OBS Chapter 1167 - 1100: What Does It Mean That Danio Bought a Royal Court Governor?
Chapter 1167 - 1100: What Does It Mean That Danio Bought a Royal Court Governor?
"What do you mean by 'Danio bought a Royal Court Governor'?"Horn rubbed his eyes vigorously, suddenly feeling illiterate.
Standing on one side of his desk, Catherine looked as if her worldview had been turned upside down.
How did the Royal Court become like this, where governors can be bought and sold so casually?
And it only needed one spice ship!
Is the Royal Court's thirst for spices so great?
"Not just a Royal Court Governor." Standing opposite Horn, Hakuto appeared composed, even slightly smug.
"A disgraced governor in jail?" Catherine followed up.
"No, it's more than that. Danio used a shipload of spices to acquire—" Hakuto opened the list in his hand and adjusted his glasses, "enough materials for fifty-six river transport ships, over eight hundred elite warriors, more than two hundred blood mage warlocks and other vampire artisans, jewelry worth over thirty thousand gold pounds, plus an active Royal Court Governor."
Clearing his throat, Hakuto adjusted his glasses once more and added, "Alive."
"Okay, what's with all that adjusting of your glasses? What are you, an ogre pretending to be a college student?" Horn couldn't help but scold, "Even if you want to wear glasses, at least put some lenses in them?"
Hakuto chuckled, putting the glasses back in his pocket: "The lenses make me dizzy."
Glaring at him, Horn knocked on the table with his knuckle: "Are you sure he didn't falsify anything?"
"He wouldn't dare, given that you reviewed it yourself, right? And besides, with numbers this large, who would have the gall?"
This made sense, but it was exactly the point Horn couldn't figure out.
The scale of this achievement was absurd, absurd to the point of surreal; could it be that Danio is truly a genius merchant?
Perhaps he should be transferred from the Exorcism Court to the Holy Treasury; maybe that would better utilize his talents.
Almost as if remembering something, Horn suddenly became serious, sitting up straight with a slight frown: "Is he from Black Snake Bay?"
"From Windmill Ground."
"Huh, odd, does he have Black Snake Bay ancestry?"
"No."
Holding that list, Catherine finally looked up after frowning at it for a while, shuffling the paper: "Couldn't it be that they disguised as pirates, stirred up some gladiator uprising, and robbed a harbor?"
"That wouldn't be possible, I stake my honor on it. If he did that, I'd be joining Jeska in calling myself a slug!"
"They even established stable trade channels and are currently urging for the second batch of spices to be shipped out, presumably not doing anything like that," Horn explained.
"Take a look at the business acumen of our military," Hakuto chimed in, "Your Grace, how about we..."
"No way." As soon as Hakuto raised his rear, Horn knew what he was about to say, "The military is strictly forbidden from engaging in commerce!"
Hakuto shuffled out dejectedly: "And for the ship materials, the people from our Exorcism Court carried that out; surely, there should be some reward?"
"Of course, there's a reward." Horn picked up the list, "If this is true, then the surplus thousands in gold pounds will allow you to add a new department to your Exorcism Court."
Hakuto immediately perked up: "What department?"
"The Naval Division!"
The establishment of a Naval Division was something Horn had contemplated for a long time.
The Thousand River Valley is a trade hub of the empire; goods coming from the south or north all had to pass through here.
In recent years, the GDP of the Holy Alliance had been growing rapidly at nearly 8%, beyond just a low starting point, because it had opened land trade routes and aligned its granularity.
But just because there isn't current demand doesn't mean it won't be needed in the future.
The advantages of maritime transport over land transport are quite evident, especially in trade with the Royal Court.
As the saying goes, "a tree takes ten years to mature, but a great construction takes a hundred." Establishing a navy is not just a day's task.
Danio's actions this time provided Horn with an opportunity.
The money Danio obtained from this, dedicated to a specific purpose, would initially set up the framework and then fill in the bricks and stones.
Hakuto left satisfied, while Horn stretched his back and walked to the window to wipe the fog off the glass.
