Chapter 6 6

Nicolas left the Clan accompanied by two tall and sturdy knights. Although they were wearing ordinary clothes, there was no way to hide their height. Albert, on the other hand, looked like a thin branch beside them. There was a distance of three steps between him and Nicolas, not too close nor too far, yet Albert was right by his side; as his personal steward, he had to be ready in case of any danger to immediately throw himself in front of Nicolas and use his body as a shield. If his master died, his fate would be death as well, and this was strictly taught during his stewardship training. Albert took his job seriously; even if he didn't like Nicolas, he knew that if the latter died while he was by his side, he would meet his end too, so protecting him might at least give him a good image. His respect for his job was another factor, but Nicolas had disguised himself well; the black hood was casting shadows on his face, and the black spots on his skin made him look like a commoner, and unless looked at carefully, no one would recognize him, so there was nothing to worry about.

The Fei Clan's city was one of the largest in the kingdom, located on the coast of the Dark Ocean, with several long rivers flowing from the land into the ocean passing through its territory. Spring waters emanating from the Magic Mountain formed powerful rivers through several branches, flowing into Lake Vitu and the Dark Ocean. The rivers surrounded the Clan's territory like a spider web, making every centimeter of the soil extremely fertile. Due to its proximity to the ocean, winters were long due to the harsh winds coming from it, but in return, the lands were arable as soon as winter passed, with crops being harvested three times a year, with different products planted each season. This contributed to the gradual enrichment of the Fei Kingdom, and in addition, the Magic Mountain possessed rich mines; iron, tin, copper, and gold veins were abundant, and even precious minerals such as rubies and sapphires were extracted from some small mines. The Fei Clan's lands seemed blessed; every meter of it was highly valuable, and the Clan had lived in these lands for hundreds of years, deeply rooted, and treating the people and aristocrats fairly; they not only reduced taxes to almost zero in winter but also spent from the treasury to support the people's livelihood.

Additionally, a different source of income appeared in winter, which was the fur trade, where the furs of magical creatures or wild animals were processed and sold. In winter, the waters of Lake Vitu would freeze, and thanks to the experts brought by the Fei Clan, the people living on its banks were taught ice fishing, enabling them to survive without suffering. Of course, the most important topic to mention was that the Fei Clan army sent several battalions annually, mostly new soldiers, to reduce the number of magical creatures on the Magic Mountain, which provided good training for the army and ensured people's safety. Sometimes, the army, which penetrated deep into the mountain, would find treasures hidden inside caves. The biggest discovery was the cave found this year, which was filled to the brim with gold, and the necklace Nicolas wore came from this cave. After the army handed the treasure to the Clan, Hanry rewarded the army generously, even giving them 10% of the loot directly and promoting some of the officers. Thanks to this encouragement, the army became motivated and more enthusiastic for future expeditions.

In general, the situation was in favor of the Fei Clan; it was surrounded by water on two sides, and behind it was a mountainous region rich in mines. To the north and south, there were the lands of the Alisa Principality and the Brian Magic Union, which were weaker than it. The Brian Magic Union area was surrounded by mountains, and its main economy depended on obtaining magical monster materials from the mountains and mining, in addition to having a gate opening to the Western desert, where there were more magical creatures and many different races and small tribes. The Brian Magic Union had to use the Fei Clan's lands to turn the materials they obtained into gold, and even if they wanted to use the sea route, it was very difficult to pass without crossing the Fei Clan's territorial waters, so they were almost entirely dependent on the Clan for their trade, and they had no other route to get their goods to the capital of the Fai Kingdom.

In addition, the Fei Clan was benefiting from their situation and becoming richer. As for the Alisa Principality, it was located right next to the Fai Kingdom, and it was responsible for sending the Kingdom's goods to the Fai Kingdom. In the Kingdom, there was great demand for goods coming from the Brian Magic Union, and the Alisa Principality had to maintain good relations with the Fei Clan to get what it wanted from the lands of the Brian Magic Union. They were passing their caravans through the Clan's lands, and the Clan was getting large amounts of gold from each caravan under the name of passage fees. They were utilizing their current geographical location extremely well, so much so that the Fei Clan's power was easily within the top three levels within the Fai Kingdom. This situation was also one of the main reasons for the assassination; Hanry being a powerful leader, relying on smart people under his command, and acting justly was the primary reason. He had already suppressed the dissenting voices within the Clan, and he was loved by the people and the army, loved by the aristocrats, and possessed powerful allies.

