Chapter 486 – Reward
The Emperor was very satisfied with Zhao Hai’s performance. He had seen how other Dark Mages use Dark Magic. Seeing how Zhao Hai was so relaxed showed that Zhao Hai was strong.
Moreover, Zhao Hai or the Buda Clan’s Patriarch, was Calci Family’s son-in-law. He also heard that Zhao Hai had a good relations.h.i.+p with the Crook Family, he was also someone from Charlie’s side.
Because of these, the Emperor became very fond of Zhao Hai. Although he was an Aksu Empire n.o.ble, it didn’t matter. The Emperor wouldn’t care about his background as long as he is strong. It was also impossible for the Emperor to not know about the Buda Clan’s resentment towards the Aksu Empire. In his opinion, it was impossible for Zhao Hai to not hold a grudge. If he was able to pull Zhao Hai into the Rosen Empire, it would be good for the empire overall.
The Emperor was clear, Zhao Hai had offended the Radiant Church, he had also offended Aksu Empire’s Royal Clan. In this case, if Zhao Hai wanted to find a place to place his foundation, the Rosen Empire was the only choice, it was impossible to do so in other places.
Thinking about this, the Emperor felt a.s.sured that he can pull Zhao Hai over to the Empire. This was Rosen Empire’s standard of recruiting people. Regardless of their origin, as long as someone has talent, they would bring them to the Empire’s fold. This was the method that the Rosen Empire used to become the continent’s most powerful nation.
After Zhao Hai found the Engraved Ark member, the Emperor still had the bodies sent over to be turned into advanced undead. The Emperor was afraid of any fish that might slip through the net. Fortunately, there were no other members of Engraved Ark in the Robert Family.
After waiting for Zhao Hai to be done, the Emperor nodded, then he turned his head towards Third Eunuch. Third Eunuch immediately took two steps forward and declared, “Zhao Hai Buda, go forward and receive the decree.”
Zhao Hai stared, he immediately complied as he went forward and knelt on one knee. This was also a custom in Ark Continent. When a monarch rewards you, you shall kneel down on one knee upon accepting. This makes it seem like you really valued the reward.
When Zhao Hai knelt down, Third Eunuch immediately said loudly, “Zhao Hai Buda, you are a n.o.ble with outstanding ability and excellent strength. Receive this t.i.tle of First Cla.s.s Marquis. The Crown has also bestowed Golden Island to Zhao Hai Buda as his perpetual fief. “
Zhao Hai immediately said, “I thank His Majesty for this reward. Zhao Hai Buda shall fully serve the Rosen Empire!”
Ark Continent’s rewarding process was very simple, Zhao Hai liked it very much. But what he didn’t expect was how comfortable the Emperor was in giving him the t.i.tle of Marquis, moreover, he also gave him an island as a fief.
The Ark Continent’s ranking goes: Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, Baron, and then Knight. Knights can only be regarded as a false n.o.ble, with the lowest n.o.bility rank being the Baron. The Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount and Baron, these five ranks are the official ranks of n.o.bility. Each t.i.tles are divided into three Cla.s.ses with third cla.s.s being the lowest and first cla.s.s being the highest. Above a First Cla.s.s Duke was the position of Grand Duke. A Grand Duke can establish his own Duchy. Above a Grand Duke were the Princes. Princes generally came from the Imperial Clan. A Prince’s power can only be dictated by the Emperor. If the Emperor doesn’t give a Prince any power, then they can only be a normal n.o.ble, he cannot do anything serious. Although, he technically held a higher status, his influence wasn’t as good as a Grand Duke.
Not only did Rosen Empire give Zhao Hai the t.i.tle of First Cla.s.s Marquis, he was also bestowed by a perpetual fief. This was a very good thing. Some n.o.ble’s fiefs weren’t hereditary. If they want to keep their territory, they need to work hard. Only through this way would their lands stay in their hands. However, Zhao Hai’s was different, it was equivalent to the Buda Clan owning the territory.
However, Zhao Hai felt strange when he heard that his fief was Golden Island. This was because he hadn’t heard of this Golden Island before.
