Personal interest often dictates one's stance, a phenomenon known as "where you sit determines where you stand." Depending on one's position, the way of thinking naturally varies.
If Felix were in the shoes of the deities, he would undoubtedly hasten to nip the emergence of steam magic in the bud, maintaining his power over the mundane world. Steam magic represented an unpredictable variable, one that even the gods deemed dangerous.
The Griffin Kingdom's territory was not vast, bordered to the south by the lands of the high elves and to the west by the vast prairies of the centaurs. The Hemarita River, wide but with a gentle flow, marked its boundary from the human kingdoms on the eastern part of the continent, hardly an insurmountable barrier.
Perhaps due to the relatively modest strength of humans in the Delrano world, the human kingdoms didn't boast extensive territories. For instance, the Griffin Kingdom, despite its royal title, spanned an area no larger than a province of the former Titans Empire. And the so-called Romanthia Empire's territory did not exceed one-third of the Titans Empire's expanse.
In terms of vast lands, the only entity in the Delrano world that could truly claim imperial stature was the Aerion Empire, near the eastern seas. This colossal entity alone occupied nearly a quarter of the human territories of Delrano. Beyond that, the Northern Kingdom was also known for its expansive lands. However, it was a frigid land to the northwest, perennially shrouded in ice and snow. Despite its size, habitable areas for humans were scarce.
Perhaps only those with a trace of savage blood in the Northern lands could thrive in such bitter cold.
Though small, the military might of the Griffin Kingdom was formidable.
Perhaps due to the constant strife in the Delrano world, the Griffin Kingdom, with a landmass the size of a province from the ancient Titans Empire, managed to sustain three knightly orders and six ground infantry legions. Such military prowess could lead to an epic war even in the Prime Material Plane.
The ground infantry legions were impressive, but the three knightly orders of the Griffin Kingdom deserved special mention. These orders, even if compared to the Titans Empire, were among the top-tier forces.
The Griffin Knights, the kingdom's main force, were also the only legion-sized aerial military unit commonly seen on the roads.
The dragonscramble knights, a division consisting of a species of large, relatively docile lizards living in the northern parts of the Griffin Kingdom. These creatures, silver subspecies with a trace of dragon blood, stood about two meters tall, five meters long, and one and a half meters wide. Gentle-natured, thick-skinned, and immensely strong, they were trained to carry hundreds of pounds of armor. The knights, each armed with a small dragon lance, formed a tank unit on the ground, an unstoppable force known as the "human flesh rolling machine."
The last of the orders, though small in number, was renowned across the human world – the Champion Knights, a name hailing from the Second Age. In that era, warriors from the arenas were trained as knights, each a victor of life-and-death battles, hence the name Champion Knights. The order always comprised exactly fourteen members; should a knight fall, a replacement was drawn from the king's guard to maintain their number.
This order was fully outfitted in armors forged from fine gold, and each knight rode a mythical beast from the vast plains, believed to be descendants of unicorns. Mature beasts could wield simple lightning magic, had formidable size, and their speed could rival that of cheetahs.
These three orders were also why the Romanthia Empire eyed the Griffin Kingdom with covetous yet cautious eyes.
Upon reaching a town called Karom, Felix was fortunate to witness the Griffin Knights in action.
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In squads of five, their brilliant silver armors glinting, they flew in a V-formation, drawing gasps of admiration from the townsfolk. The strength of a Griffin Knight was roughly at the early stages of the Silver Domain, with the lead knight at the later stages.
If all Griffin Knights possessed such strength, their combat prowess was not to be underestimated. A knight who stepped into the Silver Domain was no longer ordinary, and in proper gear, one could match a hundred soldiers. Coupled with the combat capabilities and agility of their griffins, their might was indeed fearsome.
Pushing open the tavern door gently, Felix, cloaked in a wide gray cape, slowly entered the main hall and took a seat in a corner.
Taverns were undoubtedly the fastest place to gather information, though the tales here tended to be exaggerated and required adventurers to discern truth from fiction through experience.
When the tavern door swung open, a gust of night wind howled in. A few muscular brutes were about to curse, but upon seeing Felix's jade-carved hands and the single-handed sword at his waist, they swallowed their words.
Those mingling in the tavern, much like the ruffians and rogues of the old days, were astute local tyrants. One glance at Felix and they knew he was not an adventurer to be trifled with, promptly closing their mouths.
Though the tavern was bustling with local town folk, there weren't many dressed like adventurers, just a handful, mostly low-level mercenaries taking on simple tasks like driving away or hunting wild beasts to make ends meet.
Running a tavern in such a mixed and complex place required a keen eye. The landlady, lazily lounging at the counter, lit up at the sight of Felix. With years of experience, she knew that lone adventurers like Felix were the real big spenders. Their tips alone could match a whole day's earnings from ordinary mercenaries.
Gliding through the crowd with the grace of a fish evading the grasping, hairy hands of leering brutes, the landlady approached Felix with a wafting fragrance and a giggle, softly asking, "What would you like to order, sir?"
The rich scent made Felix's nose itch.
He took a silver coin from his pocket, flicked it, and landed it gently and skillfully on the plump cleavage exposed by the tavern landlady.
"A glass of wine, a roast chicken, and two pounds of beef."
In the world of Delrano, the purchasing power of a silver coin was roughly equivalent to that of a lamb. Gold coins, on the other hand, were a luxury only the nobility could afford, something that many impoverished farmers might not see even once in their lifetimes.
The landlady, her laughter as delicate as her figure, extracted the shimmering silver coin from between her ample bosom. Her smile grew even warmer. With an elegant twirl, she glided towards the counter, her movements as fluid and graceful as a butterfly weaving through flowers.
In this world, women with their faces heavily caked in makeup, resembling walking zombies, were a rare sight in taverns. The wise understood how to present themselves, and while not all women possessed wisdom, cleverness was far from scarce, especially among those who managed to independently run their own taverns.
In the world of adventurers, a common choice for those retiring from the life of adventuring was to open an inn. This was a frequent occurrence in the adventurer community, with many taverns being established by those weary of their former lives.
Just by observing the landlady's butterfly-like grace, Felix could ascertain that she must have been a professional in her past, likely an assassin or a thief, given the impeccable condition of her hands—a trait well-maintained among assassins.
Seated quietly in a corner of the tavern, Felix discreetly surveyed everyone within.
Many were locals, here to enjoy a drink and a bit of leisure. The most obvious sign was their continuous chatter over their drinks, loudly sharing local gossip and interesting tales. If they managed to pique the curiosity of others, they might just save the cost of their drinks for the day.
The more silent patrons were the adventurers. They mostly sat quietly, listening to the others speak animatedly, gleaning useful information from the conversations.
After listening for a while, Felix couldn't help but turn his attention to the food in front of him.
The most common topic among the patrons was about a lone wolf that had wandered into the town from the prairies to the north. Two lumberjacks had already fallen victim to this vicious creature. According to the chatter, the wolf was nearly the size of a calf, and its presence had forced the local lumber mill to halt operations. The owner of the mill, who was also the town's mayor, was now seeking adventurers to hunt down the menacing wolf.
Another rumor was circulating about a mysterious druid who lived deep in the forest. Some residents speculated that the wolf's appearance might be the druid's way of expressing displeasure over the felling of trees.
However, this theory didn't gain much traction among the townsfolk. It was common knowledge that druids usually lived in harmony with the elves.