“It’s not that, I just think, at this moment, the lord probably wants a cigarette.”

“Hookah is out of the question, I’m not used to it.”

“I’ll talk to Olivia later and ask her to try to find someone to make some rolled cigarettes.”

“Is it possible to buy tobacco here?”

Blind Nate paused for a moment, seeming to understand what Eric Foster was thinking, and began to explain:

“The city we’re in now is called Tiger Head City. It’s next to the desert, with a small population, only about twenty or thirty thousand people. But because it’s at the border of the barbarian territory, many merchant caravans pass through here for transit. There aren’t many locals staying at our inn; most of the guests are from those caravans.”

Eric Foster nodded at these words.

Earlier, Mason had said that since he hadn’t woken up, they weren’t interested in exploring this unfamiliar world, nor was there any need.

The only one with any real understanding of this world was Blind Nate, who always sat at the inn’s entrance.

“This city, where does it belong?” Eric Foster continued to ask.

Blind Nate tapped lightly on the table in front of him and said:

“Tiger Head City is within the territory of the Yan Kingdom.”

“Yan Kingdom?”

“But it shouldn’t be the historical dynasty from ancient China, because to the south of Yan Kingdom, there’s a country called Qian, and a few other countries as well, though their caravans are fewer. Here, most of the caravans are from Yan and Qian.

On the other side of the desert are the barbarian tribes, who worship a royal court, but in reality, each rules itself. You can think of them as similar to the steppe peoples of ancient China. They’re less developed in terms of civilization and resources, so they need to trade here to get essential supplies.”

“So, we’re on the border?”

“Yeah, more or less.”

“Then, is this world an ordinary world?”

“Ordinary world?”

Clearly, Nate didn’t quite understand what Eric Foster meant by this.

“I mean, is everyone here just ordinary people? There’s no magic, no battle aura, no cultivators or anything like that?”

In Eric Foster’s view, if this was an ordinary world, then even if the seven demon kings under his command couldn’t regain their true power, at least they’d have no trouble getting by.

Blind Nate nodded thoughtfully and said, “It’s an ordinary world. In the past half year, everyone I’ve met has been an ordinary person.”

“That’s good.”

If everyone starts from the same starting line, at least there’s a sense of security.

However,

Just then,

Suddenly, the sound of urgent hoofbeats came from the other end of the street—a squad of riders was galloping this way.

Tiger Head City may be small, but to ride horses through the city clearly meant they had some serious backing.

As the riders drew closer, Eric Foster saw that they were all wearing matching armor, with small black flags on their backs. They were probably a cavalry unit—government cavalry, or rather, cavalry of the Yan Kingdom.

“Make way! Make way!”

“Make way! Make way!”

The lead riders cleared the way, waving whips in their hands. For a moment, the street was in chaos, people and horses colliding. Two passersby, trying to dodge, crashed into Blind Nate’s stall.

Luckily, Eric Foster grabbed Blind Nate just in time, preventing him from being knocked over along with his stall.

At that moment, a group of armored soldiers appeared at the other end of the street. The ones in front held spears, those behind carried crossbows.

The riders had to rein in their horses and come to a forced stop, but their faces still showed anger.

“Riding in the city is a serious crime!”

A commander among the armored soldiers shouted loudly.

Tiger Head City may be small, but as a border town, the garrisoned soldiers here were well-equipped and disciplined.

“Insolence! The Grand Suppression Envoy is here with urgent military orders for the Tiger Head City garrison commander! Who dares to block the way!”

The armored soldiers blocking the road were momentarily stunned, even the leading officer was caught off guard, but they didn’t immediately step aside.

That officer braced himself and shouted:

“Do you have proof?”

However, his tone was much weaker than before.

The riders suddenly parted in the middle, and a big, fat man in a blue official robe and hat urged his mount to the front.

This man was rotund, clearly the commander of the riders. Though fat, he exuded a real air of authority.

And as this man emerged from the cavalry ranks,

Eric Foster’s mouth opened slightly in surprise.

It wasn’t that he was intimidated by the man’s official presence—after all, modern people, like those in ancient times, would fawn over officials, but not to the point of wailing and calling them “great lord of justice.”

What truly surprised Eric Foster was the mount beneath this fat official.

At first, he thought it was a horse—taller and stronger than the others’—but when the man “rode” out alone, Eric Foster saw it clearly.