It was already a week later when Laing and the others set foot on the Empire's land.
The ocean-going ship docked at Marimburg. Laing and Tegris did not stop at Marimburg at all. Instead, they continued to travel upstream along the Rick River. Tegris hurriedly met with the goblin ambassador in Ifetaw. Laing originally wanted to chat with Duke Schultz of Marimburg, but seeing that Tegris did not want to stay, he could only say goodbye and leave.
When they arrived at the border city of Calcate between Marimburg and the Rick territory, Emperor Karl-franz of the Empire was already waiting for Tegris' arrival with the Rick Guards, Brunswick Great Swordsman Regiment, Karonburg Great Swordsman Regiment, and many troops from the capital. The Empire gave Tegris the warmest welcome and the highest standard of etiquette to thank Tegris for all that he had done for the Empire in the great holy war. At the same time, the Empire also welcomed Laing. This rising star of the Brittany had risen very quickly. He had a deep relationship with the Empire. Killing Egil had benefited both the west and the north of the Empire, so the people of the Empire who had benefited from it all treated him well.
Although Laing felt that there might be a lot of fear involved, Laing's strength also made the Empire wary.
The group stayed in Calcate for the time being. Carl Franz had arranged for the hotel and the open space in the town for the high elves to camp. Teglis, Ryan, and the others stayed in the hotel.
The spacious hotel suite was luxuriously decorated, clean and tidy. Theresa and Veronica were not unfamiliar with the Empire, but Sulia was curious about many things. The female knight opened the window of the hotel and looked down from the fifth floor. A prosperous, dirty, lively, and chaotic town appeared before the female knight.
The towns in the Empire were not like those in Brittany. The Brittany towns were often built around castles, and the lords and nobles would plan the town well. However, this was not the case in the Empire. The towns in the Empire were often developed from villages, and the local nobles were more willing to live in villas and mansions in the corners of the town, or even build castles outside the town.
Calcate was a town with a population of 5,000. Although it was not the size of a city, it was very close. Merchants from Marienburg or other provinces of the Empire were everywhere. The land was fertile, and the trade was prosperous. Towns like Calcate were scattered all over the territory. As the most prosperous, civilized, and powerful province in the Empire, Calcate had a population of nearly 5,000,000, which was almost 80% of the total population of Brittany. The Karl-franz family's hard work made Calcate the most powerful army in the Empire. It was also one of the few provinces in the Empire that was relatively stable and less prone to war.
The other two territories were Ivy in the east and Weeson in the south.
(Author's Note: This isn't a game. The Vampires of Sylvania were wiped out by the Empire during the Vampire War. Now, the Sylvania Province is a wasteland with only a small number of residents living there. It's a dead land.)
Laing hugged his wife from behind and buried his head in her blonde hair. Breathing in the fragrance of the female knight, he smiled and asked, "What's wrong? Suria, are you curious about the Empire? "
The female knight held Laing's big hand and said, "Yes, the Empire … is different from Brittany. This place is more lively and lively. Many residents like to walk with their heads held high."
"Let's go for a walk." Laing was also interested. On the way into the city, he saw many guilds, such as the Boatmen's Guild, the Blacksmith's Guild, the Dockers' Guild, the Church of Justice, the Church of Life, and the Church of the Goddess of Mercy. Even though it was the middle of winter, the streets were still very lively.
"Well, won't we miss the banquet?" The female knight was obviously very tempted, but she still had to be reserved.
"No, we'll just walk around and be back soon." Laing continued to tempt her.
"Then … okay." Suria agreed. Emperor Karl-franz would host a banquet for them in the evening. It was now the afternoon, so they still had a lot of free time.
Therefore, twenty minutes later, Laing took Suria and her maid, Sylvia, for a walk on the streets. The streets of the Empire were dirty and chaotic. Both the people and the houses gave a feeling of old and dirty. The buildings on the roadside were old and new. The humans wore thick cloaks and breathed out cold air as they did business and work. There were many idle people on the streets. Many citizens and idlers whistled inelegantly when they saw the beautiful female knight.
