There was pride in the man's words when he spoke about the Empire.
'I guess I should avoid telling him that I come from the Utra nation.'
Noah carefully observed the expressions of the man, he wanted to discover as much as he could about the central countries, he had to take advantage of him when he could.
"Oh? Are they that powerful?"
Noah asked, taking out two cups from his space-ring and filling them with Ivor's wine.
"Hmph, each one of them alone can't match the Empire. The only problem is that they both have to suppress the Empire or they will be conquered, their geographical position makes them allies against us."
The man snorted again as he sat on the opposite chair and took the cup, immediately drinking from it.
"Good wine!"
He exclaimed after taking a small sip and then he resumed his drinking with enthusiasm.
"It's just something that I picked up randomly."
Noah rejected the compliment before speaking again in a casual manner.
"How is it possible though? I've never seen such a concentration of cultivators and this is just a peripheral country! I think that the Empire has enough manpower to take down both the Utra nation and the Papral nation."
The man wore a prideful smile after Noah's comment, he seemed really attached to his country.
"Well, the truth is that we have far more cultivators in the human ranks than any other country but those in the heroic ranks are about the same. We people of the Empire like to boast around and act mighty but the cultivators of the other countries aren't weaker than us."
He admitted, placing the empty cup on the table.
"Is that the reason why you didn't ask for my wine as soon as I opened it?"
Noah filled both cups again with a smile on his face, he was obtaining some decent information already.
"Haha! People from the Empire never ask for anything, they earn it! Anyway, my name is Ross, I'm in charge of this encampment."
"Adam."
A moment of silence followed their presentation, they simply sat on their chairs, enjoying the flavor of the wine.
"What are you mining here? I can't imagine what precious mineral requires so many slaves."
Ross looked at Noah in disbelief.
"Is this really your first time here?"
Noah nodded and waited for the man's answer.
"Well, it's quite widespread as information. All men and women of the Empire have access to a rank 3 body-nourishing method. This method requires a particular terrain called Vostum that can be found only near the sea. All the commoners in the Empire need it to cultivate so the Empire handles the mining operations to make a gain out of it."
'They create the demand and then set a monopoly, gaining an endless stream of wealth and increasing the number of cultivators at the same time. Smart, really smart.'
"What about cultivation techniques and spells? Are they that accessible too?"
Noah asked with interest, if the conditions were good, he would gladly change his route and head for the Empire.
However, Ross immediately shook his head at that question.
"You must either perform a meritorious service or work for some higher-up in the army to obtain those. Why do you think I'll be living in a tent surrounded by slaves if not for the payment?"
"Will you obtain a technique for this?"
Noah asked, receiving a wide smile as an answer.
"That's right. I and the soldiers in the other encampments will join a high-ranking troop after our job is done. That will give us access to rank 3 cultivation techniques and rank 2 spells, truly a fortune!"
'Rank 3 cultivation techniques so easily? I bet that these high-ranking troops are similar to the noble families in the Utra country, just more loyal to the head of the country.'
Then, Noah remembered one particular piece of information in Ross's last sentence.
"Soldiers? Is there someone like you in each of the camps here?"
Ross nodded.
"Yes, the law imposes a soldier every one hundred slaves. There have been cases of revolt in the past, that number is necessary to suppress them before they start."
'So, I'm not alone with him, there are more soldiers here and I can suppose that they are all on my level. Well, there wasn't anything valuable anyway, I have no need for a material useful for rank 3 body-nourishing methods.'
Noah refused the idea of creating a mess in that place and simply continued to converse with Ross.
Their topics covered mostly the political situation of the Empire, how it was structured and its actual strength.
Simply speaking, the cultivators of the Empire valued strength over everything, their whole hierarchic system was based on it.
Basically every citizen was a soldier but his mansions depended on his personal power.
They could be allocated in mines to handle slaves, as farmers in the fields, or even as servants.
The most powerful of them could become full-time soldiers and join specific troops led by a captain.
'I have to admit that I'm starting to like this country. They have no care for your birth and they only look at your strength, well, you still need to be born in the Empire to obtain these privileges.'
There was only one thing that Noah wasn't sure of.
"How can the Empire suppress so many cultivators? I mean, there has to be someone in charge, right? How can he or she handle so many powerful people and prevent a revolution?"
Ivor's wine had relaxed both Noah and Ross, they were speaking in a more friendly manner since the jar was almost empty by then.
"Why would someone revolt? The Empire strongly pushes cultivators to become more powerful and to take down their superiors, we are not bound by some anachronistic law."
"Yet, that still can't prevent weaker cultivators from organizing and jointly attacking the stronger powers."
Ross listened to Noah's words and nodded at them.
However, his gaze was then filled with reverence as he opened his mouth to speak.
"No one will revolt because there is a God leading the Empire."