The Cornflower Witch

By the twelfth day of the trials, Sylutia was finding it difficult to locate Third Tier magical beasts. She had been able to handle five to six per day before, but now she was lucky to find two or three in an entire day. This was even with the assistance of her various detection methods. Considering that other apprentices likely didn't have her speed of flight or the ability to deploy numerous birds for reconnaissance, they were bound to have an even harder time.

It was time to go ask the locals for some information.

Changing direction, Sylutia tilted the pair of wings behind her, carrying her toward a city she had spotted earlier during her journey. The wind brushed past the wings on her back, causing the black feathers to tremble. At high altitudes, the air was colder, and most birds capable of long-distance flight possessed feathers with excellent insulation properties.

As a spell from the Bionics School, the wings Sylutia had constructed also provided some degree of insulation, preventing the cold air from rapidly exchanging heat and draining her body warmth.

Gradually, a patch of gray-white appeared within the deep green mountain range in her field of vision. As she drew closer, the city's specific form became clearer.

This was a city built along the mountain. Its walls and main buildings were constructed from the same stone as the surrounding mountains, blending in harmoniously with the environment. The style was somewhat primitive, lacking the neat, orderly lines of human cities. Even the city walls rose and fell unevenly.

The streets were packed dirt, and the buildings were rough-looking, with exposed eaves and beams. Some of them even had moss and vines growing on them.

As Sylutia approached, she could hear the sound of copper bells ringing from within the city. Most of the people walking the streets were beastmen, with a few other races mixed in, each with their own distinct styles.

Descending, Sylutia landed on a forest path not far from the city. From here, she could see the two tall beastmen guarding the city gate. They wore thick iron armor and held double-headed battle axes in their hands. Looking more closely, she could see that the armor was lined with tough leather on the inside, with iron plates connected by animal sinew on the outside. The black grime filling the gaps suggested this armor had been in use for a long time.

Some travelers and caravans coming up the mountain path were allowed into the city after paying a certain number of coins. In the process, some people cut in line, some stole, and various livestock made noises and moved about. There was also quite a bit of animal dung by the roadside, emitting the natural scent of the cycle of grass and trees.

The young woman looked down at the dirt beneath her feet. Fortunately, it hadn't rained today. If she was a little careful, she wouldn't get completely covered in mud.

Not in any particular hurry, Sylutia followed the line of people entering the city. They appeared to be from a nearby tribe. The oxcarts they drove were loaded with animal hides and smoked meat, along with a small amount of ore they had mined themselves.

The wheels rumbled over the potholes in the road, and the load-bearing beams let out faint creaking sounds. The beastmen waiting to enter the city ahead of her all stared at the young woman with great curiosity.

"Norclasa Mosa (Look at that girl), Kulusi Hala (So beautiful)." The language of the beastmen was not the same as humans', and there were even significant differences in the accents of different tribes.

A few beastmen were muttering about Sylutia, but they didn't approach her. They remained quite restrained, and this continued until she entered the city.

When she reached the gate, Sylutia assumed she would have to pay a fee, but the two beastman guards respectfully bowed their heads to her upon seeing her and made no move to collect any money.

"Welcome," they said, this time in the human language.

Sylutia was surprised by the respect shown by these two tall beastmen, but she soon understood the reason.

Shortly after entering the city, she spotted several patrols of human guards. They wore steel armor that was different from the beastmen's, uniform in style, and covered with insulated surcoats. These surcoats all bore a prominent emblem: a pattern of several overlapping mountains with a white city wall in the center.

The "City Alliance of the West" was a new organization established by the Mage Alliance to manage the Western Mountain Range. The backbone of the organization consisted of personnel transferred from the mainland by the Mage Alliance, along with well-equipped warriors recruited to serve as a stabilizing force, maintaining their rule and management.

No wonder the beastmen guarding the gate had been so respectful to her, and the caravans entering the city had not dared to approach.

When these human guards saw Sylutia, they also nodded politely. They could naturally sense that this young woman was different, and it was easy for them to guess that she was a member of the Mage Alliance's advanced academy.

"Greetings, Milady. Is there anything we can help you with?" One of the guard captains, who was at the Second Tier · Castle level and wore a dark blue cloak, stepped forward proactively.

"I've just arrived here with my mentor not long ago and need to understand the local situation," Sylutia quickly organized her thoughts and replied.

"That's easy. You can go to the 'Silver Cup Tavern' in the city. It's a tavern run by humans, and most of the customers are staff members of the City Alliance. They'll be able to answer your questions well."

"Alright, thank you." Upon hearing this and learning the location, Sylutia continued along the road.

Along the way, she saw many beastmen of various appearances. Some had curved horns and were tall and strong, while others were relatively small and similar to humans, though the special animal ears protruding from their hair gave away their beastman identity.

Most of these beastmen wore coarse animal hide or flax clothing. Their skin was dark, and their arms showed signs of hard labor. They were carrying various materials, some were reinforcing buildings or repairing city walls under the direction of human engineers, and others were working as assistants in the workshops.

