Chapter 450 - The Founder’s Grand Movie

"I don’t have much left to give; I’ve already prepared everything they need—equipment, supplies, route planning, future plans. It’s like picking grapes in the vineyard now; they must rely on themselves from here on out," Gaven said calmly.The Blood Claw Army, led by Blood Claw, will secretly depart from the Three Rivers Region today.

Of course, he hadn’t forgotten such an important matter.

He felt everything was ready and all necessary instructions had been given, so there was no need to show up in person. After all, it was a secret departure. Too much attention on himself could attract unwanted notice to them.

"You... you worry about the wrong things. You fret over trivialities, but you neglect what truly matters. An army needs to bond to be firmly in your control," Nola said with a look of exasperation.

"I know," Gaven shrugged, "If they were a regular army, you wouldn’t need to tell me; I’d have joined them already. But they’re destined to be kites let loose, meant to fly far away. Once they have their own territory and power, do you really think the emotions we foster now will still be useful?

In the future, the firmest way to bind them will be through interests, not just mere emotions and loyalty."

"Aren’t you afraid that once the kite is let loose, it will snap the string and fly away for good?" Nola still vividly remembered her shock when Gaven first mentioned his plan to mobilize a Hobgoblin Tribe from the Valley to employ a counter-insurgency strategy in the Marching Mountains.

Her eyes were almost popping out of her head.

This counter-insurgency strategy, discussed repeatedly with Zalanda and her, had their full approval and support.

But when it came to transferring troops from the Valley...

That seemed rather far-fetched.

Not to mention how Gaven had managed to subdue a Hobgoblin Tribe.

Even if he had them in custody, in his own lands, he could control them with the use of force and food.

But once they returned to the wilderness, their actions became unpredictable, as monster races don’t speak of loyalty.

"I can guarantee they’ll follow my plan to a tee, head for Thacel, head for the Marching Mountains," Gaven said confidently.

This confidence stemmed not only from the True God Blood Oath.

But also from the series of plans he had instilled and prepared for Blood Claw.

A plan that could elevate him, turning him into the uncrowned king of the Marching Mountains.

As an ambitious and competent Hobgoblin Warlord, he couldn’t resist such temptation. Thɪs chapter is updated by novᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet

"So confident?" Nola looked at Gaven skeptically, as if trying to uncover the secret to his confidence.

"Of course. If you don’t believe it, let’s make a bet. If they head for Thacel and march for the Marching Mountains as agreed, you must do something for me, and vice versa. Do you dare to bet?"

Talking about a bet made Nola hesitate for a moment. After all, she had only met the Hobgoblin Chief a few times and knew very little about him or the Tribe, which made it a huge gamble.

"What? Don’t dare to bet?" Gaven looked at Nola askance with a mocking gaze.

Despite knowing that he was provoking her, Nola still felt her temper flare uncontrollably as she stiffened her neck and said, "What’s there to be scared of? It’s not like you’d eat me. One thing is one thing—no backing out."

"No backing out," Gaven laughed heartily, the look of ’I’ve got you now’ on his face even more pronounced, making Nola’s teeth itch with frustration. "If there’s nothing important going on here, come back to Thacel with me. The intelligence gathering in Mir Forest is almost complete; you can start your mission."

Nola was originally full of doubts about Gaven’s initiative to send her to Mir Forest.

At least before coming to the Valley, that was her mindset.

After a short stay here, she completely dispelled those doubts, particularly after the Fairy Midsummer Night.

Although she didn’t personally attend the event that night, she felt firsthand the impact of the celebration. This place had become a true gift from nature.

Young Master Gaven was no longer the Young Master Gaven she had known.

His connection with nature now was far beyond anything they had imagined.

"What news have you gathered? Let’s hear it?" Gaven’s spirit perked up. Though the Fairy Midsummer Night had not unlocked any special ability for him,

he could clearly feel that his relationship with nature and the natural races had grown closer.

It seemed he could clearly ’listen’ to nature’s voice.

He wondered if the Druids felt the same way.

The natural creatures now seemed to love being close to him.

Not when he was in the Three Rivers Region or the vineyard, since it was shrouded in magic and incomparable to other locations.

It was in places like the Dull Forest, where he enlightened the trees. After each session, his presence would draw a circle of animals and birds, showing genuine affection for him.

He was eager to confirm with some unknown, intelligent natural races just how powerful his influence really was.

Nola spread her hands and said, "How should I know? I’ve been by your side recently. Anyway, the captain told me to return with you, and suggested bringing your flying mount as well."

After a moment’s thought, Gaven replied, "Wait for me a bit. I need to fetch a few things, and then we can depart."

Without waiting for Nola’s response, Gaven rushed back to the third floor of the manor, to the surveillance room.

It had been turned into Regina’s memory film production studio.

Ever since the Fairy Midsummer Night ended, she had plunged into her work there and had not come out since, even taking care of her bodily needs there.

Not to worry, the room hadn’t turned into a pigsty.

Although Weizemay Manor lacked ultra-modern toilets, it did have advanced sewage systems. Both the second and third floors were equipped with private bathrooms.

