Chapter 375 【0372】 Hostility

If there is a place in Runeland that can be called "the land of abundance", it can only be Demacia.

Although the altitude is not low, the main area of ​​Demacia is mostly surrounded by mountains - the northern peaks isolate the severe cold of Freljord in the north, the Silver Mountains isolate the coast in the south, and the Greentooth Peak in the east. Demacia is surrounded by mountains on three sides. Even in the west, which is close to the Sea of ​​Conquest, there are still two peninsulas protruding from the coast, protecting the western border of Demacia in a pincer shape.

In such a special environment, the central area and border area of ​​Demacia, whether in climate, geography, or cultural features, are actually quite different.

The geographical gap has led to huge differences in products between the central area and border area of ​​Demacia. The Demacia Plain in the central area has abundant water resources and a mild climate, and is a golden production area for grain and livestock; the border area has undulating mountains and rugged terrain, and is more abundant in minerals, mountain products and some other local specialties.

It is also for this reason that, although foreign trade is not prosperous, there are still many caravans traveling between cities and towns within Demacia. These caravans are either formed spontaneously or organized by local lords. They purchase surplus goods from the local area, transport them to other places to sell, and then exchange them for surplus goods from other places, year after year, over and over again.

As the capital of the empire, the Demacia Capital is not only a political center, but also an economic center.

Most of these caravans from various places will trade in the Demacia Capital and its surrounding areas, and completely regard this place as a distribution center for transactions. Every summer and winter, there will be a market near the Demacia Capital.

During this period, the Demacia royal family will do their best to support the transactions in the market, and sometimes even send fearless pioneers to maintain order - because for the Demacia royal family, whose only territory is the capital, the trading market can not only bring them a lot of commercial taxes, but also is the best channel to show the royal demeanor and expand the royal influence.

Farmers from all over the country have to farm and work, how many of them have the time to learn about the Light Shield Family?

For most areas, the lord is the local emperor, what is the Light Shield Family?

Therefore, in the game between royal power and noble power, the Demacia royal family holds military power as the basis on the one hand, and uses commercial trade as the network on the other hand to expand its influence as much as possible.

By personally collecting taxes and providing protection to caravans from various places, the royal family tirelessly demonstrates its presence, reminding farmers with facts that the king is "bigger" than the nobles - after all, even the caravans of the nobles have to pay taxes (although there may be various tax refunds).

It was midsummer, when Demacia's trade was most prosperous. The registered market near the capital was opened every two or three days, and the caravans walking nearby were endless. Ino found a caravan going to Fosbyro, which was a bit lucky, but also very normal.

Lux and Ino just needed a ride, and since there was a ride along the way, it was fine.

……………………

After paying a not-so-expensive travel fee, Lux and Ino joined the caravan as "non-staff members".

This was also a common situation - there was no special post station in Demacia, and it was actually very inconvenient for ordinary people to go out, so finding a caravan with the same destination as their own was often the best choice.

Take the team Lux and Ino joined for example, although the whole team now has more than 70 people, more than 20 of them are such travel companions, some of them are visiting relatives, some are running solo, and some are just traveling.

The boss of this caravan obviously had foreseen this situation a long time ago, and they were very familiar with taking in the companions, and could even provide pack animals - of course, this required extra payment.

Lux and Ino actually needed a big animal, after all, carrying Sephika was really a bit weird.

However, when Ino asked if there were any large animals for rent, the boss looked a little embarrassed.

"To be honest with you, young lady." He spread his hands and put on a helpless look, "Our caravan goes back and forth twice a year in summer and winter. The big animals are also well fed and well prepared, but this time in Xiongdu, a customer has already rented all the animals - first come, first served, there is nothing we can do about it!"

Ino was a little helpless when she heard this, but considering that there is still a long distance from here to Fosbiero, she still tried to fight for it: "Boss, we need to transport a statue here, and we really need the help of pack animals... Can you help us and spare one? We can pay double the price."

"This is not about money!" Although the boss's eyes were obviously bright, he still said the same thing, "First come, first served, honesty is the basis - but maybe you can talk to the two passengers. I don't think she actually has that many items. If you can convince her to spare some space, it's not impossible."

The caravan boss's words, which obviously meant to divert the contradiction, made Ino raise her eyebrows slightly, but after thinking for a moment, she still found the two passengers the boss mentioned.

Let’s discuss it first!

……………………

Following the caravan boss's guidance, Lux and Ino found the travelers who had rented all the pack animals. When they found them, they were sitting alone at a table in the corner of the stall, drinking slowly. Your own cold drink.

