The chef in the restaurant was lamenting that the changes in the world cannot go back to the past, and he was talking about Monsignor Hugo's great ability, which made the city dazzling and changing with each passing day.
It is also a prosperous city. The Banshee Castle ruled by the Butcher family also has a prosperous market, crowded with people, and a strong commercial atmosphere, gathering wealthy merchants and cargo flows from all walks of life.
You can always see elegant nobles and beautiful ladies walking hand in hand on the street. Loyal servants holding fashionable goods trot behind them.
The crisp sound of horse hooves is heard from time to time, and seven or eight-year-old vendors are selling goods along the street. There are wolf-like guards watching at the intersection, and beggars and homeless people are hiding in corners to peek.
This is a scene Powell is familiar with.
Victor Hugo had occupied the Cold Wind City for a year and had a truce with the Bucci family for half a year. All the nobles in the city had disappeared. Occasionally, there were only one or two left, but they were too obedient to show their faces.
There are also crowds of people, but the happy ones are all miserable poor people with shabby clothes and ugly faces. The underage vendors have disappeared and have been replaced by regular vendors.
As for the beggars and refugees, they were all placed together and worked as hard as possible to make a living so as not to wander around. Regardless of whether the people were happy or not, the rule of Cold Wind City was one-stop.
"Even civil servants are admitted through examinations. How did you come up with this idea? In the past, bureaucrats could only serve after being appreciated by the nobles. There is no need for them now."
Powell quite lamented that "the world is changing, and the principles are often reversed." After lamenting, he can only focus on his current business, and the serious thing is how to make more money.
When Johnson came back from the Wizard's Tower in the afternoon, the illusionist was like an eggplant beaten by frost, his head was wilted and his brain was drooping. When Powell asked what was going on, he didn't say anything.
Ask Dudu decisively.
This mean-mouthed demon pet raised its neck, grunted a few times and said unhappily: "My master has been hit. Even I have been hit.
When Hugo captured the city, he first captured the wizard's tower. The wizards who were on Hugo's side in a daze all benefited afterwards. They are now proud, saying that Sir Hugo is smart, wise and broad-minded.
Even their demon pets dare to challenge me, bragging about their master's extraordinary strength and intelligence, but they didn't get the chance in the past, but now they have accumulated a lot of experience and have risen rapidly."
Johnson even sighed and said: "Those guys just got lucky, but within half a year they were generally promoted to one or two levels. Many guys who were not as good as me in the past are now riding on my head.
When they met, they came to greet who I was working for now, and advised me to switch to Cold Wind City. They also tried their best to list the benefits. Their words were very enthusiastic, but they sounded extremely harsh to my ears.
The tower does serve delicious food, but the taste is nowhere near as good as before. If I had known this, I might as well have gone to a small restaurant in the square and sat with the vendors. I guess they wouldn't dare to ignore me, and I would have avoided the wrath."
From the expression on his face, Powell knew that Johnson was probably more angry than imagined. The most important thing was the phrase, 'There are many guys who are not as good as me.'
When you are unlucky, it is best for someone to be even more unlucky. When you are down, it is best for someone to be even more down. The most terrifying thing is that you originally wanted to "watch the fire from the other side", but ended up "drawing fire on yourself". The enemy is getting better and better and starts to "watch the fire" instead.
How can Johnson endure this?
Powell comforted him: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Once we do more business, we will be promoted quickly after making enough money. There are many good things for sale in Cold Wind City, and it will be cheaper for us to resell them."
Johnson was even more annoyed. He grabbed Powell's front collar and shook it hard: "Think clearly, do you really think someone will sell the best stuff to the public? We thought we were making a big deal, but in fact it was just the leftovers from other people's fun."
.
I just walked around the tower and saw many acquaintances from the past. They openly showed off to me the magic materials and advanced magic books specially provided in-house. Even the apprentices have more resources than me.
In the past, there were only about thirty people in the wizard group in Cold Wind City, and there were only about a hundred people including magic apprentices and low-level wizards. But now the tower is as lively as a market, and the total number of people exceeds five hundred.
Although most of them are rookies below level five, they have made rapid progress. Hugo rebuilt the eight major factions, established a magic association, and even asked a mysterious lady to perform miracles and raised the wizard's tower one floor higher."
After hearing the miracle, Powell looked up in shock and looked at the Wizard's Tower near the city center square. The towering tower was still shrouded in clouds and fog, but its height had indeed increased a lot.
Each time the wizard's tower is upgraded to a level, the internal space will expand tenfold, and its power will also be greatly increased. This is of great benefit to the wizards who learn to practice in it.
This is bound to attract more high-level wizards, just like prestigious universities can always get better students and the best professors. Even with more external donations and investments, the output will naturally be richer.
Alas...the attraction is simply irresistible.
Powell asked: "So you want to stay?"
Johnson was stunned for a moment, but then shook his head: "There is no shortage of wizards in Cold Wind City. If you want to stay, you must either be extremely good or spend money to sponsor them."
"Didn't you just say that someone persuaded you to switch to Cold Wind City? Why can't you ask for help?" Powell felt that he should be shameless at critical moments and seize the opportunity.
Johnson was even more angry, "Those guys are just talking, and they don't have the qualifications to recommend. Nowadays, even an auditor's quota in the Magic Association is extremely precious, and the official members also have an internal elimination system, which is very cruel.
Several wizards who despised me were also deeply afraid when they talked about 'internal elimination', and ran away after a few words of conversation. They said they should hurry up and start the project. If they fail to complete it, they will really be expelled from the association."
Having said this, Johnson finally regained some confidence and shouted: "I don't want to join any magic association. I'm exhausted from working all day to produce results.
I am so free now, I can do whatever I want, go wherever I want, it’s nice to make some money casually, I’m free!”
These words were said sourly, and Dudu complained with disdain: "The wizards from all over the North want to come to Cold Wind City for academic exchanges. Even if they can't join the formal magic association, it's still good to hang out on the periphery.
Only those who are too weak to get in will say not to join, but those who can get in will not say so. Alas...it's pitiful for such a smart pet like me, but it will be a waste of its life if it encounters a stupid master who doesn't know how to take sides.
.”
Johnson was probably used to it. He was fed poisonous chicken soup by his demon pet, but he was not annoyed and just sighed along with him. Powell listened and shook his head, secretly thinking that the master and servant were hopeless.
The two rushed to Cold Wind City overnight, bought goods that day, and took a passenger carriage back to the Banshee Castle in the afternoon. They came here and were supposed to make a lot of money soon, but they were not in a good mood.
Along the way, Yuyu headed south, stopping at multiple supply points, and after passing through the Town of Dense Fog, entered the territory of the Banshee Castle. The passenger carriage stopped here, and the two of them had to change transportation to continue their journey.
Just this change...
The tax officer from Banshee Castle stepped forward to stop the two of them, stared at the wooden suitcases they were carrying, and sneered with a snort:
"According to the latest decree of the Butcher Family, in order to protect the Banshee Castle's industry, all imported goods must pay punitive duties based on their value."