The capital of the Principality of Basol, the city of Fungu, is surrounded by three walls of varying strength. The heart of the city, known as the First District, housed the royal palaces, treasury, emergency granaries, and barracks for the Guards, and was arguably the heart of the entire kingdom, so the wall that protected this center of power was the tallest and strongest of the three walls, with numerous towers for the deployment of archers.

The Guard, which was responsible for the security of the royal family, had the best weaponry in the entire kingdom, numbering six hundred, but ironically, it was perhaps the weakest in the entire kingdom's army, and even less than the peasants who could use weapons.

Since the Guards were tasked with defending the royal family, there was no need to go out to fight, and for a small, closed country like the Duchy of Basol, there was nothing to endanger the royal capital. Therefore, the position of the Guards became an idle post with good pay and no substantive work, and it was a fat gap for the noble concubines who could not inherit the family position.

The second arrondissement, which is connected to the first arrondissement, was the most prosperous area of the city, and it was the most prosperous area of the city, where the aristocracy and the middle and upper classes of the city lived, and there were various places for consumption such as markets, inns, and taverns. The walls that protected the commercial center were not as tall as those of the First District, but they were strong enough to withstand a normal attack.

The third arrondissement, located in the outermost part of the city, was home to the lower classes of peasants and workers, with only ordinary farmers' markets. In addition, this area is also where the guards of the royal capital are stationed, so there are also many military facilities such as barracks, horse farms, and training grounds. The number of guards is 5,000 and they are responsible for the security of the second and third districts and the removal of monsters around the royal capital.

The walls of the third sector are the most rudimentary of the three walls, only about three meters high, and due to their wide range, the cost of regular maintenance is staggering, so they are generally repaired when they are broken. Such a wall could not withstand the attack of the army, but it was possible to keep out the monsters without sentience.

Under the normalized monster removal work, even the most sluggish monsters already know that the vicinity of the royal capital is an extremely dangerous place, so they generally don't take the initiative to step in, and the occasional haunts around are some unknown newborn monsters or wandering monsters, and the number basically does not exceed ten.

For the Duchy of Basol, which had a total army of only 30,000 troops, an army of 5,000 men was definitely a large force with a considerable size, and it seemed a bit overkill to deal with a threat of this magnitude.

But there are reasons why we have to do it.

If you ride further north from Fenggu City for about a day or so, you will reach a vast land with the Gobi as the main terrain. This vast land, larger than the entire Duchy of Basol, is known as the Wild Lands and is inhabited by a large number of powerful monsters.

Although the two sides have been at peace in recent centuries, there is no guarantee that the monsters in the wild land will not invade from the south, so it is still necessary to garrison a heavy army in the royal capital.

Of course, all of this came from the squire named Tom, who was sitting across from me. Ever since he got into the carriage, he has been telling me all sorts of things, from the history of the kingdom to the scandals of the nobility.

While the carriage ride is boring, and it's nice to have a chatty companion to pass the time, it's a bit too much to listen to the whole time if I can't talk at all. I wonder how such an open-mouthed squire survives in the royal palace.

I really want to be quiet.

The carriage sped forward under the escort of the cavalry, and the scene outside the window gradually changed from trees to a bustling market, and soon we reached the city wall of the first arrondissement.

"Mr. Carter, carriages are forbidden in the palace, so I can only bother you to get out of the carriage and walk, and the guards leading the way are already waiting in front."

Tom, the squire, skillfully jumped out of the carriage and set up the stairs for me, and said very respectfully.

"Ah, it's really hard for everyone, this money to invite the brothers to drink."

Feeling anxious to enter the palace immediately, I slowly got out of the carriage as if I was accustomed to seeing big scenes, gave each of my entourage a gold coin, and walked straight to the palace gate. Well, anyway, I picked up a lot of them from the underground mausoleum, so let me be handsome.

"Really, really, this is a gold coin!"

"It's too generous!"

"Who is he?"

There was a mixture of surprise and joy behind me, and I was in a very good mood as I enjoyed the grateful gaze behind me.

But this sense of superiority was quickly discounted.

"Mr. Carter? This way. ”

Completely different from the respectful tone of the previous attendant, the three guards who stayed inside the palace gate beckoned to me, and their voices were very cold. Although this strong sense of disparity made me feel a little uncomfortable, I nodded to them.

After entering the palace gate, I was shocked by the scene in front of me, of course, not because the interior was too luxurious, on the contrary, the roads and greenery inside looked extremely ordinary, and I was surprised because of its architectural style, which is different from the common Western-style buildings after coming to the Duchy of Basol, its architectural style is more eastern, a bit like the Forbidden City, which should be the building left by Lux when he founded the country. Of course, the entire palace was expanded on the basis of the original, which can be seen from the fact that there were many Western and Western buildings interspersed during this period.

"I didn't drink enough last night, so why don't you continue tonight?"

"Haha, I agree, I heard that there are a few new good chicks there."

"So wait until the evening? Let's go straight to it later! ”

The three guards leading the way in front of me did not have the upright posture and seriousness of a soldier, and they were talking and laughing while pacing lazily, as if they didn't care about my presence at all. The well-made armor looked extremely ill-fitting on Fa Fu's body, and it looked as cheap as a stall, and even if the armor covered most of the body, it still couldn't hide the fat they had grown wildly due to lack of exercise, and the fat squeezed out of the gaps in the armor, making the three guards look more like court-amusing clowns than soldiers defending the royal family.

Seeing such a guard really makes people deeply worried about the future of the whole country.

After walking some distance, three guards led me to the door of a palace and said in a tone as if to send a messenger: "Your Majesty is inside, go in quickly." ”

"Well, thank you."

I politely thanked the three guards, and then stepped into the palace.

Anyway, it was not as luxurious as expected, the stone pillars around it were not delicately patterned, and the carpet on the floor was not a valuable luxury, which made me a little disappointed overall. On the throne of the palace sat a blonde boy, who was probably not a few years older than Il. Underneath the throne stood General Ballykaf and an old man who looked like a civilian, and opposite the two of them were four magicians.

"I'm Carter, see Your Majesty."

I don't seem to know the etiquette of meeting the king in this country, so maybe I should kneel, but this kind of kneeling is still a bit unacceptable to me as a modern person, so I just bowed to the boy.

"Bold, this is the current king of the Principality of Basol, Kodev III, why didn't he kneel when he saw His Majesty?"

The old man, who looked like a civil official, frowned, looking very angry.

"It's okay, Scholar of Ossaith, Mr. Carter is a benefactor of the kingdom."

The boy smiled unconcernedly, then stood up and stepped off his throne. I don't know if he has deliberately practiced, but his voice has a sense of majesty that does not match his age.

"Wait, Your Majesty!"

Just as Kodev III was about to walk in front of me, a magician stood in the way of the king. He raised his hand to me and chanted a few simple incantation words from his mouth. It is an advanced magic technique called half-chanting that allows you to unleash magic by simply chanting a few main words after reaching a very high level of proficiency in magic.

Is this guy trying to cast a spell on me?

"The Light of True Sight!"

An intense light emanated from his palm.

"Worthy of the Magister of Azdaria, he was able to discover me."

A deep voice came from behind me, followed by the sound of chains clashing.

"Undead Demon King Marosas?!"

The expressions of the four magicians instantly stiffened.

Ah, it's embarrassing to have forgotten that Malotas was hiding in my shadow, how to explain it.