Dragon Tamer

This document is utterly useless!

With the Imperial Dynasty so far from the mountain’s height, even a City Lord appointed by the Supreme Court Empire would be chopped into pieces without a hint of remains once settled in Runyu City!

In the end, this gloriously titled City Lord still had to observe the whims of those military warlords!

Runyu City has always been ceded, occupied, invaded—changing flags faster than the seasons.

Generally speaking, when one holds the City Ownership Deed of Runyu City, it must first be submitted to the local state, and the state will issue an appointment order. The holder of the Contract Book then formally assumes office with the state’s appointment in one hand and the City Ownership Deed in the other, serving as the City Lord.

The absurdity reached a point that was infuriating when, after leaving the territory of Miao Kingdom, Zhu Minglang and his companions were supposed to deliver the Contract Book to Dry Country. However, by the time they reached Runyu City, it had already become a territory of Slaughter Country. According to the process, they would have to run to Slaughter Country to submit the documents…

Back and forth like this, who knows if Runyu City might change hands yet again.

So, if Zhu Minglang were to truly follow the Imperial Dynasty’s bureaucratic procedures, he might as well just shuttle between these nations and do nothing else.

“Little Uncle Master, what should we do? Runyu City is not a benevolent place,” Hao Ye said with a troubled expression.

Zhu Minglang also had a headache.

All he wanted was the City Lord’s Seal.

At present, the City Lord’s Seal was in the hands of the ruling power in this territory, belonging to the Godly Mortal Academy.

The Godly Mortal Academy expressly stated that the City Lord’s Seal would only be granted to a City Lord who had ruled over the city for more than a month; other transient City Lords weren’t eligible to receive the City Lord’s Seal.

It would be one thing to know exactly where in the Godly Mortal Academy the City Lord’s Seal was kept, and by whom, but there were absolutely no clues to its whereabouts. They couldn’t possibly turn the entire Godly Mortal Academy upside down, could they?

Upon reaching a border village, a few people decided to stay there temporarily.

Most of the houses in the village were built of stone, frequented mostly by mercenaries, Dragon Shepherd Teams, armies, war profiteers, and the like. Ordinary citizens, on the other hand, were few and far between.

This land was known as the Tea-colored Ground, where blood flowed into the sandy soil, turning to a dark tea color after some time due to the endless wars between these four countries year-round.

Also because of the war, the presence of Dragon Shepherd Teams, mercenary groups, private armies, National War Troops could be seen everywhere, and amidst them, there were bandit soldiers, marauders, villains, criminals, and black market dealers, creating an environment of true chaos and disorder.

Legitimate business travelers seldom crossed this Tea-colored Ground.

Without any real skills, one wouldn’t easily venture to such a place for sightseeing, as one might carelessly get trampled by a vicious army.

The land was a greyish tea color, looking somewhat bleak, and Runyu City sat in the center of this flat expanse, with no mountains, hills, woods to hide it, and not even a river in sight.

The rain here is very precise, basically having a rather fixed amount of rainfall every season each year, and this territory should have been quite rich. But due to the chaos of the surrounding nations and the complexities of various factions, this city looks no different from a city made of yellow earth.

Upon entering Runyu City, Zhu Minglang found, helplessly, that there were hardly any travelers here. Most of the people were in large groups, either Dragon Shepherd Teams resting here or some private convoys, almost all fully armed. Travelers like Zhu Minglang’s few lightly equipped individuals were very rare indeed.

There were no inns, not even anyone willing to risk running such a business.

With no other choice, they found someone to clean up an abandoned courtyard for them to settle into, a small broken courtyard overgrown with weeds.

“Life hasn’t returned to normal here; we’ll have to cook our own meals,” Fang Niannian said.

“What a desolate city, if it weren’t located at such a unique spot, at the crossroads of four countries, and if all the caravans that needed to travel to the Neon Sea didn’t pass through here, it would have become a ghost city,” Hao Ye said with a sigh.

“It’s precisely because of its unique location that it has been repeatedly crushed by various forces and armies, completely destroying what was once a prosperous trade city. The reason why the City Ownership Deed has not been bought by anyone is also obvious,” Zhu Minglang said as he swept the floor clean.

This small and broken courtyard was made of light green stones, and the bricks and tiles were of quite good quality. It was probably once the home of a wealthy family in Runyu City, but now it resembled a dilapidated temple by the roadside.

Fortunately, after careful tidying, it was still livable.

It was just that daily necessities were difficult to purchase nearby, and when they could be bought, they were quite expensive.

“The country’s allegiance is ambiguous, but the sitting power is the Godly Mortal Academy. So, if we submit this official document to the Godly Mortal Academy, does it mean we can rightfully obtain the City Lord’s Seal from them? After all, others have forcefully seized and ruled as if they were kings, while we would be the rightful appointees,” Zhu Minglang stroked his chin and began to ponder this question.

“It should be feasible, but the problem is that there are close to a hundred or at least eighty military troops and Dragon Shepherd Teams currently using Runyu City as a base, and they might not agree to having a City Lord, right?” Hao Ye said.

It’s estimated that Runyu City hasn’t had a real City Lord official for many years.

Moreover, among the current generation, the number of mercenaries and Dragon Shepherds making war fortunes is not small. They are accustomed to the disordered life in Runyu City and would certainly not agree to the presence of a new City Lord.

“Hmph, a bunch of parasites, they never hoped Runyu City could revive. Given the chance, I will definitely drive them all out!” At that moment, an armored man and woman walked in, followed by a group of people, all armed, wearing armor that didn’t quite fit well.

When the armored man and woman stepped into the courtyard and found people cleaning and tidying it up, making it very neat and clean, they were dumbfounded.

The woman, holding a helmet, walked over angrily and pointed at them, saying, “What do you vagrants think this place is? Get the hell out of here.”

The man wasn’t so nasty; he tried to calm the woman as he came forward to explain, “Sorry folks, this property used to be our residence, abandoned and ruined due to war. Now, we plan to station our brothers here.”

“We’ve been cleaning up for almost a whole day without seeing any of you, and just as we’ve got it nice and tidy, here you come, how coincidental!” Fang Niannian, wiping the sweat from her cheek, said with dissatisfaction.

“Here is your hard-earned money, now get lost!” The woman in armor threw a bag of gold at them with a look of disgust as if her sacred dwelling had been defiled.

“Hmph, who wants your money? We have the Deed of this city in our hands. Every street, every house, every tile, and the surrounding land, it’s all ours. You are the ones who should get lost!” Fang Niannian cursed.