Entering the City

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and the carriage soon arrived at the outskirts of Allendale Harbor. During that time, Green had gathered detailed information about Allendale. Allendale Harbor was divided into two main areas: the Port District and the City District.

As its name suggested, the Port District was where ships docked—a huge, bustling harbor and the source of Allendale's vitality. The City District was the center of economic activity and trade, where merchants from the surrounding kingdoms gathered to conduct frequent transactions. The center of Allendale's City District was extraordinarily prosperous, and prices were outrageously high as well. Green had long since decided to purchase a manor on the edge of the City District.

When the caravan reached the outskirts of Allendale Harbor, its speed slowed noticeably. Green opened the carriage window, and what met his eyes was a flood of refugees, most of them from the Lodin Kingdom. In the distance, blue-gray walls dozens of meters high towered majestically, making it hard to imagine they were the product of a medieval society. The walls stretched endlessly to the left and right, vanishing beyond sight.

"If I didn't possess supernatural power, I'd almost suspect I was hallucinating." Green stared at the towering blue-gray walls before him and silently grumbled.

Outside Allendale's walls, residential areas were scattered here and there. Their surroundings were filthy and wretched beyond measure. Green even witnessed robberies and rapes in broad daylight. Rather than calling them residential areas, slums would have been more accurate. Quite a few people dressed in the Lodin Kingdom's clothing lived in these slums. Most were minor nobles who could not afford the entrance fee or obtain Maslow Alliance identities, or attendants abandoned by the nobles who had arrived here.

Those abandoned outside the city were bound by no laws whatsoever. The law of the jungle was displayed here in all its naked brutality. They vented the evil in their hearts to their heart's content, running wild without restraint.

Ever since arriving here, Mia, who shared a carriage with Green, had grown paler and paler. When she saw the misery in the slums, all color drained from her face. Green had remained noncommittal throughout the journey, while Baron Klow would pay no more than the entrance fee. After that, Mia would have to find a way to survive on her own. In a place where she knew no one and had no Maslow Alliance identity, Mia might well be driven out of Allendale if she could not find work. To the baron, compared with a "vase" like Mia, the guards who followed him mattered far more.

Although Baron Klow had treated the people in his territory with reasonable generosity, he was ultimately a noble, and profit came first. Now reduced to such straits, he knew that only by firmly holding on to the guards who followed him could he possibly rise again.

Inside the carriage, Ashlyn and Leila were in somewhat better condition, but they were still uneasy, glancing at Green from time to time.

The stream of carriages moved forward slowly, and soon it was Baron Klow's caravan's turn. Green leaned out of the window and saw the baron negotiating with the guards at the gate. Green possessed eyesight as sharp as an eagle's, and he could clearly see the baron's expression growing uglier as the conversation continued. The baron glanced back and discovered Green watching him. After hesitating for a long while, he finally seemed to make a decision. He turned around, shook his head, and took out a chest of gold coins, handing it to the guards at the gate.

The baron's caravan was soon allowed through, but to Green's surprise, aside from the guards, the baron, and his immediate family, the maids who had always remained by the baron's side were driven from the carriages. Green even saw Mia's mother, Mila, forced down.

Those driven from the carriages wept bitterly and begged the baron. Some even clung desperately to the carriage, but the guards showed no mercy, kicking them until they fell away.

"The baron shouldn't be this heartless. What exactly happened?" As a first-generation noble who had risen through military merit, Baron Klow should not have fallen so low as to become heartless as a vampire.

The baron's caravan soon passed through the city gate. The abandoned maids, as though they had lost their backbone, gathered together in a daze and walked toward the slums outside the city.

At the sight of this, Ashlyn, Leila, and Mia had already gone deathly pale. The baron had abandoned them. Logically speaking, he absolutely should not have abandoned Ashlyn. As the person most likely to become Green's wife, Ashlyn was someone the baron would never give up on lightly. For such a thing to happen, the price must have been something the baron could not bear.

"Mia, go bring your mother over." Mia's face had originally been pale, but when she heard Green's words, her eyes suddenly filled with light. Stammering, she replied, "R-Really?"

