Chapter 353: Imperial North

Luo Yan stayed for three days in Quartz City, the capital of commerce and craftsmanship of the Rode Kingdom, and after appreciating how the pianos that were popular in the Empire were made by pairs of rough and steady hands, he set off again to continue his journey north.

The carriage drove all the way north, leaving behind the clanging of craftsmen and the noise of merchants' peddling, and entered the hereditary territory of the Blackwood family, the Duke of the North.

The style here was completely different; the layout of villages and towns was as rigorous as a military camp, the roads between the fields were as straight as if cut by a knife, and even the farmers working in the wind and snow had their spines straight.

The air was filled with the smell of discipline and steel, forming a sharp contrast with the glitz of the Shengcheng and the craftsmanship of Quartz City.

Looking at the passes stretching along the mountains, Tafu, who stretched out her small head and looked out the carriage window, couldn't help but exclaim.

"Unbelievable, I seem to have... been here before."

Luo Yan flipped through the *Travels of the Rode Kingdom* in his hand and replied in his spare time.

"How long ago?"

"About a thousand years, I can't remember clearly, it was all a matter of the previous life." Blown by the cold wind, Tafu muttered, and then buried her head back into the warm and fluffy blanket.

A thousand years.

That's long enough.

According to the records of the *Travels of the Rode Kingdom*, this ducal territory located in the North was a military hub of the Rode Kingdom, built five hundred years ago, and named after the Blackwood family.

In addition to the fortresses and castles that could be seen everywhere, what lay in front of them at this moment was a city called "Dragon Sight City," which is said to have a deep connection with giant dragons.

However, rather than calling it a city, it would be better to call it a "giant fortress" integrated with the mountains.

The city walls of the entire city directly utilized the rock walls of the mountain, and many buildings and passages were excavated within the mountain belly. There is a rumor that its foundation is directly built on ancient dwarf ruins.

The buildings here were low, sturdy, and the roofs were sloped to withstand winter blizzards and potential attacks at any time. The city was filled with the smoke of blacksmith shops and the smell of leather all year round, and the air was ice-cold.

A giant city wall named the Wall of Unyielding reached a height of one hundred meters, spanning the entire canyon, covered with ballistae and catapults, and the wall was engraved with the names of successive garrisons and the years of resisting invasions, with every brick and tile engraved with a heavy historical heritage.

In the Shengcheng, one cannot feel this murderous aura.

"... If the Huang Tong Pass falls, this will be the Empire's second line of defense, and it should hold out longer than the Huang Tong Pass."

Luo Yan evaluated silently in his heart, then flipped the book in his hand to the next page, his thoughts passing through the wind and snow flying all over the sky with the rolling wheels.

Before entering Dragon Sight City, Luo Yan was still wondering if Tafu's aura would attract her own kind, but it was a pity that they stayed here for three days and didn't even hear a dragon roar, but a few wolf howls came from the distant mountains.

It seems that the Dragon Tooth Mountains are still too small to accommodate real giant dragons.

During his stay in Dragon Sight City, Luo Yan had nothing to do, so he registered as an adventurer in the local adventurer guild under the name Kelin, and even took a few tasks with Sarah and Tafu to "disturb" the nearby labyrinth.

It's a pity that the local Demon King was poorly managed, not even as good as the Dragon family in Lei Ming County, and there were only low-level monsters like slimes and skeleton soldiers in the labyrinth.

The local lord kept the labyrinth without clearing it, probably for sustainable magic crystal income, as well as the consumption and taxes contributed by adventurers.

Luo Yan could roughly feel that the Demon General here was probably at the same level as Sarah, with strength in the middle of the Silver level.

As for the Demon King, I'm afraid it was at the Gold level, no higher.

Without going deep into the deepest layer of the labyrinth, Luo Yan just bombed the fish pond slightly on the surface, shocked a group of adventurers who were at most Huang Tong level, and frightened the "peers" hiding underground and the fussing Tafu, and then left dashingly.

The gains from the adventurer tasks were better than nothing, but what surprised Luo Yan was that he, who hadn't brushed monsters for so long, unexpectedly leveled up after moving twice on the journey.

【

ID: Luo Yan

Race: Human

Soul Level: Diamond (Level Cap LV130)

Level: LV. 92 (+1)

Constitution: 91 (+2)

Strength: 36

Agility: 44

Intelligence: 289 (+10)

Spirit: 235 (+3)

】

Although compared to the improvement of faith power, the improvement of extraordinary power seemed insignificant, but for Luo Yan, it could be considered an unexpected joy better than nothing.

