People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

"What if your mother were gone? How would you cope?" Ernst asked curiously.

Defiance glared at Ernst angrily: "Why isn't my mother here!"

"If, if," Ernst waved his hand.

Daifeien then began to think.

To be honest, she had never thought about this before. Her mother had never taught her these things either.

Amphilis Windermere's initial intention was to allow Defiance to enjoy more of the joys of childhood before shouldering the responsibilities of the Duke's heir. However, the lack of such education was undeniable.

So much so that when Defiance was suddenly asked this question at this moment, she couldn't answer it for a moment.

Fortunately, Ernst was just asking casually and didn't expect the Duke's daughter, Daphne, to use her wealth-draining skills (which she hadn't actually learned) for casual conversation.

After a brief silence, Ernst changed the subject.

An idea popped into his head.

Since Ensiodis might pull off something big after the Holy Hunting Ceremony, should I just sit here and wait to be killed and watch?

That won't work!

I need to do something myself to catch Enciodes off guard! It would be best to make this Holy Hunting Ritual unique, so that Enciodes has no chance to shine!

Well, just do it!

“Defiance, can I ask you for a favor?” Ernst asked.

Daphne blinked and instinctively hugged her chest.

Ernst rolled his eyes, his face darkening. "I wanted to borrow your messenger."

Since the goal is to prepare a surprise for Ensiodis, the messengers from the Kalan Trade are obviously unusable. Having the Windermere family keep the Kjerag messengers is a better option.

Daifei then released her grip and asked curiously, "What do you want to do?"

"Please have your messenger follow Vina and send her a letter, asking her to bring me something from Lungmen."

"What to bring?"

Ernst's mind flashed back to those few items that had been largely banned in the city before his transmigration, but which symbolized the festive spirit of the New Year, and he reminisced:

"Order some fireworks, firecrackers, and preferably lanterns and paper-cut window decorations."

"Would the Sherag people like this?" Daphne asked with some doubt.

"That's why it has to be custom-made. The fireworks explode in the shape of the great god Yeragand, the firecrackers are shaped like the Grand Elder, and the paper-cut window decorations and lanterns are embroidered with pictures from the Yeragand epic. That way, even an illiterate person can understand it and still enjoy it. How could anyone not like it?"

As Ernst spoke, even Daphne was drawn in, her eyes sparkling.

"You're quite resourceful."

She said with great anticipation,

"I'm lending you the messenger!"

Ernst nodded with satisfaction.

He had another idea he didn't mention.

That is to make the shapes of some of the fireworks explode into the likeness of Enshiodis, and then give some to Sister Enya.

When those fireworks go up into the sky, Ernst can proudly boast to Boss Yin:

"See that, bro? I had that custom-made for you!"

"Look how high you're flying... Ah, it exploded."

P.S.: I received a private message today, basically telling me that there's a problem with my Yeragand character design; that a behemoth couldn't possibly be so much like a mother. While Yeragand isn't actually that aloof, I wrote her as too soft. I still need to explain.

The idea that Yera is like a mother is an official Yostar character designation. I'm posting two pictures to prove that I agree with Yera's statement that "she can accept her child leaving the gods, but she will feel sad when her child denies or abandons her," as well as Yera's "motherly quotes" to Enya.

So Yeragand's mother is indeed Yeragand's mother. Although most other giant beasts are described as either zen or arrogant, giant beasts cannot be generalized. Yeragand's mother figure is as stable as it gets.

PS2: Please give me some votes! I've been getting so few recommendation votes lately. I'm losing motivation to stay up all night writing. Please help!

Chapter Sixty-Six Wei Yanwu: What kind of time bomb did you send me!

Dayan, Longmen.

As the lift platform at the docking point was lowered, the convoy of Kalan Trade slowly drove into the underground of this massive mobile city.

By the standards of this land, Lungmen is undoubtedly a mobile city on the standard line. The reason why it has become a super commercial city known throughout the entire Terra land and even able to independently issue Lungmen currency is largely due to the presence of Wei Yanwu, the governor of Lungmen and the elder brother of the Great Yan Emperor.

As the undisputed absolute core of this city, the Longmen Governor's Mansion is decorated in a Chinese style but also has bright colors in a Western style. In every aspect, it can't wait to show its rebellious spirit, which is derived from the Great Yan but is not entirely the same as the traditional Great Yan.

If we could turn back the clock a few months, Vina would never have dreamed that she would step onto the land of Lungmen in this way, with this identity, to meet Governor Wei Yanwu, who was already famous in Terra in her father's generation.

If she hadn't met Ernst, hadn't made up her mind to attend that recruitment event, and hadn't gone to Sherag, she might still be hiding in the streets of Lentinium right now, avoiding the eyes and ears of the nobles and council throughout the city, while struggling to survive in the slums and gang fights.

