Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 94 The Most Vicious Scheme
Nanmen District, located near the dock area, is considered a slightly better working-class area than a slum.

But for Rean, living here is quite comfortable. The food is cheap and it's convenient to go to the dock area.

He was too lazy to move to a more central area and socialize with nobles and merchants; the living conditions here were already sufficient.

When going to the central Radiant Zone, one has to pass through at least four checkpoints and occasionally be checked by patrols, which is quite troublesome. This is even with Rean being a paladin; when the patrols see him, they only conduct the bare minimum checks.

Sometimes, when he got annoyed by the investigations, Rean still felt a little envious of the noble carriages of the Sudar family.

At least you really don't have to stop along the way, saving at least half the time.

But measuring the length of the earth with one's own feet is not without its advantages.

As he saw along the way, Rean became more aware of the changes around him, and even sensed the approaching storm.

During the past few days, Rean noticed changes along the way, including a significant increase in the number of patrols, their armaments being much more comprehensive, and many knights preparing for battle.

Putting on and taking off armor is a troublesome matter. Even just walking while fully armed is exhausting. Without orders from superiors, so many fully armed knights wouldn't be involved.

It is worth mentioning that Rean also saw the stark differences between the patrol teams in different districts during his journey. Each district in the city has its own patrol team with different organizational structures and personnel, achieving a de facto level of autonomy.

This independent operation of armed forces in different districts, which seems absurd to later generations, was perfectly normal in this overly fragmented kingdom.

The Glorious District is the safest, with many noble knights and city guards even on ordinary streets, and each of its smaller districts has its own guard.

For example, the order of paladins is responsible for maintaining order in the Radiant Religious District, and criminals are rarely seen there. A single criminal might cause the paladins, who are eager to eradicate evil, to compete with each other from within.

Furthermore, the security forces in Mage Street have been strengthened by the luxurious Arcane Knights, who are magic knights clad in full magical equipment.

This is an extremely difficult branch of knights to train. It is a rare class that can use both martial arts and magic at the same time. They are rare armored spellcasters.

Their daily training costs alone, as well as the specialized medium-sized metal armor they wear, are ridiculously expensive.

It is said that although this medium armor is lightweight, its defensive capabilities after casting spells are no worse than those of heavy armor, and it has very little impact on the wearer's spellcasting. Rean, who has these needs, is very envious.

However, he not only couldn't afford it, but also had no way to buy it; this set of equipment was considered a technical secret of mages.

Incidentally, many of the members are former magic apprentices or former warriors. They have talent in both areas but are not top-tier. With specially made equipment, they are actually very good at dealing with dual cultivators like Rean, who is a pure warrior and a pure mage. If you are willing to join, you will probably be trained.

Rean did indeed plan to make a name for himself and then try to seduce her.

It's not that I want to join as a thug, but rather to see if I can buy a set of armor.

Most of the time they are the "gatekeepers" of various famous shops, but they are also the necessary enforcers of the law on Fashi Street, and the arbitrators of various conflicts that often occur on this street.

They don't need to give face to individual archmages; they are only nominally responsible to the joint organization of mages, and were once quite famous and powerful.

But clearly, they had seriously failed in their duty this time, and the shame they felt as guardians and knights had enraged them completely.

Even at night, these elite knights continued their patrols, their armor inlaid with magical gems that shone brightly like LED lights from a great distance, making them quite eye-catching.

"Uh, does it make sense? The Glowing District is ridiculously safe. If I were one of those criminals, even if I were still in the city, I would choose another district."

The other areas are much more normal, with the main forces including militia, mercenaries, and city defense troops. However, many patrol teams have now temporarily hired a group of adventurers and warriors to strengthen the original garrison.

Its strength varies; if there happens to be a large merchant guild or a noble family's property in that area, it will be stronger, and you can even see noble spellcasters and magic hounds among the patrols.

Based on what Rean observed, the military strength of just the Radiant District alone should be more than enough to defeat all the remaining districts combined.

"In some areas, grain prices have increased by 30%. Tsk, those unscrupulous merchants." Rean sighed. He knew there was no problem with the grain supply, but those unscrupulous merchants still raised prices.

As a result, many people began to purchase and stockpile food and supplies, and these "goods" made the patrol teams that came to check the posts much more serious.

However, the prices here in Rean seem okay. There's no difference between the south gate and the outer wall. Seafood and low- to mid-range grains are plentiful.

This was partly because it was near the city gate, where many merchants traded, and partly because it was adjacent to the dock area, where cargo was regularly piled up.

In a sense, the crossroads logistics zone naturally has an abundance of goods.

It's not wrong to call the Nanming (Nanmen) area a warehouse district. The residents here generally have limited purchasing power and can't support a commercial street. The main industries here are various logistics warehouses.

