Adventures of the last Wild Dragon

Chapter 284: Going for a Casual Stroll

In the bustling city of Sonantis two figures walked down the Main Street standing side by side. They made for an unusual sight in this city dominated by humans, whilst beastkin were by no means a truly rare sight, never had the people of this city seen beastkin walk with such a presence.

Not in the mystical way but in the sheer impact their mere existence seemed to radiate as the two beautiful women strolled down the street like they owned the very ground that they walked on.

The citizens unconsciously moved out of their way, carriages pulled by beasts of burden halted their movement, the animals knowing their place and daring not to impede them, merchants standing by their stalls halted their constant hollering as they watched the two untouchable beings walk calmly by.

No one stopped their advance, no one dared to interrupt them. Instead they simply watched.

The beastkin paused what they were doing, entranced by seeing someone so like them seem so far above them. But it did not inspire jealousy, instead it inspired, caused a surge of pride that one of their kin was able to rise so high. Even if they did not recognise their race, they knew that what they saw was something to cherish.

The walk did not last all too long until they reached the gates that separated the outer districts from the middle commercial district. They approached the gate with the same aura of confidence and purpose that they had carried for their entire walk through the city so far.

At the gate their was no queue this time, so they did not need to skip anything, instead they simply walked up to and then past the guard with only the smallest of nods of acknowledgement of their presence. The guards stood in stunned silence as they watched the two women stroll past them with more poise and elegance than most nobles.

In the middle district the streets were only slightly less crowded, their was no restriction on who could pass into this area so it only made sense that it was just as busy as the outer rim.

Instead of the predominantly residential use age of the outer rim this district was predominantly commercial in use.

Grand shops taking up entire side streets, dozens of small eateries lined the streets filling the air with the delectable scent of unknown food.

As they advanced deeper into this area they noticed a marked decrease in foot traffic and an uptick in apparent wealth being put on display.

Adventures in fine armour showcasing their prowes like peacocks searching for a mate despite their weakness. Fat and rich merchants covered their bulging flesh with opulent silks and glittering jewelry, masking their scent with overbearing perfumes.

It was a subtle change, only growing more pronounced the closer to the inner district they went.

Soon they were not the only ones dressed to impress. Noble ladies walked by with attendants and sycophants praising the very ground they walked on. Noble lords strutted along with more pomp than purpose.

But underlying everything, at least to the two companions senses, was the overwhelming weakness of everyone.

Sure they spotted the odd Lord, be that a particularly dancing dressed guard or adventure. But past that the average strength of the populace was laughably weak.

It would take next to no effort on Violet’s end to cause a mass disaster here with the simple use of a couple spells, it was both frightening and exhilarating to wield that much power.

Still they did not halt in their journey, whilst the guard at the front gate had indicated that they should settle in the middle commerce ring, they had no intention of stopping here. No, they intended to go into the very heart of this city, after all they needed to gain knowlage of the elites of this place, and what better place to learn about the elites than within their own district.

So it was that the two once again approached another gate, this one was heavily guarded. The guards in question all at the peak of tier 3 with a singular tier 4 Sargent sitting off to the side.

Still the Lord was nothing but an early lord and posed no true threat so the girls continued on, only stopping when the guards indicated for them to halt.

At first one of the weakest guards moved forwards, a young man in sparkly armour, having clearly never seen a true fight. He approached Violet and Luna with a sense of superiority that rolled off him.

"Half what business do... people, such as you have in the inner district?" The way the man said people with a hint of derision contained within it did not escape the girls attention, still other than a sharpening of their gazes they did not react overtly despite wanting to.

Violet spoke up, a frigid smile on her lips that spoke of danger. "Simple, we are looking for somewhere to rest for some time, where else would we go to get the best service?"

The man actually sneered at her words. "Ha, you should turn back and go stay with the rest of you kin in the outer ring, it would suit you better." The derision in his voice was all but palpable now, and had reached the point where the girls no longer felt bad about showing exactly who this small man was dealing with.

A controlled wave of their presence washed out and enveloped the man in a crushing vice grip. He let out a wheeze of shocked horror before being forced down to his knees as Violet stood casually before him.

"Now that you are in a much more fitting position to talk to me, why don’t you try and repeate what you just said?" She spoke with a carefully neutral tone, hiding her true feeling behind a mask of utter indifference.

Upon seeing his subordinate be so utterly humiliated like that the Sargent jumped to his feet, he attempted to force his own presence out to try and alleviate the pressure on the guard but found that his own presence was entirely rebuffed.

No it was more than that, it was like he was but a child trying to bash down a solid metal wall with his bare hands. The sheer difference in strength was so overwhelming that he instantly felt a cold shiver go down his back as he realised that his next words could very well dictate if his subordinate lived.

"My Ladies. Please forgive my foolish subordinate. He is new and has made a mistake." He tried to sound sincere but his heart was veering wildly as he gazed at the stunningly beautiful women before him that could snuff his life out with nary a thought.

"He will be punished for insulting me and my companion?" Asked Violet with a quick glance at the visibly nervous Sargent.

He quickly bowed as he replied. "Yes he shall. He had no right to insult such a personage as yourself. Please allow me to formally welcome you into the central district. If it would please you I can personally escort you to a wonderful establishment just down the road from here."

Violet kept her presence going for a prolonged moment more as the kneeling guardsman looked up with a mix of horror and fear. Then with a dismissive wave of her hand the crushing pressure bearing down on the man vanished as it it had never been there.

The man gasped for breath as he was released. The Sargent gesturing to another of his subordinates to quickly go and retrieve the man and bring him away.

"No need for the escort guardsman, just directions will be enough for us."

The Sargent once again bowed as he quickly gave the two of them directions towards the apparent best inn in the city.

Violet nodded at that and as she walked past she flicked a singular gold coin out towards the Sargent. He instinctively grabbed the coin flying towards him and then proceeded to gape in shock at the apparent tip he had just received.

He watched the two casually stroll past and couldn’t help but once again shiver as he remembered the cold eyes of the purple haired one as she so effortlessly rebuffed his presence.

His back was damp with sweat and he turned towards the guard that was still unable to even stand. He let out a sigh as he headed on over.

’This is why we shouldn’t allow idiots into the guards. They are simply unable to tell the strong apart from the weak.’ He lamented as he went about thinking what he would have to report to his superiors in relation to this incident.

For he would have to report this. Whilst it was not exactly rare to have unknown Lords enter the city, they were usually only in the early stage, maybe in a very rare occasion the middle stage. Yet he had only ever felt such power coming from the guard captain, no, even his presence was no where near as refined as what he had just witnessed.

Even when he had ’clashed’ with her presence, he was unable to glean anything substantial about her other than her overwhelming strength and sublime presence control.

He grimaced as he turned his irritated glare on his useless subordinate. ’Oh I’m going to enjoy making this boy run laps for hours.’