Unknown Knight

The city of Zion is a walled settlement located in a river bend by the sea. The walled city is located on a huge platform next to the river bend.

This river bay was formed by the erosion of a larger seasonal river. The width of the river channel at the estuary is about fifty to sixty meters, at least three times wider than the seasonal river where Yinsha Bay is located. Some of the mudflats still have accumulated fresh water, on which lush reeds grow.

In order to conceal their tracks, Aix and his companions followed several waves of Bedouins who came into the city to sell livestock, pretending to be merchants who were bringing salted fish, dried meat and cheese into the city to exchange for camels.

It's just that the group of people was too eye-catching. Not only did everyone carry weapons, but people like Aix were also plump, which was rare at that time. In addition, there were several men and women with different skin colors and races. They were obviously extraordinary. Moreover, they were strangers from other places, so they were treated differently before they even entered the city.

"Two silver coins per person, camels and horses are charged separately."

A guard at the city gate said arrogantly that he was a member of the price-setter Fahad family. The guards at the city gate could collect entrance fees, which was a considerable income. The five major families took turns on duty, and today was their family's turn.

This man used to be a pirate, and later joined Fahad. He has a face full of flesh with two scars from knives. When he opens his shirt, his chest is covered with chest hair, and there is a huge skull tattooed on his chest. It is obvious that he is a man who is not to be trifled with.

As soon as he heard the price, he knew he was being blackmailed. Aix had clearly seen the people who had entered before him only pay five copper coins each. Afanti, who was in charge of the negotiations, stepped forward with an apologetic smile and said in Sarande:

"Sir, we came to Zion City to do a small business. Can you please be flexible?"

As he spoke, he moved forward and secretly handed over two silver coins.

The guard took the silver coins handed over by Afanti and weighed the two silver coins in his hand. At the same time, he glanced at Aix and his group, and in his mind he was also calculating how much money he could get from them.

Suddenly, this guy showed a vicious look on his face, threw the silver coin at Afanti and said angrily:

"That's just a small amount of money! Are you going to give away a beggar?"

As he said this, he stretched out his hand to grab Afanti's collar. Niza, who was standing next to him, saw that his man was going to suffer a loss, so he didn't want to let him go. He grabbed the guy's paw and heard a cry of "Ouch". The originally arrogant and domineering guard seemed to have his strength drained away. His body bent like a shrimp in pain and Niza easily grabbed his wrist.

The noise startled the captain of the guard who was sitting on the chair nearby. He had been there to watch the show and kept glancing at the women in the team, but when he saw that something was not right, he stopped sitting there calmly and stood up with a start.

The captain was a man who had seen the world and had already determined that Aix and the others were not people to be trifled with. He just wanted to show his respect to them and avoid a conflict that would result in bloodshed and injury.

As for the city fee, it's just like doing business. If you are willing to pay, you can go in. If you don't want to pay, you can leave. So I walked up to him and said in a businesslike manner:

"Stop it first. This is Zion City. It's true that the entrance fee is five copper coins, but outsiders entering the city for the first time must pay a deposit to ensure that you outsiders will not cause trouble or damage the city."

Seeing Bestur bending over and straightening his back, Mathilde also reached for the throwing axe on her waist, and the captain quickly changed his words:

"But as for the deposit, as long as you don't cause trouble or disrupt things while you're in the city, it can be returned in full when you leave."

Return? Can the money be returned after it has been returned to these local tyrants? The team leader just saw that Aix and his group also brought a lot of supplies. It would definitely be impossible to complete the transaction in a short time. The appearance of several people was also extraordinary. They could definitely cheat some money. He didn't want to have unnecessary conflicts, so he cheated the money first. He thought that he would change shifts tomorrow. Who could these outsiders ask for the money? Even if they found him, he would refuse to admit it. What could these outsiders do to me?

Aix was well aware of the captain's tactics, but he also knew that this was someone else's territory. Not wanting to cause trouble, he stopped Niza and the others, asked James to count the money and give it to him, and then the group went straight into the city.

Seeing Axe and others walking away, the team leader was very surprised when he looked at the heavy twenty-odd silver coins in his hand. You know, they couldn't collect so much city entrance fee in a whole day. He had been thinking that if it really didn't work, he could just collect a few silver coins and let them go, but he didn't expect it to be so smooth.

At this time, the scarred man who had been making things difficult for Afanti came over and whispered to him sinisterly:

"Boss, these people are fat sheep."

"Well, you guys watch here while I go find Farhad sahib. There are big fish coming into town."

The team leader narrowed his eyes.

Soon, the news that a group of wealthy outsiders were coming to the city spread quickly throughout the town.

Aiming to keep things peacefully, Aix thought that he could go straight to the cattle market after entering the city, buy a camel, and stock up on fresh water and supplies, and then return early the next morning. However, many things often go against one's wishes.

As the group walked in the city, Axel felt that there were eyes everywhere watching them, which made him feel very uncomfortable.

Afanti found out where the cattle market was, and everyone headed there without hesitation. When they arrived at the cattle market, they saw that there were about thirty camels in the whole market. However, when they asked, they were told by the people in the cattle market that these camels had been ordered by others and were not for sale.

If they really need it urgently, it is not impossible. As long as they pay the price of twelve gold coins per peak including compensation, the livestock company can take the initiative to send some to them.

After hearing what Afanti, the translator, said, Aix couldn't help but wonder what was going on. It was obvious that he and his group were being targeted by the people here. It's not that he couldn't afford the price, but showing off one's wealth was a taboo. Now that he was being targeted, Aix suspected that the money was paid too quickly when he entered the city. How could he buy camels at such a high price now?

As a last resort, Aix and others decided to find a place to rest first. Since they were already here, it would not be too late to deal with it later.

The group found a hotel in the city and prepared to check in, but they were surprised when they asked about the price. It turned out that the hotel owner charged three silver coins per room per night. Aix remembered that the most expensive hotel he had stayed in before was in the city of Shariz, which only cost two silver coins per night. Moreover, the configuration of that room was far different from the shabby facilities here.

No need to ask, they must have been targeted. It seemed that this city was very unfriendly to them. Axe began to feel angry about everything here.

Aix had no choice but to ask Niza and Afanti, who could communicate well, to look for cheaper hotels separately. After some effort, Afanti found a hotel called Hewan. The accommodation fee was one silver coin per room per night. The environment and facilities were pretty good. Aix and others then paid the accommodation fee and temporarily settled down in the city.