On the twelfth day of the trial, it was already difficult for Sylutia to find the third-level Magic Creature, which could handle 5-6 in the previous day.
Currently, she may only find 2-3 in a day. This is because she has a variety of means to assist her. Considering that other students may not be able to fly as fast as her, and there are many Flying Bird means of dispersed investigation, it will only be more difficult.
It's time to find out what's going on with the locals.
Sylutia changed the direction of travel, and the pair of wings behind her deflected, taking her to fly towards the city she had seen on the way.
The wind blew across the wings behind her, and the black feathers on them trembled in the wind. The ambient temperature in the high altitude was relatively low, and most birds that flew long distances had feathers that were extremely effective in keeping warm.
As the spell of "Bionics School", Sylutia now constructs the wings of Weaving, which also plays a certain role in keeping warm, so that the cold air will not exchange quickly and take away heat.
Gradually, a bit of gray and white appeared in the dark blue mountains in her field of vision, and as she got closer, its specific appearance gradually became clearer.
This is a city built on a mountain. The city walls and main buildings are made of the same stone as the surrounding mountains, which is very harmonious with the environment. Its style is a bit primitive and not as neat as human cities. Even the city walls are undulating and difficult to keep consistent.
The streets are made of compacted mud, and the buildings are slightly rough, with protruding eaves and beams visible, some of which are covered with moss and vines.
When Sylutia approached, a sound of shaking copper bells could be heard coming from the city. Most of the people walking on the street were Orc, and there were also a few other races with different styles.
The figure descended and Sylutia landed on a forest road not far from the city. Here you can see two tall Orc guarding the city. They were wearing thick iron armor and holding double-headed axes in their hands. If you look closely, the armor is lined with tough leather, and the outside is connected to iron sheets with animal sinews. Judging from the black dirt filled in the gaps, this armor must have been used for a long time.
Some travelers and teams on the mountain roads were allowed to enter the city after paying some coins. During the process, some people jumped in line, some stole, and various livestock calling activities were observed. There were also many animal excrements on the roadside, exuding the natural scent of reincarnation.
The girl looked at the muddy ground under her feet. Fortunately, it didn't rain today. She had to be careful to avoid getting all muddy.
Not too anxious, Sylutia followed the team entering the city. They should be from nearby tribes. The bullock carts they drove contained a lot of animal skins and bacon, as well as a small amount of ore they dug themselves.
The wheels rolled over the potholes on the road, and the beams carrying them made a slight squeaking sound. Orc, who was waiting to enter the city in front, saw this girl approaching, and his eyes were full of curiosity.
"Nokra Samosa (look at that girl), Kurusihara (so beautiful)." Orc's language is not similar to that of humans, and the accents of each tribe are very different.
Some Orc were talking about Sylutia, but they did not approach and seemed quite restrained, and they continued like this until they entered the city.
When she arrived at the gate, Sylutia thought she had to pay some money, but when the two Orc guards saw her, they bowed their heads respectfully and made no move to accept any money.
"Welcome." They were speaking human language at this time.
Sylutia was very surprised by the respect given to the two tall Orc, but soon she knew the answer.
Soon after entering the city, she saw several groups of patrolling human guards. They wore steel armor different from Orc, with a uniform style, and warm smocks on the outside. These guards' smocks all had conspicuous heraldic emblems, which were a pattern of several overlapping mountains with a white city wall in the middle.
Western City Union", Mage Alliance In order to manage Western Mountains's newly established organization, Mage Alliance transferred personnel from the mainland to serve as the backbone of the organization, and recruited well-equipped warriors as the ballast of the organization to maintain their rule and management.
No wonder the gatekeeper Orc was so respectful to him, and the teams entering the city did not dare to come close.
When these human guards saw Sylutia, they nodded politely. Of course they could sense the difference in this girl, and it was easy to guess that she was a high-level Academy member of the Mage Alliance.
"Hello, sir, is there anything we can help you with?" One of the guard captains came over on his own initiative. His strength was at the second level, Castle, and he was wearing a dark blue cloak.
"I just arrived here with my instructor not long ago, and I need to understand the local situation." Sylutia quickly sorted out the situation and answered.
"This is easy, you can go to Silver Cup Tavern" in the city. That is a tavern opened by us humans. Most of the customers there are city union staff. They can give you good answers."
"Okay, thank you." Sylutia heard this, and after knowing the direction, he walked along the road.
Along the way, she could see many Orcs with different looks. Some of them had curved horns and were strong and tall, while others were relatively petite and similar to humans. However, the special animal ears emerging from their hair revealed Orc's identity.
Most of these Orc were wearing rough animal skins or linen clothes, with dark complexions, and arms full of traces of work. They were carrying various materials. Some were strengthening buildings and repairing city walls under the command of human engineers, while others were working as helpers in workshops.
