Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 900: Chapter 696

As Hill descended lower, the two other scattered small islands near the sea suddenly shook violently, and amidst a chorus of exclamations, slowly swam to the middle of the main island and stopped, forming the two fins of a whale. Then, the circular small islands in front of the three main islands also slowly moved back, landing on top of the fish body.

Hill landed before the great hole, his eyes slightly closed, sketching the outline in his mind.

The four islands all trembled slightly, slowly refining their final shapes.

Purwell was the first to realize the shape of the island below. He cheerfully circled overhead; if he weren’t carrying someone on his back, he’d definitely spin and swim for a while, ensuring everyone could clearly see who it was!

With the terrace on its back, the Otherworldly Whale vividly appeared at the estuary.

Hill glanced at several wooden bridges on the Mirar River, gently raised his hand, and the waves, under his command, swept up those bridges, depositing them on the banks of the river.

He stomped his foot, having moved to the river’s center, his body at the estuary, while his long tail touched the front of a gigantic island in the sea. Two tall arch bridges flew out, connecting the north and south banks of Luskan.

The former Luskan had no interest in establishing a trade route with the Dwarf Kingdom Mirabar, even though the city’s initial prosperity stemmed from selling dwarven armor and weapons.

Rather than collecting tolls, the two ruling factions of Luskan preferred to turn those dwarves into slaves, even if they refused ever again to craft iron for Luskan; after all, they could still throw the dwarves into the mines.

After the Undead Tribe occupied the city, they released all the dwarves, not proposing any terms to them... For them, freeing enslaved captives was simply a matter of course...

It’s a pity this isn’t a scenario that can be revisited repeatedly; a logically consistent game has this minor inconvenience: freed slaves won’t turn around and start mining at the original site again.

Hill had no objections to this; whether the dwarves were willing to trade with his Luskan or not, he didn’t really care, but he did indeed want to utilize the Mirar River.

The Riven Ruven River, which connects Silvermoon City and several other mage towns, has a tributary called the Serbrin River, directly leading to the Hidden Forest upstream of the Mirar River.

As long as Hill opens up a wide enough river channel from the central lake of the forest, where the Serbrin River eventually flows, to the Mirar River, this trade route will be formed.

In this way, caravans from the central Ferun Great Land won’t need to travel along the main road over by Deepwater City and Neverwinter; even fewer tolls will have to be paid on this river route!

Passing through the famously prosperous Silvermoon City along the way, Hill thought many merchants would be willing to take this newly emerged route.

As for whether the owner of the Hidden Forest would allow it, that really wasn’t something to worry about.

Elves are always protective; as long as the ones digging the river channel are Teraxil Elves, the Wood Elves of the Hidden Forest wouldn’t have any objections, at most requesting them to transplant mature trees to appropriate locations.

For the Undead Tribe, this wasn’t troublesome work, and the same requests would be made when working for Hill.

Wood Elves aren’t completely cut off from the outside world; they would rather send a knowledgeable senior elf on a long trek to shop in Silvermoon City every year than deal with outsiders, even if this trade route could lead to immense wealth.

But when a more business-savvy and respectable elf presides over this matter, they become much easier to negotiate with.

The human world might not fully understand Hill’s identity, but these elf races all clearly knew in their hearts; they definitely wouldn’t think a descendant acknowledged by Coron would lead them astray.

As Hill calculated these matters, he glanced at the situation beneath the ground hole.

This Magic Crystal Vein had intrigued Hill for a long time. Finally seeing a glimpse of it... If not for his excellent eyesight, he wouldn’t have seen such a deep place.

This Magic Tower was likely dismantled by Laila along with the Undead Tribe... no, burnt down using the Fire of Purification. Hill could sense the melted section of the vein’s top layer... That should’ve been original Crystal Stones polluted by Darkness, evaporated by the flames.

Hill bent down, placing his hand against the edge of the hole, quickly determining it was a mix of Hyacinth Gemstone, with flame resistance properties, and Azure Magic Ice, suitable for crafting into weaponry and armor.

Their output and quality were not high, but for the Dark Mage, they indeed held some utility.

Especially Azure Magic Ice, a material chiefly used to craft armor wearable by those proficient in Ice Magic, yet many mages who dabbled with the Undead and Souls could somewhat make use of it.

However, there should be no stock left in this Magic Tower, Hill chuckled; the burning Holy Fire of the Undead Tribe, its temperature not much less than a steel furnace.

With a subtle movement of his eyes, the ground began to ripple again, and Hill created a subterranean labyrinth using the magic power emanating from these crystals, with the entrance shrinking to accommodate only a small elevator.

