Chapter 136: Entering Stronghaven


    ( Leo’s POV )


    The next morning, Leo and Ben said good-bye to Mount Faulkner and began their journey towards the capital city.


    The two of them were in high spirits and unlike how they came here while walking slowly because of Leo being untrained, their return pace was much faster as they were able to stride at a moderate pace for long durations.


    Leo had now mastered the art of moving as an assassin, silent and fast, as he was able to follow Ben closely as the two made their way towards the capital.


    asionally the duo would stop to have some water and catch their breaths, but overall it was a very smooth journey with no major problems.


    Although it was a slightly longer route, Ben deliberately avoided moving through popr merchant trails or venture too close to viges as he did not want unnecessary interrogation as to why two darkly robed men were moving through the empire alone, but in-case they came across other humans, Ben and Leo concealed their presence nicely as they movedpletely undetected for the full two days of their journey.


    ***********


    ( Two dayster ) Approximately two dayster, the duo found themselves staring at the ever sprawling capital city, as Leo was mesmerized by the sight of Stronghaven.


    A majority of yers had either already migrated to the capital or to some other big city as the current capital was the hotspot for millions of yers/ NPC and a myriad different races.


    “Wow, this ce had expanded a lot since Ist came here, it’s almost unrecognizable-” Benmented as it has been roughly 20+ years since he wasst here, and the city had changed a lot in his absence.


    ‘Luke should be in here somewhere as well-‘ thought Leo, as he knew that Stronghaven was where his brother lived as well.


    “They won’t let us pass through the official immigration channel. Well not me atleast…. and I don’t remember the people who control the illegal immigration into the city.


    So I guess, I’m going to scale the wall and move in with the wind. What about you?” Ben asked Leo, as Leo rubbed his palms and grinned.


    ” Of Course I’m climbing the wall, you’ve made me climb that stupid mountain so many times now, of course I want to put it into action” Leo said, as Ben chuckled heartily.


    ” That’s my boy! The Emperor ain’t getting a penny of my money-” Ben saidughing as he began running towards the wall with Leo in trail.


    Since the duo was moving full speed, they did catch the eyes of many who were curious to see as to why two fools were running full speed towards a wall, however, in broad daylight, with guards, NPC’s and yers watching, Leo and Ben scaled the vertical entry wall of Stronghaven like it was nothing as they two reached the summit and jumped into the city like wind, disappearing without a sound once they were on the other side.


    “What the fuck…..?” Questioned some yers who witnessed the scene as well as the wall patrol guards, who looked at the height of the 40 feet high wall, it’s 90° slope and then tried toprehend as to how one could simply run up the wall like it was nothing.


    ” Illegal migrants! What are you all looking at? Someone go and find them-” one of the patrol officers shouted, but his men hopelessly shrugged their shoulders as Leo and Ben were long out of sight.


    Now, to find two robed men within the capital was like finding a needle in a haystack and without having seen their faces clearly, it was going to be impossible to identify them as well, as this was already a lost cause.


    Looking at their example, there were a few brave yers who tried to run towards the wall from the exact same spot that Leo did, hoping to climb it the same way as him, however, they failed miserably when trying to do the same as after taking one or two steps, gravity caught on to them and they fell back first onto the ground.


    ” Motherf- how did they climb it then?” The yers questioned, as they began discussing some wild conspiracy theories as to who these people were and wondered if they were the legendary ‘ninja’ ss NPC/yer.


    Once inside, Ben and Leo walked calmly through the bustling streets of Stronghaven, as they searched for an inn to rent for a month or two, blending in nicely with the crowd, as Leo experienced the bustle of a busy street for the first time in a long time.


    Feet moring, people shouting, a variety of smells wafting in his nose.


    This was a different sensation for Leo, where a lot of information was being fed into his brain at once, which was much differentpared to the calm countryside that he had gotten used to.


    ” Apples… buy apples! 2 bronze coins only! Sir, do you wish to buy juicy apples? It seems that they have caught your eye” an energetic street vendor told Leo, who smiled and tossed him one silver and picked two apples in return.


    ” Keep the change-” he said, as the vendor smiled brightly, taking off his hat and thanking Leo.


    ” Thankyou, good sir-” he said, as Leo took a bite into one apple and gave the second one to Ben.


    After spending much time in the wild where they could not enjoy the simple luxuries of life such as eating fresh fruits, Ben too enjoyed the juicy apple thoroughly, as he was reminded about the benefits of living with a civilization.


    ” Economy and free market…. What a beautiful thing” Benmented as he chomped down his apple, as it blew his mind as to how fresh fruits would find their way to a bustling city everyday and not only the farmer, the distributor and consumer would be happy from this service as well.