P.S. I have something to do today, so I'll update in advance.
The five-day long journey was finally coming to an end. Standing at the end of the passenger ship, Laing saw the magnificent city and towers in the distance.
"It's said that Marlin Castle is a paradise for opportunists and hell for the incompetent. There's gold everywhere. As long as you're strong enough, you can get enough wealth." The captain said with a smile, "I've been on this route many times. This time, I was lucky and didn't encounter any pirates."
Countless ships loaded with goods were sailing to the largest trade center of the old world. In comparison, the passenger ship Laing was on was like a child, constantly avoiding the passing cargo ships. Laing even saw the Lizardmen merchant ships from Lucia and the high elves' ocean-going ships from Ossouin at the port.
The towering city cluster appeared in front of everyone's eyes, like a new world. Brown towers and tall buildings could be seen everywhere. The scale of the city was so huge that the buildings spread from the coast to the end of the line of sight. On both sides of the city, two wizard towers flashed with arcane light, and groups of cannons on both sides of the coast warned the passing ships.
Don't mess around!
"Wow, it's spectacular. I'm thinking, it would be great if the headquarters of the Church of Justice were set up here." Al Frey stared straight at the city.
"I don't think so. If the Church of Justice is headquartered in this city, then the Sea Church will definitely fight with you." Laing complained. This was one of the two headquarters of the Sea God Mannanen. The sea god would never sit back and watch other churches come to his territory to steal faith.
Due to the agreement between the gods, faith was a fair competition, but Mannanen would never sit back and watch other churches move their headquarters to Marlin Castle. This was called fishing.
"Laing, do you see those two wizard towers?" Teresa pointed to the two towers on the coast. "Those are the masterpieces of the Wizard Alliance. The Wizard Alliance provided the Grand Duke of Marlin Castle with two legendary wizards and answered his questions about magic. Marlin Castle's gift is these two wizard towers and an annual commission."
"Knights crave glory, nobles pay attention to prestige, churches praise piety, no one doesn't love gold."
Ludwig, the "Messiah"
The Wizard Alliance was one of the three major human spellcaster organizations. Its history was far longer than that of the Garland Council and the Empire's Royal Wizard Academy. This was because before the great Holy War, spellcasters were considered heretical and dangerous in the human kingdoms. If it wasn't for the High Elf Grand Magus Tegris leading the High Elf Wizard Legion to aid Ludwig, perhaps spellcasters would still be considered dangerous even now. Thus, the Wizard Alliance was established far earlier than the other two organizations. The current leader of the Wizard Alliance was Eric Williams. He was a pinnacle Saint-level Grand Magus who was also a part-time Berserker. During the great Holy War, this Wizard Alliance's chairman danced with his sword while chanting incantations to challenge a Chaos Demon by himself.
He was also the only human known to be able to cast spells and fight at the same time.
"I don't have a Wizard Tower of my own. I really hope that one day, I can have my own Wizard Tower." The female Sorceress looked at the shining arcane brilliance at the top of the tall Wizard Tower with an envious expression.
"Oh? Your family is so rich, but they didn't build a Wizard Tower for you? " Laing teased. The White Wolf Knight's actions were quickly rewarded with a clean eye. "The cost of a Wizard Tower is far beyond your imagination. I remember that you received three gold coins from Albert?"
"Yes." Laing didn't deny this point. He didn't need to lie to the female Sorceress.
"This money is only enough to build a Wizard Tower of the lowest level. It's not enough to fill it up." Teresa held Laing's hand, letting her ample bosom lean on the man's arm. "That's why you have to work harder."
“？？？ What does this have to do with me? "Laing expressed that he didn't understand.
"Hmph!" Seeing the blank expression on Laing's face, Teresa snorted unhappily and let go of Laing's arm.
The lighthouse guided the flight to land. The people on the ship noticed that the dock was full of heavily guarded soldiers. The irises on their bodies indicated that they were the private army of the Duke of Marimburg. Hundreds of soldiers were guarding the Grand Duke of Marimburg, who was standing in the middle.
"What's that? What big shot is coming to land that the Duke needs to meet in person? " The people on the passenger ship whispered to each other. Only the female Sorceress guessed one thing: news traveled fast in Marimburg.
