97. Discovery

"Your Majesty, can you guess what we discovered in the mountains?" Elder Auf greeted Mo Fei with excitement as he and his companions returned to their residence in the city.

"Oh? Is Elder Auf about to surprise me again?" Mo Fei was always astonished and delighted by each of Elder Auf’s discoveries.

"I’ll tell you about our first discovery," Elder Auf said eagerly. "And this one, I believe, will be of particular interest to Cain."

"Something I would like?" Cain was puzzled.

"Indeed. Our mining team, while searching for ore in the mountains, encountered a creature the locals call the Terrifying Beast."

"My magical beast mount..." Cain’s eyes gleamed, whispering to himself. On the opposite continent, most of the trained mounts were far inferior, and there were barely any left to capture.

"Exactly. Based on my experience, this Terrifying Beast can be tamed. It’s even larger than our current cavalry mounts, and most importantly..." Elder Auf deliberately paused.

"Spit it out, old man, or I won’t be so polite with you!" Cain demanded, eyes wide with anticipation.

"This magical beast has a long horn growing from its head."

"Ah..." Even Mo Fei couldn’t help but cry out in astonishment. A mount larger than his current magical beast, with a horn on its head—what could this mean? Death Cavalry mounts rely on their own momentum and iron armor on their heads to strike enemies, but a magical beast born with a horn...

"Elder Auf, are you certain this beast can be tamed as a mount?" If true, Mo Fei’s plans for this continent would change significantly.

"Absolutely. Yet, I haven’t studied them in depth, so I can't say how many we could train in a year," Elder Auf replied confidently.

"As long as they can be tamed, numbers are only a matter of time," Mo Fei said, reassured. "Elder Auf, I must trouble your people once more."

"Your Majesty, please don’t say such things," Elder Auf said, displeased. "If not for following you, our Dwarf Tribe wouldn’t have the status we enjoy today."

He was right. On the previous continent, dwarves were synonymous with miners and blacksmiths. Despite their unique strengths, they lived at the lowest levels of society, their status exceedingly humble. But now, who would dare look down on the Dwarves? Even those outside the Death Empire felt the change.

"Oh, I remember you mentioned other surprises—we’re all ears," Mo Fei quickly shifted the topic.

"Indeed," Elder Auf continued, "A few days ago, our mining team sent to another direction reported they found an iron mine in the mountains. The content wasn’t high and not worth mining, but unexpectedly, they encountered what the locals call the Feather Tribe."

"Feather Tribe?" Mo Fei and Cain were both perplexed. What kind of race was this?

"I specifically returned to inquire of the elders in the Minotaur village. According to their memories, the Feather Tribe are the legendary Bird People..."

"Bird People?" Cain couldn’t help bursting into laughter, while Mo Fei's face reddened, though he didn't laugh aloud.

"Sigh, these are not the bird people you’re thinking of..." Elder Auf laughed as well.

"It's like this," Elder Auf explained after the laughter subsided. "The locals call them bird people, but the Feather Tribe themselves would never accept such an unpleasant name."

"Let me think," Mo Fei mused. "If the locals call them bird people, does that mean this Feather Tribe can fly like birds?"

"Your Majesty is not entirely wrong," Elder Auf smiled. "Don’t be surprised, but the Feather Tribe is said to be able to fly. However, those who’ve seen them in the air are only recalling ancient legends; no one has witnessed the Feather Tribe flying in recent times."

"So, Elder Auf, you said our mining team discovered them..."

"I’m not sure it counts as a discovery," Elder Auf replied. "Our dwarven miners, while camping overnight, had their captain on watch when he spotted several humanoid figures with wings spying on their camp. When the captain saw them, they flew away. The Minotaur men immediately called them the legendary bird people, and after consulting their elder, we learned there truly is such a Feather Tribe."

"I wouldn't call that much of a surprise," Mo Fei said, laughing. "Not just this continent—our own has many mysterious places we’ve never been. Perhaps there are things there that would astonish us as well."

"That’s true, it’s not much of a surprise," Elder Auf admitted. "What I really wanted to mention is that this mining team also discovered a gold mine."

"A gold mine?" Mo Fei and Cain were stunned.

"This continent is peculiar—gold is rare, and most exchanges are barter. The few gold mines are controlled by the Bear Tribe. Their mineral deposits are odd, small in capacity, and this one is no exception," Elder Auf explained.

"Now we have a gold mine, a new magical beast mount, and a Bear Tribe ready to trouble us. What do you think we should do?" Mo Fei smiled. He had a plan in mind, but wanted to hear the opinions of the empire’s two stewards—one managing the army, the other logistics. Their insights would be invaluable.

"Call in the army..."

"Build a fortress..."

Both spoke at once.

"Hahaha..." All three laughed together.

"Your Majesty, what is your decision?" Elder Auf asked carefully.

"You’re both right. Mobilize the army and build a fortress—just as I intended. This will be hard work for you, but if we gain a foothold here, the Bear Tribe’s threat to our continent will be eliminated," Mo Fei said.

Think about it: if you come to my land for food, I’ll wipe out your home here—when you have no home left, how will you roam?

"If we’re building a fortress to defend against Bear Tribe attacks, we’ll need to move the army first," Cain added.

As they discussed, an elven scout shouted from outside, "Young Master, urgent report..."

"Come in," Mo Fei gestured for Cain to open the door.

"Young Master," the elf began, now treating Mo Fei as one of their own, "The city’s residents, hearing rumors, are fleeing en masse—soon the city will be empty."

"What rumors?" Mo Fei asked.

"They say the Bear Tribe’s army will soon arrive to raze the city. Anyone who stays will be treated as an enemy, so they’re all fleeing."

"Tell the gate guards not to stop them—let them go," Elder Auf said quickly.

"Exactly. Let them leave, and spread even worse rumors—say we can’t defeat the Bear Tribe, and the city will perish with us," Cain added, catching Elder Auf’s meaning. Once everyone left, the city would belong to the Death Empire.

Mo Fei couldn’t help but laugh and cry at his two ministers’ cunning. Using such a method to seize territory!

"Once they leave, when we build the city, remember to reserve a few places for them. If the city is filled only with our people, it will create other problems," Mo Fei said, ever the soft-hearted leader. Cain understood Mo Fei’s nature well, and it was why he followed him so loyally.

After the Bear Tribe’s army was routed, their internal conflicts prevented them from regrouping in time. This gave Mo Fei a breathing period. Over the following ten days, Mo Fei left the forces that guarded the capital and newly recruited border troops in the Death Empire, but transferred the remaining twenty-three thousand heavy cavalry and thirty thousand elven light cavalry. Of course, the ten thousand heavy cavalry protecting the Elven Kingdom from Death City remained untouched, since it was the Empire’s core stronghold and the Elven Kingdom’s bulwark.

Elder Auf worked nearby, making ballistae on site.

The continent was abuzz after hearing Mo Fei would take decisive action against invaders on Demon Island. Admiration abounded. Dragon Empire publicly announced that anyone who attempted to attack the Death Empire at this time would face the full wrath of the Dragon Empire, and sent envoys to the Death Empire.

Meanwhile, the Military Empire passed an emergency war budget, allocating a third of last year's national revenue to the Death Empire’s defensive works on Demon Island. Whenever Death Empire launched a large-scale military operation or gathered its forces, Goldstone Empire provided immediate support to Mo Fei. This time, hearing of True Successor’s goodwill, Mo Fei finally regarded them as a genuine ally.