Chapter 398: The Busy Port
Since East County City did not welcome him, Kant naturally did not intend to enter.
His troops were indeed large in number and could be considered as elites, especially the 30 Lion Knights and 50 Lion Squires. With their high-quality equipment, they could be considered as the best of the best.
The guards afraid that it would be dangerous to let this elite troop in the city.
No one dared to take responsibility.
And no one dared to agree to let Kant in.
Even if they were to let Kant in alone, or if they were limited to three people, they would not be able to do so.
If there were heretics of Crimson Sect who attacked Kant, it would be a big problem. The group of elite troops in the Nahrin Desert would arouse and take revenge.
As for the other n.o.ble families in the Dukedom of Leo, they would probably just sit back and watch the show.
It would be a really good show.
How could it not be good to weaken their political enemies.
Although the East County was still the territory and region of the Dukedom of Leo, it was in fact a semi-independent warlord.
If Kant and Countess Agatha really fought to the death and both sides suffered heavy losses, those n.o.bles would be able to take advantage of the situation and occupy both lands. Even if they gave up the East County and instead sneaked into the Nahrin Desert to obtain salt mines, it would still be good.
Now, who didn’t know that Kant’s power was unparalleled and was already comparable to those great n.o.ble families.
The reason was even clearer.
It was the salt mine!
If it wasn’t for the salt mine in the Nahrin Desert, then how could Kant have the funds for the initial construction of his kingdom.
And in the middle period, Kant could even raise so many troops, infiltrated other places, and bought the hearts of merchants and landlords. All of these required huge amount of money. Kant, on the other hand, acted as if he wasn’t worried, throwing money recklessly, not leaving any way out for himself.
It was all because of the existence of the highly profitable salt mines!
This had long been coveted by countless n.o.ble families.
There was nothing they could do.
They could only think of this.
They simply couldn’t imagine that Kant didn’t need the basic currency of this world.
Other than gold and some precious extraordinary items, Kant didn’t need anything else. All he needed was gold.
If Kant wanted to obtain gold in the long run, which was the gold eagle that was currently circulating in the hands of the great n.o.ble merchants, he would need the support of trade. Of course, table salt was indeed the main part of the trade. It was a very popular luxury item.
Kant’s trading route was the upper-cla.s.s route. It was a route that only the n.o.ble and landlord merchants could enjoy.
In fact, it was the same.
Ordinary civilians couldn’t afford much salt.
The wealthier citizens couldn’t even eat three or four times a week.
As for those who lived in outside the city, their average age was 36 years old. There were very few peasants who lived past 60 years old. They couldn’t even eat salt a few times a month. Even if they did, it was still low-grade marsh salt.
It was refined from the swamp in the east. It had a salty taste and was very bitter.
However, the price of this thing was not low.
In the western European type of feudal society.
It was really a darkness that would never rise again.
For example, in a unified society like the one in the celestial dynasty, after they mastered the technology of boiling salt and drying salt, they forced salt and iron to be despotic. The price of salt would not be too low or too high. There were not many people who could eat salt.
One had to know that in the ancient times of Earth, salt was distributed as soldiers’ wages in the more advanced Roman Republic.
This world was even worse.
Salt was a necessity, and fine white salt was a luxury.
It was equivalent to spices.
Those n.o.ble families were extremely fond of the delicious and pure fine white salt.
If there was no such fine white salt at the banquet, the host would definitely be ridiculed, especially in the face of those n.o.ble families. It was a scar that could not be erased, and they would slowly lose their connections and eventually become alone.
In Kant’s eyes, this was a situation where one would suffer if they insisted on keeping their reputation as being able to afford luxuries. That was a business opportunity.
The salt mine was in his hands.
The trade caravan had been supported by him.
If there wasn’t an absolute threat of force, then his table salt trade would continue to increase.
As for the so-called threat of force, in Kant’s eyes, it was just a joke. At the very least, in the Nahrin Desert, he was the boss, the one and only lord. Not to mention the Dukedom of Leo, even the G.o.d descendants would have to avoid him!
At the end of that battle, Kant’s casualties were not too great, and they were still within an acceptable range.
But those G.o.d descendants were completely wiped out, completely wiped out!
This was the difference in strength.
It was a different time now.
In the past, the G.o.ds and demons were the rulers of this world.
But now, as their power faded, the world had long been claimed by all other races.
And it was during this period that the human race rose to the top. At least in the land where Kant was located, there were not many powerful foreign races. Even if there were, they were all driven to the most remote corners.
For example, the low-level Jackalan in the Nahrin Desert.
Or the Beastman in the Wildland in the west, and the unsociable barbarian.
Even if there was a Dwarf Kingdom, it was in the far south. It was said that they had to pa.s.s through an empty wilderness before they could finally reach it. This was also why table salt from the Dwarf Kingdom was so expensive.
If there were no obstacles and no danger, it would take half a year to travel back and forth normally.
If they encountered a Beastman or other foreign race.