There were many great swordsmen and groups of knights patrolling the streets. It was obviously because of the emperor's arrival. The officials appointed by the lords were collecting taxes from house to house. They were rude and rude. Many of the lords' patrolling soldiers were also on the streets. They showed two extremes when it came to people. To the great swordsmen and knights of the Empire who were loyal to the emperor, the patrolling soldiers were humble and flattering, but to the civilians, the soldiers were fierce and domineering. They looked everywhere for reasons and excuses to fine the civilians, but the money would not leave their pockets.
This was different from Brittany. Laing held Suria's hand. Sylvia, who was following behind them, complained, "Miss, the people here are so annoying. Are all the people of the Empire like this?"
"Don't underestimate the people of the Empire. They only whistle every time. Look at your miss." Laing smiled. "They're all very smart. Suria's dressing is enough to tell that she's a great noble. They can't afford to offend her."
"Then what if I dress more 'plain'?" Today, Sulia was wearing a standard Brittanian female marquis costume, with a fox fur coat on the outside. The only difference was that she had changed her floor-length dress into a knee-length skirt and high-heeled boots that were more convenient for walking. The female knight was extremely beautiful and had a heroic aura. Coupled with her noble attire and the Holy Grail Knight badge on her chest, everyone knew that they were not to be trifled with.
"Then they should come out and talk to you." Laing smiled. "The people of the Empire don't care about that."
Suria did not say anything else. She had heard from her father that the Empire was different.
After the great holy war one hundred and sixty years ago, Ludwig, the Savior, publicly announced, "Everyone has the right to be paid for their labor."
The Savior's order opened a new era of the Empire. In the south of the Empire, especially in the three richest provinces, the farmers only needed to pay taxes to the emperor or the Kurfürst to farm their own land. They could sell the rest of their products in exchange for a large amount of income and accumulate wealth. The local lords could only collect taxes from their sales. When the emperor or the Kurfürst needed new soldiers, these farmers were the best source of soldiers. They craved war, and only then could they have the opportunity to take the first step to become nobles.
However, in the north of the Empire, the situation was no different from that in Brittany. The farmers were forced to hand over most of their harvest. Therefore, they craved war, too, because only then could they fill their stomachs.
But no matter what, as a country, a people, and a religion, all the people of the Empire were proud of their country.
There were many beggars and homeless people on the street. They were begging everywhere. "Sir, please do me a favor. I haven't eaten for three days. I just need a few copper coins. Just a few. If you can't, one will do … The bakery across the street is cleaning up the old goods. Give me a copper coin and I can have a full meal. Lady Suria will bless you."
Suria felt sorry for them. She had never seen so many beggars. In Brittany, the serfs were the property of the lords, so beggars would not appear. However, it was different in the Empire.
Freedom came with a price.
Laing stopped Suria from asking Sylvia to take out a copper coin. "My wife, you can't help everyone."
"But …" The kind female knight still felt sorry for them.
"Sir Macado is right, Marquess. You don't have to sympathize with these people." At this time, a mature male voice came from the side. Surrounded by a dozen guards, the emperor of the Empire, Karl-franz, walked over with a smile. The emperor's flag bearer, Ludwig Schwarzhammer, followed behind him. The emperor had a warm and sincere smile on his face. "The town is hiring everywhere. Even the lowest-paid cleaners, bone-pickers, and scavengers earn enough to fill their stomachs. Don't encourage them to reap without sowing."
"Greetings, Your Majesty." Laing stood up straight and took the initiative to reach out his hand to the emperor.
The guards were fully armed. They were a little dissatisfied with Laing's slightly rude behavior, but they did not say anything after thinking about the great achievements of the man in front of them. They just calmly surrounded the emperor in the middle.
There were Empire knights and great swordsmen patrolling Calcate, so there was no need to worry about safety. Laing thought that perhaps Emperor Karl-franz had the same idea as him and wanted to go out for a walk.
Ordinary Empire knights were slightly stronger than the Brittany rangers, but they were much weaker than the royal knights. Due to the wealth and population of Calcate, there were more than a dozen knight orders and thousands of knights in the territory alone.
"Greetings, Your Majesty Laing, Lady Suria. Haha … Do you want to go out for a walk with me?" As expected, the emperor took the initiative to shake Laing's hand with a smile on his face. "Welcome to Calcate, the most powerful, oldest, and richest province in the Empire. It's also my hometown."
