"Lord Earl, I can only guarantee that Black Stone Territory will not be Modi Caesar’s target. The Jade Swamp is."
Raylo fell silent.
He could sense Modi Caesar’s urgency.
This ancient monster, who had lived for untold ages, clearly had a grand sche in the Jade Swamp and was desperate for a breakthrough.
There were risks, but there were also rewards.
"Alright."
Raylo finally made his decision, speaking only one word.
Neither Raylo’s power, nor even the full might of the Thunder Dragon Duchy, was enough to venture deep into the Jade Swamp, defeat the Nine-headed Demon Serpent, and stop its promotion.
So, it was better to agree to the deal proposed by a Catastrophe Level being like Modi Caesar. Perhaps this would be the first step in breaking the deadlock.
"You are a wise lord," the envoy said.
"I’m just a pragmatic lord," Raylo said calmly.
"Within three months, we will be prepared to make the trade in the southern Jade Swamp."
The envoy stood up and bowed slightly.
"A pleasure doing business with you, Lord Earl."
With that, he turned, and under Ed’s wary gaze, the envoy departed silently from the reception hall.
Only after the sinister, cold aura had completely vanished did Ed finally breathe a sigh of relief. He looked at Raylo, worry etched across his face.
"My lord, working with a Necromancer... this is too dangerous."
"I know," Raylo said.
"This Necromancer taking action against the Jade Swamp won’t hurt us."
Catastrophe Level powerhouses were terrifying, but they weren’t impossible to contain.
But once the Nine-headed Demon Serpent broke through to the Tier Seven World Destruction Level, no one in these lands would be able to stop its expansion. Black Stone Territory, bordering the Jade Swamp, would be the first to be consud by this world-ending tide.
The survival of Black Stone Territory, therefore, hinged on stopping the Nine-headed Demon Serpent’s promotion.
Early the next morning, Raylo’s orders were quickly dispatched.
Alex, the newly promoted Sky Knight, didn’t hesitate for a mont upon receiving his orders.
He led half of the Moonlight Knight Order, riding relentlessly to the northeastern border to rendezvous with Bolin’s Black Stone Knight Order, which was stationed there.
Their mission was clear.
They were to advance toward the Jade Swamp, eliminate all Swamp Demons in their path, and collect their bones as materials for the Bone Fortress.
It was to be a bloody ’purge,’ but the knights of Black Stone Territory were long accustod to their war with the Jade Swamp.
To them, this was rely the prelude to another war.
As the army marched out, Black Stone Territory received a long-awaited respite.
For several days, a long column of rchant caravans, consisting of over a hundred heavily-laden wagons, snaked its way from Baisha Port in the south, kicking up clouds of dust.
Wheels rumbling, the caravan finally ca to a stop in Black Stone Territory.
The caravan brought mountains of iron ore and rare tals.
The forges had been running at full capacity, nearly draining Raylo’s coffers. The arrival of these supplies was a tily relief.
Raylo did not stay long in the administrative hall; he headed straight for the forges in the west of the city.
Before he even got close, a heatwave mixed with the sll of burning coal and scorching tal washed over him.
Inside the workshop, it was a hub of bustling activity. Giant bellows, like the lungs of a monster, rose and fell rhythmically, spewing out scorching air currents.
Over a hundred bare-chested blacksmiths of the Valen Family toiled at their anvils, sweat pouring down like rain.
CLANG!
CLANG!
The deafening clang of hamrs rose and fell in a ceaseless rhythm. Sparks flew like golden rain, illuminating their focused, resolute faces.
But they weren’t forging armor and longswords for knights. Instead, they were crafting... behemoths.
In a clearing at the center of the forge, more than twenty finished pieces were neatly arranged.
Each one emanated a crude, savage aura.
One was a fifteen-ter-long wolf fang club. Its head was covered in vicious spikes, each one capable of shredding heavy armor with ease.
Beside it lay a double-bladed giant axe, its edges gleaming with a deadly chill. The axe itself was so thick and heavy that the re sight of it was suffocating.
There was also a simple, direct iron head hamr. Its massive head was like a small hill, looking as if a single blow could crack the very earth.
These were all weapons tailor-made for the Hill Giants.
"My lord."
A blacksmith from the Valen Family, his beard sowhat singed and curled, saw Raylo approaching and quickly wiped the sweat from his face with a towel hanging around his neck.
"You’ve worked hard."
Raylo’s gaze swept over these giant weapons, and he nodded in satisfaction.
The technical difficulty of forging weapons for giants wasn’t the greatest challenge. The real test lay in the material composition and the quenching process.
The weapons had to be forged with extre hardness, yet also possess sufficient resilience.
Otherwise, given the earth-shattering power of the Hill Giants, an ordinary weapon wouldn’t last more than a few intense battles in their hands before shattering or breaking.
"As you instructed, we used the finest Refined Iron for every piece and added large quantities of rare tals to ensure both sturdiness and resilience."
The veteran blacksmith proudly patted the giant axe beside him.
"These will absolutely feel right in the hands of those big fellows."
Raylo reached out, his hand touching the cold steel of the axe. He could clearly feel the imnse weight and power it held.
These weapons were the keys he would use to pry open the purses of the Domain Level powerhouses in the Giant City-State.
"Coal Ball."
Raylo called softly.
Coal Ball, who was trailing behind him like a little shadow, imdiately perked up, blinking its large, obsidian eyes.
"Pack them all up."
Coal Ball let out a happy cry and trotted over to the pile of giant weapons.
It opened its mouth, and a miniature spatial vortex, shimring with a ghostly light, appeared within.
The blacksmiths nearby stopped their work, their curiosity piqued as they watched the magical scene unfold.
They watched as the fifteen-ter-long wolf fang club was pulled by an invisible force. It shrank rapidly, then—SWOOSH—it was sucked into the tiny vortex and vanished.
Next ca the double-bladed giant axe, the iron head hamr...
One by one, weapons that would be considered monstrous by human standards were effortlessly swallowed by Coal Ball.
In less than two minutes, the two dozen or so giant weapons had vanished without a trace.
「The next morning.」
Having arranged his administrative affairs, Raylo slipped away without alerting anyone, passing quietly through the Space Stone Wall.
A familiar feeling of weightlessness and spatial distortion ca over him. The scenery before his eyes instantly stretched, blurred, and then suddenly solidified in the next mont.
The heavy scent of rock and dust filled the air. The light was coarse and amber-hued.
They now stood inside a house in the Giant City-State.
Everything around them was astonishingly large.
The leg of a wooden table was thicker than Raylo’s entire body.
Each of the stone bowls stacked in the corner was as large as a water cistern.
Here, a human was so insignificant they seed to have stumbled into a land of myth.
Over the past dozen or so days, Kado had clearly been busy. The once-empty room was now filled with furniture.
"HYAH! HAH!"
From outside ca Kado’s full-throated shouts.
Raylo went to the doorway and looked out. In the clearing, Kado was in the middle of his daily training.
Dozens of boulders, each the size of a millstone, floated around him. At the direction of his hands, they would sotis spin rapidly, then suddenly collide with a dull BOOM.
An invisible gravity field enveloped the area, making even the air feel thick and viscous.
"Kado!"
Raylo called out.
Kado, who had been focused on controlling the boulders, started and whipped his head around.
When he clearly saw the familiar figure, the stern look on his face was instantly replaced by wild joy.
With a wave of his massive hand, the dozens of floating boulders crashed to the ground with a thunderous RUMBLE, kicking up a cloud of dust.
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