Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 211 Hanging River
The incident was deliberately staged on Morton family territory to implicate Lord Morton and his dim-witted son Alessandro, making them responsible for Princess Daflin's death. As for Catherine, the plan was to find a safe opportunity to secretly release her.

Su Ming pondered for a moment, "A brilliant plan!"

If Catherine survives while Princess Daphne dies, the Star Empire won't pursue the matter to the death. Furthermore, the kidnapping of Catherine, mixed in with Daphne's assassination, will seriously mislead the Cold Mountain royal family's investigation into the entire affair.

"As a result, Queen Catherine not only successfully slipped out of the encirclement, but also deliberately ran towards a sparsely populated area. We were afraid that something might happen to her and the little prince, so we chased after them desperately, but the more we chased, the worse things got!" Dimit lamented. "One wrong step led to another!"

Therefore, the noble army that was severely damaged by Violet was actually coming to Catherine's rescue!

Who would have thought!

Su Ming glanced at Zi Jin, "We risked our lives to search for her in the blizzard, but it was all for nothing?"

“If the Cold Mountain Kingdom incurs the wrath of the Star Empire, what benefit can we, the lords of a dependent kingdom, possibly gain!” Dimit said. “We’re barely managing to support that mother and daughter; how could we dare let them die!”

"..."

****
Su Ming followed Dimitri's statement and quickly discovered the contradictions.

"Didn't your Black Shot Imposters successfully rendezvous with Catherine outside Turkmenistan?" he questioned. "Why did you suddenly send out an ambush to kill her?"

Dimit looked at Su Ming with a puzzled expression. "Wasn't it already exposed by then? You and the Unicorn imprisoned Lord Brunrev's divided soul in Ries City and even cursed him to death—didn't you interrogate his soul?"

"Hey!" Su Ming's eyes widened. "Is that so!"

There's been too much going on lately. After a series of battles, he forgot to ask Qiluo how the unicorn had dealt with the wisp of soul that had escaped from the Alessandro puppet.

"Hanster did mention to me that Qiluo caused some trouble when she was sending a certain soul back," Zijin said thoughtfully. "It seems she was referring to Brunlev."

Upon hearing this, Dimitri looked incredulous. "No, you really didn't know back then?" He was filled with regret. "When I discovered the unicorn was with Catherine, I thought you already had everything under control!"

Su Ming was also a bit overwhelmed by this logic: "So, you think that Qi Luo and I are the ones causing trouble, and that the Black Smoke Imitation Shadow and the Noble Mage Corps are actually targeting us?"

“…Yes.” Dimit sighed heavily. “I planned to capture the unicorn and follow the trail to find the alchemist behind it—but who knew that pulling on the vine would pull out you two giant crocodiles, Ainz Ooal Gown and Chestnut Owl!” He couldn’t help but complain, “You two have been far too low-key all this time!”

If he had really kept a low profile, he wouldn't have gotten involved in all this. Su Ming silently complained to himself. Besides, this Dimitri's luck in scheming was hardly any better than Brunlev's.

"Brenlev, how come such a powerful figure is so easily defeated?" Violet was very puzzled. "I was always on guard against him popping out of nowhere."

If she hadn't reached the Saint rank, Zi Jin wouldn't actually be able to defeat this veteran puppeteer, which explains why she was so wary.

"I also want to know how you killed him!" Dimit shouted angrily. "If Lord Brunlev were still alive, with his fighting prowess and strategic planning, the outcome of this battle would have been uncertain!"

Su Ming and Zi Jin ignored him.

"If Catherine knew the details of what happened, her expression would be indescribable," Su Ming said. "On the surface, we saved her, but in the end, she was just a victim of our actions."

"Relax, don't bother the busy Queen with such trivial matters!" Zi Jin's lips curled into a sly smile. "Anyway, there aren't many people left who know the truth—Dimit has been working so hard these past few days, he deserves some rest!"

Su Ming did not object, determined to go against her conscience this once, [I hoped she would investigate the materials and techniques for the gospel for me.]

"She still owes me money!" Violet said with a smile.

The two exchanged a glance and reached a consensus.

But there's still one thing I haven't figured out.

Su Ming stepped forward, grabbed Dimit by the collar, and his eyes sharpened. "So, the final question is, why did you try to assassinate Daphne?"

****
At the Governor's Mansion in Bubing, Catherine was ushered through the gates and into the residence. She removed her cloak and handed it to a maid.

"Queen Catherine, the princess is waiting for you in the reception room," the secretary said, bowing.

