Cape Stormwind is a large area, and the main essence is concentrated in the port, and a few miles behind the port is Stormwind City. The Pen%Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info actually built a large number of buildings around the port of Stormwind Point, and the area is much larger than Ironwall, all the way to Stormwind.

There are hundreds of boats in the harbor, most of them small boats, the kind that Xia He and Cotton Jack ride.

The most eye-catching thing is a magic battleship more than 100 meters long, docked to the west of the dock. The ship does not use magic sail technology and is equipped with four built-in oars. The entire body of the battleship is wrapped in metal, the armor is heavy, and it does not use jet or propeller propulsion, and the speed cannot be fast.

But this thing definitely has a long range, and that's what the propellers do.

You only need to register when you enter the city, and it doesn't matter if you go ashore. Cotton Jack commanded the sailors and docked near the ironclad battleship. The entire dock is divided into three parts, and the ironclad battleships are mostly small boats. In the other two positions, it is basically armed merchant ships.

Xia He asked Cotton Jack what was going on, and Master Wild said, "Stormwind Horn has existed for hundreds of years, but Stormwind City has a history of less than ten years. The stupid nobles of the Holy Thunder Empire came to open up with an ironclad ship, wanting to collect tolls. As a result, after several years of fighting, the two major forces that failed to defeat the Cape of Storm, had to endure it. ”

Seeing that Xia He didn't understand, Master Ye explained: "The Holy Thunder Empire controls the route north of Dragon Island, and the taxes are very heavy, and some adventurous guys set off from the southern tip of the Leo Continent and take the route of Storm Point to avoid the empire's taxes. ”

"The Holy Thunder Empire must have a headache, and it can't catch a few. ”

"Yes, besides, if you are caught, the merchant ship will be seized, and you can redeem it with gold coins. The Holy Ray Empire had to maintain enough navy on the northern route and insufficient patrols on the southern route. If you hide in the past, you will get rich, and if you don't hide in the past, you will be unlucky. ”

Xia He sneered, this technique is quite sophisticated.

Letting go of some smuggling merchant ships, the Shenglei Empire deliberately left the southern passage and occasionally caught some to make up for the loss of tax revenue. I really want to catch it, none of these guys can escape.

In this way, the guys who are difficult to manage will take the southern shipping lane, and the north will need to invest much less energy. The Southern Passage is for smuggling, and the empire does not collect taxes, so there is no need to send warships to fight pirates, and occasionally you can learn from pirates to come and harvest a wave.

For the Empire, the savings far outweigh the lost taxes.

I think smuggling is more profitable, it's just a survivor bias. The person who was arrested still wants to take the risk next time, and the person who succeeds in the risk wants to make a fortune again next time.

The Holy Thunder nobles of Stormwind City are not necessarily stupid, they may be nails sent by the emperor of the Holy Thunder Empire.

This is the best supply point for the Southern Passage, where the number of smuggled merchant ships is monitored daily and reported to the Empire, so that the Empire can know the exact scale of smuggling.

If the scale of smuggling is too large, send warships to crack down, and if the scale of smuggling is small, then let it go for a year or two.

That Saint Lei nobleman was able to endure this kind of rotten place for ten years, and it is estimated that he was sent out of the family, and he had already received the benefits he deserved. I'm afraid that the forces here still think that he has been squeezed out and has no support in the Holy Thunder Empire.

I didn't kill him, because the ironclad ship was too strong, right?

Later, when Stormwind City was built, the nobles of Saint Lei would smuggle something into the city defense force by themselves, and no one would be willing to embarrass him.

Xia He's speculation is also inseparable. But he didn't care what the Saint Ray nobles were here for, he wanted to see what was sold in the black market.

The ship docked, the docking fee was determined, the deposit was paid, and the eight sailors were left to move on their own, and Xia He and Cotton Jack took the two sailors out of the dock and into Cape Storm.

The buildings here are all quite rough style, the dragon clan is still in the years, this place is not suitable for other creatures to live, and then the dragon god fell, the dragon clan perished, the terrifying climate near the dragon island has gradually become docile, the southern route was only stabilized thousands of years ago, and the storm horn is only a few hundred years old.

The storm here is still terrible, and all the buildings are built with huge stones and reinforced with magic.

There are many shops in Stormwind Point, but they all sell ordinary items, and things related to professionals are sold on the black market. This is what Xia He knew before. The two sailors and Cotton Jack had both been to Cape Storm, and after hearing what Xia He meant, they first found a place to eat.

Adrift at sea, the supply of the St. Odin is easy, the ship is fast, and the fresh water is abundant, but it is impossible to eat well. The appetite is sometimes more painful than the things of men and women, after all, you will be reminded every day that you can't eat it.

There are no simple taverns in Cape Storm, they are all structures that sell food on the ground floor and buy wine on the basement floor. Occasionally, there are two-story buildings, with narrow windows on the side facing the sea.

