Battle of the Two Cities: Begins with the Mage

As a war-ready fortress, Lapzes is mostly built with hard stone.

However, after the expansion of Noxus' territory, many cold and hard fortresses specially used for defense were demolished, and replaced by a series of wooden low houses with wide views and soft style.

Now Lapuzes, without the need for combat readiness, is more of a fortress for trade transit and cultural exchange.

Whether it is from the barbarians in the north, the sand people in the south, or the goods circulating in the western plains, they will be packaged in Lapuzes and then shipped to the empire.

And those goods gathered from the north and the south will also gather here, rest here, and send them to the western plains.

Therefore, in addition to the name of the fortress, Lapuzes is also called the "Grand Bazaar", and there are countless rare treasures from all over the world.

As early as more than ten years ago, the transformation from a strategic location to a big market was completed.

"Oh, wow—oh! There's so much good stuff in there!" Poppy walked between the legs of passersby, eyes looking around excitedly and curiously.

"Poppy be careful, don't touch it, you will pay for it." Annie grabbed the bear with one hand and tried to hold Poppy with the other.

But her movements were still a step slower, Poppy had already jumped a few times flexibly and ran to the front.

"Hey little guy, look after your hammer, it's a fine jadeite." The laborer who was carrying the goods warned.

"Hmph, I'm not a little guy, I have the ability to compete!" Poppy was unhappy.

"Hahaha-wait for you to grow up, the hammer is taller than you." The laborer carried the container with a smile and walked away.

Taking advantage of the interval when she stopped, Seraphine and Annie followed, Poppy puffed out her cheeks, and the corners of her mouth bent down, looking at the direction where the laborer left:

"More than once! They keep saying 'Hammers are taller than me', what does that mean!"

"Well, I think I'm saying that this weapon is really good." Seraphine bent down and replied with a smile.

"Of course, this is a symbol of a hero." Bobby raised his head proudly, "Come on, go and see the store in front."

Without waiting for Seraphine to answer, Poppy ran over with small, abrupt steps.

"Sister Seraphine..." Annie hugged the bear and pulled half of the corner of her mouth, making a headache.

Although on the surface, she is about the same height as Poppy, but in terms of mentality, Annie seems to be... a lot more indifferent. Except when facing Seraphine, of course.

Seraphine touched Annie's little head and said lightly, "Let's go Annie, maybe there is something fun ahead, such as a bear."

"Little Bear~!" Annie's expression changed immediately when she mentioned Little Bear, "I like Little Bear the most! Let's go."

Seraphine nodded, glanced at Xin Zhao, who was wearing a full set of Trifali Warband armor, smiled at him, and stepped on the stage and flew forward.

At this time, Bobby had randomly selected a lucky shop, and was attracted by the iron cage placed in front of the shop.

There were several small gray mice locked in the cage, dragging their long tails and jumping around, making a "squeak" sound.

"Guest officer, do you need the Shimmering Potion? This is the hottest alchemy commodity from Zaan." The boss approached.

"Shimmer potion? Sounds interesting." Poppy looked curiously at the purple potion bottles on the shelf.

"Of course, this potion can make you extremely powerful in an instant."

"Powerful?" Poppy lost half of the interest on his face.

"Don't underestimate it, look at it." The boss took out a glass bottle from the outer pocket of the windbreaker, and the flowing purple liquid was the same as the one displayed on the shelf.

He first grabbed a mouse from the iron cage. With the squealing noise, the mouse was put into a transparent glass box that looked thick and spacious.

Then the boss twisted open the lid of the potion and dropped a drop of liquid into it.

"In an instant."

As soon as he finished speaking, Poppy saw the mouse in the glass box begin to change.

The blood vessels in its whole body began to become purple, and the blood vessels spread to the whole body, and the small limbs swelled exaggeratedly like a balloon.

The mouse began to go mad, roaring wildly, and in a very short time, it became the size of a house cat, its tiny teeth protruding outward, extremely sharp and terrifying, violently ramming and biting what it saw. everything.

"Damn, such a big mouse..." Bobby looked at the mutated creature in the cage in surprise.

She finally understood why she had to use such a big box to pack a mouse, and she had no doubt that it would definitely hurt if bitten by a rat that was running wild now!

