Chapter 344: Chapter 292: Legion Relic, Backdoor Listing
SCREECH—!
After leaving the Pharos Lighthouse, Magnyra didn’t even arrange a war council meeting and immediately set off for Rapid Stream Port.
The situation was urgent, and there was no time to slowly drift by boat, especially because of concerns about an attack in the water from the May Wind. She simply called in an air squad.
A team of giant eagles tamed by a [Beast Tamer]!
The cry of the eagles rose along with melodious singing over the skies of Torrent Fortress, as five giant eagles with wingspans over four meters flew swiftly from the distant horizon.
"I would rather be a sparrow than a snail.
Yes, I would.
If I could, I surely would!
High above, I’d rather fly away,
Like an eagle, roaming far and wide..."
Magnyra even used her ability as a [Soul Singer] to perform a rendition of "The Song of the Eagle," bestowing the air squad with an accelerating aura.
They flew a full thirteen hundred kilometers from the Iris colony to Torrent Fortress, and by the time they reached their destination, it was already the morning of the following day.
Months had passed since her last visit to Torrent Fortress, and she found that the place had undergone great changes.
Not only had a sturdy, large-scale Edge Fortress risen from the ground, but the attached industrial city also looked impressive. Smokestacks emitting gray smoke and a variety of factories were splayed out in all directions.
The entire city seemed alive, exuding a robust and invigorating energy, as if it were changing day by day.
This was starkly different from other cities that had remained largely unchanged for hundreds or even thousands of years.
Moreover, Delia, the guide from the Lighthouse Union whom she had just met yesterday, was now directing a group of lighthouse Engineers in the port’s surveying work, clearly preparing to construct a large lighthouse for this port city.
When Byron left the Pharos Lighthouse, Delia was assigned as his personal liaison. As a council member, this enabled him to execute any action with the Lighthouse Union through his liaison.
Byron always had strong principles.
Adhering to the firm principle that "one is a fool not to take advantage of an opportunity," he placed an order on the spot for a Second Grade lighthouse for Torrent Fortress.
The price that Catherine had haggled with the Lighthouse Union for a long time without success was given a massive discount.
Unfortunately, this authority could only be used by himself and couldn’t be taken to a middleman for a commission.
Pain!
A pain that pierced to the heart!
It took enormous willpower for him to resist the tempting thought of inflating the bill to get a kickback from his sister Catherine.
"Welcome to Rapid Stream Port."
Byron and his [Prime Minister] and the Governor of Torrent Fortress, Violet, were already waiting at the Governor’s Mansion at the top of the Edge Fortress.
They guided the other party to land with the light of the legal code.
Byron, whose territory was ever-expanding, would spend one day at the Royal Port, one day at the International Port, and one day at Rapid Stream Port, ensuring that attention was distributed evenly without bias.
Moreover, his travel between the three territories had become even more convenient than before.
After waking up from the Old Gods’ mansion, Violet had already been able to use the corresponding Calamity Curse, greatly enhancing her combat capabilities and methods of dealing with enemies.
Especially the two Curse Seals, [Profane] and [Abyss], bestowed upon her from the octopus warship and the Barnacle Crab, granted her the ability to mimic the blood owner’s abilities.
The two abilities were [Nightmare Covert] and [Deep Sea Leap].
The former allowed her to enter other people’s dreams, control their dreamscapes like the legendary Nightmare, and even kill people in their dreams.
The effect was no less powerful than the Executioner’s [Dream Execution].
The latter enabled her to mimic the Barnacle Crab’s Deep Sea Leap, teleporting vast distances in an instant.
The teleportation distance depended on the type, number, and weight of the objects being teleported. If only a few people were being teleported, they could reach an astonishing one thousand kilometers, just like the Barnacle Crab. However, if teleporting a ship, it would be no more than a few dozen kilometers.
As an escape ability, this was entirely sufficient and could be aptly described as "water escape."
Before long, the three individuals who had exchanged pleasantries, along with Jacqueline who had rushed over upon hearing the news, were seated in a bright and clean reception room.
All attendants had withdrawn.
"Byron, what is it exactly? Bring out the good stuff, let me have a look."
After revealing her identity, Magnyra dropped much of her politeness. She barely sat down before she was eager to see the mysterious trade item that could supposedly ensure her victory.
Byron, however, kept her in suspense for a moment. After personally pouring her a cup of tea, he posed a question:
"Auntie, what do you think is the biggest difficulty in solving the scourge of the Mad Blood Plague?"
The lady blurted out:
"Is that even a question? It’s obviously the Coral Disease.
It’s simply too lethal for the common soldiers, and even for the Supernatural Officers.
Even if we manage to eradicate the May Wind, we still don’t know if the invaded marine ecosystem will die off on its own."
Byron was very satisfied with her reaction and nodded, continuing,
"Jacqueline must have already told you, the Mad Hunt that involved using the Natives as bait to provoke a fight between the two great powers was also my doing.
The reason why the Tenor People from the two Native Empires were able to escape the Castilian-crafted Beak Plague was because they received my help.
So..."
Magnyra’s eyes lit up with surprise as she caught on immediately. She exclaimed,
"Are you saying that not just the smallpox plague, but even the Coral Disease is actually preventable?"
Byron placed a bottle of vaccine, essentially a liquid for oral consumption, on the table before her.
He also brought out a portion of "seafood" that had been preserved in advance, allowing Jacqueline, who volunteered eagerly, to demonstrate the efficacy of the parasite vaccine to her.
Then, leaning back on the sofa, he watched the surprise on her face and said leisurely,
"How about it? Isn’t this something good?"
Just as the Governor of Havana, Fox, said, even with immunity, his family alone could not withstand Castilia.
Teaming up with a relatively reliable ally to confront the maritime overlord was far better than ultimately letting Castilia benefit.
