After two days of traveling, Rex and the others were already thousands of miles away. Gria's men couldn't find them no matter what. Giant Strength, Spring Rain, and Wind Speed were cast on the horses. Even the best warhorses couldn't withstand such torment. After two days, Rex finally slowed down.
Qinyin was a country that was narrow from east to west and long from north to south. It was vast, second only to the Cloud Flow Empire. After galloping, Salin and the others finally went around the largest mountainous area in the west of Qinyin and could turn south.
Salin was a Magician, not a Swordsman. After two days of traveling, he was a little tired. Rex practiced martial arts, but she was a Magician. Her body was at most the standard of a senior Swordsman.
Rex had the most detailed magic map of the continent. She took it out and discussed with Salin which way to go next. From the map, the four of them were in the center of the northern part of the empire. If they walked another day, there would be the imperial road that connected the north and the south. If they walked another two days, there would be a huge canal to the south that they could take a boat down.
Rex preferred to go by land, while Salin wanted to take a boat.
Seeing that Rex was hesitating, Salin said, "If you want to learn the survival experience of ordinary people, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. If we go by land, we're already in the heart of the empire. You have no experience to learn. If we go by water, we can hire a big boat with two crews of sailors. Other than when we need to resupply, we can travel day and night. We can reach Alchemy City next month. "
Rex thought about it carefully. The Vatican seemed to be determined to go to war. Although he hoped to delay it for two or three years, that wasn't realistic. Jia Loulan would be at war by next spring at the latest. If he wanted to reach the level of Magic Shooter, he would need another eight to ten years.
"Sigh, then let's take a boat."
Salin was very happy to see that Rex agreed. He was good at water magic. Taking a boat was much safer than walking. Also, traveling by boat didn't affect his magic training. Riding a horse every day would make him feel like his bones were going to fall apart.
"Rex, this map …" Salin saw that Rex's magic map was very magical. It was like a large magic scroll. After unfolding, one could see the whole continent and use magic to show the minute details of the natural environment. All the mountains and rivers were marked with magic. Some of the rivers were even marked with water depth and width according to the season.
"This is a level nine magical equipment. There are only four of them in the whole of Qin Yin, so there's no way to duplicate them." Rex put away the map apologetically. The warhorse had rested enough, so Salin and Rex continued to ride side by side.
"Rex, how was this map made?"
"I'm not sure either. It should have been done by many 9th Rank High Mages." Rex was also vague. The Glücos family's map came from the Second Dynasty. The history from 10,000 years ago had long been lost. She thought for a bit and said, "I'm just speculating. Because the landscape of the continent is constantly changing, this map is already different from before. Before Qin Yin established his kingdom, many 9th Rank High Mages participated in the revision. At that time, the continent was in chaos, and no one stopped them."
Although Salin knew of the glory of Qin Yin's founding, he was still speechless when he thought of the large number of 9th Rank High Mages used to make a map. Nowadays, most of the magic maps were drawn by magic apprentices with alchemy tools. It had been less than a thousand years since the founding of Qin Yin, and the number of Magicians had decreased by more than half.
The decline of human power seemed to be getting faster and faster. Qin Yin didn't feel much because of the prosperity of magic. Salin's hometown, Ceylon City, hadn't seen a single Mage in more than 200 years.
The war in Jia Loulan was too far away. There was an endless stream of merchants on this east-west road. The nobles from all over the country sent their troops to get a share of Jia Loulan, which indirectly promoted the prosperity of commerce. The troops of the nobles were basically private troops. Garrisoning in Jia Loulan required a large amount of resources. Salin even saw a merchant convoy protected by two 7th Rank Mercenary Teams along the way. The combat power of a 7th Rank Mercenary Team was not much different from the elites of the Empire.
Salin was now a Great Mage, so he had no problem dealing with a hundred heavy cavalry. However, if he was really surrounded by an entire camp of troops, even Rex could only escape with Wind Soaring. If the army had a large number of alchemy crossbows, Mages wouldn't even dare to fly, in case they were shot into porcupines.
After another two days, Rex finally understood what Salin meant. The road used by the Empire for war was too safe. It was purely an accident that he met a Swordsman disguised as a thief. The merchants heading west all hired a large number of mercenaries, and there were many Swordsmen among them. Along the way, the wide road was as peaceful as Kushui City.
The Grand Canal was transformed from a river that ran north to south. To the west of the river was a huge city, which was also a large port in the north. Food transported from the Phoenix Duchy could be sent south along the canal to the largest city in the central and southern part of the Empire — Pompeii City.
