The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 92 Dragon Tail Pass (Please subscribe!)

As the sturdy trees recede behind them, and the weary old oxen turned their horns toward the sun.

Tang Qi finally caught a glimpse of the city standing on the plain—

The first thing that caught his eye was a huge, withered dragon skeleton leaning against the South Mountain.

The dragon's flesh and blood had long since turned to ashes over the years, scattered in the sandstorm.

But judging from the shape of the skeleton, it is still possible to vaguely discern that it was resting on the mountain ridge at the end of its life.

This allowed the spine to be pressed into the high mountains, enabling half of the magnificent, palace-like city to stand steadily on the mountainside.

"There's even a dragon head carved into a palace—but why is the waterfall flowing from below its head, like it's spewing water?"

The magnificent sight filled Tang Qi with inexplicable excitement.

His desire to embark on an adventurous journey was precisely to imprint these things, which in the past could only exist in his imagination, into his memory.
"That's the Dragon Hall. It's the meeting room where the public lord, Leon Lionheart, and those masked lords discuss important matters."

Of course, it's not just for lords; the Supreme Court is also included.

Furthermore, the government building also rents out some small meeting rooms on weekdays.

As a native of DragonGold City, Merard would make an excellent guide.

"However, the rent is very expensive, and only wealthy people in the Upper District will rent it for important matters."

Tang Qi then followed the dragon's spine, looking towards the foot of the mountain—

Because its tailbone is long and lies flat on the open plain, it was surrounded by stacked city walls, which divided the city into districts.

The bricks and tiles and the tall buildings are staggered yet well-arranged. They are no longer as magnificent as the palaces on the mountainside, but they still retain most of their bright colors. They are located at the foot of a mountain adjacent to the inland sea, forming another part of the city.

Tang Qi casually pointed in a direction: "So that's the [Lower City]?"

Melard explained:

"To be precise, that's the [commercial district]. It's the trading center of Longjin City, where large and small-scale transactions take place."

To be honest, the division of Longjin City into different areas is quite complicated. It would be too tiring to explain it to you one by one. It would be better for you to go into the city and explore it yourself.

In short, all you need to know is that they are divided into different areas according to their different functions, and together they form the "Lower City."

Tang Qi also felt that it was more suitable for him to go and see for himself, so he pointed to the location of the 'tail':

"Is that considered part of Dragon Gold City?"

At the far end, beyond a large gate made of milky white stone bricks, lies a town completely different from the city's buildings, which are constructed with strong colors and curved surfaces.

It's more like Xingmei Town, a settlement built of tall trees.

Strictly speaking, no.

But this doesn't stop those living outside Dragon Tail Pass from calling themselves 'citizens of Dragon Gold City'. After all, they all pay their taxes on time in order to receive the protection of the guards.

In the event of any serious trouble, such as war or a beast tide, those who pay taxes can be housed within the city walls and spared from disaster.

But that's all there is to it—

Some of the convenient services offered by Longjincheng, such as road cleaning, do not cover this area.

There was no drainage system, and the stench of horse manure wafted through the streets from time to time…

"That's just as welcoming as [Star Plum Town]."

What surprised Tang Qi even more than the civilization of the entire city was that, despite the fact that the skeleton clearly divided into three completely different landscapes, it did not destroy the beauty that this 'dragon' should have.

Under the clear blue sky, the blazing sun cast its radiance upon the 'dragon,' making it appear exceptionally bright.

It's as if its skin and flesh have been stripped away, and the city and its culture have been filled in.

This gives the dried bones a unique new life.

"So this is what Longjin City is like..."

People can never imagine things that are outside their understanding.

Just as Catherine once thought, this city, separated by the entire Dawn and Dusk Forest, was nothing more than another Starplum Town with a large population.

She hasn't even gotten close to the edge of that magnificent city yet.

Even from a distance, it's like a frog leaping out of a well, glimpsing a corner of the world—

And now I finally understand why Lord Mel in the town is unwilling to return to his territory.

"If it were me, I wouldn't want to go back either..."

Old David, who was following closely behind them, couldn't help but murmur.

As a farmer, he never thought there was anything to admire about the wheat fields that looked like they were covered in gold in the summer.

At that time, he would often drift between the joy of a bountiful harvest and the exhaustion of the harvest.

But when the wheat fields stretched across the entire plain, and the strong winds blew, creating waves of golden wheat, it was a sight to behold.

He still couldn't suppress the gasp in his heart:

"Even its wheat is more golden than that of Xingmei Town!"

"That's why I've always said that the bread in Xingmei Town is hard to swallow."

Merad couldn't help but mutter to himself,

"I really like eating bread. It's satisfying, soft, and you can even taste a hint of malt when you chew it."

But the bread at Xingmei Town was so hard it could smash my head in!

"You better not forget that this morning you were praising these loaves of bread that could smash your pig's head, saying they had a sandalwood-like fragrance that smelled like sawdust." Tang Qi glanced at them.

That's all in the past!

Merard couldn't help but swallow hard.
"When I get home tonight, I'm going to have a big meal, especially a whole serving of [Amber Honey Glazed Ribs]!"

"Isn't it for losing weight?"

“How can I have the energy to lose weight if I don’t eat enough?”

