Chapter 437 - Preparations

Blood Claw pondered for a few minutes before answering, "I’ll take half of the Blood Oathsworn with me, including two-thirds of the Wolf Cavalry, and I’ll take all of the orcs with me, my lord. What do you think?""This arrangement seems reasonable," Gaven agreed without hesitation. "You have five days to prepare. In five days, it’s very likely that a temporary veil will open to my new territory. By then, I will send someone to cover your secret passage. From there, you can head to Thacel. If the veil fails to open, I will make other arrangements."

Choosing not to start from the Rocklands but to make a detour through the valley was naturally to avoid suspicion.

Although there had been no further developments from the Santarin Association, it seemed they had given up on pursuing this batch of goods.

But according to Gaven’s understanding of the organization, now was actually the most dangerous time. Their agents and spies were probably spread all over the entire valley, searching for any trace related to it.

If the temporary veil did not exist, Gaven would not let them go through the Rocklands but would instead transfer them bit by bit through teleportation arrays. If that happened, Blood Claw’s initial military forces and resources would be greatly reduced, significantly increasing the difficulty of gaining a foothold and greatly slowing down the pace.

"At your command," Blood Claw bowed in response.

Gaven added, "You only need to prepare the personnel, equipment, and mounts. I will arrange for supplies like food on the other side, in the Three Rivers Region."

"Understood," Blood Claw responded once more.

After arranging things on the Dragon Oak Territory side, Gaven hurried back to the Three Rivers Region.

The situation reminded Gaven of an internet meme—originally wanting to buy a bicycle, but in the end, taking home a Rolls-Royce instead.

It was a true reflection of his current situation.

He had initially only intended to solve the bird nuisance at the Weizemay Vineyard.

Now, it had turned into a grand mobilization and a giant gathering between the Fairy Wilderness and the fae of the Material Plane, with the bird nuisance becoming the least of the concerns.

At first glance, it seemed like Gaven had a lot to prepare.

But after some thought, it wasn’t really that much.

That’s because the main guests were of the Fae Race, creatures of nature.

Eating and drinking were not their main purpose—singing and dancing were.

Nevertheless, Gaven prepared as much as he possibly could.

Just as Gaven had guessed, the first to arrive was Princess Regina of Battle Valley. Upon hearing the news, she cast aside all else and descended upon the Three Rivers Region.

Upon seeing Gaven, Regina couldn’t help but exclaim, "These past two months, we’ve done nothing but travel back and forth to your Three Rivers Region. No, Mr. Duke, you must arrange an estate for our sisterhood to establish a permanent presence here, and fund it from our dividends this year."

This was obviously not a spur-of-the-moment idea.

She had been considering it for some time and initially planned to think about it once the new village started taking shape.

Who would have thought that Gaven would act so quickly? Had she known, she wouldn’t have been so eager to leave, as even with a flying mount, the travel was time-consuming.

"It would be my honor, not only can I plan and construct an estate for you, but I can also give you three Troop Transport Longships. However, you will need to deal with the issue of crewing them yourselves," Gaven naturally would not refuse. The more powers that settled in the Three Rivers Region, the stronger and more prosperous it would become.

Those with ulterior motives would have to think twice before acting against him.

"Truly the richest man in Battle Valley, so generous. Five thousand gold coins as if it’s nothing. Tell me, what do you want me to do?" Now familiar with Gaven, Regina understood his nature very well.

He was someone who didn’t get up early for nothing. There was always an ulterior motive behind his actions.

Whenever he began throwing money around, it meant that there was an even bigger project coming—one that would earn him back much more.

"The position of Chief Planner for the ’Midsummer Night’s Fairy Song’ can only belong to Miss Regina," Gaven said with a smile.

The other party had already demonstrated through action her unique talent in this area; even if he tried his best, he couldn’t match it. Instead of racking his brains over it, it would be better to entrust the task to her, offering ideas and creativity from another world.

"And here I thought it was something difficult," Regina breathed a sigh of relief, her expression exuding confidence as if no one else dared compete for the position. "Now that I’m here, who would dare to fight me for this position? However, three Longships as payment is not enough, at least five to be reasonable."

The two bargained like close brothers.

Even with numerous joint projects, negotiations over terms were still necessary.

Establishing a permanent residence in the Three Rivers Region meant the advantage of ships would surpass that of horses.

While she herself might not need it that much, her sisters would frequently use them.

"In the short term, three ships are plenty for you; having more would just be a waste of resources idle at the dock," Gaven said with a secretive grin. "I just mentioned, the Troop Transport Longships are a gift to you. I have a bigger project to work on with you. These are small profits in comparison, come with me."

"A bigger project? What kind of project?" Regina’s eyes widened in surprise. What kind of project could make fifty thousand gold coins seem like a trifle not worth arguing over?

If someone else had said this to her, she would laugh it off as nonsense meant to flatter her.

But coming from the person before her, it wasn’t so simple.

"It can’t be explained in a few words; you will understand once you see the real thing," Gaven said, not to tease but unwilling to waste words.

"Alright then," Regina didn’t dwell on it but asked eagerly, "What about the dragon slaying that’s rumored outside? They say you took on the East Road menace alone—a young Red Dragon at that! And a Revenge Storm that wiped out all of Sambia’s mercenaries, with all the Troop Transports captured by you? Tell me, what went down?"

