Castle of Black Iron

Upton City was also covered by the misty heavy rain. Only after half an hour of walk, Zhang Tie had already seen this city.

It was a commercial city with no city walls or any other city defense facilities. Due to the prosperous trade between the south and north of Blackson Humans Corridor, this city gradually expanded in the past 200 years. As the capital city and the most important base of the Free Commercial Federation, this city had already expanded into a big city covering more than 100 sq km.

This city was much more prosperous than Blackhot City.

The human tide that surged towards the south made Upton City unprecedented, abnormally prosperous.

Both sides of the urban streets served as a shelter and were covered with portable tents or blankets which gathered numerous refugees. Beside those refugees were the ad signboards of apartments, hotels and inns.

...

"No. 76, Leavins Avenue, apartment of 2 bedrooms, 1 dining hall for rent; water and central heating available; 10 gold coins per month..."

...

"Warm hotel; clean and comfortable; 600 silver coins per day. (Note: breakfast not served!)"

...

"Blackhorse Hotel; suite; 3 gold coins per night..."

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"Wall Building, 4F stairwell for rent; 10 sq m; 2 gold coins per month..."

In Zhang Tie’s eyes, such rents were nothing different than a robbery as they were out of average families’ bearing capacity. However, it was normal in Upton City at this moment.

Besides, there were many liars in Upton City. The moment Zhang Tie entered Upton City had he met 3 liars using the same tricks. They had common ground, namely, their clothes were as tidy and high-end as possible; they kept talking; they had the same "business". As long as they were paid, they would help you contact with and "book" the seats of airships leaving Upton City.

"Sir, our Silverboat Airship Corporation is definitely a powerful enterprise. You might have already met liars. However, believe me, we’re definitely not like them. We have our own airships; we are running many airlines from Upton City to the south. With 10 silver coins, we can show you our airships. You can decide whether to book a seat or not after looking at the airships..." A 50-year old man followed Zhang Tie with an umbrella in hand as he kept persuading Zhang Tie. In order to make it more reliable, he even took out some photos and materials from his old suitcase with a solemn look.

"Can you get a seat for me?" Zhang Tie stopped as he watched that man.

"Of course, sir. As a personnel of Silverboat Airship Corporation, this is definitely a piece of cake for me!" That guy answered after a pause.

"Hurry up, book a seat for yourself then!"

"Why?"

"If you don’t leave Upton City as soon as possible, you might have a danger!"

"Ah? Sir, no kidding, how could I have a danger?" That guy forced a smile.

Zhang Tie didn’t say anything; instead, he just raised his jaw towards the distance. That guy looked at the direction along Zhang Tie’s eyes and saw some furious men who were pointing at him and striding towards him with water pipe joints and clubs in hand.

When he turned around, he exposed his face to those people.

"Catch him, catch him, catch that damned liar..."

"Pay me back..."

Those men shouted as they rushed towards here. The man changed his face instantly. In the next split second, he dropped the umbrella and escaped away...

Those guys passed by Zhang Tie and chased after that liar. They soon disappeared in the rain curtain.

At the sight of that umbrella on the ground, a 10-year old boy instantly drilled out of a nearby alley and grabbed that umbrella. Closely after that, he turned around and intended to run away.

"Wait for a second!" Zhang Tie stopped that little boy.

"I picked up this umbrella. It belongs to me, not you..." That little boy instantly hid that umbrella behind his back with a vigilant look.

"I know, you picked it up. I just want to ask you something!" Zhang Tie looked kind.

"Sorry, I don’t know anything!" That little boy shook his head in an experienced way. Closely after that, he intended to retreat into the alley.

Zhang Tie took out a silver coin, stopping the little boy at once. The little boy hesitated while he watched that silver coin with gleaming eyes.

"You should know something now."

"What do you want to know, sir?"

"Take me to the most informed place in Upton City; then, this silver coin belongs to you!"

The little boy rolled his eyes before saying, "2 silver coins, sir. If you can pay me 2, I will take you there!"

