Chapter 43: The Legendary King

The adornments here were mostly crafted from the bones of various giant beasts, fitting well with the name of the Duke of White Bones. However, this made the place appear rather eerie and ghostly. Above, there were various training grounds and laboratories, and even a small workshop, likely where the Duke of White Bones personally processed bone equipment.

The Duke’s bedroom was at the top of the castle, occupying the entire floor. In the center stood a large bed made of beast bones, covered with thick furs of various beasts. This bedroom was truly a unique werewolf style, primitive and wild.

However, what left Qian Ye speechless was that the entire bedroom was not sealed; the side facing the Emerald Sea was supported by more than a dozen stone pillars, with no windows at all. The cold wind from the Emerald Sea could blow in freely, adding a chill to every corner.

Werewolves are not cold-blooded and also like warmth and fire. The Duke of White Bones’ preferences were truly baffling to Qian Ye. The bedroom was decorated with numerous bone carvings, beast heads, and some oddly shaped stones, making it more like an altar than a bedroom.

Qian Ye walked around, hearing the high priest say something. He couldn’t help but ask, “You want me to stay here?”

The high priest respectfully replied, “This sacred place is only fit for Your Grace.”

Fortunately, it wasn’t too cold yet, or Qian Ye would have suspected these werewolves were trying to freeze him to death. The Emerald Sea had distinct seasons, and the winters were quite harsh. With the cold, damp winds blowing and being at such a height, this place could indeed be deadly.

Qian Ye shrugged, walked over to the bone bed, patted the headboard, and lifted a piece of fur to examine it. “First, take this bed apart and throw it out.”

Before he finished speaking, Qian Ye let out a surprised exclamation as he scrutinized the fur in his hand. The fur was white with black patterns, indiscernible from which beast it came, and felt ordinary to the touch. He didn’t plan to keep this fur, which was like a blanket. But when he tugged on it, it didn’t budge. He unconsciously added more force, yet still couldn’t move it!

Qian Ye’s strength could tear through steel, but this black-and-white fur remained unscathed. This was indeed extraordinary.

Under the jumbled furs on the bed, one corner was wedged in the bone joints. Not only was the fur sturdy, but the bones forming the bedframe were also extraordinary.

Qian Ye bent his finger and casually flicked the headboard of the bone bed. A flash of origin power light at his fingertip produced a sound like metal clashing. Upon closer inspection, there was a small white spot on the bedframe, and when he wiped it, the mark faded considerably.

Qian Ye raised an eyebrow, feeling deeply surprised. That flick was not as simple as it seemed; it used the power of Dawn Awakening. Although his origin crystal was not yet fully stable, and his exclusive ability as a divine general had not yet manifested, the property of the origin power had undergone another purification, bringing it closer to the Origin Point of Dawn.

The power of that flick was equivalent to an origin bomb, yet it left only a slight mark. The great beast from which the bone bed originated must have been as powerful as a ground dragon in its lifetime.

Suddenly, Qian Ye heard a thud behind him. Turning around, he saw the high priest kneeling on the ground, forehead touching the floor, and other werewolf nobles following suit.

“What are you doing?” Qian Ye asked.

“We finally confirmed that you are our true king, as the legend foretold!”

“How did you confirm it?”

The high priest slightly raised his head and said, “This bed is made from the remains of a divine beast. For three hundred years, no one has been able to leave a mark on it, not even the Duke.”

“If these bones can’t be moved, how was this bed made?”

“I supervised its construction. The frame was made from naturally shaped bones, fastened with leather straps.”

Qian Ye lifted all the furs, revealing the bed’s structure, confirming the high priest’s words.

He then examined a few other furs, though not as high-quality as the black-and-white one, they were still not from ordinary beasts. Qian Ye wondered where the Duke of White Bones obtained so many types of void beast furs.

Using these furs for a bed was a waste, and they were uncomfortable. Qian Ye was even more perplexed by the Duke’s taste. He rolled up all the furs and threw them to Xu Jingxuan, saying, “Put these away and make them into armor later.”

Xu Jingxuan caught the pile of furs, took a step back to steady himself, and immediately recognized their value. “So many!”

Qian Ye patted the bedframe again, “Take this apart and send it to the warship.”

Void beast bones were extremely hard, harder than most high-strength alloys. Processing them required special tools. Even the saws and drills needed for cutting and drilling were not common. Only the imperial elite, the blood nobles, and the demonic clans possessed such technology.

Even the Southern Green City, where Darkflame headquarters was located, could not process these void beast bones, and they would likely need to be sent to Ningyuan Heavy Industries in the Empire.

Qian Ye walked around the bedroom again, this time paying attention to the decorations. Indeed, many of the bone adornments were made from void beast bones, and were quite valuable. Using void beast bones for decorations was a waste of material.

At this point, Qian Ye understood why the Duke of White Bones had a personal workshop. Without his direct involvement, and with only primitive tools, few in the Emerald Sea could process these bones.

Void beast bones were light and strong, the best material, surpassing even the Empire’s best alloys. The living bones on a drakon ship were priceless. The surrounding adornments, which might be considered art by the Duke, were of no interest to Qian Ye. He ordered them all to be moved to the warship, obviously not for display.

Qian Ye spent a long time examining the bone bed. Since these were natural bones, he tried to learn more about the void beasts, but to no avail. Suddenly, he thought of something and asked, “Since you supervised the construction of the bed, are there any leftover bones?”

