Leo frowned, put down his charcoal pencil, grabbed the Flintlock by his side, loaded it with gunpowder, and pushed open the door.
Lilia was quietly waiting outside.
When she saw Leo co out, she looked confused and asked, "Sothing wrong?"
Leo made a shushing motion, looked at the fence beside him, raised the Flintlock, and said coldly, "Who’s there? Co out!"
There was no response in the dark, but the prompt ssage would never be wrong.
Leo didn’t hesitate. He pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A soft sound, a flash of fire, and then a grunt ca from behind the fence. A figure ran away in a hurry.
"There’s really soone!" Lilia was angry. She pulled out her sword and chased after the person.
She was supposed to protect Leo’s safety, but she didn’t notice the enemy coming close. That was a big insult.
Soon, fighting sounds ca from ahead.
Leo worried about Lilia’s safety, and ran after her right away.
The Minotaurs patrolling around were also disturbed and quickly gathered around.
"Cynthia!" Leo saw the person and realized it was Cynthia.
He thought back to the Black Dragon Kingdom soldiers in the evening. They must have been chasing her.
Cynthia had been hit by the Flintlock earlier and had a wounded shoulder. She wasn’t a match for Lilia now, and with the Minotaurs surrounding her, she was easily caught.
Leo walked over, smiling with confidence, and said, "You’re back in my hands again."
"Hmph!" Cynthia sneered. "It’s my bad luck. Kill or cut , do whatever you want."
She didn’t like Leo, especially after she found out he had insulted the princess.
"Do you really think I won’t kill you?" Lilia said coldly. This woman sneaked in at night — she definitely had bad intentions.
Leo stopped her and said, "Treat her wounds first. Don’t hurt her yet."
This woman was close to Elyse. He wasn’t ready to break things with her yet.
A few Minotaurs took Cynthia away and locked her up.
Leo looked at Lilia and said, "You don’t need to stay outside my room. I’ll be fine."
"Are you mocking ?"
Lilia felt a bit sad. Especially since Cynthia had already been outside the fence, and she hadn’t noticed. It felt like she wasn’t good enough.
"No way."Leo was a bit nervous and quickly waved his hands. "I just don’t want you to work too hard."
"Hmph, I like it." Lilia sneered and still stayed at the door as usual.
Leo sighed in defeat and said, "Then stay and talk with for a while."
Before Lilia could say anything, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room.
Lilia’s face turned red, and she gave a small struggle.
Inside the room, the candlelight flickered.
They didn’t speak. Lilia sat on the side, curiously playing with the Flintlock, wondering how Leo had invented it.
"If you like it, I’ll give it to you."
Leo looked up, put down his charcoal pencil, and said.
Lilia shook her head. "This thing is too loud. I prefer throwing darts."
She said that and then touched her sleeve.
Leo had made a pair of throwing darts for each of the girls. They were good for close combat, and could easily change the outco of a battle.
Leo smiled and said, "I heard you elves are all natural archers. I actually have so weapons that would suit you well."
"Really?" Lilia’s face lit up with excitent. She stared straight at him.
Leo beca cautious. "Don’t think of anything weird. Besides, this thing is too complicated to make. It’ll take a while to finish."
He thought about his old life’s sniper rifle — a long-range weapon that could kill enemies with precision. If it were in the hands of an elf, it would be even more powerful.
"Sotis I really wonder how your brain even works."Lilia said, resting her chin on her hand and staring at him with curious eyes.
Leo smiled slightly. "You’re not falling for , are you? If you offer yourself to , maybe I’ll consider joining the elf clan."
"Die! I don’t have ti for you. I’m going to sleep."Lilia said, angry. She stood up and ran away with a sway of her hips.
Leo smiled, put away the drawings he had finished, yawned, and prepared to rest.
...
Life on Giant Whale Island was very relaxed.
With the help of the Minotaurs, it only took ten days to build a fancy big ship.
The ship was still made of wood, but it was reinforced with iron, especially under the areas where the Smoothbore cannons would be mounted, where an extra keel was added.
Plus, the girls were involved in the design. There was a kitchen, a bathroom, and the rooms were decorated nicely.
Leo didn’t care much about it, but he was happy if it was more comfortable. He let the girls do whatever they wanted.
"Mr. Leo, are we going back to Fla Island?" Ava found him, her eyes full of happiness.
Leo nodded but didn’t tell her about the treasure that was about to appear on Fla Island. He didn’t want her to worry.
He also left ten Smoothbore cannons on Fla Island. With the strength of the barbarians, it was enough to protect themselves.
"That’s great. I haven’t seen my grandpa in a long ti. Mr. Leo, when are we leaving?" Ava asked excitedly.