By the way, what gratified Luo Yan was that the cat he raised also leveled up, and it leveled up by a full 6 levels compared to when it was on the Jana Continent.

This progress speed could be said to be quite rapid.

【

ID: Sarah

Race: Demon

Soul Level: Gold (Level Cap LV90)

Level: LV. 57 (+6)

Constitution: 40 (+1)

Strength: 67 (+8)

Agility: 100 (+15)

Intelligence: 17

Spirit: 18

】

Passing through the disciplined territory of the Duke of the North, the carriage drove all the way east and soon arrived at the pass at the southern foot of the Dragon Tooth Mountains.

Ahead was a knight's fief called Eagle Rock Fief, ruled by Sir Kyle Richter, who had been loyal to the Rode royal family for generations.

Although the Rode royal family probably didn't remember that they had such a loyal vassal, for the ordinary people of the Aus continent, this was a quite famous place.

For no other reason.

Just because this was an important hub for the Rode Kingdom to the Academy State, and becoming a magician was the ultimate dream of countless ordinary people who considered themselves gifted.

Just like the young men in the Shengcheng all dreamed of entering the Royal Knight Order.

Although becoming a magician was far more difficult than becoming a knight or an adventurer, relatively speaking, the status and treatment of magicians were incomparable to the latter two.

And according to rumors, the Academy State had been trying to explore the boundaries of the soul and trying to obtain energy from outside the domain from the Void.

Some magicians even surpassed the shackles of their own souls because of this and broke through the bottlenecks that were originally impossible to break through!

A higher soul level not only meant that one would have a broader sky in this life, but also meant that one would get a higher starting point when entering reincarnation in the next life.

Especially the latter, which had a fatal attraction for young people born in commoner families.

Since a large number of young men suspected of being awakeners went to the Northern Wasteland every year to try their luck, providing food and lodging services for travelers going to the Academy State for "interviews" naturally became an important economic source for Eagle Rock Fief.

Although the local lord, like other feudal lords in the Rode Kingdom, extremely hated those magicians who stole young and strong labor from his territory, at least on the surface, they still tacitly allowed the migrating crowd to pass through his territory.

After entering Eagle Rock Fief, the roads mixed with snow water became increasingly muddy, and the number of pedestrians also increased.

They were in groups of three or five, dressed differently, but all had the same expression on their faces—the longing for the future intertwined with the fatigue of the journey.

These people were all "pilgrims" heading to the Academy State.

Luo Yan had no intention of disturbing anyone, but his carriage itself was a silent "disturbance."

The carriage body made of precious wood was extremely rare in the North.

And whether it was the steady driving posture or the two horses with oily fur pulling the carriage, all manifested the extraordinary financial resources of the owner.

In this team mixed with walkers and tired riders, it was like a white swan that had strayed into a flock of ducks.

Soon, trouble took the initiative to come to the door.

A young man and a woman, riding two pack horses that looked a bit tired, deliberately caught up from the back of the team and drove side by side with Luo Yan's carriage.

The man was handsome, the woman was beautiful, and the clothing on their bodies could be seen to have been very luxurious, but the edges already had signs of wear, obviously this long journey had exhausted a lot of their wealth.

However, there was no doubt that they were definitely not from the Shengcheng, otherwise they would never have failed to recognize what the purple moon emblem meant.

"Good day, respected Sir."

The handsome young man had an enthusiastic and commercial smile on his face, and he said loudly towards the direction of the carriage, "I am Julian, and this is my sister Liana. We are from the Shengcheng and are also seekers heading to the Academy State. In this bitter cold North, being able to see a fellow traveler with such elegant taste as you is really refreshing!"

As he said, he glanced intentionally or unintentionally at the corner of the carriage that had no family crest but was carved with complex purple moon decorations.

Although he didn't recognize the symbol, families that could use purple as a family crest were all wealthy for a long, long time.

Without waiting for Luo Yan to respond, his sister Liana beside him let out a soft sigh just right.

She elegantly placed a hand frozen red on her chest and frowned pitifully: "Oh, Julian, the wind is really too cold. I really hope there is a place where we can hide from this biting cold."

Her gaze was like a feather, lightly scratching towards the curtain of the carriage window.