"Go. Why would I lie to you?" Green smiled at Mia. Mia immediately hopped out of the carriage and ran toward her mother. When Mila saw Mia leave the carriage, her face turned even paler, thinking that Mia had been abandoned too. However, once Mia reached her, delight filled Mila's face. She hurriedly took Mia's hand and walked toward Green's carriage.

Green also climbed out of the carriage. He would have to negotiate with the guards next, and as the caravan's owner, he needed to handle this personally.

Green got down from the carriage and walked toward the soldiers wearing iron-gray armor and carrying spears.

[Scanning target]

[Soldier One]

[Strength: 3.5]

[Speed: 3.3]

[Constitution: 3.2]

[Overall Evaluation: Knight Peak]

Green continued scanning the other soldiers. Nearly all of them were at the Knight Level, and even Knight Apprentices were exceedingly rare. Looking at the hundreds of guards patrolling back and forth, Green could not help sighing. Their military strength had already surpassed that of the Lodin Kingdom and the Saladin Kingdom. If the Maslow Alliance had not always refrained from expanding abroad, the surrounding kingdoms would probably have been conquered long ago.

The moment Green got down from the carriage, everyone in the caravan turned their eyes toward him. Even the maids abandoned by the baron earlier began slowly approaching Green's caravan.

The soldier handling the formalities was already highly experienced. At first glance, he roughly judged Green's identity and bluntly asked, "From the Lodin Kingdom?"

Green nodded at the soldier.

"One gold coin to enter the city. A hundred gold coins per person to obtain a Maslow Alliance identity."

The soldier's words made Green's eyebrows twitch. Copper coins were the most basic currency in this world, roughly equivalent to one coin from his previous life. A hundred copper coins could be exchanged for one silver coin, and a hundred silver coins for one gold coin.

With a simple conversion, the entrance fee was equivalent to ten thousand copper coins. An ordinary person in this world earned only three copper coins a day. An average person would have to work for ten years without eating or drinking to afford a single entrance fee to Allendale.

The soldier also noticed Green's shock, but he did not look down on him because of it. In the soldier's eyes, although Green was a fallen noble, he was certainly far better off than guards like them; he merely looked rather bedraggled. He immediately explained, "Once you obtain a Maslow Alliance identity, the entrance fee is only one copper."

Now that was a reasonable price. At the previous price, aside from caravans, even locals from the Maslow Alliance probably could not afford to enter.

Green lowered his head and began thinking. The caravan's wealth amounted to roughly ten thousand gold coins. Baron Candia was a standard bloodsucking noble, with wealth far exceeding Baron Klow's.

Baron Klow probably had only around seven thousand gold coins in his possession. Unlike Green, the baron's caravan contained twenty-seven guards, twelve family members, and twenty-three maids. Baron Klow could not possibly spend all his gold coins purchasing Maslow Alliance identities.

He had to keep part of his wealth as capital to rise again. The guards were clearly more important than ordinary family members and maids. Thus, he naturally chose to abandon some of his family members and maids.

Even the maids who were selected might have been chosen because they had close relationships with the guards, with the baron selecting them to win the guards' loyalty. Mila, Mia's mother, had been heartlessly abandoned.

Green's caravan had only twenty-seven people, or twenty-eight with Mia's mother. Even purchasing identities for everyone would be no problem. With Maslow Alliance identities, they could avoid many troubles within Allendale Harbor's urban area.

As for their source of income, Green had already run simulations through the Chip. Once they reached Allendale's urban area and settled down, the problem would be very easy to solve. With his strength, Green could ensure that his wealth would not be snatched away by local ruffians.

"Ashlyn, bring out the gold coins!" Ashlyn, who had been following Green closely, hurried into the carriage when she heard him and brought out a large chest of gold coins. Green casually took it from her and handed it to the soldier before him.

The soldier accepted the chest of gold coins Green handed over and immediately lowered his head to count them. As he counted, he said, "It's calculated by head—one hundred gold coins per person. How many Alliance identities are you purchasing?"

