The trio passed through the express gate. It was pretty quick. Based on Feng Ye's observation, those ahead of them in the line had thorough inspections. From the surrounding discussions, the guards were doubled recently. Inspections were thorough for most in the line, but their group was equipped with the guild recognition tokens and were waved through without much delay.
Once inside the capital walls, the the trio was greeted with a bustling scene. One would say it was fifty times busier than Redwood Town. Bustling crowds moved about along the stone paved streets. Buildings towered overhead. Each was built with various materials unknown to Feng Ye. The variety was eye opening. The architectural styles also varied from region to region with the city.
The city was well patrolled and it seemed security had good coverage. Armored patrols marched the streets in pairs while scanning all the passersby with cautious eyes.
Anne stretched her arms and yawned. "Hello, hometown."
Flora looked around with a curious expression. "It's overwhelming." Her eyes widened as she glanced around.
Feng Ye remained calm and observed everything without a word. A city like this was impressive, but in his old world, there were larger mega cities which would make Anne drop her jaw in astonishment.
The trio moved towards the Adventurer's Guild Headquarters. It was a massive building made of marble. It had large windows and columns supporting it. On each column and mall, there were interesting engravings. A massive fountain with the adventurer's guild symbol on its top sprayed water out front. It didn't seem like just a large building, it felt like a small campus. It seemed that the largest one was the main building for reception. Tons of other buildings had the adventurer's guild emblem and symbol on their signboards or on banners that hung on their walls.
As the trio approached the entrance, a loud voice rang out.
"Hold it. Stop!" A young man in a decorative robe stepped forward. Behind him were two personal guards. These guards were well-equipped.
Anne stopped midstep and muttered to herself. "Free loot already…"
She was barely audible, but Feng Ye caught it.
Feng Ye glanced at Anne as he heard her remark and thought to himself. 'Free loot…? She must have encountered many of these types of encounters. Though free loot was an odd term to use. A mild annoyance would be a more suitable term…'
Anne glared at the young man in front of them. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"I saw what you showed the guards at the express gate! You aren't fooling anyone." The young man shouted.
Flora rolled her eyes. She thought that this was a fool who came to cause trouble.
Feng Ye calmly gazed at the young man who was red in the face. 'What's this guy's deal?'
Anne snorts. "Get lost."
"You! We are at the Adventurer's Guild. The token you hold must be verified. Yours is clearly a counterfeit!"
"You are in the way." Anne didn't bother correcting him.
Taking this as confirmation that his hunch was correct, the young man's expression became even more confident.
"You should hand over your token and identify yourself! Using a counterfeit guild token is a serious offense!" The young man barked.
Anne looked down at him from half a step above. Her arms remained folded. She didn't move.
One of the guards behind the young master stared at Anne's face. Then a realization hit and he began to sweat.
He tapped the young man on the shoulder. "Hey Young Master Cedric, we should --"
Before he could finish the sentence, The young man already shook him off.
"Quiet!" Cedric snapped. "This city's standards have fallen. How could everyone be walking around with these tokens as though they were cabbages? Three here as well. No standards and no enforcement. Today, I'll contribute and uphold the integrity of the guild!"
Feng Ye whispered, "Deal with this often?"
"Not often, but I've seen it happen many times." Anne replied with a slightly annoyed expression ."We are pretty busy, so let's make this quick."
Anne turned to Cedric. "Go away."
She raised her right hand and opened her palm. Intense mana collected on her palm. Mana rippled throughout her arms. A slight humming sound could be heard faintly. The intensity of the mana buildup could be felt by anyone within a radius of five meters.
Cedric began to sweat. His guards behind him also began sweating. "Young master. Let's go."
Cedric's voice cracked. He took a step back. His guards stepped forward and supported him from each side. One of the guards gave an apologetic look and nodded to Anne mouthing a "sorry" before dragging his young master away.
Cedric who was shocked by Anne's magic power widened his eyes. As his guards dragged him away, he awakened from the shock and shouted. "You'll regret this!"
Feng Ye watched as this comedic scene actually played out in front of him. He mused to himself. 'Was this the so-called young master kicks a sheet of iron trope.' He stole a glance at Anne. However, she completely shattered this trope. He recalled Anne's usage of "Free loot", must be soon.
Anne turned towards Flora and Feng Ye. "That was a mild annoyance, but we are short of time and don't want to waste too much on this guy."
Flora blinked. "That was really… something. Though, it probably is shocking to see three guild tokens in one place."
Feng Ye shook his head.
Anne laughed. "The capital hasn't changed much from this. Still so many ignorant second and third-generation wealthy elites not knowing their place."
She stepped forward towards the guild headquarters entrance. "Let's get inside. We got a lot to do!"
They took a few steps, and just as they were about to open the double doors, another voice called out to them.
"Wait!"
An older man with blond hair and a high-end purple cloak walked towards them in large strides. Behind him were six armored guards in perfect formation. Three on either side. He seemed to be one of status and authority within the capital. He was panting as though he had just rushed here.
Feng Ye narrowed his eyes. "This probably is the real deal."
"Anne…" the older man said as he arrived. He stopped in front of her and knelt on one knee. He bowed deeply. 'I apologize on behalf of my foolish son. He did not know your face, nor your reputation. I beg that you overlook this. I will educate him accordingly."
Anne blinked. "Oh, you know me?"
Flora was shocked. She knew that Anne had a reputation, but this was a bit too much.
Feng Ye watched with a hint of amusement.
The man rose and glanced at Anne with a regrettable expression. "Please allow me to discipline him accordingly. I hope that you will overlook this offense."
Anne shrugged. "It's no problem. Just tell him to not jump to conclusions."
The man bowed once again. 'Thank you. Sorry for your troubles." He hinted at the guards behind him.
One of the armored guards took out a pouch and gave it to Anne. "Please accept this for your troubles. Beast cores of the highest grade. "
Anne took the bag and nodded.
Seeing that Anne accepted this, the man turned around with his six guards and left.
When they had left, Feng Ye glanced at Anne and spoke with an amused voice. "So this is what you meant by free loot? You are really good at this crushing nobles without trying."
Anne grinned and winked. "That's the skill of your party leader."