Chapter 405 - 357: First Stronghold in the Desert

Baike Oasis suddenly noticed that his second son seemed a little different.

’It had only been one night. What on earth could have happened?’

Under the "protection" of two Knights, Baike followed his son downstairs. Breakfast was already prepared, but the servants in attendance had been replaced. They were not his trusted retainers, but shifty-eyed youths who carried the air of local ruffians.

He glanced around but saw no familiar faces.

’It seems Kuer has taken complete control of this place!’

Baike Oasis’s heart sank. He’d never expected his son to harbor such ambition. ’Is this really something he’s capable of?’ He knew his son better than anyone.

"Father, let’s have breakfast," Kuer said, his demeanor gentle.

After sitting down, Baike Oasis felt something was amiss. "Where is your brother?"

Kuer sat down, picked up a piece of flatbread, and said with a smile, "I saw him loitering around Bonta Market all day, wasting his time. So I gave him some money and sent him off to see the world a bit."

"See the world?" Baike Oasis’s expression turned ugly. From the sound of it, his eldest son had been driven out of Bonta Market.

’To have such gall, and after just one night!’

Kuer said, "Father, you’re getting old. It’s... it’s time..."

He initially had the courage to say what Leech had instructed him to, but when he saw his father’s expression change at the news of his brother Kunq’s departure, the fear of his father that had built up over many years took over. His words came out in a stammer.

Baike Oasis knew his second son’s temperament well. He usually appeared slick and smooth, as if he could handle any situation and chat breezily with anyone. In reality, he’d lose his nerve the moment he faced real trouble.

He had a bit of cunning, but no real wisdom.

In contrast, while his eldest son Kunq was a bit arrogant, his abilities as a lord were leagues ahead of his second son’s. The growing prosperity of Bonta Market was in no small part due to his eldest son’s management. He was, in Baike’s heart, the ideal heir.

’But succession... that’s for when I’m on my deathbed. I’m in the prime of my life, with many good years left. I have no intention of handing Bonta Market over to my son. If I live long enough, it’s even possible I’ll pass it directly to my grandson.’

"Who told you to do this?!" Baike Oasis demanded.

Kuer said, trembling, "It was, it was Baron Porcupine from the East Gorge, Lord Leech Clarence. Fa-father, you’re old now. Please, just hand Bonta Market over to me."

"Hah!" Baike Oasis sighed. He knew of Baron Porcupine, a lord even younger than his own son, and had never underestimated the man.

’But this is the desert. My family has schemed and struggled here for so many years. Should I be afraid of some Baron Porcupine who’s come from a thousand miles away, a complete stranger to this land?’

Even if the man were a Duke from the East Gorge, he couldn’t just snatch a city or a plot of land here. The Lu Leiyans were extremely prejudiced about bloodlines and origins. As one of the East Gorge People, it would be impossible for Baron Porcupine to gain a foothold in the desert.

’However, if he uses my son’s identity to control things from behind the scenes, then there’s nothing I can do.’

"Father, please, just give me Bonta Market," Kuer pleaded again. "Lord Leech said that as long as I control Bonta Market and work for him, our family’s income will be dozens of times what it was before! You know how well his silk sells. All he’s missing is our trade route. Weren’t we working with the Bills before? It’s better for everyone to make money together!"

"That’s different!" Baike Oasis roared. "Our relationship with the Bills was purely business! He couldn’t meddle in the affairs of Bonta Market."

’One is a business partner, the other wants to turn you into a puppet. How can they possibly be the same?’

"But the Bills lost to the Porcupine," Kuer said. "And to be honest, Father, Baron Porcupine is in Bonta Market right now with over a dozen Transcendents. If he wanted to, he could slaughter the entire city in less than half a day."

"Then let him slaughter the city!" Baike Oasis thought his foolish son was beyond saving.

’Even if I invited Baron Porcupine to kill me, would he dare?’

’If he really did it, Baron Porcupine could forget about putting down roots in the desert. He’d have no choice but to scurry back to the East Gorge with his tail between his legs.’

It might even start a war.

"I say we just kill him," the Wandering Knight said, drawing his sword. "I’ll kill him and flee. You inherit the territory and then issue a warrant for my arrest."

Being a wanted man seemed like a trivial matter to him.

Baike Oasis’s eyelid twitched. Only now did he think to take a closer look at the two Knights.

"Wandering Knights?!"

’If they’re from that group of oathbreakers, they really might stop at nothing to achieve their goals.’

’Once I’m dead, Kuer will be the most suitable heir. Whether he is or not, he’ll have to be.’

But he couldn’t stomach the thought of his son becoming a puppet, of his life’s work being handed to someone else on a silver platter.

Baike Oasis said, "I can agree to let Kuer become the lord of Bonta Market. But I want to see Baron Porcupine. I have a few conditions he must accept, or else..."

SHING!

The sword was drawn.

The Wandering Knight, Ao Kai, pressed his sword against Baike Oasis’s neck. He turned to Kuer and said, "It seems your father is squandering your goodwill."

Baike Oasis froze. ’I haven’t even stated my conditions. Did Baron Porcupine plan to kill me from the start?’

He had no way of knowing that Leech couldn’t care less whether he lived or died.

To put it bluntly, Leech could just kill him, turn him into a Corpse Ghost, control the corpse to affix a seal, and stage a public performance. Just like that, Kuer Oasis would logically become the new administrator of Bonta Market.