The food preservation technology in this world seems to be quite basic, and various grains nearing their expiration date are sold directly here. Not only do people from the dock area come here to buy grain, but people from other more ordinary areas also come, because it is truly the lowest price in the entire city.

These life tips were taught to Rean by the maid, because she often asked Rean to help her buy groceries and other necessities. It was much safer for Rean to bring the goods home than for a maid.

Rean, the knight, also had his own tips for buying groceries. He would usually send out a scout in the market and find the stall with the lightest red color to buy his groceries.

Uh, aren't there any kind silver-white merchants? Maybe there are, but Rean hasn't seen any these days. Surprisingly, this method not only gets him good deals, but other people who come to buy groceries are eagerly waiting for him to cast a spell so they can buy along.

As for whether there are any problems with near-expiry or cheap vegetables... well, locals don't really care. Being able to eat their fill at a low price is already a blessing.

Today was no exception. Rean had gotten into the habit of leaving home with a shopping list in the morning and returning home with a bag of things in the evening.

"It's getting late." As he walked, Rean could already see the stars.

After class today, Rean went to browse the mage shop, bookstore, and dwarf steam shop. Although he didn't buy anything, he at least enjoyed the sights.

As for what Kuku did when he disappeared, and why his spatial bag seemed to have inexplicably become a little heavier, Rean didn't know, and was too lazy to find out.

To be honest, Rean felt a little strange when he was suddenly checked and even had a paladin throw a scouting spell at him.

But the next moment, the holy silver light emanating from his body blinded everyone, causing the paladin to quickly bow in respect.

This made Rean feel a little guilty.

Clearly, the paladin's ability to detect evil is not very useful in this regard, far less so than the law knight's judgment of sins. However, since certain races are considered evil from the beginning, it is quite convenient when searching for their traces.

The paladins at these outposts were probably transferred here to do this job.

For example, those dark elves and grey dwarves not far away are clearly visible as red lights in the anti-evil scouts. Even if they are disguised or hiding in a carriage, they cannot escape.
"Wait! What are they doing here?"

Rean instantly realized what was happening and immediately drew his sword, but...
"Boom!"

The sudden series of explosions stunned Rean.

"Boom!"

One explosion after another rang out in quick succession, and fire broke out on all sides as far as Rean could see.

And the burning brightest place was the grain warehouse I had just arrived at!

"Damn it! Evil-Slaying Slash!"
-
If we rewind a bit, Radiant City, as a newly emerging city, actually possesses hidden infrastructure that other large cities only have—a large smuggling network buried in the shadows.

Unlike those ancient and large cities, their smuggling and black market networks are often rooted in a vast sewer system.

Once built to a certain extent, that thing can even be an underground labyrinth inhabited by kobolds, goblins, giant rats, and undead, while the relatively short-lived City of Radiance doesn't have such a thing (the sewer network).

However, there are tunnels and smuggling routes between the different areas of Radiant City.

This is a result of interests, and also an inevitable development of relative autonomy in each district.

Where there is demand, there is a way. In the past, the patrol teams and militia would turn a blind eye, but this time, these tacit understandings were taken advantage of, and these underground passages were used for another purpose.

“It’s time to begin.” Inside the smuggling tunnel, the dark elf Thorane glanced at the pocket watch on his hand, confirming that it was time for the appointed meeting.

Behind him was a squad consisting of two dark elves and a gray dwarf. Also behind them were the corpses of several unfortunate orc smugglers.

These unlucky guys never expected that their former smuggling partners, who were once "brothers," would turn on them so decisively.

"Let's begin, for our homeland." The evildoers utter sacred slogans.

Their mission was to "create chaos in the city and burn their food supplies."

If a food shortage crisis occurs, why would those legions and soldiers who responded to the princess's call leave the city to fight?

As for the deaths caused by the fire, and the illnesses and famine that may result from the food shortage, are they related to them?

These foreign tribes took the war far more seriously than the locals.

As dusk fell, the dark underground race began its true war, teaching the Radiant people a lesson with the most vicious schemes.

Initially, things went quite smoothly. The defenses in the South Gate area were negligible, and the local police and militia were only third-rate, with most of them easily bypassed.

"Boom!" When the appointed time arrived, a series of explosions rang out, and the infiltrator team breathed a sigh of relief, as their mission was more than halfway complete.

The warehouses closest to the dock area and city gate have been set on fire, and a large amount of supplies have been reduced to ashes.

Sollian's target is the barn in front of him; once it's lit, the team's mission will be complete.

But his path was destined to be unsuccessful.

"Evil-Slaying Slash!" A knight in silver armor was already waiting for them there!
(End of this chapter)