Chapter 389: Monica’s Exquisite Manipulation, Rebuilding the Home, and Three Main Destinations

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Ji Chen looked expressionlessly at the group of anxious and fearful soldiers from the Bass Kingdom. In his heart, he had already decided how to deal with them.

Simply killing them would be too merciful.

What awaited them would be the same endless, sunless toil in the mines with the members of the Hanseatic Chamber of Commerce, until every last bit of their worth had been squeezed out.

Don’t label him as heartless; if the Crown of the Ocean were to fall, the people living there could be enslaved, sent back to the Bass Kingdom, and forced to work in mines. What’s even more horrifying was that some might face execution, with their severed heads used to gain profit and military accolades for the enemy forces.

But before all that, he needed to interrogate Ferode.

With a command, the soldiers bound Ferode tightly and brought him up, making him kneel on the ground.

At this moment, the once proud fleet commander looked like a drenched chicken, his face pale from being soaked in water for so long.

Seeing himself brought before Ji Chen, his body couldn’t stop trembling, unsure of what kind of torture and interrogation awaited him.

His head hung low in fear, unable to make eye contact.

Seeing a so-called Bass Kingdom noble act so cowardly, the soldiers nearby looked at him with disdain.

Feeling the soldiers’ gaze, Ferode’s face burned with shame, overwhelming his entire mind.

Ji Chen sat in the chair brought by the soldiers, his expression unchanged as he looked at them, saying calmly,

“Your next answers will determine whether you live or die.

But if I find even the slightest hint of falsehood, you can imagine the consequences.”

In his calm words, there was an undeniable sense of coercion.

Hearing this, Ferode, who valued his life greatly, nodded his head frantically.

To him, what did honor and dignity matter? Only by staying alive could he have a future; if he died, he would have nothing.

Perhaps he could return alive in the future and continue to enjoy beauty and wealth.

Seeing that he was being cooperative, Ji Chen didn’t waste any time and began his questioning.

“I heard you are a baron of the Bass Kingdom…”

Unlike the previous interrogations, he asked only about the size and situation of the Bass Kingdom.

Now, it’s safe to say that following their encounter with the Bass Kingdom’s reconnaissance fleet, relations between the Crown of the Ocean and the Bass Kingdom have irreparably soured. If the Bass Kingdom realizes that Ferode and his group haven’t returned, they’ll understand that they met their end here.

Whether it was because of the accumulated hatred from before or the benefits that the New Moon Islands could bring them, the Bass Kingdom would certainly find an opportunity to attack again.

It was only a matter of time.

In other words, the Crown of the Ocean would face an unprecedented challenge.

Know thyself, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.

Ji Chen felt it necessary to gather some information from Ferode, the noble of the Bass Kingdom.

As Ferode faced question after question, he followed the principle that not being honest would lead to a beating, and answered all of them honestly.

But gradually, he began to sense that something was amiss.

Why were all the inquiries focused on the Bass Kingdom?

Questions about military strength, fleet numbers, soldier strength, port locations, and so on.

It sounded as if he was probing a target that was about to be attacked.

He suddenly thought of a possibility, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Could this Lord of Glory be planning to counterattack the Bass Kingdom!?

Was this some kind of a big joke?

Ferode’s expression changed suddenly.

The Bass Kingdom was a kingdom, and in the entire Northern Continent, there were only about a dozen kingdoms and duchies of equal stature.

How could a mere Lord of Glory challenge it?

It was one of the most powerful kingdoms along the northwestern coast of the Mid-Ocean, known for its military strength.

The fleet he led was just one of the unremarkable reconnaissance fleets among several main fleets of the Bass Kingdom.

Any main fleet had multiple capital warships, dozens of escort ships, and various support vessels, numbering at least sixty or seventy ships.

The total number of all the fleets in the Mid-Ocean added up to nearly a thousand, and the firepower they carried was enough to level the entire New Moon Islands. The naval soldiers they carried could fill the entire archipelago.

Now, this Lord of Glory actually had thoughts of counterattacking; it was as if he had a death wish!

Ji Chen glanced at Ferode’s changing expression but didn’t explain anything.

Instead, he closed his eyes.

He blended the various pieces of information Ferode had provided, the information he had learned, the power he possessed, and the resources he had, among other things.

The Crown of the Ocean, the Bass Kingdom, the Lienhardt Grand Duchy, the Elves, the Stormy Sea…

As time passed, his thoughts gradually became clearer, and the rough outline of a plan slowly took shape in his mind.

Ferode watched as Ji Chen suddenly closed his eyes, as if deep in thought, and didn’t dare to interrupt. He simply knelt there obediently.

But in his heart, he was secretly sure that this Lord of Glory was definitely courting death.

But that was fine too. This way, he might be saved one day and continue to enjoy his noble life.

After a long time, when Ferode’s legs had grown a bit numb from kneeling, Ji Chen slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were sharp.

He asked, “What’s the situation between the Bass Kingdom and the Lienhardt Grand Duchy?”

Ferode hesitated for a moment, thinking that no matter how much information he revealed, this Lord of Glory could only do so much. So he decided to be straightforward to avoid physical suffering.

“With the return of Monica, the daughter of the… ahem, the Grand Duke, to the Lienhardt Grand Duchy, she exposed the conspiracy behind the attack. She initiated a condemnation, which has put us in a very passive position..”