The Delegation's Shock

On this day, a group carrying the banner of the Golden Griffin of the Oma Empire passed through the Black Dragon Pass and arrived at Black Dragon City.

The procession consisted of several hundred people, led by imposing Silver Family Knights, followed by a large retinue of squires and servants. Their clothing was embroidered with the family crest of Double-Crowned Eagle, clearly indicating they belonged to the Spencer Family, one of Omar's top and oldest Established Nobles families.

Today, Black Dragon City is more than ten times larger than it was back then.

The city is nestled against the Alkolon Mountain Range, where stone is plentiful. Under the unified planning of municipal officials, the displaced people quarried stone and built walls tens of meters high, one ring after another, and now up to the sixth ring.

Upon seeing this magnificent city built on land in the distance, the members of the Omar delegation were all astonished.

In the group, a middle-aged man with a brown mustache and a handsome young man with a fair complexion began to talk.

"This Black Dragon City is truly remarkable. To develop into such a place in less than a year is nothing short of a miracle. With such a population size, perhaps only the imperial Imperial Capital Wussenbar, can compare."

"Hehe, Father, it's just that Black Dragon City's geographical location is good enough. I don't know where Ymir got such good luck, she actually found such a pass and built a new city west of the Alkolon Mountain Range. This basin has High-tier Demonic Beast resources, zombie hordes, and rich coal mines with High-Combustion Coal. I heard that large gold and silver mines were recently discovered to the north. Black Dragon City really has every advantage. If I had this place, I could build a magnificent city too!"

"Frank, don't underestimate Ymir. Her talent is recognized by the Empire. At the very least, she can make those barbarians obediently work for her. That's not something an ordinary person can do."

"Father, don't forget, no matter how powerful she is, she's still just a woman. But I never expected there to be so many Wyrm-type Demonic Beast here. If we could control that Wyvern Legion, our Spencer Family would surely become the strongest family in the empire!"

"Indeed. If we could control the Wyvern Legion, this 'invincible army,' Black Dragon City would naturally be a piece of cake. But then again, how did Ymir manage to make those barbarians so obedient?"

"Why don't we just go ask Ymir? Anyway, she'll still call you uncle when she sees you, Father."

"."

The group walked slowly.

Before long, a Blackwater Platform intelligence agent came over, bringing a scroll filled with densely written intelligence.

"Your Grace, all the intelligence has been confirmed. Her Highness the Eldest Princess is the 'Prime Minister' of Black Dragon City, that is, the most powerful person in the city."

"Heh, so this isn't a lord? Just a different, more misleading term. What about that Rein Hermes?"

"We have confirmed that the Lord Rein has little real power and rarely participates in political discussions; it's all handled by Her Highness the Eldest Princess and the council. However..."

"But what?"

"However, I heard that the Lord Rein is the Princess's man."

"."

The system in Black Dragon City is different from that of any other city, and the titles of many positions are completely incomprehensible.

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, the middle-aged man with the mustache revealed an expression of expectation, even a hint of mockery, in his eyes.

Haha, what "Prime Minister"? It's just a different way of saying "lord".

Upon hearing this, the young man beside him looked rather grim and pressed, "Then Rein is Ymir's man?"

Spy: "Yes. However, it's just rumors among city dwellers. As far as I know, Her Highness the Eldest Princess has never publicly acknowledged this relationship."

Hearing this, the pale-faced young man's expression eased slightly, and he muttered to himself, "That's strange. If he hasn't admitted it, why doesn't he stop the rumors?"

A shrewd glint flashed in the eyes of the middle-aged man with the mustache, and he felt as if he had guessed the truth. He laughed and said, "So, Ymir is as clever as ever."

He paused, then said, "If I'm not mistaken, she probably anticipated that the empire would use the marriage as a pretext, so she came up with this half-true, half-false shield."

The young man listened, and his brows completely relaxed.

He raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said, "That's true. Back then, there were plenty of outstanding men in the capital, but she didn't even look at them. Why would she choose an unknown guy as her man?"