Hill glanced at the pre-carved standard Magic Array in the city and even the nearby seabed, nodding with satisfaction before tossing down the box containing Lucy.

An ice-blue light shimmered in the sky, and with swift dexterity, Hill dropped a crafted petite palace into the light.

Lucy, with her silver hair and eyes, soon appeared in the sky; her white and translucent skin made her look like a Snow Elf.

Unlike other Tower Spirits, Lucy’s connection with Luskan is much closer, especially with this enlarged Alchemy Palace, which is directly bound to her.

If one day, Lucy is truly forced to enter slumber, this palace, devoid of magical power support, would ultimately become nothing more than a model... reopening it would require someone with spiritual power exceeding Hill’s by tenfold.

The beautiful white palace stood at the forefront of the island, and Hill could sense the Undead Tribe converging from all directions.

He furrowed his eyebrows and gently raised his hand, causing a wall of water to rise around the island and along the two bridges, blocking those who intended to spectate on either shore.

Purwell, having finally appreciated Whale Island enough, slowly descended beside Hill, and Lynn led the elves down; they came here for this moment.

Hill turned his head to look at Laila, who had walked across the arch bridge, and behind her, a large group followed a few meters away.

The beautiful silver-haired princess gently curtsied to Hill: ”Honorable Lord of Agleya, Laila Silverhand wishes from this moment forward to follow your will, heed your commands, and wholeheartedly assist you in governing Luskan.”

Sharol also stood at some distance behind her, slightly performing a mage ceremony with the three children, showing their respect to Hill.

Hill quickly invited them to stand up, then smiled: ”Welcome to you, it is my honor that you are willing to serve me, to become my Municipal Officer, Ms. Laila. I hope we can work together to build Luskan well.

Of course, I also welcome your family members to become a part of Luskan, and I hope they will have pleasant memories of life here.”

Then he called Lynn to his side: ”This is Lynn, the Mayor of Agleya. I am not very keen on meddling in the daily management of the city. If there is anything you do not understand, Ms. Laila, you can ask him directly.

Especially regarding some tasks related to the Teraxil Elves, Lynn can help you get on the right track.

Most importantly, there must be a balance in task rewards between Agleya and Luskan; you must not have conflicts in this aspect.

I have instructed Lynn to prepare resources in line with those in Agleya City’s municipal warehouse; these are the resources I, as lord, provide for Luskan, and you can choose where to use them.

Whether it’s for the Teraxil Elves or Toril adventurers, Luskan can use local specialties as rewards, but the value must be coordinated with Lynn beforehand.

During this time, Lynn will temporarily remain here; you can coordinate with him well.”

Laila solemnly nodded: ”Of course, I will certainly act according to the lord’s will.”

Lynn also greeted her heartily; it seemed they both felt positive towards each other, and their attitudes were sincerely cordial during pleasantries.

It seemed Laila indeed wanted to learn about the Undead Tribe, as she almost immediately redirected the conversation to them.

Regardless of whether they truly connected in their hearts, at least they maintained harmony on the surface, which suffices, and Hill was satisfied.

”Lucy!” Having completed the simple inaugural ceremony, Hill called for Lucy, ”This is the Tower Spirit of the Magic Tower I prepared for Luskan; she will assist you with some rather complex municipal tasks.

”Ms. Laila, you can now begin routine work at Snow Palace in Luskan. I have some tasks prepared for future submission to the Teraxil Elves, and I hope you all can cooperate happily.”

Hill did not intend to say much more, for, rather than deploying possibly self-interested monitors, Laila would certainly prefer welcoming Lucy.

Unless she wishes to be the one to become Luskan’s master herself.

However, Hill still trusts this lady’s character; even with the presence of formidable political animals like Elaströ, the Silverhand family sisters are fairly honest.

They do not use underhanded schemes to get something they desire.

Elaströ rarely lies, but to discern the truth from her words... well, not even a few gods can do so.

Laila soon took Lucy into the white palace named Snow Palace by Hill to begin work. Of course, she also invited Lynn and the curious elves who had been observing.

There was already a lot of work accumulated in Luskan, but without a formal identity prior, Laila could not simply take over.

Hill did not enter with them; the subsequent work no longer concerned him. He merely gazed at the beautiful white palace before him.

This palace, spanning three courtyards with a central garden square, Hill originally intended to name Silver Palace, but unfortunately, Elaströ’s palace had already taken that name.

With Hill’s lackluster naming ability... he chose not to use ’white’, and with hesitation towards ’crystal’... could only settle on ’snow’.