There are many tannery workshops, blacksmith shops, wood workshops, and oil pressing shops here. It seems that most of the living utensils of the nearby Orc tribe are produced here.
Apart from the most numerous Orc, Sylutia also saw several strange birdmen. Their heads were like those of birds, their wings were arms, and there were small pointed claws at the end. Their feet were also bent like birds, with sharp claws underneath.
Although they look weird, their intelligence seems to be slightly higher than that of ordinary Orc. They know a little bit about trading, and they often fly from far away places to trade high-value things, such as shiny gems, rare herbs, rare tortoise shells, incense, etc. After finishing the trade, they pack the remaining things, pull them up with their claws, and fly to the next place.
Before Xilu Tia could digest the experience along the way, she had already seen the tavern mentioned by the guard. It had a light green shield-shaped sign hanging outwards with silver wine glasses painted on it, which was very eye-catching.
There are many people wearing the uniforms of the City United Organization coming in and out here. Some of them are civilians, and some are local guards wearing armor.
After walking into this pub, Sylutia looked around, and then at the bartender's suggestion, he went to the relatively quiet second floor. Although the consumption here was more expensive, the environment was much better.
"Sir, what do you want to eat? This is our menu." The other party brought a clean page with various delicacies and prices written on it.
Refined bread - 30 copper coins for ten slices of bacon - 30 copper coins for grilled large meat skewers - 50 copper coins for a plate of berries - 50 copper coins for roasted honey stick legs - 1 silver coin Egg pancake with meat - 1 silver coin Mushroom milk soup - 1 silver coin
Pepper beast meat stew (First Order)--1 gold coin red currant egg soup (First Order)--1 gold coin Orc cauldron stew (First Order)--2 gold coins sour fruit deer kidney soup (second level)--12 gold coins snow candied wolf tongue (second level)--11 gold coins Fruit-Stewed Rock Sheep Liver (Second level) - 11 gold coins Pan-fried Bear Fat (Third level) - 140 gold coins Xilu Tia was not surprised by the first half of the menu, but she felt that the price of meat here was cheaper than Mage Alliance in the central area; but after seeing the featured high-end delicacies below, she was more surprised.
These second- and third-level delicacies have never been seen in the heart of the Mage Alliance, and just by looking at the names, you can tell that the raw materials must have been taken from powerful beasts in the mountains, and they are probably harvested from hunting in nearby tribal villages.
After reading it, Sylutia was inevitably a little curious about what kind of food it was. It was rare to come to the Western Mountains once. If I missed it and wanted to see it again later, I don't know when it would be.
"Give me a Fruit-Stewed Rock Sheep Liver"."Sylutia took out the gold coins and put them on the table.
"Okay, please wait a moment."
The bartender accepted it enthusiastically, and then served the girl tea, and brought a clean towel and water for her to wash her hands before eating. Such service is rare at the Mage Alliance, and it may have been the custom of Orc's senior executives.
While waiting, she asked the bartender about the local area.
"Western City Alliance" was established not long ago, and I arrived here by airship with the team three months ago." He gave a brief introduction.
"In the past, the ruler here was Ogre Tyrant, a Sixth Order. He occupied a territory of nearly 500 kilometers in radius, and had several small towns under him, but none of them are as huge as this one."
"This place used to be called Gulakda", which in the Orc language means the territory of the powerful. The official staff of the City Alliance found it difficult to remember, so now it is changed to Grey Calamity Fortress. The reason for the name is probably that the stone walls here are built with the local Grey Calamity Rock."
"Grey Calamity Fortress is currently the 18th largest city in the Western Mountains, with about 20,000 people living in it. Orc is the majority, and Ogre only accounts for one-tenth."
"However, I didn't see Ogre on the road." The girl couldn't help but be curious.
"Yes, the Ogre in the city are now being chained and mining in the back mountains. They are very dissatisfied with the City Alliance's discipline. This happened even after the Ogre Tyrant died. There were several rebellions. Because these guys were huge and destructive, several rebellions caused damage to the city. Later, City Alliance"'s senior leaders decided to move them all to the back mountains to do heavy work, which would also facilitate monitoring and management."
"That's it." Sylutia nodded slightly, and then asked about the local living conditions.
"In general, the conditions now are much better than in the past." He recalled when he first came here.
"When I landed, many shops had not yet opened, and the management of the city was also very chaotic. Many Orc were hungry, and there were many fights in the streets."
"These Orcs are relatively simple-minded and highly value violence. They generally don't care about the various provisions announced by the City Alliance" and only think about solving problems with fists and weapons."
"In order to govern the city and make them aware of the laws and rules, City Alliance "has spent a lot of effort. At present, it is only to let them know that fighting is not allowed in the city."
While the two were talking, a crisp ringing of copper bells passed through the street, and then someone read loudly.
