Chapter 310 – My Own Kingdom
When Zhao Hai made it outside the camp, he immediately recalled all the undead, fearing that the troops would misunderstand. But waiting for Zhao Hai and Wales outside was Kony, so when Kony saw the two approaching, he immediately led troops to escort them.
As Wales was entering the camp, he already instructed Kony to prepare to aid them at any time. Therefore, Kony was paying attention to the camp’s condition, he even refused his troops to drink the milk wine provided by West Wonder King.
He was right in not drinking, because the milk wine given by West Wonder King was also poisoned. If they were poisoned then Zhao Hai would need to detoxify them when he came out.
Naturally this was only possible because Zhao Hai added life liquid to the mutton soup that was served. This reinforced their bodies against poison, otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to wait until Zhao Hai would come out, they would have been killed before then.
After Kony escorted Wales, they didn’t immediately charge to attack, instead they retreated a bit before organizing their lines properly.
Zhao Hai’s carriage also retreated to the very back of the army, he knew that although he could exterminate the camp using his undead, Wales certainly wouldn’t want that. Wales wanted to take care of their matters themselves, so Zhao Hai didn’t participate in the assault, instead just went to the back.
Looking at West Wonder King’s camp with a cold gaze, Wales shouted, “My clansmen, West Wonder King, the ungrateful bastard, had finally betrayed us and also colluded with the Radiant Church to poison me. My clansmen, I declare that the Fighting Bulls shall be reduced to slaves from today on, charge!!”
After saying that, he lifted his ax, and along with the other Herculean Bulls, issued a war-cry and charged towards West Wonder King’s camp.
In the previous battle between the Fighting Bulls and the Herculean Bulls, they were fighting inside the main camp so they were quite wary of the destruction in their camp. Now, however, was different, they were battling at West Wonder King’s camp, so even if they did destroy the camp they wouldn’t need to be worried. Therefore they just charged towards the camp without abandon, back at the main camp, they would hesitate upon which to charge, but this time they didn’t need to.
This time Zhao Hai had finally experienced the terrifying effect of a full-on Herculean Bull charge. No matter person, carriage, nor tent, as long as they were in the way, they would absolutely be blown off, it was an impact power no less than a tank.
Zhao Hai wasn’t a bit worried, and was just quietly watching at the back. This time, he didn’t bring Laura and the others with him. He left his Ghost Staff back at the main camp, this way, he can instantly teleport to the main camp, and Laura could also use the space to appear at his side.
Zhao Hai knew that this battle would be the last battle he’d experience in the Prairie this year. After this battle, he would return to the human territories and head towards the Rosen Empire.
Zhao Hai was certain that West Wonder King would be defeated, West Wonder King’s military strength was inferior to Wales’. His personal strength was also inferior to Wales. And now that Wales was at the prime of his victories, morale was at its peak. But West Wonder King’s troops were terrified upon spotting the Herculean Bulls, making the fighting strength of both sides very disproportional. West Wonder King would without a doubt, be defeated.
Zhao Hai now wanted to see how Wales would treat the commoners inside West Wonder King’s camp. While Zhao Hai was waiting, suddenly a loud voice echoed throughout West Wonder King’s camp, “Those who want to surrender, kneel, and they shall be spared. Those who want to surrender, kneel, and they shall be spared.”
Hearing this, Zhao Hai was relieved, this shout didn’t just came out of a single person, but all the the Herculean Bulls. Those innocent Fighting Bulls wouldn’t be dealt with by Wales, so they will certainly surrender.
It was as what Zhao Hai thought, these ordinary Fighting Bulls didn’t want to make war with the Herculean Bulls. No matter what West Wonder King thought, in their minds the Herculean Bulls had helped them before, so they shouldn’t be thinking of the Herculean Bulls as enemies.
When the Herculean Bulls were defeated, what West Wonder King did wasn’t what they wanted. Many weren’t in line with West Wonder King’s thoughts, furthermore they were just ordinary Fighting Bulls, so a large number quickly surrendered.
