The guards at the city gate saw two young men and women driving over, the carriage was not too luxurious, but the men and women sitting on it were extremely handsome, so that they did not dare to slack off in the slightest.

An officer stepped forward with a smile: "May I ask where do you two come from?

Aristocrats? Ariel snickered in her heart, but looking at their clothes, they were the best clothes in Black Rock City, and they were indeed not worn by ordinary civilians. And in the imperial capital, there are often a few aristocratic young masters wearing adventurer costumes to go hunting outside the city...

When he first arrived, Ayton decided not to cause trouble, and replied politely: "You misunderstood, I am not a nobleman, just an ordinary adventurer, and I will meet an old friend when I come to the emperor." ”

"Adventurer?" Hearing that it was not a nobleman, the middle-aged officer's face was a little unbearable, and he asked with a different topic.

"Then where did you come from?

"We've come all the way from the Land of Thorns. ”

The name of the Land of Thorns made the officer stunned slightly, and then his face sank.

Ayton sensed something was wrong and asked, "Is there a problem?"

The officer glanced at Ariel next to Ayton and asked, "May I ask who that friend you are looking for?" ”

Ayton's eyebrows sank slightly, and Lan Coco's name was not good to say here: "Didn't you say that you won't be allowed in if you see someone?"

"No, no, it's just that as you just said, you came from the Land of Thorns, and you should know what happened there," the officer rubbed his hands together and winked, and his men on both sides immediately gathered around.

Ariel also knew that the situation was wrong, and her fingers quietly moved to the short sword on her waist, if she really wanted to fight, she could solve these human soldiers with a single look.

Ayton took a step back, hinting that she should not act rashly, and stared at the middle-aged officer with straight eyes: "Then why do you have to ask more, just let us in?"

The officer suddenly thought of Ariel's appearance just now that he had never seen the world, and asked tentatively, "These two are the first to come to the Yaolan Imperial Capital." ”

“... What about it? Isn't this gate allowed to enter now?" Ayton gritted his teeth angrily, this officer obviously wanted to make things difficult for them, but he didn't expect to encounter this kind of trouble before he got to the city gate.

"Of course, it's not that you won't be allowed in, it's just... You have to pay the entrance fee first," the officer held out a hand and gestured to ask for money.

Ayton glanced at him, "How much?"

The officer held out two fingers and shook them in front of Ayton.

Ayton took out two silver coins from his bosom and tossed them to the gatekeeper.

Just as Ayton was about to drive into the city, the officer suddenly laughed maliciously, "I'm sorry, I'm talking about gold coins." ”

"Gold?" Ariel turned her head and glared at the officer, this was too deceitful and too much, thinking that when they first entered Thorn City, the two of them also took out a total of silver coins.

"Two gold coins! Are you sure?" Ayton looked at the officer's underwhelming face, and was secretly angry in his heart, but finally held back, who called it someone else's territory.

The officer smiled and nodded, his expression no longer showing the initial restraint, but looking at the two fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

Ayton took a deep breath, his face calmed down, and silently took out two gold coins again and threw them to him.

"Ariel, let's go"

"Wait a minute, you seem to have forgotten something," the officer put the gold coin in his arms, and restarted their thoughts.

With a whoosh, Ariel couldn't help but pull out the Nether Short Sword behind her waist, and the glowing blade made the guards take a step back.

"Damn humans, there's no end!"

"Put it away, Ariel" Ayton hurriedly stopped Ariel, who was about to run away, and the conflict here was no joke.

"But they're too deceitful, brother, can you bear this?" said Ariel, pouting at Ayton.

Ayton glanced at the soldiers on the city wall, sighed lightly, turned his head to look at the officer again, and said coldly, "What's the matter?"

The middle-aged officer's legs and feet were a little unsteady, and the speed of Ariel's swift sword drawing just now made him not react, but his eyes rolled and fell on Ariel's petite and delicate figure, he cleared his throat and said with palpitations.

"According to the rules, all those who come from the land of thorns must be searched, so that they may not be..."

Before the middle-aged officer finished speaking, a cold sword wind stabbed his neck, and when he came back to his senses, the black long sword that emitted a cold glow had already reached his neck, and the skin in the blade was only a line away.

The surrounding guards were stunned by the swift sword, and froze in place for a while.

Ayton's expression was cold, staring at the officer in front of him.

"What's your name, from that unit? I promise you'll lose everything you've had tomorrow."

The eyes like a murderous god made the officer terrified, and his body seemed to be out of control, crumbling, and he thought that the children of the fallen merchants who had caught two thorns in the land of thorns did not expect their backgrounds to depend.

