Early in the morning, at the City of Steel entrance gate.
“It’s so lively this morning. It is as expected of the evolved underground city. Oh, no, I should call it the Tower of Babel now! I wonder what kind of changes that ruin has undergone since it rose to the surface. If it’s possible, I’d like to go in and take a look.”
Blake’s body had a rich and mellow scent of someone who had just come out of the tavern. He asked the person in front of him, “Lady Swordmistress, do you think so too?”
He and Christina had been drinking all night. The two of them had confessed many things to each other. However, when it came to core secrets, such as the origin of the Tower of Babel and who Blake was working for, they had a tacit understanding and did not mention anything about that.
Christina nodded as she looked at the tower that rose into the clouds in the distance. “If it were as before, I would want to go explore it as the team’s captain, and you as the captain of my guards, and with everyone else. But neither you nor I can go back, right?”
Blake was silent. After a long while, he smiled bitterly. “Don’t say such sad words, Lady Swordmistress. It makes me want to cry.”
“Can I trust your words? Speaking of which, I don’t even know if you really think of me as your Lady Swordmistress.”
“My feelings for you are genuine. There’s no doubt about that. The time I spend with everyone is also very interesting. It’s just that we always have some sort of unavoidable difficulties.”
“Since you’re sincere in saying that, I won’t mind what you’ve done before. Next, I’m going to the royal city to participate in the Royal Academy’s entrance exam. Will we meet again?”
“Lady Swordmistress, it’s better if you don’t see me again.”
“Is that so? Then I wish you good luck in advance. Don’t die.”
As she waved her hand at Blake, Christina tightened the luggage on her back. Finally, she took a glance at the bustling Tower of Babel before turning around and walking out of the city. As she knew the tower’s structure, she could understand why it was so lively. In the future, that place would be even more vibrant. However, the liveliness belonged to other people and had nothing to do with her.
Blake watched the graceful figure leave the city with a complicated expression. He did not leave until her back disappeared from his sight.
That day was a day of departure for many people. Many people set off on their journey that day, and Watson was also on his journey at the moment.
….
“That is Stanley, the largest port in the Holy Dragon Kingdom. It looks really good.”
After a seven-day journey, Watson and the others finally arrived at the gate of their second stop, the City of Stanley.
There was an endless lake in front of them. The lake’s water was glistening, and it was shrouded in faint clouds. Four bridges extended more than ten kilometers over the lake, linking to a floating castle.
That fortress was Stanley. It was located on Lake Priestly, the largest lake in the Holy Dragon Kingdom. Lake Priestly was connected to the sea, and one could see huge or crude ships sailing on the water everywhere. They gathered at the four gates in the north, south, east, and west of Stanley.
“As the largest port city in the kingdom, Stanley belongs to the Ptolemy family, one of the kingdom’s three archdukes.”
As Watson poked his head out of the carriage and looked outside, Denise, who was also sitting in the carriage, continued to explain. “That is the Ptolemy family’s main source of income. The family is best at ship manufacturing and transportation. More than half of the ships in the kingdom are controlled by their family.”
“The Ptolemy family, why does it sound so familiar?”
Watson thought for a moment before he suddenly remembered. Was that Gerant’s family?
“Other than the Ptolemy family, which other family is there in the kingdom? Denise, please explain it to me.”
That city was not far from the royal city. They were about to arrive at the royal city, so Watson decided to learn more about it.
“In addition to the Ptolemy family, who are in charge of water transportation, there’s also the Campbell family, who are responsible for researching and improving magical tools, and then, the Saint Laurent family, who specializes in training warriors. The heads of those three families are the only three archdukes in the kingdom! In addition to those three families, there are also the civil groups led by Prime Minister Macrotov and the general forces led by General Hoen, who is famous for the kingdom’s walls. In addition, there are only six primary forces in the kingdom. The six forces are mutually restraining each other and attempting to maintain a relative balance.”
“I didn’t expect that my father’s family would be one of the three archdukes in the kingdom.” Watson clicked his tongue.
He knew that the Saint Laurent family was very powerful, but he did not expect them to be so influential. The other two families did not look weak either. They could even send their own men to the border. One could tell that they were extraordinary by that single point.
“Gerant said that I should look him up when I go to the royal city. I wonder if he’s there now? Perhaps I’ll meet his siblings.”
Watson was a little excited when he thought of that. He gestured for the carriage to stop at a sparsely populated corner. He slowly got off the carriage and cast a spell on the carriage in front of him. The carriage immediately turned into a medium-sized ship. The Heaven-devouring Rat King, who was in charge of pulling the carriage, had also transformed into a magical beast with the body of a tortoise and a dragon-shaped head.
That magical beast was called the water dragon. It was closely related to the earth dragon, which contained the Dragon Clan’s bloodline. Its strength ranged from silver to gold-tier. Watson and the others did not look too embarrassed or conspicuous with that magical beast pulling the ship.
