Chapter 72

Imagine stepping outside and seeing a ferocious beast, as tall as a man, lying in front of your door. How would you feel?

Malediz, his face stiff, gripped the doorknob.

He stood at the doorway, hesitant to move. Going out was impossible, and he wanted to go back inside, but a pair of piercing tiger eyes were fixed on him, as if they would pounce on him if he made the slightest movement.

Malediz was truly stuck in place, unable to move forward or backward.

Just then, a "ding-a-ling" sound came from the end of the corridor.

Before Malediz could look over in confusion, a metal bell the size of an adult's palm rolled along the carpet's weave.

The bell was covered with claw marks and pitted bite marks, clearly indicating that it had suffered a lot of abuse on a daily basis.

The Coalball lump lay lazily on the ground, its long tiger tail whipping across the rolling bell. The bell rolled away again, only to roll back a moment later, and the tiger tail continued to lash it...

The time it takes for the bell to roll back is getting shorter and shorter.

A moment later, a small, jet-black leopard came bounding over, its tiny paws scratching at the iron bell, occasionally lowering its head to bite fiercely...

As the round ball slipped away from his paws once again, Black Sugar chased after it, bent down to pick up the red string tied to the bell, and swished his little tail, intending to run to Coalball's side. But at that moment, he suddenly felt a strong and undeniable gaze.

Black Sugar stopped its four paws from moving, raised its head while holding the bell in its mouth.

Malediz gasped, his grip on the doorknob tightening, his gaze fixed on the little black panther's beautiful golden eyes, a turbulent feeling churning within him.

He hadn't dared to look much towards the area where the wild beasts lay yesterday, so naturally he hadn't noticed Black Sugar sleeping soundly next to Coalball.

I was startled when I saw it this morning.

Others may not know this.

But he knew that black panthers were extremely rare among their kind, and that they lived only in the remote far west, with golden-eyed panthers being one in a million.

The only golden-eyed black panther he ever saw was a gift from the Kadi Tribe to His Holiness the Pope.

But now... how did this little black leopard end up in the Desinia lord's castle?!

Malediz wouldn't mistake this for the little black panther that His Holiness the Pope had taken away.

For a moment, he didn't even notice the large black tiger lying across his doorway.

Malediz to step over and take a closer look at the little black panther.

However, just as he lifted one leg, the lying black tiger suddenly stood up, lowered its head, picked up the Black Sugar, and left.

"Wait a minute!"

Malediz instinctively followed behind, but how could the somewhat elderly Cardinal possibly keep up with Coalball?

Fortunately, a short while later, they encountered Cyrus, who was about to leave, in another corridor.

Black Sugar, carried in Coalball's mouth the whole way, had its tail drooping and its four paws curled up. Upon seeing Cyrus, it let out a howl, and the bell fell to the ground with a crisp clinking sound.

Cyrus bent down to pick up the bell that had rolled to his feet, then had Coalball put down the Black Sugar before turning to Malediz, who had followed him, and asked, "Mr. Howard, is there something you want to tell me?"

He had just noticed that the other person looked like they had something to ask.

Malediz: "This little black panther..."

Cyrus understood. "Oh, it's naturally a gift from His Holiness the Pope."

Malediz thought to himself, "As expected," his feelings becoming even more complicated.

He recalled that the Pope had taken a long trip with his golden-armored knights a long time ago, and it must have been around that time... He wondered how His Holiness the Pope and the Lord of Desinia had come to know each other, that he could even issue Papal Edict...

Malediz's thoughts were in turmoil.

Cyrus said, "I was just about to go to Visas to take a look, would you like to come along?"

Malediz out of his reverie, thought to himself that it was a good idea, and nodded in agreement.

Samuel was thrown into Visas as soon as he was brought back to the territory by Cyrus.

Firstly, we need to quickly gather skilled shipbuilders, and secondly, we need to familiarize Samuel with the construction process of the Visas Harbor, since he will eventually be involved.

Samuel had no complaints whatsoever; on the contrary, he was quite excited and felt right at home.

He was indeed a genius, and his personality was cheerful and frank.

Although many members of the harbor-building team were initially resentful of the privileges granted to them by Cyrus, they were soon won over by Samuel's personal charisma.

Of course, they admired Samuel's shipbuilding skills even more; he was knowledgeable and could answer many difficult questions.

There is also a clock in Visas, but unlike the clock in Komoy Fort, it has a weather vane standing atop its tall clock tower.

The wind is light today, and the wind vane is swaying slowly.

The clock tower is surrounded by a rose garden, and as May approaches, many flower buds have already sprouted. Birds and butterflies often perch among them, making it a very eye-catching sight.

Cyrus's carriage moved slowly along the wide road, with one side of the curtain lifted so that Malediz and Paul, who had come along, could see clearly.

Throughout the journey, neither of them took their eyes off the outside world.

As they approached the harbor, Malediz turned around and said, "My lord, you have governed your territory well."

Cyrus smiled and said, "You flatter me," his expression neither arrogant nor impatient. This made Malediz inwardly, admiring his maturity and composure, which was truly unlike that of a teenager.

Malediz glanced again at Paul, who was still staring in amazement outside, and snorted inwardly. He was acting like he'd never seen the world before after just one trip; all his usual composure was gone.