If Nicolas could maintain the current situation and ensure that no harm came to the Fei Clan for a few years, although it might still not be possible to overthrow the Fai Kingdom immediately, the Clan would become impossible to threaten. This was why the "Two Stars" were of vital importance; so much so that without them, the probability of his plans failing would increase by 20%, which was an unacceptable percentage for him. When he arrived at the Fei Clan's city, the wealth was visible; the streets were full of people, and on every corner there was a shop or a stall, and it was possible to find any kind of product. Nicolas had already decided on his destination; his priority would be the Guard Headquarters in the city, which was a police force that ensured internal security and order in the city, and it was not built outside the city, but right in its center. There were many structures built on an area of ten acres, and the empty space behind the buildings was the training ground for the guards.

Under the buildings, there were 500 dungeons; although the number of dungeons was small for a large city, each dungeon could accommodate 10 criminals, which meant it could house 5,000 people. However, those who stayed in the dungeons were just people who had committed light crimes and were released in times ranging from a few weeks to a few months. As for those who committed serious crimes, they were sent to "Purgatory Island," which was the last of the four major islands belonging to the Fei Clan in the Dark Ocean. Purgatory Island was both a prison and a mine; the criminals served their sentences by working in the mines, and to encourage them to work, they received some salary. The salary was not delivered to them, but to their families if they had any, or they could use it to shorten their stay in prison in exchange for a certain amount. Thanks to this system, the criminals working in the mine did not complain about their situation; they had two meals a day and sufficient rest, the guards did not use violence unless necessary, and because the prison warden was an honest man, he did not turn a blind eye to the guards' mistakes and kept them under strict control.

Everything worked like the perfect parts of a precise watch. After Nicolas passed through the wide stone roads with Albert and his personal guard, he reached the Guard Headquarters in the city center. As he walked toward the gate, he noticed two guards wearing leather armor. There was no need for the city guards to wear metal armor because they rarely encountered situations in the city that required metal armor. Leather armor also allowed them to move faster and chase criminals. They mostly used spears or swords, but every guard received training with a crossbow. The crossbow they carried was a little over 30 centimeters, reached a range of 50 meters, was enough to neutralize someone not wearing armor, and was very suitable for use in the city. It was the main part of the guards' power, but they still carried swords or spears when necessary.

When the guards saw the four incoming people, they stiffened their posture and grabbed their spears tightly. Nicolas looked at them and admired them inwardly, saying, "Not bad..." he had a soldier's perspective, and he felt he had to appreciate them when he saw they hadn't relaxed. When he approached the gate, the guard standing on the right side of the gate quickly stepped forward and shouted sharply: "STOP! THIS IS AN AREA CLOSED TO CIVILIANS!", and struck his spear hard on the ground. If Nicolas had taken one more step, he would have pointed his spear at him. Nicolas didn't react, so one of the two bulky guards who were standing right behind him stepped forward and took out a medallion the size of a palm from under his cloak that covered his body and showed it to the guard. The silver-colored medallion was the one given to the Fei Clan knights. This also meant that he was at a level equivalent to the rank of Captain in the Knight Army, and a Captain was a commander who controlled 1,000 people. There were only 10 Captains in the Guard Headquarters.

When the guard saw the silver medallion and the Fei Clan's owl head symbol on it, he immediately stood at attention and bowed in salute: "Young Master of the Fei Clan, Knight Nicolas Fei, has come to visit the Guard Headquarters. Go and inform your commander," the guard-knight ordered quickly, and after the guard said "As you command...", he turned quickly and left. Under normal conditions, no one who was not from the Guard Headquarters could order the Guard Headquarters, but he was a knight holding the Fei Clan seal and was Nicolas's personal guard. He could order anyone unless there was someone of a higher rank than him, because he was giving this order on behalf of the Fei Clan's Young Master. According to ranks, he couldn't give orders to those above him, but if he relayed Nicolas's words, even their superiors should follow his words, of course unless it was a General; Generals were only loyal to the Clan Leader and their own commanders, and people who were not within the hierarchy could not give orders.

After a few minutes, a middle-aged man wearing steel armor came with the guard. He had short black hair and a broad body, and he was only 1.70 meters tall, but there were three gold stripes above his heart area, and when he arrived, the two guards who were behind Nicolas stood at attention. This person was a Colonel, his rank was directly below the rank of General, and two ranks above a Captain, and he was the manager of the Guard Headquarters, yet he had come to receive Nicolas. Nicolas took off the hood from his head and looked at the Colonel, and said calmly: "Hello Colonel Kristo." Colonel Kristo looked at Nicolas, couldn't understand the reason for the dirt on his face, but was able to recognize him, tilted his head slightly in greeting and said: "Hello Young Master. What brings you here, I wonder?", he got to the point quickly; he knew Nicolas's reputation, and this was not the first time he had come here. He had visited Colonel Kristo several times in the past to request the arrest of some people who had annoyed him.

Nicolas was not expecting a special welcome, but Colonel Kristo getting to the point quickly showed that he wanted to send him away quickly. He sighed desperately and said in a serious tone: "I came to take two people."