Chapter 579 – Elder
Although Zhao Hai's new clothes were made of a special type of metal, it didn't have that feeling of coldness at all. Conversely, they were very comfortable and warm. A warmth that might make you fall asleep, it felt very good.
While Zhao Hai was wearing the clothes, he made it transform into other types of clothing before he stopped and returned to normal. Then he turned to Laura and the others and said, "Do you like these clothes?"
With shining eyes, Laura and the others nodded. They also wanted to have these type of clothing, they can choose what form that they like, so they don't need to change at all. It was very convenient.
Zhao Hai smiled faintly as he turned to Cai'er and said, "Right, now that the Space has been upgraded, are we able to plant some special plants?"
Cai'er nodded and said, "Yes, some can enhance physical qualities while some can help with cultivation."
Zhao Hai nodded, "Alright, you go take a look at the Processing Machine if you are able to make those kinds of seeds. Then plant them on the Farming Grounds and see their effects. See if there are those that are like the Goldmetal Fruit, plants that can give Divergent Abilities. We have to get as many of those as possible."
Cai'er complied, and said, "Alright, rest assured, Young Master. I'll take care of it."
Zhao Hai gave a nod, "Right, I want to see what kinds of backgrounds I can use right now."
Cai'er nodded, then he gave information about the different backgrounds that Zhao Hai can use. Although the backgrounds are ordinary, they were still some differences among them. For example, there were desert backgrounds that would be useless if Zhao Hai was to buy it.
Zhao Hai opted to get backgrounds that can be planted on. They aren't extraordinary, but among them there were mountains, prairies, and there was also one with a mountain with a river on it. In short, there were a lot of varieties of them.
Naturally, Zhao Hai also listened to the opinion of his wives. Laura and the others were very happy when they were given a choice. Before long, the ten backgrounds have been chosen.
After choosing the backgrounds, Zhao Hai turned to Cai'er and said, "Cai'er, how can we use these backgrounds?"
Cai'er replied, "Young Master can just make me manage them. But if you want to go there, you can just do it with an intention. I shall place plants and Magic Beasts on those backgrounds according to their compatibility. Also, the Young Master doesn't need to worry about houses, the ten backgrounds have their own. But no matter which background is in use, the Farming Grounds would still be present. Most importantly, these new backgrounds are different from the original background since they cannot accelerate plant growth."
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "That's not a problem. Aren't they just the same as the original background from before? I'll just leave the management of those to you."
Cai'er nodded. And just as Zhao Hai was about to lead Laura and the others to explore the new backgrounds, Cai'er suddenly said, "Young Master, the Dwarves have sent someone to see you."
Zhao Hai nodded, and then immediately brought Laura and the others to their room in the Dwarf Mountains. Strangely, even if Zhao Hai had become a 9th rank expert, he didn't have any imposing aura, his temperament stayed just like before.
Zhao Hai also found out that after crystallizing his body, he can then use the Space to attack his enemy. The root of this offensive attack is the God's Blood. The Space's explanation was that since the energy of the God's Blood has been absorbed by the Space, once it exits it, it can reabsorb that energy and attack the target. Therefore, Zhao Hai can use this method as an attack for his Space Divergent Ability.
But Zhao Hai wasn't planning to use this attack, he also didn't have any idea how to do so. Still, he has his metal, wood, water, fire, plant, abilities for attack, and their powers aren't weak.
Zhao Hai also asked Cai'er to break the crystal bottle that contained the small sun, but Cai'er can't do it. This reassured Zhao Hai, this meant that even God-ranked experts aren't able to break his crystal body. So even if he meets God-ranked experts, he still had a way to preserve his life.
Also, Zhao Hai didn't make Laura and the others drink the God's Blood at this time. Although they can now become 9th rank experts, Laura and the others didn't cultivate for the ten days that they had been with the Dwarves. Them advancing at this time would be strange.
Because of this Zhao Hai didn't make them practice and just brought them along with him outside as he opened the door to see a Dwarf.
When the Dwarf saw Zhao Hai, he immediately gave a bow and said, "I've been asked to invite mister Zhao Hai to the Divine Palace. The Patriarch wanted mister to come."
Zhao Hai stared for a moment before he nodded and walked towards the Divine Palace along with the Dwarf. While walking, Zhao Hai was wondering what Billy intended to do. At the same time, he was compiling everything about the Space inside his mind. And before long, he had finally arrived at the Divine Palace.
Upon reaching the place, Zhao Hai couldn't help but gawk. In the Divine Palace, a lot of Dwarves were present. Moreover, the statuses of these people doesn't seem to be normal. Each and every one of them had fairly white beards and hairs. One would see that they were quite mature members of the race.
Under the guidance of the Dwarf, Zhao Hai entered the Great Hall. But he was till puzzled about the number of Dwarves that were present. It looked like they were having a grand meeting. But what does he have to do with it?
