abcnovels
Book 3: Chapter 65: The City
Book 3: Chapter 65: The City
Book 3: Chapter 65: The City
The City Gate
Durgok growls at the random antical demon in front of him as the overgrown ant tries to sneak into the city past him. And when it doesnt stop, he moves up to it faster than most of the demons at the gate can keep up with their bare eyes before he flattens it into a paste on the sand before lifting a hand and spraying acid from underneath one of the wraps around his hand, burning the corpse until nothing remains. Then he steps back to his post and growls, Next.
The next demon steps up and Durgok immediately states, Pay five coppers or leave.
Durgok feels a mixture of disappointment and relief when the sand weaver reaches into its silken pouch and pulls out the coins before dropping them in his hand and moving on through the gate. Disappointment because nowadays his only real source of EXP in this dump of a city has become killing the many demons who try entering without paying the fine, and relief because hes grown sick of dealing with it today.
A mug of ale would be great right now
Gradually, time passes, and dozens of demons all pass through, some trying to sneak by and being killed, others actually paying the fine. But after nearly an hour, Durgok feels chills run down his spine at the sight of the next demon that begins approaching him from the line standing back a few meters from him and the gate.
And those chills only grow worse when he identifies her despite his clear advantage in levels and Class.
|[REDACTED] Hu/bl-m-oo/d-a/ly-/cn-an Level 257|
What under the Demon Kings rule is that supposed to mean?! A redacted name? Some sort of messed up species?
The demon in question is slowly walking up to him with a baggy brown cloak covering most of them. One so baggy that if it werent for their size and figure, he wouldnt be able to tell if the demon was male or female or not as he cant see their face.
A beggar? No that cloak is clearly designed to hide the appearance of the one wearing it, and it looks expensive fuck, I dont care. Its not my problem as long as they pay the fine.
Seven coppers, he states his usual fee for newcomers to the city who dont know the actual fee, only to be handed five coppers, making his mouth part open slightly. But the demon just walks past him without a word, not even giving him the chance to refute them.
You know what? I dont care.
Durgok shakes his head at the sight of their back, only to pause for a moment when the wind suddenly picks up, pushing the demons hood off of their head to reveal wolf ears before she quickly moves it back over her head again and by this point, he realizes for sure that the demon is a she just form the glimpse he got of her without her hood.
But from just that one single glimpse at the she-demons head, Durgok cant help but feel shivers run down his spine.
She cant be can she? It was just the back of her ears so maybe they arent a wolfs ears? Maybe I just mistook it for them? She did pick the hood back up so fast no one below Class III would be able to see it
After debating it over in his head for a bit, he lets out a low growl and turns to the next demon in line while shouting, Next!
No one else seems to have noticed, so best not to tempt fate.
Scarlet
Well that was easier than I expected it to be. And figuring out the gate guards little scam was also rather easy thanks to my hearing.
The guy was literally scamming about a third of the people there. Most of which he seemed to treat more coldly or apathetically than the ones he didnt try scamming.
Probably because he already knew them.
I am kind of surprised he just let me go when I gave him five copper coins, completely ignoring his words in the process.
It was probably because he saw you when your hood was blown off, Tar comments, making me frown a little. Or just base instinct.
Thats annoying, but I guess it probably saved me a hassle that wouldve been annoying otherwise.
Then theres the other guard who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there despite him being on the other side of the gate also scamming people. Just a lot more often than the guard whose line I joined.
I look around the inside of the city after I finish passing through the rather wide gate to find myself standing on a wide street with buildings mostly made up of sandstone on either side of the street. Meanwhile the demons who are walking around all vary in species, with some being the same mummified orcs as the guards at the entrance, others being those rather large ant people, and some even being large lizards or even lizard people named kobolds.
Overall though, they all share the theme of clearly being desert dwelling creatures at a glance. With a couple of exceptions that are probably travelers like me.
The main thing that catches my attention though isnt the demons, the buildings some of which are shops and others homes, or the random stalls on the street. Its the large manor sitting much further in the city towering above the rest of it.
Guess that probably belongs to the guy who runs this place.
Wonder if theyre a Noble or not?
They probably are, Tar comments as I put my hands in the new pockets that I managed to nag Leonidas into putting into my armor while walking through the street, glancing back and forth between the stalls and shops.
Yeah, probably. From my understanding, most walled cities are owned by a Noble after all. Although probably only a Baron. And only one who had just recently become a Noble as well.
Anyways, I need to find a store that sells food and supplies. Which doesnt look too hard considering that a lot of the stores and stalls here sell just that.
Probably because its in high demand in a desert.
But first I should listen to some of the conversations around here so Im not scammed.