Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 224 Catherine's Aesthetic Sense
Gerus then cast a spell. Dressed in a magnificent Rococo gown and wielding a white staff, she spun around, swirling up the thick snow around her and scattering it evenly over the scorching charcoal.

The snow hisses as it comes into contact with the hot coals, creating plumes of white mist that form a unique scene in the morning light.

"Don't sprinkle too much, or you'll wet the charcoal," Newman reminded him, gesturing with his bone claws. "Try to spread it evenly."

"Understood!" Gerus focused intently on adjusting the intensity of the spell, ensuring that every part received the appropriate cooling.

With all her might, beads of sweat appeared on the priestess's forehead.

Soon, with everyone's cooperation, the temperature of the charcoal dropped to a safe level. Newman nodded in satisfaction, indicating that the cooling process could be stopped.

With the fire-prevention spell canceled, everyone immediately sprang into action, breaking up the remaining large chunks of charcoal. Skeleton servants and Frostmane wolves pulled carts, methodically transporting the broken charcoal back to the Youth Civilization.

Black charcoal dust swirled in the sunlight. Gerus looked down at her elaborately decorated long dress and sighed helplessly. The delicate lace and ribbon embellishments on the hem were now stained black with charcoal ash, making it look particularly disheveled.

As for Zijin, she specially changed into a drab gray work uniform today, and her hair was wrapped tightly with a large headscarf, obviously she had come prepared in advance.

Gerus returned to the carriage and asked Yunier, who was doing inventory checks, for help, "Could you lend me a set of clothes suitable for work?"

Su Ming, who was typing on the keyboard in the office, looked up and asked in confusion, "I noticed you brought quite a lot of luggage when you came?"

"...The box was full of similar styles." Gerus's expression was indescribable.

Su Ming was even more puzzled. "Is this a business trip for you?"

During these few days together, Gerus, though not very talkative, was diligent and conscientious in her work, showing none of the spoiled airs of a noble lady. Logically speaking, even if she had preferences for clothing, she wouldn't have left out any practical items of clothing.

“I was tricked by Lady Catherine.” Jelus bluntly told the truth. “Before I left, she told me that I couldn’t lose face in front of Ainz Ooal Gown and Owl, and insisted that I wear the most gorgeous ceremonial robe.”

It turns out that the long dress was the girl's treasured ceremonial dress, no wonder the material was so exquisite and the pattern so delicate.

"Lady Catherine prepared several trunks of clothes for me and insisted that I take them. When I wasn't looking, she switched the luggage I had originally packed," Jelus continued, looking helpless. "When I was packing, I discovered that the ceremonial dress I was wearing was actually the simplest one among them!"

Su Ming and Yunier couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Yunier lent Gerus a set of work clothes and asked Gerus to bring her a few of those Lolita-style clothes, saying, "I'm pretty good at sewing, I'll try to alter them for you."

"Thank you so much!" Gerald said with a sigh of relief.

“When we get to the next village, I’ll collect some dye to help cover up the patterns on your clothes,” Yunier said.

Su Xiang seemed to have an idea. He took out a copy of the "Qing Jian" (青简), unfolded it, and brought up a quick sketch.

He showed it to Gerald, which featured Catherine and young Iser. Catherine looked exactly the same as she did now, but little Iser was like a doll. The little girl wore a lace tutu, a Bonnet hat, and an exaggerated bow at the back, and held a parasol adorned with flowers in her tiny hands.

Gerus laughed out loud, "Iser has been through this too!"

“Catherine actually has such a bad habit.” Su Ming shook his head while laughing. “So now that Iser isn’t falling for it, he’s going after you.”

“Lady Catherine has been very kind to me… in other ways,” Gerald explained, then requested, “Mr. Su, could you please make a copy of this painting for me?”

"Sure, just don't betray me."

“Of course!” Gerus smiled.

After changing into her work clothes, Gerus returned to the forest and joined the work team. New kilns were opened one after another, and charcoal was continuously transported to the Youth Civilization Unit, neatly stacked in the cargo wagons.

In the afternoon, everyone started the last charcoal kiln. The familiar forced cooling process was followed, and then everyone rushed in to empty the kiln of charcoal.

After completing their mission, the two charcoal burners were sent back to their village by Jelus, who also erased their memories of the past two days, allowing them to return home with the gold coins.

Once the last piece of charcoal was in place, the Youth Civilization Bus emitted its familiar hum and set off into the night, heading towards the future.
-

Alva territory, the lord's residence.

The early winter sun shone into the courtyard, where Leonie was feeding several country dogs. His own battle pet—a majestic and ferocious silver wolf—had perished in the battle of Crescent Forest a year ago. Since then, he had lost the will to train a new pet. Occasionally, when he missed it, he would come and play with these ordinary animals for a while. He put down the food bowl and heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw his younger brother, Libro, standing at the courtyard entrance with a strange guest.

