Chapter 404: Precautionary Measures

Wu Qingsong had just entered Red Plateau City when he received Beck’s report.

Anton had fled all the way back to Mozhalik before finally stopping to “recuperate.” As one of the key river port cities along the Benaris River, Mozhalik was among the more prosperous settlements of the northern frontier, barely meeting Anton’s standards. However, the money Wu Qingsong had left him wasn’t much, hardly enough to maintain a proper, dignified lifestyle. Thus, Anton was still hesitating about what to do next.

It was a delicate balance to strike. 

For Nagrand—now essentially a city-state on the Icy Sea plains—fifty thousand renals a year was no real burden. But if they paid too eagerly, it would betray their original intent of portraying Nagrand as a barren, miserable place, discouraging Julian and his half-elf followers from ever wanting to set foot there.

“Tell Ram to prepare a batch of deer hides and send them over,” Wu Qingsong eventually decided. “Have Beck find a way to convince Anton to sell the hides for money.”

Deer hides had long been one of the Icy Sea’s few specialties. Even supplying them in bulk wouldn’t arouse suspicion. In a place like Mozhalik, selling them shouldn’t be difficult. More importantly, it would give Anton something to do, tying him down there.

A messenger immediately set off for Nagrand with Wu Qingsong’s orders. After a short rest, Wu Qingsong strode proudly to the city lord’s office, carrying the letter Julian had given him.

“I am Tagraedi, Constable of the Barony of Eisfeld. From now on, the land to the east is under my jurisdiction,” he said, throwing the document onto the lord’s desk, his demeanor that of an arrogant, overbearing thug. “You’d better understand your place and stay out of the way. That’s His Highness Julian’s domain now, you understand? Let me warn you: the waters here run deep. Don’t get yourself dragged in.”

The lord of Red Plateau City had never met Wu Qingsong before, but he had heard plenty about Nagrand. Powerless to deal with the rising threat due to most of his elite forces being transferred to guard the Abyss Gate, he had only been able to gather information through merchant caravans, planning to report it when the time was right.

After Nagrand’s rise, Ram had been very careful to block information from reaching Red Plateau. Merchants from the city rarely entered Nagrand proper; they could only trade in outlying towns. Moreover, Nagrand’s main trade was never directed toward Red Plateau, but rather toward the beastfolk tribes of the plains.

There had long been fierce competition between the two sides, but Red Plateau itself was merely a semi-permanent outpost of the Duchy of Lapusia. The so-called city lord was, in fact, little more than a manager of a smuggling station, with no real standing.

He half-believed Wu Qingsong’s words. The document appeared genuine enough, and it explicitly stated that the entire Icy Sea region had been granted to Julian, now the Baron of Eisfeld. 

Although he couldn’t understand why such a highborn noble would want a desolate wasteland, the hints Wu Qingsong dropped led him to suspect there were deeper political struggles at play. The strong rise of Nagrand and the chaos on the Stampede Plateau could now be explained.

Wishing to avoid unnecessary trouble, the city lord smiled obsequiously, nodded repeatedly, offered a flood of pleasantries, and saw Wu Qingsong out respectfully.

Of course, Wu Qingsong knew better than to assume everything was now settled.

Ram had long ago planted spies in Red Plateau City, running a small trading post focused on buying deer hides and rare herbs. This time, Wu Qingsong reinforced their numbers.

Their tasks were not only to keep a close watch on the city lord and the garrison, but also to monitor any strangers arriving from the south. Wu Qingsong intended to establish a line of intelligence stations stretching from Red Plateau to Giant’s Keep and Mozhalik, watching every suspicious figure and providing early warning for Nagrand.

“We’re also going to build a town here,” he told Ram after returning to Nagrand, pointing at a map. “Slightly larger than Red Plateau, but it must be as filthy and chaotic as any frontier town under elven rule. If Julian or Anton insists on visiting Nagrand, we’ll take them there.”

“That won’t be easy,” Ram said, shaking his head. 

The craftsmen of Nagrand were now so accustomed to building orderly streets, solid houses, and clean waterways that it might be harder for them to build something broken and ramshackle. And they would have to make it look like a real, functioning town—that would not be easy to fake.

“What if they insist on going further north?” Xeila asked. “From that town, it’s less than half a day’s journey to our villages. Once they see the contrast, the lie falls apart immediately.”

“If that happens, we’ll detain them and seal off the news. Delay them as long as we can,” Wu Qingsong said.

He had no intention of accepting Dark Moon’s offer, but that didn’t mean they were wrong.

Without power capable of contending with the mighty elven magi, everything they were doing now was only delaying Nagrand’s inevitable destruction.

“I’m planning to go to the capital,” he told Ram and the others. “Partly to deliver the money we promised Julian, to keep him content in the capital. And partly to deliver what I promised to Mystic Moon and the others. But more importantly, I’m going there to find something.”

“Find what?” Xeila asked.

“Bones,” Wu Qingsong said. “The bones of the strong.”

There may have been many mighty figures throughout history, but after so many years, their burial places were lost to time.

The only places Wu Qingsong could think of where the remains of great warriors were surely preserved were the ancient cemeteries of powerful elven families.

Sentalus, Yagata, or other ancient lineages—over the centuries, countless powerful figures had arisen among them. And that meant countless had also died. As far as Wu Qingsong knew, the elves did not cremate their dead.

“Wu, are you crazy?!” Xeila couldn’t help crying out. “Do you realize what you’re planning to do?”

“Of course I do,” Wu Qingsong said calmly. “But it’s worth it. If I succeed, it means Nagrand will have a force strong enough to resist the elves. Even if I fail, at least the incident will happen far from Nagrand, and won’t draw the elves’ attention to us.”

“Then I’ll go with you,” Xeila said immediately.

“No. You all have to stay,” Wu Qingsong said firmly. “Protect our children. Protect our home. This time, I’ll go alone. Trust me, I’ll succeed.”