booktalesy Chapter 210 Backed by Mountains and Gazing at the Sea
Chapter 210 Backed by Mountains and Gazing at the Sea
Chapter 210 Backed by Mountains and Gazing at the Sea
Shanhaiguan, Queen's Port, Crescent Coast.
Between the ridge of the Giant Mountains and the narrow pass overlooking the East Sea, the ancient pass that has stood on the land since the time of the elves and dwarves divides the golden continent into two halves.
To the west of that pass, amidst jagged cliffs, a natural stone wall jutting out from the edge of the continent, like the arm of a giant, blocks the fierce waves of the sea to the east. Within the crescent of that stone wall, the calm sea rests in a crescent-shaped harbor.
That is the Crescent Coast, where Port Queen is located.
During the thirty-year war between the kingdom and the empire, this small fishing port rapidly developed into the busiest military port in the south of the kingdom. Later in the war, after the kingdom's front line stabilized east of Shanhaiguan, this military port quickly developed into a thriving seaside city.
The Empire's naval strength was far inferior to that of the New Kingdom. The Rose Royal Family, with its immense wealth, had assembled the second-strongest fleet on the entire continent—second only to the merchant escort fleet of the Pearl Alliance, a free commercial city-state in the west that relied on maritime trade. Therefore, even at the most critical moments in the Kingdom's war effort, the New Kingdom firmly maintained control of the East Sea—ensuring the absolute safety of Queen's Port.
No army could breach Shanhaiguan Pass, and no fleet could outrun the Royal Rose Fleet to attack Queen's Port.
These two insurmountable passes, one by sea and one by land, are the kingdom's most steadfast guardians.
Geb, half-human, stood on the deck of the ship, gazing at the mica-sand beach shimmering in the sunlight. A salty sea breeze ruffled his hair. At that moment, Geb felt he should say something—
"Ah—the ocean, it's all water—"
"Yue——
The dwarf's vomiting was a major jarring sound, and a strange odor wafted from behind the halfling.
"Dulin—can you please not throw up on the deck?!"
After leaving the San Vandu Monastery, Gebu and his group reunited with the Salt and Iron Merchants. Together, they packed their supplies onto a ship and set sail for Queen's Port. The merchant fleet had completed its final resupply before heading to Shanhaiguan. Riding the winter currents of the East Sea, the sea route was much faster than the land route.
Three weeks later, the caravan finally caught a glimpse of Crescent Coast.
"Luckily, we arrived before the Séance," Gebu said to the swordswoman. "Otherwise, the golden mask would have been furious with me—"
""
The woman with the sword glanced at Gebu, then walked away without saying anything.
"Hey, you're not going to get better, are you? Tsk—whatever."
Ever since that argument at the monastery over Chloe, the female swordswoman has ignored Geb. Aside from necessary exchanges, she doesn't say a word more.
Is she really that vengeful? Who knows what touched a nerve with her—women are such a hassle.
During the past few weeks, Chloe was quite attentive, quickly becoming friends with the team members. Even that stray cat remembered who she was paired with—who brought this guy on board?! Was it you, little hostage?! I'm talking to you, don't run away!
Gebu subtly probed Chloe and managed to extract some information from her: it turned out that the person Tissant had asked her to deliver the letter to was a bishop named Crane.
The name sounds distinctly Eastern—it's clearly from the Thousand Lakes region. The bishop of the New Kingdom has established a connection with the bishop of the Thousand Lakes Church—isn't this a blatant act of collusion? He should be labeled an apostate.
Thinking about Tissanthemum's plan, Geb thought it made sense.
Oh, right, that plan.
Geb hadn't told anyone else about the details of the plan, not even Dulin or Michonne, because it was just too dangerous.
In short, Tissanthem wanted Gube to cooperate in staging a "divine intervention" in front of King Kane, the Rose Queen, the Papacy Patriarch, and the Imperial Emperor.
Three days later, on the day of the Pentecostal Festival, it is said that Oubak ascended to the status of a supreme god. This is the grandest annual ceremony for the followers of the Oubak Church.
During the traditional celebrations, the four holy kingdoms that make up the Holy Kingdom of Kane will each offer a tribute to God: the patriarch of the old kingdom will publicly display sacred relics and then preside over a prayer of worship; the new kingdom will offer sacred wine (Vando grapes); the kingdoms will send knights to conduct a call to arms and a military parade; and the Church of a Thousand Lakes, before being excommunicated by the Holy See, will send a choir of holy children (orphans adopted by the church) to sing hymns—
Since the deal on the Thousand Lakes couldn't be reached, the choir definitely wouldn't be able to perform—but the wine supplier happened to be the monastery headed by Tissant, so there was an opportunity to do something underhanded.
