In the middle of the night, the study hall is still brightly lit.

Thousands of noisy and broken endorsements converged, like 10,000 flies buzzing, and the already boring night of midsummer was made even more boring because of it. No one noticed that one of the flies had a weaker, deeper and deeper voice.

"The essence of man is the ...... of all social relations Target...... Total ......"

Consciousness quickly plummeted into the darkness, and in a blur it seemed to hear screams and shouts around it. He wanted to tell them that he was okay and that he could carry me when I got up, but the effort was fleeting with his consciousness.

......

"People have been adrift in the other world for ten years, and sometimes they miss the happiness of being a fat house together~"

"Even if the tiger's body shakes its head and worships, it is homesick~"

Richard lay on a pallet truck full of goods, humming a little song that no one could understand, and his face was covered with a coarse cloth handkerchief to shield him from the scorching midday sun.

After a while, I finally felt that the monotony of the journey was unbearable, and I suddenly sat up.

He was probably not more than twenty years old, but he was tall, well-proportioned and well-proportioned. A suit of leather armor is bound in a broad cowhide belt, and a pair of fine deerskin hunting boots are pedaling, and together with the long sword hanging from the side of the leg, they form a kind of fierce and heroic spirit.

It's just that at this moment, he yawns, and the corners of his eyes are full of eye droppings, which slightly destroys his temperament.

"Who's that, tell me the truth to my lord, when will we get there, that ......"

"Cologne. The coachman who led the horse was no longer surprised by the memory of this strange traveler, "Sir, I can already see the walls of Cologne." ”

Richard perked himself up and turned his head to look into the distance along the road.

At the end of the gray horizon, at the junction of the sky and the earth, a thin earthy yellow line was gradually enlarged as the carriage approached, and it was the distant city wall.

"Accelerate!"

The caravan, which had been marching in the field for almost a week, was also eager for the prosperity of the city, and the sound of horses' hooves suddenly became dense. An hour later, Cologne's face unfolded before Richard's eyes.

This is the most famous city in Pompeii, and the original designers took a lot of pains to make a natural moat by slightly renovating and dredging the river it passed.

The architecture of the northeastern provinces is more modest than that of the south, with not much additional ornamentation visible on the walls, except for the banner of eagles and crossed swords fluttering weakly on the flagpoles, the emblem of the Augustus family, lord of Coron.

But the huge rock walls built with a height of 15 blades have made it worthy of the name of "Heroic City".

There was a long procession in front of the gates, both local civilians and desert caravans with camels, and it was clear that commerce was thriving. Two silver-armored halberders guarded half-human-high wooden boxes, collecting varying amounts of entry taxes one by one.

When it was Richard's turn.

"Lao Tzu is a nobleman. He triumphantly took out the badge from his money bag and lit it up, attracting a look of envy and fear, and the caravan's two gold coins were given up in the city tax.

The tax collector reluctantly moved out of the way, the wheels creaked and turned, and he entered the city gate and quickly came out from the other side.

"Sir. The caravan director smiled and held a keg of craft rye beer in his hand, and said to Richard, "Thanks to you for taking care of the way." ”

This strange traveler in every way was picked up by him from the southern provinces, and on the way he offered to be a nobleman and willing to come forward to avoid the driving tax for the caravan. The steward didn't believe it at first, how could any nobleman do such a thing?

But it turned out that what he said was true, and he saved at least ten gold coins in taxes along the way.

Richard took the beer, glanced at no one on the left and right, and reached out to make a gesture of rubbing his index finger and middle finger together with his thumb.

The Pompeii Empire has rich customs and customs, some of which are even completely different, but the meaning of this gesture is basically to pass through the whole country - money.

"What for. The steward looked at Richard blankly.

"What are you doing? What else can you do!" Richard slapped on the carriage, and the heavy oak board "clicked" on the spot, revealing a faint concave palm print, "I paid ten gold coins less in road tax, and you want to send me away with a barrel of ale?"

Business cannot bring products, and virtuous people should treat it carefully, let alone make profits from it. A down-and-out knight is also a nobleman, and the more down-and-out he is, the more he should pay attention to decency, what is the difference between this behavior and a ruffian?

The steward looked at Richard, his eyes bewildered and incredulous, and finally all turned into deep admiration.

It is no wonder that young people who are studying today can only be a steward at such an old age! If they do not change their thinking, how can they have their own caravans in the future?

He opened his mouth to say something, but looking at the handprints on the carriage, he finally chose to be silent is gold, and honestly counted out five gold coins from the money bag and handed them over, "Sir, you take it." ”

"That's pretty much it. Richard copied it, turned around and left.

"Wait!" the steward suddenly stopped him from behind him.

"What for?"

"This wine is mine. "He viciously snatched the barrel.

......

Richard was sprinting through the wide streets of Cologne, sword in hand.

His current destination is the Coron Noble Garden, the agency that coordinates the management of the province's noble fiefdoms.

This place is easy to find, and you can always see the towering dome of the noble court as long as you look up in any corner of the city. It was a remnant of the ancient ancestors, and it is rare for the Pompeii people today to build such tall buildings.

Some people say it's because it's not economical to do so, others say it's because those subtle geometric algorithms have long been lost, and others say it's because the son of the old man of the noble court didn't have the eyes to prohibit the appearance of higher buildings to steal the limelight.

Richard was selfish in favor of the last possibility.

Either way, the six-storey pedestal is one of the largest in the city of Cologne.

Twenty-four granite columns spread out symmetrically on the sides of the main entrance, supporting a huge bread-shaped curved dome. At the ends of the stone pillars are epic narrative round sculptures, describing the story of the ancient era of Nero's rebellion.

Above the main entrance hangs a bronze statue of a mermaid with a height of two blades (one blade = one meter), holding a scale on the left and a codex on the right. At a glance, you can tell that it must be from the hands of a master, which can be called delicate and lifelike.

Richard took a step towards the main entrance, and as soon as he stepped onto the first step of the pedestal, he was greeted by a waiter with green eyes trotting up, sending a standard smile with eight teeth.

"Sir, this is the Noble Court. ”

The manservant implicitly expressed two meanings with a reminder: if you are a nobleman, then you have found the right place;

"Richard Orlando, this act is from a fiefdom. Richard took out two crumpled pieces of parchment from his pig-urine purse.

Greeneye took it and carefully checked the paperwork and signatures, especially the seal at the bottom.

The corners of Richard's mouth curled imperceptibly, as if to implicitly mock.

For a swordsman, excellent observation is a necessary basic skill. He noticed that the manservant was very distantly stunned when he heard his name.

The valets who served in the noble court must be the most well-trained, and it is difficult to see expressions on their faces other than a slight smile, which only shows that their hearts are touched.

Richard, of course, knew what that was because of that.