Emotionless Swordsmanship Genius

Chapter 25: The Port City of Bela

A long line stretched along the road leading into the city.

Many people of various appearances were dismounting from their carriages or horses, waiting for their turn.

Among them were Karon and Shong.

“When did they start charging a toll? There was no such thing the last time we came here.”

Shong grumbled in a low voice.

Karon, unconcerned, chewed on some herbs and checked how much was left.

They had packed enough for half a year when they set out from the desert, so there was still plenty. However, just to be sure, he thought it would be a good idea to see if the city sold herbs. Being a large city, the chances were high.

Before entering the city, Karon wrapped his black blade in old cloth and absorbed its energy into his body for safekeeping.

By now, he could control the flow of energy with relative ease.

He could even distribute the energy between his sword and body. The interesting part was that when he did this, he could sense the sword’s location even when it wasn’t with him.

While they were lost in their own thoughts, their turn finally came.

The guards at the southern gate all looked rough and had menacing expressions.

Upon closer inspection, they weren’t dressed as Imperial soldiers.

“What’s going on here?”

Shong furrowed his brow, trying to make sense of the situation.

Just then, a group of burly men pushed their way in, taking up space.

They were all wearing red bandanas.

“Out of the way! Lord Bembo is passing through!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, a group of men passed through the gate and entered the city.

All of them were wearing red bandanas and carried dangerous-looking weapons.

Among them was an especially large man, someone Shong vaguely recognized.

“Where have I heard of him…?”

While Shong was closely observing him, the men guarding the gate quickly opened it and stood at attention.

It was then that Shong realized who they were.

“These guys! They’re from the Megamon gang. Bembo is a mid-level boss. What are they doing guarding the gate?”

The Megamon gang had already existed when Shong visited here a few years ago. But back then, their influence wasn’t this strong—they were just a noticeable group.

In fact, as Bela’s population grew, the Imperial Army should have increased its presence here as well.

However, due to the Rob Empire’s territorial expansion and the deployment of soldiers to the ever-growing northern borders, there were no spare troops for the south.

As a compromise, the city of Bela chose a few influential gangs and tasked them with certain duties within the city.

The toll collection was one of those duties, with a portion of the profits being handed over to the city.

Naturally, this arrangement allowed the gangs to grow in power.

Once the group from the Megamon gang passed through, the line started moving again.

One of the gate guards glanced at Karon and Shong, scribbling something on a piece of paper as he spoke.

“Two adults, 100 shillings. Two horses, 40 shillings. That’s a total of 140 shillings.”

The man next to him pointed at the sword strapped to Karon’s side and added, “Wait a minute. One of them is carrying a weapon. That’s an extra 100 shillings for a dangerous item. Total comes to 240 shillings.”

“Oh, right. Hurry up and hand over the 240 shillings.”

One of the rough-looking men extended his hand toward Karon. But it was Shong who was truly taken aback.

His mouth dropped open as he shouted, “What? 240 shillings?!”

“Got a problem with that?”

“No, no. It’s just… Why is it so expensive?”

Shong grumbled as he reluctantly handed over the money. The guard scowled and growled menacingly.

“Of course, it costs this much! Do you know how expensive it is to maintain the city, clean up the environment, run public services, and so on? Did you think you’d get to enjoy all that for free? And if you carry a weapon into the city and cause trouble, we’re the ones who’ll have to deal with it. So, you need to pay up once a month.”

The guard rattled off his explanation rapidly, as though he’d said it a thousand times before. Shong’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“What? Once a month?”

He was about to protest but quickly reconsidered.

Now that he thought about it, they didn’t need to stay here for more than a month. It was best to just think of it as bad luck and forget about it.

The guard handed them two slips of paper.

Each slip had the amount they’d paid in tolls, a seal representing the Rob Empire, and the date.

“Here. It has the date you entered, so make sure to pay on time next month.”

“Why did they get to pass through without waiting in line?”

Suddenly, Karon pointed his chin toward the Megamon gang members entering the city and asked.

“What?”

Before the guard could react, Shong quickly inserted himself between the two, smiling at the guard.

“Oh! He was talking to me. Just me. Haha!”

He then swiftly turned and pushed Karon forward.

“They must have already paid the toll. Come on, let’s go.”

After finally passing through the gate, the two decided to find an inn where they could stable their horses and unpack their belongings.

Karon walked along the main street, observing his surroundings.

The street was bustling with activity.

Shops and street vendors lined the road, displaying a variety of goods and calling out to potential customers.

Being a coastal city, many stalls sold fresh fish.

In addition, fruits, herbs, food, and trinkets were on display, catching the eyes of passersby.

Karon glanced around, looking for dried taben vine. Not that he was just casually looking—his keen eyesight allowed him to take in the intricate patterns of the decorations on the trinkets, storing them in his memory.

The stone and brick buildings were narrow and tall, and just a little further in, the streets became more confined and winding.

In those shadowy corners, shady figures occasionally appeared. After all, where there is light, there is also shadow.

Just off the main street, a row of entertainment districts had sprung up.

Turning his head the other way, Karon spotted a transport carriage passing by.

Inside the iron bars sat a variety of people, their heads hanging low, as though they had lost all hope.

Among them were some who appeared to be from the Chakran tribe.

Karon’s mind immediately conjured the image of a girl.

Even young children seemed accustomed to the sight of slaves being transported. They laughed as they threw stones into the cage.

Karon’s brows furrowed at the scene.

Perhaps it was because he himself had once ridden in a transport carriage.

