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The only regretful thing was that the Great Maelstrom passage had started to stabilize again these days, and they would be able to send another group of people in after a few days. It just so happened that the Evernight alliance had arrived at this point, so the second batch quotas would surely fall into their hands.

Judging from the current state of the passage, however, it would probably take some time before it could be used again. The families weren’t too worried, especially the ones who had been listed as candidates for the second batch. The Great Maelstrom wasn’t a place anyone could go to. According to divination results, the passage was still fairly dangerous, and all those below the champion realm were destined to never return.

Additionally, Song Zining had revealed some fairly important news. Younger people would obtain greater benefits from entering the Great Maelstrom. It was best for those over seventy years old to refrain from entering, otherwise, it was more than likely that they would die there.

This information was extremely important because families with more quotas were planning to send elder-level people in to act as protectors for the younger scions. After hearing Song Zining’s warning, they quickly got rid of such thoughts. Elders were a precious commodity for every aristocratic family, and none of them would be willing to enter knowing they were heading to their deaths. After all, no one knew what awaited them at the other end of the passage. It would be a wasted death if they were to fall there.

With the elders out of the equation, the quotas became much more forgiving. Although the second batch would be deprived of the fortunes of first exploration, they would also be safe from many unknown dangers. Many of the lower-ranking aristocratic families would rather seek a stable outcome—it was a blessing if their scions could walk out of the Maelstrom alive. It would be even better if they could bring out some special products. As for the amount they could harvest, that wasn’t really important.

With the plans already settled, everyone started to take action. In just two hours, the camp outside of Tidehark had been dismantled, and the dragon of steel crawled back toward Southern Blue. After a while, the imperial fleet—fully loaded with materials and personnel—also started flying back. The entire city of Southern Blue was also loading materials into cargo trucks, ready to withdraw.

Ji Rui was both happy and worried about the Empire’s haste. He was happy that the empire was finally leaving and Southern Blue was once again his. He was also worried about whether he should join the empire right there and then. Although he would lose a degree of freedom, he would gain access to a vast world. The power balance in the neutral lands was too restrictive for smaller characters.

The factories in the city kept operating just like before. Song Zining’s factories weren’t moved away, either, and were running as usual. These companies had long since gotten used to the fighting between major powers. Whoever the ruler was, they would still have to pay the same tax more or less. There was a tacit agreement between the competing powers and the merchant companies—no matter how fierce the fighting, they would not touch the industries. Besides, the bigger merchants had their own mercenary forces and could be considered a power on their own. It wasn’t wise to offend them.

In the eyes of the merchants, both the Empire and Evernight were the same. The only difference was in scale.

Song Zining had built a wonderful foundation in Southern Blue. In short, all the factories here had only one purpose: to build warships. The demand for airships was endless in the neutral lands. Every produced vessel was destined to have a buyer.

Not to mention in the neutral lands, this level of warships would see good demand in the smaller vassal states, or even among the aristocracy back in the Empire. They could even sell to Evernight if needed.

Hence, the factories in Southern Blue had no intention of stopping even with the Evernight alliance bearing down on the city.

One day later, no more imperial soldiers could be seen in Southern Blue. All that remained were the natives of the neutral lands.

Not far from the city, in Song Zining’s flagship. The vessel had been disguised once again to look like an old cargo ship, one so rickety that it might fall and crash any minute.

At this point, two jeeps arrived on the ground, and Song Zining’s flagship descended gradually in response to a signal flare fired by someone in the car.

When the seventh young noble walked out onto the deck, three people had already alighted from the jeep and were waiting for him. “Greetings, Seventh Young Noble.”

Song Zining said satisfactorily, “No need for ceremonies. How is your lord?”

“My lord has already left the Throne of Blood and I don’t know where he has gone. He gave us some instructions before leaving, however. Seventh Young Noble can hand the goods to us. If you have something to say, you can also tell us. He will hear of it during his periodic return to the throne.”

Song Zining nodded. “There’s no such thing as too much prudence against the Eternal Flame. Your lord is correct. The things are here, check them.”

With a wave of his hand, Song Zining gestured for his men to hand over a small briefcase. The elder on the other side received the container and opened it up for inspection. He found a dazzling array of jewels, jade, and gold inside, so many that it was hard to discern their value. “There’s no way Seventh Young Noble will pay less than was agreed. There’s no need to check.”

Song Zining nodded. “One more thing, has your lord finished considering?”

