Entering the City

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

As its name implied, the Port District was where ships docked. It was a massive, bustling harbor and the source of all life and vitality in Ellendal. The City District, meanwhile, was the center of economic activity and trade. Merchants from neighboring nations gathered there for frequent transactions. The center of Ellendal's City District was exceptionally prosperous, and its prices were outrageously high. Green had already decided to purchase a manor on the outskirts of the City District.

When the convoy reached the outskirts of Ellendal Harbor, its pace noticeably slowed. Green opened the carriage window and saw groups of refugees, most of them from the Lodin Kingdom. In the distance, blue-gray city walls dozens of meters high towered majestically into the sky. It was hard to imagine that such a structure could be the product of a medieval society. The walls stretched endlessly to both sides, their ends nowhere in sight.

If this world did not possess supernatural power, I would almost suspect I was hallucinating. Green stared at the towering blue-gray walls before him and grumbled inwardly.

Scattered settlements lay outside Ellendal's walls. Their conditions were appallingly filthy and chaotic. Green even witnessed robbery and rape in broad daylight. Rather than residential areas, they were more accurately described as slums. Many people in those slums wore the clothing of the Lodin Kingdom. Most were minor nobles unable to afford the fee to enter the city or obtain Maslow Alliance identification, or retainers abandoned by the nobles who had brought them here.

Those abandoned outside the city had no laws restraining them. The law of the jungle was displayed there in all its brutality. They freely unleashed the evil in their hearts and acted without restraint.

Ever since arriving there, Mia, who shared Green's carriage, had grown paler and paler. When she saw the misery within the slums, all color drained from her face. Green had said nothing throughout the journey, while Baron Kluo would at most pay for Mia's entry into the city before leaving her to fend for herself. In an unfamiliar place, Mia, without Maslow Alliance identification, could very well be driven out of Ellendal if she failed to find work. Compared to a "vase" like Mia, the baron cared more about the guards who followed him.

Although Baron Kluo had treated the people of his territory fairly generously, he was still a noble, and profit came first. Now that he had fallen so low, he knew that only by firmly holding on to the guards who followed him could he possibly rise again.

Inside the carriage, Aishweil and Leila were in slightly better condition, but they too were deeply uneasy and kept glancing at Green.

The line of carriages crept forward, and soon it was Baron Kluo's convoy's turn. Green stuck his head out the window and saw the baron negotiating with the guards at the gate. With eyesight as sharp as an eagle's, Green could clearly see the baron's expression turning uglier as the conversation continued. The baron looked back and found Green watching him. After hesitating for a long while, he finally seemed to make up his mind. He turned around, shook his head, then took out a chest of gold coins and handed it to the guards at the gate.

The baron's convoy was soon allowed through. But to Green's surprise, aside from the guards, the baron, and his immediate family, the maids who had always stayed at the baron's side were driven from the carriages. Green even saw Mia's mother, Mila, being thrown out.

The people driven from the carriages wept bitterly and begged the baron. Some even clung desperately to the carriages, but the guards mercilessly kicked them away.

"The baron should not be so heartless. What happened?" As a first-generation noble raised through military merit, Baron Kluo had not yet fallen to the level of a bloodsucking monster.

The baron's convoy quickly passed through the city gate. The abandoned maids gathered together in confusion, as if they had lost their backbone, and headed toward the slums outside the city.

Aishweil, Leila, and Mia had already gone completely pale at the sight. The baron had abandoned them. Logically, he should never have abandoned Aishweil. As the person most likely to become Green's wife, Aishweil was someone the baron would never give up easily. If this had happened, then the cost must have been something the baron could not bear.

"Mia, go bring your mother over." Mia's pale face suddenly lit up at Green's words. Her eyes filled with hope as she stammered, "R-Really?"

"Go on. 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 get down from the carriage, her face turned even paler. She thought Mia had been abandoned as well. However, once Mia reached her, Mila's face filled with joy. She hurriedly took Mia's hand and walked toward Green's carriage.

Green also climbed out of the carriage. He needed to negotiate with the guards next, and as the owner of the convoy, he had to handle it personally.

Green got down from the carriage and walked toward the soldiers clad in iron-gray armor and holding spears.

[Scanning target]

[Soldier One]

[Strength: 3.5]

[Speed: 3.3]

[Constitution: 3.2]

[Overall Evaluation: Peak Knight Level]

Green continued scanning the other soldiers. Almost all of them were Knight Level, while even Knight Apprentices were extremely rare. Looking at the hundreds of guards patrolling back and forth, Green could not help but marvel. Their military strength already surpassed that of both the Lodin Kingdom and the Saladin Kingdom. If the Maslow Alliance had not always refrained from expanding outward, the surrounding nations would likely have been conquered long ago.

The moment Green got out of the carriage, everyone in the convoy turned their attention toward him. Even the maids the baron had abandoned began slowly moving closer to Green's convoy.

The soldier handling the paperwork was already highly experienced. The moment he saw Green, he roughly judged his identity and got straight to the point. "From the Lodin Kingdom?"

Green nodded at the soldier.

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

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

By simple conversion, the entry fee alone was equivalent to ten thousand copper coins. Yet an ordinary person in this world earned only three copper coins a day. A commoner would have to work without food or drink for ten years just to afford entering Ellendal once.

