The Last Alchemist

The Free City of Berkeley and the Smart City of Nerogard both stand on the banks of the Bishui River, only 40 kilometers apart. Both cities have more than 100,000 residents, and their commerce is very developed. In the north, the two cities are known as the Blue Water Twin Stars.

Like Berkeley, Nerogard City also has a strong and tall stone city wall with four gates. The southern gate leads all the way to the Nerogard Bridge, which is the only way for southerners to enter the city.

Rosen's carriage drove along the south bank of the Bishui River. After walking for about 2 miles, a huge stone bridge appeared on the spacious Bishui River. The highest point of the bridge deck is more than 30 meters high above the river. There are two huge stone piers nearly 50 meters high in the north and south. The bridge deck is flat, but the bridge body adopts an arch structure. The total length of the bridge deck exceeds 80 meters. Domi, seen from a distance, looks like a giant crossing the river. It is very spectacular.

"Brother, look, look, it's such a high bridge." Little Alice opened her eyes wide and was shocked.

Anne praised: "That is the world-famous Nerogard Bridge. Master Fleming personally designed it. He spent 50,000 gold dragon coins, recruited thousands of craftsmen, and took 20 years to build. It is also the most magnificent bridge in the world. A bridge."

Veronica looked at the bridge and sighed: "This is the power of wisdom."

Rosen was also a little shocked. Although on Earth, he has seen many kinds of bridges, some of which are ten times, a hundred, or a thousand times more grand than before. But at that time, industrial technology was developed, and the materials and tools used were very mature. But now, everything relies almost entirely on manpower, mainly The materials are all stone, no cement, and no steel. In such a simple situation, to be able to build such a large-scale stone bridge like building blocks, Fleming is worthy of the name of the Three Saints of Nerogard.

"Come on, let's go there."

The carriage slowed down and drove towards the guard post at the southern end of the bridge.

As the distance continued to get closer, Rosen noticed that there were more and more pedestrians on both sides of the road. Most were hikers, a small number were riding horses, and a few people were riding in carriages like them. Not far from the gate of the guard post, pedestrians lined up in a long queue, and at the bridge in front of the queue, two rows of soldiers in bright uniforms stood neatly.

"Why are there so many people?" Rosenqi asked.

Veronica opened the car window a small crack, put her ear against the crack and listened for a while, then turned to Rosen and said: "Most of them are refugees from war-torn areas, and they want to take refuge in Nerogard."

"Looking at the flow of people, there is almost no movement. Are they not allowed in from the front?" Rosen asked.

Veronica listened for a while longer before replying: "You are allowed in, but if you want to enter the city, you must pay a high head tax, which is 100 rontes for adults, 50 rontes for children, and 30 rontes for a horse. There is an additional charge of 200 rand for carriages. At the same time, weapons are not allowed, and carriages are inspected very strictly, and all suitcases must be searched.”

Rosen calculated in silence for a moment: "In other words, just to enter the city, we have to pay 710 rands. This fee is really high. I'm afraid not many people can enter the city."

The total money in his pocket is fourteen thousand rands. If he consumes it at this rate, he will become a pauper after crossing the city gate 20 times.

Anne was also listening carefully to what was going on outside. She sighed: "That's true. From now on, only three people have been let in. Wait, someone wants to break in. He was caught by the guard and he was resisting. , he injured a guard. My God, no~~~~"

"What's wrong?" Rosen asked hurriedly.

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard screams coming from outside the carriage. Immediately afterwards, he heard a splash from the clear water, and several women screamed again.

Now Rosen also understood: "The intruder was thrown into the river by the guards. The bridge in front is more than 20 meters high. Or should he be frozen to death in the middle of winter?"

Anne was used to this, and she shook her head: "There were at least more than 200 guards on the bridge. That guy shouldn't have forced his way in, so forget it. After he was caught, he should be honest and not continue to hurt people. ”

Veronica glanced at Rosen and smiled lightly: "Rosen, you are still too young. You will get used to it if you see him more in the future."