However... the reconstruction of the cities of Visas and Komoy Fort is indeed very impressive and awe-inspiring.

[Honestly, I've been using this app to follow my favorite books lately. It has multiple reading sources, various voice options, and works on both Android Apple.]

After much deliberation, Malediz soon arrived at the site where the harbor was to be built, right on the coast of the Cogit Sea.

This place has changed dramatically since then.

The coastline of the Cogit Sea is very long. One side has been developed into salt production sites by Cyrus, while the other side, to the west, is located on the edge and in a remote area, which is perfect for shipbuilding and is off-limits to unrelated personnel.

The castle that originally stood on the cliff has long been converted into the administrative and residential buildings of the Harbor Base.

Cyrus went straight to the shipbuilding area, where Samuel was waiting with his men.

A simple shelter was built here to protect against the wind and rain, for use when people need to rest after a long day's work.

The night patrollers lived in a tower a little further from the coastline, which would later be used as a lighthouse to guide returning ships.

The carriage slowly came to a stop near the house. After getting off the carriage, Judas handed the wooden box she was carrying to Samuel.

The wooden crate was so heavy that Samuel almost couldn't hold it up. He was helped by someone else to keep his balance, and it swayed and made a dull clattering sound.

He asked in surprise, "What's in there?"

Cyrus: "Let's go in first, open it and we'll know."

After they went inside, the rest of the people left to do their own things, but Samuel stayed behind and opened the wooden box himself—it contained piles and piles of small wooden blocks of different shapes.

"This is...?"

Samuel picked up a small piece of wood and examined it in his hand, puzzled. "My lord," he asked, "What are these pieces of wood for?"

"It can't be that I have to piece it together..."

He keenly noticed that the wooden blocks had protrusions or indentations that fit perfectly into each other. He picked out two blocks to test them, and it was indeed the case.

Cyrus: "Didn't you report before that the shipbuilding was progressing slowly and that you had encountered some difficulties?"

Speaking of this, Samuel nodded with a bitter expression. "That's right, I once built a boat and went to sea alone. Fortunately, the Creator God protected me and I didn't perish in the sea. I was rescued and was able to return to Helgoda."

"Therefore, I am also very clear that the boats used for going out to sea are not the same as the boats that usually sail on the river. Moreover, when sailing on the unpredictable sea for a long time, a boat of ordinary quality cannot last long."

In particular, all aspects must be considered: the hull, cabins, living quarters, storage...

He used to go to sea alone, so he didn't have to think about these things, and the boat he built was just the right size.

This time, he was going to take a crew out to sea. More people meant that the ship had to be bigger, and the bigger the ship, the harder it was to build. Materials, draft, weight, hull processing, and assembly all had to be taken into account.

Problems are inevitable during the shipbuilding process.

Cyrus patted the wooden box and said, "The things inside are called building blocks."

"Building blocks? What are they used for?" Samuel asked curiously.

Malediz and Paul looked over with puzzlement.

"For you to play with."

After Cyrus finished speaking, he kept taking out building blocks from the wooden box and assembling them. In a short while, he assembled a shape and placed it on the table, and then assembled two more in succession.

Samuel picked it up in surprise and said, "This is a sail."

Cyrus: "These blocks allow you to build a ship, a ship of your imagination."

"If some building blocks don't fit, you can have them re-sanded. You can also make a part yourself. It's really hard to deal with mistakes when building a large ship, but small boats like these can be disassembled and rebuilt at will without worrying about wasting materials. Samuel, don't you agree?"

Samuel, of course, understood the purpose of these building blocks and immediately nodded excitedly. "Yes, yes, Lord, you are absolutely right!"

He eagerly pounced on the wooden crate, his eager eyes fixed on it as if it were a precious treasure.

The problem that had been troubling him finally found a solution: he designed it on paper and then repeatedly tested it with building blocks...

In an instant, Samuel thought of many things and almost wanted to immediately take action and immerse himself in the moment, but then he remembered that the lord was still there, so he barely managed to restrain himself.

Fortunately, Cyrus saw through his thoughts and didn't ask him to accompany her. She took Malediz to see the sights for a short while before leaving.

Meanwhile, Nat, who had become a capable diplomat, and Gibran, who was in charge of the Thorn Merchant Guild's finances, were sailing to the Anas Empire.

Gibran was ordered by Cyrus to meet Boris at the Nagabi Merchant Guild to discuss the clothing business and to ask him some questions.

As for Nat, he had other things to take care of.

A cry like an eagle piercing the clouds echoed from the sky.

The Qing Tuan slowed down, occasionally flying low to land on the mast. Its massive body caused the ropes binding the sail to tremble, and also startled a flock of water birds that had also landed on the mast.

Not long after, the Qing Tuan spread its wings and flew away again, as if it had only landed to scare away the small birds.

Nat couldn't help but marvel at the beauty and power of the Qing Tuan.

He said, "Kino, once you receive the news, you'll have Qing Tuan immediately take it back to the lord. How long do you think it will take Qing Tuan to fly back to the castle?"

Gibran: "In less than the time it takes for an hourglass to pass."

Nat gasped, even more amazed. "They fly so fast! No wonder the lord had Qing Tuan come along to familiarize themselves with the route. Wouldn't it be incredibly quick and convenient to deliver messages in the future?"

Gibran nodded. "Of course."