Chapter 168 Sorry state 2

As the four kingdoms languished in the aftermath of war and the rise of rampant crime, their citizens were caught in a desperate struggle for survival. Poverty gripped the lands more tightly than ever before, with once-thriving towns now reduced to shadows of their former selves. The streets of the capital cities, once bustling with trade and culture, were now littered with beggars and the destitute, their eyes hollow and their stomachs empty. Crime was at an all-time high, with lawlessness reigning in both urban and rural areas. Bandits roamed freely, and the once-proud knights and guards of the kingdoms were either too few in number or too corrupt to make any difference.