Chapter 512 — Chance Encounter
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
Wide, clean streets; tall, neatly planned buildings; magic-crystal streetlamps standing along the roadsides like guards; magical projections drifting in midair; and in the plazas, impossible magical machines on display...
The great merchant Corde sat in his carriage. As a mature and steady man of business, he had already managed to regulate his own state of mind and had begun observing the scene outside with a calm, composed expression—yet the waves in his heart had not subsided in the slightest.
Carol had once been a viscount's holding, but because it bordered the Holy Spirit Plain and enjoyed thriving trade, it had been one of the wealthiest regions in the Southern Marches. The prosperity of the city of Carol had always been a source of great satisfaction and pride to Corde—but compared with the wondrous city before him now...
No. There was no need to compare the two at all.
There was no trace in the air here of the stench of filth and rot so common to great cities, nor were ragged paupers and serfs to be seen walking along the streets. An indescribable "order" seemed to permeate the very air—an order Corde had never seen anywhere else.
He knew of the newly built government hall in Carol, and of the series of new laws it had promulgated—some of which had won local support, such as lowered taxes and the allocation of land, while others had been difficult to implement, such as the sanitation laws and certain labor regulations. Frankly speaking, even Corde could not fully comprehend the meaning of all those new policies—yet after witnessing the scene in Xuanyao City today, he had at least realized one thing:
Living in a city like this was, at the very least, more comfortable than living in Carol.
When he got back, he ought to rally the members of the merchants' association—at the very least, he had to make everyone willing to enforce the sanitation act...
The carriage left the bustling, lively market streets, and after two turns, the surroundings gradually grew quiet.
Pioneer Plaza stood right next to the government hall and the lord's manor, with only two streets separating them. There was no city wall between them, nor a moat—only a few guard posts securing the road leading into the administrative district. The merchant's carriage stopped at one of these posts to be inspected.
Corde and Pal had long since prepared the coins needed to grease the soldiers' palms. The moment the carriage came to a halt, they obeyed orders and stepped down at once—then saw a warrior clad in magic-energy armor stride over: "Halt for inspection—present your identification."
Corde hastily fished out from his breast the identification issued by the Cecil Department of Commerce, along with a letter of introduction signed personally by Minister Patrick. As he handed them to the soldier, he was mentally estimating how much it would take to grease a guard like this into compliance—though he had told Pal he had been to Cecil before, in truth he had come only once last year, following the family's trading fleet to sell raw medicinal materials, and he had not returned since. He could hardly claim to know much about this wondrous city.
That so-called "having been to Cecil" carried a fair bit of self-flattery.
And in the brief moment he spent pondering, the soldier had already finished checking the documents and confirming the black-and-white portrait on them. Two other soldiers inspected the carriage, and a crisp, efficient voice reached Corde's and Pal's ears: "Inspection passed—you may enter."
Corde nodded instinctively, then went blank: "Ah... ah?"
"You may enter," the soldier repeated. Noticing the merchant's bewildered expression, he glanced down at the documents in his hand and confirmed their contents once more. "There's really no problem—go on in, with your pass."