The early spring morning fog had yet to disperse when a sleek clipper ship, sharp as a blade, broke through the waves of the Tranquil Ocean and sped into Franklin Harbor.
Its sails bore the silver anchor emblem of Aldo's navy fleet. It was the navy's communications ship, Homing Pigeon.
The letters aboard were sent to Lakeheart Town by designated couriers at the fastest possible speed.
The letter had been written by Glan himself, and his handwriting remained clear despite the tossing voyage. Paul unfolded the paper in the Lord's Manor, his eyes swiftly scanning line after line. His expression shifted from solemnity to surprise, and then to wild joy.
Events had progressed even more smoothly than his most optimistic projections.
Glan wrote that, beginning with the Great Stream Tribe, the Northwest Fleet had used cannon fire to destroy a Serdan slave ship fleet that had attempted to land. They had rescued dozens of shackled Cat People captives on the spot and burned the ships offshore. The deed quickly spread among the tribes along Anawak's eastern coast.
The Serdan People's atrocities had become the Northwest's best spokespeople.
The terrified native tribes began approaching Aldo's camps of their own accord. They no longer questioned the motives of these hornless people. Instead, they urgently asked, "Can you protect us? Can your firearms defend our children?"
Under the leadership of the Great Stream Tribe, in just two months, more than twenty beastfolk tribes—including Minotaurs, Cat People, and Rabbit People—had sent envoys, willing to conclude protection treaties with Northwest Bay.
The terms closely matched the New Zealand model Paul had envisioned—Glan did not really understand why the Marquis had chosen that name. The tribes accepted Northwest establishing defensive strongholds and trading posts within their territories, allowed the exploration and extraction of precious-metal deposits, and