The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

When Karon left the Anjou Palace, he was followed by two servants who helped carry the gifts.

Caron has officially become Alberto's lover, and Alberto has even arranged a mansion for Caron.

But instead of moving into the mansion, Karon returned to his hotel and said to the professional hiding in the shadows, “The King of Anjou is more cautious than we expected. Rather than recruiting me as a close advisor, he wants to keep me by his side.”

"That's normal."

The professional in the shadows said, "This man from Anru is no pushover. Great powers are not like small ones. Small countries may fear our high-level professionals, but great powers will not."

Kalon nodded and said, "The King of Anjou is probably observing the Tower's reaction, but it's clear he doesn't oppose super-level magic."

The professional in the shadows said, "Of course. He can do without it, but he absolutely cannot be without it. This has been proven true many times on our continent."

Looking out the hotel window at the bustling crowd, Kalon sighed, "In my memory, our homeland has never been so lively. Everyone is either fighting or on their way to fight."

However, Caron's eyes were more greedy than envious. Caron quickly composed himself and asked, "How are things in other countries and regions?"

"Queen Capet's actions were similar to those of the King of Anjou, but her attitude was much more hesitant, as if she wanted to stall us as much as possible."

"The elves are very hostile towards us, but then again, according to the records left by our ancestors, the elves might be in cahoots with the so-called Tower."

The professional in the shadows stopped what he was doing, seemingly receiving information from all sides.

"The demons were very welcoming to us, but the envoy from over there said that the demons always gave off an ominous feeling."

Hearing this, Caron smiled dismissively and said, "We come from a land of a hundred battles. The wars on this continent are at the level of infants. How could they be ominous? If you're afraid, don't bring up ominous things."

The professional in the shadows retorted, "We still need to be more careful. From what we've gathered about the battle between the Northern Cape and the Demon Clan on the Golden Harvest Plain, the monsters of the Demon Clan and the weapons of the Northern Cape are extremely strange. Even if there are no high-level professionals on this continent, it is still not to be underestimated."

However, Caron didn't care much and just snorted. In Caron's opinion, the battle on the Golden Plains was mostly exaggerated, and even if it was true, how could it compare to a battle between high-level professionals?

The professional in the shadows declined to comment on Caron's attitude, and continued, "The envoy who went to the northern border of Cape finally got the chance to meet the governor of the north, but no specific news has come back yet."

"I've heard that the North is even richer than Anjou, is that true?"

Kalon was in charge of the southern part of this continent, but he was still very curious about the northern part of the continent, the protagonist of the battle on the Golden Plains.

"No, the northern part of this continent is much colder, and it can't be called prosperous in terms of land area. It's just that it's closer to the elves. The so-called prosperity of the north is just that the technology there is more advanced."

How advanced is it?

As soon as he asked the question, Kalon laughed self-deprecatingly. How advanced could the technology be on a continent where even professionals were controlled by the Tower?

What kind of bullshit technology is that? Karon's homeland has already proven that only high-level professionals are the true measure of success. No matter how advanced your technology is, or how well you can educate low-level professionals in large numbers like Anru, you are nothing but ants in front of true high-level professionals and forbidden spells.

For Caron and his group, the only variable was the tall tower standing in some corner of the continent.

Looking up at the sky high above, Kalon asked, "Is the tower still unresponsive?"

"Perhaps there has already been a reaction, but we just don't know it."

The professional in the shadows said, "Don't underestimate the tower, but don't worry too much either. Those high and mighty guys won't personally get involved."

Just as Kalon was talking to the professional in the shadows, another envoy from the Kingdom of Kaval finally entered the Gray Collar.

Altan's mentality was similar to Karon's. Compared to his homeland, a land of countless battles, this continent where his ancestors once lived had long forgotten the true meaning of war and was nothing more than a flock of docile sheep waiting to be conquered.

Before joining the Gray Collar, Altan had learned about the battle on the Golden Plains, but he thought it was just an exaggeration. How could a war without even high-level professionals be so terrifying?

In Altan's view, high-level professionals are everything; the rest of the professionals, in the parlance of this continent, are nothing more than cannon fodder in front of high-level professionals.

But as soon as Altan entered the Grey and White Collar, he was captivated by the prosperity before him. In fact, because Altan had limited time to enter the North, he did not linger along the way and headed straight for the Grey and White Collar.

Altan had also made ample preparations, having already heard about and seen the current state of the North on the road.

But it wasn't until he entered the gray-collar world that Altan realized he had underestimated the prosperity of the North.

No, "prosperous" is no longer an appropriate word to describe this; it's practically another world.

Horse-drawn carriages and railway tracks ran side by side, shuttling along designated streets. The storefronts and signs on both sides shimmered with vibrant colors, adorning themselves to attract customers.

Crowds thronged the streets, merchants flocked to the area, and gentlemen and ladies in formal attire moved in and out of the theaters, department stores, and squares.

The shouts of street vendors filled the air; some sold newspapers, others sweets and pastries—something almost unimaginable in Altan's homeland, where even food was a problem.

Not to mention the towering buildings lining the streets. Altan unconsciously stroked the buildings and tapped on them. The materials used in these buildings were extremely hard. If a fortress were built using these materials, it would be difficult for ordinary professionals to breach it.

The gray-collar workers were used to seeing "country bumpkins" from other places, but because Altan's clothes were full of exotic flair, some people still glanced at him a couple of times, but that was all.

Altan used his professional skills to listen to the gossip of the ladies and gentlemen around him, but what he heard most often was a group of ladies discussing academic issues.

On the street, a group of students saw Altan, dressed in foreign clothes, standing alone in a daze, and couldn't help but walk up to him and ask, "Sir, are you having some kind of trouble?"

Altan looked at the students and keenly noticed the differences among them. Although they were all wearing the same uniforms, it was obvious that two of them were from noble families. Many decorative details on their clothes indicated this. However, the two noble students were not in the lead position, but were mixed in with the ordinary students.

No, the fact that aristocratic students and ordinary students are mixed together is strange enough in itself.

Looking at the enthusiastic students who came up to help him, Altan said, "Yes, dear gentlemen, I have come to see the governor, but this land is far beyond my imagination. Even though I thought I was well prepared, I still got lost."

"Could you gentlemen please take me to the Governor's palace?"

The students exchanged smiles and said, "So you've come to see the Governor. Do you have an appointment?"

“That’s natural, otherwise I wouldn’t be standing here. Originally, there was an official to guide me, but I wanted to explore the city on my own first, and then I got lost.”

As Altan spoke, he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, looking completely harmless.

Hearing Altan say this, the students laughed and said, "That's easy, we'll take you to the governor's place."