It stirred a strange emotion in him, one he couldn’t quite put into words.

At that moment, a money exchange booth caught their eye between the shops. Shong whispered, relieved, “Let’s exchange some money. We can’t just keep carrying around gold coins forever.”

Karon gave a slight nod. To buy the taben vine, they’d need silver or copper coins. The two headed straight for the exchange booth.

Given the city’s large population, there were multiple booths around, so it wasn’t too crowded.

Shong quickly scanned the area, then nudged Karon forward, urging him inside.

The surroundings of money exchange booths were often filled with thieves waiting for a chance to pounce. But they had no choice but to exchange the gold.

‘We’d better exchange it quickly and leave.’

Shong couldn’t shake off a lingering uneasiness.

At the entrance, a female clerk was stationed at the counter, and there were two exchange windows. On the wall, a chalkboard displayed the exchange rates: 9,800 shillings for 1 gold coin.

The rate was slightly lower than elsewhere, probably because of the excess of money circulating here.

They approached the window the clerk indicated. Karon pulled a gold coin from his pouch and handed it over.

Naturally, Shong handled the conversation.

“One gold coin, please.”

“Yes, how would you like it?”

“Five silver coins, and the rest in copper, please.”

The clerk took the gold coin and passed it to the appraiser behind her.

Once the appraiser nodded in approval, the clerk swiftly counted the coins and handed them over.

With their money in hand, the two left the booth without delay.

As they exited, the clerk who had been bowing her head in greeting hurriedly stepped outside and whispered something to a sharp-looking boy playing near the entrance.

The boy immediately darted off in some unknown direction.

Meanwhile,

Karon and Shong climbed an uphill road after leaving the exchange booth. They stopped in front of a two-story inn overlooking the harbor.

It was slightly off the main road, in a quiet location with a clear view of the city below.

It seemed like the perfect spot for a short stay.

Shong tossed a coin to the stable boy, handing over their horses, and headed inside.

Karon, who had been following, paused to glance down the lower road for a moment before entering after Shong.

The first floor of the inn had a counter, a small bar where one could have a drink, and a few tables.

There were only about three or four groups of customers, making it quieter compared to other places.

After paying for their stay and dropping off their belongings in their room on the second floor, the two returned downstairs and sat at a table.

They planned to have a simple meal. Bread and soup were served, followed shortly by smoked meat.

It had been a while since they’d had a proper meal, and both were quite satisfied.

“Let’s rest up today, and tomorrow we’ll check out the port. We’re sure to find something since we’ll need to board a ship. This is pretty good. What kind of meat is this?”

Shong, having devoured his portion, sucked on the bones with a look of regret.

“But whose territory is this?”

Karon’s sudden question caught Shong off guard, and he answered absentmindedly.

“Here? This place is somewhere in the middle. It’s a bit of a grey area. It might be Megamon territory, but I haven’t been here recently, so it could have changed.”

Karon nodded silently.

* * *

Idor, a lackey for the Twin Blade Hinjo gang, was tailing the two young men.

One appeared to be not quite an adult, while the other seemed to be in his mid-to-late twenties.

The two climbed the uphill road and entered an inn called *The Path of the Waves*, located in a secluded corner.

Having hidden in an alley, Idor relaxed and stepped out, only to be startled when one of the men seemed to be watching him from the roadside.

‘But they went inside…?’

Though alarmed, Idor kept his composure and casually walked downhill.

Once the inn was out of sight, he broke into a run.

He was headed toward the hideout where the Hinjo gang’s underlings resided.

“Hey, guys! We’ve got a job!”

Idor shouted at the massive doorman guarding the back entrance of the hideout.

Once the doorman opened the door, Idor rushed inside and headed straight for the second floor.

There, Lekki, the highest-ranking captain of the Hinjo gang, was smoking and playing cards with his comrades.

They all had blue clothes tied around their arms.

“Captain Lekki! I’ve got a lead!”

“Oh! Idor! What have you got?”

The slim and agile-looking Lekki put down his cards and asked Idor.

“Luma, who works at the eighth exchange booth, told me! The guys have a pouch full of gold coins!”

“What? A pouch of gold coins? Where are they?”

Lekki hastily stubbed out his cigarette. A pouch of gold coins was a huge deal.

“They just went into *The Path of the Waves*. It looks like they’re planning to stay there.”

“The Path of the Waves? Of all places…”

Lekki clicked his tongue and pondered for a moment before asking again.

“What do they look like?”

“One of them is in his late teens? Mid-twenties? One has curly brown hair and is slim, and the other has a black ponytail!”

“Good! Haha! It’s been a while since we’ve had a big catch! Well done. Keep an eye on them, and let me know if they come out.”

Lekki tossed Idor a silver coin. Idor’s face lit up with excitement.

Even after splitting the loot with Luma, who worked at the exchange booth, he would still walk away with 50 shillings.

“Leave it to me!”

As Idor dashed off, Lekki stood up and said to his subordinates, “Go tell Haskell to come. We’ve got a job to do.”

Haskell was a notorious thief in the port city. Because of his free-spirited nature, he wasn’t affiliated with any group, which meant that any job they did together required splitting the take.

One of the subordinates, clearly unhappy with this, asked, “Can’t we just storm in ourselves?”

“No. *The Path of the Waves* is in Megamon’s territory. If we cause a ruckus, we’ll get nothing. We’ll try to handle this quietly, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll go in by force.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Lekki’s firm command left his subordinates with no choice but to agree.

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