In the following half month, Horn did not stay in Celestial Maiden City, but continued southward for discussions starting from there.
He went to Solaburg, made a loop around the area, talked with nearby council mbers, and reached a consensus.
He also visited the border of the Road Bridge Bureau, where he t rchants coming and going, and t with the nobles from the opposite side of the Tingzhen Corridor.
By the ti he returned to Celestial Maiden City, it was already early May.
On the ship returning to Celestial Maiden City, Horn received good news one after another.
First, a letter arrived from Modie, although it was more of a big package than a letter.
It included maps of the Musk River channel and geography, and the situation had been roughly understood, except that riverboats couldn’t enter the sea.
Currently, it’s already May, entering the rainy season, making the Musk River too turbulent, so Modie and his team reluctantly had to return.
Modie also attached a priced list to the letter, requesting support for food, mortar, linen, beer, and alchemical potions from Horn.
Food would be used to hire manpower, mortar to reinforce riverbanks and build barracks.
Linen and beer were intended to win over the middle and lower class among the Beastman people, while alchemical potions would attract the upper class.
Besides, these goods could open the market in exchange for Dragon Blood peppers and various gemstones.
According to Modie, further east of the Musk River there are hills which are inhabited by Beastn and are rich in various gemstones.
The saying goes, where the hand of the Holy Alliance Battle Group reaches, the road is paved.
To mobilize troops quickly and penetrate inland, it is necessary to facilitate comrce.
Sitting on the slightly swaying ship under the insulated light, everything was shrouded by the urgency of a stormy night beneath dark clouds.
Horn sat alone in the cabin, closed his eyes and thought for a while, then spoke to Edwin beside him: "Take note."
"Yes."
"Send a letter to René, asking him to take that female vampire to open up land and contact relatives.
Next, send a letter to Busak, instructing him as the Holy Alliance envoy to go to Agoragon to buy a ready-made port, with funds from the Saint Property Protection Bureau.
Then send a letter to Martin, who is constantly complaining about delaying the lifting of the ’Prohibition Order.’
Luckily, the Eastern County has a grain shortage, which, although minor, can save Kasha County farrs so losses, leaving no room for complaint right?"
Once each affair had been arranged, half an hour had passed, and only then did Horn pick up the second letter.
Although the letter was actually sent just after Modie’s letter, it was sent from Long Embanknt City.
The County Council of Northern County had already reached an agreent, with two border villages inviting the Saint Father’s Association to take residence first.
Simultaneously, the Northern County had already ford a dedicated "Pest Control Action" fundraising committee for raising funds.
With this, a stake had been driven in first, using the strength of plantation owners to integrate Beastman Tribes.
Once these Beastman Tribes are absorbed, they can be used to restrict plantation owners, and after the jungle is stabilized, it will be the beginning of slave strikes and civil rights movents.
Afterwards, it will be a gradual process, like boiling a frog in warm water.
When the water boils, covering the awakened frogs is the solution.
This process might take a long term, possibly ten to twenty years.
Thus, internally, reforms within Black Snake Bay must also be accelerated.
And by the ti the slave strikes and civil rights movents are complete, Black Snake Bay Federation will have beco history.
The sound of rain pattering grew increasingly dense.
The ship began swaying again, leaving Horn unable to read the letters clearly with dizzying blurriness, so he gave up.
Having tossed aside the letters, Horn donned a rain cloak and stepped out of the cabin onto the side of the ship beneath the eaves, gazing into the rain.
Above, the sound of drizzling rain continued, distant thunderous noise of flowing water echoed, blending with the croaking of frogs, chirping insects, and birdsong pouring down in a stream of sound.
Taking a deep breath of the mud-accented, oppressive air, Horn held onto the ship’s rail: "It’s about ti to head back, with only one matter left."
This last matter, naturally, was the most important task of the trip—visiting Cynthia once more.
Clenching the ship’s rail tightly, a frown ford on Horn’s brow.
He had never truly figured out the thoughts and origins of this cryptic old Red Dragon.
