Since it was a quiet trip, no one would come to greet him.
Therefore, Otto did not intend to go straight to the castle at the beginning. No words could compare to seeing with his own eyes. He planned to spend a day or two to observe the prince's territory, and then find the local Rats to get some information.
When he walked out of the cabin and stepped on the trestle, he was shocked by the scene in front of him.
"Is this... a dock in Border City?"
Within a few hundred steps along the riverbank, there was a dock area made of reddish-brown bricks. There was a trestle at regular intervals, and there was a sign at the junction of the trestle and the dock, with a number written on it. Otto roughly counted them. There were 26 of them in total. They were neatly arranged, like tentacles extending from the shore. Some of them were covered with snow, while others had yellowish-brown planks exposed. This showed that even in the Months of Demons, there were still people guarding the town's pier.
In contrast, the length and number of trestles of the canal in King's City of Graycastle were less than half of this!
But what surprised him even more was the ships docked at the dock.
A line of gray wide-bodied ships that he had never seen before was docked not far in front of him. There were seven or eight of them. They had a shallow waterline, no sails, no masts, and the size of their hulls did not seem to be able to be moved by oarsmen. The most unique feature of these strange ships was that there was a huge wooden wheel on each side and a thick iron pipe sticking out of the center. They looked different from any other inland river sailboat.
Otto watched them for a long time until he felt a chill on his head, but he still could not figure out how these strange "ships" could move.
Patting the snow on his head, he put away his doubts and decided to follow the crew into the town.
This "Smooth Wind" from King's City would obviously not only transport him. Otto saw the crew moving bags of goods off the sailboat and piling them up on the side of the dock. Several guards in black uniforms were recording something with pen and paper. From time to time, they would pick out two bags and check them. It seemed that they were inspecting the goods.
"Who are they? Mercenaries hired by the buyer? "Otto walked to the captain.
"Ha, mercenaries?" The captain grinned. "These people are the patrols of Border Town."
He could not help but be surprised. "Patrols? Wouldn't that be equivalent to running into a gang of robbers? The first time he left the inner city of the King's City, he was blackmailed of two silver royals by the patrolmen, and the situation was almost the same everywhere — they were the opposite of underground rats, but the work they did was not much different from the rats, the only difference was that they charged more, and often took the money but did not do the work. But to Otto's surprise, the captain just smoked his pipe leisurely and didn't stop them from inspecting, nor did he take out a few silver royals to ask them to leave.
"I had the same thought as you when I first came here," the captain seemed to have read his mind. "The patrol here is different. As long as you follow their rules, you don't have to pay any fees before entering the market."
The patrol team's … rules? Otto frowned. Even bandits were reasonable in this place, and they even knew how to write things down with pen and paper. Although they were probably just some crooked symbols, it was still incredible.
"What are they recording?" he asked.
"The type and quantity of the goods... especially the wheat." The captain spread out his hands and said, "They have to check the goods after they arrive at the market in case you sell them to someone else. Here, only the lord can sell the food. Of course, I don't have any wheat in my goods, so the check will be faster. "
When all the bags were loaded onto the carriages, they left the dock and headed for the market along the spacious street. Otto suddenly found that his eyes were not enough to see everything.
Was this really the most remote territory of the Graycastle Kingdom?
Looking at the flat hard road under his feet, the neat rows of beautiful houses on the street, and the people coming and going, it was not much worse than the City of Glow, the capital of the Kingdom of Dawn.
As a noble, it was not that he had never seen beautiful and magnificent buildings. Whether it was the Dawn Spire or the Sun Reflection Hall, these two-story or three-story buildings were not comparable to them.
However, there was only one Dawn Spire, and it was surrounded by dilapidated houses, muddy paths, and dirty water everywhere.
But here, he could not find a single slightly old house, as if all these residences had appeared at the same time.
"You look surprised," the captain laughed and said, "Don't mind it, everyone who comes here will show the same expression. I have to say, Border Town is a magical place. Do you see the three-story building over there? It wasn't here the last time I came. "
"I heard that … this place used to be a base built for mining."
"That's what I heard, but who knows the truth?" He picked his nose and said, "You know, some rumors will become unrecognizable if they spread too much. Maybe there's a lot of gold hidden in the North Slope Mine, so His Majesty sent his son here... After all, he's his own son. "
"Wait, what's that?!" Crossing a flat square, Otto suddenly saw two huge colorful balls floating side by side in the air, with a pair of banners hanging below. There were striking words written on the banners: On one side, "Welcome to Border Town", and on the other side, "Join now and you can get citizen benefits."
"Are you asking about the one above or the one below?" The captain pouted. "I don't know how they got the flying ball up there. As for the one below... you can go to the east side of the square to learn about the situation. The lord's notices are often posted there, and this banner is to attract travelers, merchants, and refugees from all over the country."
"They even want refugees?" Otto was surprised. "What's citizen benefits?"
"You can work here, get subsidized food for the first two months, and get a shelter from the wind and rain. Sounds good, right?" The captain explained disapprovingly, "It's not that easy to get approved. Several of my crew members have tried, but none of them qualified. The lord wants them not to be disloyal, not to believe in the church, and not to have a criminal record. Stealing is also a crime. God, which sailor hasn't stolen something? Also, in my opinion, even though this place looks prosperous, there are still many shortcomings. "
"Such as?"
"There are too few places to have fun. There are no casinos, no brothels, and not even a prostitute on the street," he spat. "If you live in such a place for too long, won't you suffocate to death?"
The market was to the north of the square. While the captain and his crew went to deliver the goods, Otto decided to take a walk here alone. According to the captain's introduction, there were many rare goods in the Convenience Bazaar and the boutique market on the other side. In fact, from eggs to dried fish, to clothes to farming tools, a dazzling array of goods filled the shelves. As long as he stayed in front of the stalls for a while, someone would come up to talk about it. Regardless of the outcome of the talk with Prince Roland, he had been deeply attracted by this town.
Just then, there was a commotion in the crowd.
He turned his head and found two women walking toward him.
One of them had a long black ponytail and was also dressed in a black robe. She had beautiful facial features, but her cold expression made people feel unapproachable. The other was completely different. Her expression was soft, and her every move showed elegance and calmness, which reminded people of a warm spring breeze. Her swaying blonde hair was like the light of dawn.
When he saw the blonde woman, Otto felt his blood boil.
His hands trembled slightly, and he repeatedly rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not mistaken.
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