Seeing such a scene, Theresa, who always harbored certain special sentiments towards the Human United Kingdom, couldn’t help but feel nervous.
“Miss Violet, it seems like they’re inspecting magical bloodlines. I-I-I won’t be exposed, will I...?”
Watching the young girl’s anxious demeanor, Miss Priestess chuckled and patted her shoulder reassuringly.
“It’s okay, there’s more than just you among us who are considered outsiders. Even if they find something, it won’t start with you. Relax, I’ve got your back.”
“And also, little Theresa, you’re no longer just a village girl. You’re now a blessed one appointed by the Goddess of Life herself. Be confident, be tough, don’t embarrass Sethlin outside. Got it?”
“Um... I-I will try my best, Miss Violet!”
After patting Theresa’s slender shoulders lightly a couple more times with a smile, the black-haired girl stopped speaking and turned towards the city gate, silently waiting.
Although there weren’t many people in the queue, due to the time-consuming comprehensive inspection, Violet and the others waited bored for nearly half an hour before it was finally their turn.
The style of the Demon Suppression City soldiers’ armor wasn’t much different from that of other regions in the Human United Kingdom. Although the quality was not as high as the West Border Army, which saw the most intense battles, or the elite Royal Guards, it was still quite decent.
At least from what Violet currently observed of these city guards, their equipment was of basic white quality or above, indicating that they were crafted by professional artisans and were at least something that could be called “armed.”
“Halt, inspection.”
Standing at the city gate, the low voice that stopped Miss Priestess and the others belonged to an elite soldier clad in steel armor and wearing a simple helmet, or perhaps he was the captain of this group.
He appeared to be in his early thirties, with a silent and reserved demeanor. He didn’t show much reaction to the outstanding looks of Violet and her group. After uttering those four words, he extended his hand without a word, flipping it upward, protected by a metal wrist guard.
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This gesture, of course, wasn’t about soliciting bribes. Even if someone intended to do such things, they would surely do it discreetly rather than openly like this.
This gesture could only be understood by those who possessed similar items.
Violet naturally understood his intention, so she took out the identity documents she had already prepared and handed them over.
Given the tense situation in the Demon Suppression City, the city entry inspection was bound to be exceptionally strict. Since Violet understood this, she naturally wouldn’t be unprepared.
Both she and the young dragon girl, including Leila and Rene, had suitable identities within the Human United Kingdom. Theresa’s identity had been taken care of by a certain queen some time ago, and as for Edwina, she couldn’t possibly travel without such documents.
Identity documents were similar to identification cards on Earth, but in this world, not everyone could have one. Generally, those who could produce such documents, even if they weren’t nobles, were well-established merchants or middle-class individuals with significant social connections, making them highly credible.
Sure enough, after carefully reading through the six booklets, the man with the iron helmet nodded and returned them to Violet, his expression softening slightly.
“Since you’re registered residents and have no criminal records, we’ll skip the full-body inspection. However, according to the rules, we still need to perform basic scans and searches. Please cooperate.”
“Alright.”
Without wasting any words, Violet raised her hand, and soon, several female soldiers approached, efficiently checking their pockets and other places where items might be concealed. Although the young dragon girl seemed a bit displeased, under the gaze of Miss Priestess and considering the soldiers’ good manners, she didn’t actually react.
Violet didn’t know exactly what these soldiers were inspecting, but to be honest, almost all of her belongings were stored in the inventory space, so being checked in any way didn’t matter to her.
Although this world had storage space items, only a very small number of people could afford them. For a checkpoint with such defensive arrangements, reaching this level was already the limit. It wasn’t feasible to actually inspect storage items.
The brief search quickly ended as the special apparatus, hanging on the high platform and seemingly designed to examine the racial characteristics of the targets, emitted a beam of light over everyone. This included Theresa, who might have felt a bit nervous but didn’t show it in the end, and everyone else had no reaction either.
Naturally, Violet could even conceal Leila and Rene’s wings. With such a rudimentary level of rough tools, she could easily deceive them. Who did they think they were dealing with?
However, seeing a magical tool used to determine one’s race placed at the city gate was a first for Violet, even after traveling all over the Human United Kingdom. She couldn’t tell if it was a unique trait of the Demon Suppression City or if the situation had truly become tense to this extent.
In the end, Violet and her group entered the Demon Suppression City safely as planned.
Afterward, they took a simple stroll around the city.
Although the style of the Demon Suppression City differed somewhat from major cities like the Courage City or strongholds like the Wanhe Fortress, overall, it was not much different. Frankly speaking, in terms of prosperity, the Demon Suppression City was inferior to capital-level cities like the Courage City or the Sky City.
Moreover, there seemed to be some desolation here, as many shops were closed in broad daylight.
One or two shops closing wouldn’t be a big deal, but under the current circumstances, it indicated that there was definitely some problem with the economic chain in this city.
As for the reasons, Violet remembered seeing a memorandum on Queen Lilya’s desk in her chambers that described a similar situation.
It stated that due to the closure by the demons in the Ten Thousand Demons Mountains of several main routes between the Human United Kingdom and the monsters, prohibiting any human passage, merchants were unable to travel northward or conduct trade with the countries inside the mountains and on the other side, leading to shortages in the supply of goods.
She hadn’t expected the situation to escalate to the point of having to temporarily close businesses.
Although Lilya was aware of this problem, there wasn’t much she could do about it because many of the goods used in the daily life of northern border cities, including the Demon Suppression City, were specialties that could only come from the Ten Thousand Demons Mountains or the northern territories.
Although it’s not as if these cities couldn’t function without them, for the people in these regions, it’s like someone accustomed to eating regular meals suddenly being told they can only have noodles and bread in the future, undoubtedly difficult to accept.
Those who relied on these cities for their livelihoods would also find themselves in a state of losing income and livelihood, gradually accumulating grievances, further plunging the situation into chaos.
Perhaps this is the purpose of the closure of the routes in the Ten Thousand Demons Mountains—to demonstrate against the Human United Kingdom and bring economic pressure, similar to financial strikes on Earth.
“Master, where do we go next?”
“Same as usual, let’s find an inn to stay first, and then go to the Adventurers Guild to see. Hmm... there’s no need to go together. After all, we’re here to travel, not to carry out any missions. These days, let’s just wander around the city, gather some information, and then make plans. What do you all think?”
“Okay, we’ll follow Master’s lead.”
Naturally, the young dragon girl readily agreed to Violet’s suggestion without any hesitation, Leila and Rene, as well as Edwina, also nodded in agreement.
Only Theresa, who was visiting the Human United Kingdom for the first time, looked excitedly at the black-haired girl and clenched her small fist when she heard a certain word.
“Miss Violet, if you’re going to the Adventurers Guild, could you take me with you? I’ve never been to such an impressive place before!”
“Although there’s a guild in the White City, I’ve only heard Uncle Ron and those adventurers who temporarily stayed in the village talk about it. I’ve been very curious since I was a child. Ah... if it’ll be troublesome for you, then forget it...”