Don't disturb the sorcerer's scientific research

Chapter 212 A City Where Humans and Demons Live Together

After several rounds of teleportation, Jia Xiu and his group finally arrived at the border crossing located on the northwestern border of the Iris Kingdom.

To conceal their identities, the group underwent disguises and, with the dean's help, changed all their official documents to use aliases.

After all, Jia Xiu had been targeted by the devil during the previous five-school competition.

Although we don't know what happened to Belial, the King of Lies, after his disastrous failure—whether he's retracing his steps to become a devil or making a fortune somewhere—it's always good to be cautious.

Therefore, Jasmine's current public name is Matthew.

The name Jiaxiu is still too rare, but with a little adjustment, it will become a name that is second only to Tom Jack in terms of how common it is.

The obvious black hair and black eyes were all changed, and a very flamboyant blonde was created, along with light brown eyes.

He positions himself as a rich, naive student from a prestigious aristocratic school who has money to burn and craves excitement, so he embarks on a major project to venture into the demon realm.

The royal family of the Kingdom of Iris is all golden retrievers.

Anyone with a golden retriever can claim to be related to royalty, whether that's true or not is another matter, but many nobles say so anyway.

The other people's looks were also designed.

Mia transformed herself into a tall drow, a dark elf who had historically fallen out with most elves.

Upon transforming into a drow, Mia's first thought was, "So this is what the view is like at this height!"

It's easy to see that, although she hasn't said it, she really cares about her height.

At the same time, he was very concerned about his elven bloodline, which was so thin it was almost non-existent.

However, she herself denies it.

She insisted that she became a drow because it was reasonable for drows to appear in such a chaotic area; as the most violent of the elves, drows do often do things that are not entirely legal.

Ram chose to become an orc.

His idea was simple: he just wanted to transform into someone with a similar body size to his original one.

The only ones who could meet his requirements were orcs, and specifically, the strongest of the orcs.

Surprisingly, given Ram's naturally somewhat incoherent speech, his disguise as an orc was completely believable.

As for Margaret, the only designated instructor for this project, she chose a similar look to Jasmine.

It also features a golden retriever.

The whole look looked very familiar. Although there was no evidence, Jasmine still believed that it was a slightly modified version of her best friend, Princess Emilia.

Margaret said she chose some real-life figures as references to make the styling feel realistic.

The most outrageous one in the group was definitely Bubu.

It transformed into a lich knight about the same height as Ram.

The armor he wore was ornate and bizarre, and a greatsword was covered with intricate engravings, emanating a chilling aura. Its flashy appearance made it seem like it wasn't meant for actual combat.

But it is indeed intimidating.

According to Bubu, this is the image she saw in an illustration of a chivalric novel.

It is its recent favorite character, whose fate is full of epic and tragic elements.

In Bubu's narration, when this character was still human, he was originally a righteous and brave knight, but he fell into the enemy's conspiracy. The sword in his hand was a creation of the demon race, which would lead the wielder to corruption.

This poor knight's mind was completely warped, turning him into a lich who betrayed his former responsibilities and promises, and even killed his own father...

Jia Xiu felt like he'd heard a similar story somewhere before.

What intrigued him even more was why Bubu would like a character with a less-than-positive past.

Previously, it preferred "template" riders who were as positive as they could be and as standard as they could be.

Adhering to chivalrous virtues, the kind who never does anything bad.

Why have your hobbies changed?

Bubu's answer was also very "Bubu".

"Huh? What? I didn't think that much about it. This is the first lich I've seen in a novel who can become a knight. It's an undead creature, and I'm an undead creature too, so I like it."

In short, of the entire project team, only Elizabeth retained her usual bat costume.

However, the presence of Elizabeth the Bat did not make the project team more "good citizens"; on the contrary, it made them even more terrifying.

To passersby, the group appeared to be two arrogant, spendthrift nobles with blond hair, accompanied by their vicious henchmen, treacherous drow, ferocious orcs, and a lich exuding an aura of death—a band of "bullies" running rampant in the countryside.

Even the "pets" are so unique. Most wealthy and extravagant people would keep a parrot or a canary, but this person keeps a bat!

These people walk on the street, and no one dares to look them in the eye. Even passing dogs have to tuck their tails between their legs.

This made Justina unwilling to walk with them.

She wasn't disguised; she appeared as an ordinary female warrior, several meters away from Jia Xiu and his group, giving the impression that getting too close would corrupt them.

