Since the end of winter, Monolith City had become more prosperous by the day.
This new city in the north of Cecil used to be a part of the fortress and plains in the south of Monolith Citadel. The people of Cecil destroyed the walls of the old fortress, flattened the old towers, and built a new citadel city from the ruins after the war. They built a new "Magic Barrier" on the outer layer of the citadel, and built a dock square on the banks of the "Dorgon-Whitewater River", bringing life to this war-torn land.
At first, the people living in the inner city of the citadel were uneasy. They were the residents of the old citadel, and they used to serve the royal army stationed in Monolith Citadel. This awkward position made them constantly worry about the liquidation of Cecil's people after the war. But as the new citadel commander took office and the government office began to operate, the people of Cecil kept their promises when they took over the citadel: no liquidation, no forced conquest, no demolition, no plundering. After these promises were fulfilled one by one, the order in Monolith Citadel gradually stabilized, and the gradually stabilized order successfully allowed the newly built Monolith City to operate.
As a city that served as a "communication window" when it was first planned, once Monolith City began to operate, it quickly became prosperous.
This was the throat of the communication between the Holy Spirit Plains and the South. It was the only way for merchants to trade between the North and the South. To the merchants, the South seemed to always have a shortage of ores and magic materials that could not be filled, and everyone in Ansu welcomed the alchemy potions and magic net units from Cecil. The Dorgon-Whitewater River was filled with gold coins, and the merchants who came to Monolith City to do business had a new saying: as long as you can carry a bag around Monolith City, even a donkey can make a fortune.
Recently, the royal family had also reached a new agreement with Cecil. The slow-witted nobles in Saint Sunil City finally acknowledged the authority of the Duchy of the South, and Cecil also opened up more trade orders to the Holy Spirit Plains. Monolith City suddenly became more lively, and new merchants were attracted here. New goods began to appear on the cargo ships and trucks. Cheap textiles, paper, and alcohol from the South were included in Cecil's list of goods, and their low prices stunned the merchants from the Holy Spirit Plains. In a very short time, the goods from Cecil to the Holy Spirit Plains were no longer just alchemy potions and magic components. The goods that Cecil bought were still endless ores and magic materials …
The prosperity of commerce allowed Monolith City to develop at an extremely fast pace, and more and more foreigners were attracted to settle here. This included not only the residents of the Southern Border, but also those from the Plains of the Holy Spirit who had left their homes due to various reasons.
In front of the entry and exit checkpoint at the dock square of Monolith City, a line of new immigrants who had just disembarked from the ship was queuing up to walk through the narrow passage. This narrow passage and the 'queue' rule were very novel to the people who were crossing the Monolith Fortress for the first time. They were not very used to it, but the fully armed dock soldiers ensured that they would be able to get used to it in a very short time.
A red-haired young man with his head lowered slowly walked forward with the line, looking very inconspicuous. The tall and thin man in front of him finished his registration with some difficulty, and then it was his turn to stand in front of the 'registrar'.
"Name?" the registrar asked.
The red-haired young man shrunk his neck, looked around in a way that he thought was calm and collected, and said softly, "Sala, no surname, sir."
"Age? Profession or specialty? "
"Nineteen … eighteen years old, used to be a carpenter, sir."
The registrar raised his eyelids, looked at the red-haired young man's hands, and then looked at the young man's standing posture.
The calluses were very thick at the area between the thumb and the index finger, and the young man habitually leaned forward with his feet apart.
The registrar glanced at the young man's clothes, and then looked at the thick leather boots on his feet.
"Where are you from?"
"The Holy Spirit Plains … Central, a village next to Monolith City …"
"Can you read?"
"No, sir."
"Your registration card is here. Go through the left passage, and there will be people at the end who will take you to immigration." The registrar took out a card and handed it to the red-haired young man, and looked at him deeply when he reached out to take it. "Young man, remember to abide by the laws of Cecil. Under this premise, the Principality will protect you. Also, don't call me sir, I'm just a registrar. "
"Yes … yes, sir."
The red-haired young man took the piece of paper in a slight panic. He didn't know if he heard the registrar's instructions, but he hurried to the left passage. On the piece of paper in his hand, there was a number printed on it: 3.
The young man who was registered did not know what the number meant, but the registrars working at the docks knew that the code meant: suspected deserter from the Holy Spirit Plains, recommended for a second investigation.
The registrar looked up and saw that there was still a long line in the passage, and guessed how many deserters from the Holy Spirit Plains would be mixed in with these people.
Since the chaotic civil war had fallen into a stalemate, there had been more and more people like this.
The situation at the eastern front of the Holy Spirit Plains was said to be very anxious, and both the Royal Army and the Eastern Army had fallen into an awkward situation where neither side could win quickly. The stalemate had forced both sides to put more and more soldiers into the battlefield, and the protracted war had caused more and more deserters to appear.
For the aristocratic army, which lacked effective management measures, and the enthusiasm and loyalty of the soldiers were not high, deserters were as common as the wind and rain.