Just as the Omar delegation arrived, it was in the mountains hundreds of miles away from Black Dragon City.

Here, dark clouds obscured the sun, and lightning flashed and thunder roared, clearly indicating a severe thunderstorm and rainy day.

In such harsh weather, even large magical beasts would avoid it. On the highest mountain peak, a burly figure sat cross-legged in meditation.

"Crack!"

Every now and then, a beam of intense light would streak across the sky, as if drawn by some force, striking the figure precisely.

After the lightning struck, the figure remained motionless.

The thunderstorm gradually subsided after half an hour.

The figure, now completely naked from the lightning strike, stood up. He looked up at the dissipating thunderclouds and muttered to himself, "It's over again. My body can withstand five hundred million volts of lightning now. Looks like I can try even stronger lightning next time."

As he finished speaking, the metallic sheen on his skin gradually faded, and his skin returned to its normal color.

And those wounds scalded by lightning healed instantly under the warm sun of the Healing Spell.

He waved, and a huge thunder raven flew down from the clouds, transforming into a palm-sized thunder sparrow, which landed on his head and affectionately pecked at him.

This person was none other than Rein, who was cultivating alone in the wilderness.

They were already quite familiar with the method of tempering their bodies with lightning, so there was no need for anyone to accompany them in case of accidents. Although the Karatva Basin had entered the rainy season, it wasn't always near Black Dragon City.

With the help of the Thunder Ravens, who can accurately sense the lightning element in the air, Rein can always pinpoint the areas of thunderstorms. So for the past two weeks, he has been chasing thunderclouds, running around everywhere.

Rein walked to the pile of stones in the distance and picked up his clothes to put them on.

That's when I realized the clothes were a bit tight.

He raised an eyebrow, looking quite satisfied, and muttered, "His muscles have grown again."

His arms had been wrapped around his body all night, and his clothes covered his bulging muscles. His body, which resembled a humanoid monster, was concealed, and his domineering aura was also subdued.

In the past six months, the Voodoo Master has finished digesting the potion, his battle qi has increased by more than double, and the number of Gang Line has also increased dramatically. In addition, because of the secret method of tempering the body with lightning, his body has become stronger and stronger. The speed of his body tempering with the Great Strength God Art is incredibly fast, and he has reached the minor completion of the "Divine Steel Realm". His strength is nearly three times that of before.

Even Canossa was astonished by this progress. Leaving aside the Transcendent realm, just considering this Body Refining Secret Method, she had only just reached the Great Perfection of the "Divine Steel Realm."

The progress that Rein made in the past six months was comparable to her ten years of arduous training.

As Rein finished dressing and was about to leave, a dark shadow swept past and lunged straight at Rein's back.

It was a Fourth Tier [Dragon Scale Snow Leopard] that had been lying in wait for a long time. It was a full eight meters long, with scales covering its four legs and head. This was a common sub-dragon creature in the basin, fast, capable of spewing frost, and possessing an astonishing bite force.

This kind of magical beast would give even ordinary Fourth Tier Transcendent a headache.

A foul stench filled the air as it opened its gaping maw and lunged at Rein, seemingly intent on devouring the lone human.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Rein's ears twitched slightly, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

As if by reflex, he condensed a dense purple battle aura in his right fist, turned around, and threw a punch at the huge figure. The fluid fist seemed to have eyes, striking the snow leopard in the lower back.

"Bang!"

It sounded as if I heard a cracking sound of bone breaking.

That cheetah, weighing several tons, was actually sent flying by a single punch!

That claw strike, which was originally enough to pierce Fourth Tier magic shield, left only a few painless scratches on Rein's golden skin, which disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Smack!"

With a loud thud, Rein's figure rushed forward a hundred meters, his fists raining down like a storm, pinning the snow leopard, who hadn't even had a chance to react, to the ground and giving it a good beating.

The man and the leopard began a fierce battle on the hillside.