This wasn't Catherine's first time at this place. She waved to her deputy, Grendel, and the rest of her entourage, signaling them not to follow her, and walked alone to the reception room on one side.

The secretary hurriedly went around to open the door, and Princess Daphne was sitting on the sofa, holding a glass of white wine, waving to her.

Catherine went in and sat down opposite Princess Daffylin, and the secretary closed the door behind her.

There were no waiters in the reception room, only the two of them, which suggested that they were having a private meeting.

Catherine also adopted a languid sitting posture and poured herself a glass of red wine.

"You know about it?" Daphne asked, speaking up. "Qingqiao Suspended River."

Catherine also got straight to the point, "We are aware that the Qingqiao Suspended River could damage the source of the Sang River, and we will absolutely not allow it!"

The Sang River is the most important river in the North, originating from the melting snow of the Dome Mountains. It gathers many tributaries along the way, flows down the entire ice field, and finally empties into the sea at the Jishou mudflats.

The Green Bridge Suspended River Project will cut off the water system flowing northward from the Dome Mountain Range, diverting it to converge on the southern kingdom side. This will cause the upper reaches of the Sang River to lose most of its water source, thus drying up.

The room was brightly lit, but Daphne's eyes were somewhat dim. She simply took a large gulp of her wine.

"What you're doing will affect agriculture on the third tier of the ice sheet and cause famine for the inhabitants there!"

Daphne put down her glass and shook her head. "Actually, the consequences are far more than that."

She stood up and unfolded the map projection. On the map, the terrain of the ice plains from high to low, including the Dome Mountain Range, the Third Step, the Upper Ridge Mountain Range, the Second Step, the Middle Ridge Mountain Range, the First Step, the Lower Ridge Mountain Range, and the Jishou Tidal Flats, was displayed.

Bubing City is located on the second step, between the Middle Ridge Mountains and the Upper Ridge Mountains. The winding San River flows past the city, traversing the entire ice field.

“Cutting off the water source at its origin will allow other tributaries to flow in, having little impact on the middle and lower reaches of the Sang River. But—” Daphne suddenly circled the forest along the upstream banks, “the upper reaches of the Sang River will dry up during the non-rainy season, causing the vegetation on both sides of the river to wither. When the rainy season comes, rainwater will sweep away the soil that has lost its vegetation protection and enter the river channel. And carried by the abundant water flow of the rainy season, it will rush downstream.”

“A chain reaction of ecological disasters,” Katharine murmured. “What a massive undertaking.” “The silt will raise the riverbed, reduce its flow capacity, and cause it to overflow and change course during the rainy season,” Daphne said. “And this disaster will continue to spread downstream, with its impact growing larger and larger.”

"What do you want to do?" Catherine was at a loss for words. In just over a decade, this plan could plunge half of the North into misery.

“The Green Bridge and Hanging River Project was originally two separate projects: ‘Green Bridge’ and ‘Hanging River.’ It’s true that ‘Green Bridge’ will improve the transportation situation in the Dome Mountains mining area, and it’s also true that ‘Hanging River’ will resolve the Kingdom’s control over the North.” Daphne sat back on the sofa. “By controlling the water source of the Dome Mountains, we can use it to coerce the lords of the North into relinquishing some of their power.”

“The lords won’t agree. You can only cut off the water supply and activate the ‘Suspended River’ to force them to submit,” Catherine said. “These people never learn until they’re faced with a death sentence.”

“This is the inevitable process,” Daphne said.

"For you, this process is a political tug-of-war," Catherine said angrily, "but for the people of the North, it's famine and death!"

“Sasha, you can’t possibly not understand this math problem, can you?” Daphne said. “Only 10% of the North currently belongs to the royal family. Even if the North suffers some losses after the plan succeeds, we will still get at least half of it. No matter how you look at it, it’s a sure thing.”

Catherine braced her hands on the table, her knuckles turning white from the force. "Not bad, you're not the most disgusting politician I've ever met." She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "The terrible state of affairs in the North, with you interfering like this... the survivors might at least be somewhat human."

“There’s no need to make excuses for us.” Daphne picked up her wine glass and downed the wine in one gulp, but the strong liquor made her cough repeatedly. “Rescuing the people of the North is not the goal; everything is for the benefit of the royal family.”

She wiped the wine stains from the corner of her mouth and continued, "But now the 'Suspended River' plan is no longer needed. Half of the Lords' Alliance's elite forces have been wiped out by you, Lord Brunrev has died tragically, and Dimit is left to fight alone. At the same time, they provoked the royal family first, handing over their leverage. Next, as long as we follow the established political and military operations, we can take back most of the power in the North."