The canal converged with the Jade River at Pompeii City, and then went east to the sea.
The wide canal was thousands of miles long, and became the artery of transportation for the Empire. This city in the north of the Empire was extremely important. However, after Salin saw Holy Rock City, this city named Ivantel seemed a little ordinary. Even though it was as beautiful as a work of art, it didn't have the grandeur and foundation of Holy Rock City.
Ivantel was built near the water. Unlike other cities, artificial rivers were dug out on all four sides of the city walls to protect the city. What shocked Salin was the bridge that spanned the canal. This metal bridge was more than two miles long, and could accommodate eight carriages side by side. The bridge pier was a single piece of steel rock. It hadn't even been specially polished, and it still looked like it had been mined.
Salin couldn't understand how such a large piece of steel rock could be transported into the river. Judging from its size, even a level-nine Mage wouldn't be able to put it into spatial equipment.
There were two small castles at the end of the bridge, and the city's port was about a mile south. There was also a dock south of the port. Salin and the others didn't need supplies, so they didn't enter the city. Instead, they looked for a suitable ship to hire.
Salin's identity as a Mage allowed him to easily find a suitable ship. Of course, this was also because he was rich and could choose any ship he wanted. His destination was Alchemy City. Hiring a ship to go all the way to the seaside would cost a lot. Moreover, he wanted to travel day and night, so he needed two shifts of sailors. The sailors had to be hired separately, and each person had to pay a silver coin a day. The boatswain asked for a gold coin. A regular person couldn't even earn ten gold coins a year. A sailor's income was about four times that of a regular person.
Salin didn't understand why until he saw the ship he hired.
This ship was more than 20 meters long and three stories tall. The body of the ship was covered in bronze metal. If this ship was strengthened with some magic formations, it would be no different from the Empire's warships, except that it was a little smaller.
What caught Salin's attention was that there were six huge hidden paddles on both sides of the ship. It was obvious that it could be driven by magic. This ship needed at least one magic apprentice to start, and it also consumed low-level magic cores. The huge mast was lowered and propped up at the bow of the ship. When the wind was favorable, the sails could also provide higher speed.
This was much more advanced than the tattered fishing boats in Tilan City, and it was more complicated to operate.
Rex had only seen images of these magic ships before, but it was her first time seeing the real thing. She said with satisfaction, "Salin, this ship you hired is not bad, and it's very cheap. If it were me, I'd probably have to pay ten times the price. "
"Rex, the four of us, including the eight horses, won't take up much space. They can also carry goods, so the price can only be … "
"That's normal. If we don't carry some goods, it'll be a waste of the Empire's resources. Don't be fooled by Scotia's business empire. Our Qinyin is the richest. "Rex was rather proud when she said this, and directly treated Salin as a Qinyin citizen.
Salin laughed bitterly. He had long heard that the people of Qinyin treated all mages as their own, just like how the people of Tanggula treated everything as gods. He was clearly from Scotia. Even if he had joined Rex's plan, he should still be considered a citizen of the Bitter Water Prefectural Kingdom.
Was this pride, or was it arrogance?
The captain looked like an ordinary person, while the first and second mates looked like they were at least high-level swordsmen, or even swordsmen. Salin had hired the ship, and the captain let Salin meet the chief sailor and the chef before arranging rooms for the four of them.
The rooms were on the third floor, and the entire third floor was connected. The decorations in the room were not luxurious, but the materials were very good. The windows on the four sides were inlaid with colored glass, which was cheaper than pure transparent glass. The advantage was that even if there were no curtains, the people outside would not be able to see in.
The floor was made of wirewood, which was resistant to corrosion. It had obviously been treated with magic, so it would not change shape even if it was soaked in water.
This ship seemed to be specially used by the nobles. There was also a small living room, and the corners of the walnut table were decorated in the shape of flower petals. There were no paintings on the wall, but wood carvings. Meticulous care was shown everywhere.
Salin was very satisfied. Such an environment was suitable for practicing magic. The entire second floor was empty, and no one would disturb them.
Rex also felt good. The windows of the cabin were sliding. After they were all opened, the wide river made people feel comfortable. She had set up magic alarms at all the entrances out of habit. Apart from the four of them, anyone who wanted to approach would be triggered.
Salin, on the other hand, used his cold vision to check the cabin walls, floor, and ceiling. He found a secret passage under the table, but it was one-way, and could only be entered from the third floor to the second. It seemed to be used for people on the third floor to escape in case of danger. The cabin walls were very thick, and were layered with magic materials. They were very sturdy, and even heavy weapons could not break them.
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