Jia Xiu also realized this. Although it wasn't intentional on his part, he did indeed act like a group of hooligans.

It was a lucky accident.

According to Justus's description, if you want to survive in those towns where humans and demons live together, it's indeed better to be a bit of a "rogue," as it's more in line with the local customs and culture.

Try to be as discreet as possible before leaving the customs area.

Margaret was unaware of these things.

She still had that face that resembled Emilia's sevenfold, and she looked around curiously.

I've never been to the border before.

The rise of the Cape family began with the fact that the first member to receive a noble title came from the border army defending the demon race in the northwest, thus establishing the family's military tradition.

However, after officially obtaining the title of duke, the main members were no longer directly stationed in the most dangerous border areas.

Although the people are not on the border, they still have some special feelings for this place.

The place where many of the family's glorious histories, which I've heard since childhood, took place.

This excited Margaret.

"Hey, why is it that wherever I look, people bow their heads and close their open windows? Is it some kind of local custom?"

"Um...is it possible that they were simply frightened?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Because we look like people who would whip anyone they don't like."

"Really? Would that happen? I think we're being quite friendly."

Jasmine didn't know how Margaret associated their current state with kindness.

Could it be because of the dragonfish I raised before?

Compared to Yalong, these few could indeed be considered to be "beginning to take human form".

At this point, Justina said, "Let's stop here. Once we pass the checkpoint, it's the area I can't go to. I'll wait for you here."

One of the biggest advantages of being a god is that you can "work" anywhere you want.

Wherever she is, she never fails to respond to the prayers of believers.

Who would have thought that a demigod, who would spend his days listening to pent-up prayers, would be staying in an ordinary hotel on the border for the next period of time?

Because she had been busy identifying demons, Justina hadn't paid attention to her followers for several days.

In fact, her followers have grown quite rapidly and have considerable initiative.

Their creative scope is no longer limited to the Hellish jokes of the Radiant Knight.

Instead, it was expanded into a story themed around the Radiant Knights.

There are dozens of versions of her life before she became a demigod, and countless lesser-known versions.

Romance, adventure, mystery, thriller, conspiracy theories, epic tales...

There is no shortage of various themes.

It is expected to become the world's first popular fan-made element.

Believers in general are also very keen to show their creative works and prayers to the Lord.

Jia Xiu's suggestion was to pick a few that seemed acceptable, piece them together and adjust them to create an "official history" version, which would serve as the basis for more fan fiction in the future.

So, during the time that followed, while Jia Xiu and his team were conducting important research, Justina would stay in her small hotel reading her fanfiction...

"See you after the experiment is successful."

Jasmine waved goodbye to Justina and headed towards the checkpoint.

The border fortress still looks quite imposing.

A continuous stretch of cold-colored high walls lay across the land, the stone fortresses dozens of meters high, topped with enchanted ballistae. Giant gates, cast from black iron, were engraved with somber runes, flanked by solemn golems that would be activated to become the most powerful defenses should danger arise.

Jia Xiu looked up and sized him up.

Based on the principle that when a door is stronger than a wall, the wall becomes a new door, if the demons really want to break through here, they probably won't go through the gate; they'll likely just demolish the wall directly.

I wonder how safe these high walls are, and whether they are as reliable as they appear.

It seems that the Kingdom of Iris doesn't have a tradition of leaving the craftsman's name on the bricks.

In front of the high wall, there was a long queue.

Most of them were ordinary people.

Carrying large and small packages, in oxcarts and horse-drawn carts, fully loaded with goods, they must be itinerant merchants heading out to make money.

The events that occurred in Serdarion did not prevent these border people from making a living.

Jia Xiu consciously joined the end of the line.

It's just a long queue, no big deal. He used to visit tourist attractions during holidays too.

I just miss my phone a little.

As they were queuing, a guard walked from the front of the line to the back, shouting as he went.

"Prepare everything you need beforehand. Don't waste everyone's time by searching for things when it's your turn..."

What should I prepare?

Oh, I guess you mean customs clearance procedures.

Jia Xiu pulled out a customs clearance document from his bag. Everything about the personnel and research purpose was fake, except for the approval stamp.

Just as they were found, the guard walked up to them.

The other party glanced at them, and the grotesque appearance of Jia Xiu and his group did not surprise him at all.

As expected of guards in a place like this, they must have seen plenty of strange characters.

He spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Never been here before?"

"how do you know?"

Jia Xiu felt that their appearance perfectly matched the atmosphere of the border region.

The guard pointed at Margaret.

