Chapter 1451 - 779: Reclaiming the Territory—Complete

Chapter 1451: Chapter 779: Reclaiming the Territory—Complete

Large-scale teams began entering the city, dividing the area according to the plan, and started deep "cleaning," with cartloads of items being hauled to the castle.

Here, only this place was isolated from other areas, and it had enough space to accommodate those things.

Many things Lance didn’t bother with since there were people responsible for these tasks. Upon arriving in the castle, his first priority was to rummage through the trash, exploring possible hidden secret doors.

This was no secret, as it was quite common in this era; even the Eagle Flock had one, and the Earl would too.

The complex structure of the castle hid many secrets, but in Lance’s eyes, they were quickly found.

The treasury was filled with gold and silver riches, along with some bizarre items he had collected but dared not use.

Most of them belonged to the Mountain Barbarian Tribes, likely the heritage of tribes he had conquered, and those that once housed spirits of nature, among all sorts of peculiar trans-cendent equipment.

Lance was particularly fond of those items; he had little interest in jewels, gemstones, gold coins, antiques, instead diving headfirst into these.

Soon Lance understood why the Earl had shelved these things—because they were all based on the spirit of nature as the core, which the Earl did not possess.

Moreover, the Church clearly wouldn’t openly permit him to research these items, so he could only do it secretly.

Given the Earl’s suspicious and mistrusting nature, not to mention that even if he sought advisors, he wouldn’t divulge such things.

The best example was having Francis, a Transcendent, act as a white glove instead of using this knowledge to draw him in?

Such actions would make it impossible for him to recruit advisors like Amanda and Alhazred, not to mention angering them; it wouldn’t be surprising if a scholar brought a meteorite to smash Bastia.

So the Earl could only research bit by bit himself, but the problem was his own Extraordinary Talent was average, at most relying on the amplification of several pieces of equipment for some power.

His understanding of mysticism was practically nonexistent; he collected some items but couldn’t comprehend them, only aware of the dangers of Supernatural Power.

Simply put, you can’t expect an illiterate person to understand a book, especially one written in a different script.

Fortunately, being incomprehensible meant no accidents occurred; otherwise, if he meddled around, it could easily result in major issues. Supernatural Power isn’t something to toy with.

In certain circumstances, ignorance is a form of protection.

This is the lack of foundation; if they were allowed to develop for several generations, gathering enough mystical knowledge, and adding someone with the talent to become a Spellcaster, they might be able to transform these things.

But their downfall came in the second generation, becoming an opportunity for Lance.

Grendel might understand these things, so she joined him. However, seeing these items, she felt some sorrow for kindred objects.

These tribes, like the Deerhead Tribe, vanished in the river of time, leaving only these items as proof of their existence.

"We will take our time researching them once we return." Lance sensed Grendel’s emotions but didn’t say much more, preferring to take the items away first.

The Earl had too many assorted and bizarre collections, filling the showroom. Lance could only store a portion of the non-dangerous items in Alviss’s space.

As for those contaminating items like [Ascension Tome], they could only be carried personally for peace of mind.

Lance had briefly researched them before; it seemed to be created by a powerful caster, developing a space within the gaps of spatial folds, with the core being a Mage Tower.

It could create a Legendary Caster; the secrets within likely outnumbered those of the Barbarian Tribes, prompting Lance’s eagerness to study them back home.

Leaving the secret chamber, Lance arrived at the terrace atop the castle, where traces indicated the Earl seemed fond of visiting, whether to gaze toward Hamlet or the mountains...

"Planning to go?"

Grendel noticed Lance’s gaze fixed on the mountains, prompting her to speak.

"Though Bastia has encroached on part of Hamlet’s territory, they also developed numerous areas spreading into the mountains, otherwise there wouldn’t be a city situated here.

And while the mountains are rugged and the environment complex, it also nurtures a very unique ecosystem, with resources that make excellent supplements for domain development, especially in extraordinary aspects."

This sounded like Lance was stating the obvious, yet it implied that now that Hamlet had recovered the city, he had inherited the Earl’s causality and had irreconcilable conflicts with the Mountain Barbarian Tribes.

Besides, Lance also coveted the mountain resources, especially after gaining the inheritance of the Eagle Flock and the Earl, which sparked interest in the mountains’ wealth.

Not just pelts and herbs, but also those magical beasts of Transcendent Bloodline, and various extraordinary resources.

Grendel understood, this wasn’t a question; it indicated the mountains had been included in Lance’s plans, leaving the tribes with only two choices.

Either submit or die!

But she said nothing; the tribes barely had relations, often clashing with each other.

"Are we moving now? And what about the Beastification Disease situation?"

"No, it’s not the right time; the troops have been out for too long, constantly fighting, and can’t continue like this.

Moreover, those escaping down from the mountains are merely from small tribes; the large tribes likely still possess strength, clashing in a complex, unfamiliar environment would put us at a disadvantage.