Imperial Throne

Chapter 99: The Sudden Visitor

The smugglers traveling between the Fertile Territory and the Red Eagle Territory had no idea that when all three territories of the Fertile Plains closed their borders to the White Mountain Territory and prohibited trade, the first person to engage in smuggling was actually Ion.

By the time other merchants realized the opportunity and began to take the risk,

Ion had already made two round trips to and from the Western Wind Territory, using his identity and strength as a Second-Tier Bloodline User to sell numerous materials from First-Tier Magical Beasts, accumulating the initial funds needed for the territory's reconstruction.

The third smuggling operation was then taken over by Yam.

Compared to when Ion was smuggling, by the time Yam took over, the White Mountain Territory had gained four additional First-Tier Bloodline Users.

Thanks to the Demonic Sword, as long as one did not completely lack aptitude or talent, awakening bloodline abilities was not a difficult matter.

However, even though awakening a bloodline was not particularly challenging for the Soderbell family, they still dared not openly cultivate too many Bloodline Users.

Currently, they dared to cultivate thirteen Bloodline Knights only because the backgrounds of these thirteen individuals could withstand scrutiny and would not arouse suspicion.

Otherwise, no matter how bold Ion might be, he would never risk drawing the attention of powerful figures.

Even the initial smuggling was actually a deliberate disguise to cover up this anomaly.

It created the illusion that the White Mountain Territory had been forced into a corner, taking a desperate gamble.

In reality, Ion was also using this opportunity to test the purification effect of the Demonic Sword by directly hunting Magical Beasts rather than relying on Bloodline Potions.

The result proved that the purified true bloodline extracted in this way was significantly inferior in effect compared to Bloodline Potions.

Take the "Flame Hound Bloodline" as an example.

Two Bloodline Knights who awakened through true bloodline extracted from directly hunting Flame Hounds only reached about seventy percent of Ion’s strength.

Moreover, this "Flame Hound Bloodline" merely remained as "Flame Hound" and did not mutate into "Flame Demon Hound" as it had with Yam and Akar.

This made Ion realize that trying to bypass the Bloodline Potion formulas controlled by those powerful individuals was clearly impossible.

In fact, Robin, who resided within the Demonic Sword, realized the problem even earlier than Ion.

He even suspected that the Bloodline Awakening Potion refined from Bloodline Potion formulas was an improved result based on his purification method, by using a large amount of similar Magical Beast materials, the effect of the primary ingredient's bloodline was amplified, thus creating a potion with an enhancement effect. Although it did result in some side effects, the boost in strength was indeed much greater.

Of course, extracting purified bloodline directly from Magical Beasts was not without merit.

At the very least, bloodlines awakened in this way would not lead to sudden death or transformation into a special type of Magical Beast upon failure to advance.

Simply put, the biggest advantage of bloodlines awakened by this method was their exceptional stability. Moreover, unlike ordinary Bloodline Potions, there was no risk of failure, one would awaken immediately after consumption.

The thirteen Bloodline Knights awakened with Ion’s help were all cultivated using this method. Even though Ion and Yam had made a large amount of money through smuggling, had all of it been spent on cultivating these Bloodline Knights, it would have significantly impacted the reconstruction of the White Mountain Territory.

Furthermore, if even one of these veteran soldiers had failed, the costs would have doubled, and the time required for awakening would be considerably longer, far less efficient than sacrificing a bit of power for a one-time success.

Normally, a set of ten First-Tier Bloodline Awakening Potions of a standard type would cost no less than twenty Tyrella Gold Coins; for Second-Tier, the price would be slightly higher, though not drastically so.

But for Third-Tier, it was a different matter entirely, even the most mediocre bloodline would cost at least three hundred Tyrella Gold Coins per set of ten potions in raw materials, and under special circumstances, the price could exceed five hundred.

And these so-called base prices referred to the minimum purchase price, i.e., the cost for Bloodline Users to obtain the materials themselves through hunting.

Purchasing through merchant guilds would typically double that price at minimum; a twofold increase was standard.

As for buying finished potions directly,

The price was counted in hundreds of Tyrella Gold Coins.

Even if all thirteen Bloodline Knights had only consumed the cheapest First-Tier Bloodline Potion like "Violent Bear," a single set would still cost around one hundred and fifty Tyrella Gold Coins, totaling around two thousand for thirteen individuals.

Considering that the White Mountain Territory’s annual surplus was only around two hundred and fifty Tyrella Gold Coins, it would take approximately eight years to meet even the minimal cost requirement.

This was exactly why a Bloodline Potion formula was so valuable to bloodline families.

And now, the Soderbell family had truly reached the level of a standard Bloodline Nobility.

Because they currently possessed three Bloodline Potion formulas: two from the Bole Family, Second-Tier "Cold Monkey" and Third-Tier "Ice Ape" and one that appeared to be Second-Tier "Flame Hound" but was in fact "Flame Demon Hound."

...

After Yam stayed by the side of the exhausted Lily and Cindy until they fell asleep, he went to the warehouse to conduct an inventory check.

Over the past few months, they had made six round trips, earning nearly four thousand Tyrella Gold Coins.