"He's craning his neck like a meerkat, looking around. It would be strange if he wasn't here for the first time."

It's a bit strange that a border guard from the north could name a meerkat.

They were probably sent from somewhere else.

People from good backgrounds generally don't serve in the military in places like this.

Margaret was pointed out and gave an awkward laugh.

The guard continued, "Do you know the rules?"

Jia Xiu showed the necessary documents.

The guard looked at the document. He couldn't read, but he recognized the insignia and stamp on it. He hadn't expected Jia Xiu to pull out something like this.

He stared at him for several seconds before speaking.

“You’ve really seen something rare. You’re in the wrong line. This is for illegal immigrants. You’re legal, so don’t go this way.”

"what?"

Jia Xiu thought he had misheard.

"Are people here illegally crossing the border?"

He glanced at the long line of people who were blatantly queuing up.

He asked again, "You said this is where people are illegally crossing the border?"

“Yes, what else?” the guard retorted.

Jia Xiu had no idea that the people on the border were so simple and honest.

It turns out the smuggling route was officially opened, and it was officially opened in this way.

He originally thought he should at least avoid it.

It turns out there were no vanity projects.

"Then, which way should we go?"

"there."

The guard pointed to the deserted other side, "Those with proper paperwork, go that way."

"Okay, thank you."

Jia Xiu saw that there was no one there and thought it was good that he didn't have to queue.

However, things took an unexpected turn once again.

I didn't expect the official channels to be so slow.

Seeing that the people who were originally behind them had already passed by, he was still waiting for the old man in front of him to finish checking all the procedures.

After waiting for what seemed like several tens of minutes, Jia Xiu couldn't help but ask, "Do we have to check this thoroughly? Can we hurry up a bit? I want to see what's going on over there."

“Hey, how can it be the same over there?” the old man said. “They charge over there, but it’s free here. How can they be the same speed?”

Upon hearing this, Jia Xiu understood. This was a bribery scheme. It turned out that the checkpoint was a cloud storage service, and traffic was restricted if you didn't pay.

After thinking about it, I decided to just consider it money spent on U-Speed ​​Pass.

So he took out his money bag, but before he could take out any money, the old man in front of him stopped him.

"Huh? What are you doing? What kind of person do you take me for?"

Jia Xiu almost laughed.

They're openly "smuggling" themselves across the border; what kind of people can they be?

However, the old man continued, "That place is illegitimate, and this place is legitimate. If the illegitimate makes money, and the legitimate makes even more money, wouldn't that be a disservice to His Majesty the King?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Xiu's eyelids began to twitch uncontrollably.

That's what they said, and it sounded rather "reasonable."

Finally, after several long hours of waiting and answering a host of questions, they were able to set foot on the land of the northern wilderness through official channels.

Strictly speaking, this area cannot be entirely considered the northern wilderness.

It should be considered a buffer zone.

Less than two kilometers from the border lies their destination: Govard, a chaotic city where humans and demons live together, where there are no laws, only vigilante justice, and where, according to legend, one can find all kinds of illegal trades. It is a manifestation of decay and desire.

It was so close to the fortress that it was practically like the outer city of the fortress.

It is said that the name Govard is a transliteration from one of the many demon languages.

It is translated as rotten roots.

My first impression of this town was chaos.

Buildings from various regions and ethnic styles are haphazardly pieced together, showing no regard for urban planning.

The air was filled with an indescribable, complex smell, and dirt and debris were everywhere on the streets.

Humans, orcs, drow, and tifly, some with demonic features—whether they were true demons or some strange hybrids—wandered through the labyrinthine streets.

The noise assaulted my ears: arguing passersby, hawkers calling out their wares, clandestine transactions...

"Hey, new face! Come play with me, I guarantee you'll have a wonderful experience you won't find anywhere else..."

Jia Xiu heard a cloying, languid female voice.

Looking over, one could see a succubus leaning against the wall. She had sharp horns on her head, bat wings folded, and wore thin, alluring clothing. The inscription on her lower abdomen was faintly visible. Her tail was wrapped around the wooden railing beside her, slowly moving up and down. When she saw Jia Xiu looking over, she even licked her tongue suggestively.

"I'm happy to play with everyone!"

Jia Xiu believes that this should not be considered a slip-up; in the world of succubi, it should be considered dedication to one's job.

Just then, Margaret suddenly punched him hard.

"What are you looking at! You're still a student; your task right now is to study."

"Um... I'm observing the experimental subjects."

(End of this chapter)