Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 437: Chapter 436: The Undercurrents of Golden Bay (Part 1)

Blue skies, white clouds, golden sands.

Ogrande leaned lazily by the window, gazing at the rolling waves outside, and yawned out of sheer boredom. The Golden Bay she looked upon no longer resembled its former dilapidation; instead, it flourished with vibrant scenes. Buildings old and decrepit had been torn down, replaced by brand-new structures teeming with bustling crowds. Witnessing this sight, Ogrande couldn’t help but reminisce about the time she first came here to adventure with Fang Zheng and the others.

”It feels almost like a dream...”

As she whispered to herself, the Young Lady casually picked up a glass of juice from beside her and took a sip. She still remembered the skeletal remains scattered on the ground and the charred debris all around. But now, all that had disappeared without a trace; the sailors’ bones had been taken by priests from the Sanctuary, supposedly to be transported back to cemeteries on the mainland for burial. The ruins had been dismantled, making way for brand-new buildings.

”Young Lady, Young Lady!!”

Just then, a maid, her face flushed, rushed in hurriedly.

”The Grande Family has sent someone too, can you guess who? It’s the Grande Family’s Clan Leader himself! He has actually come in person!”

”Isn’t that perfectly normal?”

Ogrande closed her eyes and yawned.

”Bruce, Svir, Grande... all three major families of the Kingdom of the Holy Church are present; do you think this is a good thing for our Platinum Family?”

”Of course, it’s a good thing.”

Upon hearing Ogrande speak, the maid blinked curiously.

”Doesn’t this mean that our Platinum Family is receiving more attention from the Kingdom of the Holy Church?”

”Ah...”

Hearing the maid’s response, Ogrande sighed deeply and dismissively waved her hand out of boredom.

”Sometimes I really envy you mortals, your minds unburdened, satisfied with whatever happiness you find before your eyes...”

”Ooh...”

Facing Ogrande’s retort, the maid appeared somewhat downhearted, but she didn’t take it too seriously. After all, as the Platinum Star, Ogrande had been like this since childhood, and the servants had long since grown accustomed to it.

”Ah...”

Meanwhile, Ogrande, feeling helpless, stretched out a hand to her forehead and muttered softly to herself.

”I never expected it to turn out this way either...”

As Ogrande lamented, in the beginning, her focus was merely on the advantageous port location of Golden Bay, as well as its commercial circulation. But upon returning to her family and reporting the matter to her father, she found out just how much he valued this issue. Not only did he allocate a significant portion of the Platinum Family’s liquid assets for the reconstruction of Golden Bay, but he even personally petitioned the Sanctuary for reapplication concerning Golden Bay’s ownership.

And when the Sanctuary officially intervened and acquired the remaining rights, Ogrande finally understood the reason behind it all.

On the surface, Golden Bay might seem like just a trade port with a good location, reminiscent of the great seafaring age. But for the Kingdom of the Holy Church today, Golden Bay was much more than that. This was all rooted in the historical rivalry between the Kingdom of the Holy Church and the Kingdom of Flame.

Due to its advantageous natural environment and powerful fleet, the Kingdom of Flame controlled vast stretches of sea, while the Kingdom of the Holy Church, being a continental nation and having to combat Chaos Monsters invading from the land, initially spent little effort on naval development. At first, the Kingdom of the Holy Church only possessed a few Level Three warships to strike against pirates and crack down on smuggling in their maritime domain.

However, the Kingdom of Flame’s navy gradually evolved, with the Kingdom of the Holy Church lagging behind, resulting in the Kingdom of Flame tightening its grip. Now, the Kingdom of Flame nearly controlled all of the Kingdom of the Holy Church’s overseas trade routes, an untenable situation for the Kingdom of the Holy Church.

However, due to geographical location issues, the Kingdom of the Holy Church couldn’t possibly dispatch a fleet deep into the high seas, thus both sides could only remain in a stalemate.

But now, the recapture of Golden Bay has caused a subtle change in this delicate deadlock.

