You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 99 The Last Lord of the Sea Fortress
Roman had been observing Neel for a long time.

He didn't see anything special about it.

But the incredible talent for underwater breathing and being able to breathe like a fish in water is probably real.

He felt that Neliel was related to a witch and had awakened some innate magical talent, but then he felt that it didn't seem like it, because Neliel's five-dimensional attributes were all average, and she didn't seem like a spellcaster.

Roman failed to notice anything special about Neliel.

He broke the silence and asked directly, "You're from Seaburg?"

Neliel wasn't tall, but she had a very well-proportioned figure, with long legs and a slim waist, showing potential as a model. Her skin was extremely fair and delicate. She replied, "Yes, sir."

“I thought the inhabitants of Sea Castle were all a bit dark-skinned,” Roman added. Most of the slaves Morey brought were rough-featured and had darker skin due to the constant exposure to the sea winds, and Kao and Sanna were the same, with healthy wheat-colored skin.

"Some Sea Fort people have skin that can withstand the harshness of the sea breeze," Neel said.

Sea Castle belongs to the Iron Kingdom and also to the Iceland Kingdom.

Ultimately, the ownership depends on the choice of the Lord of the Sea Castle.

Although Roman believed there were seven kingdoms on this land.

But this concept has always been vague.

Anyone who thinks that the seven kingdoms meticulously divided the land, drawing clear boundaries like dividing a cake, is sorely mistaken.

The seven royal domains combined would be lucky to occupy 10% of the entire landmass.

In reality, it should be less than 5%, and that doesn't even include the archipelago.

The remaining lands were all given to the feudal lords.

The king held a very high position, but had very little control over the entire kingdom.

If the border nobles ignore you, there's nothing the king can do.

They're just not listening to you, they're not rebelling.

Unless the king has a strong personality or is acting out of political interests, there is no need for him to mobilize troops and display royal power.

Morey stayed in Sig for several days and told Roman about the specific situation in Seaburg.

That long, narrow coastline is called the Dust Python Coast.

Winding and undulating, stretching for thousands of miles.

Like a giant python lying dead, fast asleep, its body separating the land from the sea.

Sea Castle sits at the tail end of the Dust Python Coast—where the tip of the Dust Python's tail plunged into the sea, creating a steep mountain range rising from the deep ocean.

Its end curves up high, so the further you go, the higher the terrain becomes and the narrower the road becomes.

At the end, the cliff was a hundred meters above the sea.

The cliffs were sheer, and below them, the surging white waves crashed against the hard rock face day and night, eroding the mountain.

The nameless ancestors of Sea Castle came to the end of the Dust Serpent Coast and built a tall sea castle, from which they got their name.

The Dust Serpent's tail was held high, and vast beaches emerged on both sides leading to the land. It was surrounded by the sea on three sides, with a town connected to its southern side. It had access to abundant marine resources, convenient transportation, and was easy to attack or defend, making it convenient for domination.

For over a century, conquerors swept across the land with their swords, and the lord of the sea fortress willingly submitted; otherwise, the conquerors' army would most likely have suffered a crushing defeat at the sea fortress.

The lords of the Sea Fortress throughout history believed that the blood of the divine people flowed in their veins and that they could hear the call from the depths of the ocean in their dreams.

They would typically retire in old age and travel by boat across the sea, following the trend of the times, eventually reaching their destined destination.

Roman asked Neliel, "I've heard that the Lord of Sea Castle is a descendant of the sea?"

Neliel blinked. "I cannot answer your question; only the Lord of Sea Castle is qualified."

She was born into that environment and was accustomed to those distant legends.

But I'm afraid the land dwellers don't think that way, especially the nobles on land—the conquering knights know nothing about the vast ocean.

Neel didn't want to offend her current master, so she avoided the topic.

"Do you also have the bloodline of the Lord of the Sea Fortress in your veins?"

Niliel pursed her lips. She had a high nose bridge, deep blue eyes like the ocean, and exceptionally defined features. Her appearance was something no ordinary person could possess.

"Perhaps, sir. This is not something I, a servant, should know. As you know, there is only one Lord of Sea Castle."

Roman felt that although the Lord of Sea Castle had no heir, the bloodline had not been broken. That land had indeed prospered. Each generation of Lord of Sea Castle must have had more than one descendant. However, there was only one Lord of Sea Castle, and the succession was not based on primogeniture.

The remaining offspring either married into other noble families or became commoners, resulting in a mixed bloodline.

Therefore, some residents of sea fortresses are quite unique; their skin is like fish scales, which can resist the wear and tear of sea winds and the erosion of salt and alkali, making them natural darlings of the ocean.

He scrutinized Neliel. "Among the Sea Fort people who come to Sig Town, are there many like you?"

Upon hearing this, Neliel immediately puffed out her firm breasts, exuding the charm of a beauty.

She said to Roman with absolute certainty, “My lord, I swear you cannot find a slave more beautiful than me.”

Roman naturally believed this statement. If there were one more slave of Niliel's looks, the town of Nasger would have to spend at least ten more gold coins.

If the entire ship were filled with slaves like that, he would have to smash Morey's head with the ledger.

I am a slave who is to work! Not a slave who is to be worked!
Roman treated Neliel very well, as if they were having a casual chat. "What did you do at Sea Castle before? What about your family?" "My father was a shipwright, my mother could mend fishing nets and do odd jobs, and I have two younger brothers and a younger sister..." Neliel's face was somewhat somber; though ordinary, she was beautiful. Until the Lord of Sea Castle died, they lost their lord and could not find a suitable successor.

