Really... It's a bustling place again.

Old John couldn't help but sigh, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but show a rare smile.

Since Alyssa took over the family's business eight years ago, he has been living in the Bay Area of Drawing Water City.

It was closer to the south, where the perennial mild sea breeze and sunlight made his aging body feel more comfortable.

He raised his shriveled hand, pointed to the north with some remembrance, and said:

"Alyssa, you may not know that when your grandfather first came here forty-six years ago, it was just a wasteland.

"Seeing that there is no first wall in the shortest and narrowest north, there was only one newly built city wall here, and it is said that the people under the crown of the silver dragon Levi defeated the orc tribe called the Shadow Moon Clan after paying a heavy price, and built it on a mound of earth in order to prevent the orcs from invading again.

"Now, here... It's so beautiful..."

"Not really. ”

Alyssa looked at the beautiful scenery in front of her, and there was a hint of intoxication in her eyes.

Although old John had repeated this to Alyssa countless times when he was still so old, and Alyssa herself had been here countless times, even so, whenever he stood on the deck and looked out at the majestic city bathed in the sun in the west as if it were one with the Griffon Mountains, he still admired the beauty and vitality it exuded.

From her direction, a wall could be seen stretching for at least forty miles from the foot of the Griffon Mountains, and then turning back again, enveloping most of the plains on the banks of the Seburing River.

Due to the relatively gentle terrain here, the perennial impact plains nourished by the Seburing River also make this the most fertile land in the Northland.

The outer wall, at the eastern corner farthest from the Dragon City Gate, had a twelve-mile-wide opening overlooking a large flat area by the Seblin River, where Zelandia had built extremely strong fortifications and a majestic gate to guard the Serblin Ferry and the bridge across the river.

The Seblin River also has an arc at this corner and turns south, and the city wall is built on the river, where the Harond dock and harbor are also located, and it is dedicated to berthing ships from the south from the city of water or the northern silvermoon Federation, and it has also become an indispensable trade center connecting the north and the south.

This great river, which is also where Alyssa and them are at the moment, is like a clear dividing line.

On the west side, you can see the neatly arranged business districts.

Countless trades and contracts are signed here every day, and goods are sold to every corner of Corell.

It is not an exaggeration to say that this is the heart of the world's business today, even if it is still a little immature, but its development is really too fast, almost every year.

On the east side of the river, across the bridge and through a sandy plain surrounded by two Serblin tributaries, you can see the eternal wilderness that has been unrecognizable.

The once eternal wilderness was synonymous with savage and danger, inhabited by a large number of ferocious trolls and various magical beasts, and even ancient evil creatures that attempted to invade the main material world at one time.

However, it was discovered by Her Majesty Erlene, a former forest ranger of Silvermoon City and now the head sister of Battle, and was eventually destroyed by the Seven Sisters of the Northland and the priest of the God of Protection.

For more than two decades, Zeellandia continued to send legions to build fortresses and defensive lines, gradually clearing the eternal wilderness into what it is now a paradise full of orchards.

It is precisely with this fertile 'integrated farm' that Zelandia can support the city-state's resident population of nearly 300,000, and also export a large number of food, so that its good neighbor Silvermoon Federation has basically been freed from the problem of food scarcity.

However, there are not many shepherds and farmers living there.

It is said that the farms, orchards, and even the fishing grounds in the center of the wasteland are all tended by a group of Kou Tao fishmen.

It is rumored that they are all dependents of the Silver Dragon Lord, so they appear extremely docile, as long as they do not actively harm them, they seem to be relatively harmless and dumb most of the time.

It's hard to imagine that a silver dragon would let a group of Kou Tao fish people be his dependents.

However, if one tried to count the amount of wealth represented by the annual output of this 'integrated farm' taught, the Kou Tao Fish people would quickly change their minds.

Most of the ordinary residents still live in the interior of the city-state of Minas Tirith, the White City, and some people simply live in the Griffon Mountains.

It was a group of dwarves and elves.

The former were originally the people of the mountains, while the latter were mostly half-elves or even pure-blood elves who migrated from the Silvermoon Federation and even the entire Northland under the call of the former forest ranger Ellene.

They have also gone from being scattered or small groups to a force that the entire Northland cannot ignore.

It has to be said that the status and impression of a nation can indeed be enhanced through hard work and unity.

It is undeniable that the legendary story of Elina's early discovery of ancient evils and the protection of the entire Northland from troll invasion also played a crucial role.