Fifteen minutes later, craters were blasted open all over the hillside. The once lively snow leopard was now lying on the ground, covered in blood and unable to move.

Rein stood up, looked at the monster's corpse on the ground, and took a few deep breaths. In the blink of an eye, all the bite wounds on his body, which would be considered infamous by ordinary Third Tier Extraordinary, had completely healed.

Encountering monsters while traveling alone in the wilderness is nothing new, and he's used to it.

If he were at the same level as Black Wind Territory back then, even ten of him wouldn't necessarily be able to defeat this Fourth Tier [Dragon Scale Snow Leopard].

But nowadays, martial arts skills have long been integrated and mastered.

In the system's dream world, he couldn't last ten moves against "Uhm." His surging strength and martial arts skills allowed him to easily kill his old rival.

Rein collected the snow leopard's carcass and then put on his clothes.

Just then, Ymir's voice rang out from the strange conch-shaped device next to the clothes.

"Rein, go back to your territory. Omar's men have arrived."

"Good."

This is the "Goblin Communicator," a biological communication device recreated by Mr. Tuster based on goblin blueprints.

It functions somewhat like a walkie-talkie, enabling long-distance communication under special conditions.

However, it doesn't use electricity, but bioelectricity.

These "communication screws" are alive, and there's a pair.

He has one, Ymir has one.

Because Black Dragon City is built on the ground, its streets are not as narrow as those of Mechanical City.

The road is paved with bluestone, and it's bustling with people.

Omar's delegation made a high-profile entrance into the city, and the group of elegantly dressed noblemen naturally attracted the attention of passersby.

However, unlike the treatment they received in other territories, the commoners did not bow their heads and give way to this group that clearly bore the title of duke. Instead, some of the bolder ones were pointing at them and whispering among themselves.

Seeing this, the pale-faced youth in the group looked displeased, muttering, "Hmph! These wilderness folk are truly lacking in manners. Commoners dare to look directly at high-ranking nobles; they have absolutely no sense of propriety. If this were in Omar, they would have been whipped long ago."

In Omar, nobles hold absolute power.

Commoners were required to give way to noble processions when they encountered them on the street.

Especially in the Spencer Family's territory, when the Duke traveled, the people had to kneel and bow on the street and could only raise their heads after the procession had left.

Grand Duke House frowned slightly, feeling offended, but said nothing.

After all, from his perspective, he could naturally see that Black Dragon City's ability to attract so many refugees in a short period of time was directly related to the city's policies.

The pale-faced youth spoke with utter disdain, continuing, "Father, is this the legendary 'equality for all'? Ha! To be equal to a bunch of lowly commoners is an insult to the bloodline of the high nobility. It's a good thing the 'New Deal' wasn't implemented. If commoners could have the same status as nobles, it would be utterly absurd."

Although he also disliked being pointed at and talked about by a group of commoners, Grand Duke House saw things more deeply, his brow furrowed, "This Black Dragon City is not to be underestimated."

The way the residents of Black Dragon City lived was incredible to him.

In other territories, he saw only numbness and fear on the faces of nobles and commoners, and always felt a sense of lifelessness.

Without prior comparison, he hadn't discovered where the problem lay.

Looking at it now, he realized that everyone in Black Dragon City had a different expression on their face—a feeling of contentment with life and hope for the future, an emotion called "happiness."

This kind of scenery, which was originally only seen by the noble and wealthy, is now found all over Black Dragon City.

Everyone is very busy.

The Duke and his entourage did not receive a warm welcome from the residents.

Craftsmen were busy building the city walls, security teams were busy patrolling, hunters were busy venturing out of the city to hunt, and merchants were busy hawking their wares.

The shops along the street, selling fruits, pastries, clothes, and daily necessities, were bustling with people.

Upon seeing this, Grand Duke House thought he had arrived in the Oma Imperial Capital.

Only in the wealthy Oma Imperial Capital could ordinary people have spare money to spend, and only then could shops prosper so much.

