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His original plan was to make a quick stop to dispel the corruptive curse and retrieve the Holy Spirit Disc at Ravenwood, then move on to his primary objective—negotiate a food trade agreement with the ruler for the second half of the year. The situation was dire—Viper Scar had contaminated the western part of the Blackwater Province, causing the spread of the blight, and the situation in Nakuland was becoming increasingly uncontrollable.

Camilla, that vicious b*tch, was most likely projecting more than half of Her influence on Currere in an attempt to disgust him.

But when William learned from Ebony that the Holy Tree Duke didn’t care about the lives of the Forest Elves by changing the use of arable land to satisfy the empire’s demand for wine exports from the Damon Continent’s tribal alliance, causing the entire Emerald Province to be unable to make ends meet, he had to rethink his plan.

Starving the people of Blackwater Province and Emerald Province would only increase Camilla’s power. It was meaningless to tear down one wall to mend the other.

“Excuse me, but how do you expect to export food to the Blackwater Province when you can’t even guarantee your own food supplies this year? Are you not afraid of causing a widespread famine?”

William asked when he heard that the ruler was willing to bypass the empire’s embargo and establish an underground trade route at the border of the two provinces.

Floral, who had put on her veil again, replied, “If you’re asking that question, it’s clear that you don’t understand the Forest Elves.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You treat the Forest Elves as if they were living in a civilized world, but in reality, they are closer to wild beasts. Thousands of years of human progress, Moon Realm crisis, and Terra conquest have not changed that. Hunger is the norm for these creatures and only hunger can compel them to find a solution.”

William heard the sarcasm in the other party’s words.

She placed the magical medium in her hand between her knees and continued speaking cruelly in a calm tone, “Moreover, even if someone dies from hunger, the remains of the dead will provide sustenance for the remaining ones. According to the Matriarch faith, this is also a part of nature. In fact, this is the true meaning of the concept of Holy Communion. To wild beasts, death doesn’t bring about a holy halo. Instead, it will only become fuel to support the fire of the living. The strong prey on the weak. It’s a normal natural process, so they won’t lament over it.”

“What do you mean?”

“If people must die from starvation, the Forest Elves will waste less food. They won’t blame others, they’ll only question their own strength.”

That was the balance of nature when one chose to survive like wild beasts.

William was stunned by the woman’s cold-blooded response.

After a moment of silence, William said, “I’ve changed my mind. I won’t be importing food from you during the Year of Starvation. But as compensation, I need the right to use Greenwater Port and Swan Port. And I need the hub where the Goddess River converges into the Blackwater Swamp’s water network to be unimpeded and free from hijackers.”

“Compensation?” Floral repeated, her tone incredulous.

“With those two ports, I can do business with others,” William replied.

The Lady of Starvation may have influence over the Astral Lighthouse network, but Ava State was not part of it.

“If you can find other buyers, this is indeed a good idea… But even so, I’m afraid I can’t make either decision,” the other party immediately said after hearing this condition.

William stood from his throne, a bolt of lightning flashing behind him as the Withering Throne disappeared into the spatial rift.

He turned without a word, as if he was ready to leave.

His actions made his intentions clear.

“Sir, this matter has nothing to do with my will. You should know that those two port cities have already become the outpost for the Empire Legion’s expedition to Ava State. Now, four Empire legions are gathering there… If possible, I’m naturally willing to give you the right to use the ports,” Floral hurriedly explained.

“The portals.”

William stopped in his tracks, turning his head to say a single term.

“What?” Floral asked.

“Listen, the Astral Council may be operating the two large portals at the ports, but you still have the power to activate them, right?” William continued.

“Yes, I am the guardian of Emerald Province and hold the authority to open or close a large portal,” Floral confirmed, still unsure as to why William was bringing this up.

“Good. I’ll be paying those two seaports a visit soon and I need you to seal off those two portals when the time comes. That’s all I ask from you,” William turned around and said.

C-close off the portals used by the empire for transporting their legions? What is he planning?

Floral was aghast at the possibility.

Therefore, she carefully asked, “Don’t tell me… are you planning on reopening the portals after closing them, connecting them to the Blackwater Province, and then launching a surprise attack on the Empire Legion stationed at Greenwater Port and Swan Port with Thorn City’s army?”

If that was the case, she would be publicly declaring her loyalty to the Blackwater Province and opposing the empire—the ultimate act of betrayal.

“No.”

William shook his head.

Despite not causing her heart to leap, Floral still felt a sense of relief at his answer.

“I understand your concerns, but don’t worry, I won’t make it difficult for you. All you need to do is come up with a reason for the overhaul of the portals, something like a random technical issue. Just make sure those two portals are inactive for 24 hours.”

“But… why are you doing this?”

“To prevent the Empire Legion from making an escape.”

“The Empire Legion… escaping? How?”

Floral felt that the other party was spouting nonsense.

William didn’t respond to her question and instead glanced around the room before changing the subject.

“Aside from that, I’m hoping you can provide me with the full set of technical ideas used in transforming the White Bone Castle into a temple.”

With the maintenance of the Dawn Fortress almost complete, Remides was planning on sending a group of High Elf craftsmen and enchanters to the Grief Mountains to add some offensive and defensive enchantments. However, they had lost the original framework designed by Sibylla, and recreating a new system would take too much time.

There was likely no other enchanter in Currere who possessed the Eyes of God talent like Sibylla did.

William found the way the White Bone Castle was transformed into a temple intriguing.

Despite its average strength, the creativity was impressive.

William’s keen sense told him that the other party had used the Withering Throne as the core of the temple, fueling it with the life force of the World Tree. With her status as Ravenwood’s ruler, she controlled the entire hall as her own territory.

This combination of classical ceremonial magic and modern magic was impressive. More importantly, if William could replicate this system, he would have all kinds of thrones—Withering Throne, Starlight Throne, Thorn Throne, Blackiron Throne, Frosttooth Throne…

In other words, he could even add multicore driving forces to the Dawn Fortress…

If it wasn’t for the other party’s involvement in Moon Realm worship, William wouldn’t have considered killing her once all of this was done.

“You still want the full set of Mage King Nation spells?” Floral asked, with more resistance than before. William noticed her crossing her arms in front of her chest, a sign of caution and unease.

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“I just need a general idea of the framework. There’s definitely room for optimization.”

William shrugged in response.

Floral hesitated for a long time, balancing the weight of her decision.

The Mage King Nation spell was not only the source of her power, but also held great emotional significance.

She would have sent anyone else away without a word.

However…

Before William got impatient, Floral finally said, “This request is much more expensive than closing the portal. I want to know what price you can pay for it.”

“You can ask for anything. There’s only a few things I can’t do in this world,” William replied frankly.

After repeatedly confirming that the other party’s expression was serious, Floral took a deep breath and made her request, “A thousand years ago, William Kane used the Lady of Starvation’s curse to destroy half of the core of the World Tree. Now, I hope you can help me use the power you obtained from the Lady of Starvation to destroy the other half of the core.

“This is the only price I’m requesting.”

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