Chapter 192. Quantum Bond (1)
After leaving Bel Hoda and running for half a day, the city of Bruma began to appear in the distance. Seeing the metropolis, overflowing with golden, shimmering buildings, Azadin was amazed.
“Wow… so that’s Bruma? Even if they mine a lot of gold, did they actually paint their buildings with it?”
“Ah, that is hwangchil.”
Jiswa answered Azadin’s doubt.
“Hwangchil?”
“Yes, it’s a lacquer made from a special tree resin. It’s cheaper than gold leaf, but still an incredibly expensive material.”
“That’s impressive. From afar, it really looks like gold. Is it durable? Doesn’t it peel off under heavy rain or storms?”
“I heard it’s strong, but it doesn’t mean it never peels. It still needs maintenance from time to time.”
“Really? Amazing. How much does it cost? If it’s cheaper than gold leaf, maybe someday I’d like to coat my own residence with it. Well, not that I even have a home right now, since I’m wandering around with no house or family.”
“Haha, it’s far too expensive to use for a private residence. They say one container of hwangchil costs three times its weight in silver coins, and that’s for the lowest grade.”
“Three times its weight in silver? And they smear that on buildings? Is that even possible?”
Azadin was shocked at Jiswa’s words. There weren’t just one or two gold-colored buildings—if all of them were coated with hwangchil, then wasn’t the price Jiswa quoted wrong? Could they really afford to lavish such paint on the exteriors of buildings?
Sensing his doubt, Jiswa explained.
“Normally it’s used on bowls, artworks, furniture. Coating entire buildings with hwangchil is a luxury only Bruma can afford. After all, it is the capital of the Land of Gold.”
“So Bruma’s capital is also called Bruma?”
“Non-Brumans often struggle to understand the difference in pronunciation.”
“To think they painted with lacquer worth three times silver… remarkable. But wait, there aren’t any troops in sight. No war yet?”
Azadin admired as he scanned the city.
The center of Bruma developed around a massive crossroads, wide enough for six carriages to pass side by side without issue, with a drainage channel on one side.
Just looking at the immaculate paving stones laid across this enormous road, including the drainage, one could grasp the scale of wealth and prosperity this city enjoyed.
“My goodness. To live so well… astonishing. But this isn’t the time to stand around gawking. Well then, let’s go.”
Azadin’s party headed toward Bruma’s city gates.
***
In front of Bruma’s gates, soldiers were nervously inspecting all those who passed.
“The Nagas can disguise themselves as humans and sneak in, so everyone must cooperate with inspection!”
“Damn it! We’ve got too much cargo that needs to be delivered right now, what kind of nonsense is this?”
“The Nagas attacked ships, so now we have to haul goods by land, and this is what you’re doing?”
“Merchants don’t need checking! Just inspect the travelers!”
Merchants, forced to bring their goods overland due to Naga attacks on ships, grew indignant as clearance dragged on.
But the officer overseeing the inspections was strict.
“They could slip in disguised among merchants! We’ve even brought in a blood mage, so I ask for your understanding!”
To Azadin’s shock, they were pricking people’s fingers with needles. A blood mage, clad in blue cloth, was using the blood to test whether one was human, Naga, or of another race.
“Ugh… this is bad.”
Among Azadin’s party were Shati and Scott, disguised as humans. With inspections this thorough, their identities would surely be exposed.
“What foolishness. The Nagas are already running rampant inside Bruma.”
Shati sneered at the soldiers belatedly rushing to tighten security.
Of course, better late than never, but against Nagas, who could freely pass through waterways with their powerful swimming skills, blocking the roads held little meaning. It would have been far better to let goods into the city quickly….
That was how fearful people were of Nagas disguised as humans.
“By the way, Shati, I’m curious about something.”
“What?”
“Are Nagas really good swimmers?”
“Of course. The Water Snake Tribe Nagas have gills that let them breathe in freshwater, and the Sea Snake Tribe Nagas have gills for saltwater.”
“But ordinary water snakes or sea snakes don’t have gills.”
“They aren’t full gills. They have breathing membranes near their ears that open and close when in contact with water. When those membranes touch water, it helps them breathe, letting them hold their breath longer underwater. But Water Snake Nagas are vulnerable in seawater, and Sea Snake Nagas are vulnerable in freshwater, so they can just close the membranes and keep moving.”
“I see. What about the Dryland Tribe?”
“They don’t have those membranes at all, and their bodies are heavier, so they’re not great swimmers. But they have superior strength instead.”
“Hmm. So, they could enter the city anytime through the waterways and sewers.”
“More importantly, they’re testing with blood magic up ahead. What’s your plan?”
“There’s no helping it. Jiswa and I will enter separately and meet the Sky Lord of the Blue Sky Order. Scott, Shati, you’ll wait here?”
“Got it, Captain. Then… can we eat the snacks that Randa Banema gave us?”
“The snacks and liquor from Randa are to be used as gifts during negotiations later. For now, stick to normal meals.”
Saying so, Azadin and Jiswa approached the inspection post. The blood mage, overwhelmed by the massive crowd waiting, looked troubled.
