47 The Capital (1/2)
The entire group of youngsters looked around with big, wide open eyes. They knew that Tiankong City was a major city in the Heping Kingdom, but comparing it to the capital was the same as seeing an ant next to an elephant.
As they moved through the gates, everyone was stunned silly by the sheer size of the city wall alone.
It was more than five times as tall as the city wall surrounding Tiankong City, and the gates were equally impressive.
A steady stream of people entered and exited these gates. Some were in caravans, while others were on their own. Some rode on horses, while others walked on foot.
Some were dressed in fine clothes, while others were in rags. Some were beggars, and yet some were noble-born.
It was impossible for the group to hesitate at the gates, as the ones from behind pushed them further into the city, and the group was filled with dread as they followed behind the captain, fearful of losing him from their sight.
They walked down major roads and came further and further into the city. At the outskirts, the town had mainly consisted of houses and residential areas with the odd inn and restaurant here and there, but the further into the town they came, the more marketplaces they found.
It was on one of these marketplaces that the captain finally came to a standstill in a corner, and everyone grouped around him.
”We will meet outside of the gate where we entered at noon a week from now,” the captain announced. ”Those who do not show up are on their own to get to the recruitment camp. If you do not make it, it will be treated as if you deserted.”
Having said this, the captain gestured for the guards to follow him, leaving behind the youngsters.
”Well, we ought to first find ourselves an inn,” Shen Mu said as the first and the others nodded their heads. The commoners who did not have any coins with them decided to split up into groups consisting of their friends before they ventured into the city in search of somewhere to sell their beast cores.
”They will not all make it back alive,” Xue Wei mumbled to himself. If they were prudent and only sold one or two beast cores at a time, they should be fine. But if they sold more, they were likely to be targeted by thugs within the city.
Too much wealth could easily cause people to go blind with greed and not care about the consequences. Especially since these commoner experts were all using some clothes of varying quality. Some of them were of excellent quality, as their families had saved up for a good set of clothes, while others were wearing clothes made from more ordinary fabrics.
Those with clothes from ordinary fabric were especially likely to lose their little lives. They were not nobles and their background wasn't terrifying. It was highly unlikely that anyone would find the thugs and cause problems for them later on.
Being realistic about all of this, Xue Wei just shook his head and smiled slightly. He did not have a favorable impressions of these youngsters. Although they were now looking at him with reverence, they had all looked down on him before. Although he would never go as far as to kill them himself for revenge, he would not go out of his way to save them either.
”Well, should we look for an inn?” Shen Mu turned to look at Xue Wei. Although the leader of the group was Shen Mu, he felt that it was only natural that he asked for Xue Wei's opinion since he was undoubtedly the strongest amongst them.
”Sounds good,” Xue Wei said, not saying much more than that. He was not in a rush to get rid of his beast cores, and as long as no one knew what was in his bag, he would be fine.
He also acknowledged that going together as a group was a lot safer than going alone. Although his strength was slightly overwhelming amongst the group of youngsters, he was also very well aware that these thugs in the city were all ruthless and used to fighting. The majority of them were Earth Warriors.
Although Xue Wei could kill a one layered Earth Warrior, hold his own against a second layered Earth Warrior, and escape from a third layered Earth Warrior, he was also aware that he was not as formidable as the youngsters made him seem.
This was the capital; it was filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Geniuses were as vast as the clouds in the sky here. Although he had reached the ninth layered Ordinary Warrior rank within half a year's time, he also understood that he had not had enough time to cultivate. He was simply not capable of reaching the strength of an Earth Warrior just yet, making it impossible for him to compare to the most talented geniuses of the capital.
”I have never been in the capital before,” Shen Mu said after hesitating for a moment. ”I know nothing about this place,” he continued with a sigh, and only then did Xue Wei speak.
”The capital is split into the outer city and the Inner City. To enter the outer city is free and everyone can come and go as they please. The Inner City, on the other hand, is different. There, you have to pay a silver coin for entry, but it is also many times safer than the outer city.”
”The outer city has a guard corps often referred to as the Mastiffs, while the corps within the Inner City are known as Bloodhounds.”
”The Mastiffs are bribed by many of the underground organizations and the thugs. They will only move on direct orders from the Bloodhounds, and the majority of their pay comes from money they are given by the shady organizations to overlook their way of working.”