The summer's sun wasn't at its highest pique yet... as it was still 11:52 A.M

But even still, the heat that exuded from it caused several peoples skins to glisten brightly.

Their necks were damp with sweat, as they felt several lone drops of sweat make their way down their backs..... leaving only a twrail of temporary coolness behind.

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Even in this heat, the soil appeared to be defeated... as it had been utterly dried out, leaving it all powdery when touched.

Summer was truly one of the most brutal and harshest seasons of the 4.

But even amidst this heat, the flowers bloomed brightly, the trees and grasses looked ever-green and luscious..... and the sky was as clear and blue, and like a painting brought to life.

The echoes of summer were in full display, as it showcased nature's beauty for all to see.

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'Trieee! Trieee! Trieee!'

'Catch-acha-chacha-chacha'

On the busy road, which was now called 'Road Shanks'..... several horses, carriages, as well as pedestrians, could be seen moving back and forth noisily.

Yes.... the road between Baymard and Riverdale city was named after 'Shanks' from his favorite anime of all time 'One Piece".

This was truly one of the things that he missed most from earth.

Did Monkey D. Luffy finally meet Shanks?

I mean after 900 & something episodes, how come they still hadn't met yet?

Sigh...

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On Road Shanks... Alec, Eli, Connor and Cary, were steadily making their way towards Baymard in their luxurious carriages.

Alec had brought 60 guards with him, while Eli and Cary had brought 53... followed by Connor who brought just 42 guards with him.

They knew that they were taking a risk by coming into their enemy's territory..... as they knew that their enemy would definitely have more guards at hand than they did.

But so what?

They were very confident that Landon wouldn't dare touch them, as doing so would be a waging war with the entire Arcadina.

Hence they slacked off a little bit when it concerned the number of guards that were supposed to stay with them once they entered Baymard.

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In addition to this, they knew that if they brought too many people over, one might see it as an enemy attack rather than just a friendly visit.

Of course even though they were going in with just these few people, they still had backup that were disguised as regular pedestrians.

One could never be too sure.

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'Trieee! Trieee! Trieee!'

Their carriages rode on one of the lanes on the left side of the road.

The coachmen and even their guards who were on horses, almost fell down when they saw the scene before them.

'Driiieeeee!!'

'Drieeeeee!!'

'Drieeeeee!!'

They saw several massive carriages one of the lanes on the right side of the road that were operating without horses.

As the carriages moved, some black thing (tar) would drop onto the roads, and after that.... another carriage that had the largest wheel that they had ever seen (rollers), would drive over and smoother the black thing on the lane.

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Looking at the scene before them, they all felt it too inconceivable.

What exactly were those monster carriages?

What were these people wearing, and where could they get those attires from?

Their eyes burned with desire as they watched these works every move.

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Looking at these strange but superior clothing artires, they couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed when they looked at their own attires.

It looked like these workers were the bosses, and they were the servants instead.

Apart from all these, they also noticed that the road they were now stepping on..... wasn't dusty anymore.

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This road had the same color as that black thing (tar) that they had seen drop into the floor..... but unlike the other one, this one had several white lines and arrows on it, which distinguished how they should move and where they should go.

In addition to the black road, they also saw a sidewalk on the side..... which had pedestrians trekking back and forth tirelessly.

There were also several sign boards, that had things like : 'Baymard xx Km away', and stuff like that.

In short, the road was smooth even and very pleasing to the eyes.

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Once the carriage stopped, Alec and the rest all lifted their curtains to see what the hell had caused their men to stop their carriage without their orders.

It had better be good, or else they would personally skin them alive!

For sure, when they too saw the scene before them, their jaws almost dropped to the floors, and their eyes immediately twinkled with greed.

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Alec almost flew out of his carriage towards those godly carriages, as he truly wanted to steal them away from these men.

But seeing the number of guards protecting these men while they worked outside, Alec quickly controlled himself.... lest he ruined all of his plans so soon.

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After calming himself down.... a dastardly smile slowly crept on his face, as he urged him men to carry on.

He hehehehe.... wouldn't Baymard soon be his?

By then..... wouldn't all these things also belong to him as well?

Alec smiled, and even laughed by himself, as he truly felt like he was in cloud 9 right now.

Of course, it wasn't just him..... but his children as well.

They too smiled, as they had also pictured themselves ruling this newly established empire in the near future.

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They proceeded towards Baymard merrily..... and 28 minutes later, they had arrived at their destination.

Without a doubt..... seeing the massive Baymardian city walls before them made Alec felt really stupid.

How the hell did he give out this place to that bastard child of his?

His merry expression soon turned into a grim one.

In his mind... he had already placed all those nobles who had previously lived in Baymard to death!!

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He had read all the reports that they had sent to him throughout the years..... and in truth, he did send several people to confirm whether the place was truly barren or not.

The results were exactly the same as what those nobles had previously reported to him.

So why was the Baymard he was hearing of and seeing far different from what he knew of?

And what had truly possessed him to give out the 3rd largest city in his empire?

One could fit 4 average sized cities within Arcadina into Baymard.

That's how huge the place was alright?

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Alec felt like strangling his former self, as ye thought of what he had previously done.

But then again, it was the fault of all those around him at the time.

The nobles in Baymard often complained about needing more money to feed the citizens here on a regular basis.

And in truth, he just felt like it would be a strategic move to stop funding those citizens anymore.

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He had been sending them heaps of money for the past 7~ 10 years... and that took a toll on the empire's yearly income.

So he did what anyone would do.... throw away all his problems, and abandoned the issues for someone else to handle.

But who would've known that he would've ended up making the most stupid decision of all?

He had casted away someone as intelligent as Landon.... as well as given away his 3rd most largest city within his empire.

Yup!... he knew that he would go down as one of the most foolish kings of all times.

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In his mind, he felt like there was more to this story than what meets the eyes.

How did Baymard have enough resources to do all of this?

Something smelled fishy with the reports that he had previously read, so he decided that when he returned, he would investigate if properly.

And if there was something that they had left out from the reports, then he would put them all to death for making him a 'foolish king'.

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Looking at the high smooth walls that seemed to be as sturdy as a rock..... even Eli, Connor and Cary couldn't help but nod in appreciation.

They all thought of Alec's previous actions, and also felt like punching him as well.

Why didn't he give it to any of them instead?

They grumbled silently, as they passed Baymard's gates and stepped into King's Landing.

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Okay..... now they were really confused.

Did they just leave Hertfilia and had somehow been transported into another world?

The roads, the buildings, the lawns... in short, everything was perfect!!

Right from afar, they could see a massive glass building that had the words: 'Baymard's International Landport', written on

The building looked very high-end, as it it was meant only for royals.

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Very soon, several people who called themselves customer service representatives, came on over and ushered them into the Landport.

Once again, they all felt very down dressed, as they kept comparing their attires to these Baymardian workers.

The quality was obviously superior to theirs..... and this alone made them feel embarrassed to be called royals.

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But the most shocking thing so far, had to be the magical doors that opened on their own.

They looked at the doors silently.....while trying to calm their overly excited hearts.

Seeing all of this, they had built up even more determination in getting Baymard.

'This place is mine!!', they all thought, while passing through the mystical doors.

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'Vrrpp!!!'

"Welcome to Baymard esteemed guests."

"_"