Ankharp, the central port of Steam Lake in the southern inland sea of Ferren, is a bustling trading port currently under the control of the Buddides of the Cespets Nobility Union.

The large port city was divided into two major districts from the south to the north. The northern city of Lias belonged to nobles and millionaires, filled with baroque-style noble manors. It had a strong exterior and a free structure, but it was filled with Byzantine luxury decorations.

Gretel Cathedral is the tallest building in Ankheip. The 137-meter-tall steeple tower standing side by side in front of the cathedral provides a view of the city.

At this angle, the people in the harbor looked like a swarm of crawling ants, and the masts and sails at the docks were like rows of mirages in the fog on the surface of the sea. If it weren’t for the cold and humid sea breeze, this kind of scenery always seemed to give people the illusion of falling into a dream.

Unlike North City, which has clean streets and luxury shops, South City is one of Ankheip’s noisiest harbors, including a large market near the docks.

This large market occupied an active area. Not only were there offices and trade associations set up by the major chambers of commerce, but there were also fish markets, slave markets, auction houses, blacksmith shops and alchemy shops that provided weapons and protective gear for mercenary groups and armed sailors.

On the south side of the market were numerous taverns at the harbor pier. Of course, many of them also operated hotels and outlines upstairs, belonging to the Pan Steam Lake seaport’s unique entertainment red light district.

The dark side of the city was filled with snakes, insects, rats, and ants. In the dark, pickled alleys, one could often see many disgusting gangsters engaging in filthy and illegal activities.

At this time, a group of cloaked figures were walking through the alleys of many dock taverns. This group of people wore plain clothes and didn’t say much as they walked. They deliberately lowered their heads and hid their faces under their hoods.

Some of them occasionally raised their heads and could still see their handsome and refined faces, which were different from ordinary people’s. In addition, they were exposed to the outside of the hood, their hair as bright as gold and silver, and their sharp ears that appeared in the hood. The sharp-eyed golden gloves in the harbor area could tell that some of them should be rare elves in human cities.

Surprisingly, however, Ankharp’s insatiable golden gloves seemed to have turned blind and deaf, turning a blind eye to the gold coins before him that could walk on their own. Even if they occasionally spied on the strangers’ true colors, they would quickly turn their gazes away and hide in the darkness of the alley as if they were avoiding a plague.

It was not that the dark forces of Ankharp did not like gold coins, but because this harbour, unlike the other harbours of the Lake of Steam, had a very unique and distinctive feature. The elves weren’t rare here. Although they weren’t permanent residents, they weren’t slaves or goods either.

Ever since the eleventh generation Patriarch of the Buddy Clan had formed an alliance with the Ank Fairy Court, the Ank Fairy had saved the city’s fate from the civil war of the Seth Patz Nobility Clan on three occasions in the past hundred years.

At the same time, the fur, wood, spices and herbs from the Ankheim Forest were the biggest factors contributing to Ankheim’s continued prosperity.

This human harbor city, be it the aristocratic merchants of the northern city or the large and small gangs of the southern city, gradually realized that compared to taking risks to capture elven slaves, they could also benefit greatly from trading with the Ank elves.

Moreover, the outline of the human and elven squad walking in the alley of the tavern revealed that they were not unarmed. They were most likely a mixed mercenary group with a lot of adventure experience.

Rather than provoking such enemies, the golden gloves might as well take advantage of the setting sun and try their luck in the busiest big market of the day. Perhaps they could find a few fat sheep that lacked vigilance.

…

Milleras’ face twitched slightly as he looked at the thick layer of unknown filth on the edge of the canal, as well as the thick liquid that was bubbling on the surface. He could only feel his stomach churning, and his subconscious natural disgust for creatures like humans seemed to have deepened.

“Your Highness, have all the human cities you’ve visited before been like Ankharp?” Milleras turned around and whispered to his companion.

“Your Highness Milleras, which aspect are you referring to?” Qin Lun casually stepped on the sewage in the alley and asked with a smile, “Didn’t you pass through another human city on your way from Commanso to Jondal?”

“Yes, the east side of the Commanso Forest is the Giant Dragon Bay. We used the sea demons provided by the Cannes Fishermen to cross the starfall sea and then pass through the Vihong Sea Region to reach Jondal. We experienced a few sea storms on the way, but we haven’t replenished them in the harbor of humans.” Milleras explained with a frown.

