Chapter 23: Escape to Phoenix (Part 2)
【Collection of recommendation tickets like a magician collects gems】
When Shika woke up, it was already dawn. The scenery around was clear, there were few monsters here, and a forest appeared in front of him. Salin recalled the map of Deacon White and said, "This forest is more than fifty miles wide. It was passed over and it was the territory of the Principal of Phoenix. Shika, are you okay?"
"Captain, I'm fine." Sika waved her fists and feet in a radiant manner, her whole body full of strength.
"Master, she is also a demon?" Neris looked at Shika who was recovering from her condition in surprise, unable to believe it. Yesterday she deliberately tossed this woman and ran so fast.
"What?" Salin didn't understand Neris's question.
Nelis shut up quickly. If she continued to ask, her scrupulousness would be revealed.
Salin's team continued to go on the road. With the little demon, Salin would not lose his way even if he had no map. This time, the little demon slowed down and took a long time to leave the forest.
In fact, this forest is also full of dangers. There is a rare monster in the forest called the tree bee. The tree bee has a fierce temperament and will attack humans for no reason. However, the little demon easily bypassed the tree bee's territory and walked a tortuous route in the forest, without any trouble.
No matter how dangerous this forest is, it is not as terrifying as the demon plane. Every creature there is deadly. At least the big trees in this forest do not eat people, and the monsters are relatively friendly.
Walking through the forest is a very small town, and the architectural style here is very different from that in Skochenya. Skochenya people like to build houses with stones, and like to be gorgeous and magnificent. Most of the buildings in this town are made of brick and wood, very detailed and elegant.
Although most of the people coming and going are dressed simply, their expressions can be clearly distinguished from those in Ceylon City. The people here are clean and simple, and even if the clothes are old, they are washed cleanly. There is also a sense of happiness on their faces that Salin cannot understand.
The town's walls are very high. Although it is a border, there has never been a war. The structure of the city walls is simple and is to defend against large monsters in the forest.
The exotic style diluted the sorrow of Salin's departure. He had long read the book that the Qin Yin Empire was dressed like clouds and sages gathered. Now it seems that even a town of Duchy Kingdom attached to the Qin Yin Empire is much stronger than Cialan City. The guards guarding the city did not collect Salin's money and ignored the mercenary badges he wore. This shows that the magicians are still privileged here.
Salin likes this atmosphere. He walked past the streets in a magician's robe, and no one showed awe of him. Although it was a bit strange, Salin could only understand that there were too many magicians in the Qinyin Empire and everyone got used to it.
Salin guessed right. The town is only one-tenth the size of Ceylon City, with more than a dozen streets and few shops. Even so, he passed by a magician when he walked into a tavern.
It was a second-level mage, wearing a white magic robe, with two magic marks on his chest. When he saw Salin appear in front of him, the second-level mage nodded friendly to him.
The taverns in the town are also very different from those in Ceylon City. There are obviously many mercenaries among the drinkers. This place is close to the chaotic swamp, and there are many tasks of hunting monsters, but these mercenaries are not as vulgar as Skochenya, and talk about Twainwen. Salin is even a little uncomfortable with the atmosphere here.
There are many paintings hanging on the walls of the tavern, most of which are sketches by painters. There will be no famous artists in this kind of small place. These paintings were not bought by the tavern, but were placed here by the painter.
He called the waiter and said that Salin had no silver coins on hand, only gold coins. He gave the waiter one. The waiter quickly pushed him away, and he would not dare to collect such a large amount of tips.
"I want some bacon, pack it and take it away. I want ten large breads, free wine and food, and the rest will be yours." Salin said politely, and the waiter accepted it in a slight manner.
He whispered to Salin: "Master, do you need any more help?"
"Do you have a professional union here?"
"Yes, it's just two streets in front." The waiter answered fluently, obviously getting used to dealing with professionals.
Salin was relieved. There was a professional union here. His mercenary status was suspicious and he would not have any trouble walking in the Qinin Empire. Naris's outfit was also a bit eye-catching, wearing a clothes of tens of thousands of years ago and barefoot. Salin decided to buy her equipment. More importantly, Salin had to sell some gems for some gold coins. His gold coins were almost gone. In the temple, Salin had almost freed up all the space to accommodate gems. Except for a few scattered gold coins, there were only Skochenya's bank receipts.
Neris seemed to know Salin's thoughts, and lowered her head to eat without being ostentatious. After the three of them hurriedly fed, they followed the waiter's instructions and came to the professional union.
The professional union of the Skochenya Empire and the professional union of the Qinin Empire are not one, but the exchanges between the two sides are frequent, and the mercenaries registered on both sides can also receive tasks in other countries.
