The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Following the grey robes' directions, the fleet eventually docked at the neutral port of Valennia.

When the fleet appeared on the horizon, the grey-robed man announced his name.

Even though high-level professionals on the continent of Soren were not subject to restrictions, top-level professionals like the Grey Robe were still extremely rare. Even disregarding the title of the Castilian Grand Master, they were still enough to intimidate ordinary people. Therefore, the ships in Valenia Harbor gave way, allowing the fleet to enter the harbor.

However, because the grey-robed figure was using the name of Castile, the Castilian delegation clearly felt the strange looks from the people in the port when the fleet entered the harbor.

The merchants in the fleet immediately began to take action. After disembarking, they gathered local intelligence and traded with the locals.

When they heard that the fleet came from the distant continent of Mu, most people didn't believe it, but when they saw the exquisite industrial products on the merchants' wagons, almost everyone held their breath.

Especially those ingenious devices that can be driven by themselves, which make some discerning professionals' eyes light up.

"This is the pocket watch used by Her Majesty the Empress of our Luoer Empire. The imperial research laboratory uses this kind of watch. It is impervious to water and fire, can keep time, can emit light, and can even protect you!"

The merchants kept touting their goods. During the interrogation of the Avar prisoners, they learned what sold best on this continent: luxury goods. After all, the cost was low, but the profit was huge, and they were easy to store. The exact sales volume depended entirely on how much the merchants boasted.

These merchants also habitually associated their goods with Lena, because in the current empire, as long as it is said to be the same style as the Queen's, there is basically no worry about sales. As for whether it is really the same style, it has already crossed the sea, so why care so much? At least the things that these merchants recommend are not available on the continent of Solon.

Even if the Solon continent truly possessed such items, such as various special potions, the prices of imperial goods were actually lower than those on the Solon continent, thus attracting people from the entire port.

Most merchants actually sell cheap goods, or even defective industrial products. This is because, although the port is a bustling trading hub, it is mostly populated by merchants, and goods with trade value are easier to sell. Secondly, the truly high-end luxury items are reserved for sale to nobles in the countries of the Solon continent, or used as diplomatic tools.

Seeing the endless stream of goods being sold, these merchants even felt like they were selling glass beads to primitive people. Even the visibly defective products were given all sorts of legendary stories and sold off. Of course, this was mainly because even the defective products far exceeded the expectations of the Soren people. These were not like the things brought by the Avars; these were genuine industrial products.

At this moment, a shadow-type professional quietly boarded the imperial merchant's wagon, but his target was not the exquisite industrial products, but the muskets on the merchants' waists.

"boom!"

A gunshot silenced the bustling trading scene instantly. The shadow-type professional stared in disbelief at the wound on his thigh, then cried out in agony.

"My leg! My thigh! How is this possible! I was clearly already in the shadows, why?"

At this moment, someone in the crowd recognized the professional and whispered, "Is that Bart of the Shadow?"

"This is the first time I've seen Bart of the Shadow Guard caught red-handed."

"But how did their muskets manage to hit the shadows?"

These people weren't unfamiliar with firearms; as a neutral port, they were among the most well-informed, and many even carried firearms themselves. However, their firearms were completely different from those of the merchants in front of them, who claimed to be from the Empire but were flying the Castilian flag. In fact, they were not even in the same league. Judging from what they had just seen, the other party's firearms far surpassed those of everyone else present in terms of both portability and power.

The hushed conversation quickly turned into a cacophony. Looking at Bart, who lay groaning on the ground, the merchant smiled broadly and pulled out a potion he carried with him, saying to the crowd, "Don't worry about your injuries. We have potions made by the Empire here, blessed by the goddess. The healing effects will surely satisfy you all."

After saying that, he simply treated Bart's wounds, removed the bullet, and then roughly poured medicine on it, causing the professional named Bart to faint from the pain.

However, the medicine was quite effective; at least after a while, the bleeding stopped, and the bandage was no longer needed.

The merchant searched Bart's body for a while, taking out everything Bart had, and muttered to himself, "Not enough. This guy looks like a pretty strong professional, how come he only has so little money? Oh well, let's just have him work for us when he wakes up, until he pays off his debts."

Upon hearing the order, the adventurers lifted Bart up and began to help the merchant explain the effects of the potion Bart had just used.

Those around him, hearing the businessman's mutterings, swallowed hard. A job? What kind of job? Was it going to involve getting shot every day and then demonstrating the effects of that magical potion?

After this incident, many people lost interest in the products touted by the merchants and instead focused their attention on the muskets at the waists of the merchants and guards. Clearly, the muskets and even the bullets were not ordinary, which temporarily reduced the number of people secretly watching.

The people in the harbor began to understand why this fleet called itself the Empire's fleet, and the ships docked in the harbor seemed to grow taller and taller in their eyes. More and more people began to ask which country this so-called Empire was and what had happened on the continent of Mu.

The grey-robed man did not participate in the cultural exchange at the port; instead, he led Rosalind and the delegation to gather information within the port.

"The Avars really lost? And the dragons lost too?"

In the port tavern, the tavern owner stared at the gray-robed man in disbelief.

The gray-robed man raised his staff and said, "I swear by my magic and wisdom."

Hearing this, the tavern owner, though still somewhat skeptical, said, "Alright, according to the information you gathered earlier, there was indeed a member of the Castilian delegation who claimed to be from the continent of Mu who was washed ashore at this port. However, he didn't have anything to prove his identity. Perhaps he did, but it wouldn't matter. After all, you know the situation in Valennia; there's no order here, and even if there were, it would have been robbed long ago."

"He died on the way to Cartier, but I don't know the specifics."

Upon hearing this news, the gray-robed man wanted to say something, but it all turned into a sigh.

"As for who is in power in Castile now, as you mentioned."

The tavern owner glanced at the dignified Rosalind behind the grey-robed figure and asked, "Which Castilian are you asking about?"