Before entering White Crystal City, the veterans of the caravan warned the newcomers with a few summarized words.
"Look less, wander less, do more, don't cause trouble, don't be shocked, and don't speak arrogantly."
This was the warning from the older generation, which couldn't help but make the newcomers ponder.
For some reason... this traveling merchant group felt a bit off.
Soon, the caravan spotted the silhouette of White Crystal City in the distance.
As they approached, they could already see the White Crystal knights patrolling outside the city.
Despite the warnings from the veterans, the newcomers couldn't help but feel a sense of novelty upon seeing that the knights were all monsters, and they began to scan them curiously.
However, the squads of White Crystal knights patrolling outside the city completely ignored their gazes.
"So, so majestic..."
Looking at the iron-armored, tall, and powerful White Crystal knights, Speuler couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
"Miss, look, they look so..."
Speuler turned excitedly to share his thoughts with Saisa, but he froze when he saw her expression and instinctively took a step back.
"Miss?"
Saisa's eyes were wide open, staring at the group of kin knights with an expression of utter disbelief.
Her most striking feature, her silver eyes, had turned into silver vertical slits with pupils the size of pinpricks.
Others might be ignorant, but she was well-traveled and knowledgeable; these guys were actually all dragon-blooded kin! And their strength was definitely not low!
However, Saisa quickly returned to normal; she needed to figure out exactly what was going on with this so-called White Crystal City.
After all, her main purpose for sneaking out this time was to prove herself so that everyone would stop looking down on her.
Though in reality, no one had ever looked down on her; it was all just Saisa's own assumption.
"Miss? Are... are you alright?"
Speuler's call pulled Saisa back from her thoughts, and she returned to her original appearance, shaking her head slightly.
"It is nothing. Let us go; do not fall behind."
"Okay."
Arriving before White Crystal City, the current boss of the caravan—who was also the second-in-command who had initially planned to attack White Crystal City—Ron, walked toward the city gate.
Standing there with his arms crossed was a White Crystal kin wearing iron armor.
Ron walked up to him respectfully, nodding and bowing with a very fawning expression.
"Lord Xiao Shunzi, we have come to White Crystal City again according to the contract; I am very happy to see you in good health once more."
Indeed, this kin was none other than Er Shunzi, one of the high-ranking members of White Crystal City.
Xiao Shunzi ignored Ron's words and released his perception, scanning the group; he found that the total number of people this year was more than usual, around six hundred.
Xiao Shunzi glanced at Ron, and a wave of immense fear washed over the man, making Ron's legs go weak as he nearly knelt on the ground.
An emotionless voice entered Ron's ears.
"Why are there so many people this year?"
Ron's heart tightened, and just as he was about to explain, he was interrupted by Xiao Shunzi raising a hand.
"Forget it, as long as you do not cause any trouble."
"Yes, yes, we absolutely would not dare!"
Ron quickly agreed, but Xiao Shunzi ignored him and turned to walk into the city, leaving the humans with only his retreating back.
Xiao Shunzi's arrogance was seen by everyone, and most of the newcomers couldn't stomach it.
"What kind of attitude is that?"
"Exactly, aren't merchants and locals supposed to be equal? What is he acting so high and mighty for?"
"If you ask me, monsters are just monsters; low-born creatures are low-born, uncivilized and..."
Before he could finish, Ron turned back and glared fiercely at the blond man who was speaking.
But before he could finish his sentence, unfriendly gazes had already converged from the surroundings.
The speaker's heart tightened, and in the next second, a squad of White Crystal knights marched toward him.
Seeing that things were going south, the crowd scrambled to move away, fearing they would be associated with him.
Ron hurried forward and said urgently.
"My lord, he is just..."
Bang!
Ron was sent flying like a broken kite, landing on the grass six meters away; his eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.
This scene was witnessed by everyone, and they were all stunned; one had to know that Ron was also a transcendent, a Silver-tier ranger, yet he was knocked out so easily.
While they were talking, six White Crystal knights had already reached the man who had spoken; their tall and powerful frames allowed them to look down on him with an overwhelming sense of pressure.
"What did you say?"
"I... I, my lord... I didn't say..."
The man looked panicked and tried to explain, but the White Crystal knights were not going to give him a chance.
One of the frost kobolds grabbed him by the neck with one hand and lifted him up.
Extending sharp claws, the kobold was about to cut out his tongue on the spot.
Just as Saisa was about to intervene, the kobold's movements suddenly stopped, and he then tossed the man onto the ground like a piece of trash.
"If there is a next time, there will be no mercy."
With those words, he led the White Crystal knights away to continue their patrol.
No one knew why they had suddenly stopped.
The man, feeling as if he had escaped death, quickly scrambled to his feet, gasping for air.
The caravan entered White Crystal City and arrived at the designated trading area used every year.
Many residents of White Crystal City were already waiting here.
However, what caught Saisa's attention were the many alchemy golems she saw along the way; although most were low-grade, they still piqued her interest.
These alchemy golems were mostly humanoid, but their manufacturing techniques differed from those of the human kingdoms.
The entire day passed without incident, and time quickly shifted to evening.
Under the guidance of some demi-humans specifically assigned to receive these merchants, the caravan arrived at the resting area.
Fortunately, their freedom was not restricted, and people were allowed to move about freely.
While feeling awe toward this city-state composed of monsters, many were also filled with curiosity, and quite a few chose to go out for a stroll.
This included Saisa and Speuler.
"Miss, are we really going for a walk? I feel like it might be a bit too dangerous."
Saisa gave a casual wave of her hand and said calmly.
"It is fine. From what I have seen, these monsters will not attack randomly; we just need to follow the rules."
"Okay!"
Although still somewhat afraid, Speuler believed that as Saisa's personal knight, he should protect her safety.
Thus, the two of them walked out of the so-called inn one after the other and began wandering the wide streets.
They encountered many nocturnal monsters along the way, but everything remained peaceful.
Saisa had already guessed that the behind-the-scenes ruler of the entire White Crystal City was a dragon—a chromatic dragon at that—but she had to admit that the governance was quite good.
It was precisely because of this that she became even more curious.
After all, most chromatic dragons acted according to their desires; they were greedy, bloodthirsty, wealth-hoarding, and lustful.
When their subordinates were converted into dragon-blooded kin, their personalities usually didn't differ much.
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