Although Hightins and Iris had a century-old feud, if they couldn’t even set aside such petty prejudices, how could they be worthy of the title "Offshore Balancer"?
This was a longstanding tradition within Hightins and would sound righteous and dignified if spoken aloud, without drawing opposition from various interest groups.
Magnyra was direct and to the point.
"Name your price. Cash or a bank draft? I’m already prepared."
Byron, still unaccustomed to the lady’s directness, said with a wry smile,
"Auntie, we’re all family here. My father is your first cousin, after all. Talking about money seems so vulgar.
Do I look like the kind of person who’s swayed by money?"
Magnyra scanned her devastatingly handsome nephew’s face from top to bottom with an amused glint in her eyes, then nodded with certainty.
"Yes, you are.
Or are you saying that our little Byron has had a change of heart, and empathizes with his aunt’s difficulties managing such a vast colony alone, intending to just give the ’potion’ to me for free?
If that’s the case, I certainly won’t be shy."
As she reached for it, Byron intercepted her hand and looked up with a teasing smile.
"I’m not taking money for this transaction. Payment will be in Sacred Relics only."
After glancing at Jacqueline next to him, he continued,
"I heard that in the treasury of the Irisflower Kingdom, there is a Third-Level Relic from the Mythological Era, the ’Javelin of the Silver-winged Knights’.
How about we use that to offset the potion’s cost?"
Obviously, this compensation wasn’t for himself, but rather for his sister Catherine, who was about to be promoted to a Third Order Mithril Knight.
The Heroic Skill of the Fourth Order Mithril Knight was ’Mithril Legion’. Unlike other Fourth Order professions that required one’s own ’Heroic Battle Banner’ to cultivate Guardsmen, this skill allowed the Knight to directly summon a historical Heroic Spirit troop type. This would imbue their own Mithril army with spirit.
Catherine, who was expected to be promoted by the end of April, now only needed to acquire an appropriate ancient legion’s token to gain full combat strength.
During this time, Byron had been looking for such a legion’s relic that matched her abilities.
After searching everywhere, even posting announcements in the various trading markets within the International Port, he hadn’t found a suitable one—either the compatibility wasn’t right or the level was too low.
It was Jacqueline who mentioned this item in the Irisflower Kingdom’s treasury by chance, and he realized it might be the perfect fit.
Legend has it that the ’Silver-winged Knights’ were a formidable force of Bipedal Wyvern riders.
As an air combat knight order made up of all women in the Mythological Era, their lightness compared to men allowed them to control their Bipedal Wyverns with greater ease.
They were dominant with their speed at the time.
One could imagine, a group of Bipedal Wyvern riders combined with Catherine’s ’Mithril Dragon’ would naturally not have too low a compatibility.
After a brief consideration, Magnyra nodded her head.
"Hmm, I agree.
I will send a message immediately to have this Sacred Relic called in from the homeland.
By using the small parcel emergency delivery service of the Lighthouse Union, it can be delivered to your hands in no more than three days."
Though, in that Mythological Era where even Giant Dragons were commonplace, a mere Sub-dragon Species was nothing special.
But now, two thousand years later, even just as an Antique, it held significant value—not to mention that it was a Third-Level Relic.
Yet, for a Kingdom, the value of an immunity potion obviously far exceeded that of just one Sacred Relic.
"You’re decisive, Aunt. You can take the potion now."
Both parties got what they wanted, to their mutual contentment.
Who says we lack a Fourth Order?
Once Catherine completes her promotion, she would immediately possess the strength to contend with Fourth Orders within the range of the International Port.
Although she cannot leave the ’Dragon’s Nest’, it’s entirely sufficient to protect her domain.
Another trump card added to the bottom of the deck in his battle for second place, striving for first!
Having concluded their serious discussion, Magnyra was about to take her leave. She needed to rush back and vaccinate the soldiers under her command participating in the operation.
Just as she was about to leave, Byron unexpectedly added another request:
"Aunt, on your way back, could you please open up the population flow within the Iris colony?
How about allocating me a consistent ten percent of the new arrivals to the colony each year?"
Observing the city’s population structure, which was predominantly native, the lady immediately understood his intention: he clearly planned to consolidate the dominant ethnic group and establish a new nation within the colony.
She retorted, a hint of irritation in her voice,
"You want to drain Hightins and the Iris colonies to build your own nation within a nation? Isn’t that a bit too greedy?"
Byron defended himself righteously,
"I’m only taking from Hightins for now. As for Iris, isn’t that what we’re discussing?"
In reality, he was planning a backdoor listing!
There’s nothing like a sweeping military action across the colonies to serve as a pretext for expanding the army and transferring population.
If he didn’t seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to greatly expand his forces and recruit soldiers, would he even be human?
If you were a general in charge of troops and the Emperor wanted to strip you of your military command, what could you do?
If it had been Byron in his previous life...
With ten thousand men: ’Your Majesty, I surrender with my hands tied. Please spare my family from death.’
With a hundred thousand men: ’Brothers, follow me in purging the traitors around the Emperor.’
With half a million men: ’Insolence! You treacherous curs dare to tell me, your Emperor, what to do? Mere skeletons in a tomb, what nonsense are you screeching? I shall sentence you all to death!’
In this world, such numbers could be scaled down appropriately.
Even the Invincible Fleet had just over a hundred Battleships of Third Grade and Above, tens of thousands of soldiers, and a total of no more than a thousand ships.
Once he’d gathered twenty thousand people and dozens of Heavy Cruisers, it would be enough to return to his homeland and initiate a Breaking Off Engagement Battle, or even take on any enemy head-to-head.
By then, his rhetoric could change.
——The valiant Byron the First would be returning to his loyal Kingston!