At this time, perhaps because there were too many people on the bridge, blocking the road, the guards began to chase people away.

At first, the guards were just pushing with their hands, but those ordinary people seemed to be pushed around, but they seemed to have roots under their feet and just refused to move. After a while, the guards became impatient.

Rosen saw a warrior wearing fish-scale steel armor stretched out his hand and pulled out his sword, shouting: "Back off! Otherwise we will kill without mercy!"

"Kacha~Kacha~"

Many guards in the rear picked up their crossbows and began to cock them, with the intention of starting to kill without retreating.

Upon seeing this, many pedestrians were frightened and backed away. Many people shook their heads and sighed, and were forced to walk off the bridge.

"Bah~ It's a city of wisdom, I think it's a city of barbarism!"

"Hey~~ People in troubled times are not as good as wild dogs in peaceful times."

"There are monsters everywhere, the village has been destroyed, and the city is not allowed to enter, how can we live~"

Rosen felt very uncomfortable listening to these complaints, but he also knew very well that the only thing he could do now was to protect himself.

Driven by the guards, most of the refugees crowded on the bridge were dispersed, leaving only a few unwilling to watch not far away. The carriage that had been blocked before began to move forward slowly.

"Annie, count out the money. The most will come out to a few hundred. When the weapons are inspected later, be more cooperative and wait until we enter the city first." Rosen whispered.

"I understand." Anne opened the secret compartment in the carriage, took out the cash box, and silently counted Yin Lunte. As she counted, she said bitterly: "These vampires!"

She had never dared to think of taking out nearly a thousand silver francs in one go. Even now that she had money, she still felt very painful.

Veronica suddenly said: "Judging from the movement in front, the inspection is very strict. Anything that resembles a weapon will be seized. It is useless to give money."

"Why is it so strict?" Rosen frowned.

Veronica continued to eavesdrop on the conversation ahead. Five minutes later, she said: "Judging from their conversation, it was because of the wizard hunters. In the first half of the month, a group of wizard hunters entered the city in disguise and killed people who escaped from Berkeley. The two alchemists who took refuge in Nerogard have since banned civilians from carrying any weapons."

"Our weapon is brand new and has never appeared before. Should we be able to get away with it?" Rosen asked.

Veronica shook her head: "I'm afraid not. Look over there, the man in the cowhide robe must be a magician. I think he will definitely be able to recognize your alchemy weapon."

Rosen turned around and saw a pergola set up next to the checkpoint in front. Under the pergola sat an old man with gray hair. His attire was very similar to Dias. At first glance, he was a member of Nerogard Academy. .

"Looking at the attire, he is indeed a magician, but I didn't feel his prying eyes, and there was no abnormality in the elements around our carriage. This old man is probably an alchemist like me. If he saw my weapon, he would definitely Can recognize it.”

Annie frowned: "What should we do? Our weapons cannot be withheld!"

Money didn't matter, but Rosen's Thor's Hammer, the two devastating muskets, and the secret weapon on the roof of the carriage were all extremely powerful. If they were detained, she would rather not enter the city.

Rosen thought for a while, then turned to look carefully at the inspection of the carriage ahead. His eyes were especially carefully focused on the warrior wearing fish-scale steel armor.

After watching for a while, Rosen suddenly noticed that the soldier looked across the crowd several times and quietly looked at his carriage.

‘Looking at that guy’s previous performance, he should be the sentry commander. He seemed to pay special attention to my carriage. Oh, yes, although there are many carriages on the bridge, mine is the best in terms of materials, especially the carriage windows. I use almost completely transparent tempered glass. This thing is a luxury product. It is unique and can be seen as extraordinary at a glance. ’

Soon, Rosen discovered some more details.

‘The outer steel armor of this steel armor warrior is very shiny, but the inner lining is old. It can be seen that it has been worn for many years. These days, a suit of steel armor costs a lot of money, and this warrior must have very little money. ’

‘As for the alchemist, it is difficult to avoid his eyes under normal circumstances, but what if it is abnormal? ’

Seeing this, Rosen already had an idea in mind.