The imperial capital is basically located in the central position on the territory of the empire. In two directions, east and north, it takes about two months to see the coastline by galloping horses, while the south and southwest are a federation composed of several smaller countries, and west is the barbaric highlands where beastmen appear.

  To be precise, that was not the border of the empire, because the Barbarian Highlands did not belong to any country, and no human dared to settle there. Since ancient times, it has been a place where various dangerous sub-humans have appeared, including werewolves in the forest, lizardmen on the edge of the swamp, and scattered tribes of man-eating demons in the wilderness. It is said that deep in the northern mountains, there are also giant ferocious beasts and large eagles.

  Beyond the Barbarian Highlands to the west lies several other nations, with whom the Empire has had trade relations for some time. Although merchants have had to hire large numbers of mercenaries to protect their caravans, nearly half of all expeditions have been lost to beastmen attacks. Over the past decade, however, Imperial legions have begun a concerted effort to clear out the beastmen from the Highlands, and trade with the west has slowly begun to flourish once more.

  Burakada is such a town. At first, there were only a few stations and hotels here, but as trade developed, the population gathered more and more, gradually developing into a town. The merchant group where Chris was located was also robbed nearby, and the place where the Goblins left to pay the ransom was also nearby.

  Asa arrived in Brakada in just twenty days, riding day and night without stopping. It was here that he and Xiao Yi had landed after escaping from the Lizard Swamp half a year ago.

  This is a young town that is somewhat too hastily and roughly built. All the buildings were hastily constructed in recent years. Most of them started as small temporary hotels, then expanded rapidly due to good business, and continued to expand. Even those that were initially planned on a larger scale did not put any effort into decoration. The guests here are all practical travelers and brave adventurers. As a result, the entire city appears very rough and lacking in cultural atmosphere and subtlety. However, it seems that no one cares about these things, as the endless stream of people and bustling streets show off the unique vitality of this place.

  This city is centered around three industries. One is inns that provide accommodation for people, the second is mercenary taverns where merchant teams recruit bodyguards, and the third is brothels that mercenaries and merchants frequent. It's said that to facilitate management, local officials ordered all inns, taverns, and brothels within the city to operate together. As a result, these three pillar industries were integrated into one, and everywhere in town can be seen those same-style rough exterior inns, even inside they are all the same mix of merchants, prostitutes, and mercenaries, which is considered this emerging place's unique folk culture.

  Asa went straight to the city hall, and as soon as he saw the local official, he took out the letter of appointment given by the Duke. In these more than ten days of travel, he found that this was the most useful way of speaking. At first, he still had to explain laboriously to the station officials that he was a special envoy of the Duke, and at first, the officials were also very suspicious of him, but as soon as he showed them the letter, those guys immediately helped him prepare horses, brought out wine and food, and entertained him.

  The local official was still the same Mr. Porukan who had helped them before. Mr. Porukan, the local official, was only about twenty years old, and his ability to become a local official at this age showed that he was quite capable. He was a short, stumpy man with a large head on top of his body, somewhat resembling a puppet used by children. His face, shaped like a big pancake, had coarse and rough features, with big black eyes staring straight ahead without any sign of foolishness or dullness. His hair was messy and unkempt, as if no amount of combing could tame it.

  Matching his rough exterior, he does everything with a nimble jump, more like a low-ranking hotel bellhop than an official. He and the city he manages are exactly alike, showing no courtesy or etiquette but displaying efficient vitality.

  Despite his somewhat foolish appearance, he still remembered that Asa was the person who had drifted here with the duke's daughter half a year ago. After seeing the duke's clerk and learning of Asa's intentions, he was taken aback and asked, "Is it the same duke's lady who was injured last time?"

  "No, it's her sister."

  "Ah, Mr. Envoy," said Bolgan, still sitting with his feet dangling in the air on a chair that was slightly too big for him, his broom-like eyebrows twisted together. "I'm afraid we can't be of much help with this matter locally." His voice was a bit like a mixture of a duck and a goose, unpleasant to listen to but occasionally rising high at important points. "It seems all the thieves in the world are gathering here, just this week there have been three or four such incidents already." He looked very indignant, his short, thick hands slapping against the desk with a loud noise. "Because of the war in the south, the troops stationed here were transferred two years ago, and the local guard has started recruiting new soldiers, but it's still not enough to maintain local security. I've already reported to the imperial court requesting reinforcements from the south. I suggest you wait for the arrival of the reinforcement troops before proceeding."