"Mosca, Mosca!" (Orc: Pay attention, pay attention!)
"You are not allowed to drink Red County Wine, you are not allowed to fight in the city, and you are not allowed to steal or rob!"
"Violators will be severely punished by the City Alliance and beaten Brine Whip!"
It turned out that when she was descending in the sky, she heard the sound of copper bells coming from the city, which was coming from here.
Xilu Tia watched from the window and found the staff member who was shaking the bell. He was wearing a brown, gray and white robe with the logo of "City Alliance" on it. He kept reading out the rules and precautions set by the City Alliance, and repeated it every time in Orc language and human language.
That copper bell is not an ordinary bell, but a specially made instrument. The shaking sound is extremely penetrating and can be clearly heard from thousands of meters away. And every once in a while, the staff will report the time, indicating what time it is in the morning or afternoon, to remind the staff of each workshop.
I heard from the bartender that the local Orc didn't know the time before, and only knew the difference between morning and afternoon. But after the City Alliance" took over the city, it built a large clock tower next to the city's central square. The clock above would ring every time on time to remind staff in various areas of the city.
It seems that order has been initially established, Sylutia thought to himself.
If they can continue to stabilize, these cities scattered among the mountains can slowly radiate their influence and gradually educate and change the local indigenous people.
At present, Western City Alliance" personnel can only control large cities in the mountains. Some small towns can only have a small number of personnel stationed and monitored. As for the various tribal villages below, they have no time to take care of them and are still in a state of autonomy.
After understanding the current general situation of the City Alliance, Xilu Tia wanted to know how this place was ruled before Mage Alliance interfered. Unfortunately, the bartender in front of her did not know such information.
"I just heard from Orc that in the past, the Ogres in the city were the superiors. They held various important positions, and some smart Orcs were their deputies, helping them handle various affairs. However, most of the Ogres were cruel and liked to eat alive, so the Orcs in the city used to be very afraid and did not dare to offend them."
After "City Alliance" settled in, the living environment of the local Orc has been greatly improved. Except for the dissatisfaction of a few hard-line elements, most Orc have now accepted the jurisdiction of "City Alliance"."
"Currently, there is a special Labor Department in the city. As long as you are willing to work, you can eat rough food. Although the taste is not good, at least you will not starve to death. This is a strange thing for many Orc."
"City Alliance also promised that if Orc can learn human language, abide by the law and perform well, he can have the identity of Honorary Citizen and obtain real estate in the city."
After saying this, the bartender mentioned a few more anecdotes.
"You don't know that although the streets still have some smell, they are already very clean. When I first came here, it was hard to describe the various livestock excrements accumulated on the streets. Later, City Alliance "organized several major cleanings, and finally managed to restore the current street environment."
"Many of the toilets are also newly built, and a group of stonemason scholars have been specially selected for this purpose. Because they are Transcendent, they can build them very quickly."
"Drainage ditches and the like were dug last month. Before they were built, some feces and urine would overflow when it rained----
After hearing what he said, Sylutia had to raise his hand to interrupt.
"Ahem, I understand, please tell me something else."
"Ah, I'm sorry, I just said it right away." Thinking that the guests were here to dine, the bartender also felt that the joke just now was a bit inappropriate.
"Let me compensate you with a plate of Gooseberry. This thing was picked newly by nearby residents. It tastes very fresh, sweet and sour, and has a unique flavor."
"Thank you."
Then the bartender left, leaving Sylutia to enjoy the berries quietly.
Half an hour later, the extraordinary delicacy "Fruit-Stewed Rock Sheep Liver" carefully prepared by the chef was served. The flesh inside was still bright red and emerald green. Under the chef's exquisite techniques, with the freshness of the flesh, the mutton smell of the mutton liver Purification was eliminated. Then the mellow nutrients in the mutton liver overflowed in the soup and became easy to absorb.
[Fruit-Stewed Rock Sheep Liver](Level 2·Excellence)
High-quality meals can replenish many rare elements needed by the body, allowing the body to recover quickly after battles and exercise, and enhance flexibility." (Warrior-type professions will enjoy it, and the effect will be better)
Sylutia took a sip of the soup and felt a warmth spreading from the stomach, soothing the hidden fatigue of the body's muscles and gaining slight strength.
If consumed for a long time, it can probably permanently increase the body's flexibility, but for her who is already very coordinated and perfect, the use is not obvious.
After enjoying the delicious food, Xilu Tia was about to go downstairs and sit down on the first floor to find out more information, when a familiar voice came from the tavern.
"Quick, what is the most delicious thing you have, bring it to me to see. Money is not an issue!"
Aug was sitting elegantly at the wooden table. He was wearing a short shirt that exposed his shoulders, and his bulging muscles could not be identified as Mage. At this moment, his words resounded throughout the tavern, and some Orc who passed by were surprised and shocked by him.