Chapter 254 Weird
This is a... strange city.
For Jophiel Yialos, Port Morris was still a well-known place, even in the Royal City. More precisely, the nobles of the Royal City were more familiar with a name—the Bloody Bazaar, a place whose mere mention elicited ambiguous smiles and winks.
Countless beautiful slave girls and prostitutes were shipped to the royal city in droves. The nobles viewed these beautiful playthings from around the world as a distraction from their boring lives and as prizes for competition and gambling. For various reasons, Ialos had witnessed the nobles' lewd and absurd private banquets many times. In this regard, the Khemu family, in particular, and His Majesty the King shared a profound affinity... disgusting.
He despised the nobles for their filth and decadence, and in his younger, more impulsive moments, he would have walked away in anger. Yialos knew others would secretly mock him for "pretending" and "showing off," but for the Queen's sake, even Duke Kamu would only offer a few subtle sarcasm to his face.
But now, this ecstasy cave that was once completely immersed in sweet and fishy fragrance has taken on an amazing and even clean vitality after being taken over by the rebels, as if the rotten soil of the entire city was turned over and washed carefully.
This spirit was visible to the naked eye; at least the streets were free of the prostitutes and gangs common in other cities, and even beggars were fewer than in the royal city. The civilians passing by didn't look wealthy, but many of them had a strange expression on their faces that he had never seen on the faces of residents in any other city.
As a prisoner, Jophiel Yialos was not locked up - he was a strong man at the Lord's Prayer level. Even if one of his arms was broken, no one in Morris Port could stop him except the gods.
"You are not worried at all that I will take action against the people of Port Morris." The Knight Commander could not help but question the rebel leader half sarcastically and half seriously.
As a result, the other party didn't even raise his eyes.
"Will you?" the man said lazily. "Most of them are unarmed. Are you going to abandon your chivalrous code?"
The corners of Yialos' mouth couldn't help but twitch: "...The code of chivalry isn't so righteous after all."
"It's a pity that you have to be so righteous." The black-haired young man finally gave him a straight look.
He forced a smile and uttered threatening words in a light voice, which was extremely infuriating: "Because my God will be watching you at all times."
Knight Commander: “…”
This guy seemed incredibly arrogant, making him want to take action. But honestly, he couldn't help but admire his honesty. The more he learned about this political party, the more he felt a sense of trepidation.
He and representatives of the citizens of Port Morris attended a public meeting of the People's Party. Soon Yialos understood why there were no prostitutes and gangsters on the streets.
The stained glass of the City Hall dome sliced the sunlight into diamond-shaped spots, which fell on the verdict before him. This was the trial record of Port Morris's current brothel owners, slave traders, gang leaders, and other "evil forces." The prisoners in the dock, whose charges were read out, all had pale faces. Some looked dazed, while others cursed loudly. In the end, almost all of them lost their heads and were publicly executed.
It was clearly a very bloody scene, but curses, applause and cheers rang out from the stands.
"This is already the fifteenth verdict this month." Yialos heard the clerk sitting next to him grumble to his colleague, "I'm exhausted. It never ends. Why are there so many scumbags in Port Morris?"
"You only found out about this on the first day?" his colleagues mocked him. "Be content. All the private property confiscated from these people has been used to fill the bottomless pits of public health and education. The authorities are eager to kill a few more batches."
...These are a group of people who get things done. Yialos silently watched the city hall occupied by civilians.
Even though the Knight Commander considered these individuals reckless, naive, and inexperienced, they didn't hide their mistakes or shift the blame. They, along with their Chief Minister, regularly engaged in public self-examination and reflection, striving to resolve problems based on facts. This alone surpassed 95% of the ministers in the royal court.
By the way, there are dragons in this city.
The first time he saw the dragons, Yialos almost thought they were a dragon attack. He was near the public school when he came across a group of screaming children running toward him.
The Knight Commander's pupils shrank violently for a moment. While trying to protect the children behind him, he instinctively reached for his waist. When he found nothing, he remembered that his spear had been broken into pieces.
But he soon realized that the children's screams were not out of fear, but out of excitement. The dragons simply circled in the air and flew away towards the sea, leaving only a group of little ghosts on the ground, looking up, sniffing, and chattering about which dragons they had seen. They even gave each one a name.
