Fire Fox Merchant Guild

Walking along the main street, Sunan was surprised to find that the city had grown noticeably more crowded and much livelier than before.

Many of the newcomers wore leather armor and carried weapons, looking tough and capable.

Noticing Sunan's inquisitive gaze, Kei explained with a smile, "Since the Blackstone Mining Area reopened, many merchant caravans have rushed here after hearing the news. A good number of these people are caravan members and the mercenaries traveling with them."

Sunan nodded in realization.

A city's prosperity often began with thriving commerce.

As long as the Blackstone Mining Area continued to be developed, Blackstone City would become one of the leading cities in Golden Rock Province within a few years.

As they walked, Sunan spotted a makeshift camp built from wooden sheds.

More than a dozen people bustled about inside. Some cooked porridge, while others handed it out.

A crowd of ragged, gaunt people stood in a long line before the sheds, their eyes fixed on the porridge station as their throats constantly bobbed, their faces filled with impatience.

Yet under the veiledly warning stares of the soldiers around them, they could only wait obediently in line.

"Who are they?" Sunan looked at Kei.

"They're refugees from the Thorn Flower Principality to the west. There's a war going on over there, and many civilians have been displaced. I sent people to receive them and plan to absorb them into the city."

Sunan fell into thought.

Besides income, population was also an extremely important foundation for a city's prosperity.

Blackstone City lay on the border, and its population had never been large. Even its army numbered only a little over five hundred.

That was an innate shortcoming.

If this problem was not addressed, Blackstone City would never be able to grow stronger, much less form a Cavalry Regiment.

Taking in refugees was undoubtedly an excellent solution.

Especially since refugees who survived a long journey were usually healthy young men and women.

Once they joined the territory, they could become laborers after just a few days of rest.

The young and strong could even join the army directly, strengthening Blackstone City's military power.

"Before winter arrives this year, I intend to take the initiative and attack the Blackscale Lizardmen Tribe in the Redhorn Wilderness."

Kei continued, his eyes gleaming.

"If we move the battlefield to the Redhorn Wilderness, Blackstone City will suffer less from the flames of war."

Sunan nodded knowingly.

Although Kei had not said it outright, they both understood the more important reason.

With more Blackscale Lizardmen blood, Blackstone City could train more knights.

The two then began discussing recent events in Golden Rock Province.

When Sunan heard that the Storm Earl had been ambushed, severely wounded, and fallen unconscious, he could not help but feel surprised.

The Storm Earl was a Grand Knight and a lord with real power. Security around him must have been extremely tight.

Yet even under those circumstances, the assassin had managed to grievously wound him.

Just what sort of organization was this Starfire Cult?

Seeing Sunan's uncertainty, Kei explained, "The Starfire Cult is a mysterious cult that emerged more than ten years ago. It developed incredibly quickly, growing in just three or four years into a cult with influence throughout the principality. They operate in great secrecy, and their doctrines are unclear. It is said that they have secret ties with many nobles, yet they have also carried out no small number of assassinations against nobles. They are very strange."

The more Sunan heard, the more something felt wrong.

Could there be wizards—or wizard apprentices—behind the Starfire Cult's rise?

Sunan searched his memories but found that he knew little about the Starfire Cult.

After all, when he had encountered the game in his previous life, it had already been version 2.0.

Unless something from version 1.0 had been extremely important and related to wizards, he basically knew nothing about it.

Just as he was pondering this, a sudden burst of commotion came from ahead.

The two had turned a street corner and arrived near the tavern.

The tavern doors stood wide open, and loud, boisterous noise poured from within, as though many people were shouting.

When they entered, they discovered that someone was having a drinking contest.

Two burly men sat on opposite sides of a round table, desperately pouring liquor down their throats.

As they drank, they shot provocative looks at each other.

More than a dozen tall, muscular men surrounded them, cheering enthusiastically and erupting into thunderous applause from time to time.

Sunan's gaze swept over the crowd before settling on one of the men competing in the drinking contest.

The man was around twenty-five or twenty-six, with rough features and exceptionally thick body hair. His exposed arms, open chest, and more than half his face were covered in hair. His eyes were amber-colored, not like human eyes at all, but more like the pupils of a beast.

"A beastman."

Sunan's expression shifted, and the words slipped out instinctively.

Beastmen had originally been the products of wizard experiments.

Most were bloodthirsty and savage, with extremely strong aggression.

Once provoked by even the slightest external stimulus, they could easily lose control of their bloodthirsty instincts, transform into ferocious beasts, and madly attack every living creature they could see.

In ancient times, the earliest beastmen had caused the Beastman Disaster, resulting in massive casualties before they were eventually suppressed by wizards.

However, after many years of reproduction and the weakening of their bloodlines, later beastmen had improved greatly and were generally able to control their beastification abilities.

Beastmen could not cultivate Breathing Techniques, but their physiques far surpassed those of ordinary humans.

An adult beastman possessed the strength of an Apprentice Knight.

Some beastmen with the bloodlines of savage beasts could, after grueling training, even gain strength comparable to that of knights.

However, in contrast to their powerful physiques, beastmen had much shorter lifespans and weaker reproductive abilities than normal humans.

By now, beastmen were rarely seen anywhere on the continent.

Even when they were, they mostly lived within the Azure Gold Empire.

Sunan had not expected to encounter a beastman descendant here.

"Few people can recognize Ota's origins at a glance. You are truly well-informed, sir."

A voice suddenly sounded beside him.

Sunan turned to see a tall man around forty years old walking toward him with a smile.

He wore an exceedingly expensive-looking crimson fox-fur coat.

"Lord, it has been a long time."

When he approached, the man first bowed to Kei before turning to Sunan.

"May I ask how to address you, sir?"

"Sunan."

Sunan gave him a slight nod. He had already guessed the man's identity.

"This is my younger brother," Kei introduced, before introducing the man to Sunan. "This is Muzar Ismail, the owner of the Fire Fox Merchant Guild."

"Lord Sunan, a pleasure, a pleasure."

Muzar shook Sunan's hand with a broad smile, though inwardly he was deeply puzzled.

According to the information he had gathered, the second young master of the Shining Family was reclusive by nature. His favorite pastime was locking himself in his room to tinker with strange things, and he rarely went out. Such a person should not have seen much of the world, so he should not have been able to identify Ota as a beastman at a glance.

Furthermore, the reports said that Sunan had no talent for knighthood, had not even begun the Breathing Technique, and was physically weaker than an ordinary person.

But the Sunan before him stood tall and straight, with bright eyes and vigorous bearing. How did he look even remotely frail?

What were those people responsible for gathering intelligence even doing?

They could not handle even such a trivial matter!

Muzar frowned inwardly and resolved to give those people a thorough reprimand later.