The original slums area outside the city had doubled, and new residential areas had popped up around this construction zone. The residents of the original slums had moved there.
All of a sudden, Qianye saw a bunch of garish feathers drift into his vision—he had found an old acquaintance. Gesturing for Nighteye to remain in place, he moved toward the werewolf chieftain.
In this period of Qianye’s absence, this werewolf had actually grown fatter and taller. The bigger frame made space for him to wear more bright decorative items and show off his wealth.
The chieftain was shocked at the unexpected approach. At first, he was furious, but his face blossomed into smiles upon seeing that it was Qianye. “Your Majesty, you’re finally back!”
The chieftain’s natural joy removed some of Qianye’s doubts. “What’s going on in the city?”
“It can’t get any worse!” The chieftain’s voice rose an octave. “You might not know, but we have all kinds of races here now, and they’re noisy as heck. We clearly have no more space, but we still get dozens of airsh.i.p.s coming in every day. Just look! Does it still look like the Cerulean Wave City we know?”
The chieftain said angrily, “Those bastards outside are so crude and uncultured. Be it the vampires, demonkin, or werewolves, the first thing they say is ‘Find me a piece of land, I’ll build the biggest store in the area, I have all the money you need!’ They speak as though we’re so poor.”
That’s clearly a good thing… Qianye thought to himself as he continued listening.
The chieftain waved his hands about. “These fellows think they could humiliate us, so we need to use our money to humiliate them back! Yes, that’s how we do things.”
“Don’t the werewolves retaliate against humiliation with force?” Qianye was puzzled.
“Can’t beat… oh, okay.” Qianye was at a loss for words. He didn’t really believe that these werewolves who were in a primitive state a few months ago would have acc.u.mulated that much wealth.
The chieftain quickly tossed this minor unhappiness to the back of his head. When he started talking again, his hands were waving about, and there was spittle flying everywhere. “However, we seem to have given those outsiders a lesson on what real wealth is! This land beneath our feet is the ultimate wealth. Without our land, where will they build their stores? In the sky? They need to buy land no matter how big or small their businesses are.”
Qianye finally understood the reason after some questioning.
It turned out that Cerulean Wave City was starting to become a trading hub for all the different races. The demand for all kinds of resources shot up after war broke out in Evernight.
The vampires had been soundly defeated on Twilight Continent, but their power on the other continents was by no means shaken. This was especially true of the continents occupied by different races. The lords of those territories were adventurers, to begin with, so they weren’t going to sit by and do nothing. Resistance broke out everywhere, and the council's forces were driven out entirely in some of the remote places.
It would seem that the political state had returned to the holy-war era, so both the vampires and demonkin required large amounts of resources. There was also a surging market demand for grey goods, and Fort Continent happened to be the best place for this.
There was no better place for this on Fort Continent than Cerulean Wave City. The lord of this territory was Qianye, with two subordinate dukes overseeing it in his absence. With the Summit of Peaks setting the first example, this place was indeed much safer than any other location.
Even though the demonkin had issued a wanted order for Qianye, most people were not privy to the convoluted reasons behind it. The races of Evernight had been at war with one another—and even amongst themselves—for thousands of years. Unless there was a certain confirmation that Qianye had been killed or captured, no one would dare to cause trouble. That was, of course, unless they were confident in seizing the entire city.
Traders and adventurers from all walks of life surged into the city, filling it to the brim. The massive demand represented by each of these merchants became the foundation of the city’s prosperity.
The demand for manpower began to attract more werewolves from the nearby tribes, and that was how the current state of the city came to be.
The chieftain pointed at the slums outside the city. “We chieftains have discussed things in your absence. You’re the son of darkness, and it’s only right that you should be the ric.h.e.s.t person. That’s why everyone agreed that this entire area should belong to you.”
Qianye was rather surprised. There was very limited space within the city, and the old slums outside had been transformed into a business district. If this land was his, the rent from all the businesses here would pour into his coffers. This was a small fortune. It would seem that werewolves of the Jade Sea hadn’t lost their piety because of his absence.
Out of an abundance of caution, Qianye had Nighteye remain concealed as he walked back to the duke’s residence with the chieftain.
Qianye instructed the chieftain to inform William of his return but limit the news otherwise.
William arrived swiftly, and the first thing he said was, “You still dare to appear?!”
“Just showing my face around here, I’ll leave soon.”
William seemed relieved. “That’s good. I was worried you would fight the demonkin to the death.”
Qianye shrugged. “I haven’t lived nearly enough.”
“I’m not the troublemaker this time, the council came to me. Besides, the Azure King saved me, so I couldn’t just let his family get massacred.”
William frowned. “That’s that, but the course of this war won’t be altered by personal reasons. Sigh!”
Qianye said, “I came back because I want to know clearly about the werewolves’ stance in this war. The demonkin and Sousa were trying to kill me a while ago.”
“Sousa?” William’s expression was serious. “He’s a crafty one. His true fighting power is far beyond what people know, and all those who have underestimated him have become corpses. It’s not all that surprising that he would work for the Demon King. The werewolf race is actually in a divided state at the moment. The wolf ancestor is now standing with the Demon King, and most of the ancestral faction have rallied to his call.”
Qianye shook his head. “Even someone of his stature? This is truly difficult to comprehend.” The vampires were desperate to approach the darkness origins because the River of Blood had left them. What reason do the werewolves have?”
