Chapter 401: Gates Of The Royal Capital

"So that’s the Royal Capital."

Sage remained on the ridge for another few moments before climbing back into the carriage, and even after the driver urged the horses forward, Mina kept her face near the window as though the enormous city might somehow disappear if she looked away.

The road descended gradually from the hill and merged into the stream Sage had seen from above, but what had looked like a dense line from a distance quickly became something far more chaotic once they joined it.

Wagons loaded with grain rolled beside enclosed merchant carriages, mounted travelers moved carefully through gaps whenever traffic slowed, and hundreds of people walked along the broad stone paths constructed on both sides of the Royal Road.

There were farmers carrying produce, mercenaries with weapons strapped across their backs, families hauling luggage, merchants shouting at drivers, servants following noble coaches and travelers whose clothes and accents Sage didn’t recognize.

The Capital walls remained ahead of them the entire time, growing larger with every mile until Mina eventually leaned farther out of the window and looked upward.

"They looked big from the hill," she said, craning her neck. "I don’t think they were supposed to get this much bigger."

Boren had been unusually quiet since the Capital first appeared, but the closer they came to the walls, the more his normal personality returned.

He watched a merchant wagon pass carrying barrels marked with a wine merchant’s emblem before looking toward the distant gates. "I’m more interested in how long that line is going to take. We can see the gate, but I’m starting to think we’ll die of old age before reaching it."

Sage ignored the complaint and studied the defenses instead. From the ridge, the wall had appeared like one continuous barrier around the city.

Up close, he could finally appreciate how ridiculous its construction actually was. The pale grey stone blocks were individually larger than some carts, fitted together so tightly that the joins were difficult to distinguish.

The wall itself towered over every building outside it, thick enough along the top for soldiers to patrol in groups without crowding one another.

Defensive towers rose at regular intervals, each projecting outward from the wall to provide clear lines of attack along its base, and Sage could see heavy siege weapons positioned behind reinforced openings higher up.

What interested him more were the faint magical patterns built directly into the stone. They were difficult to see until the sunlight struck them at the correct angle, but once Sage activated his Aetheric Insight Eyes, the entire defensive structure changed.

Mana flowed through the wall. Not a little mana either. Huge channels ran beneath the stone like veins, connecting tower to tower before branching into thousands of smaller formations embedded throughout the structure.

Sage couldn’t immediately understand their functions, especially while viewing them from such a distance, but some appeared defensive while others were clearly designed to strengthen the wall itself.

The concentration increased dramatically around the main gate, where the defenses became less like an entrance and more like a fortress attached to the city.

Two gigantic gate towers stood on either side, each broader than Greyvale’s original Guild Hall and several times taller. Multiple levels of battlements overlooked the road, soldiers moved along bridges connecting different sections of the gatehouse, and enormous metal-reinforced doors stood open beneath a stone arch large enough for several loaded wagons to pass through side by side.

Only when their carriage moved closer did Sage realize there wasn’t actually one entrance.

The Royal Road divided into several lanes hundreds of meters before reaching the walls.

Large signs and uniformed officials directed travelers toward different checkpoints, preventing the thousands of people arriving every hour from collapsing into one impossible queue.

Pedestrians moved toward a series of smaller gates on the left. Ordinary carriages were directed toward several central lanes. Merchants and cargo wagons had their own entrances where inspectors searched goods and clerks recorded declarations.

Another wide lane remained noticeably clearer than the others, and Sage understood why when a luxurious carriage carrying a noble crest rolled past the entire queue without slowing.

Mounted Knights escorted it toward a guarded entrance where officials checked a document and immediately allowed the procession through.

Mina watched the carriage disappear ahead of them. "They don’t have to wait?"

"Apparently being rich comes with faster gates," Boren muttered.

"You’re rich."

"Not that kind of rich."

Sage glanced toward him. "What kind are you?"

Boren considered the question before answering with complete seriousness. "The kind who works for someone rich."

"Then enjoy the queue."

Boren looked offended, but Mina laughed and returned to watching the traffic. The social order of the Capital was displayed around them without anyone needing to explain it.

Another carriage passed through the priority lane carrying what appeared to be a Royal official, identified by the insignia displayed near the driver’s seat.

A group of heavily armed soldiers entered through a military checkpoint farther to the right without joining civilian traffic at all.

Meanwhile, ordinary travelers continued waiting, and merchant wagons faced an even slower process because every cargo manifest had to be checked before entry.

Nobody complained loudly enough for the guards to care.

Their carriage remained in line for nearly an hour.

Sage didn’t mind. Waiting gave him time to observe.

The area outside the walls functioned almost like a settlement of its own.

Inns, stables, warehouses and food stalls had been built along the roads leading toward the gates, serving travelers who arrived too late to enter or merchants waiting for cargo inspections.

Money changers advertised their services beside small offices, porters offered to carry luggage into the city, and carriage drivers shouted destinations at people leaving through the pedestrian gates.

Even outside the Capital itself, there were more people conducting business than Sage saw in some Evergreen towns.

Boren eventually disappeared from the carriage for several minutes and returned carrying three skewers of grilled meat.

Sage looked at the food and then at him. "You left the carriage while we were in line?"

"We haven’t moved twenty feet in ten minutes."

"That’s not the point."

Boren handed one skewer to Mina before sitting down. "I was preventing starvation."

"We ate two hours ago."

"Exactly. The danger was approaching."

Sage decided there were battles he couldn’t win.