After nearly a week of trekking, Xiao Chen and his party finally reached their destination.
Walking along a riverside road and turning a gentle slope, the city of Suero appeared in front of Xiao Chen. When Xiro talked about Suero, he was always a little proud. Therefore, when Xiao Chen imagined what this big trading city looked like, he had already combined those ancient cities on Earth and thought about it in a broader sense. However, when he really stood in front of the city, he was still shocked by the appearance of the city.
The city was not actually very big. The part surrounded by the city wall only occupied the top of a small hill. Xiao Chen estimated that the length of the wall on the Suero side would not exceed one thousand meters, but what was surprising was the height of the wall, which was about thirty meters, which was unimaginable on Earth. The wall was made of stone, and there were several towers dividing the wall into several parts. The top of the wall was covered with battlements for shooting, and there were towers taller than the wall standing behind the wall. The tower was a slender cylinder with no roof, only a circle of concave and convex parapets, and the tower body was covered with many shooting holes from top to bottom.
In this era, this is a fortress with amazing lethality, Xiao Chen thought.
However, the most eye-catching thing on the entire city wall is that there are some patterns drawn with unknown materials at intervals. At this time, it was autumn evening, and the light of the setting sun shone on these circular magic circles, reflecting a dazzling light.
"This is the largest trading city in the northwest of the kingdom, the jewel of the Black Mountain - Suero." Xiro saw Xiao Chen and his friends standing on the hillside, observing the city from a distance, and happily introduced it to Xiao Chen: "Suero is most famous for its high walls. The nobles and merchants here are very rich and afraid of death. As soon as the last war with the empire ended, they paid to rebuild the city walls. They asked the craftsmen to build the walls very high, higher than all the houses in the city. A few years ago, they also instigated the governors here to add magic circles on the walls to enhance the wall's anti-magic effect. In this way, they can hide behind the walls and count money, which is safer."
"Why build the wall so high? For magicians, the wall won't be too big an obstacle, right?" Xiao Chen asked.
"For top masters, no wall can stop them from entering, but walls are mainly used to deal with normal warriors, who are the main force in war." The bard Galdo interrupted, "Ordinary soldiers can't climb such walls. Even low-level warriors find it very difficult to climb up. The difficulty of attacking the city is greatly increased."
"Have you ever seen a siege like this?" Xiao Chen didn't have many opportunities to talk to this Galdo. After walking for four or five days, he still didn't really understand what kind of person he was. He just found that he and Luo Ling were quite familiar with each other.
"The lords of the continent, for their own bread and gold coins, use trivial matters as an excuse to fight each other every day. I have seen too many battles to count, and the city wall is just a small weight on the scale of victory.
"Yes." Xi Luo agreed with emotion, "I have experienced three wars myself. I don't know when the peaceful and happy days will return."
"If we want to live a peaceful and happy life, relying on city walls alone is useless," said Galdo.
"Does that require a strong army?" Xiao Chen asked.
"Or countless gold coins?" Xi Luo said with a smile.
"Neither." Galdo shook his head and said solemnly, "Only true faith can bring ultimate happiness. If everyone sincerely believes in the same true God, what reason is there to fight each other? Now those lords are all God's people on the surface, but they do all kinds of dirty things that blaspheme God behind the scenes."
Xiao Chen used to hate these strange things, but now he is about to become a real magician, and he has to be respectful enough to some unknown things, especially Galdo's current appearance, which makes Xiao Chen see a kind of awe-inspiring piety in his eyes. However, what is faith? What is God
Galdo closed his eyes and murmured silently, as if praying. Xiao Chen looked at him in silence. Finally, Xi Luo broke the strange silence. He pointed to the field below the city and said, "God is too far away, and the city wall is right in front of us. Look at these people outside. Who doesn't want to squeeze into the city wall?"
The name Suero not only belongs to the fortress on the mountain, but also to the part outside the city wall. Large areas of houses and stalls, some exquisite and some simple, start from the foot of the city wall and expand on the plain in front of Suero City. There are large houses with walls, and dog kennels made of wood or rags. Countless people are surging in this slightly messy area, and there are also caravans entering this place from all directions.
Xi Luo explained: "Most merchants and civilians live outside the city. There are actually quite a few decent hotels and warehouses here, and the prices are much cheaper than in the city. However, it is not suitable for a magician like you to live here. We have to go into the city later."
"There's not even a wall here. What will happen to these people if a war breaks out?" Xiao Chen asked in confusion.
Xi Luo and Galdo looked at each other and answered in confusion: "Just run for your lives. Who will care about the lives of the nobles in the city?"