The older one's hair is already gray, and her clothes are quite avant-garde by Demacia standards - considering that it is summer, the act of wearing only a fur vest is very subtle.

Lux and Ino, who had been trained by Kalya, clearly saw the specialness of this fur vest. If nothing else, this ordinary-looking vest probably had more than ten pockets inside. And every pocket contained some strange gadget or unknown powder.

Her muscle lines were very clear, and her eyes were not cloudy at all. When Lux and Ino—especially Ino—came closer, her whole body became alert, as if she might transform into a brutal beast at any time.

Both Lux and Ino clearly sensed each other's hostility. This unabashed attitude made the two of them look at each other with subtle expressions.

"Do you know her?"

"I don't know, what about you?"

"I don't know him either!"

Unlike this middle-aged and elderly woman who seemed to be hard to talk to, the young girl sitting opposite her seemed to be much quieter.

It seemed that she was about the same age as Lux. She had thick and long braids on her head and a pair of dark glasses.

Judging from the dignified sitting posture, this girl seems to have received a good education - but if the crossbow she carries on her back is not a decoration, then I am afraid she is not an ordinary person.

Also, two people occupying eight carriages are no match for ordinary people. Ordinary Demacians don't have such a big battle even if they want to move!

Although there were some doubts in their hearts, Lux and Ino still did a good job on the surface. After politely greeting each other, Lux finally made her request, hoping to free up an animal or half a frame. The carriage came out and placed their "luggage".

However, Lux and Ino did not respond positively to their requests.

"Silver hair, I smell the smell of ice." The older man seemed not to hear Lux's words at all. He just stared at Ino with his eyes, not concealing his hostility at all, "The minions of the Frost Witch , have you all arrived at the capital of Demacia?"

"I don't know who the Frost Witch is." Faced with such an attitude, even the usually gentle Ino couldn't help but feel a little angry - she crossed her arms and snorted disdainfully, speaking between words It also brought a bit of Kalya's usual sarcastic tone, "But now it seems that she may be a guy who specializes in driving away wild dogs? She drove all the dogs to Xiongdu."

"豼!" Ino's merciless sarcasm made the other party's eyes widen suddenly, but after a moment, she laughed happily, "Very good, very good, Han Bing has no respect for the Frost Witch. Bloodline, very good!”

However, just as she was laughing, the woman's right hand hidden under the table suddenly tugged, and a handful of shining silver powder was lifted up and directed towards Ino's face; in her left hand, a small and exquisite The daggers stabbed out at the same time, stabbing directly into Ino's lower abdomen.

At the same time, the young girl who had always behaved quite decently suddenly raised her right arm - with a click of the machine spring, a flashing silver crossbow arrow shot out and headed straight for Ino's body. Face door.

As soon as they met, these two people seemed to be facing life and death enemies. Their actions were extremely ruthless and they didn't hold back at all!

If it were anyone else, I'm afraid they would have been in trouble when faced with silver powder, daggers and crossbow arrows.

But for Ino, a surprise attack of this level was nothing more than an ordinary method worth mentioning.

She didn't even need to make any spell-casting movements, and a thin and tough ice shield stood in front of her. This ice shield looked extremely fragile, but was actually quite strong. It easily stopped silver powder and crossbow arrows, and resisted them. He stopped the stabbing dagger, and then quietly disappeared in place as if he had completed his mission.

When the ice shield disappeared, not even a drop of water was left in front of Ino. Even if someone saw the fleeting ice shield, they would only think that they were dazzled.

Seeing that Ino had solved this fatal surprise attack so easily, both of them felt their hearts skip a beat - without any communication, they stood up suddenly at the same time, as if they were about to leave directly!

However, before the two men could fully stand upright with their knees straightened, a broken sword and a cross blade were already pressing on their shoulders.

"You two, where are you going?" Lux, who didn't know when she appeared behind them, asked one word at a time, "Taking action without saying hello, and leaving without saying a word, seems...not right. Isn’t that too polite?”

Kalya’s Little Classroom and the Royal Domain of Demacia:

The nobles in Demacia have fiefs, and a large part of the noble fiefs will be owned by the nobles. Mithril City is mostly the fiefdom of the Crown Guard family.

As a royal family, the Guangdun family does not have such a fiefdom - because not all money can be spent from the treasury. The Guangdun family also needs to have its own financial resources, and their main financial source comes from trader taxes.