Free Web NovelChapter 114: Chapter 110: Foundation Strengthening Plan
Late at night, Xiaolan wasn’t the only one awake.
In Velin’s office, a candle flame flickered.
He stood alone before a massive strategy sand table, his gaze icy.
A wooden block representing Ola lay toppled over in the area marked "Giant Crocodile’s Lair."
Velin reached out a finger and set it upright.
He gave it another gentle push, and the block fell over again.
What looked like a glorious victory was, in reality, a walk on a tightrope.
Ola’s recklessness was the only variable, but also the key to their breakthrough.
If the giant crocodile leader had targeted Ryo or any of the other Knights, that fragile defensive line would have been utterly torn apart in under three seconds.
The victory he had built with a mountain of Golden Sun and an informational advantage had still only been secured by the impulse of a reckless Dwarf.
Velin’s gaze shifted to another sheet of parchment on his desk, which listed the material costs of the battle.
This kind of victory, bought by burning money, was fragile, expensive, and unrepeatable.
Magical Beasts could be predicted, but what about people?
The nobles who would be watching him like tigers in the future wouldn’t be so foolish, and the Golden Sail Commerce Association’s warehouses couldn’t possibly fund his experiments forever.
The shields forged from Bader Dung Beetles were adequate—they made for the best cannon fodder in a war.
But cannon fodder alone wasn’t enough. He also needed an elite force capable of breaking through enemy lines, encircling and dividing them, and even carrying out decapitation strikes.
"One lucky break isn’t nearly enough," Velin muttered to himself, his voice echoing in the empty office. "I must build an Extraordinary force that is powerful and obedient."
He walked to the window. The night wind was cold.
From the other end of the Lord’s Mansion’s U-shaped structure, light still shone from a window.
Velin knew whose room it was.
’Since Newly Town and the Golden Sail Commerce Association are practically bound together already, it wouldn’t hurt to make that bond even tighter.’
His eyes grew resolute.
He had to discuss this plan with Caroline tonight.
"Maid!"
...
In Caroline’s room, the air was heavy with frustration.
She was wearing a silk slip nightgown and pacing back and forth barefoot on the cold floor, her long silver hair tracing agitated arcs with her movements.
The scene from earlier in the day replayed in her mind over and over.
’Velin, that bookworm, that bastard!’
’How dare he! How dare he call the unique trust she’d given him an "authorization tool that needs a backup"?’
Caroline felt both the shame and anger of being made a fool of, along with a trace of... something she wouldn’t admit even to herself. It had gotten under her skin.
Suddenly, a knock came at the door.
"Miss Channing," came the respectful voice of a maid from outside the door, "Lord Klein requests your presence in his office. He says there is an urgent matter to discuss."
Caroline started.
’That bastard, what does he want, sending someone for me at this hour?’
’Has he had a crisis of conscience? Is he coming to apologize for his rudeness earlier today? Or...’
Her heart skipped a beat.
She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing all her turbulent emotions, but the corners of her mouth curled up uncontrollably.
She quickly changed out of her nightgown, selecting a form-fitting, moon-white slip dress that perfectly accentuated her curvaceous figure.
Then she sat down at her vanity, meticulously brushed her long hair, and after a moment’s thought, picked up a bottle of perfume and lightly spritzed a little behind her ears and on her wrists.
Only after all this was done did she put her usual mask of pride and indifference back on and pull open the door.
"Lead the way."
After leading her through the silent corridor, the maid brought her to the door of Velin’s office, bowed, and withdrew.
Inside the office, Velin looked at her, his somewhat handsome face serious, his brow slightly furrowed.
It wasn’t the look one gives a lady who has been disturbed late at night.
Velin was a little surprised to see the meticulously dressed Caroline, but he still got straight to the point.
"Caroline, I need your help. This concerns the future of the Grey Marsh Territory, and your future as well."
Caroline was silent for a moment, then squeezed a sentence out through her teeth.
"...Hmph. Lord Klein, I hope whatever this is about is worth my precious sleep."
Velin ignored the barbs in her words and pointed to the map. "Here. This is the aether-rich area we just conquered. The concentration has reached a medium level. As you know, this concentration is high enough for nobles to cultivate their descendants’ bloodlines."
"And?" Caroline raised an eyebrow.
Velin calmly dropped a bombshell. "According to ancient knowledge I’ve deciphered from old texts, by combining the aether-rich area with a specially formulated Magic Potion, I am more than seventy percent confident that I can perform ’Bloodline Purification’ for certain individuals."
"Bloodline Purification?!"
Caroline’s pupils contracted sharply. She straightened her back instinctively, her voice sharp with shock.
"Velin, are you insane! You want to conduct forbidden bloodline experiments? This is a serious violation of the Empire’s *Bloodline Purity Code*! Do you want to be sent to the pyre? The Church’s mad dogs will devour us, flesh and bone!"
"It doesn’t cross the Code’s boundaries—it more or less walks the line," Velin said, his expression placid.
"Caroline, this is no different from what those nobles with a bit of power do. They use the flesh and blood of Blood Demon Beasts and Original Blood Crystals to cultivate bloodlines. What we are about to do is, in essence, no different."
"The only difference is that their methods are less efficient, while mine is more so."
Caroline was stunned by his words.
’If what Velin is saying is true...’
’The returns would be immeasurable! A force of mass-producible Transcendent, completely under their control!’
’Why has the Golden Sail Commerce Association been unable to monopolize the Duchy’s shipping routes?’
’Isn’t it precisely because we lack sufficiently powerful Transcendent crew members to pioneer the most dangerous, and also most profitable, shipping routes?’
"On what basis should I believe you?"
Caroline forced herself to calm down. "This sounds like the ramblings of a madman, the boasts of an Alchemist in a tavern! Every family has spent centuries and endless fortunes just to barely grasp their own secret techniques. On what grounds do you claim you can do it?"
Velin watched her calmly. "Caroline, have you ever wondered why Barrett, a Mercenary captain for over a decade, had a breakthrough after just two months in Newly Town?"
Caroline’s breath hitched—of course she had thought about it, but it wasn’t her area of expertise. She had simply attributed it to a breakthrough in the heat of battle.
Velin pressed on: "An old veteran who had exhausted all his potential on the battlefield, blind in his left eye, his body riddled with hidden injuries—what could have rejuvenated him, making him even stronger than he was in his youth? A gift from the gods?"
He took a step forward, leaning in, his shadow enveloping Caroline. "No. I gave it to him."
Velin stared at her pupils, dilated in shock.
"Barrett was my first ’creation’."
Caroline was rendered completely speechless. She leaned back against her chair, her chest heaving violently.
"You... present a proposal," she finally managed, her voice returning after a long moment. "Target candidates, resource allocation, projected success rate, and... the consequences of failure."
The corner of Velin’s mouth twitched upward.
He extended his hand across the desk.
"Well then, a pleasure doing business with you, Caroline."
Caroline looked at his hand, was silent for a moment, and then grasped it tightly.
"Congratulations on joining the ’Foundation Strengthening Project’."