When the passenger ship landed, the answer was also revealed.
The Grand Duke of Marimburg, the "Money Lender" Vanderguber Schultz, laughed and walked towards the passenger ship surrounded by guards. "Look! Which great hero has come to my city? Which warrior won the championship match and added a new luster to this city? "
"Oh …" Laing's old face was a little red. He quickly walked down the ship's railing and bowed to the Grand Duke of Marimburg. "Hello, Mr. Schultz! You actually came here to welcome me. It's an honor. "
"Hahahaha … Hello! The warrior who fought against the barbarians. When I first saw you, I knew we would become friends. " The Grand Duke of Marimburg looked like a slightly plump middle-aged man in his thirties. He had shiny black hair and a full beard. He was dressed very plainly from head to toe. He wore a magic ring personally made by the High Elf Archmage Tegris and a standard set of Empire noble silk clothes with irises on them. The Grand Duke walked with a majestic gait and a terrifying aura. At least, Laing had only felt this kind of aura from the King of Nord.
Although Schultz was in his fifties, he looked younger than Earl Albert. This proved that the Grand Duke's power was not to be underestimated. Compared to Villard's arrogance, the Grand Duke of Marimburg was more humble and approachable.
In fact, this was the case. There were different levels among the nobles. Contrary to what normal people thought, the higher the rank of the nobles, the more modest, approachable, and polite they were. The truly arrogant and bullying nobles were usually the lesser nobles.
"You flatter me." Laing showed a little humility. "I just did what I was supposed to do."
"As long as you destroy the barbarians and those d * mn pirates, you are a good man." The Grand Duke of Marimburg reached out his hand to Laing in front of everyone. "Welcome to Marimburg."
"Thank you." Laing also reached out his hand and shook Schultz's hand.
The moment their hands touched, Laing and Schultz's eyes opened wide. The Grand Duke of Marimburg and the geno prototype looked at each other in shock. Both of them were frozen.
The Grand Duke of Marimburg saw the red and white stripes on Laing's shoulder. There was a picture of a sword piercing a book and a silver skull.
Laing saw the Grand Duke's body. There was a picture of a skull in the middle of the letter.
The atmosphere suddenly became very tense.
The scene was very awkward. The soldiers on the dock and the people coming down from the passenger ships did not know what was going on. They could only watch the two of them shake hands without saying a word.
The Grand Duke laughed until tears came out of his eyes. He said, "Ha ha ha ha ha ha! I told you, Laing, from the moment I saw you, I knew we were going to be friends. "
"Ha ha ha ha! Yes, I believe that. Mister Grand Duke, I think we are already friends." Laing also laughed.
"Let's not talk about anything else. Laing, this is the key to 53 Amber Avenue," the Grand Duke of Marimburg, Schultz, said loudly. "Please accept this gift. Tomorrow, I will arrange a big banquet to welcome the hero from Nord."
"Wow!" Everyone around was shocked by the Grand Duke's generosity. Amber Avenue was the core of the wealthy district of Marimburg. Every inch of land there was expensive. A simple house could cost thousands of gold coins, and there was no place to buy one.
The rich and nobles on Amber Avenue also enjoyed the only precious thing that was lacking in the city: peace.
"In that case, I will take it." Laing took the key from Schultz without hesitation.
"Our hero needs rest after a long journey, Muller. Lead the way for my friend. " Schultz didn't say much. He gestured to the courtier beside him, then took out a small pouch from his waist and handed it to Laing. "Here are two hundred gold marks. Take it as my gift to you. Muller will lead my friend to his residence. We won't disturb our hero's rest."
Schultz then left with his guards, leaving his courtier to lead the way for Laing. "Mister Laing? This way, please. "
"Thank you."
Laing and Teresa left with Muller. Lopes had nothing to do with Laing, and the wandering knight felt that he had no right to follow Laing. He went straight to the city to find a hotel. Al- Frey went to report to the Church of Justice in Marimburg. Astaire also had a place to go. As a half-elf, he could find a place to stay in Ifetau, the only enclave of the High Elves in the old world. The elven embassy was also located in this enclave.
