173 Domain (1/2)
”Master, you seem to be very happy!” Eva stood in an old building, wearing a gray scarf that covered her silver hair, her mouth, and her nose.
She also wore a simple long skirt. At the moment, she was sweeping a room near the stairs. They were in Virginia, the capital of the Crete Empire.
Compared to Lu Zhiyu's last visit thirty four years ago, the city had become far more prosperous. The previous emperor, Vortigen, had passed away a few years back. The current reigning Emperor was Zolman II, who was the son of Vortigen and great-grandson of Zolman I.
During his reign, Vortigen had gradually weakened the influence of the Church. He had also minimized the presence of the Church of Light within Crete and weakened the gentry class in order to consolidate the imperial family's power.
Although the Church of Light still had men stationed within Crete, received religious taxes, and retained the power to surveil the nation, Vortigen's rights and freedoms had been much greater than those of Emperor Elliott VIII before him.
He was also much more capable than his brother Elliot VIII had been. Vortigen had pushed the Crete Empire to develop both its economic and military strength, his power increasing gradually as the empire prospered. The signs of his achievements could still be seen all over Virginia.
However, his ultimate goal to cancel the garrison and taxation by the Church of Light, which zoned the districts within his empire, had never been realized. So, when his son, Zolman II, inherited his throne, he also took on his same ambitions. However, Zolman II did not possess the same abilities as Vortigen, who was a ruler who defined an entire era.
In fact, at the time of Vortigen's death, his designated successor wasn't Zolman, but rather his younger brother, Owen. Sadly, Owen suddenly died of the same illness as Vortigen.
Zolman was then pushed to the throne by his uncle, the Prime Minister, Tembor. Right after ascending the throne, Zolman killed many of the other princes, his own brothers, which caused an uproar among many nobles.
After that, he dictated many new decrees and bills that courted the displeasure of the public and lost their respect. Tembor then took the chance to solidify his own power. As such, the situation within Crete was quite volatile and unique.
Lu Zhiyu stayed for a few days by the border of Crete, then headed straight for the capital. He decided to stay there for a while before departing with a caravan towards the desert empire of Batko.
Further to the east, past Mica Province, two mountain ranges and the Sea of Death, was the Great Kafra Desert. Only the top caravans could cross the Sea of Death because it required not only navigation through the vast area, but also the fortitude to adapt to the climate and also to survive the sandstorms.
Within the desert, there were also various magical beasts and monsters. Hence, no ordinary person would be able to survive.
This special route to the Batko Empire was named the Golden Road, since anyone who could pass through it would receive tremendous wealth. As such, only the wealthiest and strongest caravans would dare brave it.
Lu Zhiyu had booked one of these caravans. However, they needed some time to prepare before departure.
During the meantime, Lu Zhiyu would stay where he was. In this era, it was quite difficult to cross between provinces and countries merely for the sake of tourism. As such, people who wished to cross almost half of the Alen Continent for leisure, like Lu Zhiyu, were quite rare.