Asa now feels a bit in awe of Lord Porukamu.

  Although the result was not as expected. The big-eared monsters did not sell the stolen goods, or rather, they could not. These goods no longer belong to the big-eared monsters, and other beastmen have confiscated them all. Although this city-state is indeed mainly inhabited by beastmen, its core managers are said to be some humans.

  As expected, gold and silver coins are indeed circulating here just like in the human kingdom, and there are also dwarves and human merchants trading here. However, none of these merchants come from the empire, but rather from countries in the western wilderness and small nations southwest of the empire.

  And Mr. Borukan also said that this should be a very orderly place. At the time, Asa didn't pay attention to what 'order' meant, until he entered here and understood.

  This is indeed a place where beastmen of various races gather and live, almost all buildings are built with huge stones stripped from the nearby mountains, completely without any style or decoration. However, this place does not show any signs of barbarism due to its building style being tens of times more rugged than Brakada's, nor because its main residents are beastmen, but rather it seems to be more disciplined and rule-abiding than human society. The northern outer periphery is several separate residential areas, respectively for the residence of various races of beastmen such as ghouls and werewolves. Inside each area is the independent territory of each race of beastmen, completely managed by themselves. And in the middle of these residential areas is the central district of this city-state called "Opho".

  In the central square of Eufor City stands a massive stone monument, on which is simply and clearly inscribed the laws of this city. The large characters can be seen clearly even by dwarves with poor eyesight from afar. The axe-chopped strokes are deep, not beautiful but showing the necessary neatness and meticulousness of legal texts. The scope of these laws is not large, only covering the central town of Eufor, and the content is similar to human laws in many places, even more relaxed in some ways, with clauses that serve to maintain order. The biggest difference and shocking thing is that the wording is very concise, only stating what behaviors are strictly prohibited without mentioning what punishment should be received, and the gallows next to it is the only explanation. There is only one punishment here: hanging.

  It's probably due to the influence of this powerful law that everything in Euford City seems so orderly. Although there are beastmen everywhere, there is no hint of violence or savagery; these sub-humans are all busy doing their own things.

  This is a city in the truest sense of the word. Apart from entertainment venues like taverns and casinos, almost everything that can be found in human society can also be found here. What's most surprising is the feeling of civilization that pervades this place. Beastmen, apart from lizardmen, are surprisingly able to speak simple human languages, with some even being literate. The half-beastmen are the most notable example, these large-eared creatures' intelligence is on par with humans, and interacting with them doesn't feel difficult at all. Many of the affairs in this city are also handled by them.

  This is indeed an astonishing order. In past experiences, beastmen were completely synonymous with barbarism and savagery, but everything seen here makes one feel that they are more suited to be called by the more academic term, 'subhuman'.

  Under such a good order, it seems that all kinds of evil deeds are difficult to carry out. It was very unexpected that the old thieves only knew after contacting the big ear monsters that those goods had been collected by the beast people. It is said that this is the right for the big ear monsters to have their own independent living area here. Moreover, the beast people do not seem to intend to sell them back. This news immediately caused a stir among the thieves. They have been trapped here for several days now. The thieves are unwilling to leave empty-handed, but they don't know what to do.

  Asa wasn't worried about it himself. He was already close to the book, and he thought that the beastmen wouldn't keep those goods for a lifetime anyway. If all else failed, he could just steal them out. His mood was completely relaxed, or rather, he couldn't get tense at all.

  Xiao Yi was the most active and happiest among them. It was just as she said at first, to play around only. At first, they were still very careful, only inquiring about the situation with other merchants and dwarves in the hotel, but later on, they simply took Asa together to wander around the city. She carried a notebook and pen with her, taking them out from time to time to record and draw down strange things she saw. However, because of this, Asa also became very familiar with the basic situation of this city-state. Asa's adaptability had always been strong, and since Xiao Yi kept pulling him around, after staying here for a few days, he felt as if he was on a relaxing tour in a foreign land. The only trouble was that even though he usually slept on the floor or chair, Xiao Yi still forced him to take a bath every day.

  Today, the two of them went to see the construction project on the outskirts of the city again. A group of ghouls and werewolves were transporting materials to build houses and various buildings, their enormous strength combined with the custom-made tools made the work efficiency look amazing, while those in charge of directing were usually dwarves or human engineers. Asa was stunned by this sight, he couldn't help but wonder if he was dreaming, the bloody and murderous impression of the beastmen from half a year ago was completely incompatible with this peaceful scene.

  Just back from outside for a short while and about to go eat, the door suddenly rang out with the voice of old thief Bodhi. "Come out quickly, something's happened"

  A Sa and Xiao Yi quickly walked out and saw that almost all of the thieves were following Foduoluo running outside.

  "What's going on?" Asa quickened his pace to catch up with Foduoleng. For the past few days, Foduoleng had been trying hard to negotiate with the beastmen about those goods, but it seemed like there was no progress.