In a city that has only been established for less than a year, are there really so many people who can afford fruits, pastries, and other daily necessities that are only available to aristocratic families?

In his mind, only shops selling various equipment could survive in the hunting city, right?

These issues weren't mentioned in the intelligence report.

When Duke Haus saw this place, he was struck by how incredibly wealthy the people here were.

He knew about the low taxes, but how could such a large city be supported by low taxes alone?

If commoners and nobles are equal, how can lords ensure the stability of their power?

One problem after another emerged, only to lead to a dead end.

Still enjoying the benefits that centralized lordship brought to the nobility, he couldn't understand this social system that was several stages ahead of its time.

He felt that everything before him was "unreal".

It was as if someone had deliberately arranged a stage play for them, so that they could witness this completely unbelievable scene.

The more they looked, the more amazed they became. Everything in the city overwhelmed the members of the delegation from the capital of Aura.

I originally thought I was going to a poor and remote place to "go to the countryside", but I didn't expect it to be like I was there to broaden my horizons.

Grand Duke House also pricked up his ears, wanting to hear what the residents were saying.

As they passed by, a young couple was passionately kissing and embracing, seemingly celebrating something.

"Oh, Ilona, I have some good news! I passed the selection process and successfully enlisted in the army. Not only will I get free room and board, but I'll also be allocated Gene Potion. In three years, I'll be granted permanent residency!"

"Darling, it might not even take three years. I heard that Uncle Carter's son only joined the army a month ago, but because of his meritorious service in battle, he is already Second Lieutenant, and now his whole family are permanent residents of the city."

"Oh, praise be to our great Lord Rein! I will also work hard."

".."

Duke Haus frowned as he listened.

This special military service system was also mentioned in the intelligence report.

He knew that Black Dragon City had recruited a large army, but not noble knights.

This is simply unimaginable in other territories.

How can the loyalty of an army to its lord be guaranteed, since the army is not composed of noble knights?

Grand Duke House walked slowly forward, filled with doubt.

At that moment, his attention was completely drawn to it, and various sounds came from all around him.

"I heard that Great Sword Master Lambert is here too. He went straight to the Black Dragon Academy yesterday to apply for a swordsmanship instructor position. Such a skilled swordsman, but because he offended the nobles in Omar, no one dares to hire him."

"Mechanical Grandmaster Fielding has also come, reportedly because Black Dragon City possesses a mechanic lineage even more advanced than the 'Oma Royal Academy of Sciences'."

"Anyway, I came here because of Master Cavo. I heard he's the honorary dean of the Black Dragon Academy and occasionally gives lectures himself."

Have you purchased the "Social Pension Insurance" recently introduced by the city hall?

"Of course! It won't cost much, since all of this money comes from tax breaks. When we get old and can no longer hunt or work, the territory will cover our pension."

"Want to go hunting in the wilderness? There are extra contribution rewards for clearing the western wilderness."

"."

The street is filled with people from all walks of life, and they talk about all sorts of things.

Grand Duke House's expression grew increasingly solemn as he listened.

Although I didn't understand what those policies were all about.

He also realized that residents were very satisfied with these policies.

Moreover, in less than a year, the residents of this city actually developed a sense of "identity" and "belonging"?

These residents all expressed their goal of becoming "permanent residents of Black Dragon City" and took pride in becoming "permanent residents".

This is what terrifies Duke Haus the most.

With the sudden emergence of Black Dragon City, both empires faced the problem of population loss.

Originally, this wasn't a big problem, since the key is whether people can stay after the influx of people.

Once Black Dragon City collapses, everything will vanish.

To everyone else, Black Dragon City's so-called "low taxes" and "equality for all" policies were just a temporary fad and would collapse sooner or later.

If City of Radiance could become a noble kingdom, then Black Dragon City would surely follow suit.

But instead of collapsing, it's become even more prosperous!

Upon seeing this, Grand Duke House realized that if Black Dragon City continued to develop, the aristocratic system would likely face an unprecedented crisis, and might even shake the foundation of the empire!