Since the opening of the underground world's trade route, Haier Zorm had become the most popular place in the Ilrus Empire. A large number of adventurers and chambers of commerce gathered there. In just over a month, on the basis of the supply point designed by Twain, this place had already become a large town.
The greater the flow of people, the larger the scale of the transactions. Naturally, Tang En's commission would increase as well. As the person in charge of this place, Gase's smile grew wider and wider. However, with the ascension of the new king, Girard, and Ellington's declaration of independence, Gase no longer smiled.
The reason was that the territory of Haier Zorm was under the direct jurisdiction of the Empire, not under the rule of Ellington. Naturally, it could not enjoy the protection of Ellington.
It could be said that after Ellington's declaration of independence, Gais had not had a good night's sleep for the past few days.
He was worried that he would see the sharp swords of the Empire's army when he woke up.
However, the message from Ellington told him to continue with his business and not to worry about the impact of these things. How could he not care about it?
Just when Gais was in a state of panic, Tang En came.
The teleportation circle flashed, and Tang En, Aurelia, and Olina came to Haier Zorm in disguise. Gais, who had received the news first, had been waiting in the room for a long time.
"My Lord."
Gais bowed respectfully.
"Well, how's the situation?"
Tang En nodded slightly and asked casually.
Gais quietly glanced at Aurelia and Olina behind Tang En, then withdrew his gaze and said in a low voice, "It's still stable. But with the arrival of the merchants, the news of Alinx has spread among the adventurers. I'm afraid …"
Tang En raised his eyebrows and said, "Let's go out first."
The group left the room where the teleportation circle was located and came to the village at the bottom of the mine. At this moment, the village had expanded several times compared to before. It almost covered the entire bottom of the mine. Among the bustling crowd, most of them were adventurers from all over Ilrus. There were also some adventurers and merchants from other countries who came from afar.
Adventurers would enter the Underground World from here to explore and collect all kinds of rare treasures and materials. Merchants would bring the supplies and goods that the adventurers needed to sell at a high price here. Then, they would buy all kinds of rare Underground World specialties and bring them back to their hometown to resell, making a huge profit.
Of course, there were risks. Whether it was the magical beasts on the road, the bad weather, or the arrogant bandits, they could all make a loss..... but the high profit margin, the merchants dared to take the risk....
It was precisely because of this that the mercenary guild, the Star Diamond Bank, and other large chain organizations had set up branches here. Many adventurers and mercenaries who did not want to enter the underground world would also receive a large number of escort missions here, and they could also earn a lot of commission.
It could be said that since the entrance to the underground world appeared and Tang En opened up the underground world's trade route, this place had completely become a gold mine. The daily flow of people and the scale of transactions had even surpassed that of some medium-sized cities, and it was still expanding.
In the past, Haerzom was always full of lively transactions, but now the overall atmosphere was more towards gloomy. The faces of the pedestrians on the street were full of worries about the future, and some adventurers who had just returned from the underground world could not believe it after hearing the new news.
"What? King Victor is dead? "
"What? Prince Girard has succeeded the throne? "
"What? Ellington declared independence? "
These adventurers were stunned. They did not expect that when they were still exploring the underground world and trading with the dark elves, the world on the surface suddenly changed.
Their expressions were like that of Yongzheng when he heard that the Qing Dynasty had fallen.
Victor's death naturally had little to do with them, and Girard's succession would not affect the lives of the adventurers. What surprised them was that Ellington's declaration of independence was supported by Princess Aurelia and Queen Olina. So many things had happened in such a short period of time. How could they accept it?
What was even more unbelievable was that the lord of Ellington, Tang En, had publicly announced that Prince Girard was controlled by the cultists, and that the death of the late King Victor was a complete conspiracy!
Some of the more sensitive people had already sensed the uneasiness. Ellington's public declaration of independence was a precursor to the division of the empire again?
Or was it a sign of the beginning of war?
"The number of merchants has decreased a lot recently."
Gais whispered as he led the way. "I'm afraid they have smelled the scent of war and want to take the opportunity to make a fortune. Should we reduce the tax rate to attract merchants? Otherwise, the supply here will be a problem. "
It was a well-known fact. In war, those who were brave enough would always make a lot of money. Once war broke out, whether it was food, ores, weapons, armor, all kinds of herbs, or even the originally expensive alchemy potions, the price of everything would rise.
