Chapter 960: Count of Azure Lake

"Lei En, you agreed?" Kestajin was rather incredulous.

He had previously guessed that Lei En would get angry and refuse, or put forward many harsh conditions, but he never thought Lei En would agree so readily.

"Of course."

Lei En replied seriously, "The Dwarf Kings are ambitious; how could I oppose? Ge La Mo Gen and the dwarves have forged an alliance, just borrowing the teleportation array; I'm very willing."

Kestajin was overjoyed and praised, "You are the most generous person I've ever met!"

"Hehe…"

Lei En smiled; in fact he had long anticipated a day like this.

The dwarves in Shi Jie Shan Mai now have only five underground strongholds left, facing a population explosion; in recent years they relocated tens of thousands to Kalanos, and Gotham City also has fifty thousand slots, totaling close to one hundred thousand, but this only slightly eases the demographic issue—merely a band‑aid, not a cure.

Now the entire Seien Plateau has been conquered by him; on the Old Continent there is no foothold for dwarves, their only destination is the New Continent.

In the previous era, dwarves owned half the territory of the New Continent; pioneering the New Continent is the dwarves' ultimate dream of reviving their ancestors' glory.

However, the idea is beautiful, but reality is harsh.

Times have changed!

Lei En asked with a hint of amusement, "Which place have the three Dwarf Kings set their eyes on?"

"Dreweil Peninsula." Kestajin answered truthfully, "Actually it's five Dwarf Kings; pioneering the New Continent is a decision made collectively by the entire dwarf race."

"Good place."

Lei En smiled in appraisal, "The kings have good eyes."

The Dreweil Peninsula chosen by the dwarves lies on the east coast, about five hundred li south of Gotham City. The whole peninsula runs north‑south, its east faces the sea, its west is a narrow bay over three hundred li long, looking across the water at the New Continent; only the north connects to the New Continent. Its geography resembles Shield Island, but its area is four to five times larger.

Obviously, the dwarves borrowed the strategy the protagonist used to develop Shield Island.

As long as a defensive line is erected in the northern part of the Dreweil Peninsula, blocking the enemy behind the walls, the peninsula can be developed as a base.

The northern Dreweil Peninsula is an endless fertile plain; in the last era, four prosperous elf cities were built there.

These cities were built along the coast, lying on a straight line with Gotham City and a larger city further north, forming the most central, richest, and most developed urban cluster of the Elf Empire on the New Continent at that time. Among them, Tixibiya, a hundred li west of the Dreweil Peninsula, was the New Continent capital of the Elf Empire!

Controlling the Dreweil Peninsula equals holding half of the Elf Empire's prime territories.

But can the dwarves achieve it?

Lei En sneered inwardly; the Dreweil Peninsula is not unclaimed land, it now belongs to the Netifu Demon, and even if the demons on the island are eradicated and expelled, the dwarves will then face endless Demonkin armies.

Around the peninsula there are dozens of Demonkin tribes, all under a single Chosen Champion.

This Chosen Champion is independent, a powerful warlord among the Netifu Demon, not as terrifying as Eternal Chosen Aikon, but roughly Thirty-level, with three other Chosen Champions above Level 20 under his command, wielding a massive Demonkin army.

Otherwise, he would have been defeated by the Eternal Chosen long ago.

The dwarves' expedition across ten thousand li to annihilate the Chosen Champion and his hundreds of thousands of Demonkin troops is extremely difficult; even if they win, it will be a pyrrhic victory.

If the neighboring Netifu Demon counterattacks, the dwarves could hardly resist.

Not to mention that the Eternal Chosen is also watching hungrily; it's very possible the dwarves end up as pawns for the Eternal Chosen, allowing the latter to reap the benefits.

Kestajin seemed to sense Lei En's thoughts, hesitated, and asked, "Lei En, do you think the dwarves will succeed?"

"Very difficult."

Lei En shook his head, not hiding his view, "Temporarily seizing Dreweil might be easy, but establishing a firm foothold is extremely hard."

"I think the same," Kestajin sighed.

He had long investigated the surrounding area from Gotham City and was not optimistic about the plan, hoping to delay it by a few years or even decades until more dwarves migrated to Gotham City and adequate preparations could be made, but he could not dissuade the Dwarf Kings' aggressive ambition.

In fact, Kestajin understood the kings' motives clearly.

First, the underground strongholds can no longer support so many clan members; the sooner it's solved, the better—they simply cannot wait.

Second, more importantly, if they don't pioneer the New Continent soon, they'll fall behind Lei En, and the dwarves will gain nothing; they must seize this once‑in‑a‑millennium opportunity.

