Cat Princess and Human Knight

Chapter 43 The Imminent War

He quickly pushed Ilya away, while Yi Yin, covered in cold sweat, looked at the bewildered little cat princess Sophia.

He casually mentioned to Sophia last time that the corn was given by Ilya, but who knew that this little female cat would remember it and actually ask about Ilya directly.

Ilya had no idea what corn was; she had never even seen this otherworldly crop before.

Of the ten tons of corn that Yi Yin bought with Heart Points, Sophia has already donated half to the Church of Mother Earth and the other half to the current defensive war.

The saying goes, "The son sells his father's land without a second thought." This little female cat has squandered her lottery winnings and is now desperately hoping to win again.

Ke Yiyin was heartbroken.

He's getting better and better at coaxing Ilya. He can make her not only not get angry, but he can even make her kneel and lick his boots without getting upset. How do you make this traditional woman explode? Either cheat on him?

Yi Yin has never met any other woman from another world besides Ilya, so he can't even have an affair.

Of course, even if he encountered other women, given Yi-yin's not-so-bad otaku conscience, he wouldn't do such a thing.

Ilya was too good to him. He wasn't some cunning, short-legged cat who had lost his conscience. He had a heart of flesh and blood, so how could he bear to make Ilya sad?

But if he were to live up to Ilya's expectations, then he would have no chance of getting any more points to buy supplies. Yi Yin has recently been caught in this painful dilemma between his conscience and his interests.

He really didn't know what to do. He couldn't just pick up a rose and pluck it one by one to make a choice, could he?

I've been right to you, I've wronged you, I've been right to you, I've wronged you... Looking at the last petal, is it a sign of being right or wrong?

Being a man... it's really tough...

Shaking his head, Yi Yin asked Sophia.

"What do you want from me?"

Sofia said.

"With spring planting nearing its end, Duke Snowclaw has ordered his vassals to mobilize their forces and gather at the confluence of the Catback Mountain Sentinel River, and has specifically requested that I go to Eagle's Beak Pass."

This cunning lord had no intention of making things easy for me, nor did he say whether I would be under the command of the Marquis of Iron Oak once I reached Eagle's Beak Pass.

I'm so annoyed, I wanted to talk to you about it. Will you come with me?

Yi Yin nodded.

"Of course I'll go for you, but I don't understand anything about it. What's with all this talk about Catback Mountain, Eagle's Beak Pass, and how did the Snowclaw Duke trick you?"

Sophia was clearly prepared, so she simply took out a map, spread it on the ground, and explained it to Yi-eun in detail.

Yi Yin listened attentively and finally understood some of the specific details of the gravel hills.

Further west on the frozen mountains of the boundless plateau lies a group of glacial lakes, where the melting ice water is the source of the Broken Ridge River.

The Duanji River rushes down the plateau canyon from high to low, taking advantage of the descent to enter the scree hills. The speed of the river flow is gradually slowed by the hilly terrain, and it splits into three tributaries.

These are the Bloodthorn River in the west, the Anvil River in the middle, and the Sentinel River in the east.

These three rivers meander through the mountains in a crisscrossing pattern, flowing over rocky hills before finally entering the Starfall Plain.

Rivers divide the mountains, forming basins and valleys in the hills of varying sizes, creating a series of flat areas near water sources that overlap with the high-quality arable land areas in the gravelly hills.

Just like descending stairs, the gravelly hills, whose elevation gradually decreases, also gradually decrease in height along with the three mountain ranges running east to west.

The Eagle Beak Mountain Range in the north is the highest, followed by the Cat Back Mountain in the middle, and the Green Mountain near the Starfall Plain is the shortest.

The Duanji River breaks through the Eagle Beak Mountain Range to form the Eagle Beak Pass, which is the first natural geographical defense line of the scree hills and the highest point of the entire scree hills.

If the army on the boundless plateau breaks through the Eagle's Beak Pass, it will be able to have a commanding view of the entire hilly basin, canyon, and plain area, and seize the initiative in its attack.

The three rivers flowing from north to south and the three mountains flowing from west to east form the geographical dividing lines of the scree hills.

The ferry crossings where mountains and rivers meet are the key to controlling the extensive waterways in the rocky hills, and to grasp the transportation network centered on the Nutao Dam, Tielu Ferry, and Dijiaotan.

The Sentinel River basin, from Cat Back Mountain to Green Mountain, is the flattest area, and the territories along the way are rich.

To the northeast, it connects to the oasis settlements at the southernmost part of the boundless plateau, and to the south, it leads to the core area of ​​the Starfall Plain. This trade route is known as the golden corridor of the scree hills.

Because the nomadic cats of the boundless plateau have been plundering the border of the Starfall Plain for a long time, the area where the plateau and the plain directly meet is almost closed off, with only a few trading ports remaining.

The more tense the relations between the two sides, the more prosperous the entrepot trade connecting the two sides via the gravel hills became.

The furs, minerals, and livestock of the grasslands, and the salt, iron, grain, and silk of the plains, were all traded through the gravel hills, making merchants rich. The lords along the way who set up checkpoints to collect taxes also made a fortune.

The tax stations and checkpoints formed by the river crossings also tightly linked the interests of the 27 noble lords in the south-central part of the scree hills.

The leaders of these nobles from the central and southern regions were the Duke of Snowclaw and the Marquis of Velvet Carpet.

Behind Eagle's Beak Pass in the north lies the territory of the Marquis of Iron Oak.

The border military nobles, led by him, not only had to defend against the occasional raids by nomadic cats, but also could not earn the benefits of resale trade in the Golden Corridor region.

This is also the biggest reason for the falling out between the Duke of Snowclaw and the Marquis of Iron Oak; ultimately, it's all about interests.

"I'll go and die, you get all the benefits"—no one can accept that.

The conflict between the Duke of Snowclaw and the Marquis of Iron Oak lies in how much benefit the nobles of the central and southern regions are willing to offer to compensate the military nobles in the north who defend against the nomadic cat packs.

Yi Yin stroked his chin and said.

"Who would want to spit out the benefits they've already eaten? Especially not a miser like Duke Snowclaw."

Judging from his various mistreatments of you, he's not a generous cat at all, no wonder the Marquis of Iron Oak is so resentful.

Duke Snowclaw accepted your military supplies of five tons of grain, but then kicked you to the front line at Eagle's Beak Pass to bear the brunt of the attack, while he himself led his loyal troops to the second line at Cat's Back Mountain to observe.

Is this something a human would do? No, something a cat would do?

If you donate five tons of grain to the church, a diocesan bishop might come out and say a few words on your behalf.

Duke Snowclaw did something like this; this cat has questionable character.

Sofia frowned.

"Since things have come to this, there's no point in saying more. I just want to ask you, will you come with me?"

That might be dangerous.

Yi Yin chuckled.

"Of course I'll go with you, I'm your knight in shining armor."

Sofia put away the map and nodded.

"Then I feel more at ease. I'll go back and get busy now."

Yi Yin watched Sophia leave briskly and couldn't help but complain.

"I'm so understanding, can't you at least show a little bit of gratitude?"

Sophia twitched her cat ears, turned her back to Yi Yin, and waved her short arms. She really left so gracefully. There were still many things in the territory that needed her to deal with. She didn't have time to waste words with Yi Yin.