  "No need, I'll handle this myself." It's best if others don't get involved. Asa remembered what Bishop Ronis said about keeping a low profile. His purpose in informing the local official was only because he needed to extract the ransom from them when necessary.

  Mr. Porukan jumped down from his chair and said to Asa, "You'd better not act rashly, those big-eared monsters have suddenly become violent for some reason. In the past, they only stole small money, and some even did good deeds. But recently, I don't know what's wrong, they not only rob, but also use knives when encountering resistance, and often people are killed or injured. You're a stranger here, if something goes wrong again, I won't be able to bear the responsibility."

  "Ah Sa said: 'Don't worry about this, I just hope you can tell me what's been going on lately.'"

  "Ah..." Mr. Borukai started to pace back and forth, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. After a while, he suddenly ran to the door, looked out, then closed it and walked up to Asa. He was only as tall as Asa's chest, and looking up at him, seemed to feel quite pressured. He pointed to the chair. " Envoy, please sit down."

  Here is the translation:

  Ah Sa sat down on a chair, but he jumped onto the table instead, towering over Ah Sa by a head, and gazed down at him with those big, bulging eyes like a cow's: "Special Envoy sir, don't be offended, but I feel an affinity for you. You're not as detestable as those officials sent from other kingdoms. One look at you and it's clear you're of humble origins, risen through your own efforts. So I think your mind must be more open-minded than others. That's why I'm willing to discuss something with you in private. This matter is too sensitive for me to mention to anyone else; as a local official, the people's guardian, I can't just spread rumors and speculation. But this matter is indeed very strange." Boru Khan's face drew close to Ah Sa, his large mouth and upturned pig-like nostrils making him look menacing. "You see, our laws don't specify whether those Big Ears are considered citizens of the Empire or not, so we generally don't treat them with courtesy. Petty theft is one thing, but as soon as there's news they've done something serious, the army wipes out their village without leaving a single chicken or dog alive. So those green-skinned creatures usually behave themselves and don't dare cause trouble. But now they're suddenly becoming so brazen..."

  "Are you saying someone is backing them up from behind?"

  "No, there are people." Boru's eyes widened even more, as if they were about to fly out of their sockets and knock the person opposite him to the ground. His face leaned in closer, his voice trying to be suppressed but still low and raspy like a duck's quack. "For nearly two months now, there have been strange rumors circulating that deep within the Savage Highlands, a large city is being built, a city for beasts and humans alike. It's said that wolves, lizardmen, and goblins are gathering there, and even the Long-Eared Ones plan to join this alliance of beastmen. They've made up their minds to no longer live in the corners of human society, so they have no qualms about being bold now, wanting to make a big haul before leaving. Ah yes, I also heard that they're transporting all the stolen goods and money deep into the wilderness."

  After finishing speaking, he finally withdrew his head, but suddenly sighed again. "I know this news is absurd, and even I don't quite believe it myself. At first, the news was spread in a small alley, but now it's all over the city... Hmm, why do you look so gloomy?"

  Asa coughed and readjusted her facial expression, seemingly nonchalantly saying: "It shouldn't be that way, right?"

  "No matter if it should or shouldn't be, but if it's really there, think about what a huge piece of intelligence that would be. I've also reported the rumors here to my superiors before, but they completely ignored me. When officials came to inspect, they even scolded me, saying I must have a problem with my brain. We don't have enough manpower here to send someone to investigate in the wilderness, so for now, I can only tell you this news. After you bring the duchess back and discuss it with the duke, see if it's possible to dispatch troops over..."

  Suddenly a hurried knocking sound rang out, and someone outside shouted: "Lord Borukhan, it's not good! Another merchant caravan has been robbed."

  Mr. Borukhan jumped down from the table, cursed a dirty word commonly used by street rascals, opened the door and turned to Asa: "Sorry, Your Excellency, please help yourself, I'll go deal with it and come back." Then he ran out with the people outside.

  Asa sat there in a daze. The beastly procession he had witnessed half a year ago was very likely to be true. If the big-eared monsters really transported all the goods there, and that book unfortunately got mixed up with them... He began to pray that Chris would like the book so much that she would carry it with her when she was hijacked and stuff it into her underwear for protection.

  No, it's just an inconspicuous book, no one would think it's worth much. The bandits wouldn't have taken the trouble to steal this book during the robbery, maybe the book is still with the merchant team, as long as they go to ransom Chris and ask for it back later. Thinking of this, Asa felt a lot more at ease.

  But it's just that the problem can't be solved forever. Asa decided to follow the map left by the big ear monsters and go to the place where the ransom was delivered to negotiate with them and see what the situation is like.