Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 23 King City
At sunset, the afterglow from the sky reflects the white city wall of Rodel into a magnificent rose red, and the golden tree in the center of the city is even more dazzling. The glazed tiles shine together, bathing the entire royal city in a noble and holy atmosphere.

At this moment, the main gates on the east, south and north sides of the capital have been closed, but in the direction of as many as twelve side gates, you can still see long dragons of chariots and horses going in and out.Most of them are merchant convoys traveling around the border. The huge carriages pulled by pack horses are loaded with rare minerals from the extreme arctic ice fields, exquisite magic products from Academy Town and Sage Town, as well as Stonewell and even Herbs and spices from the Weeping Peninsula.

Most of these caravans come from some high-ranking nobles, and a few are backed by several major chambers of commerce and individual local tycoons with influence all over the mainland.In the more than ten years after the War of Unification, all parts of the border have been connected as one in fact, and there is no traffic barrier caused by factions between various places, so such large caravans have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. Derby is the heart of the Golden Dynasty. They are the countless arteries and blood vessels that grow from the heart, providing nutrients for the operation of the dynasty during the never-ending pumping and dilation.

As the creators and maintainers of these blood vessels, the nobles of the Golden Dynasty accumulated huge wealth in just a few decades.When it comes to the background and history of the nobles, compared with those ancient human nobles who originated in the Xingyue era and once served the Storm Dynasty and the Wude Dynasty, even the oldest nobles of the old party are not worth mentioning.However, when people focus on power, wealth and power, they will find that those old dignitaries are no different from ordinary people in front of today's golden aristocrats.

"Sister Lance," Lucia looked down at the endless giant city below, trying to calm down her swaying mind, "How many people do you think Rodel has?"

In all fairness, he was a little surprised when he saw the panoramic view of the Golden Kingdom from a high altitude. Judging from the size of the town and the density of population flowing between the streets, the city's appearance almost reminded him of the perspective of aerial photography in his previous life. The modern metropolis under the sky is even surpassed in the grandeur of its buildings.

At first, he wondered why there would be such a huge city in a world similar to the background of the Middle Ages, but when he thought about it carefully, the worldview of the Ring of Law was full of all kinds of unimaginable technologies and creations—whether it was giant puppets over ten meters tall , or a space portal that can easily transport thousands of miles away, all of which demonstrate the creativity and productivity beyond imagination in this world.

"Ten years ago, when Foer and I first came to the King's Capital to preach, there were about 200 million people," Lance Shanks recalled, "but it has been more in the past two years. I'm not sure about the specific data, but less It is said that it is more than 800 million."

"800 million?" Lucia couldn't help being stunned even though she was well prepared.

It's not that he hasn't read the materials about Rodel contained in the Sky City Great Library, but the content recorded in that material is still in the 18th year of the Golden Calendar, nearly 30 years have passed since now, and the population of Rodel is also here. It swelled a hundred times over the years.

On the other hand, although the ancient dragon dynasty can still compete with the golden dynasty in name, Lucia knows that even if the sky city and the dozens of small and large islands attached to the eastern sea area are added up, including dragons, humans, orcs and a small number of demihumans And hybrids, the entire population of their own country does not exceed 100 million - just a fraction of Rodel.

"This gap is really big enough." He said with a slightly rough voice.

"Sister Lance, after entering the city and settling down, I would like to see the detailed information of the Golden Dynasty, including statistics on the number of heroes and above, background information of nobles above earl, military expenditure and deployment of troops in the past three years, as well as the information collected All the latest political, military, and financial information I have received. The information on these contents at home is outdated, can you help me think of a way?"

Lance Shanks watched him recover from the short-term shock and loss, and quickly put forward the most reasonable action plan at the moment. He was surprised and delighted, so he agreed without hesitation, "No problem, The Ancient Dragon Temple already has some archives in stock, and I'll have someone organize them immediately when I get back, and it can be done within three days."

At the same time, outside the main entrance of Rodel West City, the welcome team sent by the golden royal family had already cleared the entire area. The Rodel soldiers in the brigade were dressed in golden armor and robes and lined up in a neat square array on both sides of the Royal Road. side.

The soldiers on the left each wear a gilt-decorated ceremonial sword on their waists, and hold a dynasty flag decorated with golden trees. The ancient dragon banner decorated with the outline of the sky city in ancient times.

When Lucia and Lance Shanks arrived outside the city, a chilly autumn wind blew across the wilderness, and the palace orchestra in the queue also played a solemn symphony when they saw the dragon shadow.Among Rulin's spears and halberds, the gloomy sound of drums and horns surged like waves, and countless banners fluttered in the wind.

Bang—a dull vibration sounded like mountains and rivers shaking, and thousands of soldiers tapped their breastplates with their right fists to salute the two ancient dragons who appeared at the end of the royal road.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of orderly footsteps sounded from the city gate, and hundreds of Rodel knights in gold heavy armor and holding large shields and spears came towards them. Slightly different, these knights all have a dragon claw-shaped coat of arms hanging on their chests—this is a symbol of the ancient dragon's belief.

Walking at the front of the queue was a burly old man in golden-red armor. He pressed the hilt of his waist with his left hand, and held the ax-shaped knight helmet between his ribs with his right arm. His face was full of wind and frost, but His temperament is not at all downcast and decadent like most people of this age, but like a well-maintained sword, the longer the years, the colder it becomes.

A step back from the old man's side, followed closely by a youthful young man who also raised his helmet and pressed his sword. From the appearance, he was two or three years younger than Lucia.At a distance of more than a hundred steps, Lucia keenly noticed the reverence in the boy's eyes looking at Lance Shanks, but when the eyes shifted to him, it was much more complicated - there was awe, curiosity, and it seemed A bit of indistinct scrutiny and hostility.

But he didn't have time to think about it, the old man and the knights soon came before him, he first nodded to Lance Shanks, and then he bowed solemnly to Lucia, "Dear Your Highness Lucia Shanks ——Forge Knight Altapis, on behalf of His Majesty Malika, His Majesty Radagon, and all the people under the radiance of the Golden Tree, sincerely welcome you.”

(End of this chapter)