Before the war broke out, they could first buy a batch of goods at a low price and store them. After the war broke out, they could sell them at a high price. Just by reselling them, they could make a lot of money. How could those merchants give up this opportunity?
"Let them be. There will be a market for the specialties here."
Tang En shook his head.
"But a lot of food is consumed here every day …"
Gais said with a headache. "Haerzom has no farmland, so the food here is transported by merchants. If there are not enough merchants to supply, there will soon be chaos here."
"The food supply problem will be left to Ellington. When necessary, food will be transported through the teleportation circle."
Gais was shocked. "But the transportation cost …"
Although the teleportation circle was convenient, each teleportation required expensive magic crystals. Compared to the value of the magic crystals, the cost of transporting food was a drop in the ocean.
"Don't worry about the transportation cost." Tang En waved his hand. "Ellington is not short of money now."
This was true. Although Alinx's market was closed, but at the same time, there was no need to pay taxes for the month of declaring independence. The net profit had increased by several times. Just this month alone, they had earned millions of gold coins, which was comparable to the taxes of many small and medium-sized cities in a year.
"Understood."
Gais nodded. "By the way, my lord, if His Majesty Girard …"
Tang En frowned. "We have declared independence. Girard is not your Majesty."
Gais' heart skipped a beat. "Tang En Majesty …"
Tang En did not know whether to laugh or cry. "I didn't proclaim myself a king. Don't call me that. Her Highness the Princess and Her Highness the Queen are both here."
Gais took a deep breath. The two cloaked people behind the lord were Princess Aurelia and Queen Olina?!
Thinking of the request in the letter, Gais suddenly realized something. His legs went soft and he almost knelt on the ground.
The lord was planning to play a big game this time …
"My lord …"
"I know what you want to say. If Girard attacks this place, withdraw our people through the teleportation portal. Don't worry about the others. If Girard hasn't lost his mind, he won't attack those adventurers."
After that, Tang En secretly shook his head. Girard was not crazy? He was no different from a lunatic now.
"Understood."
Gais nodded and did not say more. The more you know, the more dangerous it is sometimes. He silently led the way through the dull streets and came to a carriage shop.
"This is the carriage prepared for you in advance. It's made with Ellington's technology. It's very stable and fast."
Gais pointed at the carriage at the door. As per Tang En's request, the carriage was very simple, but the interior was very comfortable.
Tang En originally wanted to fly to Taris and then teleport back to Ellington to pick up Aurelia and Olina, but he suddenly realized that he did not know where Taris was. The further he flew, the greater the initial deviation. It was possible that he was only a little bit off at the beginning, but as the distance increased, he would eventually be dozens or even hundreds of kilometers away.
Prandal cities were not like Shanghai, New York, or Tokyo on Earth. Those super cities could be seen from a hundred kilometers away. In Prandal, if it was not a plain, it would be difficult to notice the existence of a city more than ten kilometers away.
Of course, flying with Aurelia in his arms was also a solution. Unfortunately, Aurelia was still very resistant to close contact with Tang En.
Olina was also a good choice. However, looking at Aurelia's red eyes and Olina's tear-filled face every day, Tang En finally gave up the idea. In the end, he could only choose the carriage.
It was about a thousand kilometers from Haerzorm to Taris. The carriage could run 130 kilometers per day on average, and it would take about eight days. It was a waste of time.
However …
"Is that … an earth dragon?"
Tang En was stunned when he saw the big guy in front of the carriage.
"Yes," Gais said.
Gais said, "I heard that the Lord had something important to do, so he bought the earth dragon from a merchant from the Ryan Empire."
Although the earth dragon had the word "dragon" in its name, it had nothing to do with a dragon. It was just named that way. It was a special product of the Ryan Empire. After being domesticated, it was very obedient. Also, it had excellent endurance, speed, and explosive power. It was a very good animal and riding tool. Therefore, in the Ryan Empire, it was called a dragon carriage instead of a carriage.
The only drawback was that the earth dragon's feed was raw meat, and the cost of raising it was very high.
Gais said respectfully, "If we use the earth dragon, we can save at least half the time. Just in case, we have prepared food and feed for ten days in the carriage. Because the weather is still cold, we don't have to worry about the raw meat going bad halfway. I think it's worth the money to save the Lord's precious time. "
"Well done."
Tang En praised him, which was rare. "Make an account of how much you spent. When the time comes, just ask Fiona to reimburse you. In addition, I'll give you a hundred gold coins as a bonus."
Gais was overjoyed. "Thank you, Lord!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