Su Ming and Zi Jin, in just one round trip driving the Bone Train, achieved enormous results. The combination of a modern killing machine and a Saint-level necromancer was far too overwhelming for ordinary professional soldiers.

Although the Lords' Alliance had a total force of approximately 20,000, Su Ming and Zi Jin directly eliminated about 4,000, and with the harsh low temperatures, they annihilated a total of about 7,000 to 8,000. The subsequent raid by Price and others eliminated another 2,000, bringing the total estimated at around 10,000.

However, all of these casualties were targeted at the main combat forces. The reconstruction of the overall combat strength of the Lord Alliance would take years, and the Cold Mountain Royal Family would not give them a chance to breathe.

“Congratulations!” said Catherine.

Daphne reached for the wine bottle to pour herself a drink, but was stopped by Catherine, whose cheeks were already flushed.

Catherine poured a glass of water and handed it to Daphne, saying, "If you can't handle strong liquor, don't bother with this."

Daphne drank half a glass of water, which relieved her symptoms considerably.

"Am I a failure?" Daphne held her face in her hands; it was indeed the first time she had ever drunk such strong liquor.

"Where did you fail? Once you complete the Qingqiao section, your royal family's long-cherished wish will be fulfilled."

“Su Ming and Zi Jin won’t agree,” Daphne said, shaking her head. “They won’t cooperate with me.”

Catherine hesitated to speak, which was consistent with her judgment.

“Daflinn, I have a question,” Keisha suddenly asked, “Why would someone like Master Newman get involved in Project Suspended River?”

****
On Su Ming's side, both he and Zi Jin were shocked by the truth that Dimit had revealed.

“What a wicked scheme,” Su Ming murmured. “No wonder you were willing to go to any lengths to assassinate Princess Daphne.”

"Our Lords' Alliance is only striving for survival," Dimit quickly said.

"A bunch of scum." Violet sneered. "You rotten lords should have been swept into the dustbin of history long ago." She unleashed a dark whip spell, raising her hand to lash him until his skin was torn and bleeding.

"What's wrong?" Su Ming asked, knowing that Dimitri wouldn't provoke Violet's anger.

"Daffyline's misuse of knowledge is a disgrace to scholars!" Violet grew angrier the more she thought about it, and gave Dimit a few more lashes. "What a waste! You can't even do an assassination properly! Hesitant and timid, it would have been so much easier to just slice Daphne off with one stroke!"

Dimitri was whipped until he curled up, clutching his head and screaming in agony.

Su Ming reached out and stopped Zi Jin. "Wait, don't kill her now."

He continued questioning Dimitri, "What's the story with Master Newman?"

Dimitri trembled, not daring not to answer, “Master Newman came to this side of the ice field to investigate, and we kidnapped him. Daphne sent the White Scatter Riders to rescue him, but I used a trick to lure them to the location of the Bone Fortress.”

"Then our necromancers and the White Scatter Cavalry got into a huge fight." Violet was so angry that she gritted her teeth, and she raised her hand again.

This time, Su Ming grabbed her hand directly. "You'll die if I hit you again. Finish asking your questions first."

He used a paralysis spell on Dimitri to relieve his pain. "How did Master Newman die?"

“We killed him,” Dimitri confessed. “If he had just disappeared, Daphne would have investigated relentlessly, so we had no choice but to kill him and dispose of the body.”

Su Ming released Zi Jin's hand, a murderous glint appearing in his eyes.

Dimitri suddenly revealed a chilling smile. "Lord Ainz and Scholar Chestnut Owl, I have something for you." He reached into his robes. "Only if you release my family and swear to give me a quick death!"

Violet raised her hand to dispel the paralysis spell on Dimit, and then lashed out with her whip again. "Nothing can stop me from torturing you to death!"

Despite the excruciating pain, Dimitri pulled out a black gem, clutched it tightly in his palm, and showed it to them. The pigeon-egg-sized gem absorbed the surrounding light, its surface swirling with dark silver patterns, as eerie as a cat's eye.

“A deep, dark cocoon!” Violet squinted.

"What's that?" Su Ming asked, not understanding.

"A treasure that can preserve the soul," Violet replied. "A good thing."

Inside the gemstone, a cluster of tiny specks of light floated, pulsating subtly, as if something were asleep.

(End of this chapter)