Preuss had never heard of the name before. Border Town was merely a settlement built because of the mines, and it had nothing to do with the word "city," let alone being ranked third? Before His Majesty came to the Western Region, the only place that could be called a city was Longsong Stronghold. (Read#……net)
But when the group entered the cave at the foot of the North Slope Mountain, he understood what His Majesty was referring to.
He had always been curious as to why the Construction Department wanted to build a fortress-like structure within Neverwinter City – the location of this important place guarded by the First Army was a bit too strange. It was backed by the North Slope Mountains, and both the east and west sides were a long distance from the border. It didn't seem like it was used to defend against foreign enemies, and it certainly wasn't to protect His Majesty's castle.
He had also asked some colleagues in the City Hall, and the answers were all "I don't know." Some even said that the construction team in that area was directly managed by Minister Karl, and others had no right to interfere. At this point, Preuss stopped asking. He was just mentioning it casually, and he didn't want to get himself into trouble.
He never expected that he would have a day to set foot in this military stronghold in person.
When he saw the underground passage that was obviously artificially excavated, as well as the huge cave complex, Preuss was so surprised that he almost couldn't close his jaw.
How was this dug out?
A year ago, there was nothing here, but now it seemed like the entire mountain had been hollowed out. Such a wide underground space could be called a city, but... is this something that humans can do?
He secretly glanced at His Majesty, and the respect in his heart deepened.
Duke Ryan really chose the wrong opponent.
Although the Lion had been in charge of the Western Region for more than ten years, suppressing all the major families and managing the barren border area like an iron plate, his methods and strength were impeccable, but... he was still just a man.
However, what shocked the Elk Knight even more was yet to come.
After arriving at a flat and open hall on a trailer, two warriors dressed up in martial attire surrounded them - since the First Army popularized firearms, it was rare to see guards in this kind of attire.
One of them looked him up and down before turning to His Majesty and saying, "Is this really okay?"
"My people will know about this sooner or later. Instead of hiding it, it's better to let them accept it slowly," Roland replied. "Let's start with the officials from the City Hall."
"Alright..." The man sighed helplessly and waved his hand towards the dome. Then a black shadow fell from the sky and landed silently in front of everyone.
Preuss's heart jumped, and he almost cried out!
God, what the hell is this?
Looking at the fleshy monster covered in tentacles in front of him, he felt a chill down his spine. Even a devil from the depths of hell probably looked like this! The knight wanted to take two steps back, but found that his legs were out of his control. The only thing that supported him from not falling down immediately was probably the still calm and composed King.
Then he "heard" a voice.
The gentle female voice did not come from his ears, but directly sounded in his mind, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
"Hello, Pasha," Roland smiled. "How are the bugs doing?"
"The number has increased a lot. As long as there are enough mushrooms, they seem to keep eating."
"Looks like they're easy to raise."
"Actually, you can completely leave this to us."
"When the war starts, you won't be able to spare so many people. Besides, I want to raise more than just a thousand or hundreds of them. It's better to let them get familiar with it sooner."
Preuss stared blankly at His Majesty chatting and laughing with the monster, as if he were talking to an ordinary citizen. And the attitude shown by the monster was also quite respectful, not at all like a devil - if all monsters talked like this, they wouldn't be so frightening.
He took two deep breaths and finally calmed his heartbeat a little.
But what was His Majesty planning to have him raise? Bugs?
And... was this the big secret that the other party had told him? At the foot of the North Slope Mine,
hiding such a shocking inhuman alien?
His Majesty seemed to see through his thoughts and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "This... Ms. Pasha, was once a famous lord. Although she was cursed by the devil and turned into what she is now, she is still human at heart. You don't need to be afraid."
"L-Lord?" Preuss was stunned for a moment before he came back to his senses.
"That's right," the King sighed. "Let's talk as we walk."
Then he heard an incredible story. There was more than one monster like Pasha. Four hundred years ago, they used to live in the wilderness and even built their own towns, but they ultimately couldn't resist the double invasion of evil beasts and devils. Most of them died in the wilderness, and only a few escaped to the Western Region. The curse turned them into monsters and made them immortal, and they had to live with the pain forever. Now Roland Wimbledon had accepted these survivors. They were both allies in the fight against the devils and subjects under Graycastle.
"So... that's what happened," Preuss murmured.
"However, you also saw that their appearance can easily remind people of bad things, so this matter can only be classified as top secret for the time being. Only a very few people know about it." Roland paused for a moment, his eyes narrowed. "If it is leaked out, you should know the consequences."
"I will definitely keep my mouth shut, Your Majesty!" Preuss quickly emphasized. Although this story was even more bizarre than the horror stories he had heard from grandmothers, he didn't want to bother with how much of it was true and how much was false. Whatever His Majesty said was what it was. This was the most basic principle of a loyal subject.
"Good that you understand," His Majesty nodded.
The fleshy monster... no, the ancient lord Pasha led everyone through a long passage and turned around to say, "We're here."
What was displayed in front of the knight was another huge cave. The bare underground suddenly became vibrant. Not to mention the unprecedented plants and underground landscapes, just the huge bugs crawling around in the mushroom clusters were enough to make him stare.
Probably because he had received too much stimulation at once, Preuss found that he was not so afraid anymore.
"Is this... what you want me to raise?"
His Majesty seemed to have been paying attention to his expression. At this moment, he finally nodded in satisfaction. "That's right. It's called a Rubber Bug. It can secrete an industrial material with a wide range of uses, and its significance is no less than poultry, meat, and eggs. The expedition team found it deep in the Great Snow Mountain, so they brought back this new species. Unfortunately, it can only survive underground, so it is temporarily managed by the survivors living in the Third Border Town." At this point, the other party changed the topic. "I heard that you have raised a lot of earthworms specifically to feed chickens and ducks, right?"
"Uh... yes," Preuss finally followed His Majesty's train of thought after a long while. "This can reduce their foraging area, and the poultry will grow much faster."
"And raising these bugs is no different from raising earthworms - I'm not talking about the breeding method, but the essence," Roland raised his foot and kicked over a Rubber Bug lying on a mushroom. The latter only reacted when it fell to the ground, dragging its huge belly into the depths of the grass. "They are not aggressive. Their favorite food is these mushrooms. Although they are large, they are timid and useless. You don't have to worry about them biting you. You only need to collect the mucus in their stomachs regularly."
"Mucus?"
"Have you seen a cow? The cow is not the point. The point is what it produces."
"Are you saying, squeeze it out?"
"If you can find a way to squeeze it out, then that's naturally the best," Roland smiled silently. "But as I said, the bugs are not the point. Sometimes it's faster to kill them and take it. Anyway, they reproduce faster than chickens, ducks, and cows."
For some reason, Preuss suddenly shivered. He vaguely felt that His Majesty didn't like these bugs that were so important to industry.
But this feeling flashed by, and the other party instantly returned to his usual tone. "This booklet records some of the Rubber Bug's habits," he handed over a small booklet with a hard cowhide cover. "You can study it and see if there is any way to make them grow quickly
and make it easier to collect. I hope to see results this month."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Preuss swallowed and took the booklet. "But if it's just me..."
"The First Army stationed here will assist you," Roland smiled. "Do a good job, and you will have a place at this year's award ceremony."