In the internet information society, people imagine ancient times.
People would kill or commit crimes randomly and just run away afterward. Tang Song had his own phantom thief Kid.
traveling long distances required obtaining verification from local officials. Without such verification, one was immediately regarded as a criminal vagrant. If caught at a checkpoint or by patrol officers, one could be beaten and forced to kneel and enslaved.
The situation was always worse than imagined, never better.
Not to mention in a country like Aran where the Magic Energy Industry was well-developed, there was the Crystal Energy Card with anti-forgery features, intricate internal circuit designs, and its own set of identity card systems.
But ultimately, it was a society governed by personal connections.
And someone like Liszt, who traveled around Aran, needed a strong backing.
Isis was like the shining pearl of Ji Weng’s noble territory. The temporary Crystal Energy Card was akin to a passport, but with some differences—a platinum card indicating foreign dignitary status. Checkpoint officers would just glance at it and let the bearer pass, often uttering words of good fortune.
This was exactly why Claude was so desperate to return to Aran and become an official.
The Aran military and political systems had their own identity cards, differing across the nobility classes.
These weren’t things that adventurers could get simply by selling their identity for eighty silver coins.
Although most profit-making establishments didn’t require identity verification—Why should they care who’s opening a store to earn money? Checking the identity of a "god"?
But at the highest-end places, like the Duguli platform floating above the city, Cloud Palace Sky Inn, identity verification was necessary. It signaled that one could afford the expenses to gain entry.
These establishments offered dining and performances of dance and song—main attractions with the most exquisite women from the Western Continent. Picture this: a super-expanded triple-view oceanic grand banquet of immense proportions.
Indeed, it was one of the most expensive places to spend money on the Western Continent.
At times like these, when nobles flashed their cards, the level of admiration from the wait staff and women was unimaginable.
The weight of nobility and official titles in Aran was significant; despite Claude turning into a pirate and foreseeing a damned life, he still harbored dreams of his son becoming an official in Aran—showing just how profound it was.
Illegal things that deviate from the mainstream norms of the world, no matter how capable, were remote from the world’s most powerful tables.
Liszt pondered that after Mulong finished his tasks, by the end of the year, and young Claude would be born, he too would become an uncle figure. But broadly speaking, he was still the ultimate OG in the Northern Prison.
At this time, the sunset approached.
On the Aran Highway, not in a remote area, on a major transport route, there were now Fluorite Demon Crystal street lamps lighting up. They helped merchants travel faster at night, and stabling posts offered horse rentals and replacements, speeding up the Empire’s logistics non-stop, around the clock. It was the theoretical pinnacle of land transportation before the invention of the internal combustion engine.
Liszt himself was dismantling Aran’s stage at Mulong, feeling somewhat demoralized at the moment—could he really surpass these?
Damn it, dying sooner or later, it’s all the same, stop thinking about it.
"Little Mei and I robbed a train together. Lily is even more significant; both of you are major criminals in Aran, and with the rest of the gang, sneaking all the way to Duguli must have been tough."
Liszt had to strengthen his bond with the harem, grateful for his wife’s manifested freedom; otherwise, he’d have no chance with these lesbian sisters. The sky darkened outside the window; since there was no rush for time, they might as well rest for the night in Aisnor. They had traveled continuously without rest, so they could march day and night the following days.
Meredith clenched her fists—what was Liszt on today? Only she could address herself in such terms. Today, the Boss was particularly nauseating. Indeed, her character matched those who would boldly confront the Emperor of Rome.
Goria was still okay, being the vulnerable one led by P in the TP. Hearing the nickname, she didn’t mind much but still found it a bit cheesy, "No, after Saleret set the general direction, we all travelled via the highway."
"How is that possible? You slaughtered everyone at all the checkpoints?"
Liszt thought the group had taken back routes to Duguli.
