Just like that, after a somewhat dull and oppressive journey.
Cui Ciyou and Ghislaine finally stepped onto the solid stone road, the silhouette of the sun-drenched town just ahead.
They had tramped for days, and finally reached the destination of this trip:
The central city of the Fitoia Territory, the key stronghold in the northeastern part of the Asla Kingdom: the fortress city of Roa.
The scale of Roa City was striking, though Cui Ciyou had imagined it to be even grander.
Especially that magnificent, massive city wall, which gave Cui Ciyou a solemn and majestic impression.
Roa, this historic city, had served as the final line of defense during the last Great Human-God War.
Even four hundred odd years later, it remained the largest city in the northeastern part of the Asla Kingdom—the Fitoia Territory.
The first things to catch the eye were the city walls, standing seven or eight meters high, sturdy and grand, firmly encircling the entire city.
The walls were built entirely of massive, dark cyan stones, their surfaces covered in mottled marks.
Those were the brands left by time, and also the medals left by war.
The heavy sense of the city walls allowed one to feel the historical heritage of this city.
The city gate was wide and magnificent, surrounded by a bustling and lively stream of traffic.
After paying the entry tax, Cui Ciyou and Ghislaine followed the crowd. Passing through the city gate, they stepped into Roa City.
As soon as they entered the city, a scene far more prosperous than Turan Town hit them like a wave.
The wide and smooth bluestone main road was broad enough to accommodate four or five carriages side by side.
People wearing all sorts of attire rubbed shoulders:
There were merchants carrying huge loads and hurrying along; nobles riding in gorgeous carriages carved with family crests and wearing arrogant expressions;
Adventurers walking in groups of three or five, carrying various weapons and talking and laughing loudly; and ordinary citizens holding vegetable baskets and wearing plain clothes.
What interested Cui Ciyou even more were the demi-humans occasionally seen among the crowd, attracting curious gazes from many.
Stout dwarves with full beards carried massive battle axes or hammers with steady strides;
Tall, handsome elves carried an innate elegance; and there were also a few dark-skinned demons with short horns on their heads.
Although few in number and mostly in a hurry, the very existence of demi-humans demonstrated the inclusivity of this city.
These distinctly different demi-humans together constituted the vitality of this city.
The buildings on both sides of the street stood in neat rows, with diverse styles.
There were tall, magnificent, and exquisitely carved stone buildings, which were clearly temples, government agencies, or mansions of high nobles.
There were also more wooden or brick-and-stone shops, workshops, and civilian houses, layered and well-arranged.
The clinking of the blacksmith's shop, the wheat aroma of the bakery, the noise of the tavern, the shouting of peddlers, the rattle of carriage wheels, the bustling conversations of the crowd...
All kinds of sounds intertwined, forming a symphony exclusive to another world's town.
The air was filled with more complex scents—the aroma of food, the smell of spices, the aura of leather and metal, the gamey smell of livestock, the sweat of the crowd.
And a faint trace of a purer energy particle's scent—mana.
Cui Ciyou walked while observing all the information about this city.
He observed the architectural styles, people's clothing, types of shops, and the guards' equipment.
Trying to deduce the world's technological level, economic status, social structure, and cultural characteristics from them.
His enhanced senses allowed him to capture many details that ordinary people would find difficult to notice.
Ghislaine followed silently behind him, though those beast pupils of hers seemed to show a trace of hard-to-detect curiosity and... perhaps bewilderment toward this city, which was far more prosperous and... "noisy" than she had imagined.
Everything here was completely different from the forests, battlefields, or the Sword Sanctum she was familiar with.
In the forest, she could distinguish the meaning of every wisp of wind; in the Sword Sanctum, she could catch the source of every shred of killing intent.
But here, the countless meaningless torrents of information made her sharp perception somewhat unaccustomed.
Although Ghislaine had been to the much more prosperous Asla Kingdom, a wanderer and a tourist had two different frames of mind.
Even with the same scenery, different moods naturally brought entirely different feelings.
This city was also not lacking in vitality and liveliness.
Inns, stables, vendors along the streets, and patrolling knights in armor with steady steps were the epitome of a typical medieval Western European city.
Every step felt the rich historical sense of this city.
Cui Ciyou looked ahead at those groups holding large pieces of luggage, his heart full of doubts.
When he watched a carriage pull passengers and luggage away, he understood.
It turned out that was the waiting area for public carriages, and the place where passengers stayed was like a waiting room.
He couldn't help but suddenly understand, sighing inwardly:
This is truly convenient, it's simply an alternate-world version of a bus, except the power source is horses instead of gasoline.
Cui Ciyou looked at the shops along the street, distinguishing which were weapon shops, which were taverns, which were branches of the Adventurers' Guild, and even observed some "suspicious" shops (guessing they were probably brothels).
He found that as they penetrated deeper into the city, the surrounding scenery also underwent subtle changes.
At first, the shops on both sides of the street were exclusively to serve adventurers, with weapon shops, armor shops, and the like readily available.
However, continuing forward, the shops along the street gradually became more ordinary, like commercial facilities aimed at town residents.
Cui Ciyou silently evaluated in his heart, It seems the planning of this city is very good.
As they moved further into the depths of the city, Cui Ciyou found that the layout design here had obvious defensive functions.
On the outer side of the city gate, shops and markets directly serving adventurers occupied the main area.
They gradually entered the central region of the town.
The buildings in these areas gradually became taller and more ornate, and shops selling high-end goods became increasingly numerous.
The shops here were more exquisite than those outside, and the buildings on both sides of the street gradually became spacious and tall, revealing a different atmosphere.
From jewelry to expensive leather goods, and even the decor of restaurants and hotels, everything felt completely different from the crudeness and simplicity of the outside world.
The central district of this city was undoubtedly a gathering place for the rich and powerful, with luxury shops and high-end residential areas representing this region.
This couldn't help but remind Cui Ciyou of the urban structure on Earth—in any city, the closer to the city center, the higher the prices, and the more refined and high-end goods and services became.
The situation here seemed to have many similarities with urban planning on Earth.
The streets gradually transitioned to more upscale areas, showing the prosperous side of this city.
Cui Ciyou looked at the structure of Roa City, thinking:
The design of this city is just like layers of defense lines.
When an enemy attacks, the peripheral defense forces will react first, and the inner residents can safely evacuate to the depths of the city in time, or escape from the opposite direction.
It seems Roa is indeed a fortress city; the person who designed this city is quite clever, fully considering every detail.
"Well then, let's go find an inn and get settled first!"
Cui Ciyou planned to find a place to settle down first, muttering to himself.
Then, taking Ghislaine with him, he began to look for their foothold in this city.
Before you continue