The dwarves' goods were very popular, and everything was sold out quickly. The group of dwarves collected their gold and silver coins, left the market, and headed directly outside the city of Helmgart.
"Aren't those the rangers of the Angland clan? It seems Belegar is here too." Ryan said to Sulia with great interest: "I didn't expect Belega to bring his tribe here."
"His Majesty King Belegar may be a little... concerned with face, but he is not stupid. He is here to investigate the market prices and surrounding forces. In fact, he has helped us a lot since he came to your territory and reunited with his tribe.
Dugan doesn't know how to make the Iron Dragon Cannon, and it was His Majesty Belegar who asked the chief engineer of the Angland clan, Halharver-the Gold Digger, to teach him." The female knight said in a low voice.
"It's not that I don't know. The dwarves originally planned to give you a set of meteorite armor. But then I saw that my father had sent the armor, so I asked them to make one for my brother." Ryan said in a low voice.
"Brother? Angron?" Sulia was a little surprised.
"Yuri, isn't your brother my brother? We are a family." Ryan muttered: "It is a waste to give Brother Angron a set of meteorite iron armor. I don't think it is of much use, Brother Angron."
The only way to play is to chop, chop, chop, it doesn’t make any difference whether it’s Rune Mithril Plate Armor or Meteor Iron Plate Armor.”
"Pfft~" The female knight couldn't help but snicker, and at the same time she was very happy in her heart. Although the words "your brother" and "brother" both refer to Julius, they have completely different meanings.
She looked curiously at the dwarves who were leaving the city, and then said: "By the way, why do these dwarves come here to sell? We in Britannia also need dwarf equipment."
"Because those equipment are all inferior or defective." Ryan then complained: "I still have a good relationship with Belegar. What he sells to us is first-class, but even for dwarves, they are in production.
It is still inevitable to make some defective products, these
Defective products are never used by dwarves. They are sold to humans at high prices. Anyway, in the dwarf language, human means the person who makes defective products. But having said that, even the defective products of dwarves are cheaper than those of dwarves.
There are many better things made by human craftsmen.”
Ryan and his party did not go up to say hello to Bellega's group. They strolled around the town for a while and quickly checked into the Oliver Hotel in the city.
This is a large three-story hotel located in the downtown area, in a deep alley near the market. Due to the wrong time (it had just passed the Winter Curtain Festival), the hotel was relatively deserted. Ryan and others said hello to the hotel owner.
The boss immediately opened the most luxurious suite on the third floor for Ryan and others to live in.
The group of people put their things away. Rudolph and Wagner went to find the Earl of the Border to approve customs clearance documents. Lane and his group put their things away. The Earl looked at the wooden floors and animal skins of the hotel and nodded: "Oliver's business has become more and more popular in recent years."
The bigger it gets.”
The Oliver Hotel is part of the Oliver Chamber of Commerce. With Lane's support, Oliver opened many hotels in Britannia and some parts of the Empire.
Opening an inn has many uses, the biggest of which is not to make a profit, but to collect intelligence and internalize transactions. Helmgart is an important border town at the Axbite Pass. Diplomatic relations and trade tariffs between the Empire and the Kingdom of Britannia
Helmgart is always the first to know about any changes.
For merchants, getting information is the most important, so Oliver opened hotels in Montfort Castle and Helmgart in the Axbite Pass. The Axbite Pass is the most important trade between the Empire and Britannia.
Regarding the land trade route, Ryan was troubled by the astonishingly high tariffs at the Axbite Pass, but he had to admit that with the joint efforts of the Empire and Britannia, the safety of the Axbite Pass could be guaranteed.
This is how business is done. If the risk is high, the return will be high. If the risk is low, the return will be low. People always want investments with high risk and low income.
Are there any transactions with low risk and high returns?
There are only two kinds, one is a scam, and the other is a high-threshold transaction by a superior person.
Just like the trade contract signed by Ryan and Tigris, this trade contract is truly low-risk and high-yield. However, this kind of transaction is simply impossible for ordinary businessmen to complete. Human businessmen go to high-precision trade privately, maybe
What came his way was a bad face and even a fireball.
"Oliver's business has been getting bigger and bigger in recent years." Ryan looked down at Helmgart's buildings in the sea of clouds. The city was on the mountainside overlooking the crisscrossed plains in the distance of Rick's territory - unfortunately now
It was winter, and the mountains were filled with clouds and fog, making it difficult to see in the distance.