There were quite a few leatherworker shops, blacksmith forges, carpentry workshops, and oil presses here. It seemed that most of the daily utensils for the nearby beastman tribes were produced in this city.

Apart from the beastmen, which made up the majority, Sylutia also saw a few strange-looking birdmen. Their heads were exactly like birds', their wings served as their arms, with small, sharp claws at the tips, and their feet were bent like a bird's, with sharp hooked claws below.

Although they looked strange, their intelligence seemed slightly higher than that of ordinary beastmen. They knew a bit about trade, often flying in from very far away to trade high-value items such as sparkling gems, rare herbs, uncommon turtle shells, and incense. After finishing their trade, they would pack up the remaining goods, grab them with their claws, and fly off to the next place.

Before Sylutia could fully digest everything she had experienced along the way, she spotted the tavern the guard had mentioned. It hung a light green shield-shaped sign, painted with a silver goblet, making it very eye-catching.

Many people in the uniforms of the "City Alliance" organization were coming and going. Some were clerical staff, and others were local guards wearing armor.

Entering the tavern, Sylutia looked around, and following the bartender's suggestion, went to the relatively quieter second floor. Although the prices here were higher, the atmosphere was much better.

"Milady, what would you like to eat? Here is our menu." The attendant brought her a clean piece of paper, listing various delicacies and their prices.

Fine Bread - 30 copper coins

Smoked Meat (ten slices) - 30 copper coins

Grilled Meat Skewer (large) - 50 copper coins

A Plate of Berries - 50 copper coins

...

Honey-Grilled Drumstick - 1 silver coin

Stuffed Meat Omelet - 1 silver coin

Mushroom Milk Soup - 1 silver coin

...

Peppered Beast Meat Stew (First Tier) - 1 gold coin

Red Currant Egg Soup (First Tier) - 1 gold coin

Beastman's Cauldron Stew (First Tier) - 2 gold coins

Sour Fruit Venison Kidney Soup (Second Tier) - 12 gold coins

Snow-Sugared Wolf Tongue (Second Tier) - 11 gold coins

Fruit-Stewed Mountain Goat Liver (Second Tier) - 11 gold coins

...

Pan-Fried Bear Fat (Third Tier) - 140 gold coins

Sylutia was not surprised by the upper half of the menu, only noting that the meat prices here were cheaper than in the heartland of the Mage Alliance. However, after seeing the specialty high-tier dishes below, she was quite astonished.

These Second and Third Tier delicacies were things she had never seen in the heartland of the Mage Alliance. Just from their names, she knew the ingredients must come from powerful beasts in the mountains, probably spoils from hunts by the nearby tribal villages.

After reading through it, Sylutia couldn't help but feel curious about what kind of culinary delights these were. Since she rarely got the chance to visit the Western Mountain Range, missing out now might mean never seeing them again.

"Give me one serving of 'Fruit-Stewed Mountain Goat Liver,'" Sylutia said, placing some gold coins on the table.

"Alright, please wait a moment."

The bartender enthusiastically accepted the payment, then brought the young woman some clear tea and clean towels and water for her to wash her hands before the meal. This kind of service was rare on the Mage Alliance side; it might have been a custom from the former beastman upper class.

While waiting, she asked the bartender about the local situation.

"The 'City Alliance of the West' was established not long ago. I arrived here myself three months ago, following the team on an airship," he began briefly.

"In the past, the ruler here was a Sixth Tier ogre tyrant. He occupied a territory spanning nearly five hundred kilometers in radius, with several small towns under his control, but none as large as this one."

"This place used to be called 'Gulakadda,' which in the beastman language means 'the domain of the strong.' The officials of the City Alliance found it hard to remember and write, so it was renamed 'Greyhard Keep.' The reason for the name is probably that the stone walls here are all built with local grey-hard rock."

"Greyhard Keep is currently the eighteenth most populous city in the Western Mountain Range, home to roughly over twenty thousand people. Most are beastmen, with ogres making up only one-tenth."

"But I haven't seen any ogres on the road," the young woman asked, curious.

"That's right. The ogres in the city are now all chained up, mining in the rear mountain. They are very defiant against the 'City Alliance's' rule. Even after the ogre tyrant died, there have been several uprisings. Because these creatures are huge and very destructive, those rebellions caused damage to the city. Later, the higher-ups of the 'City Alliance' decided to move them all to the rear mountain for heavy labor, making them easier to monitor and control."

"I see." Sylutia nodded slightly, then asked about the local living conditions.

"Overall, conditions are much better now than before," he recalled the time he first arrived.

"When I landed, many shops were still closed, and management in the city was very chaotic. Many beastmen were going hungry, and there was quite a bit of fighting and brawling in the streets."

"These beastmen are relatively simple-minded and are very fond of violence. They generally don't care about the various rules announced by the 'City Alliance,' and only think about solving problems with their fists or weapons."

"To govern the city and make them recognize the law and rules, the 'City Alliance' has put in tremendous effort. So far, they've only managed to make them understand that fighting is not allowed within the city."