"Fine, let’s go!" Zhang Tie nodded.

"Sir, can you pay me this silver coin first as the down payment? I cannot escape from you after all!" The little boy said after rolling his eyes.

’What a capital city of Free Commercial Federation! Even a kid knows how to make money.’ Zhang Tie smiled as he tossed that silver coin to that little boy.

After taking that silver coin, the little guy threw a glance at it before quickly putting it in his pocket. Closely after that, he let out a sigh.

"Sir, follow me!"

...

20 minutes later, the rain got lighter. After walking about 2 miles they arrived at the destination.

"Is that here?" Zhang Tie watched a nearby building.

"Yup. This building is the headquarter of the Mercenary Trade Union in Upton, the best partner of Armes, the mercenary empire and Free Commercial Federation. Many mercenaries take tasks here. That pub on the side of the Mercenary Trade Union is the most informed place in Upton. Besides those mercenaries, many people would like to drink here and ask for information at the same time!"

Zhang Tie smiled as he took out a gold coin from his pocket and tossed into that little boy’s hand, "Take it and keep the change!"

"Ah, thank you, sir. You’re the best person I’ve ever seen!" The little boy gazed at that gold coin with an unbelievable look. Closely after that, he bowed towards Zhang Tie. Being afraid of Zhang Tie’s regret, soon after he finished his words had he disappeared in the street on one side.

Zhang Tie smiled as he walked towards that pub beside the Mercenary Trade Union.

That little guy was right. There were indeed many passers-by here. All of them were taking weapons like sabers and longswords, which felt aggressive. On the opposite of the pub were a weapon store, a protective equipments store and a big grocery store. On the side of the pub was an alluring street for many men.

Soon after the heavy rain stopped, many make-up women had appeared on both sides of the street. They were wearing a coat, exposing a part of white legs below knees with a stick of cigarette or a bag in hand. Zhang Tie had seen such kinds of women in the streets near the railway station of Blackhot City before. They reminded Zhang Tie of Ms. Daina. Therefore, Zhang Tie knew what their job was only with a glance.

When many tough men passed by that street, they would whisper to one of those women for a short while. After that, they would walk into a pub on one side while putting their arms around women’s waists.

Mercenaries who licked blood on their blades and Orioles who stood on roadsides were always perfectly matched.

Zhang Tie didn’t go to the headquarter of the Mercenary Trade Union of Upton City as only mercenaries who had been officially registered were qualified to enter it. He went straightly to the entrance of the pub.

The name of the pub was called "Gold Coins Pub", which sounded really suitable to mercenaries. It looked nice and magnificent. Zhang Tie thought it might be a nongovernmental foreign exchange window for Mercenary Trade Union. Many messages that were not convenient to be disseminated in the Mercenary Trade Union would be exchanged there.

Besides mercenaries who wore evident emblems of mercenary groups on their chest, many people accessing to the pub had unknown backgrounds. Some looked like pioneers who wore cloaks and used pioneering swords; some looked like paladins who wore feathered hats and used shields; some others looked like free mercenaries who wore white gloves and used crossbows. However, for Zhang Tie, as he could even change his look at his will, he didn’t care about the symbols. Therefore, for experienced ones, it was very childish to judge a person’s status based on his look.

Zhang Tie looked both like a paladin and a pioneer.

After walking into the pub, Zhang Tie took off his raincoat and hung it on a rack on the left of the pub. Closely after that, he walked inside.

There were so many people in the pub, making it very noisy and fervent. The pub was filled with a special smell of mixed alcohols and smoke. Thankfully, it was not chaotic. A half-naked stripper was twisting her butts while hugging a steel pipe on the stage in the middle of the pub under the pink fluorescent lamplight. Those maids who exposed their thighs and cleavage were walking in the pub with glasses in hand. They would usually tease the customers here now and then.

Zhang Tie looked around and found that all the tables had been occupied, except the loop of chairs around that stage. He then walked over there and took a seat beside the stage...