Although Nan Ruohuai was of common birth, he was still an adult prince with his own possessions. He owned a moderately sized land on one of the islands, neighboring a small town with several thousand people. It was a convenient little place.
His estate sat near a mountain, facing the river, and the main building was on a small slope with fields below and small villages scattered throughout. It was a peaceful and beautiful scenery. From atop the hill on clear days, one could see the distant town and the yellow road winding back to the manor.
It was currently the end of summer, and the weather was sizzling hot. The wind, however, would carry a wisp of coolness as it blew past the river. Lying down under a shady tree would make the cruel midday sun quite a bit more tolerable.
This land had been the same for many years, seeing little change if any. Even though there was an ongoing fight for the throne, that was a matter for the royal capital. This place was by no means lightyears away from the conflict, but it was separated by the deep void. To those who had toiled on this land all their life, the furthest place they had ever been to was the small town, to speak nothing of the other side of the void.
This peace was finally broken as a low rumble came from the skies, followed by large shadows flitting across the land. The farmers looked up in shock, gazing at the giant objects flying overhead. Some didn’t even notice that they had dropped their tools.
Moments later, chaos also descended upon the small town. Everyone was stupefied as they walked out of their houses and looked up at the sky. Some of the more experienced people knew that these things were airships, but the ones up there were vastly different from the usual vessels bringing guests and supplies from the mainland. This was especially true for the battlecruiser hovering at the highest point. It was like a small town in and of itself.
This unprecedented scenery left everyone in shock. One after the other, these airships began their descent as they approached the manor. The mayor of the town suddenly realized what was happening. “That’s the royal family’s estate!”
He didn’t even have time to drive or care about his plump body. He simply jumped to his feet and ran toward the manor by relying on his rank-three origin power.
As a royal-family territory, the small estate was rather well equipped. There was a clearing next to the manor for landing airships, but it was so small that three corvettes had more or less filled it to the brim. The other transports had to drive to the rear mountain and find a suitable temporary landing spot.
One of the corvettes opened its doors. Nan Ruohuai disembarked first and stood respectfully to the side. Upon appearing at the door, Qianye sized up the surroundings before descending step by step. “Not a bad place.”
Nan Ruohuai said, “This is a gift from my father. The environment and size of the land are top-notch, it’s just a bit remote. I wouldn’t have the right to such a fiefdom, otherwise.”
It was at this moment that a bald fatty came running from the distance. “Your Majesty, is it you?”
Nan Ruohuai waved back at the guest and said to Qianye, “This is the mayor of Rivercross Town, he has always been very helpful.”
The mayor’s shirt and face were drenched in sweat when he arrived before the party. He bowed toward Nan Ruohuai but soon discovered that Qianye was actually the leader of the party. Hence, he stole a glance at Qianye and asked, “Your Majesty, this is…”
Nan Ruohuai said, “This Lord Zhao, in terms of seniority, is my distant uncle. He has been roaming the world and hasn’t returned to Zheng for many years. I’ve received news that he wanted to come back and see his homeland, so I went to receive him. We’ll camp here temporarily before heading back to the mainland.”
Nan Ruohuai’s explanation was smooth, but it left Qianye rather speechless.
A wandering relative returning to visit his family was a story they had agreed on beforehand. It was just that the original plan was to introduce Qianye as a distant cousin. Nan Ruohuai was actually a bit older in age, but there was no way he was going to let Qianye call him elder brother. Who knew he would turn into an uncle?
The mayor went pale as he glanced at the airships on the landing pad and began to sweat even harder.
Qianye broke into a laugh. “What do you think of my airships?”
The mayor stuttered badly, “O-Of course, they’re extremely good. These are Imperial…”
He quickly stopped himself, but Qianye said with a smile, “So you do recognize Great Qin’s warships.”
The mayor only nodded since he didn’t dare reply. Qianye glanced back at the corvettes, then at the airships in the sky that had yet to find a landing place. “These are Great Qin’s newer standard warships. It’s no surprise that people can recognize them.”
Zheng was a vassal nation in name, so it would send soldiers and experts to fight for the Empire in exchange for equipment and contribution points. As such, many people could recognize Imperial armaments.
The mayor began to sweat even more. He understood enough to know what the Empire’s latest model warships signified. At this moment, one of the transports managed to find an empty space to land, and out came a group of soldiers who were armed to the teeth.
They were wearing the colors of a mercenary corps, but the mayor wasn’t dumb, either. The entire squad was outfitted in uniform armor and equipment; they even had clear rank insignias on them. The mayor noticed that the soldiers were exuding an extraordinary aura and were probably stronger than him in cultivation.
What kind of mercenary was that?
The mayor glanced at Qianye, then back at Nan Ruohuai. He had gotten a rough idea about what was going on.