The "squeak" bite sound suddenly weakened, and the rat's body began to shrink extremely quickly, as fast as the expansion process just now.

Soon, the sound and the crashing sound in Bobby's ear disappeared together, and the mouse in the glass box lay on the ground, lifeless.

"It's... dead?" Poppy blinked, clearly not accepting the fact.

"Would you like a bottle?"

"No...no, it's horrible, uh, thanks," Poppy said, and slid away quickly.

"This chamber of commerce...is it real?"

Seraphine, who was shopping, stopped on the stage and stared blankly at the third-floor chamber of commerce and the family crest that she was very familiar with.

The sign is an opened book.

Seraphine stood at the door and looked in, it was very lively, during the whole

The popularity of each big market can be regarded as one of the best.

"The Meredith Chamber of Commerce, the General's Chamber of Commerce. Anything you want to buy can be found there," Xin Zhao explained.

"It's really a business association run by the teacher..."

Seraphine walked in subconsciously, with curiosity in her eyes.

Her two teachers spent sky-high magic materials for experiments in the floating castle every day. She thought it was supplied by the empire, but it didn't seem to be the case.

"welcome to our store!"

When a few people entered the store, they were greeted by an old man with a tough expression, who looked like he was in his 60s.

"Hello, can you introduce me?" Seraphine greeted friendlyly.

"The Meredith Chamber of Commerce is divided into east and west areas. The east area sells weapons and equipment, and the west area is for all kinds of sundries, tolerant of everything."

The man walked in front to lead the way for everyone, and introduced it in a serious manner.

Poppy at the back was uncharacteristically, with a vigilant look on his face, falling behind, reaching out to pat Xin Zhao's leg armor, and whispering:

"We have to pay attention, that man used to be an absolute killer, and he could smell the murderous aura from afar."

"His name is Pude, he was a captain and now the head of the Lapuzes chapter."

Xin Zhao and Pudd met eyes and nodded to each other.

Seeing this scene, Poppy blushed slightly and complained:

"Damn, do you know each other?"

"My teacher used to be General Xin Zhao's boss, and this chamber of commerce was run by my teacher." Seraphine, who was floating in front of him, said with a smile.

"If the generals and commanders hadn't let us retire, I would have been killing for a few years."

There was a little nostalgia on Pude's fierce face.

"You're old, and the opportunity is best left to young people." Xin Zhao said lightly.

"Fart!" Pude glared at Xin Zhao, "How much younger are you than me?"

"I'm stronger than you."

Hearing Xin Zhao's dispassionate remarks, Pude suddenly became exhausted, and waved his hand somewhat disinterestedly:

"Forget it, forget it, my old friend brought the general's disciple here today, let's not talk about that."

Seraphine's big and agile eyes swirled between Xin Zhao and Pude. Although she couldn't hear Xin Zhao's soul voice now, she could probably infer a lot of information from Pude's voice.

Pude is already in his 60s. At this age, old injuries to his body and the decline of his physiological functions make his combat power fade quickly.

In Runeterra, at least a hero is required to maintain combat power at this age.

Of course, at the Grandmaster level, no matter how old you are, you are still as strong. Especially in the way of martial arts, the older you get, the stronger you become.

After the Battle of Presidian, Swain resigned from the military as a loser and returned to the Immortal Fortress, while Ryan stayed in the fief for a period of time, disbanding some of the remaining soldiers who retired, leaving only the young and strong part.

Grotte, Purd, and many others she knew were soldiers who would retire there for various reasons.

But almost everyone she knew who retired for whatever reason seemed to have gotten a good home.

With the walk, Pude led the four to the West District.

Facing the inside like a hypermarket, Seraphine's eyes widened.

The shelves are filled with all kinds of goods, and many people come and go, discussing from time to time, and talking to the shopping guide of the store from time to time, the whole scene is very lively.

Pude noticed the expressions of several people, and he straightened his chest and said:

"The Meredith Chamber of Commerce is the largest chamber of commerce in the empire. Everything can be bought here from us, ranging from weapons of war to small pots and pans, all inclusive."

"The most people over there are the specialty areas, which sell ice silkworms from the Freljord, ale from the Shurima region, and tech gadgets from Piltover. Oh, and wheat and rice from the Western Plains. ."