This set of double-act scripts had obviously been rehearsed many times.

Their goal was clear: to use their outstanding appearance and insights from the metropolis to win the favor of this wealthy "seeker," so as to catch a ride, and possibly even climb up to a new backer.

On the Aus continent, for nobles outside the Shengcheng, the name "Shengcheng" could always make them look at them with high regard.

They used this trick repeatedly!

Julian heard this and immediately took the conversation: "Yes, Sir. My sister is physically weak and really can't stand the wind and cold. I wonder if we have the honor to borrow your carriage to hide for a while? Even if it's just to the next village... we will be grateful!"

He waited for a long time.

However, the inside of the carriage remained quiet, as if their performance was just a futile offering to the air.

Just when Julian's smile was about to stiffen, Sarah, who had been driving silently, slowly turned her face and looked at them.

It was a pair of vertical pupils colder than the cold wind, as if making the wind and snow flying all over the sky stand still in an instant.

The surrounding noise seemed to have disappeared. The sound of the wind, the sound of horse hooves, the sound of people talking... everything fell silent, leaving only the cold murderous aura.

The air became viscous and heavy, pressing Julian so hard he could hardly breathe. All the rhetoric he had prepared was stuck in his throat, and his brain was blank.

Liana beside him was even more pale with fright; it was a fear derived from biological instinct, as if her throat had been strangled by an invisible poisonous snake, and she couldn't even scream.

After just looking at each other for two seconds, Sarah withdrew her gaze and looked forward again, as if nothing had happened.

"Uh... we... we won't disturb you!" Julian was scared out of his wits, squeezed out a sentence stutteringly, then grabbed his sister's reins in a panic, urged the tired horses, and fled in a mess from this carriage that brought them endless fear.

Watching the backs of the two clowns disappear into the snow curtain, Sarah looked back worriedly, reached out to lift the curtain, and whispered.

"Did I do the right thing... Your Highness."

The cold that penetrated the bone marrow seemed not to have appeared in those eyes, she carefully observed Luo Yan's expression, just like observing the master's orange cat.

Although she felt the Demon King's impatience, driving the two away was her own decision after all.

"Not important, just a small matter." Luo Yan replied slowly, just flipping a page of the book on his knees.

If they really needed help, that would be fine; he was a very easy-going person, but those two were obviously just here to freeload, and he didn't want to be a sucker.

Tafu flipped over and continued to doze off, completely unaware of what happened outside.

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief, cheered up again, and scanned the surroundings with burning eyes. Not only those with ulterior motives, but even those who were just watching the fun and didn't intend to come over to chat were scared into speeding up and hiding far away.

That night, in the "Adventurer's Home" inn by the road, the group parked the carriage in the backyard and stayed in the shop to avoid the wind and snow.

Luo Yan sat by the bar, tasting the local bitter ale while listening to the seekers around him talking loudly.

Pouring wine for him was a bearded bartender who had seen the world, and a shallow scar on his face reminded him of an old friend in Lei Ming City.

"It's another 'exam season' again." The bartender wiped the glass and said to Luo Yan as if talking to himself, "Sir, you are also going to the Academy State, right? Looking at your demeanor, I think you must have a recommendation from a noble person."

Some nobles would also go to the Academy State to study magic, and these people not only brought recommendation letters, but often did not start from apprentices, and even needed apprentices to serve them.

Therefore, for those who longed to enter the Academy State, gaining the friendship of nobles was also a way to pass the interview—although the selection of apprentices in the Academy State was strict, it was not as strict as ordinary people imagined.

It was like the laws of the Shengcheng; when it should be lenient, it would naturally turn a blind eye.

Luo Yan smiled and said nothing.

The bartender was used to it; he had poured wine for countless guests who looked as extraordinary as Luo Yan, and also poured wine for countless poor boys who had dreams.

He lowered his voice and pointed his chin at the other end of the hall, a girl sitting alone in the corner with empty eyes.

"See her? Her name is Amy. She comes here every day, hoping to find an adventurer willing to give her a ride to Dragon Sight City to pick up her brother."

"What happened to her brother?" Luo Yan asked casually.

"A genius, and also a fool." The bartender sighed, a trace of pity appearing in his eyes, "Her brother's name is Katelai, the son of a stonemason, said to have unparalleled talent for runes. Last year, he really passed the preliminary test of the Academy State, and everyone thought their family was going to get ahead."

