The lord's dinner was always full of delicacies, and this time was no exception, and Alves prepared a table of delicacies for this dinner. Butter bread, crispy sausage, apple salad, smoked ham, eel soup, mashed potatoes, roast suckling pig...... All kinds of food are available. It made the guests salivate.

Looking at the lively hall and the crowd, and then looking at the various delicacies on the table, Rhodes couldn't help but think back to the original years. Three years ago, Blackhammer was a small border town, barely making ends meet on the deep pit mines right next to the castle.

Today, the castle has changed dramatically, the city has expanded several times, the streets have been cleaned, and the town has taken on a new look. All kinds of goods are abundant, and this abundance can be seen in the variety of food. At the beginning, even the dinner party where the lord met was only very ordinary food on the table. Even meat is a luxury. Nowadays, there is a wide variety of food, and it is not only about the variety, but also about the method and style. Roast suckling pig shouts green apples in its mouth, symbolizing prosperity. Roast duck skin is poured with honey to symbolize hard work. All kinds of food are processed in the back of the kitchen before they are put on the table, and the fruits are arranged on a platter with a variety of colors. Rhodes just felt that there was no moment in his life that was so comfortable.

The flames in the furnace burned constantly, and the hall was very warm. People raised their glasses and celebrated their long-lost victory. At the same time, a celebration is taking place outside the castle. The theater is staging the play of the White Bear Lord's expedition to the north, and the large theater, which is open for free, is crowded with civilians.

On the bank of the Dongquan River, a fireworks display is being staged, and tongues of fire rise into the sky, blooming in various shapes in the air, attracting bursts of cheers from the people. Children, in particular, have such a joyful time of year when they are playing to their heart's content, and tonight, their parents will not care about them.

This is a rare moment.

In the hall, the drunken crowd began to heckle, and I don't know who proposed it first, causing the two protagonists of this battle to kiss on the spot, causing Caroline to blush.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss!"

The officers below shouted loudly over and over again, and gradually became a unified slogan. Caroline couldn't resist it, and kissed Rhodes in public with her bare face, and the officers of Blackhammer and Heidelberg below immediately burst into enthusiastic cheers. Rod grabbed Caroline's face and kissed her tiny pink lips wildly. Push the atmosphere on the field to a climax.

The warriors banged their glasses and let out a passionate shout. After a few moments, Rhodes let go of Caroline, only to see the priestess in the corner as he turned his head...... Lyanna didn't know when she had come in, and now, she was preparing to leave with a gloomy face. Rod could see the expression—loss, melancholy and a bit of pain. He had read about this sentiment before, but today was obviously not the time for sadness, and Lyanna would make such a move, needless to say, Rod had already guessed a thing or two.

I don't know why, after seeing Lyanna's sad eyes, Rod also felt a little uncomfortable. It was as if the priestess was a thorn in her heart. Rod didn't know what to tell her, so he could only pretend that he didn't know, and continued to laugh and drink with everyone and make small talk.

......

Ormond sat in the bow of the ship, the sound of oars rising and falling, and the distant town gradually revealed its vague outline in the morning light. This wasn't his first time in Kislev, but it was his first time at Blackhammer.

As an imperial diplomat, Ormond's purpose in coming to Blackhammer Castle this time is very clear, that is, to negotiate cooperation with the Lord of Blackhammer Castle. News of the victory in the Northern Campaign spread not only in Kislev, but also in Kislev's old neighbor, the Imperial province of Osterling. As an empire that prides itself on being a firearms power, when the Lady of Kithrie on the border actually defeated the Norsca army, which was several times larger than herself, with high-tech artillery, she was naturally interested in this mysterious repeating artillery. Oldman was ordered by the mayor to come to Blackhammer to find out, and if he could, buy the technology by the way.

The official merchant ship sailed into the Black Hammer Pier via Kislev Bay. Before coming to Blackhammer Castle, Oldman imagined what this little frontier castle would look like, it should be the same as other small castles in the north, with a simple castle, a simple dock, and a few hundred or one or two thousand people. The soldiers stood listlessly on the city walls, and the castle was sparsely populated. Flying Library

However, when the May Rose sailed into the Outer Harbor of the Winter Springs River, Oldman and his assistants couldn't help but be stunned by what they saw. Large stone houses stand neatly on the plain between the coastline and the inner city, and there is almost no end in sight. The well-groomed streets constantly pass through the middle of the city, and horse-drawn carriages and crowds come and go.

He had thought that the May Rose was the largest ship in the entire harbor, but when the official merchant ship representing Baker City sailed into the Outer Harbor District, Oldman saw two foreign merchant ships larger than his own docked at the dock not far away. One of the merchant ships has the Tyrell Chamber of Commerce emblem painted on it. The other looked like a dwarven ocean-going merchant ship.

The Mayrose sailed against the current and continued to sail to the deep-water docks. On both sides of the river, there is a neat commercial avenue, and the houses near the river on the outside are at least three stories or more, with the commercial avenue as the central axis, extending many small roads, all of which are paved with gravel without exception, rather than the mud road as imagined.

The entire avenue was filled with people coming and going, dressed in all sorts of costumes, some of whom appeared to be merchants from the southern Tyrells, and some of whom were dwarves, but it was impossible to tell where they were. And some, even people from the Arabi region. Their busy figures and neat and wide commercial streets together form a prosperous and thriving city picture. It's hard to imagine that this is a small frontier castle that is almost comparable in size to a small city. Moreover, ordinary small cities are not as clean and hygienic as it is.

"My lord, we're not in the wrong place, are we?"

On the deck, the assistant on the side asked in surprise. Like Ormond, the assistant looked around in surprise, he had thought that he would go to a barren land to negotiate, and he would stay in the territory of the savages for at least half a month, which would be a painful journey. But at the moment, it seems that not only is this not a barren land, nor is it a place where savages live, but in some places it is more civilized than the Empire......

"Following the markings on the map, we didn't come to the wrong place. Damn, those folk merchants, they've been here, why don't they tell the truth?"

Ormond said with some exasperation.

"They seem to have said that...... But no one believed ......"

The young assistant replied.

"Well, it seems that this Rhodes still has some skills. ”

"Shall we go as planned?"

Ormond's assistant asked.

"Nonsense, of course as planned. No matter how prosperous Blackhammer Fort is, it is only a small town. Mrs. Keshley is short of money, and he, Rod, is still a Mrs. Keighrie, even if he is an outlier. The amount of gold we brought with us was unimaginable to him in his life, and it was impossible for him not to cooperate with us. As planned. ”

Ormond said, walking to the side deck of the ship, ready to land. Not far away, the dock workers were already in their positions, ready to meet the imperial ship that had come from afar.