In fact, the Dwarf Kings had already decided that even if Lei En refused to lend the teleportation array, they would still pioneer the New Continent; they have planned an alternative expedition route: on the cold coast between Kangjietuo and Barshi Sea Nation, they will select an uninhabited spot to set up a teleportation array, send the dwarves there, gather local resources, and build a fleet to transport the dwarf army and supplies to the New Continent.

Thousands of years ago, the dwarves pioneered the New Continent in this way.

Although this expedition route consumes time, effort, and money, with many difficulties and great risk at sea—perhaps losing half the army's supplies before even landing on the Dreweil Peninsula—it does not deter the Dwarf Kings' ambition at all.

Kestajin only agreed to approach Lei En after seeing the kings' resolute determination.

Lei En granting permission to use the teleportation array is already the best outcome.

But after inner struggle, he couldn't help but say, "Lei En, can you provide more support? No Star Destroyer, no Extreme Warrior; the Holy Spear Knight Corps is enough…"

"Impossible."

Lei En flatly refused.

He stared coldly at the King of the Hills, "Kestajin, you should know, my next target on the New Continent is Tixibiya. The Dwarf Kings are ahead; I didn't stop them out of alliance. If you now ask me to dispatch troops, do you think I'd agree?"

Kestajin's face flushed; he had already realized his request was excessive before speaking, and apologetically said, "I'm sorry, Lei En, I misspoke."

"It's fine, you also think of your people," Lei En's expression softened, and he added, "Inform the Dwarf Kings that we need not discuss this face‑to‑face; the teleportation array can be opened. However, I must state beforehand that I will provide no assistance beyond the teleportation, and the dwarves must cover the teleportation cost."

Kestajin promptly nodded, "That's only proper."

Lei En glanced at him, then after consideration said, "If you wish to join the dwarves' pioneering plan, the task of building the barracks is assigned to Mai Gaona; summon him."

Mai Gaona is Kestajin's deputy in managing Kalanos, a Legendary High‑rank barbarian, very loyal and capable.

Kestajin was momentarily stunned by the words.

Constructing the barracks is of great importance to Lei En; otherwise he wouldn't have come to Kalanos personally to issue orders. Now handing it to Mai Gaona clearly undermines his own authority in Kalanos.

The King of the Hills moved his lips, then finally nodded, "Yes, I will inform Mai Gaona to come."

A moment later, the towering barbarian entered the study.

"Salutations, Lord Duke!"

Mai Gaona entered, half‑kneeling to Lei En in salute, his face both reverent and brimming with surprise.

"Rise."

Then, in front of Kestajin, Lei En handed the barracks‑building task to Mai Gaona and asked Kestajin to cooperate with him.

The quick‑witted barbarian immediately realized something, his face unchanged, yet his thoughts could not escape the Soul Eye.

Lei En was indifferent, and after giving the instructions he left.

After nearly two months away, the Consul returned to Nuosiruier, but found that his substitute and chief of staff Frank had handled everything well; the cabinet and Imperial Council were under his control, the Ministries of Industry and Education were progressing step by step, the Subcontinent Trade Company's development was advancing by leaps, amassing countless riches for the Empire and the company's shareholders.

No one realized that the Consul residing in He Palace was merely a substitute, and the personal Rick Guard was also unaware.

Lei En was delighted.

After spending a few days in Marlinge Manor with Viola, he left the imperial capital again.

Lei En began touring the world, his whereabouts unpredictable.

In Gotham City, west of the Dragon Spine Fortress of the Augustus Duchy, and the southern suburbs of Kalanos, three massive barracks have been roughly completed, all built according to his own designs.

The source crystal mines in the desolate wilderness were dug deeper, yielding over a thousand pounds of high‑purity source crystal each day.

The mechanical alchemy chamber at Jin Gang Fort, the lower levels of the Obsidian Tower, and the half‑plane deep beneath the God of Magic statue, the three most vital production sites, are staffed day and night by hundreds, even thousands, of Thundercast Celestial Soldiers.

Every day a set of power armor is completed and issued to Extreme Warriors.

Bolt Guns, Thunder Roar Bolt Guns, Avenger 47, submachine guns, Lambo's Gun, Rocket Launchers, grenades, enchanted armor and other weapons finish on the production line, are sealed in the armory, and await the day they are needed.

Barazakun's Dragon Nest Treasury was also converted into a brand‑new mechanical alchemy chamber; using the alchemical materials in the treasury, a dozen Thundercast Celestial Soldiers began fabricating Iola Cores.

Not one, but two Iola Cores are being manufactured simultaneously.

Meanwhile, north of Kalanos, the unremarkable interior of a mountain in Glagur Mountain was hollowed out; after more than two years a massive workshop was erected, fitted with a huge anti‑gravity rune array, and in the factory's mid‑air the hull of a second Star Destroyer was assembled.

