Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and the carriage soon arrived at the outskirts of the port of Allendale. During this time, Green had gathered detailed information about Allendale. The entire port of Allendale was divided into two main areas: the port area and the city area.
The port district, as the name suggests, is where ships dock; a vast and bustling port is the lifeblood and vitality of all of Elendal. The city district, on the other hand, is the center of economic activity and trade, where merchants from surrounding countries gather and conduct frequent transactions. The city center of Elendal is exceptionally prosperous, but prices are also ridiculously high. Green had already decided to purchase a manor on the outskirts of the city district.
As the convoy reached the outskirts of the port of Elendal, its pace slowed noticeably. Green opened the window, and before him stretched hordes of refugees, mostly from the Kingdom of Lodin. In the distance, towering, gray-blue walls, dozens of meters high, stood majestically, a testament to the absurdity of a medieval society. The walls extended to the left and right, seemingly without end.
"If I didn't possess extraordinary power, I would almost doubt whether I was hallucinating." Green stared at the towering, bluish-gray city walls before him, silently grumbling to himself.
Outside the walls of Elendal, scattered residential areas lay scattered about. These areas were extremely filthy and chaotic; Grimm even witnessed robberies and rapes in broad daylight. Calling them residential areas was less accurate than calling them slums. Many of these slums were in the clothing of the Kingdom of Lodin; most were minor nobles unable to pay the entrance fee or obtain Maslow's Alliance status, or were followers abandoned by nobles who had arrived there.
These people, abandoned outside the city, were free from all legal constraints, and the law of the jungle was on full display. They unleashed their inner evil and acted recklessly.
Since arriving, Mia, who had been traveling with Grin, had grown increasingly pale. When she saw the horrific conditions in the slums, she turned completely bloodless. Grin remained silent throughout the journey, and Baron Crow would at most pay for the journey into the city, leaving Mia to fend for herself afterward. In an unfamiliar place, without Maslow's Alliance affiliation, Mia was likely to be expelled from Allendale for being unable to find work. For the Baron, the guards who followed him were far more important than a "decorative" Mia.
Although Baron Clod was relatively lenient towards the people of his territory, he was ultimately of noble birth and prioritized self-interest. Now that he had fallen on hard times, he knew that only by firmly holding onto the guards who followed him could he possibly make a comeback.
Inside the carriage, Ashville and Lyra were in slightly better condition, but they were still uneasy and kept glancing at Green.
The carriages moved slowly, and soon it was Baron Crowe's turn. Green leaned out of the window and could see the Baron negotiating with the guards at the gate. Green possessed eagle-like eyesight and could clearly see the Baron's expression growing increasingly grim as the conversation progressed. The Baron glanced back, found Green watching him, hesitated for a moment, and finally made a decision. He turned away, shook his head, and took out a chest of gold coins, handing it to the guards at the gate.
The Baron's entourage was soon able to proceed, but to Green's surprise, apart from the guards, the Baron, and his close family, the maids who had been following the Baron were forced off the carriage. Green even saw Mia's mother, Mira, being forced off as well.
Those forced off the carriage wept and pleaded with the Baron. Some even clung desperately to the carriage, but the guards showed no mercy, kicking them off the carriage.
"The Baron shouldn't be so heartless. What happened?" Baron Crow, as a first-generation military noble, shouldn't have fallen to the level of a vampire.
The baron's caravan quickly passed through the city gates, and the abandoned maids, as if they had lost their leader, gathered together in a daze and headed towards the slums outside the city.
Witnessing this scene, Ashville, Lyra, and Mia were utterly drained of color. The Baron had abandoned them; logically, he would never have abandoned Ashville. As the most likely candidate to become Green's wife, Ashville was someone the Baron would never easily give up. This situation must have come at a price the Baron could not bear.
"Mia, go and bring your mother over." Mia, who had been pale, suddenly brightened upon hearing Grimm's words, and stammered, "R-really?"
"Go! Why would I lie to you?" Green smiled at Mia. Mia immediately skipped off the carriage and ran towards her mother. Seeing Mia get off the carriage, Mira's face turned even paler; she thought Mia had also been abandoned. However, when Mia arrived, Mira's face was filled with joy, and she quickly took Mia's hand and led her to Green's carriage.
Green also climbed out of the carriage. Next, he needed to negotiate with the guards. As the owner of the convoy, he needed to handle this matter personally.
Green dismounted from the carriage and walked toward the soldiers who were wearing iron-gray armor and carrying spears.
[Scanning for target]
[Soldier 1]
[Strength: 3.5]
[Speed: 3.3]
[Constitution: 3.2]
[Overall rating: Peak performance of the Cavaliers]
Green continued scanning the other soldiers; almost all of them were knights, and even knight apprentices were extremely rare. Looking at the hundreds of guards patrolling back and forth, Green couldn't help but sigh, "This military strength surpasses that of the Kingdom of Lodin and the Kingdom of Saladin. If the Maslow Alliance hadn't never expanded outwards, the surrounding countries would probably have been conquered long ago."
As soon as Green stepped off the carriage, everyone in the caravan turned their attention to him. Even the maids who had been abandoned by the Baron began to slowly approach Green's entourage.
The soldiers handling the case were very experienced. Upon seeing Green, they roughly determined his identity and went straight to the point, asking, "From the Kingdom of Loding?"
Green nodded to the soldier.
"One gold coin to enter the city, one hundred gold coins per person to obtain Maslow's Alliance identity."