The bartender paused and lowered his voice even more: "But his family was too poor, he didn't earn enough money on the road, couldn't afford the high tuition of the Mage Tower, and no mentor was willing to accept him. The fool was unwilling, so he did odd jobs at the foot of the Mage Tower for a whole year, wanting to rely on his own efforts to move some mage. Later, a young Imperial noble took a fancy to his willingness to fund him, on the condition that he help complete a research topic on ancient runes."

"Katelai gave all his research results to that Imperial guy. The result? That guy took his results, got promoted in the Mage Tower, and then threw him away like a used rag. Katelai couldn't get over it, wanted to theorize, and ended up having his legs broken by the golem guarding the Mage Tower."

The bartender finished wiping the glass and placed it heavily on the bar: "Now people say he is giving up on himself in a town in the Northern Wasteland belonging to the Mage Tower, life or death unknown. His sister Amy, just here every day, hoping that someone can take her to see her... brother who was destroyed by dreams."

His eyes carried a trace of instigation, as if hoping that this noble Sir could help that girl with empty eyes.

But Luo Yan knew very well that if this kind of thing couldn't be helped to the end, if he brought the person over, it would harm her instead.

In the vast Northern Wasteland, looking for an ordinary person whose life or death is unknown is equivalent to suicide.

At least she can still work here, and when her brother wakes up one day, stops giving up on himself, and realizes that there are more important things in life to pursue than studies, maybe she can meet him on the way home.

If her story is true.

After the bartender walked away, Tafu, hiding under the cloak, muttered in a low voice.

"This is too much."

Luo Yan drank a mouthful of ale and said casually.

"Is your Holy Armored Dragon Empire any better?"

Tafu's face stiffened, and her nostrils widened slightly.

"My, my idea was good, who, who knew they..."

"Executed it more correctly?"

"You guy!!!"

Looking at the gnashing Tafu, Luo Yan smiled faintly, left a silver coin on the table, and asked the bartender to order a dinner from her hometown for that girl he had never met, regardless of whether she ate it or not.

Let's stop the teasing for today, he didn't want to let this brat get so angry that she foamed at the mouth and really turned into a cream puff...

Due to many unexpected disturbances along the way, the second half of this trip north was much slower than before.

Luo Yan didn't feel anything wrong, anyway, he wasn't in a hurry.

Whether it was the Empire, Hell, or the layout of the Jana Continent, it all needed time to ferment, and he could just use this time of precipitation to observe the local customs of various regions of the Aus continent and read the books collected along the way.

By the way, in the past half month, he had finished reading the *Travels of the Rode Kingdom*, and was now flipping through the history of the Academy State, the origin of the thirteen Mage Towers, and the magicians who currently ruled there.

Out of curiosity about the Empire's "Demon King Academy," he planned not to take out the recommendation letter written for him by Count Xierfen, but to participate in the so-called magic apprentice exam as an ordinary person to see what rank the top students of the Demon King Academy could get here.

But perhaps because he was too high-profile when he was in Dragon Sight City, the news of Prince Kelin's arrival in the north of the kingdom still spread.

This news soon reached the ears of the lord of Eagle Rock Fief—Sir Kyle Richter.

Since the news of Prince Kelin heading north came from the Shengcheng, this lord who was extremely obsessed with the elegant culture of the Empire fell into a near-fanatical expectation.

That is Prince Kelin!

Although he didn't know who Prince Kelin was, nor did he understand the history of the Kelin family, this did not prevent him from respecting every noble guest from the Shengcheng.

He dreamed that someone could bring the stories here to the Shengcheng and make the Richter surname a legend of the Shengcheng.

In the castle, Sir Richter was pacing anxiously back and forth.

Suddenly, he stopped in front of a Saint Xisi icon hanging on the wall and prayed devoutly, making a cross on his chest.

"Saint Xisi is above! Thank you for sending your messenger to this bitter cold land! I will definitely treat him well and will never live up to the mission you have entrusted to the Richter family!"

He ordered people to clean the castle early, polished the piano that no one would play, and even spent a lot of money to book several barrels of priceless wine produced by the Xierfen family winery from merchants.

However, it was obviously not everyone who "valued tradition" like him, for example, his wife often criticized his vanity.

"Mission? Master Kyle, you have spent half of this year's tax revenue on those expensive wines and ceremonies!"

