In the cheers of the Knights and Dwarfs, Su Li finally saw what they were surrounding.

A giant hermit crab! It was as large as a carriage, with terrifying claws over two meters long, capable of easily cutting a human in half. The Knights used dozens of loops of steel wires and hemp ropes to bind it.

"It's the Duin Claw!" Such a lively scene also attracted the priests of the Dawn Goddess Church.

The nuns looked at this enormous and terrifying shell-covered giant beast with awe.

"How did the Knights of the territory manage to catch such a colossal creature from underwater?"

"One of the Knights pursuing me said that a large number of water attribute Knights forcibly entered the water depths and dragged it out. A female Knight almost broke an arm because of it."

A moment later, Vandar also appeared by the lake, and Su Li, standing next to the enormous Duin Claw, asked Vandar, "How are the Knights' injuries treated?"

Vandar nodded confidently and said, "With the protection of armor, the injuries are not severe and they took healing potions at the time, so the situation is under control. Once they return to the territory, with a little care, it won't delay tomorrow's expedition."

The healing power of the Divine Spirit is indeed formidable.

Being grabbed by such terrifying claws, amazingly, does not hinder the Knights from continuing to fight tomorrow.

And as Su Li knew, the Dawn Goddess manages fertility, not vitality, meaning healing is not her main divine office. Vandar relied entirely on a powerful recovery ability, accelerating the female Knights' blood metabolism, forcibly healing their injuries.

How effective would it be if the Hospital Knight Order, specializing in healing, were involved?

The Medical Goddess Shalya and the Sun Goddess Violet were sisters. The doctrine of the Sun Goddess Church includes supporting the followers of the Medical Goddess.

Of course, the doctrine of the Medical Goddess also clearly emphasizes assisting the followers of the Sun Goddess; any Knight from the Flame Sun Knight Order should receive full treatment from the followers of the Medical Goddess.

Their relationship is somewhat like that of Dwarfs and the Empire, with mutual support written into both doctrine and ancestral laws.

The Knights of the Medical Goddess Church are likely Holy Knights on average? Each person's divine grace possesses healing abilities.

Su Li was quite looking forward to meeting these followers of the Medical Goddess, similar to Holy Knights.

However, as there were no followers of this Goddess in the territory at the moment, he shifted his attention to the Duin Claw and asked Vandar, "My minister, do you think this Duin Claw can make a nest in the territory?"

This enormous Duin Claw is not like the Light-Scaled Fish; it is capable of escaping from Lake Reiflin.

If it quietly escapes, it might as well be cooked right now.

A life with brandy in one hand and crab claws in the other was not something Su Li would refuse.

Such luscious river delicacies might even help enhance his strength.

Vandar smiled and said, "In terms of healing ability, I might not be professional enough, but in understanding vitality and life energy, followers of the Medical Goddess are far below us Dawn Church believers."

"I can assure you, my lord, that this Duin Claw will definitely nest in Lake Reiflin of the territory."

"With our continuous improvements, the abundance of spiritual energy and the aggregation of the Wind of Jilun in Lake Reiflin makes it unparalleled for hundreds of miles around. It's the most suitable lake for the Duin Claw's survival."

"I think what you should worry about is not whether the Duin Claw will nest here, but rather the aberration problem in the territory after it truly nests here."

"Aberration?" Su Li felt a bit of a headache hearing this, and he didn't need Vandar to say more to guess the situation.

The biggest difference between this world and others is its pervasive despair. Building the territory too well may not be a good thing.

Why doesn't the Empire enlighten its people? Instead, it allows them to be foolish and superstitious.

Because once the people are enlightened, they would definitely be bewitched by demons, breeding a large number of cultists.

So the Empire prefers its civilians and slaves to be incredibly foolish and devout. Just fervently believing that Redema can protect them is enough; shouting "Redema" when facing dangers or difficulties suffices.

Solving the problem is indeed divine protection; if the problem can't be solved and they die, that's fine too—at least they won't be a problem for the Empire.

The same principle applies to the construction of the territory. Lacking abundant spiritual energy and the Wind of Jilun may mean poverty, but at least they can barely survive.

But like the spiritually abundant Lake Reiflin, with its gathering Wind of Jilun, while making the territory prosperous, it will also undoubtedly give rise to a large number of aberrant monsters.

Here, like a myth of darkness, the most revered and admired holy land of the territory simultaneously fosters the most evil and monsters.

Perhaps stones around the lake naturally transform into monsters, or plants planted by the lake turn into malevolent tree demons, or perhaps some fish in the water grow limbs and wield fish-bone forks and bone lances to slaughter the inhabitants ashore.