The young man was most likely a soldier of the Royal Army, so he did not dare to escape to the east. At the same time, he could also be a believer of a god other than the God of Holy Light, so he did not dare to escape to the north of the plains. In today's world, believers of other gods were in a very difficult situation in the north. Between the Western Army and the Southern Army, it was obvious that the Southern Army, which had a better immigration policy, was a better choice for these deserters.
The registrar shook his head. Cecil did not care about the origin of these deserters. Whether they were deserters from the old aristocratic army, or refugees who had lost their homes and lands, they were valuable labor for Cecil. Although the registrar was not a high-ranking government official, he had received training, and he knew that everyone who came from the north of Rock Fortress was no different to the duchy: they were all unqualified, and all of them had to be educated.
Similar things happened not only at the registration exit, but also at the entire dock square, at the end of the 28 registration passages. Every registrar had some special immigration documents in their hands: deserters from the Holy Spirit Plains, believers of other gods who were expelled by the Church of Holy Light, suspected spies sent by the northern nobles... Since Cecil's situation had stabilized and the duchy was recognized by the Royal Family, the Southern Army had reopened the passage to absorb people, and the huge influx of immigrants into the Southern Army included all kinds of people.
In a sense, the rise of Cecil Hill depended on the "refugees", and for Cecil's government office, dealing with these immigrants was almost their basic business requirement.
After leaving the registration passage, the red-haired young man carefully held his "immigration document" and walked on the way to meet the next registrar. In this huge and strange city, he was confused and uneasy, but more than that, he was curious and excited.
This was Cecil, or a part of Cecil.
But this place was completely different from what he had imagined, and it was also completely different from what he had heard.
The northern nobles said that Cecil was a barbaric, desolate, cruel place where order had collapsed. They said that the aristocratic system in the Southern Army had disappeared, and a man who had climbed out of a coffin had destroyed all order with a barbaric war. They said that there was no order in this land, and that there was no authority, and that a lowly serf and a noble Knight could walk on the same path. They said that this place had been scorched by the demonic fire of Cecil, and that there was only a militaristic duchy in the middle of the scorched land...
But what the red-haired young man saw here was only wide and clean streets, tall and imposing buildings, upright and friendly "lords", and the unbelievably bustling dock square. If this was the barbaric and cruel scorched land described by the nobles, then were those nobles living in a cesspool more terrible than the scorched land?
Looking at the square as far as her eyes could see, Sara felt that the nobles were only right about one thing: here, everyone was walking on the same path.
The road was so wide that everyone could walk on it.
If only his fellow countrymen who had escaped with him had chosen the same path as him... Unfortunately, they, who believed in the God of Holy Light, had all gone to the North.
The red-haired young man walked forward slowly, as if his eyes were not enough to take in all the new things here.
There were indeed too many new things here, so many that he did not know where to start, so many that he was at a loss of what to do.
There were neatly arranged lampposts on both sides of the wide road, but what hung on the lampposts were not oil lamps, but magic crystals. There was a strange metal tower in the distance, and a large piece of crystal was floating on top of the tower. At the end of his sight, there were workers building something, and they were using tools and machines that he had never seen or heard of before...
"Sam, you won't believe what kind of place I am in..."
The red-haired youth muttered the names of his friends from the same hometown as he walked slower and slower in the passage. His attention was almost entirely attracted by the strange arcanotech devices. If not for the fences on both sides of the passage blocking the way, he would have run to those devices to take a closer look.
His slowness finally aroused the dissatisfaction of the people behind him. Someone slapped him from behind. "Hey! Hurry up! You're blocking the way! "
The red-haired young man quickly apologized and was about to step forward, but just as he was about to move, a light and shadow suddenly appeared not far away, and at the same time, a sound that came at the same time made him stand still in shock.
In the center of the dock square, on a platform slightly higher than the ground, a large magical device suddenly activated. A huge holographic image appeared on top of the device, and along with the image, there was a brief sound of music — it sounded like a mix of a flute and a seven-stringed harp.
Cecil and the others on the dock were very calm. They were not surprised at all, and just looked at the 'illusion magic' that suddenly appeared on the square with a kind of pleasant and expectant expression. However, the new immigrants, including the red-haired young man, were shocked by the scene. Some of them even exclaimed in the passage. The red-haired young man himself almost screamed, but he just opened his mouth and maintained this slightly funny posture. After a moment, he saw a beautiful lady appear in the magic illusion and heard her voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen in front of the magical terminals, good afternoon. I am your old friend, Miss Witch."
"In today's Witch Hour, I would like to introduce to all of you a magical creation that will excite your spirits.
"... In ten minutes, the newest magical warship of the duchy, the Trailblazer, will enter the water for the ceremony. It will be the new pride of the duchy, and the powerful Trailblazer will become the sword and shield that protect every citizen...
"... Minister Rebecca believes that the new magical warship technology will greatly promote the advancement of the duchy's shipbuilding technology, and for civilian use...
"Now, let's go outside the venue. My colleagues have already prepared at the dock..."
(The premiere of the unusual animation on June 22nd! Recruitment for viewing qualifications is ongoing. The details can be found on Bilibili. If you have time and can go, try to support as much as possible = This is also my wish of many years finally come true.)
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