As the two were talking, a crisp sound of copper bells rang out through the street, followed by someone loudly making an announcement.

"Moska, Moska!" (In the beastman language: Attention, attention!)

"No drinking Redshire wine! No fighting in the city! No stealing or robbing!"

"Violators will be severely punished by the City Alliance with saltwater whippings!"

So that was the source of the copper bell sound she had heard when descending from the sky.

Sylutia looked out the window and found the staff member ringing the copper bell as he walked forward. He wore a robe of brown-gray and white, bearing the emblem of the 'City Alliance.' He repeatedly recited the rules and regulations set by the City Alliance, and repeated each one in both the beastman language and the human language.

That copper bell was no ordinary bell; it was a specially crafted tool. The sound it made when shaken was extremely penetrating and could be clearly heard over a kilometer away. Moreover, every so often, the staff member would also announce the time, stating whether it was a certain hour in the morning or afternoon, to remind workers in the various workshops.

According to the bartender, the local beastmen had no concept of time before. They only had a rough understanding of the difference between morning and afternoon. After the 'City Alliance' took over the city, they built a large bell tower next to the central square. The clock on it would chime every hour on the hour, reminding workers in all areas of the city.

It seemed that order was being initially established, Sylutia thought to herself.

If they could continue to stabilize the situation, these cities scattered among the mountains would slowly be able to spread their influence, gradually civilizing and changing the local natives.

Currently, the personnel of the 'City Alliance of the West' could only control the large cities in the mountains. They could only station a small number of personnel in some small towns for monitoring and control. As for the tribal villages further down, they had no time to attend to them and were still in a state of autonomy.

After learning about the general state of the 'City Alliance,' Sylutia was very eager to know how this place had been ruled before the Mage Alliance's intervention. Unfortunately, the bartender in front of her didn't know such information.

"I've only heard from the beastmen that the ogres in the city were the superior existences in the past. They held all the important positions, while some clever beastmen served as their deputies, handling various affairs for them. However, most ogres were cruel and enjoyed eating things alive, so the beastmen in the city were very afraid in the past and dared not offend them."

"After the 'City Alliance' moved in, it greatly improved the living environment for the local beastmen. Apart from a small number of hardliners who are dissatisfied, most beastmen have now accepted the jurisdiction of the 'City Alliance.'"

"Currently, there is a dedicated labor department in the city. As long as you are willing to work, you can get coarse food to eat. Although the taste is not good, at least you won't starve to death. This is quite a novel thing for many beastmen."

"The City Alliance has also promised that if beastmen can learn the human language, abide by the law, and behave well, they can become honored citizens and obtain property within the city."

After saying this, the bartender brought up a few interesting anecdotes.

"You wouldn't know this, Milady, but although the streets still have some smell, they are actually very clean now. When I first arrived, the streets were piled with all kinds of animal dung. It was really beyond description. Later, the 'City Alliance' organized several major cleanings and barely managed to get the streets to their current state."

"Many toilets have also been newly built. For this, they specifically transferred a group of scholar masons, because they are Transcendents and could build things very quickly."

"Drainage ditches and the like were dug last month. Before they were built, some piss and shit would flood out when it rained..."

Listening to him talk about this, Sylutia had to raise her hand to stop him.

"Ahem, I understand. Please tell me about something else."

"Ah, sorry. I got carried away," the bartender thought that since his guest was about to dine, his previous anecdote was somewhat inappropriate.

"I'll make it up to you with a plate of currant berries. These were freshly picked by the nearby residents. The texture is very refreshing, sweet and sour, with a unique flavor."

"Thank you."

After that, the bartender left, leaving Sylutia to quietly enjoy the berries.

Half an hour later, the chef's expertly prepared Transcendent delicacy, 'Fruit-Stewed Mountain Goat Liver,' was served. The flesh of the fruit remained a bright red and vivid green. Through the chef's exquisite technique, the freshness of the fruit had purified the gamey flavor of the goat liver. Then, the rich nutrients of the liver dissipated into the soup, making it easy to absorb.

[Fruit-Stewed Mountain Goat Liver] (Second Tier · Superior)

A high-quality meal that replenishes many rare elements needed by the body, allowing for rapid recovery after a great battle or intense training, and enhancing agility. (Effects are more pronounced for those of the warrior profession.)

Sylutia took small sips of the soup, feeling a wave of warmth spreading from her stomach, soothing the hidden fatigue in her muscles and granting a slight enhancement.

If consumed over a long period, it might permanently increase one's physical agility. However, for someone like her, who was already perfectly coordinated, the effect was not significant.

After finishing her meal, Sylutia prepared to go downstairs to sit on the first floor and gather more information. Just then, a familiar voice rang out from the tavern.

"Hurry up! What's the best thing you have to eat? Bring it out and show me! Money is no problem!"

Og was sitting at a wooden table like a seasoned general, wearing a short-sleeved shirt that exposed his shoulders. His bulging muscles made it impossible to tell he was a mage. His voice now boomed through the tavern, startling some of the beastmen passing by.