The High Elves almost only traded with the Empire in Marimburg. The main reason was that Marimburg was the only place where the High Elves could dock their ocean-going ships. For the arrogant High Elves, since they could get all the resources they wanted from Marimburg, they couldn't be bothered to open up other routes.
By the way, the High Elves also indirectly traded with the dwarves in Marimburg. Due to natural hostility and indifference, the High Elves and the Dwarven Kingdom did not establish diplomatic relations. Therefore, the trade between the High Elves and the dwarves had to go through humans as intermediaries.
On the way back, the Grand Duke of Marimburg asked the black-robed man behind him, "Elliot? How strong is this young man? "
Elliot, a councilor of the Wizard Alliance, was an advanced Legendary Wizard. He was one of the two Legendary Wizards that the Wizard Alliance had stationed in Marimburg.
"Very strong, very strong. I'm not sure if I can take him down. I can feel that he has a very strong magic resistance. His eyes are full of confidence and pride. I think this has to do with the countless battles he has experienced. I think he has the qualifications to become another guardian of this city, my Duke," the black-robed man said in a low voice.
"Very good. And Elliot, you need to know that he's my friend, my closest friend," Schultz said very seriously.
"Yes, Duke."
…
Although Laing was mentally prepared, the magnificence of Amber Avenue was still beyond his imagination.
The decorations here were a bit similar to the residential areas where Laing lived in his previous life. The clean and tidy streets were paved with blocks of marble, and there was a magic street lamp every 20 or 30 steps. The streets were made up of single-family houses, and almost every house had its own small yard and wall. Most of the houses were made of white, brown, and red bricks with triangular gables, tall roofs, and protruding eaves. There were wheel-shaped or fan-shaped arches, fashionable turrets, and balconies with porches.
The only downside was that the walls of each house were built higher, generally about two meters high. This made it difficult for Laing to see what was going on in the yard.
"Mr. Laing, 53 Amber Avenue is here." Muller brought Laing to a house. It was a three-story house with a slanted roof. The style was classical, and the windows were high and had many patterns. The roof was a gothic spire, and the entrance was a heavy wooden door. It had its own small garden.
"Looks good." Laing nodded. It was a pleasant surprise that the Marlin Guild had arranged such a place for him, but it was also reasonable.
The pleasant surprise was that Laing didn't expect to be treated so well.
It was reasonable because when he saw the pattern on Schultz's body, both of them realized a serious problem.
He was on the same side. Don't shoot.
"Yes, Mr. Laing. 53 Amber Avenue used to be the property of Count Eduardo of Brittany. However, this Brittany noble couldn't repay the Duke's debt, so he surrendered the property." Muller nodded. The courtier's expression was neither arrogant nor humble. "All the furniture is in the house. We'll send someone to clean it up. You can move in at night."
"Do many people in Brittany owe the Duke money?" Laing asked casually.
"I can't answer this question, but considering that Mr. Laing is a friend of the Duke, I can tell you in private." Muller leaned over and whispered in Laing's ear, "Many, many, much more than the entire kingdom's annual tax revenue."
"Oh …" Ryan replied with a meaningful "oh".
Once again, debts in this world were often handled by both the Church of Justice and the Church of Wealth. No one could deny it.
Opening the door, the house was surprisingly clean. All the furniture was made of exquisite sandalwood. On the first floor was the living room, bathroom, dining room, and servant's room. On the second floor were two bedrooms and a study. On the third floor was the top floor with a balcony and multi-purpose rooms. There was also a cellar downstairs. The total area was about 350 square meters.
Teresa was in high spirits. She took Laing on a tour of the house.
"Mr. Laing, you can take a look around the city. If you have anything to do, you can take care of it first. This is the map of the city. When we're done with the cleaning, you can move in with this lady." Muller nodded. "Or you can supervise our work here."
"What do you want to do? Teresa? "Laing didn't care. He decided to ask for the sorceress' opinion.
"Let's go to Garlan's base in Marlin Castle." Teresa shook her head. The woman's face was full of sadness and reluctance. Clearly, she had just received the news.
"Veronica can't wait."
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