William said, “Reportedly, the Demon King promised to restore the werewolves' position on the Sacred Mountain. The Wolf Ancestor was swayed by the offer.”
Qianye more or less understood the council’s structure by now. He said, “Promising a supreme position? Even if there’s a seat up there, can he get up without sufficient strength? Can he hold onto it?”
William laughed wryly. “The Wolf Ancestor is at the end of his life. Not to mention such a promise, he might be willing even if they let him sit on the Sacred Mountain for a while. He won’t live much longer if he doesn’t become a supreme. That’s why he’ll take this chance no matter what.”
With the Longevity Monarch as an example, Qianye understood how attractive lifespan was to people with one foot in the grave.
William said, “The Wolf Sovereign has already offered the Tempest and a large number of warriors for the new world. This can be considered a great compromise, and the only rebellious decision he made was to hide me. Reportedly, the Demon King has no intention of looking into this matter. That’s why we won’t be taking part in this war.”
“Once the vampires fall, the werewolves will be next.”
William laughed self-deprecatingly. “You don’t understand the power balance of Evernight well enough. Even if they do take action, the Demon King will turn to the arachne first and not the werewolves. We are not a threat at all in his eyes.”
Qianye sighed. It was true that he didn’t understand much regarding the entanglement between the dark races, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that the werewolves’ judgment was wrong. However, he didn’t say anything else because William wouldn’t have any say in such a major topic, anyway.
All they could do was complain to one another.
William said with a weird expression, “Oh, right. I have two pieces of news that aren’t all that great. Wanna hear?”
“Go ahead.”
“First, the demonkin have already put a bounty on your head and requested the cooperation of all Evernight races.”
Qianye nodded. “I know that, yet you dare meet with me? Aren’t you afraid the demonkin will cause trouble for you?”
“What’s the second?”
“The second is just gossip, and no one knows if it’s true.” Wiliam started off by declaring that this news wasn’t reliable. Qianye couldn’t help but feel surprised. Why would William bring up random gossip when he knew how precious time was at the moment? He soon came to understand why.
“After losing the Twilight Continent, the vampires no longer have a primogenitor level expert, but did you sense it? The demonkin have been keeping the intensity of the holy war in check.”
Qianye gave it some thought. “Do you mean the number of experts participating in the war?”
“In the past, the core territories of each race would rarely, if ever, suffer a direct attack, but the demonkin have broken this rule by attacking Twilight. That’s why it’s rather strange that their princes and great dark monarchs have stopped appearing afterward.”
Apparently, the Summit of Peaks was rather cautious despite claiming neutrality. The demonkin had claimed victory with a tempestuous momentum, but they slowed down the pace of their invasion. This left the werewolves puzzled. Qianye still hadn’t noticed this issue before William mentioned it. Now, he couldn’t help but feel curious.
William said, “I heard the Demon King promised Prince Habsburg that the two races would decide the outcome in a holy war.”
Qianye’s understanding of Habsburg didn’t involve any happy memories. He said with a frown, “Habsburg is still alive?”
“He should be,” William said, “this promise is no small matter. There are rules to observe in the holy war, along with restrictions and bottom lines. It’s greatly beneficial for the vampires if the demonkin agree to follow these rules. At least, they won’t massacre the inhabitants after occupation. This means the vampires will be able to hold out for a while longer.”
At present, the two had no idea that the reason why the Demon King wanted Qianye had nothing to do with the war. Nor did they know about the major characters butting heads behind this gossip. However, William’s analysis was fortunately on the mark—or pretty close at least.
Qianye said after some thought, “No wonder Sousa left a tracking rune on me.”
“An ancient tracking rune?” William asked with a frown. “Now that’s odd. Why go that extra step? The supremes can easily guess your location as long as they have some clues to go on. That young demonkin prophet from the Dark Nightmare is also active. Prince Predica is reportedly even more powerful than his uncle and the previous chair of the Evernight Council, Master Grey. If they want to scry your location, he can produce an even more accurate result. Either way, those methods won’t be inferior to our ancient tracking rune.”
The two discussed Sousa’s actions for a while but couldn’t come to a conclusion, and the Demon King’s attitude toward the war also left them puzzled. William asked Qianye about his plans.
“Flee, keep running.” Qianye laughed.
William nodded. “I feel relieved. When do you plan to begin?”
Qianye stood up. “Now.”
“Aren’t you going to see anyone else?” William was surprised.
“I’ve shown my face briefly, so let’s wait and see how each party responds. As for the others, there will be lots of opportunities to meet them.”
William understood his meaning. “Fort Continent is indeed a good place.”
What Qianye had just said meant that he wouldn’t be leaving Fort Continent for the time being. The environment here was harsh, and the chaotic origin power diminished the experts’ cultivation speed. The effectiveness of tracking, divination, and prophetic scrying will also be discounted, just like in the neutral lands.
The Fort Continent was a single continent that was much larger than the neutral lands. There was ample space to roam about and shake off any pursuers. The demonkin had almost no foothold on Fort Continent, so they were pure foreigners compared to Qianye and his long history here.
After meeting William and learning about the werewolves’ stance, Qianye left Cerulean Wave City and disappeared into the depths of the continent. Now that he was wanted by the demonkin, it would be a good thing if he could keep the pursuing council forces in check.
…
At this moment, in Habsburg’s Lava Castle. The Demon King slowly put down the ancient scroll and asked Sousa, “Can you tell me why you used an ancient tracking rune?”