From this month on, the Holy Seat Mansion had officially initiated its heating system, with a dedicated boiler room heating water, sending it through brass pipes to each room via a spring machine.
However, most residents of the ry Court Barracks still used traditional fireplaces, so the distribution level wasn't quite high.
Only some trendy middle-class individuals and wealthy businessmen and officials had installed this type of heating in their homes.
After all, being in its infancy, installation was very expensive, and compared, peat still seemed better.
Standing at the window, Horn could just see Hakuto bouncing out of the door like a child, slipping after only a few steps on the icy steps and landing hard on his back.
Horn couldn't help but grin first, then his expression turned somewhat melancholy.
"Hakuto is fifty-nine, turning sixty soon, right?" Horn sighed, "When I first met him, his hair was still black, and now even his beard is white."
"Don't worry, these old veterans have breathing techniques and will live for a long time," Catherine softly consoled.
"After so many years of warfare, they all have hidden injuries..." Horn didn't lament long before turning around and pulling out a thick journal from beneath the list.
As a Cheka, Essuan had gathered extensive intelligence along his journey, which included the rise of Serafe and the confrontation with the southern clan coalition.
It was this very mission that's still incomplete, possibly due to it being too complex.
But regarding this mission itself, the current intelligence gathered clued Horn into sensing something amiss.
The name Serafe really left an impression.
According to intelligence gathered so far, the life path of this Hilov's mother was becoming clearer.
She came to the Eastern Continent around a hundred years old, defected from the Royal Court, joined the Scales Hermitage, and eventually created the Ethereal Tower and Hilov.
Existing data even suggests she might have had some connection to Falan.
Over twenty years ago, she suddenly departed without a word, leaving behind her "daughter" Hilov and, incidentally, taking her leg.
Seven years ago, her disciple appeared out of the blue, starting to help Ginijis create blood knights, attacking the Holy Alliance.
Three years ago, she herself led ogres to capture Holy Seat City, then somehow washed off Sorrido Clan's stain, joining the Tedis Clan.
The question arises during the twenty-year blank period from bidding farewell to Hilov to reappearing; just what was she doing?
Recollecting the weapon capable of firing projectiles with a blood explosion, Horn couldn't help but feel his heart sink.
Others might not know, but somehow, the design principle seemed familiar to him; isn't it just a firearm?
Based on intelligence Essuan obtained from Sukes, its power isn't below that of a spring-filled armament.
It's just that the firing speed is too slow, the weight too heavy, model variety too few, and the firing quantity limited.
More or less, it could be compared to the spring-filled armament during the Thousand River Valley war period.
Previously, Horn could lazily be at the front because he monopolized the source of mana.
It wasn't about intelligence or ethnicity, but rather resource allocation.
Thousand River Valley had natural Ether and Dragon Bone shards, and Horn monopolized the production of Holy Favor Seeds.
This meant regardless of how slowly he walked, he would always lead in the end.
But now, another similar existence has appeared.
Representing the vampire civilization, the Royal Court, Hilov's mother developed a similar magic weapon.
Although fundamentally the same, one using blood as a medium and one using mountain copper, the importance is significant.
Should he perhaps, hasten his steps?
"What are you worried about?" Catherine's cool fingers pressed lightly on Horn's temples.
"That Serafe, I think something's not right." Horn naturally rested his head on Catherine's still ample chest, "I used to firmly believe the Holy Alliance had no rival, and now I have some doubts..."
"You, a few days ago, were critiquing some cardinal elders for arrogance and swift victory at the meeting; I think you're the leader of the arrogance faction, huh,"
Horn contently closed his eyes, lifting his head, as Catherine immediately leaned down to plant a kiss on his lips.
"I hope that's just an illusion." Horn rubbed the green, diamond-shaped gem on his chest, yet an inexplicable sense of crisis lingered in his heart.
The sense of crisis was much like walking the Path of Blood and Sweat back then, both strange and familiar.
After a moment of warmth, Horn withdrew from Catherine's embrace like a tortoise retreating into its shell, "Let's go, it's time to practice Divine Art."