"Big... Big... Adult, the villain has no eyes, and please let the young master let the villain go, I will never dare in the future."

"Hmph, even if you know each other, get out of the way!"

Before the guards in the back could give the officer's order, they consciously let go of the road, and Ayton snorted coldly and drove the carriage into the city with Ariel.

The officer in the back looked at the backs of the two of them leaving proudly, and they wanted to cry without tears in their hearts... His constant clichés before successfully shaped these two into weak beings who could be slaughtered by others, and as a result, the terrifying speed of the sword was enough to keep him awake for several days.

"Is this the Brilliant Blue Imperial Capital?" Ariel was still annoyed by what had just happened, this professional quality was far lower than the quality of the garrison in Thorn City.

"Impossible, the capital of the dignified Bright Blue Kingdom is actually such a scene. Ayton scanned the main street in disbelief and was surprised to see that it was full of old and dilapidated stone buildings.

The grand chamber of commerce, the bustling streets, the crowds of people are not seen...

There are just rats everywhere, dirty and narrow alleys, and children in porous linen clothes running around.

Several young men are doing nothing in groups, doing petty theft.

The unkempt haired idler sat at the door of his house and watched the sun that was about to set in the sky, and out of the corner of his eye, he sensed a pair of handsome men and women coming over on horseback, and only glanced at it lightly, then closed his eyes, changed his posture and continued to lie down.

This scene reminded him of the complex of buildings he had passed by when he rescued Billodis in Thorn City, which was also a cluster of low and dilapidated houses, and thanks to the dark alleys, they were able to shake off many of their pursuers.

Ayton was in a bad mood and stopped looking around: "Forget it, let's find a clean hotel first." ”

Ariel nodded in agreement, "Mmmm, I'd rather live in a tent than in a house like this."

Suddenly, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy put down the rattan basket he was weaving, stopped Ayton's carriage, and asked with a restrained expression, "May I ask if it is the first time for the two of you to come to the imperial capital?"

Ayton hesitated, but replied, "Yes, what do you want to do?"

The young man showed a look of joy, patted the dust on his clothes, and said respectfully.

"In this case, can I be the guide of the two of you? Not only in the southern area, but I am familiar with the location and information of all the buildings in the Imperial Capital City, so that you can avoid detours, for this, I only need a small reward of one silver coin from the two adults."

The same words seemed to be repeated countless times in the boy's mouth, and Ayton admired the boy so much that he tossed him two silver coins like a salesman.

Of course, the main reason is that he is not familiar with the city, and it is better to have a good guide than to look for it blindly, and the value of these two silver coins is many times higher than the two gold coins handed over to the officers of the city gate.

"Do you know where the hotel is?"

The young man was full of joy and accepted the living expenses for six days, and said excitedly: "Of course I know, what price do adults want to go to, how many days do you plan to stay?

Ayton looked at the handsome young man who was weaving baskets and asked, "What's your name?" ”

The young man was slightly stunned and said, "My name is Warren." ”

"Ariel, you can sit in there first," Ayton turned his head to look at Ariel, slightly apologetically.

"What's wrong, why am I sitting in there?" said Ariel, turning her head in confusion.

"You sit in first, I'll get some news"

"Alright—" Ariel turned and slipped into the carriage.

"Okay, Warren, come up on, I have a lot of questions for you. ”

"This..."The handsome young man was a little flattered, no one had ever let him get into the carriage, it was he who walked in front and led a nobleman who was not familiar with the route to his destination.

"Okay, brother, you actually drove me back for this" Ariel's complaining voice came from behind him.

"Don't hesitate, I'm in a hurry, it's getting dark"

Warren looked at Ariel cautiously and got into the carriage, this was the first time he had sat in such a luxurious carriage, and he was actually a little uneasy.

Ignoring his strange appearance, Ayton asked lightly, "Warren, what is the matter with the Southern District you just talked about, the imperial capital of the Bright Blue Kingdom, is it such a scene?"

A wry smile tugged at the corner of Warren's mouth, explaining the reason for the newcomers.

......

It turned out that what they saw was only the tip of the iceberg of the great imperial capital, and it was the darkest corner.

The Bright Blue Imperial Capital actually has a more resounding name, called 'Huangyao', and the Bright Blue Imperial Capital is just to better establish its status as the capital.

In this backward era, there is a huge gap between the rich and the poor everywhere, and even the capital of a country like Huangyao has unknown slums.

The people who live here are either farmers who cultivate the countryside and farmland, desperate commoners exploited by the aristocracy, or underworld forces who cannot see the light, in short, most of them live at the bottom of the city.