One thousand had been given to Lily as startup capital for rebuilding the White Mountain Territory, while the remaining three thousand had been used by Ion and Yam to purchase a large quantity of Magical Beast Materials unique to the Fertile Plains. Based on the procurement list provided by Baroness Anna, once transported to the Gem Territory and resold, they could profit at least fifteen thousand Tyrella Gold Coins, especially since the Fertile Plains had now closed its border with the White Mountain Territory…

The Red Eagle Territory would be unable to obtain any Magical Beast Materials from the Fertile Plains for a long time in the foreseeable future.

The Cold Ridge Territory, which bordered the Red Eagle Territory and also relied on its trade routes to reach the Fertile Territory, would be in even more difficulty, which would naturally lead to a surge in prices.

Even if six thousand Tyrella Gold Coins from the fifteen thousand were to be distributed to Baroness Anna, it would still be a huge fortune for the White Mountain Territory.

So the more Yam tallied these stockpiled goods, the more shocked he became at the final results.

He finally understood why his father insisted on thoroughly mapping all the smuggling routes in the White Mountain Territory, assigning personnel in advance for scouting and garrison duties, and even sent Akar back with a group to reinforce, ensuring that each smuggling route had at least one Bloodline Knight stationed.

The longer they blocked off these smuggling routes, the greater their eventual profits would be.

If the lords of the Fertile Plains truly got involved and sent their own people to smuggle and sell, once those Magical Beast Materials from the Fertile Plains flowed fully into the Red Eagle Territory and the Cold Ridge Territory, then the materials they planned to sell under Baroness Anna’s name in the Gem Territory would inevitably be affected in price, and the profits would not be as high.

“Brother!”

Akar’s voice came from outside the warehouse door.

Yam turned his head and couldn’t help but smile. “Come in. Why act so formal at your own home?”

“Heh heh.” Akar scratched his head and walked in, standing beside Yam. “These are the goods we’re transporting to the Gem Territory?”

“Yeah.” Yam patted the wooden crates in front of him. “It’ll take four carts to load them. There are nearly three hundred items. Based on the procurement list Baroness Anna gave us, they’re worth between fifteen thousand and twenty thousand Tyrella Gold Coins.”

“When are you planning to leave?”

“To avoid complications, we’ll depart tomorrow,” Yam said directly. “I’ve already spoken to Lily, and Father agrees that we should deliver this batch as soon as possible.”

Akar thought for a moment, then nodded. “That’s good. Lately, Baroness Anna’s mood hasn’t been great. She’s increasingly displeased with Joshua. Since Joshua will be responsible for this batch once it reaches the Gem Territory, it’s a good way to temporarily send him away.”

Hearing that, Yam hesitated for a moment before suddenly asking, “About you and Baroness Anna…”

“Don’t worry. The entire Gem City is under Baroness Anna’s control now, and the City Lord’s Manor is filled with her people. Joshua won’t know a thing.” Akar shook his head. “Besides, Baroness Anna has been drugging his tea every day. He sleeps deeply and doesn’t know anything.”

Hearing this, Yam fell silent.

Because he remembered what happened with Giggs.

Although Lily later dealt with a large group within the City Lord’s Manor, the exact poison that afflicted Giggs remained a mystery.

According to the information Akar got from Baroness Anna, unless it was a toxin produced by a Bloodline User, ordinary poisons rarely worked on them. Even potions she concocted wouldn’t be lethal without mixing in toxins created by a poison-type Bloodline User, they’d only weaken the user at most.

There were no poison-specialist Bloodline Users in the Red Eagle Territory. Such bloodlines typically awakened from bloodlines of special plants or Magical Beasts with venomous blood, and among the neighboring territories, the Fertile Territory was known for producing these kinds of Bloodline Users.

Only after learning this did Yam understand why Lily didn’t suspect the Kasein Family.

Even Yam himself began to wonder if he had misunderstood the Kasein Family, and whether it had really been Count Shuvaric’s second assassination attempt, especially since this Count had a prior record of plotting against the White Mountain Territory.

But...

“Previously, I had you use Baroness Anna’s identity and channels to look into the Bourbon Family within the Kasein Family. What did you find?”

“I found some things, but it’s all very vague.” Akar’s expression turned a bit serious as he spoke. “Baroness Anna also had Joshua return to the Kasein Marquisate’s library in the Eaglehead Territory to search the archives, but it seems all records on this matter have been wiped. Even Joshua didn’t find much.”

“Looks like anything about the Bourbon Family is a taboo in the Red Eagle Territory.”

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed.

Yam and Akar turned to look outside the warehouse, only to see Roda approaching with a grave expression.

“What happened?” Yam asked.

“Sir Yam, Miss Monica Kasein has suddenly arrived. She’s in the main hall, waiting for you,” Roda said in a low voice. “And she specifically asked to see you.”

Yam was momentarily stunned, then exchanged a look with Akar.

“Did she say what it’s about?” Akar asked urgently.

“No.” Roda shook his head.

“Brother!”

“I’ll go meet her.” Yam gently shook his head, signaling Akar not to panic. “Lily just fell asleep, don’t wake her. Take this sword to Father.”

Yam unbuckled the Demonic Sword from his waist and handed it to Akar, patted him lightly on the shoulder, then turned and left together with Roda.