Chapter 327: Chaos at the city gate.

Entering Grimmark was not as easy as Zyra had expected. The search at the main entrance was very strict and no one, not even the most well-dressed wealthy individuals were excluded.

Guards were making them empty their pockets and take off their shoes. Their shoes had to be removed and checked as well. The guards were poking through bags, sniffing barrels, and demanding papers like their lives depended on it. They even had drone hovering above and scanning faces.

Even though Zyra was in disguise, she didn’t want her face scanned. If Somnivore tech was involved, who knew what would happen? She leaned slightly to her right and gave a quiet signal to Malia, Taylor and Gilby. Time to make some noise.

Taylor nodded, a wide, mischievous grin spreading across his face. He loved assignments like this. Turning toward the long, miserable line of people waiting to enter, he scanned the crowd for the absolute grumpiest person available. It didn’t take long for him to find the perfect target.

Sitting in the middle of the line was a tall, thin man who looked as though he had been forced to drink sugarless black coffee for breakfast. Every three seconds, the man tapped his foot, checked his very expensive watch, and glared furiously at the city gate.

Perfect target, Taylor thought.

Taylor nonchalantly sauntered over, whistled a jaunty tune, and squeezed himself right in front of the tall man.

The man’s head snapped up, his face instantly flushing bright red. "Hey! What do you think you’re doing? Back of the line! No cutting!"

Taylor slowly turned around, looked the man up and down, and snickered. "Dude, it is not like I took your kidney. Look at us, I am obviously richer than you. I need to get inside before the stench of you poor folks rubs off on me."

Voices of disagreement rose from the back and front as others were offended by his words.

The man he had provoked jumped to his feet. With a furious roar, he swung his fist and struck Taylor right across the jaw.

"Oh, it’s on!" Taylor yelled, diving forward.

The two tumbled into the dirt, kicking, pulling hair, and knocking over several innocent bystanders--deliberately, on Taylor’s part. Within seconds, the neat line split into confusion and chaos. Random people started shoving and punching each other. Seeing the commotion, the gate guards groaned.

"Hey! Break it up!" one of the guards barked, abandoning his post alongside the others to drag the fighting group apart. Taylor took pulled a gun, loudly making threats.

"I am rich, I refuse to line up with the peasants." He screamed. "My aunt works for the Divine maiden in the sanctum. Even if I kill a few of you, nothing will happen."

Once a weapon was drawn, and such threats were made, more guards poured in.

While the guards were busy trying to fix the chaos, Zyra and Malia she tossed a handful of high-grade green energy stones straight into the thick of the crowd. Not just those, but one resonance stone was added to the mix.

The stones clattered onto the ground. For a second, there was silence. Then, absolute madness erupted.

"Resonance stone!" someone shrieked.

"I saw this first!"

People threw themselves onto the ground like starving dogs on a bone. The guards were instantly overwhelmed. They fired warning shots into the sky and screamed at the top of their lungs, but nobody cared about bullets when pure, high-grade resonance stone was rolling around in the dirt. The drone in the air was sent in to spray water on the traders.

"Move, move, move," Zyra whispered.

During the frantic scramble, Zyra, Gilby, Taylor, and Big Vince casually walked right past the abandoned guard station without registering a single identity paper. As they passed a distracted guard’s desk, Zyra’s fingers flashed out, neatly snagging a handful of wooden trader tags. She slid them onto her pocket just in case anyone questioned them inside.

Once past the gates, Grimmark revealed its true face. The town was a big, sprawling hive of activity, packed to the brim with dirty brick buildings, narrow winding alleyways, and people shouting at the top of their lungs. Yet, beneath the chaotic surface lay an oppressive weight. Armed mercenaries walked every corner, and heavy crossbow emplacements bristled from the rooftops. It was a bustling metropolis trapped in an iron grip.

Their first stop was the central market. The smell hit them before the sight did; a rich, overwhelming mixture of roasting spices, iron, and raw meat. Rows of stalls displayed huge sides of butchered beast meat. Giant boar ribs hung from iron hooks, while cutlets of armored bear sizzled over open flame pits. Buyers bargained loudly, slapping energy stones and gold nuggets onto grease-stained wooden tables.

[Host! Over there... the beasts are there!] the system chimed suddenly inside Zyra’s head.

Zyra paused near a meat stall. She turned to the vendor and casually said, "Pack ten kilograms of ordinary goat meat for me, please."

While the butcher got to work, Zyra glanced to her left. She saw a large, six storied wooden flat that was heavily secured with iron bars and reinforced beams. Strangely, she couldn’t see a single live animal. All she saw was a dark-skinned man standing at the edge of the second-floor balcony. He was calmly smoking a thick cigar, looking down at the swarming market like a king surveying his domain.

Every time a passerby looked up at him, they bowed deeply with quick, fearful respect.

He must be the beast master, Zyra thought. She muttered under her breath, "I can’t sense any beasts in that building. It looks completely empty."

Right on cue, as if to prove her wrong, the heavy doors of bottom floor creaked open. Iron chains rattled violently as several burly guards dragged a creature out onto a raised wooden platform. A loud man stepped forward, clapping his hands together.

"Gather ’round, folks! It’s time for the evening auction!" the announcer roared.

[Auction? What auction?!] Beauty shrieked in Zyra’s mind.

A large female armored red ape was led up the steps. The poor creature was far too docile, its head hanging low, its eyes completely dull and glazed over.

"Starting bid for this fine mid-level flame ape! Ten thousand mid-grade energy stones!" the announcer bellowed.

"Thirteen thousand!" a trader yelled.

"Fifteen!" another shouted.

Within minutes, the flame ape was sold. A guard aggressively hooked a chain to its neck collar and dragged it directly toward a dark building nearby. Above the door hung a painted wooden sign: SLAUGHTER HOUSE.

[HOST!] Beauty’s voice practically shattered Zyra’s eardrums. [You have to buy them all! Please! Look at them! You have an unlimited budget. Do not care about the cost!]

Zyra winced at the noise in her head, but her eyes darkened as she looked at the slaughterhouse sign. Stepping out of the crowd, she marched straight to the front of the auction platform.

"Wait. Fifty thousand mid-grade stones!" Zyra called out sharply for the very next beast.

At her offer, the crowd gasped.