At the end, Puder grinned, with contempt in his eyes.

"Your Excellency, you seem to despise Demacia?" Poppy stood up and frowned slightly.

"That's not true. We have to serve the Demacians now. They are our rich people. The strategies of generals and leaders are still unmatched." Pude laughed.

"Then why are you?"

Poppy was a little confused. Just now, Pude obviously looked down on his face, but he put the Demacians so high in his words.

"Come here."

Pude took them to the commodity area of ​​Demacia, where there are many things, from clothes, food to utensils for living, almost everything.

"It's so cheap..."

Seraphine couldn't help sighing when she saw these daily necessities from Demacia.

One Trifali gold coin can be exchanged for 50 kilograms of rice and 5 pieces of hand-woven cloth.

Not only that, in Noxus, a gold coin can only buy 1 kilogram of ordinary meat, but in the Demacia commodity area, it can buy 5 kilograms.

"That's right, their citizens are really poor."

Pudd had a mocking look on his face:

"Since Demacia and Noxus opened up trade, those nobles have been eager to move their families to us to sell.

"Don't look at most of the Noxians here, but they don't actually buy much. Among them are a lot of people from Demacian noble families who can buy several cars at a time."

Seraphine nodded, looking around curiously, focusing on

Some people stopped for a moment.

The Laurent family, the Bouvier family, the Crownguard family, the light shield...

Almost everything, but most of them are people who work for the side branches of the family.

After all, Xiongdu's family lineage doesn't need to come here...

"Isn't this a good thing, they bring things from all over the world back to sell, and it can improve the lives of the lower Demacians." Bobby said a little ignorantly.

Before entering this store, they also visited many small stalls.

Many of these gadgets deeply caught her attention.

For example, a small flight system for children, she can just sit down.

If she hadn't been able to take out a penny, she would have bought it long ago.

That's 100 Trefary Gold Coins!

When she is rich, she must be a yordle who is admired!

"Yeah, they improve their standard of living, and we're in charge of tailoring them some fun stuff," Pudd laughed.

Hearing the voice of his soul, Seraphine was slightly silent.

The dumping of commodities has only one consequence, and the Demacian nobles oppress the commoners even more.

In order to get enough enjoyment from Noxus and around the world, their spending is bound to increase.

In this era of trade in Runeterra, if they want to maintain spending, they must also increase exports.

And these exports can only be produced by civilians in their territories.

Demacian commoners who used to be able to feed three people in half a day may now have to work a full day, or they may have to work together as a husband and wife.

With the character of Demacians, as long as the nobles give certain blessings and provide appropriate incentives, the commoners can be grateful.

And these simple methods are written in the books given by the Empire to the nobles of Demacia. There are many cases of other kingdoms and principalities recorded above. In the book, Swain and her teacher evaluated the defects of the enslavement methods of those kingdoms and principalities, and proposed improvement measures.

All of these, maybe the nobles will not care about it at first, but when it comes to the back, they will definitely rush to it.

On the surface, the Demacian nobles got better enjoyment, while the commoners exchanged more efforts for a better life. On the other hand, empires have harvested real money, resources, and labor.

Seems like a win-win...

If she hadn't studied her teacher's theoretical knowledge as a whole, she wouldn't have seen the mystery.

This trade-off, the threat from Demacia will be minimized...

Seraphine looked at the items from Demacia, and when she saw Poppy praising Noxus for being generous, she couldn't help trembling slightly.

The struggle between nations is never limited to war.

This sentence is from her teacher's famous sentence, and she can understand the meaning a little bit now.

Come out and have a look...it does pay off a lot.

With a learning attitude, Seraphine observed the surroundings, using the entire Chamber of Commerce as a microcosm of the world's disputes, to realize some issues that she had never thought about.

In all commodities, she summed up some rules.

Commodities from Noxus are mostly weapons, or mechanical products with high technical content. These weapons and machinery are far superior to other regions, and the price is not too expensive.

On the contrary, the commodities from Demacia are mainly based on the needs of life, without any technical content, and the unit price is extremely low, but it is superior in quantity.

Often, a few tons of rice and wheat can be exchanged for a Hex gun from the Empire.

And that kind of firearm is just the work of academy apprentices.

