Chapter 1095 - 607: Rendezvous
In that misty private bathhouse, Lance was lying flat like a salted fish, allowing Grendel to scrub him.
Under the special soap Grendel concocted, the stench of the bay and the foul odors of the Beast Lair gradually dissipated, leaving behind a faint herbal scent, soothing to the nerves.
With this treatment, even for Emperor Lance, he wouldn’t change it.
Still, Lance didn’t forget to talk about the situation in the Beast Lair; the Pigmen had been destroyed, every last one had been eliminated.
But the Devourers and Formless Flesh still existed within the Beast Lair, requiring a solution.
"In the end, I couldn’t acquire the method to summon the Devourers; otherwise, I wouldn’t need to go through so much trouble."
The ancestors were able to specifically target Formless Flesh to produce the third generation Devourers — Giant Flesh Devourers.
Lance was confident he could also modify them to be more docile and to specialize in producing materials, much like breeding cattle for their milk.
Because taming these free-ranging Devourers was highly challenging, Lance had tried controlling them and was well aware of the difficulty.
Unfortunately, the fundamental breeding issue remains unresolved.
"I think you’re mistaken about one thing."
"How so?"
"According to what you said, the number of Devourers in the Beast Lair could never be produced by a destroyed nest alone.
Otherwise, the Beast Lair would either be full of gigantic ones or have none at all."
"Seems you have a point!" Lance seemed to realize something.
Grendel’s analysis of the Devourers’ characteristics was spot-on; their devour-and-evolve ability was too rapid. The presence of initial-stage Devourers in the Beast Lair indicates that there’s still a nest consistently producing new Devourers.
Otherwise, given the time since the destruction of the tomb, the surviving Devourers would have either died or evolved into Giant Devourers by now.
Grendel further added, "Even if you’re of the Ascension Sect, if there was just one nest, it would unlikely be abandoned; it’s clearly not important to them.
So there must be other nests, just undiscovered ones. You could ask Amanda and Alhazred to perform some divination; maybe we’ll learn something new."
"Makes sense! You..."
Lance, like a flipping fish, tried to get up but was pushed back down by Grendel.
"Don’t move! You’re not done yet." Grendel scrubbed hard, knowing Lance’s tough skin, and casually mentioned the recent happenings in Hamlet.
"Someone sent by Count Bastia arrived; I haven’t discussed the release of people or equipment with him.
Recently, more people have been coming to Hamlet, and a large portion of them are spies, coming to gather intelligence. The sheriff is under substantial pressure as their abilities aren’t equipped to handle more professional adversaries."
...
In Totnes, three speedboats, their weathered appearance difficult to conceal, appeared on the sea there.
Anyone who makes a living on the sea could instantly identify them as obvious pirate ships, despite being cleaned and repaired. Yet, traces of sword strikes and ax cuts remained in the corners, with stubborn smells lingering in the gaps.
However, now they formed a triangular formation escorting two merchant ships, with flags displaying their legitimate identities.
It wasn’t until they reached the dock and disembarked that some people managed to inquire about their identities.
A fleet from Hamlet that brought goods and news.
The wicked creatures were dealt with, restoring passage through Hamlet’s sea route.
In two days, the fleet would return to Hamlet, with the ship’s positions open for passenger travel.
This news reignited a fading fervor as time passed.
Indeed, gratitude was due to Walter’s venture here years ago, securing a mere storefront but sufficiently affirming their identity.
Yes, the merchant ships still bore the merchant fleet’s name, distinctly separate from Hamlet’s official banner.
This month, Hamlet’s batch of goods was escorted to Romani territory, completing the trade between the two sides.
Responsible for this was Little John, who had traveled to Totnes multiple times.
His talent was evident; smart enough and quick to react, performing well during his time learning with the merchant fleet, gradually becoming entrusted by Lance for crucial tasks.
"Have those Fishmen really been dealt with?" Sela hesitantly asked her trading partner, having only just heard the news herself.
"Under My Lord’s leadership, nothing is impossible." Little John didn’t know the full details, only that the Lord returned solo by ship and those monsters vanished.
Sela sensed the young man’s fervor for that man and refrained from pursuing the topic further.
However, she was very curious about Hamlet’s current situation; truthfully, the matter of the ruins was constantly stirring her feelings.
But she feared the recurrence of past incidents; not every time would fortune favor, so she opted for a period of observation.
"We’ve received word that someone might make a move against you soon, so be cautious."
Sela chose not to sell this information because there wasn’t an accurate source, merely an organization’s intelligence analyst’s vague prediction based on current circumstances.
For when the organization tried delving deeper into the true happenings of Hamlet years ago, they met robust resistance, suggesting someone didn’t want them to investigate further.