For a place to be called Golden Island, it would surely be a special one. Moreover, since it’s an island, it should certainly be at sea. But Zhao Hai had already stayed for quite some time in the seas of Rosen Empire, he had never heard about a Golden Island there, it was quite strange.
But since it was the Emperor’s reward, he had no other choice but to accept it and ask Randolph later.
Since Zhao Hai had accepted the reward, naturally he was now a n.o.ble of the Rosen Empire. Later on, when meets the Emperor, he wouldn’t need to bow so low.
After Zhao Hai received his reward, the Emperor looked at him and said, “Zhao Hai, you’re now a person of the Rosen Empire. I won’t interfere with your matter with Aksu Empire, but you must remember, no matter what you do, you cannot lose the face of Rosen Empire in Aksu Empire.”
When Zhao Hai heard this, he couldn’t help but stare. This was because the Emperor basically just told him that he was supporting him. This was something that was out of his expectations.
Zhao hai immediately bowed and said, “I thank His Majesty. This one will certainly not lose the face of Rosen Empire. His Majesty can feel relieved.”
The Emperor was satisfied, then he nodded and said, “Good, it’s good that you understand. Alright, today’s affairs are finished, everybody can go back.” The others immediately stood up and gave a salute to the Emperor before they asked to be excused.
Outside the hall, Randolph and Charlie approached Zhao Hai. After seeing the two of them, Zhao Hai gave a salute. Charlie smiled at him and said, “Good, you’ve now become a Marquis. Hahaha. If you have free time, go visit my mansion.” Zhao Hai nodded, then Charlie gave a nod before leaving.
Randolph looked at Charlie before he turned his head to Zhao Hai and said, “It looks like Charlie highly thinks of you. Also, it’s good that your t.i.tle has now risen.”
Zhao Hai nodded, and then he looked around before he whispered, “Grandfather, this Golden Island, where is it? How come I never heard of it?”
Randolph looked around as well and then whispered, “Let’s talk about this back at the fort.” Looking at Randolph’s conduct, Zhao Hai understood that there may have been some secrets that he wasn’t allowed to ask publicly. He nodded and then headed back to the fort with Randolph.
When they arrived outside the Imperial Palace, Randolph and Zhao Hai rode their carriage and drove towards Dark Soldier Fort without saying a word. Before long, the two of them arrived at the fort.
Upon reaching their destination, Randolph immediately brought Zhao Hai to the lobby. Then he sent someone to call Smith and the others over. Zhao Hai looked at Randolph, he didn’t ask anything and just waited in the room for Smith and the others.
Before long, Smith and the others arrived, Zhao Hai sood up and gave them a salute. After the group sat down, Randolph opened his mouth and said, “Earlier, His Majesty just asked Little Hai to turn all of the Robert Family members into undead, then he asked them about Engraved Ark. Although we didn’t manage to get a lot of information, what we got wasn’t few either. His Majesty was happy with Zhao Hai’s performance that he gave him the t.i.tle of First Cla.s.s Marquis. He also bestowed Zhao Hai with Golden Island as his perpetual territory.”
Upon hearing Randolph’s words, everybody stared. Then they started whispering to each other in discussion. Zhao Hai was confused, being a First Cla.s.s Marquis wasn’t something to be surprised about, was it because of Golden Island?
Seeing Zhao Hai’s confused expression, he seriously said, “Little Hai doesn’t know about Golden Island. Second, go tell Little Hai.”
Smith nodded and said, “Alright, Golden Island was once rich in gold. But even before the Rosen Empire has been established, all of its gold was mined up. Right now, the island doesn’t have any special products left, only the mining tunnels remained. Such an island isn’t very noteworthy. However, its position was extremely coveted. The island was placed in between Rosen Empire and Aksu Empire’s marine border. Because of this island, the two Empires often had frictions between them. Now, there was n.o.body who owned it. But since the island still had some freshwater, it became a Haven for pirates. Although it was like this currently, its importance to both empires didn’t decrease. If Rosen Empire obtains that island, they can construct a naval base there and threaten the Aksu Empire’s marine region. The opposite case was the same. Also, because this place previously produced gold, it had very good piers, it wouldn’t be a problem if a thousand huge boats were to dock there. The strategic value of this island is very big.”
