308: Chapter 308: Approaching the Imperial City 308: Chapter 308: Approaching the Imperial City Through Ocoro’s explanations, Zhao Guang gained a deeper understanding of some of the unwritten rules among the nobility.
These insights could help him avoid making mistakes.
At least sometimes he knew what the other nobles intended to do and wouldn’t err because of that.
After all, some mistakes had very severe consequences.
His current strength was not yet enough to disregard these seemingly arbitrary rules.
Watching as the team finished preparing, Zhao Guang found those who were injured to be a sore sight.
After some thought, Zhao Guang stepped forward and directly initiated a Healing Technique.
As their injuries were healed, the following actions would not be hindered.
The crowd uniformly saluted Zhao Guang, displaying expressions of gratitude.
“Your Healing Technique is very powerful, even stronger than those used by priests.”
“Oh, it’s nothing, I just modified it a bit.”
That’s right, the Healing Technique used by Zhao Guang was a modified version.
Thankfully, Ocoro wasn’t overly familiar with Healing Techniques, otherwise, he wouldn’t have reacted this way, as Zhao Guang’s efficacy was shockingly extraordinary.
Or rather, the effectiveness in his Healing Technique was terrifying, comparable to an advanced priest’s Healing Technique.
However, Ocoro casually said, “You’d better not do this kind of thing in the future.
It’s natural for soldiers to give their all for us, but if their wounds are due to lack of skill, a noble’s power shouldn’t be wasted on them.”
The surrounding soldiers seemed to agree completely, no wonder they acted that way before.
But this notion felt quite strange to Zhao Guang at his core.
Even though he was now a noble, he never thought such actions were inappropriate.
Even from a cost-benefit perspective, healing these people seemed beneficial.
How come it became a completely different issue when it came to Ocoro’s mouth?
Forget it, for now, just watch how these nobles behave.
At the very least, when in the Imperial City, he still has to blend in with them and not seem too out of place.
“I understand, I will pay attention to it in the future,” Zhao Guang nodded.
Then the team continued on their journey, this time heading in a different direction, to a town.
Upon arrival, Ocoro without hesitation located the local slave merchant and had the Slave Mark branded on the faces of those people.
This Slave Mark was a Magic Mark, which ordinary methods couldn’t remove.
The tools used for it were also very special.
“Is there a way to remove this thing, it doesn’t look very pleasant on the forehead all the time?”
The slave merchant bowed and said, “It’s possible with permission, but only the Slave Management Office has the authority to do so.
If you find it unsightly, you can choose a different pattern, or simply conceal it.”
Won’t they just run away then?”
There is a dedicated Magic Array for detection at the entrance of every town in the Empire.
As soon as a slave approaches, the mark on their face will reveal itself.
If no master is accompanying them, such a slave will be captured.”
So that’s how it is, no wonder the slaves were so docile.
After receiving the brand, each one lost their earlier arrogance, showing no sign of struggle.
Even when whipped, these fellows became very submissive; the change was too abrupt.
Perhaps this mark had other magical effects as well, Zhao Guang thought to himself.
After dealing with these slaves and some loot, the team set out again.
As Ocoro put it, they had already wasted quite a bit of time and couldn’t afford to waste any more.
Some people stayed behind to transport the bodies of their comrades, as these bodies couldn’t just be abandoned.
It was said that they would be sent to dedicated graveyards and their families would be notified.
No matter, there were specialized people handling these matters; Zhao Guang merely wanted to be informed.
However, when it was time to hit the road again, Zhao Guang noticed that the resplendent warriors had returned.
He had no idea how they managed it, but their earlier appearance as roasted chickens was gone, and their plumes had reappeared, even more splendid than before.
Their resemblance to grand roosters caught the attention of many bystanders.
“Where in the world did you get all these things?”
“You mean these decorations?
Of course, we’ve prepared backups.
They always get damaged in battle, so we need some feathers to restore our image after every fight,” one of them explained.
Jack flipped open a box beside him, which was part of the supplies they carried.
Indeed, it contained many feathers.
Yet, it seemed that these items took up quite a bit of space and weren’t light either.
One couldn’t help but wonder what they were thinking.
Ocoro, driving the cart with Zhao Guang beside him, simply took a glance at the photographs Zhao Guang had taken out to continue his studies from and lost interest.
In fact, even Zhao Guang couldn’t understand Ocoro’s great fascination with driving.
Despite the long time, Ocoro did not seem to get irritable at all.
Behind them, Jeana, who had been casting large spells continuously, had fallen asleep with her little head resting on Xi Fei’s lap.
Even though Xi Fei had participated in the previous battle, she hadn’t exhausted much of her own strength.
Magicians had fewer methods at their disposal, but their spells were almost instinctive; they were quick to cast and didn’t consume as much power.
In the early stages, when a Mage’s Magic Power had not been greatly enhanced, they were comprehensively weaker than Magicians.
The previous battle had illustrated this point; Xi Fei alone was worth several warriors of the same level.
In terms of deterring an army and disrupting formations, she exceeded what ten warriors of the same level could achieve.
For the next few days, there was nothing much to deal with, and one wondered whether that Lord was now at his wit’s end.
Having gone through a battle earlier, they didn’t encounter any troubles on the road anymore.
Then, they slowly made their way to the vicinity of the Imperial City, which they would reach in two more days.
Once there, they would be safe since there were no bandits near the Imperial City.
If any bandits dared to operate in that area, they would be promptly wiped out by the substantial garrison forces.
That person, that person looks like a merchant we saw before,” Zhao Guang suddenly glanced out of the carriage window, observing a person bound with ropes being led away.
Wasn’t that the merchant they had seen near their station before?
Zhao Guang had seen him.
Besides, the people around him seemed to have been with them at that time as well.
Ocoro glanced over: “Oh, it’s them.
They didn’t help when we were attacked; that’s a grave offense.
I had reported it before, and it seems actions have been taken rather swiftly.”