The horse-drawn carriage made of green vine slowly traveled on the muddy road leading to the main city of Celestial Maiden City. Inside the carriage, the scent of flowers and cinnamon still lingered.
Resting his head on a cushion woven from silk grass, Horn closed his eyes slightly, but did not utter a word.
Jeanne, unable to hold it in any longer, coughed several tis heavily. Seeing Horn's puzzled gaze, she pouted and said, "Brother, you're really not going to sell Hilov to that dragon, are you?"
"What are you thinking?" Horn said with a wry smile, giving her a gentle tap on the head, "She is the head of the Divinity School. If I sold her, would I still be the Pope?"
In the current Holy Axis system, if officers and farrs co from Jeanne's faction, then clerks (monks) and artisans co from Hilov's lineage.
Although Horn could enforce decisions with his mighty authority, doing so would be a significant blow to the credibility and legitimacy of the Holy Axis, with repercussions no less severe than the Oath of Luoshui.
Horn was established with divine origins, with a strong universal moral inclination, so often, he is compelled to play the role of a moral model and religious leader.
Furthermore, Horn couldn't trade these mysterious items given by the Red Dragon for a top scholar who was accomplished enough and had committed no wrongs.
If the trade were indeed made, the essence of Holy Axis and Empire would beco indistinguishable.
Duke Kush Danai already demonstrated to Horn what relying on others for victory results in, so Horn was determined not to make another wrong example.
Hence, Horn's imdiate response was, "Unless she willingly agrees and you guarantee her safety, there's no discussion."
After reassuring Jeanne, Horn leaned back against the carriage again, holding the "Eye of Secrets" pendant sent by Ottatila, though his heart was not as calm as his appearance.
He had stayed in Black Snake Bay long enough, and after concluding this eting, he was to sail back to Thousand River Valley within three days at most.
This southern journey to Black Snake Bay had three main goals.
The first was to incorporate Black Snake Bay, a raw material source, into the sphere of the Holy Axis, to bring broad financial resources.
Currently, in the Empire market, spices and sugar are seller's markets, and Thousand River Valley, focusing mainly on agricultural products and low-grade industrial goods, holds no competitive edge.
Therefore, he must use spices and sugar to extract sufficient capital from the Empire market and invest that capital into his workshops.
Although many are rely centralized manual workshops, surpassing the guilds' rural processing and suburban industrial areas, they can even suppress early industrialization to so extent.
And now this goal has not only been achieved but doubled.
Not only has he gained the raw material source and market of Black Snake Bay, but he's also received a five-year funding of four hundred thousand gold pounds.
This isn't a half-in-kind, half-currency deal, but pure precious tal currency—a hefty sum providing a much-needed boost to Thousand River Valley's trade, which previously had so bubbles.
However, what concerns Horn from a strategic perspective is that these Clove Nobility will undoubtedly choose to pay reparations rather than continue fighting.
After all, negotiating with reparations can retain so existing interests, whereas continuing the war could lead to more loss and possibly being annexed by the royal family.
But in reality, these nobles are not rational actors. If driven by zeal, they might continue fighting, which could be troubleso.
It's not that Horn fears these nobles of the Clove Corridor; rather, he fears injuring the Falan people, causing the royal family to take issue or the Clove Corridor nobles to ally with the royal family.
Second, after annexing Black Snake Bay into the Holy Axis, through political and military struggle, transforming Black Snake Bay slowly, making it the depth of the Holy Axis.
This objective has likewise, albeit barely, been completed. After seizing Dragonfly Port and destroying Double-Headed Serpent Castle, the banks of the Ibe River now fall under the jurisdiction of the nascent Black Snake Bay Federation.
Almost four-fifths of the entire Black Snake Bay is now in Horn's hands.
Thousand River Valley and Black Snake Bay are adjacent, and with the formation of the Wizard Federation in Black Snake Bay and its joining of the Holy Axis, the territory of the Holy Axis Alliance (abbreviated as Holy Alliance) has also expanded.
The Holy Alliance's land expanded from 420,000 square kiloters to approximately 110 square kiloters, while the population grew from about 4.5 million to around 7.5 million.
But in this aspect, there's also concern, particularly regarding those secret factions resembling gangs.
Horn hopes to cleanse and suppress the internal instability of Black Snake Bay before the war arrives, preventing sabotage during warti.
But the reality is not as ideal, and progress can only be made gradually.
The third goal was to explore Hilov's lineage, the movents of Serafe, and the secrets of mysterious alchemy and star-made gears on Autumn Dusk Island.
Horn currently assesses that Serafe, a vampire from the Sorrido Clan, is an Extraordinary master of blood magic and alchemy, on good terms with Red Dragon Cynthia.
She is consistently engaged in eccentric research such as immortality, artificial organisms, and physical modification.
After parting with the Scales Hermitage, she probably, under the support of the Church or Empire, nestled in Daze Village, conducted these draconic and blood magic studies.
But the motives, thods, and reasons for Church support remain entirely unknown.
As for Serafe's whereabouts over the last twenty years, there's not a single piece of news.
At least according to Cynthia, the Sorrido Clan of the Blood and Flesh Royal Court has been searching for her with no success.
While he did gather quite a bit of information and intelligence related to Serafe, none hit the mark directly.
In other words, he knows where Serafe ca from, but not why she ca or where she is headed.
The only gain considered worth noting is the manufacturing and origin of Moon rcury.
In this regard, Cynthia showed no reserve, fully revealing how to site and construct Spirit Realm markers and the thod to produce Moon rcury.
These Spirit Realm markers are akin to the Ethereal Tower, requiring extensive complex calculations and reasoning, making them impossible to build in a short period.
Since Dragon's Breath requires dragon blood, this technology is essentially useless to Horn.
On Horn's request, Ottatila promised to transport adequate Moon rcury to Autumn Dusk Island every quarter for their research.
As for the final issue of star-made gears, the falling-out with Cynthia left her unwilling to divulge anything to Horn.
The origins of Hilov remain unknown, as do the specifics of the star-made gears.
The sole point of solace is that with the technique of Moon rcury solidification, Jeanne might be able to strike ethereal with lightning within the Ethereal Tower to produce electric Moon rcury.
Utilizing techniques akin to Dragon Blood crystals, the unstable electric Moon rcury could potentially be turned into a portable crystal form, usable in lightning furnaces or battlefields.
This third objective is roughly half-complete.
Quietly organizing his actions in Black Snake Bay during this ti, Horn astonishingly realized that although the rewards increased, so did the troubles manifold.
The previously abundant manpower seed again sowhat insufficient.
"Your Eminence, we've arrived."
As prompted by the coachman's announcent, Horn discovered they had returned to their residence in Black Snake Bay, so he gently roused Jeanne and stepped out.
As he just stepped down from the carriage and stood in the tranquil courtyard, Duvalon rushed out from the garden-style luxury assigned to Horn.
Horn didn't get a chance to ask what happened; Duvalon, brimming with excitent, lifted a letter high in hand.
"Your Eminence, the ceasefire treaty has been signed with Clove Corridor; all conditions fully agreed upon, and the first shipnt of 100,000 gold pounds has already arrived at Dragonfly Port. The Black Snake Bay war is over!"
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