The Lord Of Blood Hill

Five days after entering Lumir territory, Henwell and his group arrive at Kriye City, the largest city in the duchy’s northwest region.

The city is sizable, with a permanent population exceeding 300,000.

Including all those serving the city’s residents, the total population nears 600,000.

Lumir is a nation known for its thriving commerce and trade, and everything here reflects that prosperity.

Because of Lumir’s nature, the country hosts many migrants from other parts of the continent.

It’s essentially a semi-immigrant nation, with many citizens tracing their roots to other countries on the mainland.

At the same time, expanding trade requires a unified language for communication.

This makes Lumir the most linguistically universal country on the entire continent.

So when Henwell speaks fluent Common Tongue, no one here suspects he’s a foreigner.

Though Henwell wears a full Paladin suit that looks imposing, people only assume he’s some kind of knight.

Few even consider that he might be a noble.

After all, with Lumir’s bustling trade, numerous caravans, and many caravan guards and mercenaries, it’s common to see groups of fully armed escorts in the cities.

If it weren’t for the guards and mercenaries here being relatively disciplined, Henwell might have thought he’d returned to Tusyat City!

Lumir also has a unique dynamic between nobles and large merchant guilds.

Almost every noble has ties to a merchant guild.

Some powerful nobles even own their own guilds.

As for the lesser nobles, many are affiliated with guilds, receiving annual dividends.

Some nobles were even supported into power by merchant guilds.

The relationship between nobles and guilds is one of mutual dependence and cooperation.

Unlike elsewhere, nobles here rarely have direct authority to judge guild members, especially those from large guilds.

All merchant guilds are protected under the duchy’s laws.

Any attempt to prosecute guild members must be backed by legal statutes.

Even if a guild breaks the law, it can pay hefty fines to reduce penalties.

For truly severe crimes like confiscation or destruction of a guild, nobles cannot seize its wealth, they must hand it over to the duchy’s authorities.

The duchy usually auctions off the guild, converting its assets to money.

Some compensation goes to the harmed nobles, while the majority fills the national treasury.

This system greatly promotes merchant trade, though it has notable drawbacks.

Overall, however, the benefits to the Duchy of Lumir far outweigh the downsides.

The Duchy of Lumir is rich in water but lacks large cavalry forces.

In the era of melee weapons, cavalry—this highly mobile troop type, still holds an irreplaceable elite status.

Without sizable cavalry units, it’s difficult to execute flexible strategic deployments or organize efficient mobile operations.

This means losing the strategic initiative; not to mention expansion, even defensive battles become troublesome.

Therefore, Lumir needs a large standing army to defend key positions.

But maintaining such a force places a heavy burden on the state’s finances.

Fortunately, the current system allows merchant guilds to prosper and support many guards.

During wartime, these guild guards can be quickly consolidated into a formidable fighting force.

Take the Trade Alliance—the largest merchant guild coalition in Lumir—as an example.

Its twelve super guilds wield significant influence and each has its own guard training system.

Strictly speaking, these are essentially military barracks.

During the last War of the Six Kings, each Trade Alliance guild formed a standard legion of 10,000 soldiers.

The command core was either trained internally or recruited at great expense.

Adding their own guards plus those from affiliated and subordinate guild caravans, assembling a 10,000-strong force wasn’t difficult.

Thanks to these twelve caravan legions, Lumir alone held off assaults from both Vorry and Ogiro when the Kingdom of Ika was retreating, buying crucial time.

So, everything has two sides, there’s always a reason behind seemingly incredible things.

While wandering the city, Henwell suddenly stops and glances at a man dressed like a caravan guard nearby.

Noticing Henwell’s reaction, Papaste asks curiously, “Is something wrong?”

Henwell shakes his head. “No, it’s just that this person looks like someone I know.”

Papaste offers, “Shall I inquire for you?”

Henwell smiles. “No need. Saying ‘someone I know’ is a stretch, it’s just a passing acquaintance. I might be mistaken!”

Next, Papaste leads Henwell to the caravan’s base camp.

This is the Cheerful Camel caravan’s headquarters. After settling Henwell in, Papaste takes care of the funeral arrangements for the fallen caravan members.

It isn’t until noon the next day that Papaste returns and invites Henwell to a banquet.

The event is hosted by Cheerful Camel’s superior—the Rich Trading Group, one of the twelve pillars of the Trade Alliance.

With the Midsummer Festival approaching, they need to review the profits from the first half of the year.

That evening, Henwell opts not to wear armor, instead choosing a Paladin’s casual attire.

Though casual, the outfit is still strikingly elegant, black and gold embroidered with exquisite patterns, clearly made from expensive fabric.

This ensemble gives Henwell an air of distinction without drawing too much attention.

Once the banquet begins, Henwell pays little attention beyond sampling Lumir’s fine cuisine.

Before the internal meeting starts, there are various performances.

Then comes a period of free mingling—during which Papaste brings a middle-aged man over to meet Henwell.

Papaste says, “Father, this is the man I mentioned. If not for this big brother’s rescue, I doubt I would have made it back.”

The middle-aged man bows slightly. “Kruze, I thank you for saving my son’s life. If there’s anything you need, just say the word. I’ll do whatever I can.”

Henwell smiles lightly. “It was nothing—no need to make a fuss. After all, we were comrades. Helping each other isn’t a great favor.”

Before Kruze can respond, a well-fed middle-aged man approaches with a few companions.

“Kruze, I hear your son nearly got into serious trouble. Papaste is one of your few outstanding heirs, if you lose him, you’re losing big business.”

Then he turns to Henwell. “Sir, no offense intended, but whatever price Kruze offers, I’m willing to pay double. I hope we can strike a deal.”

Henwell glances at Papaste with a faint smile. “So this is how you repay me for saving your life? You push me forward and use my name to back your deal? Kid, you’re bold! Since you’ve guessed who I really am and still do this... should I admire your courage or call you foolish?”