"Oliver, when we met him in Nord, he was still a small businessman." Theresa was wearing a graceful gray off-shoulder frosted dress from Brunswick, with long black shimmering hair hanging down.
Behind her head, the sorceress tightened her white bear fur coat and held a black crocodile leather bag in her hand: "Do you remember, Ryan?"
Lidya Su and Veronica were both very interested in this matter and asked questions again and again.
"Of course I remember. I still remember how Oliver was dressed at the time. It was really weird." Ryan touched his chin: "I still remember his extremely weird dress. He was wearing gold, silver, and armor.
, told me that 'time is money', when we were still marching on Scarville Mountain."
"Mr. Oliver? I rarely see him wearing gold and silver." Sulia also said.
"That's because this guy Oliver is now rich, Mrs. Sulia, you have to know that businessmen are not like nobles, they are the other way around." Veronica was wearing a classic layered core velvet hip skirt,
There was a slight smile on her sweet face: "Is it in your impression that merchants in Winford's court always dress simply and look submissive?"
"Indeed, there are several businessmen doing business at my father's side. Every time I meet them in the palace, they are dressed simply and very cleanly." Sulia nodded thoughtfully. The female knight has been growing up since she was a child.
Grew up in the palace.
"The smaller the capital and the smaller the businessman, the more they have to wear gold and silver to show that they have financial resources and capabilities. On the other hand, the more businessmen have a huge trade network and are large enough, the more they have to keep a low profile."
Veronica smiled coquettishly, and the Gloria Witch explained to Sulia: "Otherwise, once the nobles are displeased, they will be easily replaced even if they are not killed. How can the merchants fight against the nobles?"
"That's it. No wonder when father met those businessmen, they were all trembling and talking softly." Sulia nodded repeatedly: "I remember that when I first met Mr. Oliver, he was dressed quite luxuriously.
Now he wears no jewelry except a gold ring and a silk dress, just like an ordinary courtier."
"Knights are different, Veronica. I heard that when Ryan first met you, he was just an elite warrior?" Teresa asked in turn with interest.
"Yes, Ryan was just a knight errant at that time, wearing a breastplate and a gray face. I still remember that I was in a very bad mood at that time. I raised my hand and fired a fireball. But Ryan was only in his early twenties and was hit by a fireball.
His face was burnt black due to the technique, and his white teeth were exposed." Veronica said casually: "My face, which was a bit handsome at first, was burned like a local dog."
"Hahahahaha~" The room was full of cute laughter, only Ryan's old face was red.
"Me too. When my mother and I went to the Royal Court of Nord to participate in the ceremony for Ryan to be promoted to a knight of the kingdom, during the banquet, Ryan actually pretended to have dropped something under the table and peeped secretly..." Theresa's face was a little red, but
The dark history of Big Doodle Lane.
"That's right! Ryan likes it very much..." Sulia also joined the conversation.
Ryan's face turned red when he was told that, and he quickly said, "You guys talk first, I'll go down and take a look."
The count hurried downstairs, but even so he could still hear laughter upstairs from time to time.
Three women in one drama.
The hotel owner was settling accounts. When he saw Ryan coming down, he immediately bowed and said, "Your Excellency, what are your orders? Is there something wrong with the room?"
"There's nothing wrong with the room, I just want to ask you something." Ryan stood in front of the bar and whispered.
"Please give me your instructions, Your Majesty the Earl." Of course the hotel owner knew who was behind the big boss Oliver. He looked around the environment and found that this time was not the peak season for business and there were not many customers.
"Don't be so nervous. I'm just asking, how is Helmgart doing?" Ryan waved his hand to indicate that he didn't want to inquire about any secrets: "Trade, security, etc.?"
"It's not very good. Ever since Helmgart was invaded by Duke Casfan, even though the empire and Britannia have not affected the alliance, more merchants still have a wait-and-see attitude towards this, or come by sea.
Regarding the Marienburg trade, Count Reinhard von Mackensen is uneasy about the slow decline in trade volume. He recently tried to negotiate with Duke Fourcade of Montfort to lower tariffs slightly to encourage trade. "Hotel.
The boss said: "Of course, my Earl, there are still many caravans trading through the Axebit Pass."
