Chapter 310:
The Smuggler’s Woods and Foul Swamp are connected. Previously, the young lady had explained to Murphy the reason for this place’s existence, it’s currently an “optional route” from Transia to the Dark Mountains and from there through the pass guarded by Brass Dwarves into the Genoa Peninsula.
Of course, as the name Smuggler’s Woods suggests, it’s not a legitimate route, and respectable people certainly wouldn’t travel through here.
For example, when Crimson Regent Miss Miriam went to study in the Genoa Peninsula, her official route was first crossing Lake Shulps to reach the Cato region, then taking the train from the station connecting to the Genoa Peninsula, which could take her straight through to Shaldor Port.
The biggest advantage of this route is safety.
The biggest disadvantage is that taxes must be paid and Halfling tax officials under the Steam Lords Council conduct inspections along the way, which means many contraband items cannot be taken across the border, thus the Smuggler’s Woods route came into being.
In the hundred years before the Ten-Year War, this was the busiest smuggling trade route between Transia and other regions of the continent. During the era when the Blood Vulture Clan ruled Transia, the tax revenue collected from these smugglers alone was enough for the vampires to live luxuriously.
Because the Smuggler’s Woods was an important industry for the Blood Vulture Clan, the vampires had set up a tax station here.
Unfortunately, the damned Ten-Year War destroyed everything.
The former tax station has fallen into disrepair, with years of neglect allowing moss and vines to cover everything. Many walls have collapsed, and only half of the weathered statue of Salrokdar remains standing in the courtyard.