"We still need to prepare so things. We’ll leave tomorrow."Leo rubbed her head and smiled.
"Okay."Ava said quietly, looking happy.
"Hey, Leo, there’s a ship fleet in the distance."Anna’s voice ca from above.
A hot air balloon had been made, and she floated in the air almost every day.
But it was tied with a rope and couldn’t move, which made Anna unhappy. She had complained many tis, but Leo never agreed to let her fly freely.
The hot air balloon used wind power, which was too unstable and not safe.
Leo shouted, "Are they enemy warships?"
"There are warships, but most are regular wooden ships. It’s the Kano Kingdom."Anna said, recognizing the flags on the masts.
Kano Kingdom?
Leo beca alert and imdiately ordered the Minotaurs to load their weapons in case of trouble.
"Leo, the warships have stopped. Only two big ships are coming. It’s that bad woman, Elyse!" Anna said angrily, and she slowly lowered the hot air balloon.
Elyse had actually co?
Leo was confused. He didn’t know what this woman was up to, but from her behavior, it didn’t look like she had bad intentions.
He told the Minotaurs not to act rashly and walked to the beach.
Whoosh!
A strong wind blew, and Pyrothar flew down from the hot air balloon and landed on Leo’s shoulder.
The little guy loved flying and always followed Anna, hanging on the balloon.
At the temporary dock, two large ships ca to a stop. Elyse stood on the deck, spotted Leo, and her eyes almost burned with fury. She bit her lip and coldly said, "Leo, I’m here with no bad intentions. I just want to talk about a partnership."
"What kind of partnership?" Leo didn’t want to waste ti with this woman. He already guessed she was here to buy steel.
"Do you want to talk like this? Tell your people to step back. Let’s talk alone." She bit her lip again and added, "Right here on the beach."
"Fine." Leo didn’t refuse.
The deal with Elyse was already settled. Giant Whale Island was rich in minerals, but it was barren land with poor soil. The Minotaurs needed food from the Kano Kingdom.
"Leo, I’ll stay by your side. This woman is not trustworthy." Lilia was uneasy.
Leo shook his head. "It’s fine. With my throwing darts and Flintlock, she can’t touch ."
Elyse walked down from the ship alone, but her soldiers were tense, holding modified Composite Bows and watching their surroundings carefully.
Leo wasn’t the least bit afraid. He ca to the beach as well, with Pyrothar still perched on his shoulder.
Elyse noticed, but didn’t seem to care much. She was still as elegant and noble as ever, but her expression was icy, as if she wanted to tear Leo into pieces.
Elyse took a deep breath, trying to control the fire in her chest. She said, "Sa deal as before. One hundred tons of Iron Ore for one ton of food. And I also need so gunpowder. One kilogram for a hundred gold coins — how about that?"
"Gunpowder?" Leo frowned and refused imdiately. "Not a chance. I won’t sell gunpowder."
Gunpowder was too dangerous. If Elyse got her hands on it, it could threaten his safety — even possibly take over Giant Whale Island.
Elyse frowned, her voice no longer as harsh. "I really need so. If the price isn’t right, you can na your own."
Leo looked at her, sensing sothing was wrong with the Kano Kingdom.
He thought of the Black Dragon Kingdom. They had already fought on the outskirts of Giant Whale Island. It was likely that the Black Dragon Kingdom had taken action against Kano.
If he could get Kano to hold the Black Dragon Kingdom back, it would make Giant Whale Island a lot safer.
After a mont of thinking, Leo said, "I can give you so gunpowder, but I don’t want gold. Flastone or so other Elental stone. Ten Elental stones for one kilogram of gunpowder."
"Ten?" Elyse clenched her teeth, fury rising. She thought of the hundreds of Flastones she had already lost, nearly draining the kingdom’s entire stock.
But she needed the gunpowder badly. She took a deep breath and said, "Ten is too expensive. One Elental stone for one kilogram of gunpowder."
Leo didn’t want to waste ti arguing. He turned to leave.
"Wait!" Elyse panicked and quickly said, "We can still negotiate. Two Elental stones, and the Kano Kingdom will never attack you."
The last sentence ca out of her mouth with gritted teeth. If it weren’t for a big crisis, she would never have agreed to this.
"Three."Leo raised three fingers and continued, "and you have to tell where you’ll use the gunpowder."
"Deal!" Elyse bit her lip and agreed. She raised her hand and said, "Let’s shake hands to seal the deal."
Leo nodded and shook her hand three tis, quickly sealing the deal.
The cost of making gunpowder wasn’t high. One kilogram of it probably cost less than one gold coin.
But one Elental stone was worth at least five hundred gold coins.
That ant Elyse was spending 1,500 gold coins to buy just one kilogram of gunpowder.
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