Venetia was located in the middle of the trade route connecting the capital of the Sylvester Empire and the sea. While it was still developing and not very well known, many opportunists started pa.s.sing through it. The route was slightly shorter and the taxes were incredibly low compared to the other towns of the county.Mars stood at the Eastern Gate of Venetia. The wall surrounding the town was still being built but people were only allowed to enter the town by going through the main gates. There were only two main gates: the Eastern Gate built in the direction of the sea and the Western Gate which was connected to the path to the Capital.
"Sniff Sniff."
Mars observed the flow of people. His job was to protect the town and to stop the traffic of contraband going through Venetia. The players and adventurers did not need to be checked; they only needed to show their Ident.i.ty crystal to be allowed in the town but it was different for the merchant caravans.
The merchants had to pay an entry fee and if they planned on selling their merchandise at Venetia, they also needed to pay a portion of the merchandise they were carrying. They would be checked again upon leaving the town and would pay a fine if the count did not add up. All the relevant transactions were done at the Trading Hall.
"Ten tons of salt straight from Oceanview," declared a merchant. The NPC guards briefly checked the content of the man"s caravan and nodded. The merchant smiled and ordered his men to start moving again but before he could go past the gate, Mars stepped in front of them, blocking the way.
"Ten tons of salt, huh?" Mars snorted.
"Uh, yes officer," said the merchant. He was clearly intimidated by the Lionman"s stature. Mars glared at the merchant who started sweating.
The Lionman stepped forward and pulled off the cloth covering the salt. Countless white crystals were revealed. Some were large and coa.r.s.e while others were finer.
"As you can see officer, we are indeed carrying salt. Please have a taste."
Mars glanced at the merchant before examining the pile of salt. Without warning, he started digging into the pile. His actions naturally attracted the attention of the pa.s.sers-by.
"Hey! What are you doing? You are spilling our salt all over the place!" exclaimed the merchant. Effectively, the white crystals were spilling everywhere on the floor but Mars did not care.
As he dug deeper, the crystals became coa.r.s.er and larger. Then, Mars finally stopped and picked out one crystal. "Is this salt?"
"Uh. Yes, officer. Doesn"t it look exactly the same as the other crystals?" replied the merchant. He started shaking; the merchant had a bad feeling about this.
Mars grinned. "Do you really think I am stupid? Men arrest them and seize all their merchandise!"
"What? Wait! You cannot do that! People! Look! The guards are using their power to abuse small merchants like us!" exclaimed the merchant.
"Idiot. Who are you trying to fool? This is clearly a [Crystalized Tear]. You did a good job hiding it amidst the salt. It might have gone unnoticed if it was the previous guards but my senses are thousands of time acuter than humans."
"What are you talking about? You are trying to frame me!"
"Then, just eat of those larger crystals. It should be safe to do so since it is just salt, am I right?" sarcastically declared Mars.
[Crystalized Tears] were a highly controlled substance. They were usually obtained from creatures like Sirens and Mermaids. They were one of the main ingredients of many aphrodisiacs. Consuming one [Crystalized Tear] without it being processed or refined could have severe consequences.
The merchant was unable to answer and under the judgemental stares of the crowd, he was escorted to the prison.
Mars nodded satisfactorily to the other Lionmen. They successfully seize yet another carriage of contraband. Many people believed that Venetia would be weak and unregulated but they were wrong. Smuggling goods there was even harder than normal. The sole beneficiary of the smugglers" actions was Venetia. All the confiscated goods now belonged to them.
"Well. When will I stop something useful to me? So unlucky. Only Venus is getting a lot from these smugglers. I can already imagine the scene of the succubi snacking on those [Crystalized Tears]."
While he was still watching over the caravan, another commotion broke out.
"What do you mean we are not allowed into the town? This is our town!"
Mars furrowed his brows and looked at the source of the commotion. He saw the Lionmen blocking the way of a large group of players. "Large" would be an understatement; there was a long line of players and carts. With a rough glance, Mars estimated that there were more than a thousand players.
Normally, players were not stopped at the gates like this but this time was different. After all, they were a group of more than a thousand people. How could the guards not be alarmed by seeing so many people arriving at the same time? Furthermore, there was another red flag that triggered the Lionmen"s unusual response. They recognized the logo on the players" equipment; they were all members of Blue Lagoon.
The Lionmen pitifully looked at their leader, requesting his help in managing the situation. Mars quickly approached the arguing players.
"These b.a.s.t.a.r.ds are really stubborn. I thought Venus already wiped out their team with her girls."
"First of all, this is not your town; you better treat the guards with respect. We have the authority to deny entry to any adventurer. Please allow us to inspect the goods in your possession before we can make a decision," declared Mars.
"What? And who are you to speak like that, beastman? The first thing to do is to fire these nasty NPCs and replace them with our own men!" answered the player. He was a middle-aged man approaching his sixties; a few more years and he would have been unable to join the game due to age restrictions. His name was Naut. He glared at Mars and quickly typed a message in the group chat.
A woman stepped out of the group of players and made her way next to Naut. "Yes, elder?" Vanity was very polite to the elder. After learning what happened in the Count"s castle, the elders of Blue Lagoon started focusing their attention on her. They knew the worth of a town and naturally wanted to take it for themselves. As a result, Vanity quickly climbed in rank and was already equal to Albatross; but even then, her status was special. She no longer needed to take orders from the team leaders and answered directly to the elders.
Vanity glanced at the Lionmen and immediately understood the situation. "My name is Vanity. I am the mother of your mayor. Will you please call her here? She will recognize me."
Mars looked at Vanity. He could see a few similarities between her face and Iris". "The mayor is busy doing her work. Besides she has already informed us that there was a high chance that her parents and brother would try to seek her. She stated clearly: They are allowed to enter the town but would not receive any form of special treatment. They are also not allowed near the mayor"s office."
Vanity laughed drily. "That child is still angry at me after all these months. Just let me speak to her. I will resolve the situation." She could feel the inquisitive stare of the players.
"Unfortunately, this is not something we can do. You are free to enter the town after we inspect your possession."
"Alright. We will think of something once we get inside," said Naut.
Mars nodded and signaled his men to search the carriages. Unfortunately, they found nothing.
"You are free to enter. Don"t cause any trouble."
Blue Lagoon entered Venetia under the vigilant guard of the Lionmen. Mars internally sighed. "I don"t understand why the mistress is allowing them inside. It would have been better to simply get rid of them. Unless she wants to slowly torture them. I suppose they would make excellent toys and sources of experience for the succubi."
"The number of players is not decreasing at all as the mistress antic.i.p.ated. I should ask her to summon more Lionmen. Even with the hundred additional cubs she summoned, four hundred guards are far from enough."
...
"Vanity. Explain what is happening. Did you not say the mayor is your daughter and she would welcome you with opened arms?" asked Naut once they were out of sight of the gates.
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Vanita displayed a pitiful expression. "I thought she would have forgiven me after all so long. She ran away from home because I arranged a marriage for her. Now she seems to still be angry with my husband and me."
"Angry because you arranged her marriage? Tsssk. I don"t care what happened but find a way to mend your relationship with her. If we can take control of Venetia, we would easily dominate this county and start setting down our roots. We would have a huge headstart over the other guilds who would not have a town yet. And with two counties under our control, we should have no problem facing the other large guilds."
"I will do my best but I cannot even meet her and she would not accept my friend request," answered Vanity.
"Find a way then. I will go and speak to her personally. We will see how the situation will evolve from now on. Vultex will be green with envy if we manage to take over the town they invested so much in."