If he hadn’t found it too troublesome, he might have killed Baike Oasis outright and used his corpse to control the entirety of Bonta Market himself.

They were never on equal footing to begin with. Baike Oasis had no room to negotiate.

"Hah, very well!"

In truth, he knew he had no other choice.

Things moved quickly. That very day, Baike Oasis announced that his son, Kuer Oasis, would be the new lord of Bonta Market.

It didn’t cause much of a stir. The merchants, who hailed from various towns and territories across the desert, would carry this news back to their respective domains.

For the merchants, the only thing that truly mattered was whether the taxes would change. Everything else was secondary. The new lord didn’t seem to have any intention of altering the existing economic policies, so it made no difference to them who was in charge.

As for Leech, he had successfully seized his first stronghold in the desert, securing a temporary foothold.

「Within a residence in Bonta Market.」

A stream of fresh water flowed through the courtyard, carrying away the heat.

Succulents dotted the courtyard, adding a splash of green to the vast desert.

A palm tree stood ramrod straight in the middle of the courtyard, taller and more imposing than the house itself. Its shadow danced in the water as if seeking a cool respite.

Leech sat in his room, flipping through the books of Immortal Spirit myths he had Kuer Oasis procure for him.

The books detailed the legends of Divine Artifacts like the golden Holy Grail, the Cauldron of Plenty, and the Cloak of Invisibility.

As is often the case with myths, the logic was severely lacking. The gods within were omnipotent—if they said "let there be light," there was light; if they declared themselves invincible, they were. They were stories to be read for entertainment, not to be taken as gospel.

He pinched the corner of a page between his fingers and turned it.

’It can bring the dead back to life, but can it resurrect a Corpse Ghost? How is the concept of life and death even measured for a Corpse Ghost? Should I give it a try?’

He suddenly heard the door open and looked up.

The elven girl, Bai Lu, walked in, her silver-white hair flowing around her.

She spoke the moment she entered. "Lord Leech, I just saw that Kuer Oasis has become the new lord of Bonta Market. You’ve taken over a town in a single night! Why not push harder and just conquer the entire desert!"

Leech knew she was back with another one of her terrible ideas. "I’m just a small-time businessman. I can’t afford that kind of trouble. Besides, don’t speak nonsense. Lord Kuer is the rightful lord of Bonta Market."

"You could go to the Panbo Continent! Many of our Elf Race warriors are Transcendents!" she said, her voice taking on the tone one might use to coax a three-year-old. This was her true goal.

It was as if she were saying, ’Big sister has candy for you, now be a good boy.’

She had no talent for subtlety; she couldn’t keep her true intentions hidden for more than a few sentences.

Without looking up, Leech turned another page. "We can talk after you’ve raised 100,000 Jinri."

Bai Lu pouted, frustrated that her sales pitch had failed.

"You can help me with something, though," Leech said. "It might speed things up, help me earn more money. Then in the future, I can build a fleet and give you a ride back to the Panbo Continent."

’A Transcendent subordinate who works for free and only asks for empty promises... it’d be a waste not to make use of her.’

"Help with what?" she asked eagerly. As long as Leech gave her an opening, she was confident she could lead a team back to save her mother tree.

"Go to the Wandering Knight camp and recruit some men for me."

Leech was short on manpower at the moment. His thirty musket-wielding Cavalry were effective, but he couldn’t afford to split them up.

Half of the Soldiers in Bonta Market were just there to fill the ranks, and the other half were also registered with the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps. None of them were particularly useful.

He’d heard that the Wandering Knight camp was filled with Knights. Regardless of their faith or pursuit of honor, they were all nobles, and all of them were talented. Even if they were just roped in to fill the ranks, they would still constitute a qualified, professional army.

According to his two Wandering Knight subordinates, the other Wandering Knights were not faring well. They were short on money and food. In fact, they were little different from desert bandits; despite their slogans about upholding justice, they would rob anyone they came across.

So, recruiting them would be simple: just offer them money.

He looked up, surprised to see the elven girl, Bai Lu, still standing motionless before him. "Why haven’t you left yet?"

Bai Lu’s cheeks puffed out in a huff. ’I’m so beautiful! In the past, I’d wear a mask in front of others just to avoid being stared at, and he’s actually annoyed that I’m not leaving fast enough!’

’He has no sense of appreciation!’

She put on a brave front internally, but she knew her hope of returning to Panbo rested entirely on Leech. Verbally, she had to yield. "Yes, I’ll go right away."

As he watched her figure recede into the distance, Leech set down the book of myths.

Over the years, a significant number of Sub-humans, Elves, and others must have drifted over from the southern Panbo Continent. So why hadn’t the nobles of the Lu Leiyi Continent ever made a move?

Everyone knew what an undeveloped new territory meant to the nobility.

Yet for many years, there had been only silence. No expeditions, no one setting sail. Everyone had a tacit agreement not to speak of it.

A lack of long-distance seafaring technology was certainly one reason, but the threat of death could not suppress the nobles’ lust for land.

There had to be a deeper reason.

Unfortunately, Leech didn’t know what that reason was.

’I should write a few letters and ask around. Someone is bound to know.’

’After all, I’m not a lone commander anymore. I have plenty of good friends.’