Regina, a remarkable Adventurer, had a portable space with a more comprehensive collection of items than even Gaven, especially when it came to everyday necessities.

Although lacking a mouse and keyboard, Regina’s harp far surpasses them.

Especially after becoming the Chosen of the God of Singing, her abilities in this area were deeply enhanced.

As the strings were rapidly plucked, a multitude of images flashed swiftly across the screen of black mist.

It wasn’t just one or two images playing, but dozens of them, all happening at the same time.

It was dizzying to watch, yet they merged together at breakneck speed.

Regina was so concentrated that she didn’t even notice when Gaven entered and stood beside her for quite some time.

When all the images merged into one, the pile of Spirit Crystal Stones beneath the screen of black mist began to tremble and gather involuntarily, until they fused into a Spirit Crystal Sphere large enough to fit an adult’s fist.

Setting aside other considerations, just these Spirit Crystals alone were worth a hundred thousand gold.

This alone made it no easy feat to plagiarize this memory film.

The duration of a memory projection usually didn’t exceed three minutes.

A five-minute projection was already quite astonishing.

Yet, the memory film Regina edited had reached an astonishing length of an hour and a half.

The needed storage space was not trivial.

And this was already the result of substantial trimming and re-trimming.

The original version was three hours long, with Fairy Midsummer Night accounting for one full hour.

Gaven forcibly overruled it, allowing only a three-minute preserve of non-core material—certain things absolutely could not be revealed, like the Dragon Oak Mother Tree; it, like Zalanda, appeared only as a distant view, eluding comprehension.

Seeing that Regina had ceased plucking the strings, Gaven asked from the side, "Have you thought of a name for this memory film yet?"

Regina couldn’t help but shudder, "Scare me... When did you come in?"

"During your latest round of editing."

"How about Dragon Slayer?" Regina’s gaze drifted, and after her initial surprise, she seemed a bit lost, as if recalling something, blushing slightly.

Since Fairy Midsummer Night, she had been immersed here, fleeing not only out of her enthusiasm for the memory film but also dodging the intimate kiss between them that night.

Her memories of that night’s second half were dominated by that moment.

Although the God of Singing had played a part in spurring it along, if there hadn’t been genuine feelings, it would not have lasted so long.

Mostly, it was about embracing mistakes.

In contrast, Gaven was calm, as if nothing had happened, shaking his head, "Dragon Slayer is too narrow a title, straying from the theme the memory film intends to convey."

"Indeed, so how about Fairy Midsummer Night?" Regina suggested, only to reject it herself, "No, it would have been appropriate if we hadn’t cut that hour, but now it clearly isn’t. Hmm, you’re just letting me think, why aren’t you trying to come up with something?"

Gaven spread his hands with an air of inevitability, "I’ve always been rather hopeless with names. I can only think of things like Three Rivers Saga, Tales of Gaven the Hero, and even I can’t stand those, so I’ll spare your ears."

"Alright, the names you come up with are worse than Dragon Slayer!" Regina gave up on Gaven and paced back and forth, "Since it’s about pioneering territory, how about simply Pioneer? No, doesn’t sound right, still seems too narrow.

What about Founder?

Founding a new territory of multi-racial harmony."

"That’s good, it implies the foundation of new lands, and also expresses that this memory film itself is a founder, pioneering a brand new form of entertainment," Gaven approved, "If there’s nothing better, let’s go with that. If there’s no issue, I’m going to take it with me."

"Aren’t you going to watch it one more time? To see if there are any changes needed?"

"In the last version, most of the sensitive content was already removed, leaving only some imperfections and less sensitive elements," Gaven replied, "Even if it’s not completely clean, it doesn’t matter. I’m planning to have the premiere in Thacel’s Darama City, where their interests are less entwined with this place, so knowing wouldn’t be an issue."

"Hold the premiere in Thacel? Why go all the way there?" Regina asked, puzzled.

"Two reasons," Gaven began, counting on his fingers, "The population density there is beyond your imagination, one city there has more people than the entire Battle Valley combined. I can guarantee that at least ten thousand people will see the premiere, that’s one.

Second, don’t you think this is the best promotional film for the Three Rivers Region, for me? After seeing the film, it will facilitate the migration work later on."

"You really have thought it out thoroughly, but that’s just like you. Alright, I’ll leave the premiere to you then, and I won’t be there. I need to hurry and finish the other versions as well.

Especially the version without background music. Once you insert background music into such a memory film, the required storage space will drastically increase, more than five times that of the normal version.

In that case, the advantage of low cost translates to the version without background music, perfect for the Bards to exhibit," Regina was particular about the version without background music.

Mainly, it was about expanding her own profession’s reach; providing music for memory films could become a series of unique concerts, a shortcut for them to enhance their abilities.

"It would be a pity not to attend the premiere of your very first memory film, wouldn’t it?"

"Whether I am present or not, my share of benefits won’t be missed. And isn’t there still you? At that time, you can bring back the memory image of the scene, and I can turn it into a new memory film to keep as a memento, which is more enduring," Regina answered creatively.

"You really are obsessed."

"Without madness, there’s no life; only that can lead to the zenith of artistry. It was you who told me that."

"Alright, continue with your madness, I’m done with you."