A large and mighty caravan was traveling along the mountain road to Kapu, looking as though the entire city was migrating. Especially since the majority of people's clothes were made of burlap, it made them look even more like refugees.

Amid the crowd, Martin asked Matthew, "Underneath your burlap robe, is that armor?"

"Yes, it's armor indeed." Saying this, Matthew, sitting on the carriage, turned his face and looked towards George and Erwin not far away, pointing at George he said, "Did you see that? That's a noble."

"A noble?"

"Yes, nowadays it's tough for nobles, revenue from their lands isn't enough to live on anymore, so they've thought of doing business. It's their first time, so they're naturally a bit worried and decided to wear armor. They even forced me to wear it too. It's so heavy."

"Are they afraid of bandits?"

"Probably." Matthew shrugged.

Martin turned his face and shouted to George, "Hahaha, don't worry, there are no bandits on this road. Look at us, we don't even have guards. Take off your armor, don't be so timid!"

George silently turned his face away.

All of a sudden, the people in the caravan laughed even more heartily.

Erwin also joined in the laughter.

George rolled his eyes at them and turned away again.

Though it was said to be just a day's journey, in reality, it was a full twenty-four-hour sleepless trek. Walking normally, it would take nearly three days. And if you're carrying goods with donkeys and horses, then it's at least a four-day journey.

The speed of the caravan was like a turtle's pace, which made even George a bit impatient.

But there was no other choice, without the caravan, they wouldn't even have a guide.

...

During the day they crawled slowly along the mountain path, and at night, they lit campfires on some grassland.

Traders from various places sang and danced, entertaining themselves, adding their unique flavor to the night.

Among them, Erwin heard someone talking about Gray's story.

"Know about the Battle of White City? I happened to be at White City to get goods then, right on the spot. Those Holy Lights, sixteen of them, just swooshed down from the sky."

"Was that Holy Light cylindrical or conical?"

"Uh... how should I know?"

"Didn't you see it?"

"Hmm... cylindrical."

"Are you sure? Even if it's cylindrical, one end in the sky, from that far, it should look conical, right?"

"How-how-how should I know! I didn't measure it!"

The storytelling merchant became embarrassed and angry, causing the nearby merchants and their helpers to burst into laughter.

The light of the campfire reflected on George's face.

After listening quietly for a while, George turned his head and asked, "You were there at the time, was the Holy Light cylindrical or conical?"

"I don't know," said Erwin with a smile.

"You don't know?"

"It's normal not to know, right? When a light encompassed you, how could you possibly know whether it was cylindrical or conical? Besides, at the time, I had no chance to notice such things."

"What were you focused on then?"

"I was just thinking about charging forward, we are Knights, we should fight."

After thinking for a while, George sighed and said, "I really envy you guys, at such a young age, you were fighting alongside the Lich King... I mean, with the Lich King. You were destined to become Knights."

"Only two out of fifteen of us are here, is that called destined?" Erwin retorted.

...

The next day, they resumed their journey, beginning the cycle anew. They traveled for a full four days.

During these four days, Erwin cautiously kept an eye on everything around them. However, nothing happened.

As they approached the evening of the fourth day, they finally saw Kapu City from afar.

Or more accurately, it should be Kapu Castle.

In name, it was a city-state, but in reality, it was vastly different from ordinary city-states.

Here, there were no streets, only villages scattered amidst the forest. Everything was built on the mountains, with no large-scale settlements. The most conspicuous was the castle built atop the mountain.

It was a gray castle, covered with spots that looked like dried moss at least thirty meters high, with three towers. Soldiers were standing on the towers, keeping watch.

Hanging, apart from the local lord's antler flag, there was also the rosemary flag of the Beisher Family.

Seeing the rosemary flag, Erwin's brow slightly furrowed: "If they have truly defected, shouldn't they change the flags? Forget about the local lord's flag, the Beisher Family's flag should be the first to be removed. Could it be that the demon only cast a spell?"

George and Matthew exchanged glances, but said nothing.

Soon, they arrived in front of a mountain fence. It was a simple wooden fence with the function of a cheval de frise. A large number of soldiers patrolled back and forth, but they did not stop the merchants.

On the contrary, they opened the gate of the fence, and then stood quietly on the watchtower beside it, allowing the merchants to enter and exit freely. It was as if nothing had happened in Kapu.

The three of them quickly passed through the fence with Martin's team and arrived at one of the small settlements.

Although called a settlement, it actually only had a dozen or so three to four-story houses, gathered together with a piece of flat land in the center. There was a well and a gallows.

Martin cheerfully said to them: "This is the very center of Kapu, and when we come here, we usually stay here. Executions are also carried out here."

"The center of Kapu is here? Shouldn't it be the castle?" Erwin said, looking towards the distant castle.

"It should be the castle, indeed, but what does that center have to do with us? We're just here to do business." Martin shrugged.

The accompanying merchants had already started unloading their goods. There was a warehouse nearby, and they were unloading the goods they had brought over, piling them all into the warehouse. Some merchants had already walked into the inn to begin preparing to rent rooms for the night.

The sky gradually darkened.

Erwin and his companions stood dumbfounded in the center of the open space, feeling somewhat puzzled.

"Did we get it wrong? Everything here seems perfectly normal," Matthew whispered.

"Let's observe first and settle down as well." Erwin replied.

The group tethered their horses at the entrance and then walked into the inn.

The innkeeper, with a gray-white beard, glanced at them and then asked: "Three rooms?"

"No, just one will do," Erwin replied without thinking.

"One room? But there are three of you."

"Yes, the three of us want to share one room."

"I suggest you rent three rooms. There are enough guest rooms here, I can even give you a discount."

"No, we still want just one. Thank you."

"Alright, as you wish." Saying this, the innkeeper lifted an oil lamp from the counter and stepped onto the stairs: "Follow me."

"Okay." Erwin followed him up.

Matthew grumbled softly: "Do we really have to share one room? Three men."

"If we stay separately, do you want to be taken down one by one?" George, walking last, whispered.

...

The innkeeper opened the door, lit a lamp, and said to them: "This is the room with the best view in our inn. From here, you can see down the mountain and also see the gallows. Even if a crowd gathers, you can clearly see any execution from the balcony."

"Do executions happen often here?" Erwin asked.

"Not very often, but perhaps once or twice a month."

The room was quite ordinary, about twenty square meters. It felt a bit cramped for three people to stay, especially as they each had their own weapons and equipment, making it even more crowded. Under the light of the oil lamp, there was a somewhat drowsy feeling.

"Are you satisfied?" the innkeeper asked, turning back.

"Satisfied," Erwin replied.

"Then please pay three days' rent, totaling six silver coins."

As he spoke, the innkeeper had already reached out a hand toward Erwin.

Erwin pulled out his purse, shook it, and handed over six silver coins.

Taking the money, the innkeeper turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Matthew muttered softly: "This shabby room in a backwater place, and it's two silver coins a day? Ridiculous!"

...

At the same moment, in the building across from them, two pairs of eyes were quietly watching them through a window.

It was the girl who had appeared before in Aspa. Behind her stood a middle-aged man in armor.

"Are we acting tonight?" the middle-aged man asked softly.

The girl smiled and replied: "Of course, or should we wait until they are comfortably settled?"

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