In the Name of Empress

Chapter 667 378: Turning Back at the Brink (Part 2)

A proud lone wolf never becomes a dog, unless offered endless egg tart.

Centaurs are smarter than wolves, and of course, they long for a better life.

Those centaurs who go to the Jin Yuan Kingdom to enjoy good food and drink, if given the chance to return home, will naturally flaunt the sturdy armor, gourmet food, and fine wine they received from their masters.

The scars on their buttocks from being harshly whipped for not meeting their masters' demands, they naturally cover up tightly.

In a place where communication is mostly shouting, a returning sleek horse often receives envious glances from the local rough horses.

In the quiet of the night by the small river, mare admirers might even eagerly throw themselves into their arms.

Centaurs are also intelligent beings, and the famous scenes in human society play out among them as well.

Roland quickly imagined in his mind a melodramatic TV series called "Grassland Horses in Golden Kite" and then the centaur leader's attitude didn't seem strange to him anymore.

He smiled and greeted the centaur leader.

"Chiron race friends, we are just passing by. The Jin Yuan language I spoke earlier I learned during my travels in the north, and if it offended you, please forgive me."

Chiron race friends?

This address slightly eased the centaur leader's expression.

Although they also have hooves, they also have somewhat rough but distinct hands different from cattle and horses.

These hands are also their qualifying standard for human certification.

As high-level horses that have separated from cattle and horses, the last thing they want is to be called centaurs.

Chiron is a revered term for centaur heroes in mythological legends.

Calling centaurs Chiron is akin to calling humans "children of God."

No one resists flattering words, and centaurs are no exception.

The centaur leader visibly relaxed, and he smiled and responded to Roland in clumsy Jin Yuan language.

"Honored northern traveler, I am Ironhoof Tolsen of the Tolsen Tribe, welcome to the Tolsen Grassland."

"Human traveler, you are bathed in the radiance of wisdom. If you could visit our tribe, it would be our honor."

The Tolsen Grassland, adjacent to Ogaden, is the front line and the place most exposed to northern civilization.

Although the mainstream civilized zone generally divides the South Continent into two regions along the Ogaden River, the South Continent south of Ogaden is vast and not much smaller than the western Rodinia Continent in terms of area.

Even among the Barbarian Race, there are differences; the closer to the Ogaden Line, the higher the degree of civilization enlightenment.

The Tolsen centaurs are clearly a highly enlightened group, and the centaur leader's ability to observe and understand is very close to humans from the civilized world.

To make an accurate judgment at the sight of a unicorn and to "pull back before it's too late" to nip any criminal intent in the bud is considered quite outstanding even among humans in the civilized world.

Since Mr. Ironhoof extended the invitation, Roland had no reason to refuse.

Even if faced with ten thousand centaurs, they wouldn't stand a chance against him backed by Eden, so this rare opportunity to understand the true situation of the centaurs was not to be missed.

Ironhoof guided the way ahead, with Eden disguised as a carriage following, advancing another thirty miles until finally reaching Tolsen... village?

Though Mr. Ironhoof proudly called his home the Tolsen Metropolis, in Roland's eyes, it just barely qualified as a village.

In Sussex or Jin Yuan, this level of a town only had a sheriff and an administrative officer, and sometimes neither a tax office nor a permanent post office, and no direct highways, thus categorizing it as a third-class town.

First-class towns are smaller cities, second-class towns are between rural and urban areas, and third-class towns are large villages.

Upon hearing the name Tolsen Metropolis, Lisa quickly retreated back into the carriage, dropped a sound insulation barrier, and couldn't help but lean back and forth laughing.

Backwardness is not scary; what is scary is not realizing one's backwardness.

Lisa seldom laughed at others, but this time was an exception.

Roland didn't burst out laughing like Lisa; instead, he stepped down from the carriage and, introduced by Captain Ironhoof, curiously appreciated the centaur architecture.

In fairness, it was very crude, but Roland's gaze was full of admiration.

This large village built by the Tolsen centaurs through their own skills, along with the surrounding satellite villages, housed tens of thousands of people. In centaur society, it was indeed metropolis-level.

This "metropolis" boasted an architectural style entirely different from northern human civilization.

Though less glamorous than the autonomous region of centaurs in the Jin Yuan Kingdom, which was built according to human aesthetics, here was the standard centaur aesthetic.

When humans design cities for centaurs, many traces of human thinking remain, whereas self-built centaur cities are completely different.

Centaurs naturally do not need to consider human aesthetics; they only need to satisfy themselves.

First, let's talk about housing construction.

Located in the tropics, the Ogaden Line experiences high temperatures year-round, with extreme cold temperatures still above seven to eight degrees, and no frost period all year long. Although it's challenging to efficiently develop agriculture due to different rainy and hot seasons, planting potatoes and yams in the spring provides ample roots to eat in the autumn.

Because it's not cold and there's little wind, wind shielding needs are low, and all walls except load-bearing walls are removable.

Because centaurs have four legs, climbing stairs is a torment for them, so they use spiral ramps rather than stair-type steps to go to the second floor.

Watching centaur children happily chase each other on the spiral ramps, Roland thought of a toy called a merry-go-round.