Last year’s emergency teleportation slots were all used up by Archbishop Atwood.

  The Groias Empire faction didn’t openly compin, but they were clearly unhappy.

  Because of this, they’re currently negotiating with the Holy Spirit Church, hoping to secure more teleportation quotas this year.

  The Holy Spirit Church, however, holds firm and hasn’t budged.

  Guardian City is obviously the heart of the entire Western Federation, and if Henwell and his group want to go there...

  Despite Bishop Pernas’s best efforts to persuade them to stay, Henwell and the others set off quickly.

  After a day’s travel, the group enters the Western Federation’s territory.

  Between each major city-state, there are official roads.

  These hardened roads make travel much easier for Henwell and his party.

  By now, their cloaks and banners are no longer homemade.

  Instead, they wear the genuine Holy Spirit Church knight cloaks and carry their banners. These were prepared by Pernas.

  To reach Guardian City as quickly as possible, Henwell’s group avoids lingering in any city-state.

  Thanks to the well-maintained, sturdy roads, they cover over a hundred kilometers each day.

  Three days ter, Henwell and company finally see the Western Federation’s rgest city—Guardian City!

  Looking up at the massive, almost unbelievable city walls, Henwell is truly stunned.

  The walls tower over forty meters high; he can’t help but wonder how something like this was built.

  Henwell knows how to construct buildings on this scale, but that requires huge amounts of concrete and steel.

  For Peace Haven, that would be astronomical.

  Guardian City’s walls aren’t just four-sided—they form an octagonal structure.

  Estimating each wall to be about three kilometers long, the city’s internal area is roughly thirty square kilometers.

  That’s a massive city!

  No wonder it can house over five hundred thousand people.

  If it weren’t for the strict residency controls inside, where those without permission can’t stay long. This city could easily accommodate a million residents without issue.

  It’s not just Henwell—Orak and the others are left speechless at the sight of such a grand structure.

  Waintu murmurs, “A city like this can never fall.”

  Henwell replies calmly, “No matter how strong a city is, its gates are always controlled by people.”

  What Henwell doesn’t say out loud is that if he could pnt the high explosives he’s developed at the right spots, even a small spark could blow these magnificent walls to pieces.

  If he lives long enough to craft a big bomb, he’s sure it’ll hit the mark perfectly.

  Just as Henwell is lost in thoughts about how to destroy this grand city, cavalry guards approach the city gate.

  The lead officer salutes Henwell and Orak. “Sirs, are you entering the city now?”

  Only then do Henwell and the others realize their convoy is blocking one of the city’s entrances.

  This wall has three main gates, each about forty meters apart.

  After Orak shows his pass, another officer arrives to escort Henwell’s group to the gate reserved for Holy Spirit Church members on the left side.

  This officer leads Henwell to a rge mansion not far from the gate, where some church knights are stationed.

  After inspection by the church knights, Henwell and his group are settled in a backyard of the church.

  Someone will come to see them ter that evening.

  Of course, Henwell takes this chance to go out for a walk, wanting to see the core of the Western Federation with his own eyes and feet.

  First off, the city’s concentration of extraordinary elements far exceeds that of other city-states.

  Compared to pces like Silver Peak City, it’s at least a hundred times higher.

  However, this doesn’t mean the chance of professionals being born here is a hundred times greater.

  After all, knights are considered a “commoner” profession and don’t rely heavily on extraordinary elements.

  Besides the initial surge of extraordinary energy when advancing to the knight rank, which requires some stimution from extraordinary elements, the rest of their progression depends mostly on physical and mental training.

  A higher concentration of extraordinary elements might at most make the body’s life force more vigorous, helping the Fighting Spirit recover and function faster.

  For knights, a high concentration of extraordinary elements has some effect, but it’s not as dramatic as one might think.

  The real boost here is for spellcasters and professionals from other disciplines, whose growth is significantly accelerated.

  Henwell might not care much about this, since he’s not following a purely knightly path.

  But for other knights, even a slight increase in training speed is worth the huge cost they pay.

  Not to mention, the training effect for knights here is actually more than double what it is in the eastern countries.

  Calling this pce the continent’s cultivation sanctuary isn’t an exaggeration.

  So, while professionals aren’t exactly everywhere in the city, their proportion is still quite high.

  But getting in here isn’t easy.

  Especially for professionals from the eastern countries, reaching the Western Federation without a map is already incredibly difficult.

  If they happen to make it here by luck but don’t have a pass, they can’t even enter the outlying city-states, let alone Guardian City itself.

  This is why, during Vorry’s transformation ceremony, so many professionals gathered in Silver Peak City.

  On one hand, many hoped to be chosen by people from the Western Regions and brought to this cultivation haven.

  On the other, as the ceremony’s main figure, the Vorry Kingdom was granted a hundred recommended slots for advanced training.

  Because of the incident with Newwood, Archbishop Atwood specially increased that quota to three hundred.

  Other participating nations also received twenty training slots each.

  These slots aren’t just for entering the Western Federation, they’re specifically for training inside Guardian City.

  The longest training period allowed is ten years, meaning a ten-year Guardian City visa.

  If the Vorry Kingdom manages these slots well, those three hundred spots could produce at least three hundred Battle Knights and Knight Commanders, with twenty Grand Knights not far-fetched.

  With some luck, a few Iron Knights could even emerge.

  This is also the special promotion granted by the Holy Spirit Church after recognizing Vorry’s elevation.

  Perfectly timed with the ten-year ceasefire, after which the Vorry Kingdom will have three hundred highly trained knights returning.

  This will massively boost the kingdom’s elite forces.

  Of course, these slots are for the kingdom as a whole, not just the royal family.

  Afterwards, Duke Amir has to negotiate with all sides and allocate quite a few of them.

  Six powerful dukes each take ten slots.

  Other nobles share over thirty slots.

  That’s already a third gone.

  The kingdom also rewards meritorious officers with dozens more slots.

  They recruit some professionals, which takes more slots.

  Plus, the royal family needs their share.

  Even after tripling the quota, the royal family ends up holding just over forty slots.

  These remaining slots won’t be used lightly, they’re kept as treasured rewards for the future.