The next several days passed by smoothly. The caravan continued its steady journey toward the capital. The scenery changed many times from rice fields, sloping hills, farmland, and rocky terrain. At this point, the forest was no longer in sight. The surroundings were filled with tons of fertile soil. Small villages and towns were passed by. Occasionally, the caravan would stop at some of them as a rest and resupply point.
Every evening, the caravan built camp under the evening moon. There were a few wild beast encounters, but nothing that the adventurers couldn't handle.
Feng Ye rarely made a move as the adventures could hold their weight. He was thus mostly just a tagalong traveler. However, any beasts that slipped through were neatly sliced apart by him. Feng Ye's enhanced attributes could be felt. He felt so much faster, stronger, and lighter. Reflexes were significantly sharper than before. He had much finer control over every one of his movements.
Over the past several days, the trio consisting of Feng Ye, Flora, and Anne had become closer. They got to know each other more. Anne had taken a liking to Flora. She spent a lot of her idle time teasing Flora about everything from her small quirks to how she made soup. Flora could be seen smiling often as though she had slowly opened herself up to Anne.
During this time, their trio had exchanged several times with the caravan merchants and adventurer escorts. They had slowly integrated with them and could call out some of them on a first-name basis. For a short time, it was like a small friendly community.
Feng Ye found himself at peace during this relaxing period. He didn't mind it. However, he always knew that it would be temporary. It always was.
By the sixth day, they started passing more and more townsfolk and travelers along the roadside. They whispered rumors with hushed voices. Each was more serious and absurd than the last.
"Did you hear? The capital had fallen! They are in a complete civil war."
"Really? I heard that it was a three faction standoff. Many speculate that other countries are using it as a proxy."
"I heard an Otherworlder razed an entire manor to the ground. They left no witness alive. Not even a child."
"One of the king's heirs stepped out of the unspoken rule, they united with an external influence."
"What?! You are heading to the capital? I wouldn't if I were you. It's dangerous there."
Each rumor contained a mixture of truth and deceit. Some were straight-up wild speculation. It was impossible to really determine the situation based on these rumors. However, one could speculate that the capital was in serious turmoil. Factions were struggling. There may be a serious civil strife. With danger, always comes opportunity. It wouldn't be surprising if there were many lurking in the shadows to see if they could fish any profits or profit as a third party in a dispute.
On the afternoon of the sixth day, the sun beat down on the caravan. It was a very sunny and hot day. The capital walls came into view. From a distance, Feng Ye could make out the tall spires and massive gates.
At a glance, they felt imposing and could hold off enemies in siege warfare. The gates and walls were massive. Redwood Town's defense was like a mudwall in comparison to the capitals. The contrast was stark. Numerous watchtowers lined the wall. Armored guards patrolled the walls regularly. Feng Ye could tell from their shiny armor which reflected much of the sunlight that shone down upon them.
"We're almost there!" Anne commented cheerfully. Her expression was of expectation and longing. It seemed that she hadn't come back to the capital in a while.
Flora nodded. "Yep, almost there. It's been a long journey." She stretched her legs.
"It's been a while since I've come back. Hopefully, it's not as chaotic as the rumors make it out to be." Anne said in a worried tone.
"We'll figure it out." Feng Ye replied in a calm voice.
"Right, I've got a reliable partner." Anne's downcast expression turned into a grin.
"By the way, the rest of my adventurer party should be at the capital. I'll make proper introductions once we get there." Anne then turned to Flora. "You should come too. It doesn't hurt to know more people. Especially adventurers!"
"Okay!" Flora nodded. "I plan to head directly to the Adventurer's headquarters. Want to come along?"
"Yep, let's do that first." Anne gave Flora a thumbs up. "Ye Feng, you coming?"
"Yep." Feng Ye confirmed his attendance. He decided to stick with Anne as a member of her party for now. It will facilitate his adventurer status and enable him to move freely in the capital. Having some extra allies was a great choice given the chaotic situation brewing within the capital.
He had negotiated earlier with Anne privately about what it meant to be in her party such as norms and expectations. Anne mentioned that her part was pretty lax. Most party members have their own freedom to do whatever they want. Her only expectation is that when the party moves, it moves together to take on duties. Of course, she also expected that they take the party's interest into consideration before acting. Earnings were split evenly by a base amount with extra for the party member with the highest contribution for the specific task.
As they neared the gates, Anne observed. "The gates are intact. Armored guards are doing their rotations. It looks like most of the rumors about the capital collapsing are exaggerated. They haven't gone full civil war as that would be foolish. Many other neighboring countries are watching the situation critically. A civil war would just invite more external guests. Whatever is happening is not public yet, just underground."
The caravan arrived near the gate where other caravans had stopped. Other caravans had merchants and adventurers bustling about as they prepared their goods for inspection.
Feng Ye, Flora, and Anne hopped off the wagon. They were immediately approached by Krum.
"Thanks for the ride." Anne grinned at Krum.
"No problem, pleasure was mine. You three can head over to the gate over there." He pointed to a gate where a line had formed. "That's for common folk. Our caravan has to undergo the goods and cart inspections before getting into the city and will be getting in through the larger gate. It'll be faster for you to skip that and go through the express gate."
Flora nodded with a smile. "Thanks for the tip."
"See you around." Krum waved at the trio and walked back over to his other wagons.