Red and the merchant travelled down the road without stopping. The old man seemed on the verge of a nervous attack the entire time, and the youth could only imagine he was regretting asking him for help, but he didn’t offer any protest.

“We’re almost there.” Emer said from atop his horse. “We can reach the city by night… Unless this benefactor wants to stop and rest.”

“It’s fine.” Red shook his head. “We’ll push on.”

The merchant seemed relieve to see this, and he turned around to face the road.

Emer didn’t seem to be lying either. As they approached the capital, they started to come across a lot of people on the road. Mostly merchants, much in the same vein as the one Red was accompanying, also escorted by guards and mercenaries.

‘No one in the Lesser Ring Realm.’

He supposed even in a city that big, these kinds of people were still rare enough to find wandering in the wild.

Some of them stared at the youth with caution and curiosity, but no one tried to stop and question them. It seemed as strange as his getup was, it didn’t warrant enough interest from these people who were only concerned with their own business. Red also paid attention to his new travel companion, almost expecting the man to ask for the passing travellers for help.

Thankfully, no such thing came to pass, and by the time the sun was setting, Red spotted the capital from afar.

‘This…’

He couldn’t help but pause.

A tall, grey wall that stretched almost as far as his eyes could see was the first thing that popped into his view. It was easily dozens of kilometers long, with stone towers posted all along its length, on top of which large ballistas laid. From behind it, spires and buildings even taller than the walls peeked out, speaking of a density and immensity that awaited visitors inside.

The city didn’t even seem to start there, though, as large slums also seemed to spread along the outsides of the barricade, similar to how they were in Red’s previous home. Refugees fleeing from war, he supposed, and probably denied entrance into the capital proper.

This massive wall and the chaotic slum that formed outside the city’s perimeter added up to become the greatest concentration of humans and structures that Red had ever seen in his life - at least his waking life. Nothing even came close, and the youth, who was so used to extreme sights, almost became overwhelmed by staring at it.

“Is there a problem, sir?”

The merchant noticed Red stopped walking and turned his horse around to look at him in confusion.

Red frowned, though the man couldn’t see it underneath his mask. “It’s a big city.”

Emer seemed confused. “Is this the first time you’ve come to Carlhanne?”

‘Carlhanne…’

Red was familiar with the name of the capital. He read it in a lot of books, but in conversations back in Bestrem, most people simply referred to it as the capital rather than using its name. It was strange to hear it for the first time.

City of Carlhanne, capital to the kingdom of Lomrikh - the country in which his entire surface life had happened until this point.

Red nodded. “It’s surprising, is all.”

The merchant looked at him with a proud smile. “It’s the biggest city in the eastern part of the continent, after all. It’s no wonder those damn imperials are so dead-set on conquering us.”

‘Imperials…’

Red was reminded of something. Did the people in the capital even know about what happened in the south? If they didn’t, the youth wasn’t too sure it was wise for him to be the first one to tell them.

“Tell me about the city.” The youth said.

Emer hesitated. “This… What does benefactor want to know?”

“What factions are in there?”

“Factions?” The merchant frowned. “The city is ruled by the King! There are no such things as factions in there.”

Red stared at the old man, causing him to shiver.

“R-Right… Even though the king rules the city, there are a few factions in there.”

“Is there a merchant’s guild?” Red asked.

“T-That’s right!” Emer nodded. “The Golden Hand Merchant’s guild. It’s the biggest merchant group on the continent, and they also sponsor all adventurers and rogue cultivators through their adventurer’s guild.”

‘Gustav’s organization.’

“Are you part of them?”

“M-me? No way… I have worked with them before, but I’m just an independent merchant.”

Red couldn’t detect any signs of falsehood from the man’s fluctuation.

“Are they enemies of the Kingdom?”

The merchant’s eyes widened, looking around him as if afraid someone had heard his question. “In no way! They would never dare harbor thoughts of disloyalty to King Thomas!”

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The youth frowned. “Just speak plainly. I’m not going to report you to the authorities.”

Emer sighed in resignation. “Well, I wouldn’t really call them enemies but… Sometimes their interests clash against the court and they are also known to maintain trade relationships with the Empire.”

The old man kept his voice low.

It seemed as if it wasn’t just Gustav that enjoyed making trouble for the local authorities.

“I see.” Red nodded. “I assume the King is helpless when it comes to that, right?”

The merchant’s eyes widened even further, his face scrunching in worry. “I-It’s not that the King is helpless, it’s just… The Golden Hand has many contacts and influences around the continent, even with a few sects and inside his own court. It’s just inconvenient for His Majesty to move too harshly against them.”

‘In other words, he’s helpless.’

Red had to admit he was surprised, though. He didn’t think that the organization behind Gustav was so strong.

‘It’s no wonder even Hector hesitated to move against him.’

“What about other factions?” he asked.

“There are a few others, but they are mostly local powers and a level below the Golden Hand. There are, of course, some political divisions inside the court, but they have always presented a united front against outsiders.” Emer hesitated. “… I suppose if there’s anyone else you should know about, it’s the Shadow.”

“The Shadow?”

The merchant looked reluctant to mention this name, but the youth could feel it was for a different reason.

“Y-Yes.” Emer nodded. “They are an underground organization that deals in… Nefarious matters.”

Red frowned. “I assume illegal matter.”