The sailor found a restaurant and took Xia He and Cotton Jack inside. The restaurant has two floors above ground, and there is a courtyard behind it, and on the other side of the courtyard is the hotel. There are high walls on the sides, and some cattle are offered for rent. There are no good horses here, just donkeys and a small camel beast.

Xia He chose a position to sit in, and the window behind him was open, so that he could see the courtyard. In the center of the courtyard are planted a few large trees, the shade of which is like a cover, and the ground is paved with blue stone slabs, which are clean.

There is an open door at the back of the restaurant, and there is an enclosed corridor on the east side that leads to the kitchen.

"It's not a small place. After Xia He sat down, he ordered food and drink casually after trying the wine, and sighed when he looked at the hall. The business that can be maintained in Stormstorm Corner is backed by those three forces.

Bang!

It was sunny outside, and suddenly there was a thunderstorm.

Someone in the restaurant shouted: "It's raining again, why is the weather changing so frequently this year?"

"Forget the fourth, we just came back not long ago, it's a big deal not to go to sea, rest for a month or two. ”

"What's going on?" Xia He saw that some waiters hurriedly closed the window, and also closed the door to the backyard, and the front door was locked, leaving only a narrow side door, almost enough for one person to enter and exit. The window on that side was not only closed, but also opened. Some of the diners in the restaurant left in a hurry, and some simply ordered drinks and simply didn't leave.

"A storm is coming, and it will sweep across Cape Storm. ”

"What about the docks?"

Xia He asked about the dock, but in fact asked about the St. Odin. Cotton Jack also understood, so he said: "Look what kind of storm it is, important ships will go into the closed dock and hide, some ships will have to leave the harbor, and some will have to resign themselves to their fate in the harbor." However, the port of Cape Storm is quite safe, and the waves are well sheltered, and there are not many ships lost in each storm. ”

The sailor went to the counter and handed over a list of foods to be bought in large quantities. Then I booked a room again.

The small boats in the harbor could not be managed, and the eight sailors knew that Cotton Jack would come to order food, and they would definitely come to meet, so Xia He asked the sailors to ask for two rooms, one small and one large. The small self lives with Cotton Jack, and the big one makes do with the sailor.

The storm may only be a day and a half, or it may last for half a month.

Xia He was not in a hurry to leave, so he asked for an extra barrel of wine and drank it with Jack Cotton. The wind outside was starting to get stronger, the backyard was surrounded by high walls, and there was still a rattling sound from the top of the big trees, and some leaves began to fly. The clouds in the sky are getting darker and darker, piling up rapidly.

The raindrops soon fell, and with the smell of dust raised, they burrowed into the hall from outside the door.

The two sailors were sent to the back inn to clean up the room, and their food was delivered, and Xia He chatted with Cotton Jack.

"Jack, last time you said you wanted to learn from me, let me ask you, do you know the rules of the wizarding world?"

Cotton Jack shook his head, he was born in the waters of Dragon Island, he had never been to the mainland at all, and he had seen less.

"In this world, mages are generally no different, and there is no necessarily difference between elemental magic and arcane magic. In the Arcane Empire, magicians form different forces in the form of academies, and the Green Forest Continent is the Magic Council. In the Leo continent, magicians are basically gathered together and become royal mages, and their combat effectiveness is relatively strong. ”

Cotton Jack listened carefully, even if he knew these things.

"Learning magic has always been a very expensive thing, and I am free to learn it because of my inheritance. If you don't have the money...... In the Arcane Empire's academy, you must first undergo an assessment to determine that you have the potential to become a mage, and you will be selected as a student, and if the academy students do not become a first-class mage within five years, they will be expelled. ”

"What if it happens?" Cotton Jack thought to himself, will he ascend to the sky in one step and become a human being.

"If you become a first-level mage, you are qualified to study with the teacher. From this day on, you will have to obey the arrangements of the Academy of Magic, and there is no room for refusal. ”

"Can't you refuse any order?" said Cotton Jack in surprise.

"Of course not, you were cultivated by the empire at a great cost, so you naturally have to serve the empire. ”

"What if I refuse?"

"Then the entire empire will not be tolerated, and even magicians outside the empire will look down on you. ”

"I see, I just want to know what I need to do if I want to learn magic from you. ”

"You don't have what I want, Jack. Xia He sighed and said.

He himself actually has nothing to do with the Arcane Empire, he is a Taoist. But because of this, he knows more about the rules, and the law is not passed on lightly.

Cotton Jack is not suitable for himself to be a student, and Taoist priests need to be under the age of twelve to be the best, unless the talent is too much to refuse. For example, he himself was only introduced to the Dragon and Tiger Dao Palace at the age of sixteen.

Cotton Jack is in his twenties, meditative and can't be an apprentice for himself.

As a magician, Jack's talent is very good, but if he can't practice Taoism, he will be of no value to Xia He. If Xia He accepts apprentices in this world, he must be trained as a Taoist priest.

"Jack, I can't give you hope, and then ask you to do things for me, and then tell you that it's impossible. ”