Before long, he was walking in front of Iron Hammer. Zhao Hai can also spot Billy and the elders there, all of them looked at Zhao Hai with a hint of gratitude in their eyes.
Seeing the expressions of these Dwarves while being next to Iron Hammer, Zhao Hai can faintly guess what was going on. It seems like Billy informed these people about Iron Hammer's materialization. The people present here seems to hold special status in their race.
But Zhao Hai didn't say anything. He arrived at Billy's side and gave Billy and the elders a salute. Then every Dwarf present in the Great Hall immediately returned the gesture. It seems like they won't dare to accept Zhao Hai's courtesy.
Zhao Hai also noted that Laura and the others stayed outside the Great Hall, the same was true for Juno. This made Zhao Hai very curious.
After exchanging their greetings, Billy turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Mister Zhao Hai, this time, you had greatly helped our Dwarf Race. Therefore, we decided to give Mister the position of our race's Foreign Elder. I'll ask Mister to accept it." Then Billy bowed towards Zhao Hai.
Zhao Hai was actually shocked that he couldn't respond for quite some time. This was because he hasn't heard about this before, so he didn't expect Billy to reach this decision.
Zhao Hai's unresponsiveness scared Juno and the others. Juno knew the Dwarves very well. If the Dwarves wanted you to be their elder, then you better not decline, even if it was out of politeness. Otherwise, the Dwarves would think that you are looking down on them. If Zhao Hai treated the Dwarves like how he treated humans, then their connection might be broken.
Billy not telling Zhao Hai about this beforehand has its reasons. This was the Dwarves' custom of appointing elders. They think that it was much better for the person's reaction to be genuine. If Zhao Hai was informed beforehand, then he would be prepared. But if he was suddenly appointed, they would be able to see from his expression if he really wanted to be their elder.
Actually, this regulation is very excessive, but the Dwarves think that this was good, so they decided to maintain this rule. The Dwarves had also bestowed Foreign Elder positions before in such a spontaneous matter, even Juno didn't know about it.
Zhao Hai quickly recovered, he looked at Billy and then smiled faintly before replying, "Alright, I'll respectfully accept this position. I'll be a Foreign Elder."
This response relaxed the people present. Billy stood up and laughed, "Great! Then I'll have to ask Mister Zhao Hai to pay respects to the Divine Protector and receive our race's elder token."
Zhao Hai nodded, then he turned around to give respects to Iron Hammer before accepting an ancient bronze Command Token from Billy. This token made Zhao Hai stare, since it was made of bronze, Zhao Hai was expecting it to be very heavy. He didn't expect the token to be as light as a feather.
This Command Token looked very simple, a single character expressing command was written on it. At the back of it was Iron Hammer's image. It was a very simple Command Token, but Zhao Hai knew that what this token represented was not very simple.
This position of Foreign Elder of the Dwarf Race is not worse than being a Foreign Prince of the entire Beastman Race. Such identity was extremely significant.
After Zhao Hai accepted the token, the ceremony for being an elder has been completed. But Zhao Hai didn't say anything.
After Zhao Hai received the elder Command Token, the Dwarves simultaneously saluted, "We have seen the elder!"
Zhao Hai quickly responded, "Please get up." The Dwarves got up as Billy loudly declared "Prepare the banquet, let's welcome our Dwarf Race's new Elder!"
The Dwarves present immediately complied as they turned around to leave. At this time, Billy also invited Zhao Hai back to his residence. After entering his office, the only three people left was Zhao Hai, Billy, and Juno.
After the three sat down, Zhao Hai cannot help but smile bitterly towards Billy and said, "Patriarch, this is too sudden. What would you have done if I refused?"
Billy laughed and said, "This is our race's custom. If you rejected, then it would be impossible for you to become a friend to our race. Even if you help us out big time once more."
Juno looked at Zhao Hai with envy as he said, "You should be happy. Now that you have become the Dwarves' Foreign Elder, you will gain huge benefits in the future. My relationship with Billy has always been good, yet I still hadn't become their Foreign Elder."
Billy smiled and said, "Unfortunately, the matter of Foreign Elders is not something that I alone can decide. The decision must undergo an elder's assembly as well as a meeting with various mining heads. Zhao Hai has helped us hugely this time, so it was impossible for him to not be bestowed the position of Foreign Elder."
Then Billy turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Right, aren't you Humans very modest? When they come across such matters, Humans usually decline first. Why didn't you?"
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "You forget, but I am also a Foreign Prince of the Herculean Bull Tribe. I have experience in such matters. So I know that if I decline, It would seem like I was looking down on the Dwarf Race. Therefore, I didn’t bother to decline first."
Billy laughed, "So you have experience. Hahaha. That's fantastic. Since you've become our Foreign Elder, our race's liquor would depend on you."