The best outcome she could imagine was to take down a gang and become yet another pathetic street thug in the underground city of Londinium, a "lower class" despised by the rich.

If given the choice, who would want to spend their entire life as a rat in the gutter, oppressed by hateful nobles and parliament?

Especially someone like Vina.

She is the daughter of the Lion King. Her patience and composure must be for the sake of rising up. Even though she is now hiding and far from home, she still has ambitions!

The high-pressure environment of Lentinium didn't give her room to grow, but Sherag provided her with a platform. In just a few months, she had learned a great deal from Ernst, from Holheimia, and even from Defiance!

It's time to perfectly execute a solo mission, test what I've learned, and give back to them.

Taking a deep breath, Vina calmed her tense and excited feelings, allowing her mind to process the knowledge and skills she had prepared beforehand. She opened the car door and looked towards the Longmen Governor's Mansion at the end of the wide road, and at the governor standing in front of the main gate of the Longmen Governor's Mansion, a man of ancestral blood and an appearance of atavism.

She walked towards him without hesitation, and when she was still three meters away, she extended her hand and gave him a polite smile.

"Governor Wei, hello."

However, to Vina's surprise, the renowned Governor Wei Yanwu seemed lost in thought, staring blankly at her face for five seconds before snapping out of it and extending his hand to shake hers.

"Hello, Miss Vina."

He paused, gave Vina a deep look, and his smile, which even twitched at the corners of his mouth, seemed rather forced.

Welcome to Lungmen.

.............

"Excuse me, I'll be back in a minute."

After leading Vina into the reception room and instructing the servants to pour her tea, Wei Yanwu glanced at his watch, stood up, and quickly left the reception room.

As soon as he stepped out, he ran into Wen Yue, who was waiting by the door.

Wen Yue is a typical Dongguo woman. When her husband is discussing business with distinguished guests, she usually consciously steps aside to give him ample personal space. However, unlike typical Dongguo women, she holds a slightly higher position at home. Therefore, although she outwardly gives Wei Yanwu face, in reality, unless the matter is truly confidential, she usually overhears everything and will offer him advice afterward.

Wei Yanwu usually wouldn't stop Wen Yue's actions, because persuading his wife meant he would have to use force, hit her hand with his own face, and hit her several times. He and Wen Yue were so loving, he really couldn't bear to do that.

But this time, before Wen Yue could even "rule from behind the curtain," she saw Wei Yanwu walk out with a terrible expression, his old opium pipe filled with smoke like a pacifier. She was immediately puzzled.

"What's wrong? You look so pale. That little girl didn't look particularly fierce to me, how could she scare you like this?"

"I...I wasn't scared at all! How could I be afraid of a little girl who's not even half my age!" Wei Yanwu stammered, let out a long sigh, and explained, "Do you know who that little girl is?"

Wen Yue frowned, thought for a moment, but really couldn't recall her, so she could only shake her head: "Isn't she the Foreign Minister of Sherag?"

“Yes, she may indeed be Sherag’s Foreign Minister, but she is also a…” Wei Yanwu’s words suddenly stopped. He glanced around suspiciously to make sure no one was listening, then leaned close to Wen Yue’s ear and whispered, “She is an Aslan!”

"Aslan?" Wen Yue was taken aback, then her eyes widened. "Aslan isn't from Victoria..."

Wei Yanwu nodded, and Wen Yue immediately covered her mouth, looking incredulous: "But Aslan has already been killed by the Council... even Frederick III was hanged, how could there still be an Aslan in Lungmen?"

Wei Yanwu took another drag of his cigarette, his eyes darting around, clearly unsure of what to do: "I don't know what kind of tricks they're playing either. Aslan, the Foreign Minister of Shelag, humph, I thought he was just a government official on a paid vacation, but now it seems it's not that simple!"

Wei Yanwu's concerns were not unfounded, because a similar incident had occurred more than twenty years ago!

At that time, the Red Dragon of Drak, who was also believed to have been exterminated by the Victorian Aslan royal family, still had one royal bloodline remaining—Edward Atrias. And this Edward Atrias was one of Wei Yanwu's sworn brothers back then.

Together with Rat King Linge Rui, the current true head of the Swire Group and Beatrice Swire's grandfather, and several martial arts masters, they formed a team to reclaim Lungmen from the Duke of Ursus, the immortal black serpent Koschei.

Although that battle was won, it left behind countless problems that still affect us today.

What pained Wei Yanwu the most was that Duke Kosiché, unable to play along after his defeat, informed the Emperor of Great Yan—Wei Yanwu's younger brother—and Victoria's unicorn, causing both nations to take notice of Edward Atrias' existence. The dragon's wrath and the unicorn's secret order forced Wei Yanwu to kill Edward Atrias with his own hands.