The Kingdom of the Holy Church now had a port capable of supporting long-distance voyages, and given Golden Bay’s geographical location, as long as the Kingdom of the Holy Church fully controlled the area, they could not only protect their own trade routes but even prevent the Kingdom of Flame from further infringing on their maritime territories.

The reason the Kingdom of the Holy Church hadn’t made a move on Golden Bay was purely due to a lack of manpower. Compared to the maritime situation, the Kingdom of the Holy Church was more concerned about the land-based Chaos Border—after all, Chaos Monsters can’t swim.

However, now that Golden Bay had been reclaimed without causing any losses on their side, the Kingdom of the Holy Church would naturally take control of Golden Bay as a frontline against the Kingdom of Flame.

For this reason, this time’s ceremony would not only see the Kingdom of the Holy Church’s First Fleet being dispatched but even a certain secret fleet that they had been secretly organizing was rumored to make an appearance here. Ogrande understood the implications of this all too well.

Apart from that, what made her even more anxious was that, following that, both the Kingdom of Flame and the Land of Wealth also sent letters stating they would dispatch fleets to participate in the ceremony. Of course, the reasons written in the letters from these two countries were to express friendship and exchange, but one only had to look at the arrival times of their fleets, coinciding with the Kingdom of the Holy Church’s fleet, to understand their intentions.

This is so annoying, I’m a merchant, why do I keep encountering such matters!

Thinking of this, Ogrande couldn’t help but feel the urge to hold her head and cry out in frustration. What’s more depressing was that her father had actually designated her as the agent for Golden Bay!

Isn’t this pushing me into the fire pit?

Really...

”Has Fang Zheng not replied yet? When exactly will he come over?”

At this thought, Ogrande couldn’t help feeling irritated. On her end, she was working hard, dealing with the nobility, engaging with diplomats from various countries, and handling the trivial affairs of Golden Bay. But as for him, after signing a contract, he seemed to have vanished without a trace. When previously asked when he would come, he only replied with ”I will arrive on time...” But when is on time? Does he expect the delegates from other countries to wait for him alone?

One should know that this ceremony is not just attended by families from within the Kingdom of the Holy Church and fleets from the Kingdom of Flame and the Land of Wealth; even envoys and representatives from surrounding smaller countries would be present. If Ogrande didn’t know that she was hosting a port foundation-laying ceremony, she might have thought she was attending some kind of world-scale major meeting!

As for why these envoys were here, Ogrande was well aware. They wanted to see whether the Kingdom of the Holy Church truly had the capability to maintain its maritime interests, and this fleet ”showdown” was prepared for this purpose. The Kingdom of the Holy Church wanted to break the Kingdom of Flame’s monopoly on the high sea routes, while the Kingdom of Flame needed to show its allies that it still had sufficient strength to control this ocean. The Land of Wealth, which was in cahoots with the Kingdom of Flame, certainly wouldn’t miss this opportunity, as a significant portion of the Land of Wealth’s riches relied on the high sea routes controlled by the Kingdom of Flame.

Ogrande had been hoping Fang Zheng would come over earlier and inquire if he had any good solutions. But that scoundrel just wouldn’t show his face, infuriating her!

One must realize that the situation has evolved beyond just a simple foundation-laying ceremony. If the Kingdom of the Holy Church manages to overpower the fleets of the Kingdom of Flame and the Land of Wealth, then the Kingdom of Flame’s dominance over the high seas would start to waver. On the other hand, if the fleets of the Kingdom of Flame and the Land of Wealth still show strength comparable to the Holy Church’s, then the Kingdom of the Holy Church’s position and reputation on the continent would also begin to crack.

It can be said that this ceremony... even affects the future of the entire continent.

However, why am I so unlucky!

”Young Lady!!”

Just as Ogrande was on the brink of an emotional breakdown, suddenly, the room door opened, and a servant hurried in.

”We have just received a report that the Kingdom of the Holy Church’s vanguard fleet will be arriving soon!”

”I understand.”

Hearing this, Ogrande also became solemn, stood up, and adjusted her clothes before walking out the door.

”Get ready, I’m going to the dock to welcome the distinguished guests!” freeweɓnovēl.coɱ