Seeing this, Qianye said with a smile, “This manor is a bit small, I think I’ll need to go and stay in town. You guys, follow the mayor back and make some arrangements. Be careful not to hurt him.”
Two mercenary leaders walked over and stood to either side of the mayor, then picked him off the ground like an eagle picking up a chick. One of them even showed a sinister smile. “We’re told not to use too much force. Let’s go and get things done first.”
The other turned back and called out, “I want fifty men, fall in line and follow us!”
The mayor had given up all hope. Not to mention fifty fierce men, just ten of them were enough to wipe out the town guard without any casualties.
Nan Ruohuai said hurriedly, “I’ll go check up on them.”
“Good idea.” Qianye nodded.
Moments later, Qianey was in the mayor’s office, seated on the large, comfortable leather chair. The office was decorated in an older style, lavish but crude, with the paintings and calligraphy of famous characters hanging on the walls. All of them were likely counterfeit.
Nan Ruohuai and the mayor stood to either side of him, one respectful and the other nervous. There was a middle-aged man on the other side of the table, drenched in sweat and at a complete loss about what to do.
Qianye scanned the roster in his hand and said, “You have a hundred and fifty town guards in such a small place? How can you even afford it?”
Rivercross’ population was only a couple thousand. How could they afford to keep full-time town guards? Moreover, the town was peaceful with no areas of disorder nearby. The only sources of danger were beasts and refugees, so there was simply no need for such a big guard force.
The middle-aged man in front of the table was rank-two in origin power, a powerful character in this small town. Yet he couldn’t even speak properly in front of Qianye; fear welled up involuntarily since he couldn’t see through this guest’s power.
Faced with this question, the captain looked toward the mayor. The chubby man cursed inwardly before replying, “It’s like this, we expanded the town guard to prepare for possible unrest. The posts have been expanded, but not all of them are filled, just preparation for rainy days.”
Qianye understood what was going on. “Oh, it’s an embezzlement, why didn’t I think of that.”
He put the roster to the side and removed the smile from his face. “You’re both smart people, some things you should already know without me having to tell you. Give me the map and as much information as you have on this island.”
The mayor sneaked a glance at Nan Ruohuai and saw that the man was still smiling, not revealing his thoughts in the slightest. Hardening his resolve, he got up and went to the rear room, then came back with a stack of documents.
Qianye first picked up the map and flipped through it, then checked it against the intelligence reports.
Time went by and the sun had almost set in the distance. Only then did Qianye look up quietly.
Nan Ruohuai, the mayor, and the guard captain waited with bated breath. Moments later, Qianey said, “This place is really not bad. Ruohuai, I think you should take this as your first fiefdom.”
Nan Ruohuai was startled. Wasn’t his fiefdom on the island already? But he quickly understood the meaning after some thought and bowed deeply. “Thank you, Uncle.”
Qianye felt helpless, but all he could do was keep on playing this role. He sent the captain and mayor away with a wave of his hand. He then summoned Song Lun and the generals, passing the map between them for perusal.
The island itself wasn’t small, almost half the size of an Imperial county. The only problem was that it was a good distance away from Fort Continent, making transportation an issue. The island was also close to the edge of the protective layer, so the weather was unstable and disasters were common. Only the western side of the island was suitable for living, while the entire eastern side was desolate and uninhabited.
This proximity to the edge of the protective layer, as well as the erosion of the void origin power, granted the island rich mineral deposits. There were quite a few rare minerals to be found here. It was just that the mining operations could only proceed for two months each year due to the adverse environment.
This so-called adverse environment wasn’t a big issue for people from the neutral lands. At most, they would feel a bit uncomfortable after prolonged exposure. Additionally, from the weather report, the weather for most of the year could be considered calm by neutral land standards. All they had to do was hide when there was a void storm.
The island was inhabited by less than a hundred thousand people, most living in self-sufficiency because of the bad transportation. As Qianye saw it, this was a great base and springboard for their operation. The distance to Zheng formed a natural barrier—something that was never a problem for Qianye and his Martyr’s Palace—yet it afforded them a place from which they could advance and retreat.
The island’s biggest city was Seclusion, which was located on the western bank of the island where the void was most stable. It was also the biggest transit point on the island and home to the island’s small fleet.
That little fleet was made up of ten or so airships, which was quite terrifying at a glance, but the generals broke into a laugh after looking at their models and specs. It would be a stretch to call them warships or gunships, since they were nothing more than ordinary airships with weapons.
A captain patted his chest and said, “Sire, give me two corvettes and I’ll destroy them all!”
Another general glared at him. “You don’t need two corvettes against trash like this. I only need one.”
“Let me go, an armed transport is enough!”
“I don’t even need a transport!”
Seeing that the generals were going out of hand, Qianye had to knock on the table and quiet them down.