The soldier saw Green's shock, but did not look down on him because of it. In the soldier's eyes, even if Green was a down-and-out noble, he was still far better off than ordinary guards like them. He merely looked somewhat bedraggled. The soldier immediately explained, "Once you obtain Maslow Alliance identification, the entry fee is only one copper coin."

Now those prices made sense. At the previous rate, aside from merchant caravans, even local residents of the Maslow Alliance probably could not afford to enter.

Green lowered his head and began thinking. The convoy's wealth was worth around ten thousand gold coins. Baron Candia was a standard bloodsucking noble, and his wealth far exceeded Baron Kluo's.

Baron Kluo probably possessed only around seven thousand gold coins. Unlike Green, the baron's convoy included twenty-seven guards, twelve family members, and twenty-three maids. It was impossible for the baron to spend all his gold coins buying Maslow Alliance identification.

He had to keep some wealth as capital for making a comeback. 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 had been chosen might have been selected because they had intimate relationships with the guards. The baron had kept them to win over the guards. Someone like Mia's mother, however, had been abandoned without mercy.

Green's convoy had only twenty-seven people. Even with Mia's mother, there were only twenty-eight. There would be no problem even if he obtained identification for everyone. With Maslow Alliance identification, they could avoid many problems within Ellendal Harbor's City District.

As for their source of income, Green had already run simulations through the Chip. Once they entered Ellendal's City District and settled down, the matter would be easy to resolve. With his strength, Green could ensure that local thugs would not steal his wealth.

"Aishweil, bring out the gold coins!" Aishweil, who had been following beside Green, hurried into the carriage upon hearing his words and carried out a large chest of gold coins. Green casually took it and handed it to the soldier before him.

The soldier accepted the chest Green handed over and immediately lowered his head to count its contents. As he counted, he asked, "One hundred gold coins per person. How many Alliance identities are you planning to purchase?"

The soldier had seen many nobles before. Usually, they were only willing to purchase identification for their soldiers. Maids were generally abandoned outright.

"Fifty-five."

The moment Green spoke, the soldier looked up. Green was the first person he had seen purchase identification for maids. Other nobles simply abandoned them and planned to buy new ones after entering the city. He had almost never seen anyone like Green.

"Fifty-five, sir. Are you sure?" To make certain he had not misheard, the soldier confirmed it again.

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

The soldier gave Green a strange look, then sighed. "They are truly fortunate to be following you."

At that moment, Aishweil, who had been listening nearby, softly said to Green, "Brother Green, there are only twenty-eight of us. There aren't fifty-five people."

"Is that so? Turn around and look." Green glanced at Aishweil and said.

Although confused, Aishweil still turned around as Green instructed.

The maids abandoned by the baron were standing timidly beside Green's convoy. No more and no fewer, there were exactly fifty people in total. Aishweil immediately understood Green's intention and said to the maids, "What are you standing around for? Brother Green has already bought identification for you. Hurry over and line up to register your information."

When the abandoned maids heard Aishweil's words, their eyes instantly filled with light. They looked at Green as though he were a god. Some of them even knelt and kowtowed to thank him.

Green casually waved his hand, signaling them to hurry and register their information. The maids did not dare disobey and quickly stood up to form a line.

Naturally, the soldiers could not fail to notice that Green was purchasing identification for the maids. After all, those people had been driven off the carriages right in front of them.

As soldiers, they were also among the more ordinary classes of Ellendal Harbor. Some of them had felt sorry for the abandoned people, but they did not dare oppose the orders from above.

Now that they had suddenly encountered an exception like Green, their moods immediately improved, and their attitude toward him changed completely.

As for Green himself, he was doing this more for Old Green's sake. Green did not care much about these maids. His great strength guaranteed that, as long as he wanted it, money would be within easy reach. These castle maids were connected to Old Green in one way or another. Having them care for Old Green might be better, which was why Green obtained identification for them.

"Sir, if you enter the city and need a place to live, be sure to go to the Central District. There is an agency there specializing in selling manors. The price is a little high, around two thousand gold coins, but there will not be any problems. Also, be careful. Ellendal Harbor has many gangs that specifically target people like you. Go to the place I mentioned as soon as possible. Once you purchase a manor, you will be considered a local." A guard quietly moved closer to Green and spoke in a low voice.

Looking at the guard who had quietly offered him advice, Green nodded and took another ten gold coins from the chest, slipping them discreetly into the soldier's hand.

Feeling the heavy weight in his hand, the soldier's smile grew even wider.

Green now understood why the baron had abandoned the maids. The baron had enough money to obtain identification for everyone, but he needed to keep some as startup capital and spend another two thousand gold coins on a manor. There would not be much left afterward. Wanting to leave himself a way out, the baron had simply gone all the way and abandoned most of the people.

He had even abandoned Green's group. Perhaps, in his view, Green might be powerful, but in Ellendal he was only average. After all, the guards at Ellendal's gate were all Formal Knights. Green's strength was no longer much use. Perhaps he could support himself, but he certainly could not support the entire convoy. That was why the baron had chosen to abandon them so decisively.

Since that was the other party's choice, Green naturally chose to respect it. Their bond, which had lasted until now, had come to an end here.