Chapter 5

This is the second update!

Following Viscount Locke, Cook experienced the backwardness of this world and the hardships of traveling, but he also experienced some of the privileges of the nobility. Cook finally learned the name of this place: it was the Angans Province, under the jurisdiction of Kubal City. Viscount Locke's territory was located at the edge of the Angans Mountains, which had relatively good geographical conditions. However, the closer they got to Kubal City, the more Cook felt that Viscount Locke's territory was not a good place.

As they moved forward, the hills and forests gradually disappeared, replaced by vast farmlands and castles scattered everywhere. Each castle was almost a noble's residence, and the road changed from a mountain path to a muddy road, and finally to a stone-paved road.

In this world, the nobles had great power. Some merchants and commoners were not allowed to walk in the center of the road, and they had to take off their hats and bow when they saw a noble. Slaves were not even allowed to look at a noble. This was the first time Cook experienced the feeling of being welcomed on both sides of the road, even though he was already covered in mud.

"That's Kubal City," Kuef said, pointing to the distance, just as Cook was getting tired of seeing nothing but farmland.

"Uncle Kuef, how much farther is Kubal City?" Cook couldn't see, as Kuef was on a mount and could see much farther.

"Hehe, we'll definitely get there by nightfall," Kuef said, which surprised Cook, as it was only early morning, and there were still ten hours until nightfall. However, after nearly half a month of training, Cook no longer cared about the distance. The initial difficult road and the slow pace of the mounts had helped him adapt.

"Alright, let's eat and walk at the same time, and try to stay in a warm inn tonight," Kuef said, and the attendants began distributing food.

"Oh!" When Cook heard about eating, he felt a bit nauseous. After all, who could eat the same kind of bread for half a month, hard as a rock, which had to be broken into pieces and soaked in water to soften it? Even then, it still had a rough texture, like eating sand. Of course, they had two meals a day, with a meat broth for dinner. The meat was dark and black, and besides salt, there was nothing else in it. Each person got a piece of meat no thicker than a thumb.

Viscount Locke's food was a bit better, but only in the variety of bread. Kuef and the others had the same food, though the meat broth was more plentiful. Cook noticed that Viscount Locke was trying to win the hearts of his guards. After all, in the age of cold weapons, the main purpose of the guards was to block attacks. If they were treated poorly, they might hesitate at a critical moment, leading to tragedy.

"Haha, Kuef, I think you're looking forward to the dancers in the inn!" A knight with a scar over his eyebrow laughed. This knight was at least 2.2 meters tall, with incredibly developed muscles. He held a spear that was 4 meters long, and Cook had almost never seen him without it. This was Kaid, a second-level knight.

"Exactly, exactly! The captain's endurance is the longest among us," another guard said. Since they were on the main road, they occasionally encountered patrols from the duchy, so Cook's group walked together. Viscount Locke was in the middle, Kuef in front, Kaid on the left, and Naris on the right. Naris was also tall, about 2.1 meters, with well-developed muscles. He carried two long swords and a round shield, which he rarely put down.

"Hehe, I'm not thinking about the dancers, just a good drink," Kuef replied with a chuckle.

"Haha! Kuef, when have you ever had a drink without a dancer?" Viscount Locke teased.

"Since you put it that way, I'll take one, or else I'll be seen as not giving you face," Kuef replied with a smile.

"You sly dog, it's just a dancer, I'll treat you, and I'll even get you two," Viscount Locke said, pointing at Kuef with a whip worth dozens of gold coins.

Cook observed that Viscount Locke had no airs with his guards in private. From their words and actions, it was clear that they had fought together on the battlefield. At the time, Kuef, Naris, and Kaid were all Viscount Locke's guards, and Viscount Locke was a second-level knight. Now, he was a third-level knight. Cook didn't fully understand the levels, but he could see the difference between a third-level and a second-level knight when he saw Viscount Locke's armor and a 4-meter-long, metal spear carried by two packhorses.

They laughed and talked all the way, and soon it was evening. Cook and his group finally saw Kubal City, which looked like a giant monster in the darkness. Viscount Locke showed his noble emblem and easily entered through the central gate, while Cook saw a long queue at a small gate on the other side, with a large number of people and goods piled up there.

"Hehe, little Cook, don't look. That's the route for commoners. The gate we're using is for nobles and the military. The commoners can only enter the outer city, while we go directly into the inner city," Viscount Locke explained with a chuckle, seeing Cook's expression.

"Thank you, my lord, for your guidance," Cook quickly thanked him. This was a courtesy from Earth, which didn't exist in this world, but Viscount Locke seemed to enjoy it, so Cook saw no need to change it.

"Let's go, let's show our little Cook the big city," Viscount Locke said, still on horseback, while Kuef and the others dismounted as they entered the city.

"What a big city, calling it a big city. Do you know what a big city with hundreds of thousands of people looks like? This city with less than a hundred thousand people is also called a big city?" Cook muttered to himself, though he was actually quite surprised. After all, this city was built entirely by human labor, unlike the skyscrapers built by machines on Earth.

"Ts!" When Cook entered the city, he found it different from what he had seen outside. The city had street lamps, which were more advanced than those in ancient times on Earth, but they were only at some intersections. The constant flow of carriages and the bustling crowds made Cook realize that the inner city was also quite lively.

As Cook looked around, he noticed that most of the people were nobles with their guards, and there were also some lone travelers wearing metal badges. These lone travelers were fully armed and often entered weapon shops and taverns. Cook was curious why most buildings were only two stories, with none exceeding three stories.

"Alright, rest here. Kaid, take care of them," Viscount Locke brought Cook and the other four new recruits to a relatively large inn, showed his identity emblem, and had Kaid take them to stay there. Viscount Locke then left with Kuef and Naris, leaving their mounts and equipment at the inn.

"Alright, little ones, here are two pieces of advice: don't look too much, and don't talk too much. If you don't want trouble, it's that simple," Kaid said, leading the five to a room with a large fireplace, which wasn't needed now, and a few wooden beds with straw mats. It was too warm for blankets. Kaid then pulled out a water skin, which clearly contained something other than water, as Cook could smell the alcohol. Kaid sat down and said,

"Yes!" the group responded.

"Alright! It's time to eat. I'll go see what's good. Don't worry, everything is taken care of by the viscount. Eat your fill, little ones! Let's go!" Kaid said, seeing that they had all agreed, and made a gesture for them to follow.