The lord of the Sea Castle had few descendants in modern times, and now he has no heir at all, causing endless disputes between the Sea Castle steward and the guards.

They had no choice but to find a master from among the noble bloodlines who had intermarried with the Seaberg.

But this decision also brought devastating disaster to Seaburg.

The gates of Sea Castle were wide open, and Count Bailey and Lord Baiyang were plundering everything that could be called wealth in Sea Castle, including her.

"how about you?"

Neliel bit her lip. "I am the handmaid of the Lord of Sea Castle..."

Roman was not surprised by the answer. Neliel clearly dealt with nobles often, so she handled herself with grace and confidence, knowing how to win his favor.

Roman rested his elbow on the armrest. "Tell me more."

Neel didn't know where to begin, so she had no choice but to tell the whole story; that experience could no longer be hidden.

Who knows how much information that slave trader named Morey told Roman?

"When I was twelve, I became a handmaid of the Lord of the Sea Castle, serving Lord Dill along with other girls. Lord Dill was not in good health, and he chose us to be his handmaids for the sake of succession."

"He promised that once he recovered, we would bear him the next Lord of Seaburg. But he did not recover his health; sometimes he couldn't even stand up and could only lie in bed, spending most of his time sleeping."

"His health was hampered by illness, and his personality became increasingly eccentric. Sometimes he would fall into a hysterical rage in his sleep, as if he were having a nightmare..."

Neel recalled that gloomy experience, as if some sticky tide could be secreted from her mind.

At that time, she and the other maids cared for the frail Lord of Sea Castle day and night on his sickbed.

In the past, Dill would never have been qualified to become the Lord of Sea Castle.

But Deer's father's father only had Deer's father, and Deer's father only had Deer.

Over the past few decades, the lordship of Sea Castle has been passed down through three generations of single heirs, making the succession increasingly fragile.

Like a seed infected with a disease, the seedling it nurtures is delicate and fragile.

She still remembered Dill's pale and emaciated face. He couldn't eat anything, and the blood coral was of no use to him. He could only survive on the cool energy contained in the pearl powder, which consumed a high-quality pearl every day.

But a sieve can't hold water.

His body grew weaker in the dry air, and sometimes he couldn't even breathe, like a severe asthma patient or a fish living on land.

They called the disease the Black Plague, a terrible disease from the depths of the ocean, and it was rumored that the conquerors were also infected with the Black Plague.

More than once, Deer asked the steward of Seaburg to put him into the sea and let the ocean current carry him away.

But this unreasonable request was rejected by the fort's steward, who argued that humans would only drown in the sea, and that the ocean currents would only carry away a corpse.

Dill became increasingly violent and unpredictable, experiencing nightmares in his sleep and emitting a kind of shrill and inhuman howl. When awake, he was like a mad dog, smashing everything he could grab to pieces, venting his repressed and bitter emotions with his frenzied actions, which also consumed his already limited life force.

They were Dill's handmaids, and thus implicated, forced to constantly clean up the mess. They were terrified and prayed to the ocean gods to restore the Lord of the Sea Castle to health.

He swung his arms with the strength of a three- or four-year-old child, posing no threat to them.

But he was still the lord of the sea fortress, and he had plenty of ways to torture others to the point of wishing they were dead.

But Dill never hurt them.

He was not particularly tyrannical, and was especially kind to his maids, often calling them "my dear sisters" or "my blood relatives" in a gentle voice.

He said that the people of Haibao have the same blood flowing in their veins, a secret power from the deep sea that enables them to dream of the same scenery.

But none of the descendants of Heyburg today can do that.

They share the same ancestor, but this bloodline has been diluted since they came ashore.

To maintain a pure bloodline, one must unite with someone of the same bloodline, which may give birth to a bloodline that is atavistic.

He said that his bloodline was not pure and that he was also a commoner, and that their status should be equal. If he could become the lord of the sea fortress, then any of the maids here would also be qualified.

But since he was his father's only son, the lineage might end with his generation, and the sea fort would lose the favor of the ocean.

This is fate.

The Dust Serpent's life has come to an end, and the Sea Fortress located at the tip of its tail has also come to an end. The ocean has lost an obstacle, and the future will become even more turbulent and unstoppable. At that time, even the demons will have to avoid its sharp edge.

But she and her maid felt that Lord Dill had not yet woken up from the nightmare, and that the Lord of Sea Castle was talking in her sleep—her father and mother were both fair-skinned Sea Castle people, and she was just a Sea Castle person; she could not become the Lord of Sea Castle.

Dill took her hand and made her sit on the edge of the bed, which reeked of illness. He then sent her parents, as if to prove something to her, tracing her lineage, going through various documents, and even finding several centenarians from Heyburg.

Finally came to the conclusion:
She is a descendant of the Lord of Sea Castle who followed the conquerors on their expedition a hundred years ago. Her father five generations ago and Lord Dill's father six generations ago were the same person. They are true blood relatives—she should be the aunt or maternal aunt of the current Lord of Sea Castle.

Later, Dill died in anguish.

He died suddenly, like someone who had drowned on land.

As he sailed across the sea alone in his wooden boat, the sky was overcast, and unprecedentedly powerful waves surged up from the coast, crashing against the mountains with a thunderous roar.

The seemingly indestructible cliff collapsed, creating a hollow space beneath it. Rolling rocks fell into the sea, making the dust python's tail tip appear even more upturned.

The sea swallowed the remains of the last lord of the sea fortress amidst cries of anguish.

(End of this chapter)