The old man replied, “My lord thinks it’s doable but some of the terms need to be changed. He wants a custom corvette for each all-out attack from the Shattered Moment.”

Song Zining contemplated briefly. “That’s reasonable. Go back and tell your lord that I agree.”

The old man seemed delighted. “I will bring this good news back. My lord wishes to put in more orders, how many can seventh young noble supply?”

“This will depend on your master. The less disturbance Southern Blue receives, the more we can produce. Additionally, the Eternal Flame needs to be pressured at every turn. We can’t let him do as he wishes.”

“My lord has his own considerations regarding this matter.”

Song Zining nodded, and then returned to his airship. The elder also drove back toward Southern Blue.

At this moment, the guard beside Song Zining removed his hat, revealing the fair countenance beneath. “Who would’ve thought the Throne of Blood has agents in Southern Blue, a human no less.”

This well-groomed man was Eunuch Zhang.

Song Zining smiled. “It’s not surprising, considering he’s been operating in the neutral lands for several hundred years. I’m sure Zhang Buzhou also has numerous assets among the vampires.”

“Aren’t you afraid they’ll pry on your secrets?”

Song Zining replied calmly, “What’s there to be afraid of? Southern Blue is there for them to see. It’s fine even if they know what components are being used. It’s not like they can open up the engines. Even if they could, they won’t be able to produce anything without the alloy formula.”

“But…” Eunuch Zhang was skeptical.

Song Zining said with a smile, “Rest assured. Be it Zhang Buzhou, the Spider Emperor, Wolf King, or the Thundergod, all they want are airships, not money. They are fundamentally different from us!”

Eunuch Zhang smiled. “I have no other thoughts now. All I want is to follow the seventh young noble and earn a small fortune for my retirement.”

Song Zining replied, “You jest. We took great pains to come to the neutral lands, there’s no way we can stop at a small fortune.”

The two exchanged glances and broke into laughter.

After returning to the command cabin, Song Zining spread out a map of the Eastern Sea. After studying it for a moment, he pointed toward the border of the continent. “We’ll head here first.”

Eunuch Zhang didn’t quite understand. “What’s there?”

Song Zining replied, “I’m going to see someone and return a favor in passing.”

Eunuch Zhang was a shrewd old man. Seeing that Song Zining wasn’t willing to elaborate, he no longer pressed the issue. The flagship turned about and set out immediately after receiving the order. Halfway along the journey, a beam of light shot into the sky and flew into the void. Eunuch Zhang’s eyesight was sharp enough to see that there were two metallic sealed tubes in the radiance. This item was used to carry secret missives and intelligence. He was shocked to see Song Zining already using such advanced methods. It would seem the seventh young master maintained a close connection with the empire despite being in the neutral lands.

Half a day later, the flagship arrived at the continent’s edge. Song Zining ordered the vessel to wait while he flew down toward the land. Eunuch Zhang watched the seventh young master with a deep frown. His expression became stern, and no one knew what he was thinking.

The weather around the edge of the continent was adverse with void storms rampaging the land ever so often. Even Qianye had to be cautious when he traveled here back then, so it should be doubly more stressful for Song Zining. However, the Three Thousand Flying Leaf Art domain specialized in making use of the environment. The more extreme the conditions, the more power he could borrow. Hence, he was able to tread calmly through the blizzard, waving his fan in a graceful manner.

He searched through the snowy expanse for a good half-day, following what little information Qianye had given him. Finally, he found a vampire warship parked far off in the distance.

He had just heaved a sigh of relief when a person appeared before him. Clad in vampire attire, the cautious man sized Song Zining up from head to toe with razor-sharp eyes.

Song Zining cupped his hands. “You must be Marquis Jared? Please inform Lady Nighteye that enemies have arrived.”

Jared was surprised. “You know me?”

Song Zining smiled. “How could I not know the great Marquis Jared?”

Jared felt hesitant as he couldn’t figure out anything after observing Song Zining closely. In the end, he said, “Please wait here, I’ll report back to my lord.”

Song Zining smiled. “Please do.”

Jared returned in swift steps and arrived near the warship. “Someone wishes to see you, he claims that enemies are at the door.”

Moments later, Nighteye’s voice echoed through the air, “What kind of person is he?”

Jared hesitated for a while. “A young man who knows both your name and mine. His looks are fair, his strength is mediocre, and he’s carrying a fan in this weather. I’m not sure if he’s right in the head.”

Nighteye produced a rare chuckle, saying, “Can’t you just say he’s an idiot?”