The soldier had seen many nobles before. Normally, they were only willing to purchase identities for their soldiers, while maids were almost always abandoned outright.

"Fifty-five."

The moment Green spoke, the soldier raised his head. Green was the first person to purchase identities for maids. The other nobles simply abandoned them, planning to buy identities after entering the city. Someone like Green was nearly unheard of.

"Fifty-five? Sir, are you certain?" To make sure he had not misheard, the soldier confirmed it with Green again.

"You heard correctly. Fifty-five. Hurry up and process the documents!"

The soldier gave Green a strange look, then sighed. "Following you truly is their good fortune."

At that moment, Ashlyn, who had been listening nearby, whispered to Green, "Brother Green, there are only twenty-eight of us. We don't have fifty-five people."

"Is that so? Turn around and look." Green glanced at Ashlyn and spoke to her.

Although Ashlyn was confused, she still turned around as Green instructed.

The maids abandoned by the baron earlier were timidly gathered beside Green's caravan. There were exactly fifty of them, not one more or one less. Ashlyn immediately understood Green's intentions and called out to the maids, "What are you waiting for? Brother Green has already purchased identities for you. Come over and line up to register your information!"

When the abandoned maids suddenly heard Ashlyn's words, their eyes filled with light. They looked at Green as though he were a heavenly god. Some even knelt and kowtowed directly, expressing their gratitude to Green.

Green casually waved his hand, signaling for them to hurry and register. The maids dared not disobey and quickly rose to form an orderly line.

The soldiers naturally could not miss Green purchasing identities for the maids. After all, these people had been driven down right before their eyes.

As soldiers, they were actually part of the more ordinary class in Allendale Harbor. Some felt reluctant to see this, but they did not dare oppose the orders from above.

Suddenly encountering an anomaly like Green lifted their spirits, and their attitude toward him changed completely.

As for Green himself, his main consideration in doing this was Old Green. Green did not particularly care about these maids. With his overwhelming strength, as long as he wanted money, it would be within easy reach. These castle maids all had one connection or another with Old Green. Having them care for Old Green might be better, which was why Green obtained identities for them.

"Sir, if you're entering the city, you'll need to find somewhere to live. You should definitely go to the Central District. There's an agency there specifically for selling manors. The price is a little steep—around two thousand gold coins—but there won't be any problems. Also, be careful. Allendale Harbor has many gangs that prey specifically on people like you. You must get to the place I mentioned as soon as possible. Once you purchase a manor, you'll count as a local." A guard quietly approached Green and whispered this to him.

Looking at the guard who had secretly warned him, Green nodded. Then he took ten more gold coins from the chest and discreetly placed them in the soldier's hand.

Feeling the heavy weight, the smile in the soldier's eyes grew even broader.

Green now understood why the baron had abandoned the maids. Judging by the baron's own wealth, he could afford identities for everyone. But he needed to retain some money as start-up capital, and another portion to purchase a manor worth two thousand gold coins. There would not be much left afterward. The baron wanted to leave himself a way out, so he simply went all the way and abandoned most of his people.

He had even abandoned his connection with Green. Perhaps in his eyes, no matter how powerful Green was, he was only average in Allendale. After all, the guards at Allendale's city gate were all Formal Knights. Green's strength was no longer of much use. Perhaps Green could support himself, but he absolutely could not support the entire caravan. That was why the baron had decisively chosen to give him up.

Of course, it was even more likely that Green was simply too powerful. If the baron chose to ally himself with Green, he would inevitably become dependent on him.

And in their original relationship, the baron's rank had been higher than Green's.

A change in rank was extremely difficult for a proud noble to accept. To protect that remnant of dignity in his heart, it was not strange for him to make such a choice.

After all, this sort of situation was common even in modern times. When an erstwhile superior became one's subordinate, even if their relationship had once been harmonious, all kinds of awkwardness would arise.

For some superiors, such a situation was simply unacceptable.

Since it had been the other party's choice, Green naturally chose to respect it. The friendship they had shared all along ended here.