Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Registering the Pioneer Territory
The city construction of Marle Castle is extremely opulent, with every building proclaiming the city’s prosperity and wealth.
Here is vastly different from the style of the Empire. In the ornately decorated Central Square, instead of a huge knight statue, there stands a magnificent fountain. When water jets out, a massive rainbow forms over the city, reflecting the city’s dazzling nightlife.
There’s none of the knight’s governing territory’s majesty and rigidity here. Instead, around the square are various colorful-style buildings, towering spires, domed divine temples, and most notably, the merchants’ guilds decorated with exquisite reliefs.
This is a paradise for merchants, with enormous wealth. Chambers of commerce from around the world bring all kinds of rare treasures and luxury goods. The citizens here are extremely arrogant, believing their city surpasses the Empire in cultural and artistic dimensions.
The clerks inside the city hall magnify this attitude to the extreme. Shabulin represents the Electorate Council of the Empire here to register information for Pioneer Lords coming from various regions.
He has long been accustomed to the city’s hedonistic lifestyle, and in his eyes, all Pioneer Knights are merely a bunch of foul beggars.
So even though Su Li had a griffin perched on his shoulder and two knights in Vibranium Rune Armor following him, Shabulin merely sneered, lazily opened the map, and said, "The areas marked by green flags can be registered as your Pioneer Territory. Hurry up, don’t waste my resting time."
Su Li was in a good mood and didn’t bother with his attitude. He glanced down at the map’s overview. Although the map lacked detailed information, in this information-poor place, it was still very valuable. Through the map, Su Li roughly understood the Border Prince’s Territory. From north to east are the vast black mountain ranges, the south is a vast sea, the east is an endless forest, and the west connects to a desert and plateau.
The world’s forests are different from Earth’s. It’s unknown whether the forests are cursed by demons or blessed by the Elf God, but the trees grow wildly inside. If not continually felled, they will quickly grow back, and in many cases, the speed of felling can’t keep up with their growth rate.
So straying far from rivers and roads, venturing into the forests, is unwise. Bands of bandits and wildlife make their homes beneath the giant forest branches. But more terrifying is as you venture deeper into the forest, the harder it becomes to find these creatures, and the human understanding of its interior is scarce.
This means it’s difficult to communicate with other human forces from all sides. The Border Prince’s Territory somewhat resembles a large basin plain.
But before Su Li could continue his research, Shabulin quickly put away the map and impatiently said, "Alright, you’ve seen the map, choose quickly."
Su Li frowned and asked, "I didn’t even get to clearly see the terrain, how can I choose?"
Shabulin sneered, "It’s all the same. Anyway, you Pioneer Lords won’t survive a few months inside. There were numbers on the map just now, just pick one at random."
Hilude angrily looked at him: "At least open the map again and let us choose according to your numbers. What kind of service attitude is this? I will complain to your superior about you!"
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Shabulin laughed sarcastically, "Then go ahead! I’m a civil servant sent by the Electorate Council, go to the Imperial Capital to complain. Missy, I’ll tell you, if you offend me, it won’t end well for you!"
"Want to see the map again? Hand over twenty gold coins, or spend a night with me. Otherwise, you’ll have to make a random choice! You bunch of filthy beggars, what airs are you putting on in Marle Castle? Oh, your eyes are so wide, are you thinking of hitting me? Guards!"
Two Elite Knights immediately led a squad of well-equipped Chain Armored soldiers into the room. They’re used to such incidents; every year a batch of young and insolent Pioneer Lords offend this clerk.
Initially, they might resist, but eventually, they had to bow their heads, pay a substantial amount of gold coins, and apologize to Shabulin to reconcile.
Knight Oerstein instantly got furious, empty handedly took down all the soldiers, and then grabbed Shabulin by the collar, pulling him out from behind the counter like a chick.
Shabulin was still being tough, saying, "I’ve seen plenty more capable than you! You think you can overturn Marle Castle? I’ll tell you, if you’re smart, cough up 500 gold coins and apologize, or when the City Guard Army arrive, you’ll all end up in jail."
Su Li didn’t care at all. He leisurely sat on the chair Hilude moved over, crossing his legs and leaning back, watching Knight Oerstein give him a good beating, bruising his eyes.
Pioneer Knights have immunity as such fights wouldn’t land them in jail. Shabulin was deliberately scaring them. Even if reconciliation isn’t possible, at most Su Li would pay a fine, and he had plenty of gold coins.
After Knight Oerstein taught him a lesson, Su Li leisurely smiled and said, "I probably don’t have time to complain about you to the Imperial Capital. But making you uncomfortable isn’t difficult. If your superior learns about your corruption and framing of Pioneer Knights, I wonder if you’ll retain your position as a civil servant?"
"You threaten me?" Shabulin’s eyes were filled with fury, glaring at Su Li.
"If your wife knew about your affairs..."
Shabulin’s gaze instantly cleared. His wife, the daughter of a senator from Marle Castle, was his main reliance for his position. If she discovered his affairs, she’d surely tear him apart!
"Honorable Pioneer Lord, I believe there’s been some misunderstanding between us." He rushed to the desk, retrieved the map, and knelt on one knee before Su Li, spreading the map open: "You can study it carefully and decide later. As per the Empire’s decree, you have three chances to choose. After selecting your Pioneer Territory, there’s a one-month inspection period. During this month, you can examine the site and select again, but if a month passes without re-registering, Marle Castle will send the updated map information back to the Empire, preventing changes."
Su Li smiled contentedly; this is the attitude an Empire should possess. The Empire values Pioneer Lords, so how could they let them perish easily? If not for leveraging this clerk, most Pioneer Knights would never have heard of these rules.
Su Li looked at Shabulin kneeling at his feet, tut-tutting with a sigh, "I still prefer your defiant demeanor, please revert back."
He reached out to take the map from Shabulin’s hand and tossed it behind him, saying, "These are just to fool ordinary Pioneer Lords. I need more core, more confidential information."
Su Li didn’t believe such a corrupt Empire could put everything on display transparently.
Just look at this little clerk; he had corruption ingrained into his bones! Without bribing him, he wouldn’t even show the map or disclose the specific rules.
How could they fairly and transparently present the truly valuable information of the entire Border Prince’s Territory?
Think about how the Elector’s offspring and Kingdom Knight’s offspring couldn’t fairly select. These folks, to curry favor with electors, certainly possess hidden information.
Shabulin immediately shook his head heavily and resolutely said, "Honorable Pioneer Lord, I truly don’t have any hidden information here. Besides, more important information isn’t something a mere clerk like me could access."
Su Li smiled, leaning back indifferently in his chair: "I heard you even with the civil servant’s wife..."
Shabulin was so shocked he fell to his knees and quickly clung to Su Li’s right arm, saying, "I suddenly remembered news that hasn’t reached the civil servant. The Pioneer Lord at Hesse foothills, from the Elector’s family, died this month in a monster invasion. The information hasn’t reached the civil servant yet; I think some news might not be necessary to let him know."
When he said "some" he deliberately emphasized, looking earnestly at Su Li.
Su Li raised an eyebrow and said, "Bring me the map to check, if the information is true, it will disappear. But if you deceive me, I can’t guarantee what rumors might spread in Marle Castle."