Let's imagine this scenario:
Séance of the gods.
A grand military parade took place, with the imposing paladin contingent marching in formation from the courtyard.
The patriarch of the Holy See displayed O'Bak's loincloth and prayed loudly, while the faithful prostrated themselves, kowtowing repeatedly.
Everything was proceeding smoothly, and the festive atmosphere was at its peak—the two heads of state raised their glasses together to celebrate the upcoming peace—however, a dark cloud still hung over the sky of this annual holy gathering: the status of the Thousand Lakes Church was still not recognized, the hymns that had been silent for thirty years did not sound, and peace had not yet arrived.
The patriarch and the king raised their cups with bitter smiles, only to find that the blessed holy wine in the cups was nothing but tasteless water!
Scandal! Blasphemy! An outrage against humanity!
The high-ranking officials were momentarily at a loss for words. Was this an accident, or the will of God? Perhaps O'Bak did not agree with negotiating peace with the Empire, or perhaps the Holy See's disregard for the Thousand Lakes Church had been condemned by God. There were a hundred ways to interpret this matter, and none of them were beneficial to either side.
At that moment, a devout believer suddenly stepped forward from the crowd, and everyone began to murmur among themselves. Someone exclaimed, "That's the Rose Knight! I've heard of her deeds!"
Unfazed by the gazes of the patriarch, king, emperor, and believers, the Rose Knight declared resolutely, "This wine, offered to the gods, is a gift from the Lord—yet how can we be worthy to partake of it?"
These words drew everyone's attention, and the entire Shanhaiguan area fell silent.
"The hymns remain silent, and the countless believers on the Thousand Lakes Plain still await the guidance of the shepherd—God will not bestow grace upon you or me until their prayers are answered!"
The air was so tense you could cut it with a knife. The important figures realized the Rose Knight's meaning—but the accident had already happened, and only a miracle could salvage this awkward situation.
Then, a miracle occurred.
The clear, ethereal voice of a child echoed from the city gate, and the long-lost hymns resounded once again across the land of the new kingdom.
The children of a thousand lakes, dressed in pristine white robes, marched through the city gates, chanting the name of the Holy Lord. The crowd spontaneously parted to the sides, the hearts of the believers filled with the sacred hymns, tears welling in their eyes.
The great men were also moved by the child's pure singing. Just as they were repenting for their narrow-mindedness in pursuing only their own selfish interests, the patriarch, the king, and the emperor discovered that the water in their cups had somehow turned into fine wine.
No, not just in the adults' glasses, but the entire castle's water source has been transformed into fine wine from San Vandu—a deep red liquid exuding an alluring aroma.
Miracle! Miracle! Miracle!
At the height of this fervent religious fervor, Bishop Tissant will emerge from the background and quietly present his foolproof peace proposal to the astonished adults—by lifting the wine embargo, he will tacitly allow the Church of the Thousand Lakes to rejoin the Holy See. Then, a peace agreement can be reached between the two sides.
What a perfect plan! If everything goes as smoothly as the idealist Tissant imagined, this miracle will guarantee decades of peace between the two countries.
However, Tissanthemum herself is injured and cannot come. Gebuchai, the person who should be Chloe's messenger, is the one named Helan, the Bishop of Thousand Lakes.
This miracle sounds a bit far-fetched, but what Tissant was exploiting was not the religious fanaticism of a few important figures—the Patriarch, King Kane, the Rose Queen, and the Emperor of the Empire were not ignorant old farmers (no offense to farmers, they were just deliberately blinded by divine authority), and they would not be frightened by a miracle.
Peace is in everyone's interest.
The peace talks, which began in the spring, dragged on for half a year, causing public expectations for peace to turn into some skepticism. Rumors circulated that this festival would mark the day the two countries formally reached a peace agreement—that the Patriarch would announce the news at a séance at noon.
This is indeed the best opportunity—if the Pentecost festival passes without a satisfactory peace agreement, the people on both sides will likely lose confidence, and the war may continue—no one wants to see this outcome.
"The miracle orchestrated by Tissant" is equivalent to giving the leaders of the empire and the kingdom a push from behind, giving them an opportunity to compromise and give an account to their subjects and believers.
