he found out that Harper had forced Charles to hand over the master's token and let her take control over the secret guards of the Chu Clan. Then, he discovered that she was even skilled in martial arts. Now, she was more powerful than before. He had never expected that she could be so strong that she could lead people to cross the Labyrinth Swamp which nobody had ever accomplished. She perfectly matched the name which Diana had called her, a "monster"!
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