Chapter 432 Chance Encounter

Since this trip was going quietly, there would naturally be no one to greet him.

Therefore, Otto did not plan to go straight to the castle from the beginning. No words can be as true as what he saw with his own eyes. He planned to spend a day or two first to observe the prince's territory, and then find out more about it with the local rats. information.

After walking out of the cabin, as soon as he stepped onto the trestle, he was shocked by the sight in front of him.

This is... a dock that a borderland can have?

I saw that within a few hundred steps along the river bank, there was a pier area made of reddish-brown bricks and stones. There was a trestle at regular intervals. There was also a sign at the connection between the trestle and the pier with a number written on it. Otto roughly counted them, and there were twenty-six in total - they were arranged neatly, like tentacles extending from the shore, some were covered with snow, and some had yellow-brown boards exposed, which showed that Even in the Demon Moon, the town's docks are still guarded.

On the other hand, the canal piers in the capital of Graycastle are not even half as long or as many trestles as here!

But what surprised him even more was the boats docked at the pier.

A type of gray wide-body boat that had never been seen before was lined up and docked not far ahead. There were seven or eight of them, and the waterline was very shallow. There were no sails or masts visible, and the size of the hulls did not seem to be able to be rowed by oarsmen. The most unique feature of these strange ships is that they have a huge wooden wheel on each side and a thick iron pipe protruding from the center. Their appearance is different from any river sailing ship.

Otto watched for a long time, until a chill came over his head, and he didn't understand how these weird "ships" could move.

Brushing the snow off his head, he put away his doubts and decided to follow the crew into the town first.

The "Fairwind" from the royal capital was obviously not going to transport just one person. Otto saw the crew taking bags of cargo off the sailboat and stacking them beside the dock. Several guards in black uniforms were writing something down with pens and papers, and from time to time they picked out two bags to check, as if they were inspecting the goods.

"Who are they? Mercenaries hired by the buyer?" Otto walked to the captain's side.

"Ha, mercenaries?" the latter grinned, "These people are the patrol members of Border Town."

He couldn't help but be stunned, patrol team? Doesn't that mean we encountered a group of robbers? The first time he left the inner city of the royal capital, he was extorted from two silver wolves by patrol members. The situation was similar everywhere - they were the opposite of underground rats, but the work they did was almost the same as rats. The difference The problem is that they charge more and often do nothing for the money. But what surprised Otto was that the captain was smoking his pipe leisurely and had no intention of stopping their inspection, nor did he take out a few silver wolves and ask them to leave quickly.

"I thought the same thing as you when I first came here," the captain seemed to have read his thoughts. "The patrol team here is different. As long as you follow their rules, you don't need to pay any fees before entering the market. "

The patrol's... rules? Otto frowned. Are even the robbers in this place reasonable? Moreover, they also know how to record with pen and paper. Although it is probably just some crooked symbols, it is incredible enough.

"What are they recording?" he asked.

"The type and quantity of the goods...especially wheat," the captain said, showing his hands. "After they are transported to the market, they must be checked to prevent you from selling the food to others midway - here, food can only be sold by the lord. Of course, I There is no wheat in the cargo, so the inspection will be faster."

When all the bags were loaded onto the carriage team, the group left the dock and headed toward the market along the spacious street. Otto suddenly found that his eyesight was not enough.

Is this really the most remote territory of the Kingdom of Graycastle?

Looking at the flat hard pavement underfoot, the rows of neat and beautiful houses on the street, and the people coming and going, they are not much worse than the Glow City, the capital of the morning light.

As a nobleman, he has never seen magnificent and magnificent buildings. Whether it is the Dawn Spire or the Yingri Auditorium, these two- or three-story buildings cannot compare.

However, there is only one Dawn Spire, and underneath it, dilapidated houses are still surrounded, and muddy paths and sewage can be seen everywhere.

But here, he couldn't find a slightly old house, as if these residences all popped up at the same time.

"You look surprised," the captain laughed. "Don't worry, everyone who comes here for the first time will have an expression like yours. I have to say, Border Town is a magical place. See the three-story building over there. Is there a building? It wasn’t there last time I came here.”

"I heard...this place used to be a stronghold built for mining."

"That's what I heard too, but who knows the truth," he picked his nose. "You know, some rumors will become beyond recognition if they spread too much. Maybe there is a lot of gold hidden in the mines on the north slope. , His Majesty the King sent his son here...after all, he is his biological son."

"Wait, what is that?!" As he walked through a flat square, Otto suddenly saw two huge colorful balls floating side by side in mid-air, with a pair of banners hanging below, with eye-catching words written on them. The words on one side are "Welcome to Border Town" and on the other side are "Join now to get citizen benefits."

"Are you asking about the one above or below?" The captain murmured. "I don't know how they got the flying ball up. As for the one below... you can go to the east end of the square to find out the situation. There are often people there. Notices from the lord will be posted, and this banner is soliciting travelers, merchants and refugees from all over the place."

"They even want refugees?" Otto asked in surprise, "What are citizen welfare?"

"You can apply for a job here, receive subsidized food for the first two months, and get a shelter from the wind and rain. It sounds good, right?" The captain explained disapprovingly, "It's not that easy to approve, my Several crew members have tried, but none of them qualified - the lord required that they should not have any alien intentions, not believe in the church, and have no criminal experience. And stealing is also a crime. Oh my God, which sailor has not stolen anything? In addition, in my opinion Come on, even though this place looks very prosperous, there are actually many shortcomings."

"for example?"

"There are too few places to have fun. There are no casinos, no brothels, and not even a wandering warbler on the street," he spat. "You have to suffocate yourself to death after living in a place like this for a long time?"

The market is just north of the square. While the captain and his party were going to deliver goods, Otto decided to stroll around here alone first. According to the other party's introduction, you can see a lot of rare goods in the convenience market here and the boutique market on the other side, and this is also true. From eggs to dried fish, cloth to farm tools, a dazzling array of goods is filled with rows. The stalls were lined up, and as long as you stayed in front of the stall for a while, someone would come up to talk about it. Regardless of the outcome of the meeting with the Fourth Prince, he was already firmly attracted to this town.

At this moment, there was a commotion in the crowd.

He turned around and saw two women walking towards him.

One person was wearing a long black ponytail and a black robe. He had beautiful facial features but a cold expression that made it difficult to approach. The other person is completely different. Her expression is soft and her every move shows elegance and calmness, which makes people think of the warm spring breeze. The bright blond hair that sways is like the light of the morning sun.

When Otto saw the blond woman, he felt his blood boil.

His hands trembled slightly and he rubbed his eyes repeatedly to make sure he saw it correctly——

"Andrea Quinn!" Unable to contain his excitement any longer, he couldn't help shouting.

.