“That’s why!” Qin Lun narrowed his eyes and smiled. “The noblest green lotus grows only in the mud. Your Highness Milleras, when you see the so-called high-class human beings, you may understand what the Emperor’s new clothes are!”

“I will wait and see!” Although Milleras was puzzled, he still nodded and smiled. “It’s a great fortune to be able to walk with an experienced royal family. Perhaps we should put aside our identities and address each other by their names, Ferral.”

“As you wish, Milleras!” Qin Lun bowed slightly and nodded gracefully.

“Your Excellencies, I’ve found a’voluntary ‘guide!” While Qin Lun and Milleras were whispering to each other, Stark ran over with a short human in his palm.

“Pu!” “This guy is called Saigon. He is a local snake nearby, so he should be familiar with the dock area,” the acting leader of the fortress team tossed him to Qin Lun’s feet.

“Sir, this is Saigon from the Byron Society. May I help you?” After Stark threw him at Qin Lun’s feet, the skinny Thief bent his upper body and crawled on the ground. His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his narrow eyes turned around. His right hand quietly reached into his embrace.

“Raise your head and put your hands where I can see them. Don’t act recklessly!” Qin Lun squatted down with a smile. He took out a fist-sized cloth bag from his bosom and waved it in the thief’s ear.

The thief’s body stiffened as he slowly pulled his right hand out of his bosom and spread it out in front of him. The crisp and melodious collision of gold coins greatly eased his nervousness. He had seen quite a few elven mercenaries in the tavern, but very few were willing to deal with underground rats like him.

Although there were quite a few Ank elves who worked as mercenaries and bounty hunters in this city, the elven mercenaries, who had a strong sense of justice, did not have a good impression of the golden gloves and gangsters in the port area.

At some point, the two of them would also cause bloody clashes in the underground world. The gangsters who fell into the hands of the elves would often disappear without a trace, and the City Guard would not offend the elves because of such a small matter, so Saigon could not help but worry about his own life.

“Don’t worry, we don’t have any ill intentions. We just want to ask about the regular cargo ships to Suldorfer!” Qin Lun took out a Collins gold coin from his purse and handed it to the Thief’s open palm.

Looking at the gold coins on his palm, the thief’s narrow eyes shone brightly. He nimbly flipped his right hand and the gold coins disappeared from his sleeve.

“My lord, our Byron Society’s business is limited to a few taverns nearby. However, I can help you contact Old Man Garp of the Black Owl. He is the leader of the dockers’ guild and knows every merchant ship in Ankheap like the back of his hand …” The thief grinned, revealing a row of messy yellow teeth as he forced a fake smile on his face.

“Well, you have a good look. If I’m satisfied with the information I get, then this bag of Colemps will be yours!” Qin Lun shook his purse and pointed at Stark with a smile, “But be smart and don’t play tricks. This fellow of mine will go with you. His strength is no less than a high-ranked boxer. You should have seen him before!”

“Yes, my lord!” The thief revealed a frightened expression and lowered his head deeply to conceal the greed and malice in his eyes.

…

“Ferrari, why should we ask such a lowly human? Haven’t the Buddides already prepared a merchant ship for us?” Looking at the bandit and Stark, Elistine took two steps forward, leaned against Qin Lun and asked in a puzzled voice.

“Haha, our journey will not be very easy. We cannot leave our opponent with too obvious a goal!” Qin Lun’s eyes lit up as he said indifferently, “The Buddy Clan ship will also set off on time, but we won’t board.”

‘”Ferrari, these gangsters have no bottom line. If we ask them for information, will there be any future trouble? In Ankheip, they may not dare to touch the elves, but they are at sea” Milleras asked worriedly. “Why don’t we ask the guild? At least humans with status and status will have some misgivings!”

“Yes, that’s right. The guilds in the port area do have some professional ethics. However, they can’t keep secrets. The Santalin Guild started out by controlling trade routes and sea trade. It’s no different from telling them where they are!” Qin Lun explained with a smile.

However, there was still a sentence in his heart that he did not explain to Elistine and Milleras. Seeking information from humans of high status would be very difficult to deal with afterwards, and it didn’t matter to snakes, insects, rats, and ants like Old Man Saigon and Old Man Garp. If the dead couldn’t divulge any more secrets, they naturally wouldn’t have any future troubles.

“Let’s go. Let’s find a hotel where we can stay. Leave the rest to Guild Leader Robin and the others!” Qin Lun smiled and said, “I believe that by tomorrow, they will have taken care of everything!”