"Where's the security?" Ryan was not surprised when he heard the news, and he continued to ask.
"Security is okay. There have been relatively few activities of green-skinned orcs and beastmen recently." The hotel owner took a deep breath and continued: "However, it is rumored that the sewers and mines in Helmgart are very uneasy, and there are many
There are traces of rats, and they are rats as big as humans! These rats often appear from sewers and mines, attack livestock, and kidnap humans."
"A rat as big as a human... a Skaven?!" Ryan's face changed slightly, and he frowned: "Didn't Count Helmgart send an army to clean it up?"
"Hush~ My Earl." The hotel owner quickly looked around to confirm that no one was paying attention here, and then whispered: "Your Excellency Ryan, the empire knows that there are not many Skaven, only upper-class nobles.
.”
Ryan's frown deepened.
In Britannia, everyone knows the dangers of the Skaven. Since the founding of the Kingdom for thousands of years, the Kingdom of Knights has been at war with the Skaven on and off, especially the southernmost Principality of Carcassonne.
The Skaven have never been able to invade on a large scale, thanks to the Wood Elves. The Wood Elves in the Athel Loren Forest are the Skaven's nemesis. Every time the Skaven come, the Wood Elves beat them until they run away with their heads in their hands.
The Empire is different. The last war between the Empire and the Skaven was hundreds of years ago. Due to the Skaven's deliberate low-key, the common people have forgotten the existence of the Skaven. It is only recorded in the classics of the great nobles.
It's about Skaven, and a lot of the content is unclear.
"What can Earl Reinhard do about it?" As Romans do, Lane knows that it is not convenient for him to publicize the threat of the Skaven. After all, he is not a noble of the empire.
"The count attaches great importance to this matter. He not only used part of his family wealth to recruit a group of gutter cleaners, but also sent an army into the depths of the mine to check the situation. However, this army has not returned yet," the hotel owner continued.
.
"Understood." Ryan thought that the Skaven might be infiltrating the city, and he planned to discuss it with the two new Reik Guard recruits when they returned.
After waiting for a while, Rudolf and Wagner, the new recruits of Rick's Guards, came back. With unlucky faces, they entered the hotel and sat down directly in the lobby: "Boss, please bring two glasses of high-quality dark ale. Hurry up."
"Hey! Yes, Your Excellencies." The innkeeper quickly took two glasses of dark beer from the beer barrel, brought them to them, and asked cautiously: "Excuse me, what happened?"
"Have the customs clearance documents been approved?" Ryan also asked curiously.
"No, Count Reinhardt is not in the count's castle." Rudolf took a few sips of dark beer and said dissatisfiedly: "Those attendants stopped us for a long time, and only after our questioning did they tell us that Reinhardt
Earl Hart is not here, and they don’t know where he has gone. The customs clearance documents cannot be stamped with the seal until the Earl comes back, and the Earl will not come back until night, which means that the seal cannot be stamped until tomorrow, and you can apply again, and you can set off the day after tomorrow."
"Then that's okay, we can just stay here one more day." Ryan shrugged. Everyone has troubles, and staying one more day is not a problem.
"That's all we can do." Wagner was very open-minded. This new recruit of Rick's Guards regarded this journey as a tour. He played with the Wheel Herald Cavalry Fire Gun in his hand: "Speaking of which, I'm here
I saw a cow that had been chewed full of holes in the center of the city..."
Lane, Rudolf and Wagner chatted in the lobby for a few minutes. Suddenly, there was a strong vibration on the ground and the sound of the house shaking. The beer in Guard Rick's hand was spilled directly on his face.
The Oliver Hotel was shaking violently and dust was falling from the ceiling.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" I remembered the earth-shattering explosion in the distance outside the hotel.
"What's going on? What happened?" Ryan and others were shaken and fell to the ground. However, these people were all professional soldiers. They got up immediately. Rudolph and Wagner's knight followers immediately began to fight for the two Ricks.
Guards wear equipment.
Ryan got up from the ground on his hands and knees. He ran to the door of the hotel and opened the door. Then, the sight that came to him made him open his mouth in surprise.
In the distance, thick smoke was burning where Helmgart's military camp was located.
On the streets, large groups of rat men nearly as big as humans are pouring out of sewers, gutters, and corners of buildings, slaughtering the civilians of Helmgart!