Because of the rain, the road became more difficult to walk.

I used to be able to walk 20 kilometers in a day, but today I only advanced 15 kilometers before I had to stop and set up camp. Not only that, but there were homeless people joining this team one after another along the way, and the kind knight lady naturally did not refuse to come.

At noon, the number of people counted was more than 500, and by the afternoon, the number of people had become more than 600. Fortunately, the food is sufficient, otherwise there are more than a hundred mouths for no reason, and eating will become a problem.

The curtain of the tent was lifted, and the adjutant in chain mail entered.

"Your Excellency."

"What's the matter?"

"At this rate, we're afraid it will take a week before we reach Boulder." The lieutenant reminded.

"So, what better can you do?" Without looking up, Sirita, who was looking at the map, said indifferently.

After a moment's hesitation, the adjutant lowered his head.

In fact, there is still a way, that is, to throw away all these burdens.

But at the same time, he knew very well that even if he said so, the knight lady would never agree.

Just like he had kindly reminded her at noon, those outcasts who had traveled to Boulder City on the same road had obviously not told the truth about their identities, and they were all fugitives from other territories. Leaving aside the subjects of Viscount Noband for the time being, these fugitives of unknown origin are the private property of the feudal lord......

In this way, the journey, which could have been completed in less than two weeks, was dragged out to the fourth week.

As everyone crossed the forest, walked through the thorny wasteland, and looked at the faintly visible city wall in the distance, both the soldiers walking in front and the homeless people at the end of the line breathed a sigh of relief.

Up to now, the original team of only more than 100 people has grown to more than 1,000 people today.

"There's Boulder City ahead." Riding on the horse, looking at the faintly visible city wall in the distance, Cilita's eyes narrowed slightly, and her voice could not hide the joy in her heart, "We are almost there." ”

Although she had only passed through the corner of the Thorn Wasteland, her mood at this moment was as excited as if she had crossed the entire Thorn Wasteland.

"Do you feel a sense of relief?" Jiang Feng, who was leaning against the carriage window, asked casually.

"Sort of."

"Are you sure the governor of Boulder City will take in these outcasts?" Jiang Feng asked with a smile.

"Of course," said Cilita without hesitation, "Sir Tours is a Governor appointed by His Majesty the King himself, and has served as a patrol captain in the Royal Guard. ”

"Acquaintances?" Jiang Feng's eyebrows raised.

"Don't forget, I was Her Highness the Princess's playmate when I was a child." Glancing at Jiang Feng proudly, Cilita waved the reins in her hand and rode towards the front of the team.

……

Nestled on the border of the Kara Mountains and the Thorn Wasteland, Boulder City is the largest inland city in the Kingdom of Rick. The walls and houses in the inner city are mostly made of a mixture of granite and rhyolite, and are strong enough to make most siege equipment desperate.

From the height of the buildings from the outer city to the inner city, the sense of hierarchy from low to high can be clearly seen, and the roofs of many houses have been built with flat roofs with battlements. This allows the defenders to take advantage of the height difference between the inner and outer roofs in street battles between the defenders and the attackers in the event of a fall of the wall, thus maintaining a condescending advantage forever.

Therefore, this fortress-like city also has the reputation of an iron-walled city.

In fact, hundreds of years ago, it did exist as a fortress city. The main reason for the construction of this city is to deter the alien races in the Thorn Wasteland who are not under the control of the kingdom. However, after hundreds of years of assimilation, with the strategic position of Sardiniburg taking its place, Boulder City has become an extremely important trade node in the central part of the Rick Kingdom due to its unique geographical location and rich mineral resources.

Countless caravans come and go here every day, trading in iron ore, salt mines, granite and other materials. Due to the economic prosperity, a large number of floating people who did not belong to the Rick kingdom were gathered here, and the handicraft industry began to flourish, which made the fortress city more and more bloated. Later, after receiving a large donation from the local trade union, one of the kings simply ordered the fortress city to be turned into a free city. Governors are sent to collect taxes, and the city is governed by mayors elected by local industry federations.

This kind of free city system is still relatively common on the continent of Aditya. After all, it's okay to let those nobles collect taxes, and the trouble of managing the city is still forgotten. This has nothing to do with the ability to govern, purely because the mode of operation of the castle economy and the city economy are two completely different things.

On the way to Boulder City, Fielding, who was driving a carriage, told Jiang Feng all kinds of interesting stories about this place. Jiang Feng couldn't help but feel a little surprised that this guy knew so many things. When he was in Valland, most alchemists gave him the impression that they were the kind of researchers who spent their days hiding in alchemy workshops and diligently studying applied techniques.

"I didn't expect you to know quite a lot."

"I lived here for a while before moving to Valland, and alchemical materials such as Earth Stone, Blood Vine, and Wind Wolf's Teeth are all specialties of the Thorn Wasteland, and are not so easy to get hold of in other parts of the kingdom." Fielding said with a smile.

"I see." Jiang Feng understood.

In the past few weeks, although he has been on the road, in fact he has not been completely idle. He has always maintained good sleeping habits, and Jiang Feng will leave the camp every night before going to bed, and go back to sleep after exhausting his mana.

Although the mental power attribute is still unchanged, the mana attribute has increased to 0.6.

The mana attribute of 0.6 is enough to release 5-6 apprentice-level witchcraft, and according to the standards of the academy, he has finally reached the level of wizard apprentice in the mana attribute.

After crossing the last kilometer, the group finally reached their destination.

Many of the displaced people who have suffered so much from displacement even burst out crying with excitement. For most of them, reaching Boulder City was not the end of their misery, but at least they didn't have to shudder under the butcher's knives of the robbers and watch their wives and daughters being abducted and ravaged by the mob. .

It's just that after approaching the city gate, the scene in front of him made Cilita's face show a surprised expression.

“…… Who are these people? ”

"My lord, those people are just like those behind you, fugitives from nearby territory." The lieutenant replied weakly.

About 200 meters away from the city gate, the land enclosed by a wooden fence is dotted with dense and simple tents, most of the people living in them are in ragged clothes, and their faces are either thin and protruding cheekbones, or they are swollen from malnutrition.

Cilita, who was riding on the horse, moved her throat slightly, unable to say a word, and did not know what she was thinking......

Entering the city with her lieutenant and two retinues, Sirita went to visit the governor of Boulder to discuss the reinforcements from Sardinia and the resettlement of the displaced people. As for Jiang Feng, he asked Fielding to drive the carriage to the hotel at the gate of the city.

He has never treated himself badly, so naturally he will not choose to stay with those people.

Lost thirty UBS on the counter of the hotel, the highlander with the big nose immediately instructed the guys in the store to let the two young men run and carry two bundles of straw to feed the horses, and he enthusiastically took Jiang Feng and the others upstairs and found them five rooms.

Leia and Emily live together, while Jiang Feng, Yi Ran, Fielding, and another driver share a room with each other. Although the honest farmer shirked and slept in the carriage by himself, Jiang Feng hadn't slammed the door to that extent.

After settling down at the hotel, the group hastily settled dinner in the lobby on the first floor.

After eating and drinking, Jiang Feng saw that it was not early outside, and planned to go around the neighborhood before dusk, so he asked Leia to take care of Emily and her luggage, and took Yi Ran and Fielding, who had lived here for a while, out of the door.