Xiao Chen and his group walked slowly towards the city gate along a ramp with great interest. Along the way, they could see the exotic slums on both sides of the ramp. However, when approaching the city gate, the convoy was stopped by the city guards. Xi Luo went forward to explain for a long time, but the other party just said that the superior had ordered that suspicious convoys should not be allowed to pass.
This caravan was a bit strange. The people transporting the goods were a group of rural peasants. A magician in a robe sat on the flatbed. Next to the magician sat two bards in fancy clothes. There was also a beautiful woman behind him. How could a magician personally escort a car? The captain of the guards felt that this was not a magician's caravan, but rather a rural circus.
Perhaps these people were specialized in performing melodramatic dramas like "The Legend of the Magician"? However, because the matter involved a high-ranking magician, and the middle-aged man who came to negotiate was so confident and fearless, the captain of the guards decided to hand this hot potato to his boss, Baron Gregory, the captain of the Suero city guard.
Baron Gregory came very quickly. This man in his forties was quite handsome, tall and thin, with short flaxen hair and a small mustache. When the baron came from a long distance, he began to look at this strange convoy. He agreed with the captain's judgment that this convoy was unusual, but he would not think it was a circus.
After all, the baron was an experienced nobleman. As he walked and looked, he came up with a lot of doubts:
First of all, half of these people have yellow skin and black hair. Such people are very rare in the East Continent. He seems to have heard his cousin who runs maritime trade talk about such people. Such people only exist in the Western Continent.
Secondly, these people have a very unusual temperament. Such self-confidence and bearing are definitely not something that farmers who focus on farming or rural nouveau riche can possess.
Third, he found that the robes of the two "magicians" looked real after he walked in. At least the patterns with a faint silver light flowing on them could not be fake.
Magic is no small matter. This is the experience gained by the baron in the ten years of leading the city guard. So, when he came to Xiao Chen and his friends on horseback with a dozen of his best fighters, he chose to dismount and walk in front of Xiao Chen, raised his fist in front of his chest, and saluted, "Hello, sir, I am Baron Gregory Bailey in charge of the city guard. My men reported that a magician has come to our Suero. I wonder if it is you?"
Xiao Chen raised his head slightly, showing some of the airs that a magician should have and his dissatisfaction at being blocked, and replied in a lukewarm tone: "Yes, it's me."
At this time, Luo Ling also came forward from the back and said, "Why would anyone in this country dare to stop a magician? If it happened in our country, hmm... it would be terrible."
Baron Gregory was not surprised by the attitude of magicians. He had dealt with many such people with eyes in the sky. However, from Luo Ling's words, he confirmed his guess, so he asked carefully: "Are you two from other countries?"
"We came from outside the mainland and came to Suero to exchange some experimental materials. I heard that this is a free trade city." Xiao Chen played the role of the good guy, so even though he seemed impatient, he still spoke calmly.
"Indeed, there are merchants from the capital, the empire, and even the elves. But most of the transactions are concluded outside the city. If the inner city can be entered at will, it will be a mess. Generally, a caravan needs a guarantor to enter the city..." the baron said with difficulty.
Luo Ling stared at Baron Gregory and raised her voice, "You want us to live in a garbage dump outside? Is this an insult? Do we need to cast some magic here to prove ourselves? Look at me, Baron, tell me, do you really think so?"
Luo Ling's tone was urgent, and her eyes seemed to be shining.
"No, no. You misunderstood, ma'am." Baron Gregory felt the immense pressure emanating from those big eyes. He felt his heart begin to beat wildly and his body tremble slightly. What was going on? Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind: magic! She was using magic on me!
She must be a witch. Only the most terrifying witch could have such terrifying eyes. Baron Gregory remembered some legends that if you keep staring into a witch's eyes, they will eventually take away all your sanity, and a good person will turn into a walking corpse.
When the baron thought of this, he was startled and felt a numbness rushing to his head. He felt a cold sweat on his back and he almost fainted. As a small noble guarding the city and a low-level warrior, how could he go against the power of a magician? "I, I have no intention of offending you, Your Excellency, please let me go immediately, let me go immediately."
The captain was a little surprised at the Baron's rapid change of attitude, and couldn't help asking, "Sir, do you want to check the things in the car?"
"Asshole. The magician's time is so precious, how can he waste it on these trivial things? Get out of the way, get out of the way!" Baron Gregory roared angrily.
The Baron's performance stunned Xiao Chen, who was still thinking about how to speak. He turned around and looked at Luo Ling. Those big eyes were also looking at him, very cold, but seemed to have a different emotion, and some fatigue
Is a woman's temper so powerful
Xiao Chen looked at the city guards who were lining up to wait for them to pass with some confusion, sighed in confusion, and followed the convoy into the city.