The administrative district of Askatra is located on the north bank of the river that runs through the city.
This is a bit like a peninsula extending from the mainland.
The area to the west near the sea is the temple area, where there are a large number of magnificent statues built by mortals for gods, as well as countless temples and churches, large and small.
The area next to the river in the east is the core of the city's governance, and almost all the houses of nobles and wealthy merchants are gathered here.
The reason for this design is that there are many intelligent creatures living in the ocean of Faerûn.
Extremely aggressive races such as shark-turned-fishmen will launch wars against coastal port cities every once in a while.
Especially in the Sword Coast and Sword Sea areas, there have been more than 30 recorded invasions in the past one or two hundred years.
Therefore, by placing the temple area outside on the coastal area, you can rely on the paladins of the Knights of the Burning Heart and the armed forces of the Divine Church to withstand the first wave of unprepared surprise attacks.
In this way, the upper-class people living in the administrative area can get early warning and decide whether to stick to the situation or go inland directly with their relatives and servants.
It has to be said that it is not unreasonable for Amn to develop into the most commercially developed region in the entire Faerûn continent.
The ruling class here is so calculating that even the gods and the churches to which they belong dare to blatantly take advantage of them.
After all, as representatives of God in the mortal world, priests and priests can't abandon the temple and run away on their own, allowing the shark-turned-fishmen who crawled ashore from the sea to defile the sanctuary, right?
Therefore, they will definitely stick to the temple and lead the believers to resist desperately.
Anyway, those who die in battle to defend the glory of the gods usually receive praise and rewards from the gods.
Maybe when you die and become a petitioner, you may be granted the privilege of retaining your memories of your lifetime.
In addition, the administrative district is also the place where the largest number of guards are stationed, truly achieving three steps, one post, five steps and one sentry.
Here, let alone begging or setting up a stall to sell something, even if you are disheveled, you will be expelled mercilessly.
If you refuse to change your ways, you may be thrown into jail for several days or even months.
No way.
Nobles and wealthy businessmen don't like too many ragged poor people hanging around their residences all day long, so the guards can only drive them away carefully.
To ensure that the entire administrative area is filled with gentlemen and ladies who are dressed in silk and satin, go out with groups of guards, servants and maids, and speak politely.
Only around the administrative office building of the city hall, you can occasionally see ordinary people with sad faces or nervous expressions.
They either came to file a report, file a lawsuit, or the villages and towns where they lived were attacked by monsters and asked Ascaltra for help.
In short, civilians and poor people will never go near this area when they have nothing to do.
Because both the surrounding environment and the stern eyes of the guards can make him feel tremendous pressure, and he also understands that he is not welcome here.
But if it were a rich person, then the guards would put on a completely different face, even smile throughout the process, and do their best to provide services to each other.
The reason why this happens.
On the one hand, they can get generous tips from wealthy people as rewards;
On the other hand, they are very clear that their duty is to protect the rich and prevent any beggars, vagrants, thieves and civilians from destroying the clean, beautiful and elegant environment here.
Moreover, the guards in the administrative area are obviously in better spirits and will not be drunk all day long like their counterparts stationed in the dock area, bridge area and slum area.
Maybe he would accept bribes from shadow thieves in private and ignore many minor crimes in his jurisdiction.
As for the overall quality of the Amn guards, Zuo Si's evaluation has always been that it is only slightly better than not.
Their main role is actually to have a comforting effect, making the residents of Ascaltra believe that they are protected to a certain extent.
In fact, those who really maintain order in more than half of the city are not dispensable guards at all, but the shadow thieves who control the underground world.
[The problem of slow update of new chapters is finally solved with an app that can change sources. Download here
The remaining parts that may involve large-scale bloody conflicts and violent crimes will be handed over to the paladins of the Knights of the Burning Heart to resolve.
Moreover, Zuo Si has made up his mind that after he takes over the military power of Amn, the first thing he will do is to cut down the current guard establishment, conduct a major purge from officers to soldiers, and then recruit again.p>
These guys are completely rotten from the root. Apart from wasting military expenditures and engaging in corruption and bribery, they have no value at all.