“W-who are you?”
“This here is Jiswa, Taoist master of the Blue Sky Order. We have urgent news, and must see the Sky Lord at once….”
“Oh, Master Taoist? But the line is far too long. Besides, not all the officers here are of our brotherhood, so we can’t just let you through. Unless… you give us something.”
“Would money do?”
“Money works, but you’d have to offer quite a fortune to sway us. The guard captain, however, is fond of liquor. If you give him some, it might be cheaper.”
“Really? As it happens, I do have something.”
Azadin pulled out a bottle of liquor he had received from Randa and handed it over.
“Oh my! This is! Yes, this will do nicely.”
At that moment, the officer managing the checkpoint approached.
“Hey, what’s going on there? Why are you cutting in line?”
“Ah, this gentleman is a Taoist master of our Blue Sky Order. He has urgent business and was asking if he could be inspected first.”
“No way. Do you think he’s the only one with urgent matters?”
“Well, he was saying he’d like to present this as a gift for the guard captain….”
“Hm. Oh?”
The officer’s eyes wavered at the sight of the bottle.
“Wow, this is kashasha from Bel Hoda. Such a rare thing! Well, if he’s with the Blue Sky Order, his status should be genuine. Fine, let them through.”
The officer accepted the liquor bottle and let Azadin and Jiswa pass without even a blood magic inspection.
‘Damn. If I had known this would happen, I would’ve brought Scott and Shati along too.’
Azadin hadn’t expected they would be let through without inspection at all, and though he was surprised, if he asked now whether his companions could also pass, it would surely cause trouble, so he held his tongue.
***
Inside Bruma, the city was noisy with defense works underway.
Laborers were mobilized, elephants hauling lumber, stacking sandbags and wooden barricades near waterways to build defenses against Nagas trying to come up through the canals. But there were so many waterways, blocking them all seemed no easy task.
“Oh, elephants….”
Azadin was thrilled to see elephants actually working, creatures he had only read about in books.
“Hahaha. Is it fascinating, Master Taoist?”
“It’s my first time in the Bruma region. Korasar already had a very different ecosystem from my homeland, but this is truly astonishing.”
However, the expressions of those working with the elephants were far from pleasant.
Since Bruma received heavy rainfall in the monsoon season, cities built drainage channels to prepare for flooding, and sometimes houses were constructed on stilts so the ground could be used as markets during normal days and cleared when the rains came.
With its rivers, the sea, and the annual monsoon squalls, Bruma was a land bound to water, and that made it an ideal environment for the Nagas to invade.
Thus, Bruma carried out evacuation operations, relocating residents from low-lying areas where water entered easily, or places too difficult to fortify with barricades.
The problem was, those low-lying districts were where Bruma’s poorest and most powerless lived.
For people crushed by poverty, losing their homes meant losing everything. One needed money to stay somewhere else, and for those with neither money nor support, the evacuation order given in the name of defense felt merciless.
And the soldiers’ attitude made matters worse. They looked down on the lowland residents, the lower classes, and barked at them.
“What, you’re saying we have to leave here? This is too cruel! We’ve lived here all our lives!”
“Shut it! If you’ve lived here all your life, then even if you die today it’s no loss!”
“We’re doing this to defend the city! And you dare hinder us? You must be a Naga disguised as a human!”
The soldiers threatened those who resisted with spears and blades, forcibly driving them out, and even dismantled furniture and houses to gather timber.
In the height of a defensive battle, when casualties soared and empty houses abounded, when lives outweighed property, people no longer cared if their belongings were broken.
But in these early stages, while fortifications were still being built, destroying private property brought heavy resentment. Yet with soldiers backed by elephants, none dared openly defy them.
“Mm. The mood is grim. Judging by the soldiers’ tension, things must be bad. Jiswa, where might the Sky Lord of the Blue Sky Order be?”
“Yes. The Blue Sky Order is this way.”
Despite the circumstances, Jiswa happily led Azadin forward.
***
The Blue Sky Order had won many followers in Bruma by treating malaria and fevers. The king’s church had tried to punish it as heresy, but public resistance was overwhelming.
The Blue Sky Order healed anyone who joined, while the king’s church demanded massive donations before offering treatment.
There was no need to ask which side the common folk favored.
Thus, Bruma’s current king, Manza-Jadek, restricted the king’s church from arbitrarily persecuting the Blue Sky Order. The king’s church, furious, threatened to excommunicate Manza-Jadek, but with Coral Sahar now under the Herald Clan’s control, the authority of the king’s church had already plummeted.
“Anyway, because of Bruma’s endemic diseases, outsiders can’t exert much power here. No matter what the king’s church says, they can’t topple the king of Bruma. It’s a flaw that they can’t aid Bruma against the Naga, but for the Blue Sky Order, it’s a blessing.”
“So, the Blue Sky Order has been officially recognized by the king of Bruma?”
“Yes. He even granted them a building. That right there is the Sky Lord’s residence, the Sky Pavilion.”
With pride, Jiswa pointed out the Sky Pavilion to Azadin.
No comments yet. Be the first to leave a review!