This area was known as the Larapol Docking Station, and it was the most popular area for space ships to pick up and drop passengers who were interested in travelling to other worlds in the fifth domain. The world of Unia was one of the rare worlds in the Primordial Expanse that was home to thousands of different species that lived together in harmony. There was no single dominant race in this world; instead, it was led by a military organisation that called itself the Larapol. This military organisation reported directly to the Elder World in charge of handling this section of the Domain, and the Elder World would then report directly to the goblin Overlord, Val’kat.
Just like most high-ranking worlds in the Primordial Expanse, Unia had erected a massive rune around its airspace that prevented unauthorized interdimensional travel, so the only way for people to enter or leave this world was by paying to use the Larapol Air Ships.
The line of people waiting to enter the ship moved slowly, and the giant slug collected the gold coins and put them away nonchalantly as he called out ’next’ continuously.
"Next. Next. Next. Hey, what’s this?"
The slug frowned down at the coins in his hands, and he counted them before looking at the family of three that was standing in front of him! The family was made up of short creatures with cat-like features, but they stood on two legs, and they had cloaks over their heads that covered most of their body. The slug frowned and shook the coins in his hand in annoyance!
"There are only twelve coins here. It’s fifteen for you three!"
The male cat put his hand on his child’s shoulder and spoke up desperately.
"B-But we have a child. Twelve is all we have, so isn’t that okay?"
"Do you think we’re running a charity here!? Guards!"
The slug shouted angrily, and the cat couple felt terror fill their hearts as the mother immediately started to beg!
"Please, we need to get to Flaira for our child’s treatment! Can’t you just overlook it this once? Twelve should be enough! There are four for each of us!"
"I don’t care! You don’t pay the full amount; you don’t pass through!"
"Is there a problem here?"
Two massive Larapol soldiers appeared from the side and looked down at the much shorter cats, and the cats almost seemed to fold in on themselves as they stared up at the frightening men! The Larapol soldiers wore a green military uniform with a gun attached to their hip, and they had on a silver mask that prevented people from seeing their faces! The combination of their height and their mysterious appearance gave them such an imposing presence that most criminals would surrender without even bothering to put up a fight!
The slug pointed at the three cats angrily!
"These fools refused to pay the full amount! They want to steal from us!"
"No! We’re not trying to steal! We just want to get treatment for our child!"
The female cat spoke while hugging her child to her chest, and the male tried to stand protectively in front of his family, but they were all shaking fearfully as they waited for what the guards would do next!
"The price of travel is set. There can be no compromise."
The guard reached out and took the twelve gold coins from the slug before they handed it to the cat and told them to get out of the line! The cats hung their heads in defeat as they were led away, and some of the other creatures standing around the Larapol docking station laughed as they saw the cats walking away.
"Those thieves thought they could get through by begging? Are they fools? If you’re poor, then don’t come to the station at all!"
A particular man with dog-like features let out a barking laugh as he walked away from the cats, but the dogman didn’t notice a hooded man reaching into the dogman’s pocket as he walked past and taking three gold coins from the dogman. As the hooded man walked past the cats, he bumped into them roughly, and all their coins fell to the floor.
"Oh no!"
The male cat immediately started to gather the coins desperately, and the hooded man bowed and apologised before he walked away. The next time the cat counts his money, he would be surprised to count fifteen coins rather than twelve.
The hooded man continued walking towards the docking station, and he stood behind one of the buildings and watched the line of people moving towards the slug to pay. There was a particular woman in the line with aristocratic features and a hard look on her face. She was wearing a long cloak over her body, but the man knew that under that cloak was a uniform belonging to one of the deadliest mercenary groups in the Primordial Expanse.
The Dragonclaw Mercenaries.
They were a deadly group that had built a reputation across the entire Primordial Expanse for their formidable strength. There wasn’t a single war that the Dragonclaw Mercenaries had participated in without coming out victorious! And there wasn’t any job that was too difficult for them to accomplish! There was a saying across the Primordial Expanse that employing the Dragonclaw Mercenaries for any job meant that the job was already as good as completed!
But of course, with their high status also came a very high compensation fee! The mercenaries would usually request for nothing less than a million gold coins for even the smallest jobs, and some of their most difficult jobs would cost upwards of a hundred million gold coins!
The woman being watched by the mysterious hooded man had also been a member of the Dragonclaw group, but right now, she was away from her group, and she was making her way across the Primordial Expanse for personal reasons.
The woman finally reached the front of the line and started speaking to the slug, and the hooded man watching her from behind the wall narrowed his eyes when he noticed that the conversation was taking too long. Wasn’t she meant to just give the slug the money and go?
"What do you mean you don’t have any money!? You think we’re running a charity here!? Guards!"
The slug suddenly shouted angrily, and the woman lashed out and grabbed him by the shirt before lifting him into the air! The hooded man felt his mouth drop in sheer disbelief, and he couldn’t even begin to wrap his head around what was going on!
"Assault! Assault! I’m being assaulted! I’m going to die!"
The slug started shouting with a terrified look on his face as the woman easily lifted him with one hand, and in the next moment, multiple Larapol guards approached the pair of them and drew their weapons!
"Put him down right now!"
"Drop him or we’ll kill you!"
"You’re under arrest!"
The Larapol guards all shouted threateningly towards the woman, but the woman didn’t even look like she cared about the fact that she was about to be shot! The woman narrowed her eyes at the slug, and she was about to throw him into the distance, but the hooded man suddenly walked out from behind the wall and covered the distance using a movement skill!
The man appeared beside the woman, and he immediately took her hand and stopped her from throwing the slug.
"What the hell do you think you’re doing?"
The woman turned to the man holding her with narrowed eyes, but her eyes widened slightly when she saw who it was! The hooded man quickly turned to the guards around them and apologised!
"Sorry for causing trouble! My sister has a mental illness that makes her act like an idiot. I’ll take responsibility, so please don’t hold it against her."