Laing thought that the oldest places in Calcate should be Calcate Milden and Talabek Calcate, but he had no intention of pointing it out.
"What a rich and beautiful land." Suria also reached out to shake hands with Emperor Karl-franz. The emperor raised her hand by about two centimeters, which was considered a greeting. "Welcome, welcome. I wish you a happy marriage."
"Your Majesty, you have so much free time?" Laing was now a Brittany noble, but he had deep ties with the Empire. After thinking for a while, he still bowed respectfully to the emperor.
After the greeting, the Calcate guards' faces looked much better.
"My subordinates will take care of everything, so even though my flag bearer, Ludwig, disagrees, I still decided to go out for a walk." The emperor smiled and patted Laing's arm. "Just in time. Lady of the Lake's chosen champion, do you have any interest in going out for a walk with me?"
Ludwig, the flag bearer behind the emperor, grunted unhappily. It seemed that he was very dissatisfied with the emperor's reckless behavior.
"Of course." It was an invitation that was hard to refuse, so Laing had to agree.
And so the three of them became a group. The emperor went to the market to check the prices, and discussed with Laing the fluctuations in the price curve of grain and iron, and how much the damned merchants of Marineburg had affected the prices, and what had happened recently.
Neither Emperor Karl nor Laing brought up the purpose of Tegris' visit.
After turning the corner, a mercenary guild appeared in front of them. A huge corpse at the entrance of the guild caught the attention of Laing and Emperor Karl.
It was the corpse of a cyclops. It was propped up high at the entrance of the Mercenary Guild with a piece of wood. The tip of a broken lance had pierced through the cyclops eye. Other than this fatal blow, there were dozens of terrifying wounds on the cyclops' body. Each of them was so deep that the bones could be seen.
This corpse showed that humans had once again won the war against evil.
"I wonder which brave warrior did such a magnificent feat? If I can see him, I will reward him handsomely. " Emperor Karl walked straight into the Mercenary Guild. The flag bearer, the Saint-level combatant Ludwig, hurriedly walked to the front, shielding the Emperor behind him.
"Come, let's go in and have a look." Laing held Suria's hand, and some memories flashed across his face. "When I was still a knight-errant and a royal knight, I often came to the guild to see if there were any quests I could take."
"You want to take quests now?" The female knight smiled with interest.
"That depends on whether they can afford my appearance fee, hehe." Laing laughed. His status was no longer the same as before, and it was unlikely that he could take quests like before. No one could afford his commission. As the champion of the Chosen of the Lake and a count, his appearance fee was already sky-high, and he had to be personally approved by Morgiana and the Lake Fairy.
When they stepped into the guild, a quarrel reached the ears of Laing, his wife, and Emperor Karl. The Rick Guards subconsciously gripped the hilts of their swords. They had the right to kill any dangerous person on the spot.
"Commander Boris! You clearly don't understand the situation! Five gold marks for eliminating a group of bandits is already a lot! Don't be greedy! " In the guild hall, a staff member impatiently said to a group of mercenaries, "If you don't want to do it, there are others who are willing to do it! If you don't want to do it, scram! "
"But … sir, your price is too low. According to your information, this is a group of fully armed bandits. Not only do they have shields and axes, they also have two crossbows. Five gold marks is too little, isn't it?" The person was arguing with the receptionist behind the counter. "How about … eight? If that's not enough, seven will do. "
"Five gold marks is too little? Do you see that cyclops outside? That knight called Kalad single-handedly took care of it, and he only asked for 30 gold marks. He also took care of an entire goblin tribe and only got 20 gold marks. You northern country bumpkins don't have the strength, so don't blame us for not paying enough! " The receptionist rudely shouted, "If you don't want to take it, then leave. No one is forcing you to do it."
There were about 30 to 40 mercenaries, and a mercenary flag with a blood-stained axe fluttered in the crowd.
Laing smiled. Acquaintances. "Your Majesty, I know them."
"What a coincidence." Emperor Karl smiled and nodded. He motioned for the Rick Guards to put away their weapons.
Laing walked up alone and patted the back of the man who was arguing with the receptionist.
"Hey, Commander Boris, Vice-Commander Werther, we meet again."
"Earl … Earl Laing?!"
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