"Saleret had been expelled, but Chuan Che was a bona fide registered Hall-level adventurer, his guild Identity Card allowed him unimpeded access everywhere."
Although Goria herself was Heroic Level, and actually could walk sideways on this land, it was the Black Sail gang who played too big, dealing with the most intense issues in the world, involving too many strange and dangerous beings.
There was some admiration too, Chuan Che had a great reputation, a legendary star people talked about. Not to mention releasing him, many soldiers even asked him for autographs, and there was an officer who wanted to pay three Golden Dragons for the clothes he was wearing.
Goria wished that could be her, to let the world remember there was a country in the Western Continent called Catanian, and that Hall-level adventurers came from there, but it was only a dream.
The annual goddess record actually made Goria feel nauseated.
Liszt relaxed quite a bit, Celeste was reliable, likely also thought of this point, and had Chuan Che transferred over too.
He noticed Goria’s desolation.
Liszt was good at capturing these moments, at Heaven Port, these adventurers trained each had their magic techniques and skills training did not fall behind, often seen practicing their swordsmanship, totally different from the lazy pirates who loafed about on the island.
When Rein first joined Black Sail, his first year was intense, handling the Mixed Brand Pirate Group with a dimensional strike, as the deputy leader of an Honorable-level Adventure Group, actually wasn’t much less capable than Goria.
The guild’s assessment of adventure groups was extremely strict, it wasn’t just having an Honorable-level person that directly made it an Honorable-level Adventure Group, that’s impossible. It had to ensure completing Honorable-level team tasks, able to vanquish high-risk large Magic Beasts that cause extensive damage to towns, only then could it be rated.
The deputy leader of the Starving Wolf Adventure Group had to maintain impeccable standards.
But this comparison...
There was never any training, the scapegoat burdened with a hefty debt of eight thousand Golden Dragons got numb from carrying the load, naturally couldn’t compare with that master in terms of alcohol consumption, but was also very diligent when he had money, always indulging in great feasts, and afterward looking for company.
No wonder his standards faltered.
And the newly recruited thieves from the Seven Martial Seas, even the dim-witted Weber worked hard, carving out time each day for high-intensity physical training.
Goria, as long as she wasn’t staying with her two "husbands," was hardly ever idle, Liszt saw this very clearly, she was definitely one of the most diligent.
Perhaps, during the battle in Wind Breath Canyon against Edmond, she felt defeated.
Now mentioning the illustrious Hall-level adventurers, surely, she felt somewhat unbalanced inside.
"Damn it, Hall-level adventurers are so prestigious, someday I’ll kill them all, and you’ll be Hall-level."
Liszt wasn’t afraid of big talk tripping his tongue, women don’t need logic, they need emotions.
"What are you saying? Ah... I..." Official source is noᴠelfire.net
Goria laughed it off in annoyance, "So you have such a low opinion of me? I can make it without your help."
Meredith furrowed his brows and twitched his lips, flirting with my woman right in front of me, huh?
"It seems you don’t understand the operation mechanism of the adventurer’s guild, a title doesn’t determine someone’s level. There aren’t many registered Hall-level adventurers, maybe a hundred across the entire Western Continent, but some aren’t Hall-level because of their skills, but because their potential is Hall-level. And Hall-level is just a title, those people were lucky, did some deeds worthy of praise, while others are less frivolous. Among the Heroic titles, there are still those capable of defeating Hall-level, defeating Morison isn’t impossible, have you heard of the Living Dead Magnus?"
Meredith, gritting his teeth, patted Goria.
"Impossible! Brother Sha is invincible in the world! What the hell Magnus, never heard of him."
Actually, Liszt thought it sounded familiar, might have seen it on the newspapers, but that didn’t matter, what was important was to find a place to stay tonight, "You guys might not rest, but Miss Isis needs to rest. When we reach the next inn, we’ll stay the night, then continue the day after tomorrow, we’ll get a larger carriage."
The shift at the inn began, let’s start.