Looking at the little white pig that was drooling, Tang Qi felt that this young master might not be long before he was ready to be sold.

But regardless, with their destination so close at hand, they had no reason to delay their journey.

When the large group of three hundred people, facing the midday sun, traveled along the country dirt road from north to south, passing through golden wheat fields and scattered farms, they arrived at the outskirts of [Dragon Tail Pass].

On the cloudless and clear horizon, a striking orange-red hue suddenly appeared.

"You arrived just before dark; your control over distance is simply too excellent." Considering that Chenxi was once a traveler, this doesn't seem like a difficult task.

But Tang Qi still didn't hold back his praise.

After all, just a little praise would be enough to satisfy this paladin.

It might even inspire her to do more:

"I'll pitch the tent!"

"No, we're new here and don't know anyone. If we set up camp like before, the guards will probably kick us out..."

The little white pig said there are many hotels in Longwei Pass, let's just find one to stay in tonight.

Even for those caravans traveling by land, a number of three hundred people is quite conspicuous.

Tang Qi looked around and found that many different kinds of people, not just humans, were looking at them.

Driven by curiosity, but also with an obvious degree of caution.

"What about the others?"

The morning light pointed behind them to the townspeople who had fled together.

"Together."

Tang Qi then shouted,

"Catherine will distribute tonight's lodging expenses later."

"You don't need to worry about it. Young Master Merard said you are his subjects, and he will pay for everything tonight!"

"When did I say that—"

The little white pig's eyes were wide open like copper bells.

Just as he was about to 'humph,' Tang Qi covered his mouth and nose:

"Keep your voice down, I'm trying to make your reputation better."

Hearing the cheers of his followers behind him, Merard truly felt a genuine sense of recognition.

But his secret delight did not diminish his panic:
"But I don't have a single penny on me!"

"I have three hundred gold coins on me, I can pay for you first. You can pay me back when you get home, right?"

"That's all Father's money..."

"Be confident. You've protected most of Lord Mel's 'assets,' so asking for some reward should be enough to cover the lodging bill, right?"

"Is it really possible?"

“If you don’t pay me back, I’ll tell your father about your sexual orientation.”

“It definitely can!” Merard assured him solemnly.

Tang Qi then patted the snoring gravel on the oxcart:
"We've arrived. Get up!"

Being disturbed from your sleep is not a pleasant thing.

So much so that the dwarf sat up abruptly, nearly kicking Tang Qi in the chest—

The dwarf enjoyed the privilege of lying flat on the oxcart.

Because Tang Qi believed that he had not occupied much area.

Without needing to be alerted, he could easily dodge the warnings because he knew how grumpy Shi was in the morning.

When the rubble recovered its senses and saw the dragon skeleton clinging to the high mountain, it slapped its forehead in disbelief:
"Ha, the last time I was here was three years ago. Just like the 'elves three hundred years in the future,' you haven't changed at all!"

"I heard that to settle down in Longjin City, you need to register your household and pay taxes. So I'll take Little White Pig into the city later to find out more about the situation and also take a look at the night view of Longjin City. Are you staying here, or coming with me?"

"Even if you spend three days and three nights, you still won't be able to see all of Longjin City."

Shattered Stone tightened his grip on the hammer at his waist, then jumped off the train.
"I need to go to the bank to get something. Let's go together!"

Tang Qi nodded, explained the situation to Catherine, and asked her to lead the townspeople to find a hotel. He then got up and headed towards the city gate.

As for Iu, it was entrusted to Anbi for care due to its somewhat conspicuous nature.

Perhaps it was the sight of dawn and the pebbles that led the residents to subconsciously assume they were an adventure team—

Their practice of skirting the law always made residents keep their distance. As a result, few dared to approach them.

Only a short figure suddenly darted out from the crowd, stood in front of Tang Qi, and bowed to him:
May good fortune always be with you, esteemed sir.

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Chuck Green Bottle.

As the guide for Dragon Tail Pass, people always call me "Chuck the Guide." If you find that name too long, you can also affectionately call me "Chuck."

Seeing that you are a stranger, I assume you are new here. Therefore, I have taken the liberty of coming here, hoping to earn a small commission from you using my meager skills.

"Hello, Chuck."

Tang Qi was very curious about the short, half-human figure in front of him.

But he had more pressing matters to attend to and didn't want to waste time, so he replied:

"I'm sorry, I just want to get to the gate of Dragon Tail Pass. My friends will guide me, so I'm afraid I have to decline your help."

Chuck blinked:
"Do you wish to enter [Dragon Gold City]?"

"of course."

"Unfortunately, you are destined to be disappointed."

The halfling sighed and explained,
"Due to some special reasons, as early as half a month ago, [Dragon Gold City] announced martial law and was no longer open to travelers."

"why?"

I heard it's because...

Orcs.

　Haha, you didn't expect that, did you? I actually sewed up Baldur's Gate!

　　Even on an adventure, you need to relax properly, otherwise you'll feel overwhelmed. The author will try to make it as interesting as possible.

　　Please subscribe, gentlemen!!!
　　(I was supposed to continue teaching Streld this week, but I'll have to skip updating for the guys QAQ)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)