CHAPTER 244: CHAPTER 239 ENGINE AND TRUCK_1

Yan Xing concluded his first formal meeting with Lady Karol, and the very next day, he urgently returned to his own Eternal Domain.

The duchy’s confidence in regaining control over the Wildwind Highlands was not a good sign for the Eternal Domain.

Under various pressures, Count Theodore, who held Nuta City, had no choice but to make many concessions to Yan Xing.

The business of the Eternal Commerce Guild was booming, and the issuance of Grain Tickets by the Eternal Grain Bank went smoothly, largely due to the policies provided by Count Theodore.

If Nuta City were retaken by the duchy, Yan Xing’s bargaining power would become very weak.

Look at what Lady Karol did... Even when arranging political marriages with foreign dignitaries, she would dispatch her spies, showing no sincerity at all. If she were to control Nuta City, the chances of future wars would be very high.

Yan Xing knew he could not place his hopes on Marquis Anderson or Count Theodore; the Eternal Domain had to strengthen its military force as quickly as possible.

When necessary, he had to be able to dispatch sufficient troops to protect the Eternal Domain’s interests.

This time, when returning to the Eternal Domain, Yan Xing did not, as usual, ride a Battle Griffin straight to his territory.

Instead, he chose to ride a horse.

This was because the prized steed that the Goblin Alchemy Shop he commissioned to cultivate had finally completed its evolution, becoming a growth-capable, hero-class magical beast.

Thinking about the money he spent on this horse brought back unbearable memories. Cultivating this horse was just like enhancing equipment in a game by smashing stones—it was pouring real gold and silver into it. Sometimes Yan Xing even dared not think about his precious horse for fear of heartache. Eventually, he grew so numb that whenever Gaga, the goblin, said the alchemy shop was short of money, Yan Xing would provide the requested amount without a second thought. And when the Goblin Alchemy Shop notified him that his beloved horse had completed its evolution, it still felt a bit surreal. But it was like the feeling one gets when a piece of equipment is enhanced to its most perfect state. A sense of complete satisfaction, the feeling that the money was well spent. His heart surged with joy!

The prized steed, Flying Shadow, had undergone a wind-element demonization. The Goblin Alchemy Shop had maximized its demonization potential through methods such as feeding and magic element conversion.

Flying Shadow’s size had not changed much, but its white fur appeared ethereal due to the demonization, exuding a silver luster.

Its mane and tail were completely transformed into the wind element, hovering between solid and ethereal states.

From its head to its fore shoulders, elemental solidification had occurred; a wind-element chitin layer, by virtue of its inherent wind magic, significantly reduced air resistance.

Its eyes had become entirely silver, like two wind-element gemstones.

Merely standing there, Flying Shadow exuded an imposing aura, an invisible pressure forming a vortex-like force field around it.

The Goblin Alchemy Shop, always considerate of its high-spending clients, had specially crafted a set of alchemical saddle and barding for Flying Shadow.

It was said to assist Flying Shadow’s magic power circulation and provide an excellent riding experience for the owner.

Yan Xing didn’t know what made the riding experience so great, but considering the value of his beloved horse, he felt the experience was already very good.

Therefore, Yan Xing decided to ride his prized steed back to his territory. I’ll let everyone along the way get a good look at this Lord’s awesome mount! he thought.

Moreover, his decision to ride a horse back to his territory was also motivated by a desire to inspect the road construction and the reclamation of farmland.

Rammed-earth road construction was much simpler than building concrete roads. Since the Eternal Commerce Guild employed so many people, the road from Nuta City to the Eternal Domain was built very quickly.

The main road was now largely passable, with hired laborers dispersed on the east-west branch roads.

Along the road, vast expanses of wilderness had all been turned into plowed farmland. Farmers hired from Nuta City worked in the fields, with irrigation ditches running through their centers.

Manors had been built at intervals along both sides of the road, and many more were established across the vast farmlands.

These manors served as rest stops for the road builders and farmers. The smoke rising from cooking fires filled the area with a comforting, homey atmosphere.

Clad in silver armor, Yan Xing rode Flying Shadow, also in silver armor, heading north along the road escorted by a large group of Werewolf Warriors.

Their distinct appearance allowed the hired workers along the way to recognize him as the boss of the Eternal Commerce Guild, the Lord of the Eternal Domain, Lord Yan Xing.

The simple farmers quickly stepped aside, respectfully saluting the generous and benevolent Lord Yan Xing.

The residents of Nuta City all knew that if Lord Yan Xing hadn’t recruited workers on a large scale and distributed grain during the war, their lives would have been unimaginably miserable.

Yan Xing, mounted on his tall steed, waved to the farmers he passed, occasionally glancing up at the Gryphon Knights flying overhead.

Although these Gryphon Knights wore the uniforms of the Nuta City Defense Forces, given Nuta City’s current situation, not all of them necessarily obeyed Count Theodore.

During this period, aerial reconnaissance from Nuta City towards the Eternal Domain had become increasingly frequent.

The Eternal Domain’s current aerial forces consisted only of Swamp Poison Flies.

The Poison Flies were masters of ambush within the swamps, but in open-air confrontations, they were thoroughly outclassed by Griffons.

They couldn’t win a fight, couldn’t catch them, and couldn’t escape.

They could only attack in swarms, their purpose being to deter the Gryphon Knights from approaching the Eternal Domain too closely.

Fortunately, Yan Xing had purchased a batch of Griffons from Count Theodore, and they were all being trained to become Battle Griffins.

Once the first batch of Gryphon Knights completed their training, the skies of the Eternal Domain would become a bit more peaceful.

"Right, Chui Chui," Yan Xing said, thinking of his own Griffons, "how far has the development of the turbojet engine progressed?"