Chapter 142: City of Winchester

"The owner of the Red-Spot Ant Lair, Lord Red-Spot..."

Li Ju quickly located the noble within the borders of the Sea Serpent Kingdom who owned a Red-Spot Ant Lair on the map.

As a relatively common lord-tier lair in the wild, the Red-Spot Ant Lair was owned by quite a few nobles within the Sea Serpent Kingdom. However, most of these nobles resided in the southern part of the Sea Serpent Kingdom, whereas the Iron-Gold Earldom where Li Ju was located lay in the northern region.

This meant that even the noble possessing a Red-Spot Ant Lair closest to Li Ju was separated from him by half the distance of the kingdom.

Even at the speed of the Armored Golden Dragon, barring any unexpected delays along the way, a round trip would take several months.

"Talk about a life of constant toil."

After using his hand to measure the distance on the map, Li Ju let out a long sigh.

It was foreseeable that for the foreseeable future, in his pursuit of lair evolution, he would either be off searching for evolutionary materials or already on the road to find them.

"I originally planned to manage the territory during my leisure time and boost the local economy, but it seems there's no time for that now."

Li Ju shook his head, though he said nothing more. After bidding farewell to Rama upon leaving the lair, he mounted the Armored Golden Dragon once again to embark on a new journey.

Compared to the evolution of the lair, territorial matters had to take a back seat. After all, what this world used to flood its ranks with troops wasn't ordinary people.

Flying aboard the Armored Golden Dragon for an entire month, Li Ju stopped to rest at only a few locations while spending the rest of the time entirely on the move. Along the way, he crossed the territories of several earls and marquises, traversing half of the Sea Serpent Kingdom.

"Finally arrived."

Looking at the distant city on the horizon, Li Ju let out a long, relieved breath.

At that moment, he felt a deep sense of gratitude toward the Earl of Iron-Gold for his wise decision to assign him an Armored Golden Dragon. Without this creature, he would have had to travel the entire distance on foot.

Although the Earl of Iron-Gold had originally dispatched the beast to protect his safety, it had now clearly been reduced to his personal commuting vehicle.

Ordering the Armored Golden Dragon to land in a grove and instructing it to wait for his return, Li Ju walked out of the woods, straightened his attire, and headed toward the city he had spotted earlier.

It was a city constructed of white stone, with downward-curving domes atop all its buildings, carved with patterns of various styles. The scale of the city was roughly comparable to a commandery city of Dayong.

Westchester—that was the name of this city.

Within the borders of the Sea Serpent Kingdom, aside from the vast territories belonging to nobles, there were quite a few cities. These cities were predominantly under the direct jurisdiction of the royal family, functioning like a series of iron nails driven by the royal house into the nobles' domains.

Territorial nobles of the Sea Serpent Kingdom were not permitted to establish cities. It was said that the kingdom had once broken out in numerous civil wars over this very regulation, but all of those conflicts ended in victory for the royal family.

Consequently, territorial nobles like the Earl of Iron-Gold, despite having financial resources, possessed only villages under their command, perhaps at most some fortified manors, without ever building commercial cities.

Li Ju stepped through the gates of Westchester. The guards at the gate, noting that his bearing and attire were both extraordinary and closely resembled those of a nobleman, let him pass without collecting an entry tax.

History proved that gate guards who mixed at the very bottom of the social ladder possessed exceptionally sharp discernment. While they frequently bullied ordinary citizens and peasants from the lowest strata, they could also tell at a glance who was never to be messed with.

Those with poor eyesight had long since been beaten to death.

The pedestrians on the streets of Westchester were neither overly numerous nor sparse, neither visibly impoverished nor wealthy. At the very least, these citizens wore neat, clean clothes, and their faces lacked the sallow complexion of malnutrition. It was easy to deduce that, compared to the peasants struggling bitterly under the rule of territorial nobles, the quality of life for the city dwellers was considerably better.

Li Ju first found an inn to stay at within Westchester, then spent several days mingling in the city's various entertainment venues. This served a dual purpose: first, to unwind and relax; second, to gather intelligence regarding the vicinity of Westchester.

While Li Ju was quite familiar with the northern part of the kingdom where the Iron-Gold Earldom was situated, once he arrived in the south, he was practically completely in the dark.

Even though he possessed a detailed map of the kingdom containing information on various nobles, it was still necessary to gather information locally. The records on the Earl of Iron-Gold's map carried an inherent lag—what if local conditions had already changed?

Upon arriving in Westchester, Li Ju disguised himself as a young noble traveling widely throughout the kingdom because he lacked the qualifications to inherit his family's lair.

Thanks to the fact that he truly was a nobleman, Li Ju was able to effortlessly answer inquiries regarding obscure pieces of insider knowledge posed by the local aristocracy in Westchester. Moreover, his etiquette in every aspect aligned perfectly with the image of a high-born aristocrat, allowing him to seamlessly integrate into Westchester's noble circles.

"Near Westchester, there are three nobles who hold a Red-Spot Ant Lair: the Earl of Green-Water, Lord Red-Spot, and Baron Golden-Tiger."

Leaning back against the bed in the inn, Li Ju held a wine glass in one hand, swirling the liquor within while reviewing the intelligence he had gathered over the past few days.

It had to be said that Red-Spot Ant Lairs were genuinely common in the southern part of the kingdom; among the nobles in the immediate vicinity of Westchester alone, there were three who owned them.

"The Earl of Green-Water concurrently governs a Red-Spot Ant Lair. Although my current strength has improved compared to when I first arrived in this world, I am still no match for an earl, so the Red-Spot Ant Lair in his hands must be abandoned."

Li Ju had already cultivated the Iron-Gold family's ancestral swordsmanship, the *Sword of Armor*, to the viscount tier. Without resorting to his potent Nianyuan and Corona Pearls, he was simply no match for an earl.

Besides, one never knew how many hidden trump cards an earl's family possessed. To clash with an earl over a mere lord-tier lair was simply not worth it.

"Aside from the Earl of Green-Water, Lord Red-Spot only controls a single Red-Spot Ant Lair, while Baron Golden-Tiger controls level-23 baron-tier lair creatures in addition to a Red-Spot Ant Lair."

"However, while Lord Red-Spot might look like an easier target, he is actually the eldest son of a marquis. Much like a reflection of my own situation, he was stripped of his right to inherit the marquisate due to disapproval within his family, and was sent out to become a mere lord elsewhere."

Thinking of the treatment he had received from the Earl of Iron-Gold, Li Ju temporarily dismissed the idea of targeting Lord Red-Spot. If that marquis happened to be an affectionate father who deliberately arranged a marquis-tier lair creature as a bodyguard for his son, things would become extremely troublesome.

"Only Baron Golden-Tiger has no backing behind him whatsoever. Therefore..."

"This time, the target will be Baron Golden-Tiger."