"Following the will of God," the Patriarch reinstated the Diocese of Thousand Lakes, restoring its authority.
King Kane of the Old Kingdom, following the guidance of the Patriarch, brought peace back to the Old Kingdom.
The Rose Queen of the New Kingdom can reopen trade routes and declare that O'Bak has blessed her kingdom. Perhaps she can even build a monastery in Shanhaiguan because of this miracle and enjoy a moment of glory.
The Emperor could nominally and completely annex the Thousand Lakes Plain, consolidating his newfound power with news of victory. Then, he could formally incorporate the Obak religion into the Imperial faith, making it part of the Imperial gods (if he truly was a follower of the Holy Religion, as Tissant claimed)—all he needed to do was refrain from building a pantheon in the Thousand Lakes.
As for Gebu...
To undertake such a significant undertaking, Gebu naturally demanded an exorbitant amount.
First and foremost, the most basic requirement is that the exclusive rights to Sanvando wines within the empire—which, of course, can only be achieved through cooperation with the Salt and Iron Merchants Guild. Gebu spoke with Lady Stoneheart, and if the deal went through, the guild would handle all the day-to-day operations; Gebu's company would only need to maintain relationships with various parties and keep the exclusive rights in their own hands—basically, they could sit back and collect the profits.
This alone can guarantee that the three shareholders of Gebu Company will be well-off for generations to come.
Secondly, Geb demanded that the New Kingdom Church grant him an honorary clergy position—something that had happened before in the New Kingdom. Influential secular individuals who made significant contributions to the Church could be granted honorary positions and privileges in taxation and society usually reserved for high-ranking clergy.
This priesthood was far more significant to Geb than to ordinary people, for he was an outright heretic!
With this title, the court will not cause him any trouble.
We're on the same side! We see each other all the time, so I'll do you a favor!
In the end, what Geb asked for from Tissanthem was not for himself.
It is a guarantee.
If things go wrong, Gebu makes Tissin promise to do everything in her power to protect the safety of the people around her.
Swordswoman, Durin, hostage.
Gebu Zikan is an escape expert, and with the aid of magic and the Thousand Faces Mask, escaping is not difficult. Once he crosses Shanhaiguan Pass, he will be in the territory of the Empire. He can change his face and become a good Gebu again.
However, it won't be so easy for the people around her to get away—especially the woman with the sword. She is the main person who is in the public eye, and she doesn't have the same background as Dulin. If things get out of control, it will be difficult for her to escape unscathed.
Gebu didn't know when he started caring so much about these guys—maybe it was because he was becoming more and more like a human being, with human emotions.
I'm not that noble—I just don't want them to pay the price for my decision.
What happened to the Broken Tooth Tribe back then must not happen again—I wonder where Pooh is now and how he is doing.
Thinking of this, Gebu remembered another thing he needed to do: he had to find that guy called the Rat King and talk to him about the mess the Peacock left behind.
What was the name of that place Yvette mentioned again?
Queen's Port, on the main street, in Big Corner Alley, the code is: Half a tail can make a hole.
Since Queen's Harbour is just ahead, why not just do it directly? That Rat King is a local tyrant. If he really is as powerful as Yvette described—perhaps he can help me accomplish that miracle.”
If we can kill two birds with one stone, that would be ideal.
Secondly, Gebu needs to contact the Golden Mask and deliver the poison to him.
The Rat King's negotiation, the Golden Mask's poison. These are two tasks.
The third task: Titian's miracle — to accompany Chloe to see Bishop Helan.
That "miracle" requires cooperation from many parties, and preparations must be made in advance. After the matter in Queen's Port is over, Gebu needs to go to Shanhaiguan to scout out the situation so that everything goes smoothly. The Bishop of Helan can help Gebu and his party enter the pass: after all, it is a military stronghold and cannot be entered casually.
Amidst his busy schedule, Gebu still needed to find an opportunity to explain to the female warrior and Dulin what they needed to do.
Dulin was alright, but as for the Swordswoman—she was still angry with Gebu, but this woman knew what was important and what was urgent, and she still had to get things done, so she let her anger dissipate slowly.
As the port gradually expanded in view, Gebu and his group finally set foot at the place where these clues converged.
A wonderful future begins today!
[Concept art of Port Queen]
A beautiful and bustling new port city that arose from the war. Compared to the classical elegance of Martina, this town exudes a youthful, opportunistic, and chaotic vitality. On its noisy and disorderly streets, anything is possible.