Storm Storm is a large area, with the main essence concentrated in the port, and it is Storm Storm City several miles behind the port. A large number of buildings have actually been built around Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Port, and the area is much larger than Tiebi City and is connected to Storm Storm City.

There are hundreds of ships in the port, most of which are small boats, such as those taken by Xiahe and Cotton Jack.

The most eye-catching thing is a magic warship more than 100 meters long docked on the west side of the dock. This warship does not use magic sail technology and is equipped with four built-in wheel paddles. The warship is wrapped in metal and has heavy armor. It does not use jets or propellers to advance, so it cannot be fast.

But the range of this thing is definitely long enough, and this is the characteristic of the paddle.

You only need to register when you enter the city, and it doesn’t matter if you go ashore. Cotton Jack commands the sailors and stops near the armored warship. The entire dock is divided into three parts, and most of the armored warships are small boats. In the other two positions, they are basically armed merchant ships.

Xia He asked what happened to Jack Cotton. The wild mage said: "Storm Storm has existed for hundreds of years, but Storm Storm City has only a history of less than ten years. The idiot nobles of the Holy Thunder Empire came to explore with an iron-clad ship and wanted to collect tolls. As a result, after fighting for several years, they could not defeat the two major forces in Storm Storm Storm, so they had to endure it."

Seeing that Xia He didn't understand, the wild mage explained: "The Holy Thunder Empire controls the route north of Dragon Island, and the tax revenue is very heavy. Some people who like to take risks start from the southern end of the Leo Continent, take the route at the Storm Corner to avoid the tax revenue of the Empire."

"The Holy Thunder Empire must be a headache, and I can't catch a few."

"Yes, if you are caught, it means that the merchant ship is detained, and you can still redeem it with gold coins. The Holy Thunder Empire needs to maintain enough navy on the northern route, and the southern route is insufficient. If you avoid it, you will get rich. If you don't avoid it, you will admit your bad luck."

Xia He sneered, this technique is quite sophisticated.

Leaving some smuggled merchant ships, the Holy Thunder Empire deliberately left the southern waterway, and occasionally caught some to make up for the tax losses. If you really want to catch them, none of these guys can escape.

In this way, the difficult-to-manage people will go to the southern channel, and the north requires less energy. The southern channel is used for smuggling and the empire does not collect taxes, so there is no need to send warships to fight pirates. Occasionally, you can learn from pirates to come and harvest a wave.

For the empire, the savings are much more than the loss of taxes.

I think smuggling is more profitable, but it is just a deviation from the survivors. The arrested people still think about taking risks next time, and the people who succeeded in taking risks still want to make money again next time.

The Holy Thunder nobles in Stormwind City may not be stupid, they may be nails sent by the emperor of the Holy Thunder Empire.

This is the best supply point on the southern waterway. The number of merchant ships smuggled in every day is monitored and reported to the empire. The empire will know the clear scale of smuggling.

If the smuggling scale is too large, I will send a warship to attack it. If the smuggling scale is small, I will let it go for one or two years.

The Holy Thunder nobleman could endure such a bad place for ten years, probably because he was sent from his family and had already received the benefits he deserved. The forces here probably thought he was squeezed out and had no support in the Holy Thunder Empire.

I didn't kill him because the ironclad ship was too strong?

Later, when Stormwind City was built, the Holy Thunder nobles smuggled something and devoted themselves to the city defense force, no one was willing to make things difficult for him.

Xia He's guess is almost the same. But he doesn't care what the Holy Thunder nobles are here for. He wants to see what they sell in the black market.

The boat was stopped to the dock, the docking fee was determined, the deposit was paid, and eight sailors were left to carry on their own activities. Xiahe and Cotton Jack took two sailors away from the dock and entered the Storm Point.

The buildings here are all in a very rough style. In the years when the Dragon Clan was still alive, it was not suitable for other creatures to survive. Later, the Dragon God fell and the Dragon Clan died. The terrifying climate near the Dragon Island gradually became docile. The southern route was stable a thousand years ago, and the Storm Point had only a few hundred years of history.

The storm here is still terrifying, and all buildings are piled up with huge stones and reinforced with magic.

Storm Corner is full of shops, but they all sell ordinary items. Things related to professionals will be sold on the black market. This is what Xia He knew before. The two sailors and cotton Jack both came to Storm Corner. After hearing what Xia He meant, they found a place to have a meal first.

When wandering on the sea, the St. Odin's supplies are easy, the boat is fast and there is plenty of fresh water, but it is impossible to eat well. The desire for mouth and stomach is sometimes more difficult than men and women's affairs. After all, you will be reminded every day that you can't eat it.

There is no simple tavern at Storm Corner. They are all structures that sell food on the ground and buy wine on the ground. Occasionally, there are two-story buildings, and there are small windows on the side of the sea.

