Two rows of oranges were planted in front of the Kumquat Tavern, which was very fitting. However, there were no oranges now, only two rows of dark green leaves could be seen. It was afternoon, but music and voices could already be heard from the tavern. It sounded very lively. After several renovations, the tavern was expanded into the main building in front, a row of houses in the back, and a courtyard. The main building was used as a tavern and was divided into two floors. The row of houses at the back was also a hotel, where drinkers could rest and provide some special services.
When Allen pushed open the door of the tavern and walked in, he smelled alcohol, wheat, women's perfume, and other strange smells in the air. He frowned and chose a seat by the window. There was originally a drunkard there, but he occupied a large table, so the bartender spread him out. For this, Regis gave him a gold coin. He asked the bartender to bring orange wine, smoked fish, and fruits and vegetables. The rest was his tip.
The bartender left happily. After all, there weren't many generous guests.
However, the actions of Allen and the others attracted the attention of a few men nearby, especially Lucy and Lola. Their beauty made them breathe heavily. However, considering the blood that Lola had casually placed on the side of the table and the sword that Regis had placed on the table, their rationality finally suppressed their impulses and they continued to drink.
The guests in the tavern spoke loudly, and from time to time, there was a burst of knowing laughter. No matter what town, taverns were always a good place to get information. Allen did not intend to pry for any information, but from the conversations of the drinkers, he could more or less hear the latest major news of the empire.
Two of them were the most eye-catching.
One was the royal family's establishment of a crown prince; the other was the Shadow Duchy gathering troops in the north and south.
The royal family's establishment of a crown prince was no longer a secret. This town was not far from the imperial capital, so it was natural to receive news. Moreover, there was a lot of news from Oliska, the secret struggle between the three princes, Tangerio Great Emperor's comments on the princes, and even the factions behind the princes. These major events had become topics of conversation in the tavern, and even these drinkers knew more than Allen.
As for how much of this information was true and how much was false, there was no way to know.
However, it seemed that from the ministers of the imperial capital to the commoners, they were generally not optimistic about the Second Prince, Julian. After all, on the surface, Julian's mother was of ordinary birth, even if the Second Prince had a teacher from the Prime Minister. However, Nabott was also a commoner, and most of the people he made friends with were of the same background. The most fatal thing was that the Second Prince's faction lacked the military strength to suppress the situation. It was said that he had suffered a great loss because of this when he wrestled with the First Prince, Howson.
On the other hand, the First Prince, Howson, and the Fourth Prince, were powerful. Howson had the support of the empire's military headquarters behind him, and there was no lack of strong people in the army serving him. His martial strength was strong, and he was firmly ranked first among the three princes. As for the Fourth Prince, Savis did not have many strong people by his side, but he had an uncle who was one of the Ten Sages, and in terms of martial strength, he was extremely strong.
Howson had the support of the Imperial Army, and there was no lack of military experts working for him. His martial strength was firmly ranked first among the three princes. Even though this prince had extraordinary insight into military strategy and had even been praised by Tangerio. However, the lack of true experts under his command was an unavoidable fatal wound.
As for the actions of the Shadow Duchy, it affected the hearts of ordinary people even more. After all, the battle for the throne was too far away from them. It was a game for the royal grandchildren and nobles. Whoever became the Crown Prince had little impact on the civilians. At least until the Crown Prince sat on the throne, the empire would not be affected in any way. However, the Shadow Duchy was different. It wasn't hard to see through the history of the Bailey Empire that a war would break out between the empire and the Shadow Duchy every few decades. This had already become the norm in history, but the scale of the war was slightly different.
The hatred between humans and outsiders spread with the continuation of the bloodline. Every once in a while, either the human army marched west or the Shadow Duchy's army came east. This time, it was clear that the Shadow Duchy intended to take the initiative to attack. It was no secret that the armies of the outsiders had gathered in the northern and southern regions. However, it was quite surprising that the outsiders intended to open two fronts this time.
Even civilians who didn't know about military affairs knew that they were weak and strong when they were gathered. The military strength of the Shadow Duchy did not have an absolute advantage, and the victory or defeat between them and the Imperial Army was only fifty-fifty. Now that the battlefront was divided into two sides, even if the Imperial Army Regiment had to split their troops, the Imperial Army still had the geographical advantage. The Shadow Duchy's move gave people a feeling that it was unwise.
This news also made Allen unable to relax.
As early as when he was in Mountain City, he already knew that the Shadow Duchy was planning to attack the north from the south. However, the outsiders' plan to enter the main mountain city and quietly invade the south was destroyed by him. But now, not only did the outsiders not retreat, they even gathered their troops. This was not good news for Allen, whose territory was in the south and close to the border. Once the war started, his territory would definitely be implicated. Even if the Imperial Army arrived, the outcome of the war could be imagined if it took place in his territory.
