Chapter 144: Chapter 144

The severed tendrils were scattered all over the deck. Too many and too small, Little Loach couldn’t be bothered to pick them up. If Elder Brother were here, he would definitely give it another lecture, saying, "You’re not as good as Alexia, who understands the principle of not wasting any resources."

The river surface returned to calm, as the giant clam demon beast that ruled this area had been dealt with, and for the moment, other ferocious creatures did not dare to approach.

It took the people on the boat quite a while to recover and finally manage to get up.

The first to recover was the Shipowner, who rushed to the statue of the River God without a word and knelt down, continuously kowtowing and reciting, "Blessings from the River God!"

He had seen it clearly just now, and it was indeed the great River God!

The sailors also recovered one after another, and one of them bravely picked up a tendril, smelled a refreshing fragrance from it, and tasted it. He then ate it all in a few bites, "This is the divine blessing of the great River God!"

People living on the water, of course, ate their share of fish.

With that said, everyone scrambled to get their fill, and the Shipowner jumped out and shouted, "Don’t fight!"

"This is a divine gift from the River God, but it’s not all for us. It’s for all the devout believers of the River God!"

"Each person is only allowed to take one, and the rest will be collected and handed over to Master Steven upon our return for him to distribute. If anyone dares to take more, don’t blame me for being rude!"

Strangely enough, after eating the tendrils, the sailors immediately felt their exhaustion vanish, their strength increased, and an overwhelming sense of bravery when sailing on the sinister river.

They collected all the tendrils, even those that fell into the water, and went to great lengths to fish them out. Even when one floated downstream, the Shipowner shouted orders and the sailors, full of energy, chased it back for several miles to retrieve it!

"This is a blessing from the River God, and we cannot waste a single one."

Such was everyone’s belief.

Then the Shipowner decided not to deliver the goods this time and returned to Yukou Town first. As for Master Steven, using this "miracle" to establish a law enforcement team, cracking down on the wicked and false believers, and consolidating Yukou Town, that’s another story.

Owen Bertram was happy to know that his younger brother had eaten the giant clam, feeling that his younger brother had finally become mature and sensible. Then, he just waited for his younger brother’s share.

On Commander Bertram’s side, the main focus was on the puppet birds.

The Lester person in Yukou Town bought some unimportant things and mainly chatted with the Shopkeeper to inquire about the matters in Extinct Village.

This made Owen Bertram very puzzled: What’s going on? Even the faraway Nanni Nation, which was thousands of miles away, has set their sights on our small Extinct Village?

The Lester person who got the news returned to the hostel, and Owen Bertram controlled the magpie to listen outside the hostel window.

But these damned Lester spies were discussing things in their language! Neither Owen Bertram nor the magpie could understand it.

The Lester person spoke Wood Dynasty’s language when inquiring about the news with the Shopkeeper.

"Wait a minute!" Owen Bertram had a sudden idea and activated the "Beast Speech Skill."

After a while, he found that he could actually understand what the Lester people were saying! A meaningful smile appeared on Owen Bertram’s face.

Inside the hostel, the Lester spies had been discussing for a while.

"... It’s not far from here, one day by water and a day and a half by land."

"That village is full of strange things and is notorious nearby. That Wood person concealed key information from us and is insincere. I think we can completely tear up this so-called cooperation agreement. In any case, we have another purpose for this trip: to find Vanessa Garden and get the Mysterious Mechanism Seed. That will be a great achievement, and the young master will surely reward us."

Some people expressed concern, "But that Wood person is powerful and is said to have a lot of influence in the area. If we don’t cooperate with him and are discovered, I’m afraid even if we find the Mysterious Mechanism Seed, we won’t be able to bring it back to Nanni."

The person who had spoken earlier said, "We can be more careful in our actions, and as long as we’re not discovered by him, he won’t know we were here and how could he give us trouble?"Everyone became silent, waiting for the leader’s final decision.

After a while, a hoarse voice said, "The Wood People are despicable. They want to use our power but don’t tell us the truth. Fine, let’s not cooperate.

We need to find Vanessa Garden as soon as possible and return to Nanni Nation.

Stephen, bring out the treasure map, we need to study it again."

A magpie perched on a windowsill, preening its feathers with its beak. Owen Bertram stroked his chin in the outpost, wondering: I don’t know where Vanessa Garden is, but the Mysterious Mechanism Seed is with me, and it’s like the carrot dangling in front of the donkey for Little Loach and York Gordon, making them work hard for it.

You are destined not to find it.

But from what they said, there are actually people in the Wood Dynasty colluding with them? And that person seems to be in a high position!

"I must not let the traitor off!" Owen Bertram said fiercely to himself.

Mountain Master counted the days when the reinforcements would arrive. He left alone to find a peak and took out the jade talisman for communication between the two sides, injecting spiritual energy into it and sending a message.

In the Yukou Town inn, the Lester people were studying the treasure map when the leader’s face suddenly changed. He took out his jade talisman: "That Wood Person has contacted me."

Everyone looked at each other, and the leader pondered, "Let’s hear what he has to say first."

He gathered spiritual energy and gently tapped the jade talisman, and the Mountain Master’s voice came out: "Have you all arrived? This is a matter of great importance. In order to be safe, I didn’t tell you the specifics beforehand, but now I can tell you: I have discovered an underwater palace with countless treasures. However, the palace is heavily guarded, and we need to cooperate sincerely in order to break through the defenses and obtain the treasures.

If we succeed, I will take 60% of the treasures, and the rest will be yours.

If you have any other requests in the future, don’t hesitate to come to me. As long as the price is right, I will support you wholeheartedly!"

Owen Bertram, listening through the magpie, almost cursed: How about saying that you would sell the Wood Dynasty to me if I offered enough!

But this voice was unfamiliar; he didn’t know who it belonged to.

"An underwater palace?" Owen Bertram wondered, "Could it be the Iron Spear Underground Palace by any chance?"

No matter how improbable the chances were, Owen Bertram decided to have the Mechanical Dao Soldiers watch Hunshui River for the time being. He also needed to come up with a plan soon to test whether the spear energy in the Iron Spear Underground Palace had been exhausted and if the next phase of exploration could begin.

The leader of the Lester people revealed a cunning smile: "He’s becoming impatient."

"The more impatient he is, the more advantageous it is for us."

Then he sent a message through the jade talisman: "Your Excellency, we are on our way at full speed, but we are very cautious not to expose our position, so we are slower than expected. Please wait a little longer. Our Nanni people and you will always be good friends, and you can trust us."

After sending the message, the Lester people laughed heartily.

"This Wood Person doesn’t even know we’ve already arrived, so we’re perfectly safe for now. We leave tomorrow to find Vanessa Garden as soon as possible!"

But some of them said, "The King and the Young Master have far-reaching ambitions. Our Nanni Nation has long harbored an ambition to swallow the Wood Dynasty whole. This Wood Person could become our insider. If we simply break off ties with him now, it would be a pity."

The leader pondered for a moment and said: "Finding the Mysterious Mechanism Seed and helping the Young Master achieve great cultivation is the top priority."

"After the Mysterious Mechanism Seed is found, we will send people back to the nation while I stay back with a few others to keep that Wood Person company."

Owen Bertram frowned; the Nanni Nation truly had sinister ambitions!

Since that is the case... as the host, I should give you a warm welcome.