West Wonder King wanted to escape, but was unable to, in the end he was killed amidst the chaotic clash. Bowman already died in the hands of Zhao Hai’s undead, he cannot use magic, battle qi, nor soul techniques, he could only poison and plot, he was completely useless. Naturally, in this battle, he would be the first one to fall.
The fighting finished as the day ended, this time the Fighting Bulls were utterly defeated. Of the original five hundred thousand, a hundred thousand were killed, leaving behind four hundred thousand people. And also, in this battle, Wales had lost about twenty thousand Herculean Bulls.
Now, it could be said that in the prairie, there would be no more Fighting Bulls, they can only be known as Herculean Bull’s slave clan, impossible to be called an independent clan.
After the battle ended, Zhao Hai and the other took three days to recover inside West Wonder King’s tent. Then they set off towards the main camp. Of course, they also brought everything from West Wonder King’s camp.
Zhao Hai originally wanted to see Beta, but after asking, he discovered that Beta had been killed in the chaos. This made Zhao Hai sad, he didn’t think that his friend would die.
After more than ten days of hurrying along, they finally returned the Herculean Bull’s camp. Once they reached the camp, Wales immediately demoted the Fighting Bulls officially as slaves and confiscated all of their weapons and made them live with the other slaves.
Because it wasn’t easy to transmit messages during the winter, not many knew that the Fighting Bulls had been reduced to being slaves. Even among the Cow-headed race, there were plenty who didn’t know that the Herculean Bulls had managed to claim back the old camp. This was the prairie’s winter, arid, and very desolate.
After returning to the camp, Zhao Hai discussed his plans with Laura, then prepared to head back. Although Wales was reluctant, he also knew that Zhao Hai and the others weren’t comfortable being here, so he agreed.
But this time, he cannot make Zhao Hai return empty-handed. He gave Zhao Hai about two hundred thousand argali and a hundred thousand slaves, he was now filthy rich, such numbers already didn’t mean a thing to him. He also knew that Zhao Hai liked strange animals, therefore he had some people get some Stoneskin Bulls to give Zhao Hai. Unfortunately, it didn’t make the Ranch level-up, a Stoneskin Bull wasn’t enough to upgrade the ranch.
However, the evaluation of the Stoneskin Bull was very good. The space evaluated it as level 30, with a maturation time of 24 hours, can give birth 8 times and produces five calves each time, needing five feed every hour.
Generally speaking, Zhao Hai was very satisfied with his time in the Prairie. However, he didn’t immediately send the slaves that Wales gave him towards Iron Mountain Fort, the fort wasn’t able to support such number at this time. Zhao Hai would only bring them when spring comes, when he would expand the fort.
Wales didn’t object, anyway, they had enough food for the entire tribe. They simple didn’t have any food problems, Zhao Hai also gave them so much food, so raising these few people wouldn’t be a problem.
Zhao Hai only brought with him the two hundred thousand argali. Now that it was winter in the prairie, it would be difficult to also leave these argali here with Wales.
Although he had decided to leave, there were still many things that he had to take care of. So only after ten days did he manage to finish preparing, they were already ready to go.
Wales escorted Zhao Hai for about ten li, he didn’t want to part with Zhao Hai. Seeing Zhao Hai’s convoy leave the horizon, Wales has still very hesitant.
By his side, Mendez turned to Wales, “Little Seven, let’s go back, in the spring, we would see Zhao Hai again. He is our Herculean Bull clan’s Crown Prince, he’ll certainly come back.”
Wales sighed, “It’s a pity that Little Hai wasn’t a true Beastman, otherwise, the Herculean Bull Clan wouldn’t need to fear anyone.” Having said that, he patted his mount and began heading back to the camp. Mendez also followed behind hastily. They wouldn’t just give up on Zhao Hai, even though the time that they spent together was quite short, Zhao Hai had given them many things. And Zhao Hai was very considerate towards them the whole time, they had developed a special sentiment towards Zhao Hai, he had their benevolence, friendship, as lastly, their sense of gratitude.
The Beastmen were very sentimental people, they would express their feelings directly, who was good to them, they would treat well, while those who were not good to them, they wouldn’t bother giving them face. Zhao Hai did so much for them, naturally they would see him as someone good.