Now, at least in the White City, not many people dare to show their discrimination and contempt for half-elves in public.

Especially the merchants.

This means that your caravan will most likely lose the protection of the rangers and a potential customer base of up to 10,000 people.

You must know that today's rangers are an important part of the organizational structure officially announced by Zelandia, and they are also a group with relatively generous benefits and salaries, and they are also extremely fond of weapons, equipment and magical items.

No one is going to have trouble with money because of this kind of thing.

This is also one of the taboos that John Sr. warned Alyssa in the Northland business district.

In the brief exchange between the grandfather and grandson, the merchant ship finally docked.

Without them having to take care of it personally, the logistics company they cooperated with immediately came to contact the person in charge of the business group, counted the goods and disembarked from the ship, and waited for the 'customs officers' at each ferry point to conduct routine inspections and issue tax lists before loading the trucks into the city.

But as soon as Alyssa pushed Old John off the boat, she heard a pleasantry:

"Oh my God, old John, you came here yourself, and if it weren't for Alyssa pushing you, I would have almost missed it. ”

When Old John heard this greeting, his body trembled slightly, and after some of the old man's eyes saw the person who came, he couldn't help but sigh with complicated emotion:

"Oh, Cripple He, you dragon knights are really jealous, if only I had followed your example in the army. ”

Old John and Herbert also met Kevin, who was also under the same Zelandia system, and they were both from Silvermoon City, so the two seemed to be extremely compatible.

However, the two are about the same age, but they take two completely different paths.

If you look at it from the outside, Herbert still retains the appearance of the middle-aged man from more than forty years ago, but there are some conspicuous silver scales on his cheeks, indicating that he is the one under the silver dragon's crown, and he is also the most mysterious and powerful group in Zelandia

——— Extreme Warriors!

However, compared to the name of this twister, the Northlanders are more accustomed to calling them by another name

———Dragon Knights!

They... They are all powerful knights who have been blessed by the dragon's favor and bloodline!

He is an unhonored nobleman of the Northlands.

It is also the object of marriage between the nobles of the Northland city-states.

Each of them is at least a terrifying force that a high-level warrior has started, and he has a long life comparable to that of an elf.

For this reason alone, Zeelandia's annual conscription election has become a sacred canon in the Northlands.

Even if it has the most cruel and disparity elimination mechanism, it still does not prevent it from becoming the only way to heaven in the eyes of every hot-blooded young man who vainly tries to change his fate.

Because only by joining the army and making outstanding contributions to Zeelandia during his participation in the army, and being promoted to the rank of company commander who commands 100 people, can he obtain the qualification to become a dragon knight.

And once you become a real dragon knight, the world in front of you will be very different.

It's like this moment.

He and Herbert were both eighty years old.

He was already an old man on the verge of decay.

And Herbert, the legend of this dragon knight, has only just begun.

However, this dragon knight didn't think so, but looked at Alyssa, who had been smiling and looking at them with envy, and said:

"What do you think, if you joined the army back then, where would Alyssa come from now? I'm scared to death, since that bastard Anthony knew that I couldn't die for a while, he rushed into the magic laboratory, I'm in my sixties, and my girlfriend didn't find me one, and my mother went early, hey. ”

"It's also..."

Hearing this, Old John also showed a look of relief.

When you choose a life, you must accept the gifts and prices of fate at the same time.

He chose to continue in business, so he enjoyed the glory and wealth of the rest of his life, and also gained Elisa, a well-behaved and promising granddaughter, in despair.

Herbert chose to join the army, so Herbert almost paid unimaginable effort and sweat for this city-state, the land under his feet and the people, and also lost some happiness that only ordinary people enjoy.

I have gained a long life, but I can only watch my loved ones grow old and die, and that feeling is probably not comfortable.

But to a certain extent, Old John actually admired the other party.

As far as he knew, Herbert was now the head of one of the twenty warbands of Zeellandia, the Silver Brand Warband.

As long as he wanted, some prominent nobles like Am, and even the lords of the Northland city-states, were willing to marry him a daughter.

After all, daughters often have, and such a gold-rich species... Well, it's not often that there are beetles.

Even if they are old enough to be their daughter's grandfather!

This is a dragon knight, eighty years old is just starting out, right?

In the next few hundred years, how can you give birth to dozens of dragonborns for your family?