Seraphine once heard Orianna say that the mechanical production line of Hex's low-end weapons has been completed, and it hardly needs too many people, as long as there are raw materials, it can be mass-produced.

As for those raw materials and semi-finished products, she saw a lot in Piltover's exhibition area. They were selling raw materials for manufacturing machinery or some small technological inventions, such as the handmade works of independent producers.

In comparison, Zaun District is more about alchemy medicine. Victor didn't let Zaun go all the way of the Hex just because he was in Zaun.

On the contrary, Zaun still maintains the characteristics of his own alchemical medicines, and even integrates with technology to create many advanced alchemical medicines with low side effects and good effects.

Commodities in Shurima and the Freljord are simple by comparison.

In addition to the barbarians who sell some sophisticated cold weapons, as far as Seraphine can see, both areas are mainly selling natural resources, basically relying on the sky.

Although there are not many types of things sold, the unit price is quite high and extremely precious.

And the goods in Ionia...except for some beautiful flowers and plants, the rest of the goods are not seen here.

For that area, Seraphine's knowledge is limited to the fact that Ms. Syndra was born there, and her teacher also has a relationship there.

In addition, there are very few records about the customs there.

In the teacher's notes, more records were found during the march, and there was very little local history.

After feasting their eyes, almost everyone was extremely satisfied.

Annie bought a fiery red hairpin from Piltover, and Bobby borrowed money to buy a few sets of clothes from Demacia, saying he didn't have any casual clothes and wanted to try them on.

Seraphine didn't buy anything, but she got something far more valuable than a commodity.

After going out, she hesitated for a while, but asked Xin Zhao:

"General Xin Zhao...why haven't I seen such a large chamber of commerce in the Immortal Fortress."

She is familiar with the streets of the Immortal Fortress, even more so than in Piltover where she grew up.

In Immortal Fortress, she had never seen such a large trading center, let alone the Meredith Chamber of Commerce.

There is no reason why there is no reason for the Chamber of Commerce opened by my teacher to be in the Immortal Fortress.

With a trace of recollection in his eyes, Xin Zhao shook his head:

"There is really no immortal fortress. At that time, the general did not intend to open the Chamber of Commerce to Noxus. In fact, except for the trading city, although there are also Meredith Chamber of Commerce in other places, they are not the largest in the area."

"Why?" Seraphine was a little curious.

"This is a strategy decided by the commander and the general. The earliest was because Darkwill and the nobles jointly suppressed the Chamber of Commerce from entering the immortal fortress. But later, the general once said..."

"Even for them, there is no way to ensure that things like the suppression of the Chamber of Commerce will not happen. Although the generals will not do it, there is no guarantee that the people below will lead a bad end."

Xin Zhao sighed and continued:

"So simply, the general established the rule not to open a business association in the immortal fortress. Instead, he established a trade union to ensure complete freedom of business in the immortal fortress."

Since there is no interest involved, is it more suitable to be an arbiter...

Seraphine nodded, understanding what her teacher was thinking.

"The Meredith Chamber of Commerce is not just for the generals, he is very good to us and those brothers." Xin Zhao suddenly said, "The generals only account for 40%, and the commanders account for 20%. I heard that they have given up now, and they all belong to the empire. ."

"10-4-2, is it equal to 4! What about the remaining 40%?" Poppy interjected and asked.

"That 40% was given to retired veterans, whether they fought with us or not. It's just that the people who followed the generals back then got more points. And like Pude still working in the Chamber of Commerce, there will be more." Xin Zhao said.

"Thank you for your explanation, General Xin Zhao, I really benefited a lot today."

Seraphine nodded with a smile, bowing slightly to Xin Zhao in thanks.

Today, she noticed that Xin Zhao spoke a lot more than before. Or it can't be said that, it should be that as long as her teacher is involved, there will be a lot of words.

And in the words, there is always great reverence.

She can also feel that the longer she has been in contact, the more she can understand the personality charm of her teacher.

On the battlefield, Ryan is the mage general charging on the front line.

In the empire, he was the head of parliament who made plans to deter the enemy.

In the eyes of the Noxians, he was the trusted leader who would bring them a bright future.

And in her eyes...

Seraphine smiled slightly, without giving an accurate answer, and floated towards the camp first.