Imperial Throne

Chapter 107: Ion’s Decision

Mokas’s strength was indeed not weak. After all, he had been immersed in the Second-Tier as a Bloodline User for a long time.

If it weren’t for his limited aptitude, coupled with other reasons, Mokas would have been fully capable of advancing to a Third-Tier Bloodline User.

But in the end, he still died.

Because Ion and Akar were both Second-Tier Bloodline Users, and their strength was not weak either.

Most importantly, Mokas was in the City Lord’s Manor, where numerous guards assisted in the encirclement and killing. Mokas couldn’t even manage to break out of the siege and ultimately had no choice but to die under Ion’s sword.

And after Mokas was dealt with, Azman didn’t survive either.

Shunes silenced him immediately.

After a night of bloodshed, the next day passed without attracting anyone’s attention.

This made Ion realize how strong Anna’s control over the City Lord’s Manor truly was, he believed that neither Lily nor Yam could have achieved this. Otherwise, Giggs wouldn’t have died.

After that, Ion stayed in Gem City for a few more days.

This time, he used the identity of a merchant caravan as a cover, so naturally, he had to sell off all the goods.

However, since it was merely a front, Ion wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about it. In the end, the goods only earned less than two hundred Tyrella Gold Coins.

Joshua, on the other hand, had already left the day after Mokas’s death, taking Shunes and Akar, along with the magical beast materials smuggled from the Fertile Plains that they had organized overnight.

Anna had found a merchant guild specializing in the magical beast materials trade.

Although the price they offered wasn’t particularly high, they had a reliable reputation and wouldn’t expose the source of the goods. Hence, they became Anna’s trading partner.

However, the other party required Anna to handle the shipping channel herself. From another perspective, the fact that Anna only took forty percent of the goods’ value wasn’t excessive at all.

Once Ion had sold off all the goods, the guards he brought along immediately transformed and all became guards of the City Lord’s Manor.

So, although a grand team had come, only Ion was left when they departed.

...

“Did Father say anything?”

In the administrative office handling governmental affairs, Anna saw Akar return to the room and couldn’t help but ask.

Ever since Joshua had left with the team to escort the goods, Ion had moved into the City Lord’s Manor of Gem City. Over the past few days, Anna, Akar, and Ion had been living a seemingly normal life together like a family, getting along quite harmoniously.

From Ion’s attitude toward her, Anna could tell that although this nominal father had accepted her, due to their respective positions and identities, there was still some distance between them.

They weren’t particularly close. But she also understood that her relationship with Akar, after all, couldn’t be publicly acknowledged as romantic.

She had even once considered forcing Akar to marry another wife. Thus, having the current result was already quite satisfactory to her.

A father who, aside from being dissatisfied about not being able to openly acknowledge her marriage to Akar, didn’t interfere with her decisions and would even support her when necessary, what more could she ask for?

He was far better than her biological father.

That was also why Anna was willing to call Ion “Father.”

“He told you to take care of your health,” Akar said casually.

Anna, who had her head lowered while reviewing documents, paused slightly with the feather quill in her hand, then resumed as usual. “I understand.”

“What does Father plan to do about matters in the Fertile Plains?”

“My brother is handling it. And with so many Bloodline Knights, unless the other side also sends a High-tier Bloodline Knight to lead the team, not a single item smuggled from the Fertile Plains into the White Mountain Territory will make it into the Red Eagle Territory,” Akar replied. “I’ll stay here with you until the child is born, then return to help my brother.”

Anna nodded slightly.

However, after a moment of contemplation, she opened her mouth again: “Do you know about the ‘Foragers’?”

“Foragers? What’s that?” Akar looked confused.

“They are... considered the most dangerous type among Bloodline Users,” Anna set down her feather quill and sighed softly. “Another reason why Knight Mokas had to be executed was that he suspected Father of being a Forager.”

The confusion on Akar’s face became slightly more serious.

He sat down on a long bench in the room and asked, “Can you tell me... what exactly happened?”

“When Bloodline Users fail to advance to a higher-tier bloodline, there’s a high chance they’ll die immediately. In rare cases, they mutate into a special kind of monstrous existence. You’ve heard about this, right?”

“I’ve heard of it,” Akar nodded.

According to the bloodline awakening methods and book descriptions summarized by the Hall of Spirits, when Bloodline Users fail to advance to a higher-tier bloodline, they usually die due to being unable to withstand the intensified power of the bloodline, resulting in the bloodline going out of control and causing death.

In such cases, all the bloodline power concentrates in the heart area of the deceased Bloodline User, forming a special product known as a “Bloodline Heart.”

It contained all the essence and power of a Bloodline User.

Therefore, bloodline potions made using this special material known as a "Bloodline Heart" were generally referred to as "high-quality bloodline potions."

After all, the bloodline awakening and advancement effects of such potions were significantly more effective than those made with ordinary magical beast materials, with higher success rates and better stability.

However, this special material was, after all, rare and unattainable, no Bloodline User would willingly become such a consumable.

The Spirit Hall also explicitly forbade this method of refining.

But because of its uniqueness, there were quite a few who had their eyes on it.