  "Last night, One-eyed Dragon planned to sneak into the warehouse to steal some goods, but he got caught," said Budda. One-eyed Dragon was a nighttime thief in their group, with very quick movements, and it's said that he had even snuck into the imperial palace before to steal things. "I've already warned him not to be reckless, but somehow he found out there were jewels among the goods, so at night he snuck in to try and steal some...but inside the big warehouse were two werewolves standing guard."

  "Werewolf?" Asa broke out in a cold sweat. He recalled the life-and-death struggle with that werewolf half a year ago in the Lizard Swamp, and indeed there were no more formidable hunters than them, whose senses and combat strength were dozens of times stronger than ordinary humans. If he also rashly went to steal, probably nothing good would come of it either.

  "So, One-eyed Dragon..."

  "Hanged." Fodderling said this word very lightly.

  In the center of the city, next to three huge stone monuments stood a similarly massive custom-made gallows. Made from a combination of stone slabs and wood, it was tall and sturdy, standing alongside the intricately carved stone monuments that displayed the severity of death.

  There were already many beastmen watching. Two wolfmen held the bound one-eyed dragon, and surprisingly, the leader was a human. The one-eyed dragon's eyes were covered with a black cloth, his mouth was gagged, but he could be heard shouting, his tied hands and feet were still struggling with all their might, but in the hands of the two wolfmen, they only showed futile struggles.

  The man in charge was a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance. He stood in front of the gallows and loudly announced that One-Eyed Dragon had attempted to steal and harm the guards last night, and this fact had been certified by the notary public. Then he turned around to read the relevant provisions of the law on prohibiting theft from the stone tablet. After finishing reading, he gestured for two wolfmen to lift One-Eyed Dragon onto the gallows and put a rope as thick as a human arm around his neck. Throughout this process, One-Eyed Dragon struggled desperately in vain, making "uu" sounds with his mouth.

  The man in charge walked up to the gallows and pulled a lever, the wooden board under Du Yeye's feet suddenly split open, and he immediately fell down.

  As the rope tightened, a faint "click" sound came from below. When the two wolfmen went down to untie and lift up Duanyan Long, he was just a silent corpse. The sudden drop had snapped his neck vertebrae, and despite his struggles, he died very cleanly.

  The beastmen surrounding the scene did not have any special reaction, and were far from being as excited as the audience watching an execution in human society. They just chatted among themselves and left in a hurry.

  A Sa felt his arm tighten, turned his head to see, Xiao Yi was tightly holding his hand, her face pale as she stared at the corpse of the one-eyed dragon being moved.

  She sat on the simple bed in the hotel room, holding his hand and leaning her head on his shoulder. Her face was a bit pale, with her lower lip bitten lightly, revealing a few white teeth. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her long eyes seemed to be staring at something intently, yet showing a flustered loss of control.

  "First time seeing someone get killed?" Asa asked softly.

  "No." Xiaoyi shook her head, and Asa could feel the stiffness in her shoulders. "The first time I saw someone I knew being killed."

  Duyan Long is the one who has the best relationship with them among this group of thieves. He often comes to chat with them, and from time to time tells Asa some strange jokes. When Xiaoyi doesn't understand and asks back, he always bursts into loud and proud laughter.

  A Sa also felt a bit miserable in her heart, and unconsciously tilted her head to the side, resting her face on Xiao Yi's head. Xiao Yi's body moved slightly, but still maintained its original posture.

  Unbeknownst to him, a strange scent wafted into Asa's nostrils. It seemed like a fragrance, but upon closer inspection, it didn't quite smell good; yet, it had a very real presence that wasn't just olfactory, but almost tactile, filling every nook and cranny of his body. The skin on his cheekbones clearly felt the softness of her hair, which in turn seemed to emanate an ineffable, mysterious scent. He gradually became intoxicated with this subtle sensory pleasure, ceasing to think about anything else.

  "I've always been afraid of seeing death since I was young." Xiao Yi said in a low and ambiguous tone, as if she was talking to herself. "No matter if it's a person or an animal, I don't want to see them die. Something that was once alive suddenly disappears forever, and can never be brought back. It's really terrifying."

  "A few days ago, I was still in awe of the laws here, so conspicuous and intimidating, and yet so comprehensive. In a chaotic world, the deterrent force of law is crucial for a city-state with mixed races, so only capital punishment was specified. But today, I saw someone we know die down there. I knew he deserved to die, as he intentionally broke the law here, and in order to maintain stability, the law must be upheld first, so he had to die... but actually, I didn't want to see him die."

  "People are alive, they will always die." Asa replied, now somewhat dazed.

  "I don't want to die." Xiao Yi replied vaguely.

  It seems that being immersed in this subtle feeling all along, after hearing this sentence, a heroic spirit was suddenly triggered from the heart, Asa stood up straight and turned around to look at her very firmly and said: "I will never let you die."

  "It's time to eat." The voice of Old Thief Foduoren came from outside.

  Asa felt for the first time in her life that eating was a very disgusting thing.