Zhao Hai had also been looking at Wales, when he saw that Wales and the others were headed back to the camp, he took a breath and gathered all of his things and returned to Iron Mountain Fort.
Because of the war, Zhao Hai hadn’t been able to return to the fort. After he arrived, he cannot help but stare, he didn’t think that Iron Mountain Fort would be surprisingly warm.
Zhao Hai estimated that the temperature of the prairie to be 40 degrees below zero, but here at Iron Mountain Fort, it was actually 10 degrees above zero, as long as people wear a bit of thick clothes, they would be fine.
Zhao Hai and Laura did not think that Iron Mountain Fort would be this warm, Laura immediately replace her thick body coat with something much more comfortable.
They appeared at the living room inside the fort. Currently, there was no one here, Zhao Hai looked for Green and Kun, but they were apparently not inside the fort, they should be outside.
As the four people went out of the living room, they immediately saw some slaves that had their commoner status restored. These people had already become accustomed to Zhao Hai mysteriously appearing and disappearing, they just bowed towards the group then went on to their busy jobs.
Currently, everybody had their own work, they felt extremely fulfilled. Their stomachs were full, they were well-dresses and also well-paid. They felt like everyday was a dream. These kinds of days were something that they even didn’t dream of before.
Zhao Hai went to inspect several factories first, each factory was very busy, which was normal. The milk wine production was very high, everyday they would be able to deliver about a thousand jin. The wool factory was producing products like the beastmen did, but even better.
Before, when the beastmen were making these products, they were using their ancient ways, therefore their style were very practical. Now, in the wool production factory, there were also many human women at work, these women were very clever and deft. They carried on to improve the beastman’s method, making the products made in the factory look more refined compared to the beastman’s.
The rice mill was also busy everyday, the oil processing plant was also at the same state. They didn’t stop having transactions with the Purcell Duchy, but Cai’er informed him that there were a few people monitoring Stony Mountain, but because they couldn’t see Zhao Hai’s shadow, they slowly withdrew.
Zhao Hai and the group slowly walked outside the fort, once they were outside the fort, Zhao Hai saw that the once black lands was now covered white with snow. The skies were dropping snow, although not to the point of being the same intensity as the prairie.
Looking at all of these, Zhao Hai cannot help but draw a long breath, “I don’t know why, but after seeing this scene here, why do I feel that much better compared to when I was back at the Beastman Prairie?”
Laura smiled and replied, “This is our own place, so it would surely look better. Now, I really admire Cai’er’s ability, can you see the difference between inside and the outside? I really didn’t expect Cai’er’s capability to be this strong. It seems that in the later winters, we wouldn’t need to prepare thick clothes anymore.
Zhao Hai laughed, “True, with Cai’er, we wouldn’t need to wear thick clothes in the next few days. But we cannot do that next year, next year we would have more than hundred thousand people, thinking about this gives me a headache, where would we place a hundred thousand people?”
Laura just smiled and said, “Don’t worry, the Black Wasteland is vast, there should be places we could use. What I’m mainly worried right now is the need for stone in expanding Iron Mountain Fort. Though we could mine stone, the progress was very slow, if we build stone houses for the hundred thousand people, the amount of stone we would need would be too large. We shouldn’t make the hundred thousand people live inside the fort. I think we should carry out our plan of building a hamlet.”
Zhao Hai nodded, he looked at the vast white plain. He cannot help but feel passionate, “Yes, we should start implementing our plans, we must establish our own kingdom.”
Chapter 312 – Playing the Role of A Silkpants
Laura looked at the vast lands, she repeated the words with a flat tone, “Our own kingdom, Our own kingdom.” This thought would make any person feel excited.
Zhao Hai smiled faintly, “Yes, our own kingdom. Let’s wait for Grandpa Green and the others to come back, we need to discuss the matter about the living conditions of the hundred thousand people so that after spring they could arrive. Although they were only half-beastman, they still had lived their entire lives in the prairie, so they might not have any experience with farming. It seems that we need to head sooner towards the Rosen Empire and buy some human slaves.”
