Chapter 354 [0351] War and Brokers

For Lux and Ino, war is not something too far away.

Whether it was in Demacia or Zaun, war often appeared around them.

However, from another perspective, Lux and Ino have never directly participated in a large-scale war - even the battle between Piltover and Swain was more similar in scale. It was a small-scale special military operation.

Therefore, when they arrived outside the city of Uzeris, stood at the end of the queue entering the city, and saw the entire city fully alert and ready, an indescribable sense of depression and tension still arose in their hearts.

"Uzeris is also ready for war." Looking at the heavily armed soldiers at the city gate, Lux whispered, "They should have received the news from the sea, right?"

"It should be the sea." Kalya confirmed Lux's statement, "From Uzeris to Nashrame, the speed of delivering messages through the desert is very slow, but the sea transportation is very smooth. The speed of taking a boat is faster than marching in the desert. Too many.”

"But, why don't the Nashrami people use sea transportation?" When talking about this topic, Lux said with a little doubt, "The consumption of marching in the desert can only be described as terrible, and the speed is very slow. If the soldiers of Nashramei sit on the If the ship sets off and arranges a landing and supply point relatively close to Uzeris, wouldn’t the logistical pressure be much less?”

"You have a good idea to rely on sea transportation to establish supply points and carry out logistical supplies." Seeing that Lux would take the initiative to consider logistical factors, Kalya's tone was somewhat gratifying, "However, there is a very important point in doing so. The premise is that Nasramei must be able to protect its own waterways at sea.”

"Isn't the navy of Noxus almost finished?" Lux asked, blinking in surprise, "Their most powerful Sea of ​​Watch fleet was completely wiped out in Talu Bay, and the Sea of ​​Conquest Although the fleet is called a fleet, its size is really pitiful... I remember when I was in Demacia, my father once mentioned this fleet and said that they were all small sampans. "

"Who are the small sampans to compete with? If Noxus' Sea of ​​Conquest fleet is a small sampan, then I'm afraid Nasramei's fleet can only be regarded as a canoe." Kalya laughed and said, "The experience in Bilgewater seems to have caused you to have some misunderstandings about the Navy - in fact, the Navy is a technical branch that is no less than the Mage Corps!"

"Ah?" Lux's eyes widened in surprise when he heard this, "Not inferior to the mages?"

"Yes!" Kalya continued to explain, "The dirty Bilgewater pirates can all show their prowess in naval battles, not because naval battles are easy, but because these old sea dogs are the most adaptable to life at sea. , Maybe Nasramei has enough supplies to carry these soldiers and their supplies, but it is absolutely impossible to have a fleet that is enough to fight against the Noxian sampans. "

"...This is really unbelievable." Not to mention Lux, even Ino was a little surprised, "Obviously Nasramei seems to have inherited many old objects from Shurima."

"But they failed to inherit the ship and the shipyard." Kalya smacked his lips, "Do you still remember the finish line of the Naschram Ramos Tumbling Competition?"

"Are you talking about the last platform for jumping into the sea?" Ino recalled, "There is a pier that looks like a trident?"

"That's the shipyard of Nashrame Shipyard. Such a small shipyard cannot build large warships at all." Kalya chuckled, "Lux, you have been to Bilgewater and the shipyard in Bilgewater. How does the size of Nasramei’s shipyard compare?”

"The gap is astonishing." Lux recalled for a moment, and finally shook her head, "Okay, I roughly understand that Nasramei does not have the ability to defend its sea transportation lines."

"The waterway in the Valoran Strait is not very wide, and the hydrological conditions are very complicated." Kalya continued to explain, "Do you remember when you took a boat from Kalamanda to Piltover? The boats you met along the way, were they? Not big?”

Lux and Ino looked at each other, reminisced, and then nodded at the same time.

"For shipping in this kind of place, we don't need large-scale ships. Small-sized ships can already meet the requirements. Naturally, there is no need to build large ships." Kalya continued, "At least the Noxian Sea of ​​Conquest Fleet They will also compete with Demacia's navy. The two sides are not on the same level at all. "

……………………

In order to prevent spies or spies from entering the city to incite civil unrest, Uzeris conducted very strict checks on people entering the city.

The guards standing in the shadow of the city gate were fully armed, questioning and searching every team entering the city gate very carefully - not only would they repeatedly ask for the identity information of those entering the city, just like checking household registration, but they would also " Ask them to say or do something special.

For example, if someone is asked "Do you believe in giant gods" and answers "not at all", they will ask the other person to speak blasphemy.

Anyway, if you don’t believe in giant gods, then it’s okay to curse a few times, right?

What, you don’t dare to scold?

Sorry, separate review - I don’t believe in giant gods at all, why don’t you dare to scold him?

And for those who were asked "Are they from Nashramei" and answered "not Nashramei, just passing by Nashramei", they would ask the other person to insult Saga.

Similarly, if there is any hesitation, they will be examined individually.

Although this somewhat clever examination mechanism is not absolutely reliable, it works quite well. In front of Lux and Ino, many people were so anxious that their faces turned red and they were eventually taken away by the guards - several of them were spellcasters disguised as civilians.

Of course, this way of solving the problem is likely to cause accidental injuries to civilians, but in the face of war, Noxians have always been ruthless. They don't care whether a few merchants will be accidentally injured. They only care whether Uzeris can resist the offensive from Nashram.

After a long wait, it was finally Lux and Ino's turn to enter the city.

As a result, the two people who had been prepared to deal with troubles actually passed the interrogation of these guards very easily - they were not asked to blaspheme or insult Saga, and even Sephika, who was dressed as a statue and had an obvious strange look on the camel's back, was only briefly glanced at.

Such a smooth entry into the city even made Lux and Ino a little overwhelmed at first.

