For Beacon City, today was just another ordinary day.

Milanía's largest seaport handled a tremendous amount of cargo, bringing in substantial customs duties from goods imported from around the world, which were then transported to distant places through well-connected water and land transportation routes.

Even though the war cloud had already loomed over the kingdom, the popularity of Beacon Harbor remained undiminished, and the volume of war supplies coming and going even increased.

"Squad leader, is this another batch of military equipment?" in the salty and moist sea breeze, a soldier in lightweight armor approached the squad leader who was silently watching the loading and unloading of long wooden crates on the dock, and asked.

Unusually, the squad leader was a young female knight in her twenties. She was not stunning in appearance, but her well-defined facial features and refreshing short hair added a touch of heroism.

"Well, this batch...is labeled as Northwest Army," nodded the squad leader, casually approaching a truck and slowly pushing open the lid of the top wooden crate.

Inside the cloth-padded box, six longswords with a gleaming cold light were stacked in an intricate pattern. The sword edges were shiny, well-maintained with oil to withstand the journey at sea.

With one hand, she picked up the top sword and flicked her finger with her left hand, immediately producing a crisp humming sound from the blade.

"They are in excellent condition," the squad leader said with surprise upon hearing the sound. "This steel is much better than the standard swords of the Central Army. When did the Northwest Army afford such swords?"

The squad leader was only slightly surprised, but the soldier next to her had already stared wide-eyed.

"This...this sword would fetch at least a gold coin in the city's blacksmith shop, right?" the soldier swallowed a mouthful of saliva and stuttered. He was just a soldier from the local law enforcement, and his usual equipment was even worse than that of the regular Central Army, let alone swords of this caliber.

"The price might be even higher. They are probably meant to equip elite troops...Hey, be careful. If anyone dares to have any ideas about these supplies, don't blame the military law for having no mercy," the squad leader warned, with a voice louder and more outspoken than a man's. Noticing the expression of the soldier, she immediately glared at him as a reminder.

"You can't say that. Squad leader, you're just talking big. Look at this ancestral treasure sword of mine. How can it be compared to my piece of junk?" The soldier reached out and patted the knight sword hanging from the squad leader's waist, then drew his own ordinary iron sword and shook it, sighing.

Indeed, the squad leader's sword was not an issue equipment given by the law enforcement, but a knight sword passed down by her grandfather. Her grandfather had once been a member of the Cross Knights, and on the battlefield, he accidentally saved the life of a legion mage. In order to repay the favor, the mage enchanted a knight sword for him, which became a heirloom that was passed down.

That mage was not a professional enchanter, and the magic attached to the sword was only a basic enchantment of sharpness and durability. However, in terms of overall value, it had long surpassed the Northwest Army swords in the hands of the squad leader.

Seeing the expression of this guy, the squad leader couldn't help but chuckle and reached out to pat his head. "If you have the ability, go and train your sword skills and go for a knight rank. The swords issued by the Knight Association are no worse than this."

"If I had the skill of squad leader like you, why would I still be a grunt here..." The soldier reluctantly put back the Northwest Army sword, then glanced at the shiny third-level knight emblem on the squad leader's left side of the chest armor, sighing.

"Hey, pay attention to your eyes. Where are you staring? Be careful, or I'll poke your dog eyes blind," the squad leader curled her lips and was about to tease this guy again when she suddenly noticed a suspicious and sleazy figure on the street, her voice gradually lowered.

"Hey, big sister, big sister? What did you just say?" The soldier heard the boss's words and quickly coughed twice, moving his gaze away. But then he noticed that the boss's expression was not right.

"You stay here on duty, I will be back soon." The squad leader adjusted the armor on his body and walked briskly towards the street outside the dock.

"Wait, big sister, you're not slacking off, are you? Big sister—" The soldier was confused. He thought the boss was shirking his duties. But when he followed the boss's line of sight and saw the person on the street, he became obedient again. He hummed and whistled, "Hey, it's that kid again, never changes."

...

Mosla, also known as Mosao, was a notorious ruffian in Beacon City.

Well, calling him a ruffian might not be accurate. He could be called a rich second generation or a prodigal son. After all, his father was a powerful figure, who had made quite a fortune in his youth. In the Chamber of Commerce in Beacon Harbor, their family ranked in the top five, with over a hundred ships and substantial wealth.

Unfortunately, he couldn't escape the curse of being the "foolish son of a landlord." With his father busy with his business and neglecting discipline, Mosla's deep pockets attracted many real ruffians, and he ended up following their bad influence.