The proudest one announced that he had seen Azra the Windrunner, which was met with envious exclamations and complaining murmurs.
Windrunner? Ialos's expression changed slightly, becoming stern. A giant wind dragon, with a name. According to spies ahead, the reason the Northern City fell so quickly was because it was suspected to have been attacked by an ice dragon. If either Forros or the People's Party possessed the ability to tame a giant dragon, it would be a serious problem for the Empire.
He tried to ask the children for some details, but before he could get close, the children immediately ran away. Some of the younger and slower ones were frightened by him and burst into tears, splashing their dirty snot and tears at him.
Ialos, who was immediately met with the vigilant gazes of the surrounding residents, felt his brow twitching - when had he, the dignified Knight Commander of the Kite Heart Guards, ever been despised by a group of civilian children like this?
He couldn't openly ask an adult, so he bought some candy and snacks and patiently tried to build relationships with the children. The children were easy to coax, and after repeated attempts, they finally let down their guard and treated him as a strange adult, an avid dragon enthusiast.
"You mean, that Windrunner has a dragon rider?" Ialos narrowed his eyes slightly in the circle of children. The group of children were talking to him about how cool the mysterious dragon rider was, mixed with a lot of exaggerated fantasies unique to children.
The Knight Commander calmly stuffed another piece of candy into the kid's hand. "Dragon Knights are legendary. Have you ever seen one in person?"
"Of course! I saw with my own eyes that Lord Azra defeated that big, bad fire dragon, and Lord Dragon Knight was riding on Lord Azra's back!" The freckled boy in the lead puffed out his chest with pride. "And once, I accidentally fell from the second floor of the school, and it was Lord Dragon Knight who personally saved me!"
Another little girl with pigtails added, "Dragon Knight's friend is actually my classmate!"
The dragon cub of the Ruskin family, the mysterious dragon rider, the alien who tamed the dragons... Yialos's expression became more and more solemn. Perhaps he needed to investigate who this mysterious dragon rider was - but before he could find an opportunity, the dragon came to him first.
The legendary Windrunner had unexpectedly landed at the school gates, causing a flurry of screams. The dragon's size was truly intimidating, and while the adults in the school were terrified, the children were beside themselves with joy, especially since this time there was a human on its back: the very dragon rider Ialos had been dreaming of.
Yialos: “…”
The case is solved, he thought expressionlessly. Even if his face was covered, he would still recognize this gentleman who had caused him a deep psychological trauma even if he turned into ashes.
The children had already gathered around without a care in the world. Amidst the endless exclamations and praises, Ezra held her head high with pride, enjoying the astonished and envious looks of the human cubs with reserve.
But soon something started to feel wrong.
Its owner hopped off its back with a dashing, elegant demeanor, triggering another round of excited screams. He considerately crouched down and spoke gently to the children. The youngster, seemingly nearly fainting with excitement at being able to speak to his idol, answered a few questions in a dazed and disjointed manner before stuttering and whispering a request for petting the incredibly beautiful, snow-white dragon.
Wait! The dragon suddenly raised its head and stared at its evil-minded master with vigilance. The great Lord Azra was not a toy to coax children, and not something that anyone could touch!
"You can ask Azra yourself," the dragon rider said gently, "Dragons are powerful and proud creatures. Treat them with respect and sincerity."
——Of course, he could also be like him. As long as he beat the dragon down, he would be the dragon's master.
The children took it seriously. The boy timidly walked up to Ezra's nose, looked into the dragon's radiant green eyes, raised a hand, and summoned his courage to shout, "Lord Ezra! May I touch you?"
Azra snorted in dissatisfaction, wanting to bare his teeth and scare the cub into tears. But when he glanced at his master's eyes secretly—they were smiling, cold, and very scary.
...Okay, okay. Considering these human cubs' sincere praise for Master Azra, the dragon silently turned its head, reluctantly lowered it, and gently touched the boy's hand with its nose.
As a result, a group of children gathered around and raised their hands one after another. The chattering was so loud that it made Long's head hurt.
Yialos stood there, his face as sullen as water, completely at odds with the seemingly warm and cheerful atmosphere. He stared at the god across a group of children—a chilling indifference etched deep within his blue eyes.
...What does he want to do?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com