Zhao Hai couldn't help but smile bitterly. He felt like he just had joined a gang of evildoers. He had become their Foreign Elder, but now he was in charge of their liquor.
But he wasn't worried, even if the Beastmen cannot catch up to the demand, Zhao Hai now has ten backgrounds to use. These backgrounds can raise some argali as well as cattle. Therefore, their milk production should skyrocket.
Billy smiled and said, "Don't worry, we won't be taking your liquor for free. We shall trade them with ironwares. But since you're our Foreign Elder, you cannot sell it to us with the same price as outside, it should be lower. But since we'll also sell you our ironwares for cheap, you wouldn't be able to suffer any losses."
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "No problem. But I currently am short on manpower. So I don't have any means to produce a lot of milk wine. Moreover, the Beastman milk wine output is quite limited, therefore, the liquor that I can provide is quite low. It's impossible for me to provide a high volume right from the start."
Billy and Juno nodded, Zhao Hai looked at their eyes deeply before he hardened his resolve and said, "Patriarch, I have a matter to ask your help with."
Billy stared, then he immediately smiled and said, "You're our race's Foreign Elder, you're part of us now. So can tell me what you want."
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "I want to ask some Dwarves to settle down in my territory. Helping me produce some ironwares. Is that possible?"
When he heard Zhao Hai, Billy cannot help but gawk. Then he frowned and said, "I'm afraid that this is somewhat difficult. You should know that there are a lot of eyes on Golden Island. Seeing Dwarves there would cause too much of a problem."
Chapter 580 – Laying the Cards Out on the Table
Upon hearing Billy, Zhao Hai couldn't help but smile faintly as he said, "That's not a problem. The place I want to take them isn't Golden Island, but to my Buda Clan's true territory. In there, no other people aside from our Buda Clan and the slaves are present."
Billy and Juno couldn’t help but stare upon hearing Zhao Hai. Then both of their eyes shone brightly, it didn't take a while before Juno said, "Did you send your 100 thousand slaves to that place?"
Zhao Hai stared for a moment before he smiled faintly and said, "So you knew, right, the slaves were sent to that place. Not only those slaves but our wineries and factories are in that place as well."
Billy might not be very clear about it, but Juno knew how many products Zhao Hai sold in the continent. Haven products, Beastmen goods, all of them required a lot of processing.
Billy was confused, he looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Besides Golden Island, what other territory did the Buda Clan have? I don't seem to remember the Buda Clan buying other territories in the past two years."
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "We don't need to buy any land. Our Buda Clan already has an enormous land, wouldn't it be a pity if we don't use it? Our territory is as large as the Aksu Empire."
Billy and Juno stared, then they immediately reacted. The only territory that Zhao Hai could refer to would be the Black Wasteland. That place was the continent's biggest territory, one that belonged to the Buda Clan.
However, Billy and Juno, along with the people of the continent, knew the current situation of the Buda Clan. The two looked at each other before Juno turned to Zhao Hai and asked, "Little Hai, isn't that area filled with the Carrion Swamp's poisonous mist? How can people live there?"
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Any poison has its own antidote. Did the two of you forget where my Magic Staff is from? In a sense, our Buda Clan is already somewhat in control of the Carrion Swamp. When the Buda Clan went to war in the past, the 9th ranks that we have are all from the swamp."
Billy and Juno's bodies shook. They suddenly remembered the Dwarf Race's prophecy. One of the five Forbidden Areas has been conquered!
The Divine Artifact has been recognized, and now the Carrion Swamp was under the control of the Buda Clan. Then this meant that they had conquered one of the Forbidden Areas, this was a step to fulfilling the prophecy.
The two looked at each other and saw the shock on each other's eyes. Zhao Hai was looking at them in confusion, he knew that they would be shocked, but their reaction was a little bit strange.
Billy sighed and said, "Heaven's Will, is this the Heaven's Will?"
Juno also sighed as he said, "It seems so. Now we must wait for the news from the Elves."
Zhao Hai was puzzled at the two, so he asked, "What's wrong? What are you mumbling about?"
Billy sighed, then he told Zhao Hai about the prophecy of their Dwarf Race. The prophecy was easy to understand, so there was no further explanation needed. Zhao Hai only needed to listen in order to understand.
Zhao Hai's expression changed, he knew more than Juno and Billy did about this matter. Juno and Billy didn't know about the war between the races as well as the Divine Realm.
Billy looked at Zhao Hai's expression and thought that it was caused by the prophecy. Therefore, he sighed and said, "Now I think that the King that was mentioned was you. It's because you've already fulfilled two aspects of the prophecy."
Zhao Hai smiled bitterly as he sighed, then he turned to look at the two before saying, "In fact, even if I didn't know of this prophecy, i know more than the two of you when it comes to this matter. In the Divine Realm…." Then Zhao Hai told them the things about the Gods that he had heard from Iron Hammer.