Among them, the most extreme group was called the "Foragers."

"Foragers firmly believe that by devouring the bloodline power of Bloodline Users of the same tier and type, they can purify their own bloodline concentration, thereby increasing their success rate and bloodline stability in advancement," Anna explained.

"This type of Bloodline User is the public enemy of all Bloodline Users and the most dangerous existence. They are even more detestable than those who mutate into monsters due to failed advancement."

Akar felt a chill in his heart.

If what Anna described was accurate, then the behavior his family's Demonic Sword exhibited while absorbing bloodline power seemed to closely resemble this so-called "Forager."

"Then... do Foragers actually work?"

"Who knows." Anna shrugged. "I've never seen one myself. But I heard that a long time ago, there was a Forager in the Red Eagle Territory who caused great turmoil. Later, he fled to the Cold Ridge Territory and stirred up quite a bit of trouble there. Only then did peace return to the Red Eagle Territory... You’d best not even think about becoming a Forager. Once discovered, that sort of thing will definitely be hunted down."

"Do I look like someone who needs to become a Forager?" Akar joked in a deliberately relaxed tone. "That’s the kind of foolishness only failures would consider."

"True." Anna smiled. "I just like seeing you so confident... But aren’t you close to the Third-Tier?"

"Not that close," Akar shook his head slightly. "Probably still over two years away. Besides, I haven’t decided on the Third-Tier bloodline yet."

"Isn’t the Flame Hawk a good choice?" Anna looked puzzled. "That’s already been confirmed as the bloodline route with the highest success rate for advancing from the Flame Sparrow to Third-Tier. It may not be the strongest, but it’s definitely the most stable... Or do you have something else in mind?"

"I do have a few other ideas," Akar said softly, "but I’m currently unsure what good options exist for Third-Tier, so I’m a bit troubled."

Akar knew very well that his bloodline wasn’t truly the Flame Sparrow, but the Flame Demon Hound.

Though choosing the Flame Hawk route wasn’t impossible for him to succeed in awakening, after all, the key feature of his family’s Demonic Sword was that it maximized the success rate of bloodline advancement through purification,

But the Flame Demon Hound didn’t rely solely on fire manipulation. So while the Flame Hawk might be a decent complementary and enhancement bloodline for the Flame Sparrow, it might not be suitable for the Flame Demon Hound.

Seeing the conflicted look on Akar’s face, Anna didn’t think too much and simply said, "Then you can check the archive room. It has plenty of illustrated books on bloodline advancement and enhancement. They might give you some inspiration... Just be careful not to get too wild with your ideas. Fire-elemental bloodlines can’t be fused with water- or wind-elemental bloodlines."

"I understand that much."

Bloodlines had very strong exclusivity and independence.

Once the Primordial Four Elements were determined, there was no way to switch to another bloodline element.

Similarly, if one initially chose a plant-type bloodline, there was no way to switch midway to an animal-type bloodline. Besides that, there were many taboos and other types of repulsions, especially after reaching Fourth-Tier, these restrictions became even stricter.

A slight misstep could lead to instant death.

That was why so many people tried every means to develop a stable bloodline advancement route.

And why, upon reaching Sixth-Tier and activating the Bloodline Imprint, it was considered so vital to a Bloodline User family.

...

Because this journey was made lightly equipped, Ion finally returned to the White Mountain Territory several days later.

At that time, the City Lord’s Manor in the White Mountain Territory was filled with festivity, and many were celebrating something.

After asking around, Ion learned that a smuggling caravan each from the Eastern Mountain Territory and the Spring Breeze Territory had been intercepted by the White Mountain Territory.

The goods they carried into the territory had naturally been seized by Yam, totaling up to five thousand Tyrella Gold Coins.

This was a very exciting deal for both Yam and the entire White Mountain Territory!

"Father!" Yam, upon hearing of Ion’s return, immediately came forward with a celebratory expression.

However, upon seeing his father’s stern look, Yam realized that something might have gone wrong on Ion’s journey, so he couldn’t help but ask, "Did something happen?"

"Raven isn’t dead."

"Uncle Raven?" A hint of joy appeared on Yam’s face. "Then why are you still unhappy, Father?"

"Because he’s involved in Arsen’s death."

Yam’s smile froze instantly.

After a long while, he finally asked, "Father, what… Do you mean that?"

"Your brother, Arsen, didn’t die because of a failed mission. He died from murder!"

Ion solemnly recounted everything that had happened in the Gem Territory during this trip to Yam.

"You suspect that there’s a ruin in either the Red River Territory or the Gem Territory that we don’t know about, and it’s connected to that Demonic Sword?"

"It’s not a suspicion. It’s what I believe!" Ion said firmly. "So I intend to reassign some personnel and train them strictly according to the methods used by border scouts. Then have them take charge of collecting all sorts of intelligence from the Red Eagle Territory... Based on my observations, every lord has such an intelligence unit. The only difference lies in their scale."

"Now that we’ve basically resolved the territory’s financial issues, I think the White Mountain Territory should also have such a team. Otherwise, we’re no different from the blind and deaf."