“Everyone, come on up.”
Everyone went onto the boat. Nightingale, who had been in charge of controlling the carriage, was free. The ship finally moved as the water dragon started to swim.
Everyone sat on the boat and enjoyed the scenery on the lake. The moist air caressed their faces comfortably.
In about half an hour, they were at Stanley’s East Gate with the surrounding ships. The gate was more like a huge sluice gate. A row of soldiers in sky-blue armor stood on both sides of the gate. Those soldiers held long spears in their hands and emitted a silver-tier aura as they inspected the passing ships. After examining each ship, they would pull the levers on the left and right sides of the water lock to raise the gate and let the vessels move into the city.
When it was Watson’s turn, there were already hundreds of ships in front of them.
“Please show your identification papers!”
The two city guards went to Watson’s boat. They looked at the water dragon in front of the ship, turned their heads away, and stretched their hands outward.
“We are merchants from the border. Here are our papers.”
Watson retrieved two documents from his bag and handed them to the soldiers in front of him. Those papers were what he had used for his forces at the border. No one would be able to find anything wrong with them.
As expected, after seeing his papers, the two soldiers said, “Let them pass.” Just as they were about to open the city gates, something changed. A heavy horn blared from behind Watson. Following that, a giant golden ship that was more than ten meters tall sailed forward. A few men dressed in yellow stood on the deck; they had wave symbols on their chests. They were shouting in all directions.
“The Ptolemy family’s Second Young Master has returned. Those who are idle should retreat.”
“It’s the Ptolemy family’s prodigy. Why does he have to come at this time?”
“Move aside, quickly! Don’t let that ship touch you. It’s not a joke! I heard that a few small ships did not have time to dodge it and were hit. We can’t even find their bodies.”
Many of the boats behind Watson cried out in alarm as they slid to the sides, hearing the sounds emanating from the enormous ship behind them.
Watson frowned. It sounded like the Ptolemy family’s Young Master was not a good person. Even though he was not willing to tolerate such a person, it was better to avoid trouble. Watson ordered the Heaven-devouring Rat King to increase the distance between the ships.
“The young master is back? Quickly, open the city gate!”
The soldiers did not bother to check the passages of the ships around them. They began to shake the levers to raise the city gate. Then, they knelt on one knee and bowed their heads toward the ship about to enter the city gate.
Everyone was watching that scene, including Watson. As the ship got closer, he saw a rocking chair on the bow. A skinny young man was leaning against the chair. Behind him stood four scantily dressed young girls who were fanning themselves with feather fans. As they fanned themselves, they asked, “Young Master Casey, is this okay?”
“Not bad. It would be even better if you used a little more strength.”
Young Master Casey seemed to be in a good mood. He reached out and pinched the girl behind him, causing the girl to call out shyly.
“The weather in Stanley is like my grandmother’s temper. It changes so easily. One moment it’s cloudy, and the next moment it’s sunny. The weather has tanned my skin! Fortunately, the harvest this time it’s quite good. I got a few high-quality goods. Otherwise, I would have to see my big brother’s ugly face when I go home.”
Casey gently swayed in the rocking chair. His palm rubbed the girl’s smooth thigh, and his eyes glanced around her figure.
The Ptolemy family’s Second Young Master was only 16 years old that year, and he had an elder brother who was close to 30 years old. The main branch of the Ptolemy family had three young masters and a young miss, and one of them would be named head of the family. Since his younger sister, Lana, was only 14 years old and was a girl, the main competitors were him and his eldest brother.
‘If I can sell this batch of goods, I can earn at least 100,000 gold coins. This way, my profit this quarter will surpass his. I really want to see him blow his beard.’ Casey muttered inwardly.
His gaze swept across the small boats, admiring the reverence that everyone showed him. That made him very happy. He enjoyed the feeling of power. As long as he had power, he could enjoy it unscrupulously. Many people in the city called him a playboy or the Ptolemy family’s prodigal son because he had done many bad things over the years. However, he would never be punished—that was the benefit of power.
While he indulged in self-satisfaction, his gaze suddenly stopped at a medium-sized boat. A water dragon was pulling that ship, and there were men, women, youths, and children on it.
None of those attracted his gaze, except for the two beautiful women sitting in the middle of the ship. One of them was in tight clothes, and her short black hair fell on her shoulders, swaying in the breeze. The other was in a long robe. There were fine scales on her face that symbolized the flame elves, and her pupils were golden. The two women looked different, but they were both extremely beautiful. Furthermore, there was no fear in their eyes when they looked at him. Instead, there was a hint of disapproval that made Casey lick his lips involuntarily.
‘You’re not afraid of me? You must be a merchant from another city. Interesting.’
He seemed to have thought of something, and a playful look appeared in his eyes. He waved his hand to the people below. “Men, stop the boat and invite those two beauties to come up here.”