The soldier's words made Green's eyebrows twitch. In this world, copper coins were the most basic currency, roughly equivalent to one yuan in his previous life. One hundred copper coins could be exchanged for one silver coin, and one hundred silver coins could be exchanged for one gold coin.
If we do a simple conversion, it's equivalent to needing 10,000 copper coins to enter the city. In this world, an average person only earns three copper coins a day. An average person would have to work for ten years without eating or drinking to afford just one entry fee into Elendar.
The soldiers noticed Green's shock, but they didn't underestimate him. In their eyes, although Green was a fallen nobleman, he was certainly much better off than them, the guards, even though he looked disheveled. They immediately explained to Green, "After obtaining Maslow's Alliance status, the entrance fee to the city will only be one copper coin."
These prices are more accurate. At the previous prices, even locals from the Maslow Alliance probably couldn't afford them, let alone caravans.
Green began to ponder. The caravan's wealth was estimated at around ten thousand gold coins. Baron Candia was a typical vampire nobleman, far wealthier than Baron Crowe.
Baron Crowe's wealth was estimated to be only around seven thousand. Unlike Green, the Baron's entourage included 27 guards, 12 family members, and 23 maids. It was impossible for the Baron to spend all his gold coins to purchase a membership in the Maslow Alliance.
He needed to retain a portion of his wealth as capital for a comeback. The importance of the guards clearly outweighed that of ordinary family members and maids. Therefore, he naturally chose to abandon some of his family members and maids.
Even those maids chosen might have been selected because of their close relationships with the guards; the baron chose them to curry favor with the guards. Mia's mother, for example, was ruthlessly abandoned.
Green's convoy only has 27 people, and with Mia's mother, that's only 28. Even if they had to process identities for everyone, it wouldn't be a problem. Having Maslow's Alliance identity would also help them avoid many issues within the city limits of Allendale Port.
Furthermore, Green had already simulated his source of income using the chip. Once he arrived in the city of Allendale and settled down, this problem would be easily solved. With his military strength, Green could ensure that his wealth wouldn't be stolen by the local bullies.
"Aishville, produce the gold coins!" Ashville, who had been following Green, rushed into the carriage upon hearing Green's words and brought out a large chest of gold coins. Green casually took the gold coins and handed them to the soldier in front of him.
The soldier took the box of gold coins from Green and immediately began counting them. As he counted, he said, "It's 100 gold coins per person. How many Alliance identities are you planning to buy?"
The soldiers had seen many nobles who generally only purchased titles for their own soldiers. They usually simply rejected those like maids.
55.
As soon as Green spoke, the soldiers looked up. Green was the first person to buy an identity for his maid; other nobles simply gave up and planned to buy one after entering the city. Almost no one had ever seen anyone like Green.
"55, sir, are you sure?" To make sure he hadn't misheard, the soldier asked Green again.
"You heard right, there are 55. Hurry up and get the certificates ready!"
The soldier gave Green a strange look, then sighed, "They're really lucky to be with you."
At this moment, Ashville, who had been listening from the side, whispered to Green, "Brother Green, there are only 28 of us, not 55."
"Really? Look back." Green said to Ashville, glancing at her.
Although Asheville was puzzled, he still turned around to look as Green had instructed.
The maids who had been abandoned by the Baron were now timidly leaning against Green's caravan, exactly 50 in total. Ashville immediately understood Green's intention and said to the maids, "What are you doing? Brother Green has already bought identities for you. Hurry up and line up to register your information."
The abandoned maids, upon hearing Ashville's words, suddenly had their eyes light up, looking at Green with godlike reverence. Some even knelt down and kowtowed to express their gratitude to Green.
Green casually waved his hand, signaling them to hurry up and register their information. The maids dared not disobey and quickly stood up and lined up.
Green's purchase of identities for the maids could not be kept from the soldiers, after all, these people had been driven away right before their eyes before.
As soldiers, they were actually a relatively ordinary class in the port of Elendal. Some of them felt a pang of guilt, but dared not disobey the orders from above.
Suddenly encountering an oddball like Green immediately lifted his spirits, and his attitude towards Green changed completely.
As for Green himself, his concern for this matter was primarily for Old Green's sake. Green didn't care about the maids; his immense power ensured that money was readily available to him if he wanted it. These castle maids were all connected to Old Green in some way, and it might be better for them to take care of him; therefore, Green had granted them official status.
"Sir, if you enter the city and need to find a place to stay, be sure to go to the central district. There's an agency there that specializes in selling manors. The prices are a bit higher, around 2000 gold coins, but there won't be any problems. Also, be careful, there are many gangs in Allendale Port that specifically target people like you. You must go to the place I mentioned as soon as possible. Once you buy a manor, you'll be considered a local." A guard quietly approached Green and whispered to him.
Seeing the guard quietly giving him a hint, Green nodded, then took out 10 coins from the coin box and discreetly placed them into the soldier's hand.
The soldier felt the heavy weight, and the smile in his eyes deepened.
At this point, Green understood why the Baron had abandoned the maids. The Baron had enough money to process identities for everyone, but he needed to keep some as start-up capital and another portion to purchase a manor worth 2000 gold coins, leaving him with little. To secure his future, the Baron decided to go all in and abandon most of them.
He even abandoned his relationship with Grin. Perhaps in his eyes, even if Grin was very powerful, he was only average in Allendale. After all, the gatekeepers of Allendale were a large group of regular knights, and Grin's martial prowess was of little use. Grin might be able to support himself, but he certainly couldn't support the entire caravan. Therefore, he decisively chose to give up.
Since it was the other party's choice, Green naturally chose to respect it, and their long-standing friendship came to an end here.