She had witnessed Gaven’s strength firsthand, he indeed had abilities that did not match his Professional Level. Not just Transcendents, but most Professionals couldn’t withstand three strikes from him.

However, slaying a dragon was a different matter altogether. Follow current novels on ɴovᴇl(ꜰ)ir(e).nᴇt

When she heard about the matters of this place, she felt regret for a long time.

Such good new material, and she hadn’t witnessed it firsthand.

If only she had known, she would have stayed here for two more days.

"Wait a moment, the matter we are discussing is related to this, and my own explanations are definitely not as direct as seeing it with your own eyes," Gaven’s ambiguous words not only made Regina puzzled but also increased her itch to know more, making her want to crack open his skull and see directly what kind of ghostly idea was spinning around in his brain.

"By the way, I heard that those scoundrels from Sambia sent envoys to Esebra, aren’t they questioning the decision to declare Weizemay Manor a lost area, affirming Sambia’s ownership here and wanting to reclaim this land?" Gaven took the opportunity to question Regina.

The covetous gaze of Sambia towards Weizemay Manor didn’t fade after their first defeat.

On the contrary, they became more active, just changing their methods.

"How did you know? Hmm, given the usual style of those scoundrels, had they already discussed this matter privately with you before this?"

"Correct," Gaven nodded in acknowledgment, "Before the Ghost Auction, they had already come once, attempting to buy Weizemay Manor and all the Ghost Grape Wine for one million Nuobao. I didn’t agree. Initially, I thought they were using this matter to threaten me.

Who would have thought, they really did it, how thick-skinned can they be, so brazenly wanting to take over the fruits of someone else’s labor? What were they doing earlier? If they had the capability, they should have sent their own people to reclaim Weizemay Manor when it was declared a lost area!"

"Do you think they haven’t thought of that? It’s just that everyone they sent failed," Regina said with undisguised disdain, "What’s the value of a thick skin? Sambian merchants have never had one; they only see benefits.

For the sake of profit, they would sell out their own parents, let alone unrelated people. They have done things far more shameless and used even more shameless methods. I believe it won’t take long before you slowly experience them all."

"How is Lord Ilmet preparing to handle this issue?"

"Does this kind of thing even need to be handled?" Regina shrugged, "Lord Ilmet has led troops deep into Comanso to hunt down dark elves. If they are in a hurry, they can enter Comanso to find Lord Ilmet themselves. I am just the poor and weak daughter of the Lord, I cannot handle such serious matters."

"Brilliant, truly brilliant," Gaven gave Regina a thumbs up.

No wonder Lord Ilmet is often not at home; it turned out he was avoiding trouble, not even bothering to argue with those Sambian merchants, directly leaving them out in the cold.

Do you want to go through the official legal process?

Alright, just wait then.

Wait until the judge appears.

As for when exactly will Lord Ilmet return?

No one can say for sure since it is a war, and he is deep within the Comanso Great Forest where communications are difficult.

It could be a month or two, or even a year or two is not impossible.

In any case, it’s just one word—delay.

"We can delay this matter, but there is something else that we cannot control. Sambia urgently convened the Merchants Council last night and is preparing to impose an economic blockade on you, prohibiting all merchants from conducting trade with you," Regina mentioned.

"I have already heard about this," Gaven said with a cold laugh, "Not all merchants in Felen belong to them. They think they can impose a blockade just because they wish to? Trust me, it won’t take long before they themselves will be too frazzled to bother about me."

As the two spoke, they had already arrived at the gates of Weizemay Manor, but both were wearing Ghost Cloaks, making them invisible.

As the merchants gradually left, the previously bustling scene was not to be seen here anymore.

But that does not mean this place has reverted back to being uninhabited by ghosts; there was still a very stable group of people here.

These individuals were not loyal followers of ghosts, but a group of professional mercenaries, with only one goal—money, specifically to conquer Weizemay Manor.

During their exploration, they had reached a tacit agreement with Gaven.

To keep them around,

Gaven increased the number of chests in the manor, decreased the difficulty of obtaining them, and added various types of treasures, including all sorts of small trinkets.

It could be a minor exquisite piece of equipment (valuable to ordinary people or low-level Combat Profession Practitioners) worth a hundred Gold Coins or more.

Or it could just be a hot meal or a souvenir with symbolic meaning.

On average, they earned a little more than from other mercenary tasks, though the amount was limited.

After all, people need to eat!

Living purely on enthusiasm won’t last long; providing them with a stable income is the way to sustain.

In other words, they were indirectly working for Gaven.

Only what they provided was not their labor but their fear emotions.

This special type of mercenary was small in number, about three hundred people.

Apart from them, there was also a special group of permanent residents—the Paladin Apprentices from the Hammer of the Holy Light Abbey, about fifty of them.

They didn’t come for treasures. Valon used this place as a training ground for apprentices, allowing them to gain experience facing ghosts.

In Valon’s words, the conditions here were more terrifying than most ghost encounters, with more complex and insidious traps. If they could pass here, it meant they could handle most situations where ghosts appear.

Due to the unique relations between the two forces, these Paladin Apprentices served both as trainees and Gaven’s hired personnel, assisting in the emotional comfort work for the special mercenaries, helping them recover better.