The high priest replied, “Of course, there are many leftovers. The remaining divine beast bones are partly in the Ancestral Altar and partly in the Duke’s secret vault.”

“Secret vault?”

“The Duke has his own secret vault, but only he knows its location. The craftsmen who built it were all executed.”

Qian Ye nodded, “Then we’ll find it slowly. Let’s go to the Ancestral Altar first.”

“Your Grace, this way, please.”

The Ancestral Altar was adjacent to the Duke’s mansion, a grand hall. The main hall was thirty meters high, ending in a massive stone altar, topped by a giant wolf statue carved from blue stone. Around the statue, some giant beast bones were scattered.

In front of the main altar was a smaller one, with over a dozen different werewolf statues. From their attire, they appeared to belong to different tribes.

The high priest explained, “These are the ancestral statues of the seventeen tribes that founded the City of Blue Waves, our totems. The central position originally belonged to the Duke and now, of course, to you.”

At the center of the altar was a long stone, clearly unfinished, with a badge imbued with Qian Ye’s aura placed on it.

In just a few days, the badge’s dark golden blood aura had become much more vibrant, more pronounced than those of the major werewolf tribes in the Great Corridor. The City of Blue Waves, as the capital of the Emerald Sea, was indeed a powerful place for rituals.

In Qian Ye’s true vision, the seventeen ancestral statues also had origin power swirling around them, but now they were leaning away from Qian Ye’s badge, as if afraid of the dark golden blood aura.

Placing the badge at the center of the Ancestral Altar indicated the Emerald Sea werewolf tribes’ allegiance to Qian Ye. If they were not truly submissive, they would rather destroy the Ancestral Altar than do this.

By now, Qian Ye realized that the legends circulating among the werewolves were irrelevant. What truly subdued them was the dark golden blood aura, or more accurately, the power of the Dark Source Point, the origin of the River of Blood.

Whether it was demonic or blood aura, they were all part of the dark spectrum. They resisted each other, but their ultimate paths converged at the Dark Source Point!

In fact, the werewolves revered Qian Ye as the Child of Darkness, whose power showed the supreme favor of darkness. His specific bloodline mattered little.

After visiting the Ancestral Altar, Qian Ye ordered the void beast bones around the giant wolf totem to be removed and then headed to the council hall where the Duke of White Bones used to hold meetings.

The council hall was also impressive, with a golden stone table almost as tall as a human man. Even for werewolves, not everyone could feel confident sitting at such a high table.

The massive stone chair at the end of the table fit the Duke of White Bones perfectly, but Qian Ye looked like a child sitting in it. The chair was so large that even a spider demon would find it spacious. When the Duke wore his heavy armor, the protruding spikes and fangs needed ample space.

Qian Ye settled in the main seat, and there was a moment of chaos below. Finally, with the coordination of the high priest and Esca, Qian Ye’s old subordinates sat on one side, and the noble werewolves of the Emerald Sea on the other.

The first agenda was reports. The high priest stood up and detailed the number of werewolves, taxes, warriors, and resources in the Emerald Sea, including the City of Blue Waves. Next, Esca reported on the pursuit of the tens of thousands of werewolf warriors who fled, and which tribes were still resisting.

The only ones still resisting were the peripheral tribes. These tribes, numbering several hundred, collectively had over a million werewolves, forming a formidable force. However, they were scattered and could be easily defeated. Under equal numbers, the werewolf tribes were no match for Qian Ye’s newly trained mixed army. Clearing these tribes was just a matter of time.

Next was the discussion of minerals and resources. The Emerald Sea werewolves lived primitively, with little mining technology. The ores they could extract were basic. From the visible ore veins, it was clear that the vast territory of the Emerald Sea held more resources, but further exploration was needed.

As for resources, they were mostly precious stones, rare birds, and beasts. These were the main means by which the Emerald Sea traded with other regions for weapons.

The City of Blue Waves was the heart of the Emerald Sea, relying on the rich fishing resources to sustain the city of hundreds of thousands of werewolves. Other cities were much smaller, mere towns by imperial standards.

After gaining a rough understanding of the Emerald Sea, Qian Ye organized six forces, each led by a mix of an Emerald Sea werewolf, a Great Corridor werewolf, and a mercenary general, with two werewolf nobles as assistants. Each force was given 20,000 mixed troops to conquer the rebellious werewolf tribes.

Esca and Xu Jingxuan were left behind to reorganize the Emerald Sea werewolves and form new mixed armies. Arming several hundred thousand werewolves was a heavy burden, even for a duchy in the Great Qin. Qian Ye’s current base was too thin.

When Song Hui, with a stern face, reported the monthly equipment production, even the werewolf nobles of the Emerald Sea understood. At the current rate, it would take twenty to thirty years to minimally arm these werewolf warriors.

Qian Ye frowned and asked, “Can’t we build more smelting facilities?”

Song Hui replied, “Building more smelting facilities is easy, but where will the ore come from? We haven’t even begun to locate the mines, let alone excavate them.”

Military production was a complex industry, requiring a wide variety of ores, many of which needed specialized extraction and smelting techniques. Establishing a complete mining industry would take time.

While Qian Ye pondered, the chief with the brightly colored feathers couldn’t contain his impatience, “What’s the worry, Your Majesty? Werewolves don’t need so many weapons and armor. Even without them, we can still fight! Rest assured, our claws and teeth are the best weapons, and our hides the finest armor!”

His passionate words drew rolling eyes from the other chiefs and priests. Werewolves were brave, not stupid. It would be foolish not to use available armor.