With this idea in mind, he walked straight into the municipal office building, ignored many bureaucrats who wanted to talk or say hello, and quickly arrived at the exclusive office of the Council on the top floor.
A conscientious knight wanted to step forward for a routine security check, but was stopped by the masked mage on the side.
The latter put one hand on his chest and bowed deeply, then opened the closed door with his own hand and made a gesture of invitation.
At this moment, Feide, who was following behind while remaining invisible, finally realized what kind of power Zuo Si had in Ascaltra now.
You can even enter and leave the highest power center like the Six-person Council at will without any notification, search or inspection.
What makes the demon elf even more incredible is that the masked mage has clearly seen himself with some kind of anti-invisibility magic device, but he didn't show even a little bit of nervousness or surprise.
You know she is an assassin!
And he is one of the top five assassins in the Shadow Thieves Guild.
Many times just making some noise can scare many people into sleepless nights.
The moment the two of them entered the room one after another, the six people who were sitting around the table discussing something intensely were stunned for an instant.
But after they saw the appearance of the visitor clearly, Vera, the leader, stood up immediately and greeted with a smile: "Ah! Dear Mr. Soth, you are finally back. We were just discussing how to deal with Sans.
What about the Tilburg army's attack on the city in the north?"
"Oh? Has the discussion produced any results?" Zuo Si pretended to be very interested and cooperated.
"No. Because so far, the opinions within the six-person council are very divided.
Oh, no, it should be a seven-member council now.
And you happen to be the latest member appointed to take charge of the military."
While saying this, Vera glanced at the other people around her with a slightly playful look.
The representative of the Shadow Thieves Guild, as always, did not get involved in political battles. He was sitting in the corner in a very relaxed manner, sharpening his nails with a file out of boredom.
The remaining four were obviously very nervous and kept trying to make themselves look calmer by adjusting their sitting postures.
It is not difficult to tell from the fact that they are generally no more than forty-five years old. They are the next generation of family leaders who were forcibly pushed up to occupy positions after the older generation retired. They have not yet adapted to their new status and lack political skills.
Experience.
Maybe it’s okay to sit together and argue and compete for benefits.
But when faced with a powerful legendary spellcaster and chosen god like Zuo Si, the prototype appeared almost instantly.
If it were replaced by Selzer leading the six-member council before, he would definitely seize the initiative at this time instead of being led by others.
Of course, if Selzer and those old guys were still there, they would definitely not allow the Council to hand over the power to control the army, and watch themselves being sidelined step by step.
Thinking of this, Zuo Si's eyes flashed with amusement, he walked to the seat specially prepared for himself next to the table, sat down, and said with a smile: "First of all, I want to thank you for your trust in me and your willingness to let me come.
Come forward and take control of Amn's army.
Please rest assured that I will never let you down.
Secondly, I want to make it clear here that Ascaltra's military is now hopelessly rotten and must undergo a drastic reform.
In this regard, I need your unreserved support.
Otherwise, when Zhentil Keep's army moves south, it would be sheer fantasy to rely on this group of losers to defend Amn.
Finally, and most importantly.
We must change the outside world’s impression that Amn is rich but not powerful enough!
You must know that this world is very dangerous.
With the continuous increase in trade with the Maztec continent and the rapid accumulation of wealth in the city below, Ascatla has become a piece of fat in the eyes of many people who want to take a bite.<
/p>
The Mind Flayer lurker disclosed not long ago is just one of countless conspiracies trying to control and subvert this city. I believe there must be many more that have not been discovered.
Therefore, I suggest that the ban on magic be abolished and the restrictions on arcane magic in Askatra and even Amn be completely opened.
Although this may cause some minor problems and troubles, it will allow us to be protected by powerful magical power."
"Wait a minute! In terms of magic, don't we have a Guild of Masked Mages?" A middle-aged man in his forties suddenly interrupted.
"Are you referring to those masked mage guilds that haven't been able to cultivate even a single legendary mage for so many years and only think about how to monopolize magic resources to benefit themselves all day long? I can kill them all by myself?" Zuo Si
To be continued...