Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1004 - 997: Luscaque

Chapter 1004: Chapter 997: Luscaque

After an overnight rest, the Advance Team broke camp early the next day and officially embarked on their journey northward to the port city of Luscaque in the Snow Domain.

The group returned to the main road via a narrow path and then traveled along the main road for about five days before eventually arriving at a river stream, a tributary of the Heber River within the Snow Domain known as the Lusnia River.

The Heber River originated from the northern foothills of the Northern Domain Mountain Range, flowing south to north into Platinum Bay. The mouth of the river at Platinum Bay was none other than the port city of Luscaque. Meanwhile, the Lusnia River originated from the Winter Mountains in the eastern part of the Snow Domain, flowing from east to west into the Heber River.

As it was currently winter, the river remained unthawed, its ice surface remarkably thick, allowing for the unimpeded passage of carts and horses and thus serving as a natural causeway.

This became the main land route for trade during the winter season. Previously mentioned, there was almost no merchant activity in the Snow Domain during winter, but this was not absolutely so—upon closer calculation, there were still merchants heading north to Luscaque to sell some scarce goods.

Past commodities mainly included food products and other items for fending off the cold. However, with Earth’s growing influence, industrial products from Earth gradually dominated the market share. Among these, spirits, particularly high-proof vodka from Russia, were most popular. As long as it could be transported to Luscaque, it would fetch a high price.

Of course, the trade in Luscaque was relatively primitive, so a significant portion of the transactions still involved bartering. The residents of Luscaque would sell materials like furs and Magic Crystals in exchange for these scarce goods.

Latterly, merchants would sell the furs on Earth, and the Magic Crystals in Yazhi City, to make a large profit. Highly valued animal furs from the Snow Domain had already become a primary material for Earth’s luxury fur garments and had also become synonymous with these luxury brands.

With the rise of environmental awareness, people on Earth began to realize that such trade stimulated the Otherworld’s inhabitants to continually slaughter Otherworld animals, leading to species extinction. As a result, protest groups had started marching in the streets, opposing Earth’s luxury brands that used Otherworld animal furs as a selling point, indirectly leading to the extinction of species in Otherworld.

Aside from protesting at these companies’ headquarters, the most frequented protest location was in Ulysses City at the site of the Otherworld Gate. Thus, merchants traveling between Earth and Otherworld often saw people braving the scorching sun of Australia, holding signs and demonstrating at the customs area of the Otherworld Gate.

Of course, most protests were in vain unless they could shake the United Nations Security Council or the WTO into enacting a trade legislation akin to the arms export principles to limit the import of Otherworld furs; otherwise, there was no way to stop these merchants from massively purchasing precious animal furs from Otherworld.

The Snow Domain was mostly mountainous and hilly, so traveling by land was quite burdensome, requiring crossing over mountains most of the time. Particularly in summer, when the ice and snow melted, the terrain was even more difficult to traverse, hence most merchants chose to ship directly to Luscaque by sea during the summer.

Although the winter climate was severe, traveling by land was somewhat easier because one could simply follow along the river or riverbank. With good fortune, nearly 80 percent of the journey consisted of smooth ice surfaces, eliminating the need for crossing mountains.

Despite the Snow Domain’s rugged terrain, the rivers had little vertical drop, making them ideal roads in winter. If the Advance Team were not on an expedition to seek the Holy Book of the Ancestors in the Snow Domain, reaching Luscaque would only take about a month and a half, at most two months.

However, despite this, sea transportation remained Luscaque’s principal trading method due to a warm current flowing through Platinum Bay, ensuring that the sea surface did not freeze over even in winter, thereby endowing this northern port city with significant competitive trade advantages as a natural non-freezing harbor.

At the moment, the Advance Team ascended upon the frozen river surface, which effectively meant they had completed the most difficult part of the journey. According to Axia’s estimates, given their current speed, they would reach Luscaque at most within half a month.

The group followed the river westward to the confluence point and then headed north. The journey was almost unobstructed. However, regrettably, they did not encounter any trace of merchants along the way, likely because maritime routes had already been de-iced, leading most merchants to choose sea transportation.

Traveling north along the Heber River, it took the group roughly fourteen days to finally reach the port city of Luscaque, arriving a day earlier than Axia had anticipated.

From its appearance, Luscaque was a small city buried in snow and ice. The group, filled with anticipation, couldn’t help but feel a bit let down when they first saw Luscaque.

Appearance-wise, rather than a port city, it was more of a port town. Compared to larger cities like Yazhi City or Holy Heart City, Luscaque was considerably smaller, primarily because its main inhabitants were the Snow Elves.

As mentioned before, like all Elf Races, the Snow Elves have an extremely low birth rate, which accounts for their small population. Despite occupying the vast Snow Domain, most areas were uninhabited, with the main population of Snow Elves concentrated in a few small cities, and Luscaque was considered one of the larger ones.

Luo’er observed carefully and determined that Luscaque had a population of about a hundred thousand, not exceeding one hundred fifty thousand, which was considered a large city among those of the Elf Race. But elsewhere, especially in some countries on Earth, it would merely be equivalent to a county town or township.

Although the number of Snow Elves was small, due to their longevity, they paid special attention to spiritual development; hence their artistic achievements were not inferior, a fact evident from the architectural style of Luscaque.

The main construction material in Luscaque was large granite blocks, and as a result of Earth’s influence, some buildings were also made using reinforced concrete structures. The city’s architectural style bore a resemblance to Gothic architecture, with many spires and buttresses, and both interior and exterior walls adorned with finely carved reliefs; the predominant color scheme was dark.

However, unlike Gothic architecture, the buildings in Luscaque lacked large stained-glass windows, which was understandable since Luscaque was an extremely northern city, and large windows were not conducive to insulation.

Moreover, rather than the pointed arches typical of Gothic architecture, buildings in Luscaque featured round or oval doors. Compared to the elongated style of Gothic architecture, Luscaque’s architectural style appeared more compact.

Being born in snow and ice, the Snow Elves had grown aesthetically fatigued by the color white and hence favored darker hues, which was noticeable from both the exterior and interior of the buildings.

In the outskirts of the city, one could see small wooden cabins constructed from original wood, which, despite their simplicity, had a distinctive charm. Amidst many similar buildings, one could occasionally spot one or two squarely modern reinforced concrete buildings.

This Bauhaus style minimalist architecture stood out awkwardly among the many buildings adorned with exquisite reliefs, and it was prominently visible like a dancer in underwear, swirling amidst a ballet troupe, giving an odd sense of incongruence.

The closer they got to Luscaque Port, the more fragile the ice became, due to the warm currents. Therefore, when they were in the suburbs, the group had already left the ice and stepped onto the flat roads.

Luscaque as a whole gave off a feeling of a blend of modern and classical, conservative and radical. In the distance, the architecture had an exotic style, while the roads beneath their feet were made of crushed stone, higher in the middle and lower on the sides to facilitate drainage.

This style of road was clearly derived from Earth, as such road surfaces could prevent muddiness to the maximum extent, making it easier for people and vehicles to travel. Since the connection of Earth to Otherworld, this world had been increasingly influenced by Earth, therefore incorporating many of Earth’s styles.

A few kilometers further, they entered the urban area of Luscaque. Unlike other cities in Otherworld, Luscaque was one of the few cities without built city walls.

Of course, it would be inaccurate to say there were no city walls at all; there was still a low stone wall around the city, but it was more akin to a fence than a