It was a shame to say that Brand had lived in this county city, which was once the old capital of the Empire, for almost sixteen to seventeen years. However, other than a few places and the most important parts of the Urban area that he was familiar with, Brand had almost never strolled around the city. That's right, how could a young man who barely managed to make ends meet have the mood to stroll around? It was not easy for him to become a Seventh-Grade Mage, and the pressure to advance further had not been reduced, so how could he have the mood to play around?
However, according to Loren, if one did not have a good rest, one would not work hard. After some simple thought, Brand was convinced by his good friend, and thus, they decided to go out together today. However, since they did not have a clear goal, Loren did not ask his family to prepare a carriage or horses. Instead, they planned to walk wherever they went.
Dressed in a well-tailored mage robe, Brand, who had a medium and thin figure, looked radiant. However, this kind of self-made mage robe was only for appearance. A real mage robe with magical effects was not something he could afford to wear at the moment. And beside him was a gorgeous dress? Loren, on the other hand, was wearing a gorgeous white robe, making him look more like a cleric than a mage.
The two of them stopped an empty carriage and went out of the city to visit the Sharon brothers in the camp outside the east gate. Judging by the time, Marv's injuries should have recovered by now. Perhaps they would meet again in the camp.
Sharon happily accepted the piece of Misri metal that the mage had cut off before he left. Even Marvin stretched his neck and watched as his brother hid the wild walnut-sized piece of Misri metal into a small pouch that he carried with him. About half of the high-magic metal that he had obtained from the elves last time was enough for the two brothers to coat their greatswords with a thick layer. Finally, they had returned the favor from Silversail Town.
The knight brothers who had benefited looked at their cousin's good friend with a slightly red face. Compared to him, it was very rude in Mr. Mage's eyes to mess around. However, Brand didn't care at all. Loren's two cousins were honest people, and his father was just a small civil official. His background wasn't much higher than Brand's, and his actions and words were very straightforward.
As the leader of hundreds of soldiers, Sharon had always been the leader of the city guards. His conduct and training had always been top-notch. Because of his tall stature, Marv, who was chosen to be a member of Sir Ryan's guards, had it much easier than his brother. He didn't have to shout at the soldiers who were farmers, criminals, and vagrants all day long. However, he had high requirements for personal martial arts. Marv believed that his brother was much better than himself in this aspect.
However, since it was a rest day, besides not being able to drink in the camp, the food served in the military officer's kitchen was not bad. The four of them chatted amicably about some interesting things that had happened recently, but the most talked about was the battle that day. Thinking of this, the mage casually asked about the situation of his servant. Knight Marvin thanked the mage for his concern and told him that the boy was not as badly injured as he was. He could run and jump a long time ago, but he had gone to deliver letters in the past two days, so he was not in the camp.
Speaking of the battle that day, Knight Marvin told everyone with a serious face that the Mayor, Sir Ryan, had already noticed the situation reported. After sending out a 10-man scouting team to search, he thought that there might not be just one demonic antelope, but there might be other demonic antelopes or other monsters hidden in the back mountain.
Holding down the restless Brand, Knight Sharon told the Mage that he had sent someone to inform George of the situation in Silversail Town. The messenger was the servant who had just recovered from his injuries.
" What?" Brand was still worried." Why would a monster suddenly appear?" Silversail Town is just a small place with an ordinary sea and a mountain behind it. I've never heard of monsters. Moreover…"
Loren interrupted," Don't worry about it. I think Sir Ryan must have invited the three academies to help. There are many strange legends in the Woven Shadow Forest behind the mountain. Don't you know?"
The two brothers nodded and agreed with Loren. Even if the sky fell, there would be someone taller to hold it up. This kind of thing was no longer something that the six-man team that entered the mountain could solve. They could only take it one step at a time.
After that, the topic of discussion became less relaxed. Following Sir Ryan, Marvin told everyone in a mysterious manner that the Empire's foreign wars had reached a stalemate. The Saint Laurent Empire, the East Padt Kingdom, the divided West Padt Kingdom, the old enemy Elmi Empire, and the unranked Colt Kingdom had invested nearly 100,000 troops. The small skirmish half a year ago had gradually escalated to this extent. A war was probably inevitable.
