Pello stepped out of the cabin, not smelling the expected wood scent. The trestle bridge beside the ship's side was obviously newly built, and the original old pier had been expanded more than twice its size. Stepping on it no longer made creaking sounds, but a reassuring thud—obviously the joints between the planks were very strong, and the materials used were quite thick.

After stepping off the pier, several guards in uniform zhifu immediately walked over. The leader glanced at the family crest hanging on the mast of the Lionheart, "May I ask if you are... Lord Pello of the Honeysuckle family?"

"Yes," Pello nodded. Such an inquiry pleased him greatly. "I am Pello Honeysuckle, invited here by His Highness."

"Lord Iron Axe has already instructed us, please come with me," the guard gestured.

"On foot?" He was slightly taken aback.

"Yes, the stables have been demolished," the other party smiled embarrassedly, "Don't worry, the roads in the town are very easy to walk on."

Pello quickly understood what the guard meant by "easy to walk on."

The dark streets were flat and wide, with the snow completely swept away, and even little standing water could be seen—the road surface seemed to be made of many black stones, with small gaps in between, which appeared smooth and translucent after being soaked in water. What surprised him even more was that there was more than one such road. Every hundred steps or so, he could see a straight and staggered fork in the road, its regularity as if it had been drawn with a pen. After walking for half an hour, he didn't see a single muddy place.

Pello was surprised to find that this small town was completely different from what he remembered.

"My lord, is this really... Border Town?" Seth stared wide-eyed, looking around. "Didn't they say that this place was just a temporary residence set up for mining?"

"It used to be like this," the guard replied with a smile. "But since His Highness came, everything has begun to change. The roads in the town, for example, started construction half a year ago. Thousands of people were busy every day during that time, and they could build one almost every month."

Pello noticed that there was an undisguised pride in his tone, as if he was proud to be a member of the town.

But... this is too incredible! On both sides of the street were evenly spaced trees. He could imagine the scene when the lush leaves covered the scorching sun in summer; then there were the houses—the low mud houses and dilapidated wooden hotels had disappeared, and all around were angular brick houses, each two to three stories high, with almost the same style, obviously built by the same batch of stonemasons.

In one year, how could he transform a barren town into this?

With surprise and bewilderment, Pello followed the guard into the castle area, and the guide was replaced by a knight in armor, while all his attendants were left outside the wall.

It wasn't until he stepped into the lord's castle that Pello found the feeling he had a year ago.

It didn't seem to have changed much here. Compared to the fortress of the Duke, the Prince's castle was obviously much smaller.

The knight pushed open the door of the reception room and made a gesture of invitation. He soon saw the Prince sitting in the main seat.

Roland Wimbledon.

"Welcome to Border Town," Roland smiled, "Ambassador."

It seems that His Highness hasn't changed either, Pello felt a sense of relief in his heart. He raised his hand to his chest and respectfully saluted, "The Honeysuckle family pays its respects to you, Your Highness."

"Sit down," the other party nodded. "I called you here because of a very important matter. This matter concerns the future of the entire Western Region, including Longsong Stronghold."

"Please speak."

"I plan to build a city here, the city range extending west to the Misty Forest and east to Longsong Stronghold, encompassing half of the Western Region. At that time, the stronghold will exist as a stronghold on the east side of the new city, and will also be the first line of defense against the Church's army, rather than an independent city as it is now." Roland stated in an orderly manner, "In this vast territory, the same law must be implemented, and all must uniformly accept the management of the new city hall. No noble may interfere in the affairs of the city, and neither can the five great families of the Western Region."

Pello felt a sudden shock in his heart! A year ago, he had also had such an idea—to have Duke Ryan move the line of defense against the evil beasts to Border Town, and at the same time make use of the land between the two places. But he didn't expect that a year later, the Prince would actually adopt this method, and the means were even more thorough than he had imagined. Turn Longsong Stronghold into a part of a city? Just imagining it, one could understand how amazing the scale of this city would be!

He subconsciously wanted to raise a question, but swallowed the words back—since His Highness told him about this, there was no doubt that he had already made a decision, and no one could stop him from implementing this plan now.

Pello never thought of rebelling against the Prince... Duke Ryan's disastrous defeat gave him too strong an impression, and he even felt that this gray-haired man could not be defeated, at least... he could not be defeated by himself. Then the only thing he could do was to seek his own interests in this huge change.

"You said that the five great families cannot interfere in the affairs of the city, so how can the Honeysuckle family serve you?"

The Prince was silent for a long time, until Pello felt slightly uneasy, before he chuckled, "You really surprise me, Ambassador. Whether it was proposing to redeem the stronghold to me before, or the positive attitude you are showing now, it is a rare wise decision to see in a noble."

After sighing, he restrained his smile and said seriously, "As long as the Honeysuckle family is willing to accept my rule, you can continue to assist me in managing the Longsong area."

"Whether it's me or my father, we have always followed your will—"

"I'm not talking about individuals, but about territory." Roland interrupted, "In the future, nobles who accept my protection will only have ownership of the territory, but not the right to govern it—whether it is law, enforcement, or other policies, everything will be based on the decrees issued by the city hall."

"This..." Pello hesitated.

"The territory can be inherited from generation to generation, just like the title. Your family can also operate farms, workshops, or other businesses. These industries, along with the land, belong to the Honeysuckle family and will not be violated by others—this is also the protection I promise. Except for the right to govern, the land you own is no different from before. Under the ciji of the new policies, it will even develop more prosperously." The Prince continued, "Of course, you can also choose to return to your territory and continue to be a feudal lord in the traditional sense. But when I complete the expansion of the new city and expand outward, the occupied areas will no longer belong to their original owners."