"Hahahahaha!" Joseph laughed maniacally as he patted his thigh frantically, "You said you could inherit a million......! Brother, you're so funny......"

James looked at him with a dark face.

"And then? And then? Why did you come to our little city?"

"My letter was stolen...... That inheritance letter, stolen by a kid named Adane......"

"Mmmmmm......mmmm......mmmmmmmmmm

"Hey...... You don't understand it. James shook his head.

It was still pouring rain outside, and there were a few more lightning bolts from time to time. It was a small outpost on the city wall, and a fire was lit in front of them.

Joseph was also a young castle guard, probably only 16 years old. His father was a fisherman on the Blue Mist River, but he was attacked by pirates and his whereabouts are unknown, so he came to Lonegar alone. With a good body that he had cultivated from years of fishing, Joseph became an ordinary guard here. He has an active and unruly personality, his skin is soaked white by the river, his hands are rough, and he looks like he has experienced vicissitudes.

"But then again," Joseph stopped laughing, "it takes two or three days to get from here to Kingsbridge on horseback at the earliest, and almost a week by carriage." If you rush over now, you might be able to catch up with the man named Adhan. ”

"How am I going? I'm penniless now. James stood up and spun around, "My money and my weapons are gone...... I can't take anything from here......" he gestured to the door of the arsenal beside him.

"That's right. If you take it, I'm sure Captain Whitewater will rush up at the speed of the 100-meter sprint and pull your head off. ”

"Is Whitewater from here?"

"Yes, he was born in Lannega since he was a child, and later when he was young, he is said to have worked as an instructor in the Warriors' Guild for a while, and won the third place in the New Garand Derby Tournament at that time. ”

"Martial arts competition?"

"Ah, yes, when I was a child, I went fishing with my father, and I watched those noble lords compete in martial arts. However, the competition in New Garand is really a fair duel between the knights, usually with complete protection, you don't need to fight to the death, and it's over when you see a little blood...... But I've heard that the gladiator matches in Freetown are really exciting, and that people die every time...... It is said that the Messians also kept the gladiators in cages and fought against all kinds of animals, such as wolves, bears, leopards, etc......"

"Oh?" James bit his lip and nodded, "I've fought the Messians before. He remembers the three hours he spent behind his tent, the sight of more than 500 misty hunters rushing out of the mountain with domesticated saber-toothed tigers.

"Really, which one? the one from three years ago?" Joseph was immediately intrigued.

"Hmmm......"

"Wow, big brother, James, you also participated in this famous battle! It is said that this war has been recorded in the history books of the Knowledge Seekers' Library, how about it? ”

"I ......," James was embarrassed to say that he had deserted from that war, "and it was...... Many, many people...... Then I rushed up with my teammates and slashed and slashed when I saw the people of the Messiah...... Chop and chop and it's over......"

Joseph seemed dissatisfied with James' stammering explanation, but his interest did not wane.

"I've heard that in that war, three of the Storm Baron's mighty knights all came out and almost swept the audience......" he danced excitedly, "the pesky Messians were stunned at the sight of them...... Have you seen them?"

James shook his head.

"One of them rode a giant bear with a storm axe in each hand. The axe was said to be something no one could move, but he had one in one hand, and it was as easy to swing as a dagger. In that war, the knight was alone, rushed into the headquarters of the Messians with the bear, and directly beheaded the archmage that the Messiah had invited from Turan with a wave of his hand, and killed hundreds of people in a row, until the end of the war without the slightest damage......"

"Huh, really? I seem to have an impression...... In fact, the only thing James could feel on the battlefield was the endless shouts. When Irmari's reinforcements, the 500 or so Mist Hunters, rushed down, he had just recovered and couldn't have seen any super knights riding bears.

"And there, and what, and what!" said Joseph, still with great interest, "the second of the three knights was good at using the bow and arrow. It is said that he only stood at the rear of the battlefield and drew a bow into the sky, and when the arrow fell, it was already at the feet of the commander of the Messiah, thousands of meters away. At first, the Messiah thought that the knight had missed the shot, and he was relieved, but he didn't guess that the arrow was engraved with magic runes...... Everyone around him at that time watched as a thunderbolt struck from the sky, and immediately scorched the commander on the outside and on the inside......"

Joseph was about to continue with a third man, when suddenly, someone outside shouted towards him:

"Chea!

Joseph's conversation was interrupted, and he looked a little annoyed, got up from his chair, and shouted out the window, "Who are you? ”

"I'm Marcus......"

"Marcus?" Joseph shook his head, opening the door to the sentry post.