Laura agreed, “We should, but before that we should meet up with Bell and settle the milk wine business with him, then we proceed, what do you think?”
Zhao Hai nodded, “Sure, we can go through Stony Mountain to head towards Casa City and see the situation there. From Casa City, we could then head towards Iksa Territory and find Bell, then settle the milk wine business and at the same time asking if he has any connections in Carson City. This is important for our later actions, but this time’s travel, we cannot do so with my Dark Mage persona, that would be obviously inappropriate.”
Laura nodded, “Naturally, that wouldn’t be proper, if you go with your Dark Mage persona, people may hold suspicions. First we need to head back and wait for Grandpa Green and the others to come back, then we should discuss with them our further actions.”
Zhao Hai agreed, then turned his head towards the snowy area outside, he then lead the three females to return to the fort. The four sat down, and after a while, Green and the others had come back from the outside, along with Green were Merine, Kun, and Shue.[1]
Shue wasn’t in the castle most of the time, the nearby terrains of the Iron Mountains weren’t explored before so Green gave the task to him.
Shue carried out reconnaissance on the surrounding mountains, Green wanted to know all about the mountains these past few days. He wanted to know where were the good spots for mining stone, as well as spots for cutting trees.
Green wore a cloak made of rabbit skin, it was obvious that the temperature outside didn’t compare to inside the castle. Since the castle was warm, they just put on this easy to remove cloak on.
Seeing that Zhao Hai’s group had returned, Green stared for a moment. Then after which the others became happy, Green smiled and asked, “Young Master, why did you return this early? Was the matter in the prairie already dealt with?”
Zhao Hai nodded, then gave them some items he got from the prairie, then he told them about the Radiant Church’s Ultimate Weapon Program and the church’s nurturing of beastman children to send them back to the prairie and deal with the prairie’s inhabitants, he also made these things confidential.
This was the first time that Green had learnt of these matters, when he heard Zhao Hai’s testimony, he frowned, “I didn’t think that the Radiant Church would have such a plan. Young Master, you should inform someone from the League of Dark Mages about this. If they receive this information, they would definitely do some preparations against it, additionally, they could deal with the Radiant Church, relieving us of some pressure.”
Zhao Hai nodded, “I was going to do that exact thing this time that I came back. I cannot wait for spring to arrive at the prairie, so I planned to use this period of time to arrange some matters. I would like to take a look at the situation inside Casa City, then head towards Iksa domain to find Bell and settle the milk wine partnership. I could also use this time to tell him this information as well as ask if he has any connections inside Carson City of the Rosen Empire. If he did, then it would make our travel more convenient, we would be able to open a proper trade route towards the prairie.”
Kun agreed, “Good, Carson City is considered to be the biggest supply market and distribution center in the entire continent. It is a truly good place, we have our products and if we decide to sell it there, nobody would take notice. And Bell wouldn’t be able to handle our full milk wine capacity, so we should sell those at Carson City. But in Carson City, there are numerous influential figures, each and every one of them had greed as their second nature, if we cannot find a powerful backer, then I fear that we cannot escape the same destiny as in Purcell Duchy. Bell is a member of the league, so perhaps he has some connections. I heard that among the Rosen Empire were some Dark Mages who were serving their army, which says that Rosen Empire wasn’t opposed to Dark Mages. So the League of Dark Mages may hold a lot of influence there, we could use that influence to our advantage.”
Zhao Hai nodded, “Grandpa Kun’s words are right, we could use this to our advantage, but the issue now is, I want to look for Bell but I cannot go out with my Dark Mage persona. I am thinking as to persona should I go with?”
Green chuckled, this really became a problem. Currently, in the Aksu Empire, all Dark Mages were under deep monitoring, so if Zhao Hai appeared as a Dark Mage, then people would deduce who he is.
Green looked at Zhao Hai, “Young Master, what persona would you like to go by?”
Zhao Hai thought for a moment, then he said, “A merchant would not be good, I think I could appear as a Mage, but not a Dark Mage. Now, the Space could use Fire and Earth Element magic, might as well appear as a dual element mage. Moreover, it would be best to get arrogant, making myself widely known, if it’s like this then people would perhaps not suspect me.”