Squad leader Anwei was quite familiar with this guy. He had only been in Beacon for a month, and Mosla had been arrested and brought back three times. The most severe instance was the last time, when he attempted to kidnap an eight-year-old girl. He was placed in detention for half a month. If it weren't for his father's reputation, he would have faced either a three-year minimum sentence or even the death penalty.

She was only eight! How could you do such a thing? Anwei, who upheld the spirit of a knight, couldn't accept it.

Parting for three days... ah, no, this guy couldn't even be called a knight, at most a scoundrel. Anwei didn't think highly of him and suspected that he had ulterior motives with his sneaky behavior. It would be better to keep an eye on him to avoid any regrets in the future.

After following him for half a street, Mosla stopped and sneaked a peek inside a small alley.

Anwei raised an eyebrow and decided to see what was going on. She quietly circled around and stood behind Mosla, peering into the alley from a blind spot.

"This scoundrel really hasn't changed."

After seeing what this guy was looking at, the female knight sneered and reached for the handcuffs hanging from her belt.

In a corner of the alley was a flower-selling girl wearing a linen robe. It seemed she was arranging a basket of beautiful and alluring violets, which would be easier to sell.

The old and coarse linen robe couldn't hide the girl's beauty—her lively big eyes and innocent demeanor. Even Anwei, a fellow woman, was stunned for a moment. It was no wonder that Mosla couldn't resist her.

"Heh heh... so cute... looks like she's fifteen or sixteen... should be okay..."

Listening from afar to this guy's unclear muttering, Anwei was so angry that she wanted to draw her sword and chop this pervert. What do you mean "fifteen or sixteen should be okay"? Has this guy lost his mind?

At this time, Mosla had already wiped off his drool and walked confidently towards the girl in the alley. He tried to put on a friendly expression—although he usually behaved terribly, with his father's beautiful and elegant wife, if you ignored his lecherous gaze, he actually looked somewhat presentable.

"Little girl, how much are you selling these flowers for?" He coughed twice and stood behind the girl, asking.

"Ah! S-sir! I..." The girl was startled. She didn't expect a customer to come to this secluded alley. She hurriedly turned around and wiped the dew on her hands from arranging the flower stem on her apron.

"Hehe, don't be nervous, I'm a good person, just want to ask how much these flowers cost."

A good person? Anwei almost burst into laughter when she heard this. Who would claim to be a good person and just want to buy flowers? Who would believe that! It's almost like picking flowers. The female knight is no longer in a hurry to capture this guy. The girl must have realized that this guy has ulterior motives. When the time comes, she can arrest him red-handed without involving Mossra and dragging it on for ages.

"Oh! Sir, these flowers were picked from the outskirts this morning. A bouquet costs only five copper coins, very cheap. Sir, would you like to buy one?" The girl widened her eyes in delight and happily took out the most vibrant flower from the basket.

She actually believed him!

"Just one? How stingy! I, Mo Shao from the city south, don't even care about this small amount of money! Take it, I'll buy the whole basket of flowers!" He laughed heartily and pulled out a money pouch, tossing it to the flower girl.

The girl took the heavy pouch and opened it, stunned by the shiny gold inside. Where has an ordinary flower girl on the street ever seen so much gold? She couldn't even exchange herself for this bag of money.

"The evils of capitalism..." Anwei clenched her fists silently. She was a determined girl, otherwise she wouldn't have chosen to become a knight instead of marrying into a good family and living a mediocre life. She always disapproved of this act of throwing money to harm others.

"How about it, little girl? Not only did I buy your whole basket of flowers, but if you're willing to come home with me as a guest, I can give you another bag of money like this." Mo Shao smirked with ill intentions.

This guy is getting clever. Last time, he couldn't say anything in his defense after harassing the girl in public, but if he brings her home, it would be difficult to catch evidence. And the Mo family's compound, it won't be easy for Anwei to follow them in.

But if she arrests him now... without evidence, she can only stop him this time, unable to eliminate future troubles.

In the midst of her thoughts, the girl spoke innocently and blinked her eyes, "Um... sir, can I give the money to my mother first before going to your place?"

Damn it, don't trust her, you silly girl! Anwei almost crushed the nearby brick wall in frustration. No, she can't bear it any longer. Stop him first, she can't just watch a child fall into the abyss!

Meanwhile, Mothra was momentarily stunned. He couldn't wait to taste this delicious treat. Initially, he didn't want any complications, but on second thought, having such a beautiful daughter, her mother must be equally attractive. As a lustful ghost, he naturally welcomes anyone.

So with a gleam in his eyes, Mo immediately agreed, "Alright, then I'll accompany you on this trip!"