Coming slowly down the spiral staircase from below was a fat man with a burgundy complexion, a large, fluffy beard, and a black and white beard. He carried a cloth bag, wore a gray hat, and wore a loose cloth coat, and as soon as he entered the room, he immediately hiccuped.

"Huh?" Joseph covered his nose, frowned, and waved his hand, "Marcus, you're going to drink again!"

"I'm having a drink...... Marcus put the bag down, "No, the potion that Chea ordered from me...... Huh, you're ......."

"Well, my name is James, and I'm the new temporary castle guard. James held out his hand to him.

Marcus looked at him, laughed, patted his stomach, and shook his hand.

Seeing James's puzzled look, Joseph explained in a low voice, "Don't look, he's like this, with a bold personality." If you see his daughter, you'll know, it's more anxious than this person......"

"Marcus ......" Marcus' eyes narrowed into a slit as he smiled, "Nice to meet you, I'm the only alchemist in Lannega." ”

"I'm glad to meet you, too. James coughed awkwardly. Marcus had black ash on his hands and burns on his arms, which he looked like he had squatted next to the stove to refine medicine.

"I'm here to deliver the potion," Marcus said, opening the cloth bag, "There's all Cheya wants." Light Healing Elixir...... Protective agents...... Ogre Potion ......" Marcus glanced at James and said with a smile, "The Ogre Potion was created by me, haha! Usually hunters or adventurers from outside the village buy my things......"

"Are you an alchemist?" asked James.

"Uh-huh. Marcus nodded, "Fang Yuan is the strongest." This is our ancestral alchemy secret...... Only my daughter can learn it, what? Young man, do you want to learn how to cook medicine from me? Haha! No, I only pass on women and not men......

James has black lines all over his head. "No, I didn't say I wanted to learn. ”

"Then do you want to buy it? If you do, remember to find our store, and go out against the city wall and turn left and walk a few steps away. The sign reads: 'Professional alchemist Marcus at your service' and a huge portrait of me, remember, if you want to buy potions or something, buy them from me, the price is fair and affordable......" He hiccuped again, "It's a pity that this is not what it used to be, I was once one of the most famous alchemists in the entire Vasilian Kingdom......"

"Listen to him blow ......," Joseph muttered quietly.

"Ah, Joseph, I can hear you clearly!" Marcus snorted, placing the vials on the table one by one. James saw cylindrical vials with red liquid, green liquid, yellow liquid...... There are many, many of them, but they all look very cloudy and not in good condition.

"I know what you're trying to say," Marcus sighed as he looked at the various bottles on the table. "Give me the best equipment and the best herbs, the potions I have refined are definitely much better than the garbage made by the great alchemists around the king......" he shook his head, his voice not as loud as before.

"I can see that this city was once very prosperous. James said.

"That's right...... More than a decade ago, goblins took over our mines, making our mineral resources self-sufficient. ”

"Goblins, doesn't the Baron care about this?"

"The Baron doesn't care. Marcus snorted coldly.

They have more important things to do, like cockfights, throwing balls and whatever. These were Whitewater's exact words, and James remembered them at once.

"Later, we used up all the blue steel, and the whole city collapsed......"

"Blue steel?"

"Blue steel. Marcus was stunned for a moment, looked at James's puzzled expression, and explained. "It is a rare metal that far surpasses ordinary steel in all aspects, so it is often used to make beautiful weapons or armor...... Of course, there is also a strong metal on the armor side, called Mercia Steel...... But that kind of thing didn't work as well as blue steel, and Vasilia didn't have any Messiah steel. ”

James looked down at his weapon.

"You're just plain iron, and a little rougher...... "So, without the support of the mine, the blue steel in the city quickly ran out, and Ranka gradually disappeared from the list of big cities...... And my material," Marcus sighed a second time. He set up the potion bottle, crumpled the bag, and held it in his hand, "Because Lannega is gradually impoverished, there are not many herbalists willing to come here to do business, so I can't find any good medicinal herbs, so I can only ask some adventurers to go out and pick a little simple thing." My alchemy equipment is about to be retired from the army, and I am old myself, so I don't know if the technology can be passed on well......"

"Hey......" James called out to Marcus, who turned around and was about to leave. He turned his head with a big belly. "I wonder if there's anything you're looking for in New Garand?"

"What?"

"Perhaps," James swallowed, "I can bring it for you." ”

Marcus looked at him, laughed out loud, shook his head and left, not saying a word.

"Do you believe him?" said Joseph patted James on the shoulder, "he said he was the most powerful alchemist in all of Vasilia. ”

"I don't know. ”

James glanced at the pile of cloudy potions on the table and said.