The town's union is not large in size. From the outside, it looks like an art museum. A fiery red phoenix is painted on the wall of the main entrance of the union, which is the symbol of the Grand Duke of Phoenix.
When I entered the main entrance of the union, there was no crowd. There was a counter in front, and the union service staff sat behind him and whispered in boredom. There were stairs on both sides leading to the upper floor. Salin came to the counter and tapped the counter with his fingers.
Behind the counter was a young man with a honest face. The union's service staff did not dress as a swordsman like the Skochenya Empire. When Salin came to his counter, the young man smiled and said, "Master, what help do you need for me?"
"I came from Skochenya and wanted to register a mercenary in the Qinin Empire. Is it OK here?"
"Yes, tell me your name, and your mercenary badge."
Salin told his pseudonym and handed over the badge. The young man quickly helped Salin fill out the form and it was done in one minute. Salin only needed to sign it on it.
"Fee three gold coins." The young man didn't even ask the names and occupations of the other members of Salin's mercenary group. It was amazingly efficient!
"Well, may I ask, is there an escort mission here?" Salin paid the gold coins and had no money on him. He was afraid that there would be additional payment for checking the mission here. Fortunately, the young man gave Salin a good answer.
"If you are doing tasks along the way, go to the bulletin board over there. If it is targeted, we charge a 5% commission. We can provide a comprehensive contract to ensure that there will be no mistakes."
"No need, get me a map of the mainland."
"A gold coin, Master Mage."
Salin suddenly felt that the young man's smile was very abominable. No matter how good the service attitude here was, it existed to make money. In desperation, Salin took out a gold coin and put it on the counter.
Salin was looking for a mission, not because he was short of money, so he wanted to hang out in a caravan so that he would not attract too much attention. It is hard to say whether the madman from the Holy See would enter Phoenix.
When I got the badge back, there was a metal mark on it. With this, I could walk as a mercenary within the control of the Qin Yin Empire. I put away the copy of the mercenary registration form, Salin left the counter and came to the bulletin board. There were many notes posted on it, all of which were temporarily issued small tasks. Most of them were for purchasing magic cores, fur, medicinal materials and ores.
There was no information about the escort mission on hundreds of notes, and Salin had no extra gold coins on him, so he had to leave the guild.
After inquiring about the road with passers-by, Salin took Shika and Neris to a equipment store. Like all border cities, no matter how small the town is, there will be good equipment stores.
The building of this equipment store is very old, and the plaque is full of traces of time. The boss seemed too lazy to paint, so he let the wooden plaque expose cracks and let the wind and rain hit it. Vines crawl on the walls along the street. It was already autumn, and his sight was yellow and bleak.
The words written on the plaque are from Qin Yin's words - Shenlin Weapons.
Salin stepped in and there was no one in the store. There was a glass counter on the front and there were shelves on both sides. The shelves were made of good wood and carved with fine patterns. It made people feel that the shelves were also exquisite.
"Boss, boss!"
Salin called out, no one agreed, so he had to raise the door.
Cough, cough cough...
A cough came from behind a door near the east side of the store, and a soft voice said, "Customers, don't quarrel, wait."
It is rare for people to do business like this. Salin remembers that when guests came in Skochenya, someone would come up to serve him. He sat down at the counter boredly. The chairs for guests to rest were very comfortable. Unlike Skochenya's shops, many of them were long benches.
The goods placed in the glass counter are indeed very exquisite. Salin even saw a dagger inlaid with shiny stones. This is a magic weapon. The shiny stone can store magic and can be stimulated without a magician. This gem is not expensive and is often used as a substitute for rutile.
cough……
With a gentle cough, the door on the east side was pushed open, and a sick-looking boy walked out, looked at Salin and others, and said, "Master, I have been waiting for you for a long time. What do you need to order?"
"Are you the boss?" Salin was surprised. The young man seemed to own a shop like himself, which was really amazing.
"No, family business." The young man smiled modestly. His slightly sick face also showed a bit of expression.
"I want to sell something." Salin replied directly. He had no gold coins on hand.
"Sorry, Master Mage, we don't collect equipment. The weapons in this store are all made by our family themselves." The young man politely refused.
"It's a gem."
"Oh? Show me!" The boy's face became a little more angry, as if the dying person had received treatment from a big replies in an instant.
Salin took out a piece of gem fragment the size of a finger from the skin. This was a piece of fluorite. Although it was a scrap, it was still crystal clear. People who didn't know the goods would even mistakenly think it was Bingzhou stone.
Chapter completed!