The two old empires had been at war since more than a hundred years ago. Other than a few kingdoms with decent national strength, there were more than a dozen duchies of various sizes participating in the two camps. The two sides were evenly matched at the front line. A direct battle with 100,000 troops was probably rare in the past hundred years.
The taxes of 30 farmers could only feed a regular soldier, and the cost of supporting cavalry was five times more. Fortunately, the hundred years of war did not cause the two empires to suffer any major injuries. Although 100,000 people were a lot, their respective kingdoms and duchies provided most of the food and fodder. After throwing away these cannon fodder troops, the elite troops on both sides were only around 30,000. Even so, Brand was moved by the news. 30,000 troops. Although the Saint Laurent Empire's cavalry was far less than their old rival, the Elmi Empire, these 30,000 troops would consume a large portion of the Empire's financial income.
Loren added,"His Majesty in the Imperial Capital is also worried about this matter. Our Saint Laurent Kingdom only has a population of about a million. How can we afford such a huge expenditure?"
While everyone was thinking, Sharon said in a muffled voice,""War Contribution".
" But will the old nobles agree?" Marvin hesitated, seemingly disagreeing with his brother. War donations can allow merchants who stink of money to become nobles. This is too funny…"
" Shut up!" He cut off his brother's words without waiting for Sharon to speak. Loren couldn't help but say,"It's a crime to talk nonsense about the Emperor. Cousin, you have to behave yourself. You mustn't say such things in front of the Mayor."
Sharon gratefully glanced at his cousin and said in a deep voice,"" It's not easy to take money out of the pockets of nobles and merchants. It's nothing more than a question of whether to step on the left leg or the right leg first. As soldiers and knights, we must be prepared to fight for the monarch and the people at any time."
His resolute words made Marv blush, while Brand and Loren felt a sense of pride in their hearts.
On the way out of the military camp, the two of them happened to meet Sir Ryan, who was rushing back from the city. It seemed that Sir Ryan knew Loren, and Brand took the opportunity to bow to him. Although the worry-looking Sir Ryan seemed to have other thoughts, he still returned the bow seriously, which made Brand, who had never seen the acting mayor, feel good about him.
The camp was only a dozen miles away from the city gate. Hitching a ride on a nearby farmer's truck, the two mages finally arrived before the city gate closed.
The two of them didn't want to go back yet, so they went to the tavern in the west of the city for a drink. The most heated topic in the tavern happened to be what they heard Sharon and Marv talking about in the military camp today. These men who had drunk a few glasses of coarse ale did not care about the emperor. People who were born in the bottom of society were more curious than respectful of the emperor, and the whips of the tax collectors and the swords of the city guards were the most terrifying.
A guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes said loudly," Those bastards from Sipa, they're not even worthy of their name. They took advantage of the Saint Laurent Academy's fierce battle with those mad dogs to establish their own sect. Now, they're actually helping those mad dogs to attack us. They don't know what's good for them…"
The thin man, who obviously didn't drink that much, said unwillingly," Hermie is so easy to deal with. Rhode the Third destroyed her country a hundred years ago. When those lunatics are angered, even women can go to war. Look at the women of Saint Laurent, they're all like young ladies."
The man in ranger attire who was facing the bar counter turned around and smiled." Come on, don't talk about women. Do you know, I heard that there's a hotel in the Imperial Capital that's called Night of Roses? It's full of sissy boys and girls. As long as you pay, you can play with them. Those pretty boys are f * cking seductresses, even more seductresses than women."
" Hahahahaha…Hahaha…" The Ranger's words made the men in the hall burst into laughter.
"Pan Xin, didn't you f * cking go to the Assassin Alliance? Why did you come back to mingle with others when they didn't want you?”，Someone in the crowd who obviously knew the Ranger asked loudly.
The paladin Pan Xin's face was flushed red. It was unknown whether it was because of the alcohol or because he was exposed. After a long time, he muttered,"They think I'm handsome!" They say that the members of the Assassin's Alliance can't be too handsome, so they have to have average looks to work.
"You didn't go to the Night of Roses for a few days, did you? After being a young master for a few days, you didn't serve her well and were kicked back, right?!”
The crowd burst into laughter again.
Brand's heart skipped a beat. He glanced at Loren and said unhurriedly,""Young Master, I don't think you're worse than him…"
The furious Loren jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and said incoherently,"Bastard! I'm going to burn your mage tower tonight…"
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