Chapter 143: The National Border

Natural wonders hold immense strategic significance, regardless of whether it is the Stone Age or the modern era.

For instance, the Great Barrier Reef yields coral in various hues, and in ancient China, coral trees were extraordinarily precious luxuries! Pearls can also be found here.

In the real world, the Great Barrier Reef can be considered one of the most dreamy and breathtaking locations on earth, boasting over 400 species of colorful coral and 1,500 different types of tropical fish. There are also crabs, sea turtles, sea cucumbers, jellyfish, shrimp, and more...

The marine resources are boundless, and tourism can be developed. Such a natural wonder is of paramount importance to any city.

In fact, the Hawaiian Islands and the Aegean Sea, even without being natural wonders, are equally rich in marine life and serve as prime tourist destinations. The islands are suitable for agriculture, the ocean acts as a natural barrier, and if one adds Mount Fuji—the symbol of Japan—it increases cultural and religious values...

This place should be an excellent location to establish a city.

Of course, building a city here also has major drawbacks; during the Stone Age, transportation is inconvenient. However, maritime transport can be developed in the future to run ocean trade. As stated in the beginner's guide, in *Civilization: The Rise of Great Powers*, the ocean is almost as important as the land.

The oceans here are interconnected and penetrate deep into the interior of the continents via various waterways!

Yet now, the people of the Spanish civilization have arrived.

Yan Luo recalled the intelligence on Isabella he had seen in the character selection lobby. She was one of the most important women in Europe and the greatest queen in Spanish history!

The queen's greatest role model was Joan of Arc. Inspired by her idol, at the age of 23, she challenged her husband and brother, seized control of Castile, and reconquered the Spanish kingdom.

She established the Inquisition to judge Jews and Muslims, defeated the invading Moors, forced the North African aggressors back across the Mediterranean, de-catho... wait, de-Moorified the Iberian Peninsula, funded Columbus's voyage across the Atlantic, ushered in the Age of Discovery, and led to the discovery of Latin America...

She was truly a legendary figure!

It could be said that whether in palace intrigue or warfare, this queen possessed a certain caliber. At the same time, she was a fervent Catholic, passionate about aggression and expansion.

The foundation she laid secured an authoritative, hegemonic status for Spain at the dawn of the Age of Discovery.

Yan Luo remembered that Queen Isabella's leader ability was Angelic Summons, summoning an angel to judge enemies. As for the unique elements possessed by this faction, they were purely military units: the Spanish Tercio and the Spanish Armada.

Army and Navy!

Both of these only emerged in the sixteenth century of the real world, essentially placing them in the "Enlightenment Era." It could be said that compared to Wu Zetian, Queen Isabella was much more delicate and vulnerable; during the Stone Age, the Iron Age, and the Bronze Age, she was practically just an adorable anime girl.

Europe is a superpower in *Civilization: The Rise of Great Powers*! Of course, there is no European Union here, but rather individual civilizations corresponding to various countries, and the sole leader of the Spanish civilization is Queen Isabella.

Logically, Spanish players would all choose this queen.

However, there are simply too many well-known European kings, emperors, and queens. After all, Europe is roughly the same size as China, yet in reality, it is divided into 44 countries, with even more small states in ancient times! China only has 34 provincial-level administrative regions.

High-ranking officials in China lacked the qualification to enter the game, but in European history, conquering a few provinces was enough to earn someone the title of "Great"!

Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Quan naturally do not appear among the leaders of the Chinese civilization in *Civilization: The Rise of Great Powers*; those three would unquestionably be regarded as ambitious masterminds of grand strategy in European history! Therefore, the European civilization features a massive crowd of illustrious figures—the likes of Julius Caesar, William the Great, Frederick the Great, Charlemagne, Alexander the Great...

Compared to these great emperors, Queen Isabella seemed somewhat inconspicuous. Moreover, in *Civilization: The Rise of Great Powers*, players from all European countries—including a post-Brexit Britain—could freely choose from among the European leaders.

True, Isabella is a female leader, but the European civilization is not short on women: Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth of Britain, Queen Margaret of Denmark, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, Empress Catherine of Russia, Mary, Queen of Scots...

With so many options available, the initial batch of Spanish players entering the game was already limited in number, and the vast majority chose other leaders. After all, leaders like Emperor Napoleon possessed far too much popularity.

There was even a moe-fied, Tencent-bootlegged version of King Arthur.

Standing high upon a hillside, Yan Luo looked into the distance and discovered that the players of this civilization migrating together numbered only about seventy or eighty—not even a hundred! Compared to the Chinese civilization, which had the sole solitary empress Wu Zetian as its figurehead, this was truly miserable!

However, this was merely the Chaotic Continent version 1.0, and restrictions had been placed on entering players. Furthermore, the Spanish civilization exerts its strength in the Enlightenment Era, by which time the number of joining players would undoubtedly increase significantly—provided the Spanish civilization could hold out until the Enlightenment Era.

Once a city is founded, it incorporates a certain surrounding area into its sphere of influence.

This is also to leave a certain buffer zone between different civilizational forces. In other words, once Isabella builds the city of the Spanish civilization here, she can directly encompass the Great Barrier Reef into her territory.

As the city's sphere of influence continuously expands, the Hawaiian Islands, Mount Fuji, and even the entire Aegean Sea might all transform into Spanish territory.

How could this be accepted?

Setting aside the fact that Yan Luo currently had a mission to find a city-building location, and submitting the bonus points for the two natural wonders would likely yield a massive reward, even without that, this land could not be handed over to Spain!

Geographically speaking, to the south lie the Pyrenees, a natural barrier, while the east, south, and north are entirely surrounded by the sea—enough to turtle safely until the Enlightenment Era. By then, with maritime navigation unlocked, this subpar early-game faction would instantly take flight.

Furthermore, on the Chaotic Continent, the ocean connects all landmasses, and rivers run deep into the interiors. When the time comes, if the Spanish Armada directly bombards the cities, how many civilizations could possibly withstand it?

Every additional rising great civilizational power would marginally decrease the probability of Wu Zetian and Qin Shi Huang successfully establishing their own powerful realms.

Yan Luo calculated these matters in his mind.

Isabella's tribe was actually still some distance away from here, as they naturally needed to cross the Pyrenees to arrive. Yan Luo rode his horse ahead of time to the coastline, then produced the Coiling Dragon Rod, channeling strength into both arms. He drove the 2.4-meter-long iron staff deep into the ground, and proceeded to make his steed gallop along the coastline.

After carving a long, straight line across this stretch of beach, he dismounted and used the iron rod to write several massive Chinese characters in the sand, translating them into eight languages—English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, German, Arabic, and Japanese—to post a warning sign:

National Borderline.
Territory of China; Trespassers Will Be Dealt With!

Having finished this, Yan Luo put away the oversized gold chain necklace that might impede his movements. He swapped his title from "Forest Sprite" to "Mid-Boss with Eight Health Bars and Boss Armor," and donned the Mask of Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness, setting it to "Anger" to boost his strength.

Never mind that this was merely Spain; even if Napoleon or Washington themselves came, if they wanted to occupy this land, they would have to fight for it! They would have to ask whether he agreed or not!

With these preparations complete, Yan Luo took a deep breath and gazed at the approaching tribe in the distance.

With his spear leveled and his mount steady, his eyes blazing with stern fury, an aura of melancholy and chilling winds swept across the long national border, seemingly stirring up ripples even within the Aegean Sea.