Chapter 196: Mother Earth Watches Over You

"Lord!"

Ai Mi Li Si called out sweetly, her eyes sparkling, and her two eyebrows squeezed together.

Lei En shivered at her call, understanding her thoughts perfectly.

It had been agreed earlier that of any taxes collected within the domain, the Dragonstone Mercenary Corps could take one‑tenth.

The one million Gold Shields he forced the Mo Du aristocrats to hand over were clearly stated as back taxes, naturally to be shared with the Dragonstone Mercenary Corps, leaving no room for denial.

"Don't worry, I won't cheat you out of your money."

Lei En, feeling a bit frustrated, took a gold ticket from his ring, preparing to count out twenty thousand Gold Shields.

"I know the lord keeps his promises," Ai Mi Li Si's smile grew sweeter as she looked at the gold ticket in Lei En's hand and asked, "I don't want the gold ticket; can you give me Gold Shields instead?"

Lei En paused, then nodded, "Sure, but the Gold Shields need to be counted..."

"No problem, leave it to me," Ai Mi Li Si said impatiently; when Lei En produced a box, she immediately opened it and began counting, her face full of satisfaction.

In just a few minutes she counted out five thousand Gold Shields and, reluctantly, handed them to Lei En.

Then she took the remaining twenty thousand Gold from the box.

Lei En watched the box disappear into Ai Mi Li Si's hands and felt a pang of hurt; the money had just come into his possession and hadn't even warmed up before it became someone else's.

Thinking that every year the Mo Du aristocrats would hand him two hundred thousand Gold and he would have to give a share to Ai Mi Li Si made Lei En ache with worry.

Not to mention that taxes collected during cooperation with the Dragonstone Mercenary Corps would also have to be shared.

"Damn, that's a huge loss!"

Lei En thought he needed to quickly build his own armed forces and end the contract with the Dragonstone Mercenary Corps; then the annual two hundred thousand Gold Shields might no longer need to be shared.

"Ai Mi Li Si," he said, his eyes shifting, "you've made a lot of free money; you promised to expand the mercenary corps to three hundred men—should we add more manpower?"

"No problem," Ai Mi Li Si replied, in a good mood and easy to talk to, "How many do you want?"

"Expand to five hundred."

Lei En spread his palm and made a "five" gesture, saying, "I need to reorganize affairs in the domain; if it's all centaurs it's not ideal, you should equip some human mercenaries for easier communication."

Centaurs are, after all, a different race; most are hot‑tempered, making patrols fine but other tasks harder.

And there's also a language issue.

Centaurs have their own racial language, and different tribes sometimes cannot communicate; only a few centaurs speak Aurelien Language, making it almost impossible to rely on them to manage the domain.

Ai Mi Li Si pondered for a few seconds, "I'll do my best to allocate personnel, but they won't reach Mo Du for another half month."

Lei En nodded.

He had roughly guessed where Ai Mi Li Si's base was.

As expected, it should be near the Wansongling Mountains in the Empire's northeast, where the range meets the northern great plains, the origin of many centaur tribes. From Wansongling northward, traveling along the coast through the "Northwind Coldlands," one can reach the Kangjiatuo continent, which is Ai Mi Li Si's homeland.

Centaurs crossing the Wansongling Mountains eastward, then sailing south along the coast, passing through the Gekuli Peninsula's strait into the Empire's waters, would take about half a month to reach Mo Du.

However, Ai Mi Li Si didn't seem inclined to hide anything.

Lei En didn't want to ask further and began taking over Yangshui Port.

Within the port there was also a shipping company; because it wasn't forcibly seized, the patrol's supernaturals had already been taken away by Pi Li Nuo Aiden, so the company's managers down to ordinary staff all obediently served the new lord.

Lei En left fifty centaurs to handle the port's security and mounted his horse to depart.

The Dragonhorn Warhorse trotted smoothly along the main road.

Lei En inspected his domain.

Along the road stretched endless fertile fields and rows of plantations; although spring had just begun and nothing was planted yet, he felt glad to own such a vast tract of land.

He already had a plan for how to govern the Gra Morgan domain in the future.

But these reforms require many hands; for now he would maintain the status quo until Master Xi An's mission is completed and the situation stabilizes.

Halfway along the journey, a massive building complex suddenly appeared before him.

"Demon Soul Breeding Farm?"

From the road Lei En could already hear various demonic beasts inside; looking out, behind long iron fences were many grazing herbivorous demon beasts.

"Fa Bian."

Lei En called out instinctively, wanting to ask about the situation, but found Fa Bian hadn't followed.

The Half-elf was today sorting accounts at Haibuliji Port.

"Boss?" Xi Ka Liu Si stepped forward, answering, clutching Lambo's spear carefully, trotting alongside Lei En.

"Xi Ka Liu Si, do you know this Demon Soul Breeding Farm?" Lei En asked.

"Yes, I've been here before," Xi Ka Liu Si replied, "This is the Blood Hoof Ranch, the largest in Mo Du; it houses tens of thousands of demon‑soul species, and it's said that across the Empire the Blood Hoof Ranch ranks among the top three in number."

Lei En felt a sudden realization; he had heard of the Blood Hoof Ranch.

There were several Demon Soul Breeding Farms in the Gra Morgan domain, and he hadn't expected this one to be the largest.

He glanced at the Extreme Warriors still sprinting on foot, his interest piqued; slapping the Dragonhorn Warhorse, he shouted, "Let's go in and have a look, and check their tax situation as well."

With such a large force, as soon as they approached the ranch's gate, the owner was immediately alarmed.