A slightly mean female voice came from beside the fireplace, and a trace of undisguised sarcasm was in that voice.

"Don't be naive, even if Prince Kelin appreciates your bravery, the Imperial Senate will not move your territory to the prosperous South."

"Shut up! What do you know!" Sir Richter was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, turned around and scolded fiercely, "Woman's view! This is a top priority concerning family honor! What does it have to do with the territory?"

Does it have nothing to do with it?

Honor belongs to the Empire, to the kings, to those great nobles, only gold coins and land are their own.

His wife stared at him without showing weakness, but after all, the master was the head of the family, and she finally stopped talking in anger.

Sir Richter's chest heaved violently, like a frog whose belly had been caught, making his horizontally developed figure look even more ridiculous.

Although the Rode people tried their best to deny it, there might indeed be a little dwarf blood flowing in their bodies, which could be seen from their obsession with great swords and enthusiasm for forging.

Influenced by the dwarf bloodline, their men and women were generally under 170 in height.

The men here had broad frames and solid muscles, which were not obvious if they didn't practice martial arts, but once they practiced, they would evolve in the direction of a "bucket." As for the women here, although there were many buckets, after all, influenced by Imperial culture, waist binding was popular in the upper class, making them look petite and exquisite but with broad chests.

At this time, a retainer ran in from outside the door, shouting excitedly.

"Master! Master! The sentry at the border just sent news that they saw the purple moon emblem! The Prince's carriage has entered the country! He is here!"

Sir Kyle's anger vanished instantly, replaced by huge ecstasy. He waved his hand and ordered loudly: "Quick! Everyone, follow me out to welcome!"

After saying that, he immediately led a group of retainers, not even having time to put on a thicker robe, and ran out in a hurry.

The biting cold wind rolled up snowflakes, mercilessly whipping the hills outside Eagle Rock Castle.

Sir Kyle wore a gorgeous dress ordered from the Shengcheng that was tightly stretched over his bucket-like figure, stood at the forefront of the team with his head held high and chest out.

Although his nose was frozen red, he still stubbornly straightened his chest like a city wall, and stood firm in the cold wind with a row of shivering retainers.

Time passed bit by bit, and the snow on the ground spread from the ankles to the calves.

However, the gorgeous carriage carrying the noble Prince that was expected never appeared, not even a shadow.

The expectation on Sir Kyle's face was gradually replaced by impatience and disappointment. The retainers behind him exchanged bitter looks, but dared not make a sound.

Finally, when the sun began to set in the west and the sky became increasingly dark, this noble knight master could no longer maintain his ridiculous majesty.

Waiting any longer was not a joke, even if he was an extraordinary person, he couldn't stand that his servants were just a group of ordinary people.

He stomped his numb feet heavily, and announced loudly to the empty snow and the servants behind him in embarrassment.

"It's all because of this damn heavy snow! That's right... it must be that the wind and snow are too heavy, freezing Prince Kelin's horse, making that lord delayed on the road! We... let's go back first!"

After saying that, he turned around angrily and brought the disappointment and irritability that had nowhere to vent back to the warm main hall of the castle.

He had just sat down by the fireplace and hadn't had time to drink a mouthful of hot soup when a servant ran in in a panic.

"Master! Master!"

Kyle was startled and stood up.

"Prince Kelin is here?!"

His clothes hadn't been taken off yet, he could set off at any time!

However, the servant gasped for breath, but only squeezed out one sentence.

"It's not Prince Kelin... Master, it's Pompeii Village! Your village! Undead attacked there and even kidnapped several children!"

Sir Kyle was already annoyed because he couldn't see the big shot, and was furious when he heard such a small matter. He slapped the table, waved his hand impatiently and scolded:

"Don't bother me with this kind of thing! Let them find adventurers themselves! Can't even watch over the undead, what are those guys in the guild doing!"

If it was a horse he raised on the farm that was lost, he would probably be excited, but when he heard it was just a few farmers' children, his face immediately fell.

The servant responded stutteringly and left with a bitter face, not knowing how to face the miller who was crying outside the audience hall.

And at this moment, the respected Master Kyle was making a cross on his chest, praying devoutly for Prince Kelin with a pious face.

"Saint Xisi is above... please don't let that respected Prince suffer in the wind and snow, I will send someone to find him as soon as the snow outside gets smaller!" ===== CHAPTER 354 =====