Anything can happen here, except for the tranquil passing of time.

Su Li asked Vandar, "My minister, do you have any good solutions for this?"

Vandar's old face was almost wrinkled into one: "My lord, you really overestimate me. This is a problem that even the Divine Spirits cannot solve. How could I possibly have a solution?"

"I can only offer you the most traditional advice: remain pious and be blessed and protected by the Divine Spirits."

"Those territories blessed by the Divine Spirit, the lands graced with Divine Grace, often remain peaceful and fertile longer than other places."

Su Li nodded, realizing it might really be necessary for him to study how to gain more Divine Grace in the coming days.

This world had forcefully transformed him, a usually staunch believer in hard work and self-reliance, into a lord who maintained deep respect and piety towards the Divine Spirits.

As he was pondering, the leader of the Dwarf Rangers, Dorglin, arrived with a large number of rangers and loudly said to Su Li: "My friend, esteemed lord, the Dwarfs are here to bid you farewell."

"Thank you very much for your warm hospitality these past few days. But the Dwarfs bear the mission of the Redbeard Clan and must return to report to our ancestors."

Su Li asked in surprise: "Are you leaving so soon? Do you need any help from me?"

Dorglin immediately shook his head heavily and said: "The previous hardships on our journey were because we didn't know our direction and were searching everywhere. Now we know the route; you only need to escort us to the foot of the Gray Mountain Range, and we can return to Redbeard Castle within a day or two. We will certainly return with troops and caravans within one cycle."

"We can bring back the goods, engineers, and miners you need."

One cycle?

The Dwarfs truly are the race of the mountains!

They are naturally adept at climbing, traversing the mountain paths as if walking on flat ground, just as humans march lightly through plains.

More importantly, there are many tunnels they've excavated in the mountains. A large mountain that humans might take ten days to half a month to cross could be traversed by them in just one or two hours via shortcuts.

So Su Li was filled with anticipation for their promise and said: "Alright, I'll arrange a team of Knights and Half-Elves to escort you to the foot of the Gray Mountain Range."

"Looking forward to the day you return with your caravan."

After the farewell, the Dwarfs immediately set off on their return journey cheerfully, each with a jug of Giant Brew hanging from their waists, greatly winning their favor.

So their spirits were high, their enthusiasm boundless, determined to return to this territory within one cycle.

Su Li also awaited the arrival of the Redbeard Clan's caravan.

But before the Redbeard Clan's caravan arrived, another caravan arrived first.

The day after the Dwarfs left, what Vandar Crow's Beak had mentioned became reality.

Tomorrow was the Summer Solstice, yet a large amount of cave coral appeared in the most sacred and vibrant Lake Reiflin in the territory.

This is a carnivorous aquatic fungus that grows in underground pools and lakes, similar to coral.

Like the tentacles of true coral's sea anemone, this creature coils its tentacles around prey, dragging them underwater until they drown.

Then, the tentacles drag the corpses away to feed the main fungal body. Cave coral, though rare in underground pools, can also be found in shallow underground waterways, ponds, and lakes.

They extend from a central core through tubular tendrils, gently floating in the current.

Tomorrow, the ladies of the territory would come to this sacred land to cleanse their bodies with water containing Purification Power. Yet today, the lake was filled with these hideous, tentacled monsters. How could Su Li tolerate this?

Flying Horse Knight Fastrick personally rode his flying horse to hunt these monsters.

Fortunately, Su Li had the Daily Intelligence System's warning, or else when a large number of beautiful ladies came to the lake tomorrow, a disaster would surely occur, with many dragged underwater by countless tentacles, becoming the monsters' prey.

By then, the warm, romantic, joyful, and beautiful grand festival would turn into a bloody and terrifying disaster.

Su Li personally took command here, directing the Knights remaining in the territory and the Half-Elf archers to hunt the monsters in the water.

Though the monsters were terrifying, the harvest was also very fruitful.

Su Li looked at the baby fist-sized red coral pearl in his hand, a trophy found in the cave coral's remnants called the Crimson Pearl, a type of coral pearl.

The crimson bead, like a combination of coral and pearl, was dazzlingly beautiful.

Moreover, it was powerful, allowing the wearer to avoid water for three minutes underwater!

If this bead were made into a necklace, it would be the most coveted treasure for noblewomen of the Empire and naval sailors.

While Su Li was studying this, Minister of the Seal Lauren excitedly came to Su Li's side, reporting: "Lord, Master Kote has returned with a caravan and the Slave Capture Team!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.