Chapter 4 - The Imperial capital (1/2)

After two hours of non-stop travel, the Fourth Prince and his Imperial Knight escort finally arrived at the Imperial capital of the Djage Empire, also known as Kalin City. This was the largest city in the entire Djage Empire, with a land area of over 4000 kilometers.

The Imperial Knight, covered in dust, stopped the carriage at the entrance of the Imperial Capital to wake the Fourth Prince. He was currently sleeping in the carriage cozily.

”Your Highness, we have arrived,” she said respectfully.

Shad did not answer her with words, but he nodded his head at her through the glass window. He glanced outside the carriage to take a quick look at the majestic city walls of the Imperial Capital. These walls were over twenty meters tall and manufactured from special materials. Not only that, but they were also enhanced by defensive wards and magical spells to protect from nearly all types of magical attacks. Even an 8th class mage would not be able to damage these walls.

Unlike the other people waiting in line to enter the Imperial Capital, the female knight did not dismount her carriage. Instead, she proceeded to enter a smaller gate that was set aside for powerful nobles and the Imperial family. The queue of people waiting outside the main city gate looked on jealousy.

”Stop, I will continue on foot. You may go,” said the Fourth Prince as soon as the golden carriage passed the city gate. He quickly exited and started making his way down the street.

”Your Highness, please! The Emperor strictly ordered me to bring you to him as quickly as possible,” said the knight. She jumped off the carriage and ran towards the Fourth Prince with her head bowed. She was very anxious and unsure of what to do. If the Fourth Prince wanted to continue on foot, it would take several more hours to arrive at the Imperial Palace. Not only that, but the Djage Empire was currently at war with the Nicolas Empire over a small kingdom that bordered the two. Any spies or assassins that the Nicolas Empire had inside the city would love to strike at the Fourth Prince if they saw him walking through the city alone.

”It's been two years since I left the capital and I've missed it a lot. I want to walk home and look at the changes in the city as well as the people walking around. During the past two years of training, you were the only other human being around, so it will be nice to finally have some company. If you are that worried, then you can just follow behind me,” answered Shad with a playful smile while he continued to move forward.

The female knight could not do anything else except follow Shad. However, she was very surprised to hear him mention her during his two years of training. She had been assigned to protect the Fourth Prince in secret, without alerting him to her presence. Even though the Fourth Prince was technically safe and sound, she had still failed a part of her mission. The Fourth Prince hated the idea of protectors following him everywhere, which is why the Emperor had assigned her to watch him secretly. She was unsure what the repercussions of this failure would be.

As the capital of one of the four great empires within the continent of Egul, the grandeur and magnificence of Kalin City was nearly unmatched. It was considered one of the five megacities of Egul, with more than eight million residents calling it home. Kalin City was divided into three main sectors: the populace sector, the noble sector, and the Imperial sector.

The populace sector was the largest and most populated of the three sectors, consisting of roughly half the population of the city. This was where most commoners lived. Due to the size and number of people, this sector could be rather chaotic with higher crime rates than the other two sectors, but the Imperial Guard normally kept things under control. After all, most of the people who lived here were regular mortals.

The noble sector was inhabited primarily by the nobility, and was also home to the Kalin Magic Academy, the Hunter's Guild, and the Mercenaries Guild. Since all mages were granted the title of nobility, there were countless magic weapons stores located here.