Zhao Hai answered, “Is this the case? Does this mean that even if I got the fief from the Rosen Empire, the Aksu Empire can still declare it as theirs?”
Smith nodded and said, “Yes, like that. I think His Majesty gave you this land possibly because he wanted you to thoroughly break off your relations with the Aksu Empire.”
Randolph nodded and said, “Right, I also think that this is His Majesty’s intention. Still, I think that this would be a good opportunity for you. Golden Island’s location is extremely important. As long as you eliminate the pirate’s nest, you can slowly allow pa.s.sing s.h.i.+ps entry. You can also establish a market there, carrying out trades. I believe that it will be a goose that lays golden eggs.”
Zhao Hai excitedly nodded. Golden Island’s position was indeed good. For Zhao Hiai, this was fantastic. As long as he held this place, he was sure that he would profit a lot off of it. He can also take the things in the s.p.a.ce to there and sell them.
Then Smith looked at Zhao Hai and sighed, “Little Hai, don’t be celebrate prematurely. Occupying Golden Island wouldn’t be simple. There were pirate groups controlled by Great n.o.bles stationed there. The Imperial Clan’s looting fleet has a stronghold there as well. If you really want to take control of Golden Island, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be very easy.”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “It’s fine. I wouldn’t be offending them much. There are a lot of islands in the surroundings, they can just move. If they really want to go head on head with me, then let’s see if they have the capability.”
Randolph nodded and said, “Little Hai’s words are justified. Little Hai can even deal with millenium-old clans. Those who wanted to move against Little Hai need to have good courage. What I’m currently worried about was the Radiant Church.”
Smith and the others turned silent, they understood what Randolph was thinking. Zhao Hai has a grudge with the Radiant Church. With Golden Island being in the edge of Rosen Empire’s territory, an in addition to it being overseas, it would be difficult for the Rosen Empire to give him help.
Moreover, with this domain, Zhao Hai would build upon it, making it one of his foundations. The Radiant Church cannot cope with Zhao Hai in the past because they couldn’t find his location. This time, the Radiant Church naturally wouldn’t let him off.
Zhao Hai sneered and said, “I don’t worry about the Radiant Church. They couldn’t deal with me before, they couldn’t deal with me this time either. What I’m worried about is Engraved Ark. Me eliminating the Robert Family this time meant that their organization just lost a Great Family. Not only did I destroy their Great Clan, I’ve also exposed them to the continent. I’m quite worried about them since we have close to no understanding of their operations.”
Randolph nodded and said, “That’s true, we now have a good amount of understanding with regards to the Radiant Church. But this Engraved Ark, we had almost to know information about them.”
Zhao Hai nodded, then he turned to Randolph and said, “Grandfather, I think that the Calci Family would also need to be more careful. The Engraved Ark would surely take the clan into account this time. People from Engraved Ark are different from the Radiant Church. When the Radiant Church copes with us, they would need to find an excuse to act in the open. But the Engraved Ark can do almost about anything. This time, they used Antimagic Powder, who know what cards they will use the next time. Moreover, since they can research Antimagic Powder, they surely have other types of concoctions in their hands. We should all be careful from now on.”
Randolph agreed, “This matter is surely th.o.r.n.y. Our Clan is a Mage Clan, just by using Antimagic Powder, they managed to place us in a difficult position.” At this time, Smith and the others were frowning.
Zhao Hai opened his mouth, “Grandfather, I think we should take extreme care for the important figures in the family. It is also better for the family to invest more into Warriors. In the meantime, I’ll head back and see whether my side can develop an antidote against the Antimagic Powder. If we can produce one, our days would become easier. If it’s impossible to make it, then the family can only increase their security even more.”
Randolph stared when he heard Zhao Hai. With an elated face he said, “Little Hai, is that true? Do you have a Potion Master?”
Zhao Hai nodded and said, “Two Potion Masters, they’re very good, but we really lack medicinal plants at this moment. I’ll need to ask Grandpa for help, I need a lot plants, the more advanced, the better. I can accept seeds as well, I can slowly grow them.”