According to the paintings Modie had extracted from the pyramid within Yuirui City, "the Feathered Serpent God" is actually a Giant Dragon.
If the records are true, Snake-n might have existed here for ten thousand years already.
The Empire’s historical narrative speaks so clear and distinct eras of transition.
During the Norn foreign god era, giants and gods were constantly at war, leaving mankind dull and ignorant.
In the El Era, Elves rose, and five hundred Elven gods exterminated all external gods on the Western Continent, including Evil Gods.
Then ca the Imperial Era, when Miseria erged and ended the reign of savage Evil Gods entirely.
Yet, from Horn’s archaeological discoveries and gathered materials, the so-called Evil and foreign gods were indeed magical beasts.
Giants were humanoid beasts, and the gods revered by the Norn people were actually magical creatures.
There was no account of the birth of a Witch, nor the ntion of Centaurs, Beastn, or Dwarfs.
Contrarily, it was only after the appearance of Elves and El Empire that these other species began erging.
The arrival of Witches only ca after Miseria’s ascension.
Empire historians previously claid it was a ti of ignorance before, with no existence of a secondary civilization.
As for Giant Dragons, they were re legends, existing only in literary works.
However, upon eting Cynthia, Horn realized Giant Dragons were no false tale.
Having acquired the Giant Dragon head and mural replication further revealed an era where Snake-n coexisted with Giant Dragons—though Horn wasn’t entirely sure of its authenticity.
But the Snake-n paintings possessed a clear tiline and star maps, allowing scholars under his command to verify their authenticity.
By extrapolating the pyramid’s construction ti and the authenticity of mural star maps, a rough determination can be made on its genuineness.
If true, where did Giant Dragons co from? What event led to their collective disappearance?
How did Cynthia survive through this? Why was she so unwilling to leave this deep pit?
Overwheld by dark clouds, though it was afternoon when Horn arrived at Celestial Maiden City at roughly eight o’clock.
Hastily consuming curry chicken wraps, Horn rinsed his mouth with mint water before following Ottatila to the Underground Palace.
Instead of moonlight, the entrance was lit only by ghostly blue lamps.
Entering the Underground Palace, he was greeted upfront by a stench of decay and dampness mixed with the faint sll of mold and rotting fruit.
Ottatila glanced at Catherine and Jia Li, who were visiting for the first ti, providing a helpless remark: "The weather in Black Snake Bay is like this, there’s nothing we can do, despite daily cleaning still..."
"Ottatila!"
Before Ottatila could finish, a shrill voice echoed from the pit: "Who’s here? Let this old body see, is it that boy Horn and the daughter of Serafe?"
Horn gestured to Jeanne to signal walking towards the depths of the Underground Palace first.
Upon reaching the lowest layer of the pit, Red Dragon Cynthia, unlike last ti, didn’t put on airs.
On her hind feet, she stood upright, looking up towards Horn step by step walking down, shouted: "Oh, His Majesty Horn, how co I don’t see that Wolf Woman?"
Without changing expression, Horn walked to a terrace by so steps, directly facing Cynthia.
The massive Red Dragon, seeing only a few Witches by Horn’s side instead of Hilov with wolf ears, grew nearly seventy percent certain.
"Let guess." Cynthia’s eyelids scanned over her pupils, "She feels uncomfortable since leaving Daze Village, isn’t she?"
Stopping on the terrace, Horn looked up at her with a half-smile: "Did you do it deliberately?"
As soon as Horn spoke, she imdiately understood.
"Hahaha."
When Cynthia laughed, the entire Celestial Maiden Palace shook, dust falling relentlessly, terrifying Snake-man guards into scattering and hissing.
Her laughter was so uninhibited, she’d even fall back on the ground clutching her belly in hysterics.
"So it’s true, indeed it’s true, hahaha, even without true soul, there are still remaining strategies.
Serafe planned for a lifeti only to produce such results, what a wise man blinded by his own smartness hahaha.
Truly ridiculous, ridiculous to the core—"
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