"Good day, Your Excellency Leonie!" The visitor took off his hat and bowed. "My name is Jeffrey, and I am a special envoy sent by Princess Daffylin."

Leonie nodded slightly in return, but his gaze shifted to his younger brother, his brow furrowing slightly. He never participated in the specific affairs of the territory, nor did he like to be bothered by such trivial matters; he always left them to Libro.

“It’s like this, brother.” Libro glanced at Jeffrey, “Princess Daffylin has something she’d like to ask you for help with. In return, she has promised to reduce our territory’s taxes for three years.”

“When did we become unable to pay taxes?” Leonie sneered, then turned to his brother and shouted, “Tell me the truth, what exactly happened!”

Under his brother's intense scrutiny, Libro was forced to reveal the truth: he had secretly transferred the manor guards to the Lords' Alliance army. Now that Dimitri was dead, Princess Daphne began to purge the rebellion.

For a fleeting moment, Leonie wanted to beat his younger brother to death. As long as he was around, the family could maintain its foundation without having to take sides.

“What advice does Princess Daphne have for me?” Leonie gritted his teeth, forcing himself to calm down and avoid doing anything pointless. He turned to the princess's envoy, Jeffrey, “I have nothing to say about the punishment that is due, but if you wish to go further—”

Since being wounded in that brutal battle, Leoni's strength has plummeted from the Saint rank, and he is no longer the fearsome "Nightmare of the Icefield" he once was.

If Daphne pushes too far, Leonie will show her that even an old dog has a few teeth.

“Lord Leonie,” Jeffrey said, finally able to speak, before explaining his purpose. “Your territory has always been a model in upholding the Northern Lords’ Covenant and protecting the rights of its people. Therefore, Princess Daphne is willing to reach a reconciliation with your territory this time.”

Upon hearing this, Leonie's tone softened slightly, "How do you intend to reconcile?"

“Two conditions,” Jeffrey said. “One-sixth of the territory will be placed under royal supervision.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Leonie's eyes. This was far more lenient than he had anticipated; was Daphne planning to let them go?
"A second condition?" Leoni pressed.

“I hope Your Excellency can personally travel to Ries City to conduct an investigation,” Jeffrey said.

The explosion at the Astako residence caused severe damage, and subsequent vandalism and arson completely erased any trace of the incident. Although the investigation has so far found nothing suspicious, Princess Daflin, out of caution, still hopes to clarify the details of her kidnapping.

“Right now, looking across the entire kingdom, I’m afraid only Lord Leonie can accomplish this,” Jeffrey said sincerely.

Although Leoni has always abhorred getting involved in political turmoil, and Princess Daphne is not an easy person to deal with, it's not something he should refuse if it's just about using his ability to rewind time.

“I can make the trip to Ries City,” he agreed.
-

The following morning, as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds, the massive train of bones arrived at Hard Rock Canyon.

Only now did Su Ming begin the first comprehensive preparation and maintenance of the new motorcycle.

Because the Doomsday Motorcycle was much more complex than before, and it was their first time operating it, everyone had to watch tutorials while working. Fortunately, the engineers from Jingji Heavy Industry had prepared detailed video tutorials beforehand. Hanster and his team held tablets and carefully followed the steps in the videos to operate the vehicle.

Newman joined them with two black and white skeletons. Surprisingly, after just one night, the two skeletons became much more agile, handing out tools, helping out, and running around like spinning tops.

After the preparations were on track, Su Ming and Zi Jin walked together towards the canyon on the side of the parking area. The canyon was not very high, with steep rock walls on both sides, full of holes formed by wind erosion.

"Is this where you were six months ago?"

"Yes, thanks to Dimitri, we fought the White Scatter Riders right here." Violet's voice was filled with reminiscence. "That Price organization mage focused fire on me and beat me terribly."

"Speaking of which, how did such a massive bone fortress get all the way from the Plains of Despair?" Su Ming asked curiously. Although the straight-line distance was only three or four thousand kilometers, considering the actual road conditions, a detour would easily amount to a difficult journey of over ten thousand kilometers.

“Teleportation,” Violet replied. She hadn’t told Su Ming about this before, so she explained a bit more, “That was the first and only large-scale teleportation in this world. Galio thus established his status as the number one teleporter, and his title changed from Black Raven to Traveling Raven. The materials and crystals consumed at the time made him feel the pinch for many years.”

"I feel like the new title is even worse than Black Crow," Su Ming thought to himself.

"So how did you get to Cui'an Cliff?" he asked, finishing his question.

(End of this chapter)