"Just like that?" Leading the camel, Lux held his sword again, "Just come in?"

"What else?" Kalya laughed, "Silly boy, you are not a Shurima, why would they bother you?"

Blinking their eyes, Lux and Ino suddenly realized!

Yes.

For these Noxian soldiers, they need to guard against spies and spies from Nashramae, to prevent them from getting information and creating civil unrest.

But people like Lux and Ino are obviously not Nashramae people at first glance!

You know, Nashramae is one of the most "conservative" Shurima city-states. Although as a commercial city, Nashramae's business environment is not bad, but business is business. If you want to settle in Nashramae, that's another matter.

The Nashramae people are really full and bored, so they have two guys who don't look like Shurima people at first glance, running to Uzeris to be spies!

How can there be such a conspicuous spy!

Thinking of this, Lux and Ino looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.

Because of the coming war, accommodation and shopping in Uzeris have become very troublesome.

Although Uzeris's maritime transportation is still stable and there is no risk of material shortage in the short term, Uzeris still restricts the purchase of goods for the sake of urban order.

All major markets in Uzeris are closed at this time. Only the internal markets of each city and community have a small number of materials that can barely sustain the lives of the residents.

Although the Noxians are better at attacking, their level in defensive warfare is at least above the standard. They are very clear about the importance of stability in urban defense. Even before the battle begins, the entire city has been put under wartime control.

Moreover, because of the previous riots of the Rakkor people, some areas where the Rakkor people live in the city of Uzeris have even been built with internal blockades. The entire city has now been run as a fortress where order is above all else. For outsiders like Lux and Ino, it is okay to live here honestly and stay at home, but do you want to purchase a large amount of materials before leaving?

Not allowed!

Fortunately, although Noxus is strictly controlled, Uzeris is not the main sphere of influence of Noxus in the traditional sense, and their control over the grassroots is not as strict and reliable as in Noxus itself.

After paying five gold hexes, Lux and Ino finally learned about the black market in Uzeris from the owner of the hotel.

"Ranbakar is the most capable guy in our neighborhood." The other party carefully put the gold hexes into the secret compartment under the table, and lowered his voice and said, "He has a good relationship with the Noxian people and has a say in the Lakor people. You can go to him to ask about the situation."

"So, how can we find Mr. Ranbakar?"

"Mr. Ranbakar is a very decent man. He goes to the shop on the corner every afternoon to drink tea. Invite him to drink a cup of mulberry tea without sugar and double honey. He will be happy to make friends with you."

……………………

According to the words of the hotel owner, the two quickly found Mr. Ranbakar.

I have to say that the description of the innkeeper is quite appropriate - Mr. Ranbakar is indeed a very decent guy. Although he has not much hair, he takes care of it meticulously, combing it from all sides to the middle, completely covering the top of his head.

You can see many different styles of things on him, but these different styles of things are very harmonious on him, whether it is the Piltover monocle on his chest, the Kalamanda gems on his sleeves, or the patterns on the edge of his robe that represent the favor of the gods, and the obvious Noxian style lining inside the robe...

Obviously, Mr. Ranbakar has his own unique aesthetic and preference for fashion, and his level is quite high. It is not an easy thing to wear these seemingly incongruous things on his body, but they look quite harmonious.

"See?" After taking a closer look at this guy, Kalya's tone also showed a rare interest. "The broker is really professional enough to do this."

"Is he a broker?" Lacus ordered a cup of mulberry tea for the respectable gentleman according to the hotel owner's method, and answered in his heart, "I always feel that he is more like an elder, a highly respected and well-connected person in the local area."

"Then you are wrong!" Kalya obviously has a completely different view from Lacus, "Believe me, he is a broker. His fancy decorations look intimidating, but at most he can communicate with people from various forces. He has connections but no power, so he is just a broker."

"It is probably difficult for people without power to have good relations with various forces, right?"

"People with power will not play so many boats." Kalya looked like an experienced person, "Let's go and talk to him, and you will understand."

While Lacus and Kalya were communicating silently, the tea was brought to Mr. Ranbaka by the waiter. After whispering, Ranbaka finally raised his head and smiled at Lacus.

Lux subconsciously wanted to stand up and go to Ranbaka's table, but at Karya's request, she just nodded, smiled faintly, and raised the teacup in her hand from afar.

"Take a sip of tea." Karya reminded, "Show your perfect etiquette posture, straighten your neck and back, and hold the tea tray with the ring finger and little finger of your left hand! Swallowing is to keep your throat steady, and you can't see the swallowing movement!"

"Ino, show the way you were when you were a maid, be a little restrained and indifferent!"

Listening to Karya's familiar tone and content, Lux seemed to have returned to the time when she participated in various noble banquets in Demacia. She almost instinctively followed Karya's requirements and performed an extremely perfect noble manner.

Behind Lux, Ino's performance was also quite perfect - she was originally a noble maid. Although she hadn't done this set of movements for a long time, the movements of straightening her back, relaxing her expression, and smiling politely were still very natural.

"Frown, Lux, frown, glance at the teacup from the corner of your eye, put the teacup back on the saucer, and use the middle finger, ring finger, and little finger of your left hand to push it steadily to the left front, three inches will do!" Karya continued to direct, "Then look at Ranbaka, squint your eyes slightly, and smile, not a polite smile that is too bright!"

Lax executed Karya's request perfectly like a tool.

Seeing this scene, Ranbaka, who was very decent and gentle the previous second, became stiff the next second.

Karya's small class·Shurima's professional brokers:

Because the current city-states of Shurima are relatively independent and the customs are very different, in the process of business dealings, many guides will become brokers after retirement. They are familiar with the customs and cultures of various places and can serve as a bridge of communication to help business exchanges.

PS. Rehabilitation rehabilitation!