Chapter 423: 399 Iron City
This night was destined to be restless.
The bustle on the main road, the bonfire roasting the magic pig, and the gradually spreading aroma of meat almost became a beacon in the dark night, attracting many uninvited guests.
Thieves, needless to say, attacked in three separate waves throughout the night.
The nearby beasts and hoards of demonic creatures were also drawn here, attacking several times in succession.
Some merchant caravans traveling overnight passed by this main road, and upon seeing the refugees eating and drinking around the fire and the remaining half of the magic pig meat slowly roasting on the fire, they stopped in their tracks.
It must be said, roasting precious demonic meat on the main road was an unbeatable tactic in both a good and bad sense, drawing a lot of attention to Reiger’s location, creating multiple disturbances over the course of the night, which bothered Reiger immensely.
Especially the passing merchant caravans, some even sent people to negotiate with Reiger in the hope of buying the magic pig meat at a low price. When negotiations failed, some even resorted to threats or outright robbery, showing no restraint.
Unfortunately, Reiger had no reliable enforcers to command.
The numerous refugees were ordinary people, completely incapable of dealing with robbers, demonic creatures, or the guards of the merchants.
Fannie was just a mascot; Gel was a novice, not even level 3; Liz needed to practice the "Breath of Love" and oversee the roasting of the magic pig meat, unable to free up her hands.
As a result, Reiger ended up being the most idle person and the prime candidate to deal with the troublesome attacks from robbers, demonic creatures, and the passing merchant caravans, much to his chagrin.
Of course, as annoying as it was, with Reiger there, trouble was naturally impossible.
Therefore, early the next morning, Reiger and his group, under the grateful thanks of the relieved refugees, drove the horse carriage and hit the road again.
Along the way, they relieved two more groups of refugees, defeated two waves of thieves, and finally around noon, Reiger and his companions arrived at the nearest city in the area—Carudi.
Located in the northern part of the Meipros territory’s outer realms, Carudi was known as Iron City.
With its back to the mountains and several mining veins nearby, the city produced various metals, attracting many merchants smelling business opportunities and blacksmiths who made their living forging equipment, as well as many alchemy mages skilled in making magic tools, enabling the city to develop a very comprehensive commercial economy. Moreover, as the Meipros territory bordered the battlegrounds, capable of producing numerous pieces of equipment and even magical tools, Carudi’s position in the territory was quite significant. To call it a rear base for the frontline battlefield was no exaggeration.
The Meipros family would annually purchase large quantities of equipment in Carudi. The kingdom often ordered a massive amount of equipment in this city to either supply to the battlefront or transport to the capital Yerulfov as military provisions. Many renowned swordsmen also came here to buy weapons or armor, allowing the city to prosper more and more each day.
Therefore, Carudi was the most affluent city in the surrounding territories, so prosperous that it should not have been located in a region of the Meipros dominion teeming with countless refugees.
However, when the carriage carrying Reiger and his companions arrived in front of this prosperous city, the scene before them was startling.
"So many refugees?"
Upon seeing the scene through the carriage window, Fannie began to stutter.
There was a large crowd of refugees gathered around the walls of Carudi.
Some were homeless, sitting on the ground, shivering, while some had barely set up ragged tents, as if they were residing there, causing the area around the city wall to look like a garbage dump.
Some refugees even gathered at the city gate, pleading with the gate guards for something, only to be driven away.
"Back off! Don’t come near the main road leading into the city!"
"All refugees are strictly forbidden from approaching the city gate!"
"Everyone, move away!"
The number of gate guards was very high, forming several battalions that drove away or even knocked down any refugee daring to come near the city gate or the road leading into the city.
Amidst this chaos, a merchant caravan confidently entered the city.
The refugees gathered around the city walls looked at the merchant caravan with eyes full of envy, longing, or numbness, yet no one dared to approach and beg.
This scene was simply unbelievable; it hardly seemed like the highly prosperous city of Carudi as rumored.
"...No refugees are allowed in the city?"
Reiger, too, was observing this scene, but his expression no longer showed frustration, but calm.
"It’s quite normal, isn’t it?" Gel said with a wry smile, "With so many refugees, if they all rushed into the city at once, even a rich city like Carudi would face problems."
Reiger did not agree with Gel’s comment, but took a look around instead.
He did not see any relief facilities nor anyone paying attention to the refugees gathered here, indicating that Carudi did not provide relief to refugees, simply ignoring them outside the city.
Here, refugees could not receive any help, and if they didn’t set up tents, they could only sleep rough. If they got hungry, they would have to fend for themselves.