Green nodded, “Acting high-profile wouldn’t be a problem, we didn’t need to fear anyone judging by our present strengths. Even if the came to know of our real identities, they would only send a 9th rank expert, which we can make deal with easily, even more so with an army, therefore being high-profile would be good.”
Zhao Hai smiled, “I have never thought of releasing my identity, if it were really revealed, then I certainly wouldn’t need to fear. But it would be a problem with future missions, as my false identities might be exposed, so I absolutely cannot make them know who I am.”
Kun smiled and said,”Right, a dual element mage isn’t bad, in the entire continent, there weren’t a lot of dual element mages. So these mages were considered to be geniuses, and they were given leverage to become a bit arrogant. But we still need to make Little Hai prepare, we should at least apply some simple makeup.”
Zhao Hai scratched his head, “How to we apply it?”
Kun looked at Zhao Hai, then turned to Laura and said, “This depends on Laura. Laura, make Zhao Hai look like a silkpants.”
Several people chuckled, Laura looked at Zhao Hai and said, “We need to dye Brother Hai’s head. I happen to have some dye powder, we can dye his hair golden. Then we could glue a small beard on his lip, making his age look older, a pair of pink crystal glasses would do good as well.”
A black line appeared on Zhao Hai forehead, “I could settle with the dye and the beard, but why the pink crystal glasses? Can we trade it with another color?”
Laura smiled, “Pink is good, pink is a very popular color in the Continent right now. I saw a lot of silkpants wearing pink crystal glasses, very beautiful. Rest assured, I have a pair of pink crystal glasses, I will give them to you in a while.”
Zhao Hai shook his head, and decided to not oppose anymore, and just went with Laura’s plans. He turned to Laura and said, “How about you? Exiting like you are currently would be conspicuous. I think in the Continent, there are a lot of people who knows of you more than me.”
Laura faintly smiled and replied, “Mine would be very simple, I could just dye my hair and then wear a veil. You should know that any aristocrat would have their female companion usually wear a veil, so as to prevent any other people appreciating their female companion.”
Zhao Hai can only smile bitterly, he really didn’t have anything good to say. Here, there were differences between men and women. For men, generally only Dark Mages would wear veils, but for women, the could wear them casually.
Green nodded and said, “This is good, but when the day comes, you should travel by carriage, and not any ordinary carriage. We need it to be more majestic, Laura’s carriage cannot be used since many had already seen it. The Radiant Church’s carriage cannot be used either since one could notice it at a glance. What kind of carriage would you use?”
Zhao Hai knitted his brows, to be honest, he didn’t think that he would act a role of being a silkpants. So having proper carriage wouldn’t just be enough, to the continent, a carriage is a sign of a man’s wealth and status.
Now the issue is that Zhao Hai embarrassingly didn’t have a very good carriage. In the continent, a good carriage is made from good materials. But Zhao Hai didn’t have any good materials, naturally, he also wouldn’t have a good carriage.
Zhao Hai just shook his head and said, “It would be very difficult to get a good carriage in such a short time.”
Laura knit her browns, “It’s not impossible, we can demolish the lightwood carriage of the Radiant Church, then use those lightwood to make our own carriage. A lot of good carriages in the continent uses lightwood as their material. As long as we do not follow the carriage design of the Radiant Church, then would should be fine.”
Kun agreed, “Good, then well arrange for it immediately. We shall bring some artisans and also among the beastmen there should be some who knows how to make carriages. I think the task should be done in a few days, but what Magic Beast would you use to pull the carriage with?”
Zhao Hai thought for a moment then said, “How about using a large horned bull? This magic beast is ordinary, its endurance is also very good. What’s most important is that a beastman race’s magic beast is a rarity, if we pull the carriage with this magic beast, then people would know that we are in a good relationship with the beastmen. Like this, we can sell beastman products and nobody would have suspicions.”
Kun thought for a moment then agreed.
Shue was an assassin that made a Blood Oath with Zhao Hai.