This was not the first time that Claudia heard this kind of term in a duel. After all, Metropolis was a well regulated territory. Not just anyone can sell a product that was untested and unproven by their standards.
The Duchess and her royal family ensured the safety of their citizens through this strict regulation method.
Now, because of the pressure of the Parade as well as the auction, many people were pressed to find better products to sell to the general public, as well as the tourists that were going to be visiting them soon.
Many people know that tourists from another continent lived a completely different life. Therefore, the products that many people need here in the Royal Continent may not necessarily be wanted by the tourists that would be visiting them. It was very well possible that a rare product could be considered common in their continent, and vice versa.
Because of this, many companies were starting to develop new products that could possibly allure those tourists into buying from their company.
Now comes the problem for many companies. The sheer volume of people that are requesting inspections from the royal family was up in the tens of thousands! There were far too many of them.
And given that inspections took about one day at the earliest and a week at the latest, many companies had to face the realization that they would probably have to wait a year or two to get their products verified by the proper authorities. That would be far too late.
Of course, many people could choose to have their products unverified. However, tourists would be more likely to purchase from companies that had the official seal of the Duchess. So, people were still very much desperate to get their products checked.
That was why many companies chose to battle it out against other companies to get a much better spot.
"I'm sorry, but you will have to wait for your allocated time period," Claudia said, apologizing to the Alligator man and the Crocodile man.
The two company owners pursed their lips and shook hands amicably.
Just then, Claudia felt another tap on her shoulder.
"What is it?" she asked, a bit exasperatedly.
It was one of her employees, who Claudia assumed was about to tell her about another pair of companies wanting to have a duel.
"Miss Claudia! There's been some commotion at the gates! Some are even saying that we could be getting raided!"
She certainly wasn't expecting that kind of news. Claudia immediately went on horseback and rushed to the South-side wall entrance, where there was already a large crowd of people gathering around the streets.
Using her authority, Claudia pushed through the mass and onto the very front of the line, where a line of soldiers were keeping everyone at bay.
"What's happening?" she asked them.
One of the soldiers saluted before explaining.
"It's because of those metal objects, madam!" he pointed in the horizon, where there were ten monstrous-like metal objects running towards Metropolis at fast speeds and kicking up a dust storm behind them.
It definitely looked like they were getting invaded by a bunch of monsters.
"Oh heavens! Where is the Order and the Knights?"
"Should we evacuate?"
"Nonsense. Our soldiers will protect us from any threats."
As the metallic objects got closer and closer, the more and more people it had gathered. Many of them were wondering why the soldiers were letting them get this close without doing anything.
Everyone held their breaths as the unknown metal 'army' stopped right in front of the gates.
The only thing that was heard were quiet breaths and the hum of the truck's engines.
Just then, the door opened and a human person walked out towards the guards.
"What?! It's not a monster?"
"Maybe it's a tamed one..."
"Who are these people anyway?"
Many questions arose from the crowd. However, the soldiers refused to answer any of their inqueries and continued to interact with the man that got out of the truck.
After some time, an agreement seemed to have been made as the soldiers bowed to the truck driver and began to instruct the crowd to disperse.
"Please get out of the streets!" they ordered. "The trucks are about to pass through the gates!"
That single line from the soldier sent gasps and looks of shock from the crowd, including Claudia. She caught on quicker than others, realizing that the metal 'monsters' probably had the approval of the royal family.
"Excuse me! Not to be rude, but why are they allowed in Metropolis? I haven't seen this kind of monster before," asked one person from the crowd.
"It is not a monster," the soldier reiterated. "This is a vehicle that is permitted to enter Metropolis' premises."
Once again, everyone was shocked. This was a vehicle?! It was far too big and looked too heavy to be moved by ordinary means.
"Does that mean that this vehicle was approved by the royal family?"
The soldier nodded. "That is correct."
"Huh? I haven't seen this vehicle from the waiting list of approval. I've never seen this before so it couldn't have been approved so fast. They'd need at least a month of testing in the streets before they're allowed."
The one who asked that was a company owner who also had a product pending for inspection. So, he knew what he was talking about.
This got everything talking to each other, which delayed the entrance of the truck even more.
The soldier slammed the bottom of his spear into the ground and demanded everyone's attention.
"Please do not delay the trucks! These are approved by the Duchess herself!"
This sent waves of even more shock and disbelief. No wonder it didn't have to be tested in the streets for a month. The Duchess herself gave her seal to the vehicle!
Because of this, the truck went from a strange, mysterious, and possibly dangerous vehicle into something that the general public was intensely curious about.
What was good about this big vehicle that even got the Duchess' approval?
Finally, the soldiers were able to guide people off the roads and into the sidewalks.
This allowed the trucks to finally enter the gates of Metropolis and start their travel into the streets.
The trucks towered over every carriage and spooked the horses into neighing.
The mere weight and size of the truck sent small tremors into the ground as it passed through.
As the lineup of trucks passed, people could finally see their loads in its entirety.
The carriage on the back of the truck was made out of thin wires crossed horizontally and vertically, allowing people to gaze through the holes and see what was inside.
And there, they were able to have a glimpse as to the capabilities of the truck.
"Look! There must be a thousand kilograms of steel bars in that thing!" said one of the guys as he looked at the first truck. It carried only steel bars and nothing else.
"No way! This thing can carry that much?! How is it even moving?!"
"It would take at least twenty carriages to transport that much metal...but it only takes one for this vehicle?!"