Chapter 170: Chapter 128: Werewolf, Bloodline Power
The resting area.
After sleeping in Chaos Square for a few nights, he found that he not only slept more soundly there, but also felt more secure. He decided that from now on, whenever he was sleeping alone, he would do so inside Chaos Square.
Once the resting area was set up, he left Iron Blood Castle without any hesitation.
It took him just over two hours to reach Ironhoof Town, a border town of the Sal Empire.
Unlike his last visit, he wasn’t wearing a mask or the black armor of a Dark Night Knight this time.
He was currently dressed in black Hunter’s Clothing, with a Fine Steel Cross Sword at his waist. With no other luggage, he looked no different from the scion of a noble family out to gain experience.
After arriving in Ironhoof Town, he first bought some daily supplies in town, then found an Adventurer’s shop where he purchased a map of the Sal Empire.
Once he had done all this, he left Ironhoof Town and continued toward Storm City, the Capital City of the Sal Empire.
As the most powerful Empire on the Eastern Continent, the Sal Empire had a vast territory.
The Laine Kingdom and the Kalin Kingdom combined were only about one-fifth the size of the Sal Empire.
Furthermore, it was different from the Laine Kingdom and the Kalin Kingdom, which had established their Royal Capitals in the heartlands of their Kingdoms.
The Sal Empire’s Capital City, Storm City, was not located in the Empire’s heartland. Instead, it was on the Empire’s eastern coastline, a true coastal city.
The reason why the coastal Storm City was designated as the Capital City was not complicated.
It was because Storm City was where the founding emperor of the Sal Empire, Alexander I, had first risen to power.
After Alexander I overthrew the previous empire and established the Sal Empire, he did not allow the former empire’s capital to remain the Capital City. Instead, he built a new Capital City in his own Storm Domain, where he had risen to power.
After a thousand years of expansion, today’s Storm City is one of the largest and most prominent cities on the Eastern Continent.
Ironhoof Town is a small town in the northwestern part of the Sal Empire.
This meant that for Roy to reach Storm City, he would have to cross more than half of the Sal Empire.
If he traveled at his top speed without worrying about stamina, he was confident he could reach Storm City in two days.
But he didn’t plan to do that.
’Storm City isn’t going anywhere,’ he thought. ’Besides, the Sal Empire’s Guardian won’t be sending the Apprentices to the Wizarding World for another year. There’s no need to torture myself like this.’
Tony already believed he was in seclusion, breaking through to the rank of Great Knight.
In other words, there would be no problem even if he spent a month or two in the Sal Empire before returning.
Since that was the case, he didn’t mind taking the time to experience the culture and customs of the Sal Empire and give himself a vacation in the process.
After leaving Ironhoof Town, Roy followed the direction indicated on the map and headed for Storm City at a leisurely pace.
From his perspective, his current speed wasn’t particularly fast—only about a hundred kilometers per hour.
But from anyone else’s perspective, his speed was nothing short of astonishing.
After all, a superior warhorse could only reach speeds of fifty to sixty kilometers per hour.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Roy didn’t take the main roads. Instead, just as he had on previous journeys, he crossed mountains and forded rivers as he encountered them.
As long as his direction was correct, he didn’t need to worry about getting lost.
「More than three hours later.」
Roy arrived at Blue Water City, the first provincial capital he had reached since entering the Sal Empire.
It was dusk, and the afterglow of the setting sun had dyed the sky golden-yellow.
Although night had not yet fallen, he had no intention of traveling further and decided to spend the night in Blue Water City.
After paying the City Entry Tax, Roy followed the crowd into the city.
Like Ice Wind City, Blue Water City was also divided into an Inner City and an outer city.
To better experience the culture of the Sal Empire, he did not enter the Inner City.
When it came to luxury and entertainment, the Inner City was certainly far superior to the outer city.
But he hadn’t come to Blue Water City for pleasure.
As the saying goes: Those by the mountain, eat of the mountain; those by the water, eat of the water.
Dietary habits and food specialties are inextricably linked to local culture.
And the everyday delicacies affordable to the common person are an even better reflection of local life and customs.
After strolling through the streets of the outer city for a while, Roy picked a tavern that was bustling with activity.
’A tavern with so many customers can’t have bad food!’
Before he even entered the tavern, he had prepared himself for a wait to get an empty table.
As it turned out, his luck was better than he had imagined.
Not long after he stepped into the tavern’s main hall, a table of customers paid their bill and left.
The moment the tavern’s waitress finished clearing the table, he sat down and asked, "What are the tavern’s house specials?"
"Baked snails, roasted leg of meat, fish soup, stew, and blood sausage!"
Without any hesitation, the waitress in the long gray dress immediately rattled off all the tavern’s house specials.
Roy didn’t give it much thought and said to the waitress, "Bring me one of every house special, and a bottle of double-distilled pure malt ale."
After speaking, he took a Gold Coin from his breast pocket and handed it to the waitress.
The waitress froze for a moment when she saw the Gold Coin he offered.
This was an ordinary tavern, not some high-class restaurant.
Even ordering every single house special would only cost seven or eight Silver Coins.
When Roy had first walked in, the waitress knew he was no ordinary person—most likely the son of a noble.
The exquisite and well-tailored black Hunter’s Clothing, the boots stitched from doe-skin, the Fine Steel Cross Sword that looked expensive at a glance.
Even so, she never would have expected Roy to pay with a Gold Coin right away.