Fortunately, Ark Harbor and Iron Spear Ridge had become one family. Once the war in the South began, Hoey would have to deal with it no matter what. With the Marquis of Iron Spear, the losses in the war might be reduced by one or two.
At this moment, another person entered the tavern.
The traveler in a black cloak walked into the tavern. When he pulled down his hat, his long, slender silver hair attracted the attention of the people in the tavern. One of the men even whistled at him and laughed maliciously. The silver-haired man was expressionless. He sat down at the bar table and said calmly, "Give me a glass of orange wine. I want it on ice."
When the bartender placed a glass of iced fruit wine in front of him, a series of shouts and curses sounded in the tavern. Then a seventeen or eighteen year old woman staggered out and fell at the feet of the silver-haired traveler. The man bent down and gently pulled her up. The somewhat beautiful woman said, "Thank you." A few big and thick men came out from behind and grabbed her hair and scolded, "Bitch, where are you going?"
They pulled the woman's hair and walked to the back of the tavern. The woman screamed and finally cried helplessly at the silver-haired traveler, "Save me, sir. Please, don't let them hurt me … Ah! "
She was punched in the stomach, and then she couldn't even speak. One of the men with thick chest hair said to the traveler at the bar, "Mind your own business."
The traveler in black snorted and drank all the orange wine in his glass. He casually put down a few silver coins and got up to walk towards the back of the tavern. The bartender pulled him and said, "If I were you, I wouldn't care about this kind of thing."
"But you're not me." The traveler in black said calmly.
The bartender shrugged and let go of his hand. Watching the silver-haired man's figure disappear into the back door of the tavern, he rolled his eyes and said, "Another idiot."
Allen narrowed his eyes and stood up. Lucy looked at him and said, "What are you going to do?"
"Mind my own business."
"That gentleman's intentions were good, but don't you think he needs to be taught a lesson? The bartender has already reminded him."
"You have to know that there aren't many idiots like him these days. And sometimes, people need idiots like him. I just don't want him to be disappointed in this world, "Allen said calmly.
The back door of the tavern was pushed open by the traveler in black. Behind the door was a corridor that led to a small courtyard. A few men were dragging a woman on the other side of the corridor. The traveler in black shouted, "Hey, let go of her!"
The men really let go of her, and a few of them laughed sinisterly. The man in the lead said, "Look, this lord who upholds justice is so heroic. I'm sure he will pay a few gold coins for this little girl, so that we won't spoil her."
The woman crawled and ran from the ground. She came behind the traveler in black and cried, "Please, don't let them hurt you. I will repay you. I will do whatever you want me to do, just don't let them take me away. "
A man with a dagger on his waist said, "That's right, this whore's mouth is good. Maybe she can help you lick it. But the condition is that you pay us the money she owes us."
"How much does she owe you?" The traveler in black asked.
"Not much, just ten gold coins."
"Okay, I will give you the money." The traveler reached into his pocket. Suddenly, the woman behind him screamed. He looked back and saw a young man standing behind him. He was holding the woman's arm with one hand and there was a dagger in the woman's hand.
Allen said calmly, "You have been tricked. They are actually in cahoots. If you hand over the money, this woman will stab you. It seems that she smeared something on the dagger. Maybe it is a knockout drug. I guess they don't have the guts to commit murder near the imperial capital. But if they knock you out, they will definitely strip you of all your belongings and throw you on the cold street. Am I right? "
He exerted a little force and the woman screamed. The dagger fell to the ground with a clang. There was an unusual color on the edge of the dagger. It was indeed smeared with drugs. The traveler in black sighed, seemingly very disappointed with the woman. Allen pulled her past the traveler and pushed the woman towards the men. "You can go. I don't want to cause trouble. Let's pretend that nothing happened today."
Then he turned around, only to see the traveler in black pointing behind him. Hearing the sound of the wind quickly approaching, Allen sneered and directly bumped into the arms of the man who wanted to hug him from behind. Immediately, there was the sound of bones breaking. The man was sent flying, screaming incessantly. Allen turned around and said, "I don't want to cause trouble, but that doesn't mean I am afraid of it."
When he and the traveler in black returned to the tavern, the men in the corridor were all lying on the ground. All of them had broken bones and flesh. They would not be able to recover without a few months of rest. Coming to the bar, the traveler in black said to Allen, "Thank you. Do you want me to buy you a drink?"
"No need. I already drank some just now. I am a little tipsy now." Allen smiled and said, "Be careful next time. You are a good person, but there are bad people in this world. It is never wrong to be careful."
"Thank you for your advice, sir." The traveler in black nodded.
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