Norden City, a bustling city built on a coastal plain. Located in the eastern part of the empire, the Oster Territory is similar to the terrain of other imperial provinces, although the territory is vast, but the territory is forested, and there are not many plains that can really be cultivated.

However, the geographically advantageous area did not become the first area to be developed by the province, because the port city was close to the northern barbarian continent of Nosca.

The cities on the plains did not have alpine rapids as natural barriers, and were vulnerable to invasion by barbarian forces, which prevented the successive Electors of Oster from devoting all their strength to the development of this northern city. Instead, the city was used as a bridgehead for war, and in the event of a barbarian invasion, the alarm was sounded and the provincial capital Wolfenburg was the first to be heard.

The city of Norden, without much official investment, developed freely in this way, and to this day, most of the industries in the city are unofficially operated, the textile, wine, material processing and service industries are relatively developed, there is almost no heavy industry, most of the light industry and trade are also run by the local nobles themselves, and the grain harvest only needs to be handed over to the provincial capital according to a certain percentage.

This doomed the city to not have much planning, standing on the bow of the boat, overlooking the city, you can see the whole bay slowly unfolding in front of you. The tallest building on the shore of the pier, the Great Lighthouse, is clearly visible. Every port has a lighthouse that guides ships and acts as a military alert, and Norden Harbour is no different. Just after winter, the sea is not too calm, and the waves of about two meters are not worth mentioning for the Imperial ocean-going vessels, but for those small fishing boats that fish inshore, it is still very scary.

As he got closer, Rhodes saw the docks, the church, the warehouses, and the castle on the headland......

"Black Cliff Fort. ”

The captain came over and said—

"That's the civic center of Norden City, where all military and government affairs are handled. Where the mayors work, don't underestimate the castle, there are a lot of soldiers stationed in it. ”

Looking into the distance, Rhodes saw the Black Cliff Castle in the captain's mouth protruding from the rock bed of the strait like a giant, and like a long sword, piercing into the sea. Beneath the castle is a solid rock formation, which rises much above the residential area, and is probably the only natural barrier in the whole of Norden.

However, the terrain is suitable for the castle to be built there. The most important thing in a port city is the port, the wharf. The castle on the headland can cover the entire sea with just a few cannons. In the event of a Norscar pirate invasion, the castle defenders will be able to kill and injure these marauders from a distance as soon as they are discovered, thus eliminating the barbarians before they can land.

The castle's high walls and rock formations made it easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it would have been too much for the Norscans without heavy artillery to capture such a castle. Their only recourse was to raid quickly, plunder the city, and then retreat. A slightly larger invasion will continue to besiege the castle after plundering the city, but the probability of that is very low. After all, since the last Chaos invasion, the northern barbarians have not had a large-scale invasion in the true sense of the word.

When entering the Bay Area, the wind and waves were significantly reduced.

"We're coming to the shore, my lord. ”

The attendant said respectfully.

Rod nodded in response. Although this is an official transport ship, any voyage across the sea will not be in vain, and in addition to escorting Rick Guard and the Wood Elves back, this Imperial ship actually carries a lot of goods. The goods were to be unloaded from the ship, loaded with new cargo, and hauled to Baker Harbor for sale. Elleria was sulking, she had important information to report to the Emperor, however, these Imperial humans didn't seem to care, and they would not miss the opportunity to make money...... But Rhodes was used to it, and the Empire was like that...... Besides, it is very important information in the eyes of the Wood Elves, but it may not be the case for the Empire. A hundred years of peace have erased the sense of distress from the hearts of mankind. Bunny Fly

"It's not my business, but I must warn you that the sooner the information reaches your Emperor, the better. These barbarians will not wait for you to make a decision after your meeting before they come to plunder. ”

Aryria walked over and said coldly. Although it was not explicitly stated, the dissatisfaction was already on the face.

"Yes, yes, we'll do it as soon as possible, it's almost dark today, let's rest in the city for the night, and leave early tomorrow morning for the next port. As soon as you get to Beckhaven, it's not far from Wolfenburg. ”

The messenger replied with a smile, but his eyes were unconsciously staring at the female elf. This disgusted Aryria, and if it weren't for her special status, Aryria promised that she would blind the lewd man in one eye. looked at Rod on the side again, and just shrugged his shoulders, saying that I can't do anything about this kind of thing......

The big ship has successfully docked, and a large number of workers have already gathered on the deep-water dock. It's just that I can't tell which ones are professional dock workers, and which ones are hired workers who come to beg for food temporarily.

As soon as the ship anchored, a large number of people in ragged clothes gathered on the dock, waiting for the work arrangement of moving goods. The commotion is like a swarm of flies huddled together, and some scolding can be heard from time to time. Presumably it was a fight over this small job.

A pot-bellied man walked onto the boat and began to negotiate with the messenger and the captain, and after a few minutes, the pot-bellied man beckoned to the migrant workers below, and everyone rushed up and began to rush to carry the goods. Elleria covered her nose and stepped aside, the smell of sweat and alcohol from the dock workers really turned her back to her stomach. And Rhodes has long been accustomed to it......

"It's just a bunch of piglets, and a few copper plates can send them away. ”

The messenger turned and said with a smile.

"And who are they?"

Sibeth pointed to the crowd outside the docks that had been blasted out.

"They're not people, just a bunch of scruffy ants. ”

"Beggars. ”

The messenger added.

Sibes frowned after hearing this, unlike Rhodes and Celta, Sibes came to the empire for the first time, and originally thought that the most powerful country in the Old World should be full of civilization and order. Today, however, it looks a different story. What surprised him even more was that in the mouths of imperial officials, beggars were not considered human...... Don't they have human rights? Sibis asked inwardly. But seeing that his lord didn't say anything, as a knight, he couldn't say anything more, after all, this was someone else's territory......