Chapter 70: A Transit Permit? Has Something Happened in E-Rantel?

The next day, early morning.

With the village chief and Lachimon seeing him off, Tang Zheng left Carne Village.

Only at this moment.

Did Lachimon feel a sense of relief.

From the first time he saw Tang Zheng, his intuition told him that the man was extremely dangerous, and he had never heard of anyone being able to tame a monster like an Evil Spirit Dog.

Especially.

Lachimon swallowed hard.

The little Evil Spirit Dog, which appeared to be acting affectionately toward that man, was clearly showing its true attitude of fear!

Glancing at the village chief’s carefree expression beside him, Lachimon knew that the chief had not taken his words to heart.

"Sigh." Lachimon let out a sigh.

It was fortunate that the man held no malice toward the village.

…………

After leaving Carne Village, Tang Zheng stopped suppressing his speed, grabbed the little Evil Spirit Dog, and moved forward rapidly.

Along the way.

There were only sporadic wild beasts; he did not see a single goblin or monster.

Seeing this, Tang Zheng realized that it was no wonder the Adventurer’s Guild had sent out adventurer squads to investigate; the impact of his hunting monsters and goblins over the past month was far greater than he had expected.

Judging by the fact that he hadn't encountered any adventurer squads in the forest and the information he’d gathered at Carne Village, the Adventurer’s Guild likely hadn't obtained any useful information.

Because there were no monsters obstructing him, combined with his increased strength.

In just over two hours.

Tang Zheng had already caught sight of E-Rantel in the distance.

One had to know that when he first left E-Rantel to go to Carne Village, it had taken him an entire day.

Three city walls surrounded the entire city, and the rough, heavy aura emanating from that solid, majestic structure gave anyone approaching it a sense of invisible oppression.

At the checkpoint below the main gate.

Several soldiers were gathered together, chatting casually and relaxing.

As soldiers of a fortress city, they naturally shouldn't be this lax, but it was still a bit too early in the day.

In a place like the border, travelers and caravans alike would choose to depart at relatively safe times. The surrounding villages would not come at this hour either.

Even though the harassing monsters and annoying goblins had suddenly decreased a lot during this period, it still hadn't changed the travel habits of most people.

In short, it was not yet a busy time.

"Hey, hey, stop playing around, someone’s coming." A soldier suddenly saw a figure in the distance and reminded his companions.

"Seriously, so early."

Another soldier yawned, stood up, and looked toward the distance as well.

However, very quickly.

The two somewhat lazy soldiers’ expressions became serious.

The closer he got to E-Rantel, the more Tang Zheng couldn't help but marvel at the fortress city’s thick walls.

Although it wasn't his first time seeing it, a massive city like this fortress city could absolutely not have been built relying solely on human labor if magic did not exist.

"Woo."

The little Evil Spirit Dog followed closely behind Tang Zheng, its head turning constantly to observe its surroundings, clearly very curious about everything around it.

Walking into the city gate.

Tang Zheng glanced at the two soldiers guarding the checkpoint and reached into his pocket to take out the copper coins he had prepared, handing them over.

Unexpectedly.

The soldier did not reach out to take them, but instead looked at Tang Zheng with a hint of seriousness.

"Sir, are you an adventurer?"

The soldier carefully glanced at the little Evil Spirit Dog, then asked respectfully.

"I am not." Tang Zheng frowned slightly.

"Is that so." The soldier was briefly stunned, clearly surprised by this answer, and after exchanging a look with the other soldier, he spoke cautiously:

"Sir, I wonder if you could provide a transit permit."

A transit permit?

Tang Zheng had heard the Rock team mention this.

In the Re-Estize Kingdom, outside of the royal capital, one had to pay a transit fee—also known as a walking tax—to enter or leave the main cities in the territories of the various regional nobles.

Of course, residents of the territory would have certain privileges, and some generous nobles would even waive this fee entirely.

To have such a privilege, one needed a transit permit specifically issued to the various villages within the territory to replace the "transit fee."

Tang Zheng naturally did not have such a thing.

The problem was that this soldier should have known that too. His hair color alone was enough to confirm that Tang Zheng was not a resident living in this territory.

The first thought in Tang Zheng’s mind was whether something had happened in E-Rantel.

One had to know.

When he came to E-Rantel a month ago, there was no such obvious defensive behavior; one only needed to pay the transit fee to enter and exit freely.

It shouldn't have anything to do with his actions in the Great Forest of Tob.

=9+Shu_ba

At least.

Tang Zheng did not believe that killing a few goblins would cause such an impact.

Seeing Tang Zheng shake his head to indicate he didn't have one.

The soldier’s face did not show surprise, because it would have been truly strange if he did have one.

"Apologies, sir."

"Could you allow our magic caster to briefly inspect your belongings?" The soldier was a bit nervous and spoke cautiously.

Being accompanied by a monster meant he was clearly not an ordinary person.

If the other party were an adventurer, they wouldn't need to do something so offensive.

After hearing these words.

Tang Zheng realized that something must have indeed happened inside E-Rantel.

"Could you tell me what happened?" Tang Zheng did not agree immediately, but asked with an expressionless face.

"This..." The soldier’s face showed a look of hesitation.

"Wait a moment."

Suddenly, the other soldier who had been watching from the side seemed to remember something and walked over quickly.

"Are you the one who was with Lady Baliare last time?" After the other soldier walked over and saw Tang Zheng’s appearance clearly, he asked in surprise.

Black hair was rare, and although a month had passed, the impression was still deep.

As soon as this name was mentioned.

The previous soldier’s face showed a look of surprise: "The apothecary Lizzie Baliare?"

Tang Zheng raised an eyebrow slightly.

He knew that his grandmother Lizzie’s potion workshop was very famous in E-Rantel; he had already felt that when they entered the city together last time.

But this time, Tang Zheng could clearly perceive that he had still somewhat underestimated Lizzie Baliare’s reputation in this city.

"That's right."

Tang Zheng nodded slightly.

"Is that so?" The soldier who had proposed the inspection looked hesitant and exchanged glances with the other soldier again.

"Terribly sorry, sir."

"This is an order from above; we don't know why we have to do this either."

The soldier spoke in a low voice, full of apology.

Tang Zheng waved his hand dismissively; the copper coins in his hand were immediately taken by the other soldier, and he was then allowed to pass.

Thanks to book friend "Qingyi Baiqi" for the 100 book coin tip!

Thanks to book friend "2023...0610" for the 100 book coin tip!

(End of chapter)