“That’s right. Contraband, stealing, even… Assassinations. They do anything as long as you pay the right price.”

“And the King allows them to exist?”

Emer sighed. “They are secretive, with no base to speak of and members in almost every part of society. Even if you find one out, it’s almost impossible to trace it back to the actual leaders… Not to mention that some people in high positions also enjoy their services from time to time.”

Red understood what the merchant was saying.

‘With a city this big, it’s no wonder so much corruption would fester beneath the surface.’

For all of Bestrem’s problems, the Baron had always been an upstanding lord. He never let corruption spread and remained steadfast to his ideals. In the capital, though, it seemed the situation was rather different. Even if the King himself was an upstanding ruler, there were a lot of matters he was unable to do much about.

“What about the sects?” Red asked. “Do they have any presence in the city?”

“They do.” Emer nodded. “But it’s mostly their embassies. They don’t really interfere with local matters.”

‘Their embassies…’

Red wondered whether it was possible he could ask after Allen in the Crystal Sky Sect’s embassy. Still, this wasn’t something he could do without further consideration.

“S-Sir…”

As the youth was pondering to himself, the merchant tried to catch his attention.

He looked over with a curious gaze. “What is it?”

“We should move.” The man said. “It’s… Unwise to spend too much time here in the open.”

Red wasn’t stupid and understood what the merchant was trying to say.

‘If we just stand here in the middle of the road talking, we are obviously going to draw attention to ourselves with your strange looks!’

The youth nodded. “Let’s move.”

The city was built on a plain, so even though Red could see it from afar, it still took them a while to reach the walls. The road led them straight through the slums, where peasants and war refugees built their shacks and tried to eke out a living away from the bloodshed.

Red was used to this sight back in Bestrem, except here the situation was much worse. People gathered around campfires, partaking of pieces of stale bread or whatever other food they were able to gather during the day with listless gazes and sallow expressions. Some of them had nasty and festering wounds, while others seemed to carry other kinds of illnesses. His crimson sense told him of shacks where two people could barely fit, now filled to the brim with entire families.

An acrid smell came with every breath - marks of the unfortunate and inhuman conditions such a dense gathering of people were destined to face in these circumstances. The smell of human waste and death, lingering around the air.

He counted hundreds of people with his crimson sense, and that was only within a few hundreds of meters around him, so he could only imagine how many the entire slum contained. Despite all that, the conversations of these refugees were quiet, almost as if they were afraid to speak too loudly. Or perhaps they simply didn’t have the energy to do it.

Even Red, so used to blood and slaughter, couldn’t help but frown as he walked amidst them. Back in his town, the Baron at least did his best to accommodate the refugees as best he could, yet here they were seemingly left to their own devices. He wondered whether this was out of indifference of the King’s part or simple lack of capability to help.

After all, in his town, the number of refugees didn’t pass the thousands. Here, though, they numbered tens of thousands, probably even hundreds of thousands.

Even the youth couldn’t help but feel pity as he looked at them. This wasn’t a sentiment he was incapable of having, but at the end of the day, he could only steel himself to their suffering. With his limited capabilities, how would Red change their situation?

If he could have offered them some assistance in passing, it was obviously something he didn’t mind doing. Helping this many people, though, was something beyond the capabilities of cultivators even more powerful than him.

“This is a nest for the demonic.” Aurelia’s voice reached his ears. “Even if this king of yours doesn’t want to help them, he should at least try to do something for his own sake lest he want a new legion of cultists in his hand.”

Red frowned at this, but said nothing. The merchant ahead of him seemed accustomed to the sight, not even sparing a glance at the beggars around the road.

The youth could only follow behind him until they approached the gate, a massive steel structure guarded by well over a hundred guards, some of which Red could feel were at the Lesser Ring Realm. Ballistas stood on top of the wall, aiming at the ground in front of the gate and ready to fire at any intruders that tried to bypass the blockade.

Even with his powers, it was simply inconceivable for Red to force his way in.

There was a large line of people forming in front of the gate - mostly merchants with their carriages seeking entrance into the capital. The guards, however, made sure to question them and look through their merchandise without exception.

“We will need to wait a bit.” The merchant said as he came to a stop at the end of the line. “Even though I’m a citizen, I can’t just cut the line, either.”

Red looked at the man. “Will they try to search me?”

Emer hesitated. “I don’t know, but if they do, just let me talk to them. Don’t do anything…”

The old man trailed off.

“Anything stupid, you mean?” Red finished his sentence for him.

“Y-Yes.” Emer nodded. “I will handle it, I promise you.”

The youth was somewhat skeptical, but he said nothing. Even if the merchant couldn’t help him in, the worst that would happen is that he would be denied entry. Or at least, so he hoped.

Surprisingly, it took almost an hour for their turn at the gate to arrive.

“Step forward!”

A stern-looking guard equipped with glistening plate armor waved them forward. Dozens of similarly armed guards were waiting to the side in silence - another detractor to anyone who thought about forcing their way in at this point.

“Just follow my lead.” The merchant said and rode his horse ahead.

Red followed behind him, but as soon as he took a few steps forward, he felt a wave of energy pass through his body.

‘This is…?’

The youth was confused, and his steps faltered. His response, however, came at the next moment.

“Lesser Ring Realm cultivator!”

One of the guards shouted, and suddenly dozens of weapons were pointed in the youth’s direction.