Anyway, everyone has been deceived, and it's enough to try their best to stuff him with a woman!

I'm afraid of being embarrassed if I stuff too many people in my direct line? It doesn't matter, isn't there still a side line? The maid also changed him with a batch of slaves every once in a short time, and it was a big deal to buy a batch of female slaves!

But the strength has made it.

The nobles had already made it clear.

But for some unknown reason, no dragon knight has chosen to marry with the outside world.

What's even more surprising is that the vast majority of dragon knights have chosen the half-elves of the Battle Nuns when it comes to their partners.

There are also different opinions on this point, some say that it is because the lifespan of the two is relatively comparable, and some say that it is from the secret instruction of the silver dragon lord.

However, there is a general preference to believe another account.

I don't know when a rumor has been rife in Zelandia that the nuns of the Battle Sisters are in a sense the brides of the great Silver Dragon Lord...

So... Not...

However, if anyone dares to say such blasphemous words in public, eighty percent of them will not see the sun tomorrow.

In fact, anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is just the lust of some people, after all, if that is the case, why don't the nuns of the Fighting Sisters ban marriage leave?

After bidding farewell to Herbert, the head of the station, whom she had met by chance, Alyssa pushed Old John into the city.

John Sr. refused to ride in a more comfortable steam locomotive.

Even if it takes a long time.

Because... It was probably the last time he would have the chance to feel the breath of the city-state that had changed his destiny in such an immersive way.

The city of Minas Tirith was built in a rather unique way.

The city is divided into seven levels, each with its own walls and entrances, but these entrances are not in a straight line:

The main gate of the main wall is located in the east of the semicircle of the city, the next gate is built in the southeast of the city, and the third is in the northeast of the city, and all the entrances are built according to this pattern.

As a result, the road to the fortress winds around the hill, and whenever it passes through the vertical main entrance, it passes through an arched tunnel with a massive rock that splits the city in half, with the exception of the first level.

This special landscape is partly due to the natural mountaineering, and partly due to the ingenuity of the dwarven craftsmen.

This blade-sharp boulder is located just behind the main entrance plaza and extends all the way to the top of the circular city, where a dragon's lair is built at the very top.

It was originally intended for the crown of the great silver dragon Levi.

From that dragon's nest, you can look like a god, overlooking the main gate seven hundred feet below.

It's a pity that His Majesty hasn't been seen for many years.

On the contrary, there were four much smaller silver dragons and a flock of griffons, which often haunted the griffon mountains behind the city-state.

The entrance to the fortress in the city also faces west, but is carved out of the solid rock of the mountains, followed by a slope leading to the seventh gate.

The people finally came to the Consulate Hall under the Dragon's Lair and the Holy Spring Garden in front of the Pure White Tower.

The towering and simple pure white tower reached one hundred and fifty feet into the sky, and the banner of the silver dragon crown and the white city of Minas Tirith was at the top of the tower, overlooking the great plain on the banks of the Serblin River below a thousand feet.

This is indeed an impregnable city, and as long as there are still resistors in the city, even thousands of troops will not be able to take it.

Unless an enemy comes from behind, climb the treacherous Griffon Mountains to the meeting point of the Garrison Hill and the Mountains.

However, that area was right at the height of the Fifth City, and it was greeted by a steep barrier as high as the cliff.

And the Taobao store of the old John family, which also happens to be in the fifth city, also has a geographical location that all peers are extremely envious and even jealous of.

Just as Alyssa pushed Old John to her shop, a black shadow came out, rubbing her head with enthusiasm against the corners of the old man's somewhat shrunken legs:

"Meow~" is an ocelot with an all-black body.

"Haha, little Jack, I didn't expect to see you for eight years, you little brute still remember me. ”

The old man bent down with some difficulty, and picked up the little thing and put it on his lap.

"Lord John, Miss Elisa, you are finally back. ”

The clerks in the store hurried out to greet them.

"It's back... It's back..."

"Shhhh

At the same time, a sudden slight vibration sound seemed to come from the ground, causing many pedestrians to stop at the same time.

"What's the situation?

"Could it be that the legendary silver dragon knows that my time is short, so he comes to see me?"

Only old John joked calmly.

......

ps: Book friend Wilde made an orchestral piece that feels quite compatible with this chapter, and interested students can search for [Call of the Cold Mountain] in 'Forced Station', which is very exotic in Baicheng.

fpzw