Arrival at Jones City

After a long and bumpy journey, Serea arrived first in the territory of the Yeton Territory, accompanied by Lola, Vina, Celia, and Little Black.

The Skeleton Warriors were still rushing their way over as fast as they could.

However, Serea did not intend to wait for them.

The Skeleton Warriors were only her backup plan; unless they encountered an unexpected emergency, there was no need for them to appear at all.

“Awooo!”

Serea dismissed the great wolves.

The silver wolf king at the lead howled to bid everyone farewell and then led the pack toward the Corrupted Forest.

It was still afternoon, and Serea and the group stood on a high ground.

Gazing into the distance, an imposing city stood tall on the open plains.

Located at the border areas of the Ailera Empire, jones City was the outermost town among the cities of the Yeton Territory.

Due to its border location, caravans from other countries frequently passed through, bringing prosperous trade to the area.

Some intelligent non-human races also chose to trade here.

Over time, jones City became one of the most flourishing border trading towns of the Ailera Empire.

Of course, the prerequisite for such trade was for those intelligent races to possess enough strength and military capability; otherwise, forget about trading—the fate of the Darkmoon Clan would befall them.

“Your Majesty, that’s Jones City.”

“Yes, I see it. Let’s go.”

With that, Serea led the way down the hill. The others shouldered their various packs and followed, posing as wandering merchants.

Meanwhile, Little Black waited in hiding just outside the city.

As for why the great wolves did not escort them all the way into Jones City…

While the Yeton Territory permitted tamed monsters to enter, that would attract too much attention.

For that reason, Serea only had the wolves send them close to the city, and they walked the rest of the way.

As they drew nearer, the splendor of Jones City drew closer before their eyes.

From what they learned, the city ahead covered a full 150 square kilometers, nearly rivaling the urban districts of cities from Serea’s previous life.

In addition, several forts outside the city provided military defense.

Cities like this (including Yeton’s main city) totaled five within the Yeton Territory!

These five cities, together with countless villages and fortresses, interwove to form the Yeton Territory’s territory, covering an area of 180,000 square kilometers.

And this was only the third largest among the five great domains of the Ailera Empire.

In other words, the Ailera Empire had four more such formidable domains.

In comparison, the three tiny domains of the Otto Kingdom only added up to the size of a single one of these.

No wonder they were so utterly defeated—after all, their national power was of a completely different magnitude.

“Your Majesty, we’re here. Ready to go in?”

“Yes.”

Arriving before the main gate of Jones City, a colossal gate 28 meters high—flanked by two side gates each 20 meters tall—stood before them.

These massive gates were built for war, allowing the ‘war beasts’ of the human race to pass through with ease.

At that moment, a long line of merchants and adventurers had already formed outside the gates, waiting to enter the city.

Among the ranks were humans, as well as some dwarves and goblins from Tower Stone Field, all here to trade for winter provisions.

The four joined the end of the line, waiting patiently. As the line advanced, another long line began to form behind them.

At last, it was their turn…

“Stop.”

Six guards clad in black scale armor formed a wall, blocking Serea and her group. The captain of the guards approached.

“Residency papers.”

“We’re wandering merchants. This is our first time here.”

With her pre-prepared excuse, Serea replied calmly.

“Wandering merchants, where are you from?”

“Tower Stone Field.”

“What’s your business here?”

“Trading goods.”

“Then set your packs down. We need to inspect them.”

The captain commanded, and Serea’s group cooperatively set down their packs, allowing them to be checked.

When the packs were opened, only some medicinal herbs and plant seeds were found inside—respectable and unremarkable trade goods.

Seeing nothing suspicious, the captain prepared to let them through, but then he noticed their attire.

Cloaks were nothing unusual, but covering the face entirely was a bit suspicious.

“Remove your masks and cloaks. We need to search your persons.”

At this, Lola stiffened. But Serea tossed out a gold coin.

Clink!

The gold coin hit the ground with a crisp ring, drawing the captain’s attention.

“Hmm?”

He looked at the coin, then at Serea. Celia’s eyes clouded with a layer of illusion.

Bewitchment!

“Sir, you dropped something.”

Celia spoke, her melodic voice weaving into the captain’s ears. For a brief moment, a hint of abnormal purple flashed in his gaze.

His expression grew slightly dazed, but he did not notice his own abnormality.

He glanced left and right, then casually crouched to pick up the gold coin and pocketed it. Now somewhat impatient, he said,

“Go, go, go.”

The captain waved them through. Serea nodded and led her companions into the city.

Once the trio had entered, the purple faded from the captain’s eyes. He touched the gold coin in his pouch, then moved on to stop the next person.

“Everything’s going smoothly. Next, let’s hit the trading guilds for supplies, then the mission will be considered complete.”

Saying this, Serea headed towards the main shopping avenue, where many merchants gathered from various places. Someone was bound to have magic crystals for sale.

As soon as they entered the street, a graceful melody of flute and harp reached their ears.

“Hmm?”

Curious, Serea looked to the roadside, where a man and a woman dressed in white stood, playing instruments.

“Didn’t expect to hear such beautiful music in human territory,”

Lola couldn’t help but praise.

Because of their performance, many passersby stopped to listen; some even tossed copper or silver coins into the bowl before the two.

Turns out, they were street performers.

But now wasn’t the time to stop and enjoy music—Serea had no time for leisure while she still needed to buy a magic crystal.

Just as Serea was about to leave, she suddenly sensed a familiar aura.

That presence made her hair stand on end; she stared at the two performers.

Though their killing intent was expertly hidden, it could not escape the notice of a professional assassin with fifteen years of experience—Lin Yun.

The aura of a fellow assassin—there could be no mistake. And this aura was directed at…

“Hyah!”

Suddenly, several carriages raced into the city from outside, moving at high speed and forcing pedestrians to scatter.

Serea caught sight of a familiar golden emblem on the carriages and cursed inwardly.

“Slave traders!”

Without doubt, the killing intent was aimed at someone in the carriages. Serea did not intend to get involved. She simply led her group to the side.

(To be continued…)

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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