Chapter 193: A Royal City of Bizarre Style

Sitting in the moving carriage, Silas looked at the street scenes passing by through the window and felt as if he had experienced three worlds.

Guiying City was very large, divided into the outer city, the middle ring, and the inner district.

The outer city was the civilian area near the city wall. This entire section could be said to be riddled with holes, with traces of war everywhere. The air was filled with the smoke of gunpowder, and bullet holes and marks were visible everywhere on the walls and ground.

This scene reminded Silas of scenes from the Middle East he had seen on television during his time on Earth.

Everywhere were fully armed personnel, people all looked tense, and children played with bullet casings and bomb fragments as toys, shuttling through the ruins…

Following the main road inwards, after crossing a twenty-meter-long stone arch bridge and crossing the moat, Silas felt as if he had arrived in a completely new world.

This area was relatively peaceful. On both sides were neat red brick buildings, the streets were clean, and there were many pedestrians coming and going. They were neatly dressed; some were workers in grey work clothes, some were merchants in black suits, and there were also newsboys selling newspapers.

The feeling here was completely different from just now.

If just now it was a war-torn area in the Middle East, then here it had become a prosperous second-tier city similar to Bayne City.

Compared to the chaos outside, it was much more orderly here.

But one thing that surprised Silas was that, despite being separated by only a river, he couldn't see many refugees who had fled here.

Elaina, beside him, explained, "There are centralized refugee camps in the outer city. They are directly under the Queen's jurisdiction and protected by the army. The living conditions there are much better than here. After coming in, not only do you have to endure disdain and disgust, but the pressure is also very great. After all, the consumption levels are different. It's easier outside. According to the Queen's new policy, those people can become temporary militiamen, enjoying the treatment of soldiers while protecting their families. Although the salary is not high, it can ensure that the family has enough to eat and wear."

Hearing this, Silas understood and immediately gained a deeper understanding of Vanas's ruling methods.

The layout of the entire Guiying City was circular and looked very neat on the map.

Two main roads, in a cross shape, divided the city into four equal sections. Residential buildings, shopping malls, and other structures were generally distributed in equilateral triangles, which looked very comfortable.

Silas put down the map and said, "The person who designed this capital city must have been an obsessive-compulsive."

Elaina snatched the map away and snorted. "The person who designed this capital city back then was a master architect. It's rumored that he was also a powerful mystic. He arranged the city in this way through a special mystical method, saying it could guarantee the royal family's fortune and allow the Kingdom of Guinness to continue."

"Royalty is not eternal, my child," Silas instinctively said this classic line upon hearing this.

"Who's your child!" Elaina glared, like a fierce little tiger.

Cough, cough!

Silas coughed, turned to look at the street, and found that the surrounding scenery had changed again.

At this moment, after passing a relatively low city wall, they had arrived in the inner district.

The scenery in the inner district was completely different from outside.

The roads here were neat and wide, and the streetlights were orderly.

On both sides of the road were not houses, but tall courtyard walls of various shapes.

Looking over the courtyard walls, one could barely see the towering spires of the connected houses behind.

Just then, they passed a steel gate that looked to be at least ten meters wide. Peeking through the gap, Silas saw a neat courtyard behind, with crisscrossing stone paths, greenery, a square, and a fountain, and finally, a tall castle made of dark red, grey-blue, and white.

At the main gate, four fully armed soldiers could be seen. Judging from their silver-grey armor and the gear-driven firearms they held, the armament of these gate guards was several notches higher than those regular troops outside.

"The armament of these nobles seems to be much better than your army's," Silas turned and asked.

Elaina nodded generously. "That's for sure. The nobles are all very wealthy; supporting a small elite force is no problem."

At this moment, Silas heard melodious music and faint conversation.

Turning to look towards the north side of the road, he happened to see a large number of luxurious carriages parked by the roadside. Many young men and women in glamorous formal attire were being guided through the gate by attendants.

"This is Marquis Raul's home. Today is the birthday ball for the old Marquis's son," Elaina said casually.

Silas looked at the entrance and happened to see a petite beautiful woman, wearing a pure white long dress, a veiled hat, and black lace gloves, being helped through the gate by an attendant.

As soon as this woman appeared, she immediately became the focus of everyone. All the men present were attracted by her, their gazes filled with deep admiration and well-hidden desire.

"She is the Duke of the Mountains' only daughter, named Cercie. She's been a famous socialite in the capital city for several years. It's rumored that countless men have fallen for her," Although Elaina's face was full of disdain, her eyes and tone revealed a kind of envy and sourness.

After all, all women love beauty and desire to be the focus of all men and the object of admiration at balls.

Silas turned to look at her and said with a smile, "If you dressed up a bit, you would be many times more beautiful than her."

Elaina, upon hearing this, lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly, fiddling with a corner of her leather armor. "You don't need to flatter me; I have self-awareness on this point."

Silas shook his head and said with a serious expression, "This isn't flattery; it's the truth. Look at her, all made up like that, she's only a little bit prettier than you. When you take off your leather armor someday, put on light makeup, wear high heels and an evening gown, you will absolutely outshine her by several streets, believe me!"

Seeing Silas so formal, Elaina immediately felt delighted and snorted. "I'll try it when I have the chance later. If you make me look like a fool, just see how I'll beat you up!"

The closer they got to the center, the more carriages there were on the street.

Compared to those luxurious carriages, this military carriage full of bullet marks was like a wild chicken among a flock of swans.

However, the soldier driving the carriage seemed to have long since gotten used to it, completely ignoring the disdainful looks and low jeers from the coachmen on both sides. Ten minutes later, they arrived at the kingdom's royal palace.

The royal palace was enormous, a typical medieval Western kingdom castle. Inside, one could see numerous castle spires, watchtowers, bell towers, and so on.

Under the tall surrounding city walls was a ten-meter-wide moat. The whole thing looked like a huge castle built on an island in the middle of a lake.

At this moment, the carriage stopped by the river. The two carried Tess and got out of the carriage.

Ahead was the drawbridge, currently half-drawn, heavily defended.

After Elaina got down, she casually took out a token of hers. When the guarding soldier saw it, he immediately said happily, "You're finally back, Chief of Staff!"

"Chief of Staff!?" Silas was somewhat surprised; this was no small official position.

Elaina signaled to lower the drawbridge and asked, "How has the Queen been recently?"

"Very well. Since about six days ago, the Queen's mood and spirit have become very good. She no longer stays in the palace all the time and often comes out for walks. Her whole person radiates a reassuring brilliance," this young soldier said happily.

Hearing this, Elaina's expression was somewhat strange. "What's going on?"

"Perhaps she found a helper!" Silas walked over and said casually.

Elaina didn't speak. After the drawbridge was lowered, she quickly led Silas into the royal city.