The sailor found a restaurant and brought Xiahe and cotton Jack in. The restaurant had two floors on the ground, and there was a yard behind it. On the other side was a hotel. There was a high wall on the side, which was provided with some livestock for rent. There was no good horse here, just a donkey and a small camel beast.

Xia He chose a seat in the middle. The window behind him was open and you could see the yard. Several big trees were planted in the center of the yard, with shade like a cover, and the ground was covered with blue stone slabs, which were clean.

There is a door open at the back of the restaurant, and there is an enclosed corridor on the east side, which opens to the kitchen.

"This place is not small." After Xia He sat down, he tried drinking and ordered food and drink casually. Looking at the hall, he sighed. The business that could be maintained in Storm Corner was behind those three forces.

Boom!

It was sunny outside, and suddenly it exploded with thunder.

Some diners in the restaurant shouted: "It's raining again, why are the weather changing so frequently this year?"

"Forget it, the fourth brother, we just came back not long ago. At worst, we won't go out to sea and rest for a month or two."

"What's going on?" Xia He saw a waiter hurriedly closing the window, and also closed the door leading to the backyard. The front door was locked, leaving only a small side door, almost enough for one person to enter and exit. The window on that side was not only closed, but also down the gate. Some of the diners in the restaurant left in a hurry, and some simply ordered wine and didn't leave.

"A storm is coming and it will sweep the entire storm corner."

“Where is on the dock?”

Xiahe asked about the pier, but in fact he asked about the St. Odin. Jack also understood, so he said, "Look at what kind of storm it is. Important ships will go into the closed dock to hide. Some ships have to leave the port, and some can only be resigned to fate in the port. However, the port at Storm Point is still safe and is doing a good job of avoiding waves. Each time there is a storm, there are not many ships lost."

The sailor went to the counter and handed over a list of food to buy in large quantities. Then he ordered the room.

The boats in the port were not allowed to be managed. The eight sailors knew that Cotton Jack would come to order food and would definitely come to meet. Xia He asked the sailor to ask for two rooms, one small and one large. The small one lived with Cotton Jack, and the big one was for the sailor to make do with.

This storm may only last for one day and a half, or may last for half a month.

Xia He was not in a hurry to leave, so he ordered an extra barrel of wine and drank it with Jack cotton. The wind outside began to get strong, and the backyard was surrounded by high walls. There was still a clamor at the top of the big tree, and leaves began to fly. The clouds in the sky were getting darker and darker, and they were piled up quickly.

The raindrops quickly fell down and, with the smell of dust, came into the hall from outside the door.

The two sailors were sent to the hotel behind, cleaned up the room, and their food was sent over, so Xia He started chatting with Cotton Jack.

"Jack, last time you said you wanted to learn from me, I asked you, do you know the rules of the magic world?"

Jack cotton shook his head. He was born in the waters of Dragon Island. He had never been to the mainland at all and had little knowledge.

"In this world, magicians are basically no different, and there is no inevitable difference between elemental magic and arcane magic. In the Arcane Empire, magicians form different forces in the form of academy, and the Green Forest Continent is the magic council. In the Leo Continent, magicians are basically gathered together and become royal mages, with strong combat power."

Cotton Jack listened carefully, even if he knew these things.

"Learning magic has always been a very expensive thing. I can only study freely through legacy. If I don't have money... In the academy of the Arcane Empire, you must first undergo the assessment and make sure that you have the potential to become a magician, and you will be selected to become a student. If students in the academy cannot become a first-level mage within five years, they will be cleared."

"What if it's done?" Cotton Jack was thinking in his heart whether he would become a superior person in one step.

"If you become a first-level mage, you are qualified to study with your teacher. From this day on, you will have to obey the arrangements of the Magic Academy and there is no room for rejection."

"Can't any order be refused?" Cotton Jack was surprised.

"Of course not. You were cultivated by the Empire for a lot of money, so you naturally have to serve the Empire."

"What if I refuse?"

"That's not tolerant of the entire empire, and even magicians outside the empire, will look down on you."

"I understand, I just want to know what I need to do if I want to learn magic with you."

"You don't have what I want, Jack." Xia He sighed.

He himself has nothing to do with the Arcane Empire, he is a Taoist priest. But because of this, he knows more about the rules and does not pass on the law lightly.

Cotton Jack is not suitable for himself as a student. Taoist priests should take disciples, and it is best to be under twelve years old unless talent cannot be refused. For example, he himself only entered the Dragon and Tiger Taoist Palace at the age of sixteen.

Cotton Jack is in his twenties and has a fixed meditation technique and cannot be his apprentice.

As a magician, Jack has a very good talent, but if he cannot practice Taoism, he will be of no value to Xia He. If Xia He accepts disciples in this world, he will definitely be trained as a Taoist priest.
Chapter completed!