As night fell, Caesar finally arrived at the first stop of his journey, Galanoud. He then easily entered the city as a dragonoid and looked around. To the north was the industrial area where workshops and warehouses gathered, and to the south was the brightly lit market where the commercial area intersected. The east gate of the city happened to be at the intersection of the industrial and commercial areas.
Caesar thought for a while and turned left, following the crowd into the market.
It was close to July, the middle of summer. The North, with its unique climate characteristics, was unbearably hot. Fortunately, the sun had now disappeared, and the evening was cooler. The streets gradually became lively. The charming shopkeeper stood at the door and greeted her acquaintances. The fishmongers and fruit vendors set up their stalls on the street. The aroma of food, the stench of sewage, and other smells mixed together to form the unique 'liveliness' of the market.
"Come, come, come, fragrant and fresh oyster soup. Drink a bowl tonight and have a good night's sleep."
"Crispy muffins, iced ginger beer, and summer dew."
"Gold just dug up by the goblins outside the city. Authentic!"
"Gladiators of Victor Torre. The last two. A free female slave if you buy them."
…
Most of the vendors who sold slaves and treasures had their own stalls. The street vendors who sold fruits and cooked food were shouting loudly, shuttling through the crowd and greeting the passersby who were in a hurry. There were humans, orcs, and even powerful demonic hounds and half-dragons. However, the street vendors were not afraid at all and still went up to them enthusiastically to promote.
"Luna should like to shop in this kind of place."
Caesar raised his head slightly and took a deep breath. He was in a good mood. Speaking of which, this kind of life where he mingled with the crowd and the market was rare for him. Most of the time, he maintained the habits of a dragon and lived alone. Although he had personally created this mixed race empire, he rarely immersed himself in it.
Taking the time to walk through the crowded streets of the market was one of the few leisure times he could enjoy.
As he walked forward, the density of the crowd slowly increased. Caesar was walking towards the center of the market. Along the street, many wandering harpsmen and bards were playing. The melody was sometimes sad and sometimes melodious.
Some of the musicians were surrounded by many children. They listened to the music and instinctively twisted their bodies to the beat, performing their own dance. Whether it was the current empire or the former northern kingdoms, people had the tradition of holding bonfire parties. At that time, people would eat, drink, and dance around the bonfire. It was one of the few entertainment activities in this era. The adults would choose the time and place, but the children would not.
"Strange." Caesar was a little puzzled...... "Why don't I see any adventurers?"
In Airadia, adventurers and mercenaries were always one of the most popular professions. No matter in which country, adventurers could be easily seen. They wandered between humans and other races, searching for treasures, slaying evil dragons, and creating countless beautiful epic chapters.
However, Caesar forgot that before he went into hibernation, he ordered the banning of the profession of adventurers. Those who were full of energy and only knew how to cause trouble were all incorporated into the empire's mercenary corps. Hogg did his best to implement this order. Now, wild adventurers in the northern empire were very rare.
Just as Caesar was thinking, two children in ragged clothes with sallow faces due to malnutrition walked past him and took his money pouch.
They acted realistically, skillfully, and moved quickly. It seemed that they were not starving children forced by life, but well-trained professional thieves.
Caesar glanced at the two children who quickly disappeared into the corner of the street and did not stop them. If it were other dragons who had their gold coins stolen, they would definitely be furious and transform on the spot, roaring and breathing. But for the Black Dragon, money was just a number that had no concept. Although he also liked these shiny things, he was not as crazy as the other dragons.
He continued to walk forward, only treating this as a small interlude in his journey and not taking it to heart. After all, there were too many money pouches with dozens of gold coins in them to count in his Psionic Space.
After taking a few steps, he heard a small commotion in the street behind him. Four guards wearing steel armor with knight swords at their waists caught up with him. They were holding the two thieves who had escaped earlier as if they were little chicks.
"How dare you steal property in public. You stinking bugs, do you not care about the Empire's laws at all?"
The leader of the guards stopped and signaled the guards behind him to throw the two children on the ground. Then he leaned slightly to Caesar and said, "Lord Dragon, we have been arresting these unscrupulous thieves. According to their confession, this is your money pouch."
With that, the leader of the guards handed over the money pouch that Caesar had stolen.
Caesar did not expect that there would be a follow-up. He was successfully attracted. He borrowed the money, did not count it, and asked directly, "How do you plan to deal with these criminals?"
"First, throw them into the dungeon, then interrogate them in the dungeon. Finally, according to what they have done …"
"Execute them." Caesar said expressionlessly.
"If after interrogation, they have indeed committed unforgivable crimes, we will …"
"I said, now, kill them!" Caesar's tone became firm.
"I'm afraid not now. We have no right to …" The leader of the guards explained. He had no choice but to explain. This person in front of him was not an ordinary Drakonid. He had many characteristics of the direct descendant of the Black King. There was a high chance that he came from a special clan. There was a chance that he was a real dragon.
"Do you want me to do it myself?"
Caesar took a step forward and opened his clawed hands. The surrounding crowd immediately retreated far away.
"Lord Dragon, according to the law, no one has the right to take the life of another Empire's citizen, even if he is guilty."
The leader of the guards lowered his head even more, but did not move away. "If you do this, Governor Magosos will not be happy. His Highness Odín will not want to see this scene."
The two guards behind him also took two steps forward and blocked the children, at the same time silently reaching out to grab the hilts of their swords.
At this time, another guard who looked slightly older suddenly moved. He turned around and kicked the two thieves each, cursing as he pressed their heads to face Caesar. "Hurry up and beg for mercy. Beg for Lord Dragon's forgiveness."
The two children trembled and choked with sobs. "My lord, please forgive us … We won't do it again, we won't do it again."
"His Highness Odín …" Caesar ignored them and grinned at the leader of the guards, baring his fangs and releasing some of the majesty of a dragon. "It is His Highness Odín who ordered me to patrol Galanoud.
Soldiers, listen to my orders. Execute these two criminals immediately. "
"My apologies, my lord."
The leader of the guards pursed his lips. He felt his legs go weak again, but there was no reason to retreat now that he had come this far. He was determined to fight to the death and deal with the blame later. He still maintained his motionless posture. "Unless you can prove your identity, we still cannot carry out the order."
Caesar looked at him for a moment and suddenly withdrew his aura. "You … are not bad." With that said, he brushed past the leader of the guards and left directly. "Throw them into the dungeon."
The leader of the guards watched the Dragonborn's back as he left. Only then did he let out the breath he had been holding, wipe his sweat and ordered his companions to take the two child thieves away.