Chapter 96 - Arriving at Bakong City

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

“These men tried to attack my friends, Master Abel, so I chopped off their heads as their punishment!” Head commander Hopkins sneered.

Abel knew that it was possible to arrest everyone who had plotted against him within one night. However, to find the source of the plot, as well as preparing to attack the mercenary group, It had to be an extremely powerful intelligence service to accomplish such a task. Though that insignificant lord was apart of the plot against Abel, he was killed for such a small matter. This would certainly bring about a lot of trouble for head commander Hopkins in the future.

To deal with a punishment like this, head commander Hopkins was required to submit a request to the noble arbitral tribunal. However, with such a respected title, the noble arbitral tribunal must’ve processed his case quickly. Head commander Hopkins had killed a lord so that he could finish this matter before Abel had left Mawa city. Even if he was just an ordinary lord without the coat of arms, it was still a troublesome matter.

“I accept your kindness, head commander Hopkins, and all you have done for me have shown that you are a true friend of mine.” Abel smiled, bowed, straightened up, and continued, “I’m sure your noble self will receive a gift from your friend gift in return.”

With that, Abel returned to his carriage, took out a fire magic sword, held it out to head commander Hopkins.

Head commander Hopkins then promptly stepped forward, took the sword from Abel with both hands, and said with a laugh, “I am honored by your friendship!”

Presenting a weapon as a gift between two knights was a traditional method of making friends for knights. When a knight handed their weapon to another knight, it symbolized the idea of one individual requesting to become another’s true friend, and if the other knight accepted the weapon, their friendship meant that they were now as close as brothers. This kind of ceremony was sacred in the tradition of the knight’s etiquette for many years. It was considered as the most stable founding steps for a good friendship.

When head commander Hopkins took the weapon from Abel, the two’s friendship immediately heated up. Head commander Hopkins then took Abel by the hand and said, “Master Abel, I’ve only just realized that you were in Mawa city, so I don’t even know what kind of gift I can give you now.”

Suddenly, the commander clapped his hands, and ten guards who wore black armor came out behind head commander Hopkins. “The current situation in Bakong city doesn’t look too good. I don’t think you brought enough men with you. Hereby I will give you these ten beginner warriors; their life and death are up to you now.”

With a wave of the hand of head commander Hopkins, the ten black-armored warriors came up to Abel, fell on one knee. They said in unison, “the Lord of Abel, we dare to die for the Lord of Abel!”

Of course, Abel would not refuse the kindness of head commander Hopkins, as their friendship had just begun; it was an ordinary matter to exchange gifts to one another. Then, with a serious look on Abel’s face, he placed his hands onto the guards and helped them up. These black-armored soldiers were so fierce that they could be recognized within seconds as veterans fighters.

Abel was a little shocked by how generous head commander Hopkins was. These private soldiers who were willing to die for their masters weren’t easy to train. Looking at their age, they look ten years younger than his knight servants. But to have these kinds of might at these ages, they must be the finest of the finest.

The Lord of Marshall was standing behind Abel, not moving forward. This was because the Lord of Marshall was far too off in terms of his status with head commander Hopkins, so he was only able to admire Abel, with a smile that filled up his face.

When Abel’s team of carriage left Mawa city, all of the mercenaries let out a sigh of relief. Due to Abel’s presence, the entire city had been at war. Mercenaries speaking to one another had to be aware of others hearing them. Especially for the mercenaries who were tracking for Abel’s locations, they had disappeared overnight in Mawa city.

The rest of their journey was quite smooth, with a carriage team of more than 30 beginner soldiers as well as the coat of arms on the front of The Lord Of Marshall’s super bull carriage that effectively prevented the attack of some greedy bastards. After 12 days, the team of carriages finally reached its destination, Bakong city, the capital of the Duchy of Carmel.

Abel had never imagined a city would be so gigantic. With a wall that was more than 50 meters high walls that made all attackers despair. Every hundred meters had a cylindrical fortification that was connected to the wall when the carriage approached the city; he realized that all of the walls are built with large boulders and were assembled. Moreover, there were barely any visible cracks with the stones and rocks, only the walls were able to impress Abel immensely.

The city gate outside Bakong city was bustling with noises. There were many vendors in the stands, as well as people lining up to enter the city. For the nobles, there was a passage that allowed them to enter directly. As they entered, there was a small group of guards who carefully inspected at The Lord of Marshall’s coat of arms and documents. Of course, these actions were done by the two stewards as the guards wouldn’t allow a noble to handle these small matters.

After some formality, the convoy entered the famous city of which Abel had heard for so long. Led by the Lord of Marshall’s bull carriage, Abel sat in the carriage with the window opened as he looked around the city curiously.

As the team of carriage entered the city, the look of the huge streets immediately attracted the attention of Abel. The ground was paved with the same materials used by the walls of the city. Furthermore, the road was so large that it allowed eight horse carriages to pass by. There were no vendors and stands like the ones he saw outside the city. Both sides of the street were filled with shops with a uniformed layout, and every one of them was packed with people. It was such a flourishing city.

The walls of white stone, along with the roofs of red tiles, formed the unique style of the city.

What surprised Abel most was the sanitation. Almost every city he visited in the past, big or small, had the same problem, bad sanitation. But Bakong city felt clean and tidy. There was zero garbage on the floor, which was a breath of fresh air compared to other cities.

The carriage team moved along slowly. It turned out that a carriage that was considered super luxurious in Harvest city or Mawa city was just normal here. Almost every noble carriage here was extremely luxurious. Since they had arrived, Abel had already seen several carriages embedded with gold, silver, and precious stones passing by him.

The Lord of Marshall’s made a turn at the front and entered another street. The Abel’s carriage followed. As soon as his carriage entered the other street, a cool breeze blew upon Abel. He examined his surroundings, the street he was on now neatly laid out with small red concrete blocks. The entire ground of the street was filled with red, with tall copper buckets placed on each side. This street could fit up to 6 carriages, and it was entirely shaded with trees

As soon as the carriage team entered the street, Abel realized there was a group of guards. When they saw the coat of arms on the Lord of Marshall’s bull carriage, they motioned for the bull carriage to pass through.

On both sides of the red-colored street, among the trees, there was a visible house with a courtyard. There was also a white wall with a red roof, but the walls and columns of each courtyard were carved with various patterns, making the entire street full of wealth, with a noble artistic atmosphere.

The Lord of Marshall’s cart stopped ahead of them, Abel’s slowed to a halt. The Lord of Marshall was already standing by the side of the road waiting for them as Abel and Lorraine stepped off the carriage with the Black wind on him.

“Abel, this is the Triumph boulevard. This was where you had gotten the courtyard from prince Wyatt. I’ve already sent people over to collect this courtyard as well as the manor house outside the Bakong city,” Said Lord Marshall, with great pleasure.

Only then did Abel remember that this was the 1000-yard where the dead prince Wyatt had bought his skill of 120 magic swords with. The manor house outside of Bakong city was the compensation for prince Wyatt’s attack on The Lord Of Marshall.

“Uncle Marshall, it’s a great environment,” said Abel, looking around.

“Of course, this is the best street in Bakong city. The other side of the street leads to the royal palace. Only nobles live here. Lord Marshall said proudly as if it were a great honor to have such a yard here.

Loraine liked it very much too, as her smile was blossoming, but slowly it seemed to grow sad again.

Abel saw Loraine’s expression. He patted her on the head and asked softly, “Loraine, don’t you like it here?”

“No, I like it here. It reminds me of my home. Lorraine said in a soft voice.

Lord Marshall heard from the side and said, “This was built in the style of the Elves.”