Chương 254

The heavy iron Gates of Stormbreak were already opened when the two carriages finally pulled into view. Rudra stood near the gatehouse with Winfred. The morning market was loud. Just a few feet away, a local fruit vendor was aggressively trying to explain to a Siren merchant that apples did not grow underwater. The Siren looked deeply skeptical, poking a red apple like he expected it to bite his finger off. A little further down the wall, Silas's junior clerk, Ben, was sitting on an overturned crate.

The poor kid was quietly icing his bruised hand after dropping an entire box of heavy inkwells on his own fingers once again.

"The city is lively today," Winfred noted, leaning his weight against his sword.

"It's great, right?" Rudra said. He watched the sleek silver carriage of the Silver Crest Merchant Group roll to a stop just inside the gates. Right behind it was a dark, heavily lacquered carriage bearing the crest of the Ves Merchant Group. Winfred stiffened. The old tactician took a slow, deliberate step backward. He tried to put a stack of wooden shipping crates between himself and the second carriage. The door of the dark carriage opened. Lady Vespera stepped out.

She wore an elegant silk dress and carried a very official-looking, leather-bound ledger.

"I am here to formally oversee the merchant investments for the new guild," Vespera announced loudly to the nearby guards. Then her eyes darted past them, scanning the crowd. She locked onto the Red Sage instantly. Her professional posture vanished. She smiled brightly.

"Sir Winfred! Have you been taking care of yourself? You look a little thin. I brought imported tea." Winfred looked like he wanted to jump the city wall.

"I am... adequately nourished, Lady Vespera. Now, if you will excuse me, the barracks require my immediate—""Actually," Silas interrupted. The young Viscount stepped directly between Vespera and Winfred. He pushed his glasses up his nose. He was holding his golden abacus tight against his chest.

"Since you are here for the merchant investments, Lady Vespera, we need to discuss the interest rates on the construction loans," Silas said flatly.

"Your current proposed rate of four percent is entirely unacceptable. I have drafted a counter-proposal of one-point-five percent." Vespera blinked. Her view of Winfred was completely blocked by the teenager.

"One-point-five? That's barely above cost. I am trying to greet a friend." Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"Friendship does not subsidize territory debt," Silas said, rapidly clicking a bead on his abacus.

"Shall we review the amortization schedule?" Rudra smiled faintly. He loved having Silas around. Winfred didn't waste the opportunity. He turned and practically sprinted toward the military district without looking back. Rudra walked over to the silver carriage as Cecilia climbed out. The merchant player dusted off her heavy travel coat and let out a long sigh.

"Tell me you brought enough people," Rudra said.

"Exactly twelve," Cecilia said, rubbing her temples.

"Getting rankers to travel all the way out here without leaking information wasn't easy. But they know The Zenith is forming a guild, and they know a Large City Duke is backing the operation. That was enough to buy their curiosity." Rudra gave a short nod. He and Cecilia had spent the last two weeks planning this through private Whispers. Establishing a formal guild required exactly fifteen players.

Getting random recruits was dangerous for territory security, so Cecilia had carefully vetted a small group of mercenaries and rankers. The twelve players filed out from behind the carriage. Most of them looked around nervously. They had expected a polished, fancy guild hall in a bustling capital. They hadn't expected the towering, battle-scarred stone walls of a frontier fortress.

"I am never taking a carriage with you people again," a guy with messy red hair complained, stretching his back.

"Someone kept kicking my shin in there."

"Follow me," Rudra said, turning around.

"Let's head to the center plaza." The group followed him down the main thoroughfare. The city was a sensory overload for the players. They walked past a heavily armored guard named Bob, who was leaning against a pillar, wringing out a soaked boot.

"I'll give you three strips of the spicy kelp," Bob pleaded to his partner.

"Just for the spare socks."

"It's saltwater kelp, Bob," the other guard grunted.

"My feet will still smell like the ocean. No deal." Further down, the rankers stared as two Witches in flowing purple robes hovered near a half-built fountain, actively arguing over whether crushed pearl or fine sea-glass made a better binding agent for the cobblestones. The red-haired ranker named Red nudged a nearby player.

"What kind of safe zone is this? Sirens? Witches? Are we in an expansion pack?" As they passed the towering structure of the Alchemy Tower, a loud, sharp hiss of steam erupted from a pressure valve. Standing in the shadows of the building was a massive Panther Beastman. Garrick flinched violently at the noise. His ears pinned flat against his skull, and his long tail puffed up. He took a quick, unhappy step away from the tower, glaring at the steam. The rankers noticed him.

Hands drifted nervously toward sword hilts. A seven-foot-tall beastman freely roaming the streets was a terrifying sight.

"Keep walking," Cecilia ordered quietly. They finally reached the wide, open expanse of the central plaza. The recruits stopped dead in their tracks. The nervous whispering completely died. Draped lazily over the stone roof of the main watchtower was a massive, pure white serpent. Blue lightning sparked randomly off its scales. Vritra opened one giant blue eye, stared down at the group of players, and let out a puff of freezing black mist from its nostrils before closing its eye again.

Down by the central fountain, Kratos was loudly chewing on a massive wyvern femur. The tank-sized, half-gold, half-black lion paused, licked his chops, and stared at the new arrivals.

"Okay, I'm out," a rogue in the back muttered, taking a step backward.

"That's a Level 490 Boss Monster." Rudra finally turned around to face them.