A massive figure stepped forward.

From a distance Lei En saw the other party and was somewhat surprised.

This was a minotaur, hooved feet, arms thicker than a normal human's leg, only three fingers, covered in thick brown fur, a massive cow head tilted forward, black long horns on both sides, nostrils set with copper rings, a chin with long beard, a braid of whiskers, a dense mane growing from the back of its head down its spine, and a flexible cow tail dragging behind.

His posture was slightly hunched; even without standing straight he towered over the Extreme Warriors, appearing over 2.3 meters tall!

If he stood upright, he'd reach about 2.5 meters.

The minotaur jogged, its heavy hooves causing the ground to tremble.

When Lei En entered, the minotaur bowed, exhaling two streams of white vapor from its nostrils, and a deep, resonant voice sounded:

"The Mother Earth watches over you."

"Hab* Blood Hoof, welcome, Lord, to the Blood Hoof Ranch!"

Lei En rode a dragon‑horn warhorse, looking at the bull‑headed minotaur as stout as a small hill; the other stood on the ground almost as tall as himself, and he felt a great sense of novelty.

A minotaur had traveled thousands of miles from the Tailun Plateau down to Mo Du and opened a demon‑soul breeding farm.

Moreover, its scale was this large.

In his Soul Eye, he saw that this minotaur's strength was great, already at the Legendary realm, and its profession was the minotaur‑exclusive "Earth Walker".

Earth Walkers are renowned for their powerful defense; their strength and stamina are top‑tier, surpassing the Iron Guard, yet they are not purely melee classes.

Favored by the Earth Mother, minotaurs are born with an affinity for nature; after training, Earth Walkers can draw power from the earth to amplify themselves, heal wounds, possess virtually endless stamina, and have some spellcasting ability.

The "Earth Nun" of the Earth Church are humans who imitate Earth Walkers.

Lei En leapt down from his warhorse and said, "Mr. Blood Hoof, I'm just passing by to take a look; I won't cause you any trouble, will I?"

As he spoke, he stepped forward two paces to pat the minotaur's shoulder, but found he couldn't reach; the other immediately bent down cooperatively, allowing him to pat twice.

"Of course not."

"Lord, it is my honor that you, my lord, can come to the Blood Hoof breeding farm; call me Ha Bu." The minotaur shook his head, the braid on his chin swinging comically, but his bell‑like eyes were full of sincerity.

"Very well, Ha Bu." Lei En could tell that this minotaur showed no hint of insecurity.

He probably had good tax revenue from the farm, so he was unafraid.

"Lord, please follow me." Ha Bu turned and invited Lei En into the breeding farm.

Lei En left the centaur and the silver‑armored knight waiting on the spot, taking only the Extreme Warrior inside, while Ai Mi Li Si followed on her own.

After touring the Blood Hoof breeding farm, Lei En's eyes were opened wide.

Many demon‑soul species he had seen in the *Book of a Thousand Souls* could be found here; the variety was rich, not only abundant in number but also astonishingly high in quality.

Just the Mid‑stage demon beasts numbered over a dozen.

Moreover, Lei En even saw a group of dragon‑kin and demon spawn kept in massive iron cages, along with many unnamed creatures.

This minotaur truly had skill and poured a great deal of effort; he was undoubtedly a taming Master.

After observing a pack of fierce dragon‑tooth wolves, Lei En asked, "Ha Bu, does your farm have mounts suitable for them?"

He pointed at the Ma Ku La Ge people beside him.

Ha Bu gave them a quick glance, then immediately nodded, "Yes, Lord, follow me."

The party followed him out of the pens to the pasture outside; soon, among the fenced grassland, they saw a colossal beast.

Its body length exceeded five meters, its height over two meters, appearing to weigh seven or eight thousand pounds; shaped like a rhinoceros, its stout limbs rested on the ground, its head bore a single horn like a trumpet, its skin was as thick as armor, layers of scales overlapped, and a large tail trailed behind.

Several thick iron chains were bound around its abdomen, securing a saddle, then ran from below up to its head, forming a rein.

At first glance, Lei En thought it was a Thunder Lizard.

Ha Bu proudly introduced, "Lord, this is a Kodo Beast, a mount unique to us minotaurs; it can carry two thousand pounds, its speed rivals a warhorse, its endurance is excellent, it can run continuously all day without collapsing, and its temperament is gentle—just feed it hay like an ordinary horse."

Lei En observed with his Soul Eye; this Kodo Beast corresponded to a Mid‑stage demon beast.

Its soul contained three Elements: Level‑2 Strength, Level‑3 Stamina, and Charge; treating it as a demon soul for fusion was quite decent.

The Kodo Beast can be ridden even by minotaurs, and an Extreme Warrior is even less of a problem—it truly is an excellent mount.

Lei En asked at once, "How much does one Kodo Beast sell for?"

"Eight hundred Gold Shields." A faint shrewdness flashed in Ha Bu's eyes, contrasting with his simple‑minded exterior.

Lei En's gaze lingered; this price exceeded that of many Mid‑stage rare demon souls.

Before he could speak, the minotaur explained, "Lord, a Kodo Beast takes five years to mature; we must also tame it and train it as a mount, which costs a lot of effort."

"Eight hundred Gold Shields for a Kodo Beast is indeed pricey, but I won't profit much either; if you, my lord, purchase more than ten, I'll provide two years of free after‑sales service, sending a minotaur tamer to your castle daily to tend and feed these Kodo Beasts."

"Lord, how many would you like to buy?" Ha Bu rubbed his hands, asking expectantly.

(End of chapter)