After Zhao Hai reiterated everything to Billy, he said, "Actually, I've heard all of this from the Artifact Spirit. I'm just afraid that too many people would know, so I asked him to refrain from telling others. Your Dwarves' Forbidden Land was a place where that God was injured. The blood there wasn't poisonous, it's just that the energy contained in it was too strong, people simply cannot bear it. I refrained from telling everyone about this because I suspect that the Radiant Church has relations to a God-ranked expert. If this matter gets spread around, it might reach the ears of the church. If they do, the Gods might send their people ahead of time, far before we have prepared. The strength of the continent is currently lacking. I'm worried that we might lose big in the confrontation. Therefore, I intend to go back and research the God's Blood and see if I can produce a potion that may improve ranks and train a lot of 9th ranks. If we accomplish this, then we may have a fighting chance against the people from the Divine Realm. I just didn't expect the Dwarves to have this prophecy. It's surely the will of the heavens!"
The heads of Billy and Juno couldn't help but turn blank after listening to Zhao Hai. They weren't expecting this influx of information, it seems like they needed to prepare.
After some time, Billy recovered. He stood up and said, "So it's actually the Radiant Church. I always thought that these people are rotten eggs. So it turns out that they have this motive."
Juno's expression was also ugly as he said, "I think that Little Hai's suspicion is highly probable. The things that the Radiant Church has been doing recently cannot be justified. If they really do have a background, just like what Little Hai said, then this matter has turned quite dangerous. If people from the Divine Realm send people down, then it would be very troublesome."
Zhao Hai sighed and said, "Not only that, besides the Radiant Church, there is also the Engraved Ark. I don't know what kind of organization they are, but it seems like they are hell bent on the destruction of the continent. In the past, when the Divine Realm sent a God-ranked expert down, that person managed to damage the three Divine Artifacts sent down to defeat him. I need to repair those two other Artifacts in order to improve our chances of coming out on top. However, even if I repair those artifacts, I think that it would still be very hard for us, seeing that the Divine Realm already knows that we possess those three Artifacts. When they come, I'm fairly certain that they would bring countermeasures in order to deal with those."
Juno and Billy frowned, their expression weren't very attractive. The matters that were involved in this was just too big. They simply cannot handle this just by themselves.
Zhao Hai looked at the two and said, "I think we're fine for now. We just need to find solutions in order to deal with it. I'm requesting Patriarch Billy to come in contact with the Elves as soon as possible while I go to the Beastmen and see their Beast God's Spear. If possible, I'll go and fix their Artifact. When that time comes, we can get ourselves more leeway. But the most important thing right now is to keep this matter a secret. We can't tell anyone, even the people that we trust. These words would only stay inside this room. What do the two of you think?"
Billy and Juno thought for a moment before they succumbed to the fact that they had nothing to solve this matter with in the meantime. So the can only sigh and say, "Alright, it seems like this is the only thing that we can do at this moment."
Zhao Hai looked at their faces and smiled faintly, "You two don't need to worry too much. Our Buda Clan's potion making is very advanced. Perhaps we can make use of the God's Blood and prepare some potions in order to mass produce 9th rank experts. When that time comes, then we would be able to deal with the attack coming from the Divine Realm."
Billy and Juno couldn't help but bitterly smile, they understood that those words were only said in order to console them. Then suddenly, Billy's eyes shone, he turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Mister Zhao Hai, the prophecy included the Five Forbidden Areas. In other words, if mister can conquer those five, then you might come to find some benefits that can help in dealing with this matter."
Juno's eyes turned bright as well, "Right, Little Hai, you might as well do that. If you can do that, then we would have more confidence in confronting the Gods. Do you think you can do that with your current ability?"
Zhao Hai were thinking about their proposals. Actually, he also wanted to explore those five areas, but he just didn't have the time. But after this meeting, it seems like Zhao Hai really does need to explore the Five Forbidden Areas. But before he explores those places, he wanted to go and visit the Elven Forest first.
After thinking about this, Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Alright, I will certainly go if given the opportunity. But I need to see the Beastmen first and see whether I can fix their Beast God's Spear. Patriarch Billy should also get news from the Elves while seeing if they can allow me to fix their Elven Bow. After completing these, I think it wouldn't be too late before I can explore those Forbidden Areas."
Billy nodded and said, "Alright, then it's settled. I'll send word to the Elves as soon as possible. I'll ask for the Elven Bow first before asking about their Tree of LIfe. If their Tree did indeed dry up or has any problems, then the prophecy might as well be realized."
Zhao Hai and Juno nodded. The hearts of the three felt quite heavy, not because of anything else but the matters of the Divine Realm. These people represent the pinnacle of strength in the Continent. If they go against this legend one day, then they would need a lot of firepower. This was the Divine Realm, they cannot be underestimated.