Not far from the workshop lay the largest iron mine on the Sain Plateau, accompanied by a smelting plant; all the rare alloys produced in Kalanos City were shipped to this workshop.

Over two thousand Thundercast Celestial Soldiers cooperated to build the Star Destroyer.

The workshop also contains several labs, each with a research team of Thundercast Celestial Soldiers, varying in size, jointly studying a single project.

For simpler projects, only three or four developers are assigned, such as the Blast‑energy Gun.

For extremely difficult projects, dozens of developers work on them, such as the Hovercraft.

There are also flying motorbikes, armored combat vehicles, new armor, Blast‑energy machine guns, fighter jets, Apocalypse tanks, all‑terrain Dauntless mechs, and so on—dozens of projects under simultaneous development.

Lei En does not know whether it will succeed, but he will try his best.

Anyway, he now has plenty of money.

Lei En's sole task is to create more Thundercast Celestial Soldiers; Alotisia has already consolidated the territories and is planning an assault on two other Demon lords on the north shore of Gamma‑ran Plain, with skirmishes occurring almost daily, absorbing souls and converting them into electricity.

Day by day, the number of Thundercast Celestial Soldiers grew.

A month later.

The year 2538 of the New Era Calendar arrived; on the first day of the new year, Lei En, as dean, attended the inaugural opening ceremony of the Augustus Truth Academy.

Over a thousand freshmen gathered neatly on the plaza before the Temple of Wisdom, looking at Lei En standing on the steps and the God of Magic statue behind him, listening to a stirring and sincere opening speech; each felt their hearts surge with admiration and worship for Lei En.

Only seventy percent of these freshmen are human.

The rest are non‑human races: elves, dwarves, orcs, half‑orcs, half‑elves, trolls, gnomes, Zor, and even a few barbarians, goblins and sea peoples.

They all passed rigorous entrance examinations and possess high magical aptitude.

The Truth Academy truly achieved education without discrimination.

After his speech, Lei En left, handing the day‑to‑day management of the Truth Academy to a chief vice‑dean named Zeweier.

Zeweier is actually one of his mage duplicates, having reached Legendary Peak level 19, mastering Arcane and mental spells. Besides Zeweier, the Truth Academy has more than twenty other duplicate teachers, some teaching Arcane, some of the Law Seal school, some as mages, all holding the most important positions in the academy's departments.

After opening, the Truth Academy quickly fell into the right track.

Lei En no longer worried; in the middle of the first month of the new year, in Qingtan City of the Duchy of Osi An, he held a coronation ceremony for Falanjaskia.

The ceremony was very grand.

But aside from the upper echelons of the duchy, there were few foreign guests.

The highest‑ranking attendees were Dean Magmata of Elatus Academy and several high‑ranking female sorceresses of the Empire.

During the coronation, these fluttering, flamboyantly dressed female sorceresses caught Lei En's eye more than once. One must admit, female sorceresses are beautiful; a few, though not as striking as Falanjaskia, were still rare beauties, each with her own charms.

Some were sultry and alluring, others elegant and graceful.

In short, none were unattractive.

The most dangerous thing was that Lei En noticed most of the female sorceresses were sending him signals in various ways: some flaunted their charms openly, some threw seductive glances covertly, and some even boldly transmitted mental messages in public—just a flick of his finger and they could have them.

Obviously, Falanjaskia's successful promotion drove these female sorceresses crazy.

Saying he wasn't moved would be a lie.

Although he already had several women, domestic flowers are less fragrant than wild ones; the unattainable and the unexperienced are the most alluring.

When the ceremony began and Falanjaskia appeared, the female sorceresses' little gestures ceased, and Lei En's restless thoughts calmed; following protocol, he conferred upon Falanjaskia the title Count of Qing Lake and granted her the surname Augustus.

The title Count of Qing Lake derives from Heaven Pool Lake, whose clear water reflects the blue sky like a cyan lake.

Lei En incorporated Heaven Pool Lake and the surrounding lands into the Count of Qing Lake's domain, totaling over ten thousand square li, with nearly one hundred thousand subjects, half of whom are barbarians.

Although the Count of Qing Lake's domain is remote and its output modest, it is a real fief!

Moreover, it guarantees a seat in the Imperial Council.

Most importantly, Falanjaskia receiving the surname Augustus means she has become a member of Lei En's family!

Amid the envious gazes of the many female sorceresses and the duchy's elite, the stunningly beautiful Falanjaskia accepted the coronation, loudly swore allegiance to Lei En, then turned to face the crowd, receiving guests' cheers and congratulations.

I'm wildly slapping my own face… I was out of it back home, but I'm back in the city today.

(End of Chapter)