The journey was possible to drag it out for a year.
Kant was not in a hurry.
His table salt trade could travel from the Dukedom of Leo to the Silver Platter Kingdom in a month, and it would be a direct round trip.
As long as they had the goods, there was no need to worry about sales. The current human countries, such as the merchant s.h.i.+ps on the Resniston River had begun to purchase table salt in large quant.i.ties. It was because they knew that the Dukedom of Leo had found a new salt mine.
This table salt trade was a profitable business. Even if the merchants returned to their own countries and resold it, they would still be able to earn more money.
Kant and the others arrived at the port of the East County City.
The crowd was moving.
Carriage filled with goods were everywhere.
Even the ground of the port was neatly cut and paved with stones. It was a top-grade stone road, just like an ancient pa.s.sage. It allowed the carriage carrying goods to move quickly.
Among them, there were many merchants in luxurious clothes walking with strong guards behind them.
Judging from the style of their clothes, they did not look like merchants from the Dukedom of Leo.
“This place is not bad.” Rolf licked his lips with a slight drool.
“Calm down.” Kant glanced at him.
As a lord, he knew what his valiant general was thinking. After thinking for a while, he ordered, “Find a place to wait. We have so many troops, they won’t enter the port to avoid trouble.”
“Understood.” Rolf immediately nodded.
He understood this point.
With so many cavalries entering the port, it would be troublesome if there was any trouble.
It was still a relatively crowded port s.p.a.ce. Even if there was a provocation, they wouldn’t be able to use their warhorse.
At that time, even if there were thieves who came over and stole from them, they wouldn’t be able to enter the narrow alleys of the port to chase after them. Even if they managed to catch them, they wouldn’t be able to directly kill people like they did in the war.
In short, there were many restrictions for the cavalries to enter the city. They did not need to and were unwilling to go in.
However, Rolf still understood the meaning behind it.
After a slight hesitation, he still asked, “Lord Kant, you are not planning to go in by yourself again, right? According to my understanding, the East County City is not peaceful. I reckon that your ident.i.ty has been exposed, it’s not safe for you to go alone.”
“Bring five Lion Knights with me.” Kant was calm. “I’ll be fine.”
“Five…” Rolf was even more hesitant. He looked at the five-meter-high city wall in front of him and advised, “Lord Kant, bring five more. You can handle things easier if you encounter troubles.”
“Then that’s it.” Kant made the decision.
These ten Lion Knights were all grand knights.
They would be extremely powerful in the port of the East County City, or even the entire East County.
Take the current most n.o.ble of the East County, Countess Agatha, for example. It was still uncertain whether she could bring out ten grand knights. She probably had not more than five of them, and they were still newbies.
It was not easy to train grand knights. They needed strict inheritance.
Kant, for example, was able to ma.s.s produce grand knights with some special methods. It was simply shocking.
This was also the advantage of the golden finger to cheat.
After all, Kant was backed by countless “Mount and Blade” worlds.
In this real world, there was nothing they could do about the scarcity of grand knights. However, in the high magic worlds of “Mount and Blade” MOD, it was still very easy to ma.s.s produce magic knights, or the grand knights in this world.
They did not dwell too much on this problem. Soon, they found a suitable place.
An entertainment area outside the city wall of the port.
That’s right.
It was here.
There was a total of five streets in this area close to the city wall. There were all kinds of bars, restaurants, and hotels.
It was already evening. The streets were brightly lit. Countless pedestrians were running lazily. There was an intoxicating sweet smell in the air. It was the steam from the dessert bakery.
Of course, there was also the intoxicating smell of wine in the bars and restaurants.
There were also waitresses dressed in nude clothes.
This was the entertainment paradise.
This was the place for people’s indulgence.
Many mercenaries were walking in groups of three or five, with weapons on their bodies. The others were not afraid at all. Only the elite lance-cla.s.s soldiers in high-cla.s.s mail armor who occasionally walked by on the streets swept their intimidating gazes over.
This place was chaotic, indulgent, and money was everything. There was not much of order in here.
The world of the strong and the rich.
There was no choice.
The port was a busy and stressful place.
The merchants and guards who came from far away also needed to use alcohol and women to relieve the pressure of being on a s.h.i.+p for a long time. In this colorful world, it was easier for them to lose themselves.
Kant did not like this kind of environment, but Rolf and the elite cavalry behind him whistled happily.
It was just like living in a fence in the Sarrand Desert.
“Find a few hotels.” Kant gave the order.
He glanced at the group of bandits who saw the excitement of women and said in a deep voice, “No bars, no drinking. Watch your wallets, warhorse, and weapons. I don’t want to find anything missing tomorrow morning.”
“Yes!” When the bandits heard that, they answered helplessly.
“Understood.” Rolf also nodded helplessly.
However, he still went to the front to look for hotels. There were close to 600 people, and he needed a lot of rooms. He estimated that he could buy five hotels. As the second-level commander of this team, he also had to manage the financial expenses.