The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

The convoy slowly approached Frost Valley City.

Lorraine had only been away from the city for a little over a month, and when he saw the familiar gray-white stone walls and two crooked watchtowers again, he felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity.

There was a line of pedestrians and porters at the city gate. The checks to enter the city were a bit stricter than when he was there. There were even guards who came to check the goods in the caravan.

Four guards in cotton armor surrounded the convoy.

The leader was a man with a round face and a large beard. He looked the group up and down, his gaze fixed on Anya, who was walking at the front.

Today she wore a warm gold temple-style priest's robe, and her long hair was neatly coiled at the back of her head with silver hair ornaments, making her look like an ordinary priest of the Lord of Dawn.

Of course, this is on the premise of ignoring her delicate face.

The bearded man reached out and blocked her way, placing his spear in front of her horse.

"Stop right there! Where did you come from?"

Shallow Beach Town.

Anya stopped her horse and spoke calmly.

"Shallow Beach Town?" The bearded man sized her up, his gaze shifting between the church emblem on her robe and the goods in the convoy. "What goods are you carrying?"

"Supplies from the temple, for the spring festival."

The bearded man snorted, walked around to the side of the cart, reached out and lifted the lid of the luggage bag, and peeked inside.

They were all bulging burlap sacks and oil paper packages; it was impossible to tell exactly what they contained, but they were clearly quite heavy.

"Open it and take a look."

"you......"

"These are temple supplies, are you sure you want to dismantle them?"

Anya reached out to stop Eileen, who wanted to reason with the other party, but her tone had already turned cold.

This was the first time she had ever seen anyone who dared to disrespect the Lord of Dawn. Even the guards of the royal city rarely checked the temple's supplies.

The bearded man hesitated for a moment. The word "temple" certainly carried great weight. Although Viscount Herman didn't really believe in God, he would never provoke anyone from the temple.

but......

His gaze fell on the luggage bags again. Two carts and four packhorses—even if only half of them contained valuables, they would be enough to feed him for several months.

"The temple's supplies also need to be inspected."

The bearded man straightened his back, trying to bolster his courage, and said nonsensically, "Things haven't been peaceful up north lately. Who knows what you're bringing into the city? What if you're smuggling contraband?"

Upon hearing this, the other three guards greedily surrounded him, one of whom had even reached out to untie the drawstring of the luggage bag.

Ryan rode behind Anya, looking at the misfits with disdain. He reached out and tugged at the reins, and his horse snorted in response.

Although he opted not to wear the intimidating plate armor for the sake of convenience, the greatsword he carried slung across his back was no joke.

The bearded man shuddered at the snort. He glanced at Ryan's expressionless face, his facial muscles twitched, and he gritted his teeth, raising his voice even higher:

"What? You want to fight? This is Frostvale City, not some rural place like yours. I can't just order an inspection like that..."

"You think you can just order an inspection like that?"

A steady voice came from behind the city gate.

The guards froze in place, and the bearded man who had just been shouting broke out in a cold sweat.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

A tall, black horse emerged from the city gate, its horseshoes landing slowly and steadily on the stone slabs, making a crisp sound.

The rider wore a gleaming steel breastplate over a robe embroidered with three icicle patterns. His gloved hand gripped the reins tightly in one hand and rested lightly on the hilt of the longsword at his waist in the other.

His gray hair was cut very short, revealing the strong features of his face, and he had a short beard on his chin, making him look like a powerful warrior.

Viscount Herman, the lord of Frostvale, was someone Lorraine had only seen a portrait of before on the bulletin board; this was the first time he had met him in person.

Viscount Hermann reined in his horse, his gaze sweeping coldly across the faces of the guards.

The guards, like mice whose tails had been stepped on, shrank back to the sides, their heads almost buried in their chests.

The bearded man opened his mouth, about to make up a reason, but Viscount Hermann clearly didn't want to give him the chance.

"Article 3 of the City Defense Regulations stipulates that guards must have a legitimate reason and report to the officer on duty before inspecting pedestrians and goods."

Hermann looked at him indifferently and questioned:

"What are your reasons? What about your reporting?"

The bearded man's lips trembled as he said, "Their...their luggage..."

Hermann turned to look at the carts and packhorses, then glanced at the sun emblem on Anya's chest, and asked coldly:

"What happened to their luggage? Do you think there's something wrong with the supplies from the Church of the Dawn Lord?"

"I wouldn't dare..."

"Then get out of here and accept your punishment."

"Yes...yes! Thank you, sir, thank you, sir!"

The bearded man scrambled to the side, and the other three guards, like wheat blown down by the wind, quickly made way for him.

Viscount Hermann did not look at them again.

He took a close look at the members of the convoy, then nodded slightly, as if to confirm that they were just an ordinary group of temple personnel.

"The temple's spring festival?" he asked.

"Yes." Anya bowed slightly.

Hermann grunted in response, then spurred his horse, and the black warhorse trotted away from the city gate.

Lorraine watched his straight back, not relaxing at all even on horseback.

A veteran general.

These four words immediately popped into his mind.

"Let's go," Anya said.

They then drove through the city gate.

The temple of the Lord of Dawn is located on a high ground in the upper city. Because guards patrol it frequently, Lorraine had never been there before.

This is a magnificent complex of buildings made of pure white and rose-colored marble, with three towering towers reaching into the clouds.

The spire, covered in gold, silver, and copper, gleams in the sunlight, resembling three enormous, burning torches.

"By the goddess above, Piper finally knows what kind of place you usually live in."

The short man tilted his head back, staring in disbelief.

"Wait... This is the temple of the Lord of Dawn, is it appropriate for you to say such a thing here!?"

Lorraine quickly slapped him on the shoulder, interrupting his exclamation.

Anya turned around and chuckled softly:

"It doesn't matter, my Lord has a good relationship with His protector."

As they chatted and laughed, a middle-aged man dressed in a red priest's robe strode over and greeted them warmly:

Good morning! Are you Anya or one of the sisters?

Anya stopped and touched the holy emblem on her chest with her right hand, replying in kind, "Good morning, it's me."

"I am Erwin Morgen, the chief deacon of the temple," he introduced himself with a smile.

"A few days ago, the temple received a message from Shallow Beach Town saying that a Dawn Messenger would be delivering supplies to help prepare for the Spring Feast. Thank you for your hard work on the journey."

"Dawn is breaking! These are my companions. The supplies consist of two carts and four packhorses. The list is here."

Anya took a folded piece of parchment from her sleeve and handed it over.