What Wei Yanwu regretted most was that, in another raid launched by Koschei several years later, although he defended the Dragon Gate, he failed to stop Koschei from kidnapping Edward's last bloodline—Talulah Atrias.

Although it may sound a little ridiculous, Edward ultimately died precisely because of his sensitive bloodline. Bloodline, something that should have been gradually replaced by other social relationships and status in modern society, was not only not ignored because of the special nature of the Terrans' bloodline, but instead became an increasingly decisive factor.

And now, everything is just like it was more than 20 years ago.

Rumors circulated that Aslan had been overthrown by the Victorian nobility and that his bloodline had been wiped out, yet another surviving member of the bloodline suddenly appeared in Lungmen.

Wei Yanwu couldn't help but wonder if someone was reminding him again, or if some immortal being or schemer was trying to drag him and Longmen into some conspiracy.

But who is it this time? Is it Kazimir, Letania, or his old "friend"—Ursus?

To him, Vina's visit was not a diplomatic trip at all; it was a ticking time bomb!

"call--"

His thoughts crackled like firewood in a fireplace, yet he couldn't grasp a single spark of inspiration. Wei Yanwu glanced at his watch again and said:

"It's almost time. I should go back."

"What do you plan to do?" Wen Yue asked with concern.

Wei Yanwu rubbed the bridge of his nose and said with a helpless self-deprecating laugh:

"What can we do? Let's take it one step at a time. At least, we need to find out who's behind her and what her purpose is in coming to Lungmen. Doesn't she claim to be the Foreign Minister of Sherag? We'd better not expose her and keep her visit within the scope of a normal visit, so that we can pretend we know nothing about it afterwards. Of course, it would be even better if we could find a way to get rid of her quickly."

He paused, then concluded:

"In short, as long as the demands aren't too excessive, try to satisfy her as much as possible, turn big problems into small ones, and small problems into nothing. This is the most exquisite wisdom of the Great Yan people."

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Vina: Diplomacy is so simple!

Before arriving in Lungmen, Vina had no idea...

"So diplomacy is this simple!"

"Can you believe it, Ernst? No matter what I said to that Governor of Lungmen, Mr. Wei Yanwu, he nodded, and no matter what I asked him, he agreed!"

"I told him that Kjerag needed to develop and that I was willing to trade with Lungmen, selling some of Kjerag's ores and handicrafts. He immediately agreed, without even haggling! The company that connected me with them was even the Swire Group! They even gave me a friendly price!"

“I told him that the people of Shelag lived in very poor conditions. Not only did they rely entirely on animal power for farming, but they also had to be wary of wild animals attacking them in the mountains. I asked if I could buy some tools from him, and he immediately agreed. He even showed me many crossbows that I had never seen before. They were so powerful that they could even penetrate a 3cm thick steel plate. They couldn't stop any wild animal! He also sent someone to take me to visit the tractor yard. The old man named Zalak (rat) next to me was very honest and even gave me a discount!”

"In this way, once your night school is up and running, the people of Tukarim will be able to use tractors for farming, and they will no longer have to worry about wild animals attacking humans at night!"

Vina paused slightly with her pen, then continued writing:

"I've already met with the messenger you sent. I'll go discuss this matter with Governor Wei today. Given Governor Wei's generosity, I'm sure he won't refuse our small request. With his help, this order might even be cheaper!"

"Sherrag's best days are yet to come!"

“Your loyal Foreign Minister – Vina Victoria.”

Vina closed the pen cap, folded the letter, put it in the envelope, stood up, opened the door, and handed the letter to the middle-aged man in military uniform who was waiting outside.

The Duke of Windermere truly lived up to her reputation as a tough soldier. Even the messenger she left behind was dressed in the proper uniform of the Duke of Windermere, and judging from his rank, he was quite high, seemingly a major.

Vina couldn't help but feel a little moved. The fact that a major would condescend to be a messenger for Defiance was enough to show how much Duke Windermere loved and valued his daughter.

However, she wasn't particularly envious, because before she left, Ernst had given her a Jeragund Stone as a parting gift.

If this were given to anyone else, it would probably just be considered a small gift with a big meaning. But since it was Ernst who gave the stone, it's different.

Now everyone knows that Ernst has the ability to communicate with the god Jeragund, and the stone he sent might really represent a blessing from a god.

Although Vina didn't believe the gods would be so merciful as to protect everyone in Sherag at all times, especially an outsider like herself, a genuine blessing was enough to give her peace of mind.

After all, knowing that someone cares about her, that God cares about her, makes Vina feel much more at ease.

The messenger accepted Vina's letter, but did not leave immediately. Instead, he looked at Vina and said:

"Is there anything else I can help you with?"