The night in the Ring City was cold, and even with a heated brazier in his room, Rhodes still didn't feel really warm. It reminded him of Blackhammer. The ancestral castle was built on top of a hot spring, and in the summer, it is indistinguishable from the outside world, and in the winter, it is a world of difference. Outside it was freezing cold, but inside the castle was a warm and peaceful scene, and even in the master bedroom, where the hot springs were directly affected, servants and lords could walk and rest freely without their coats.

According to the butler Muros, the reason why the ancestors chose to build the city here was because of the hot springs. In winter, whether you can achieve enough temperature is the difference between life and death. The warm current of the hot springs circulates through the castle like the blood of the human body, ensuring that the temperature of Blackhammer does not drop too low. You know, it's almost the northernmost point of Kislev, and beyond that, no civilization has set foot in it.

If I had to say, it was only the Norscans who lived in the mountains of the north, but the barbarians in the Old World looked like wild beasts...... Their men are in the company of wild beasts, they bathe with their horses, they tame huge mammoth elephants to fight for them, they eat raw flesh and drink blood, such humans have long been excluded from the ranks of civilization. Some Snookas have gone south from the north for hundreds of years, become mercenaries of the Empire, and slowly integrate into the Imperial society, however, these people are no longer real Snokas.

Rhodes pondered this, listening to the castle's midnight bells, and his sleepiness grew.

When he woke up the next day, Alves the dwarf was already waiting outside the door. He wanted to take the Lord of Black Hammer Castle from afar to the Order Arena of the Ring, where there was the darkest and bloodiest scene, and also let Rhodes understand the folk customs and culture of the Ring. Even though the whole north has similar cultures, there are still slight differences from place to place. Rhodes knew that Alves' real purpose might be to familiarize himself with the arena, after all, tomorrow, he would be on the field to fight the fiercest of the wildlings. There's nothing wrong with getting acquainted with the venue in advance.

The Arena of Order is located in the middle of the Ring, and it is almost noon when you come here, and the amphitheater rises at the end of the road, flanked by various shops and brothels.

Like Blackhammer Castle, the Ring City is also a ring castle, that is, a town with the castle as the center and a ring around the periphery. This is the style for almost all of the North, with the tall castle standing in the middle of a cluster of low buildings in a medieval style when viewed from a distance. But it's not for the sake of visual beauty, but for its practicality.

In the north, there are beasts and beasts for many years, the castle is the main means of defense, once encountering the invasion of beasts, the people will hide in the castle as soon as possible, and wait until the defenders of the castle defeat the beasts, people return to the town to live. However, due to limited funds, it was impossible for the local lords to expand the castle to a large enough size to accommodate these civilians. This is not in line with their identity and status, and they must be distinguished from the civilians, so the castle is often inhabited by their guards and subordinates, and outside the castle, there are civilians and refugees who come to make a living.

Judging from the centuries-old history of the kingdom, no lord has ever had the strength to enclose an entire town, because it would take a lot of manpower and financial resources, and in this era, building a ring of walls is not a trivial matter, it is a huge project.

"Come, King of Blackhammer Keep, let me show you the Arena of Order, the oldest and largest structure in the Lower Iron Ring. ”

Alves walked ahead and introduced with great interest. Caroline is like a curious little girl, full of curiosity about everything, as if there are countless things that make her curious every day. Rhodes couldn't help but worry for Variel, he didn't know what the current mood of the lord of Heidelberg was, his daughter traveling outside, although it was not an adventure, but after all, it was not safer than in the castle. But this Heidelberg witch was so willful......

If there were popcorn or other snacks in this era, Rhodes was sure that Caroline would be shopping with her snacks in her hand.

"The Arena of Order, whose ancient history dates back to the founding of the Ring, was built by the soldiers of the Ring, who were keen on competition, to relieve their boredom while stationed in the North. When it was first built, it was just a boxy enclosure where spectators sat on stone benches around it to watch the gladiatorial battles, and could accommodate no more than a hundred people. Later, with the advent of peacetime, a steady stream of civilians moved here, and the arena was expanded in size, eventually building it into its current state. Circular, it can accommodate the largest number of spectators, and at the same time, give every corner of the stands a panoramic view of the game. ”

Alves introduced. Rhodes noticed that the dwarf always looked straight ahead when he spoke, respectfully, unlike others, who always kept his eyes on the pretty Frost Witch. In this respect, Alves was more gentlemanly than those of the nobles. If it weren't for his deformed legs, Rhodes felt that this guy could have been a wise ruler, and maybe even the Ring City would not be the current Lord of Aubrey. It's this younger brother of his. But it makes no sense to imagine this, the deformed body determines his fate, and it is a blessing to be able to become the local treasurer, you know, many dwarfs are to be killed after birth, and it is believed that deformed people, most likely the product of being polluted by chaos, must be killed and incinerated as soon as possible. Alves can survive until now and become the treasurer of Ring, there must be a secret family past, but this is not what Rhodes is gossiping.

"In a way, the Arena of Order is the bloodiest place in the whole of Ring, and if you count the numbers, I'm sure that the number of beasts and humans who have died here in a hundred years must have exceeded the number of people who died in the war combined. So much so that ghosts linger in the arena's basement for many years. Of course, that's just a legend, I haven't seen it with my own eyes. Hehe. ”

Alves introduced with a smile. He was observing Rod's expression, but from the side, Rhodes didn't have any expression at all, according to Caroline, the Lord of Blackhammer Castle didn't smile at all except for a man. Of course, those who are familiar with Rhodes know that their lord is not smiling, but very serious in front of strangers, in private, playing well with soldiers and soldiers, and smiling at his family. The people of Blackhammer know that Dennis, the daughter of Lord Rhodes, is the happiest and freest princess in the North.