Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

"That stuff is called cement!"

"A powerful alchemist!"

The person in charge of the Sword and Flower Caravan suddenly spoke up.

"What do you mean?" The Sea Serpent Merchant Guild's representative paused slightly, his eyes shifting as he asked.

"There must be a powerful alchemist backing Levi! Cement is definitely his work!" the Sword and Flower Caravan's representative declared.

"And then?"

"Don't tell me your merchant guild isn't interested in something like this? I swear on my life—any lord who learns this thing exists will want to get their hands on it!"

"The greatest treasure of Hornreach isn't those mountains of whale brain oil, but this endless stream of gray powder."

The Sea Serpent Merchant Guild representative dropped the act and smiled faintly. "Do you think our mysterious lord would be willing to sell us the cement formula?"

"If it were me…" The Sword and Flower Caravan's representative paused before continuing, "I wouldn't sell it either."

"Indeed. This is practically a gold mine." The Sea Serpent Merchant Guild representative nodded. After a brief silence, he added, "Is there any way…"

"You think your people can get past the inspections over there?" The Sword and Flower Caravan's representative sneered as he looked toward the cement kilns.

Not only were the flames there blazing into the sky, but the military battle group led by Rune was also stationed nearby.

Originally, that military battle group had no official name.

But after the construction of the city walls began, it gave the Sky Knight Rune an idea. He approached Levi and received permission to give the battle group a name—

Greatshield!

Like a great shield protecting the territory.

Levi himself did not particularly care either way.

But after Rune used that name, the soldiers became wildly enthusiastic, and morale surged dramatically.

Now, the Greatshield battle group guarded the cement kilns every day. While undergoing Rune's training, they also prevented anyone with ulterior motives from approaching and uncovering the territory's secrets.

Although Levi himself did not consider the formula for modern cement to be some priceless treasure, Yalina, Odelle, and Rune had witnessed firsthand the terrifying effectiveness of cement in wall construction. The moment they realized its value, they immediately placed the kilns under strict protection. Unauthorized personnel were forbidden from approaching, and even authorized workers remained under supervision.

As a result, after discovering cement's heaven-defying usefulness, the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild and the Sword and Flower Caravan had no way to investigate the secret behind it.

The two caravan leaders fell silent.

After a while, the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild representative finally laid his cards on the table.

"The lord's manor has already agreed to let our guild purchase cement. But that will have to wait until later—their current production is severely insufficient."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" The Sword and Flower Caravan's representative was not surprised. Their caravan had already discussed the same issue with the territory's affairs officer, Yalina.

"This stuff is simply too valuable… What I mean is, our two sides should work together, buy up all their output, and then resell it jointly," the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild representative said.

The Sword and Flower Caravan's representative immediately understood.

They wanted a monopoly for massive profits.

But that also aligned with their own interests.

After thinking for a moment, he replied, "It's a good idea, but that lord may not agree."

"Isn't he currently trying to purchase large quantities of military supplies? Bows, armor, weapons…"

"If our two sides join forces and prioritize fulfilling his demands, then in exchange, we can obtain certain preferential purchasing rights."

"I already spoke with Miss Yalina. She agreed."

"Now it depends on you," the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild representative said.

The Sword and Flower Caravan's representative fell silent for a moment before suddenly grinning.

"Then here's to a pleasant cooperation."

"Then starting now, we'll need to do everything possible to transport the supplies that lord needs over here. Will your caravan's higher-ups agree to that?" the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild representative asked.

"I already submitted part of the cement to the caravan headquarters. Their response was that everything else can make way for this cement," the Sword and Flower Caravan's representative replied.

"Good. We're preparing to reroute the military supplies that were originally headed for Silverclaw Territory and the Kingdom of Valeria and send them here to Hornreach first," the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild representative said.

The Sword and Flower Caravan's representative said nothing, merely smiling faintly. Everything was understood without words.

The two men once again looked toward the ever-rising city wall, strange light flickering in their eyes.

...

Kingdom of Valeria.

Royal Palace.

The middle-aged king stood beneath a tree, listening to the chirping birds perched above him. His brows slowly furrowed.

"The ships were redirected to Hornreach?"

"They built a massive city wall in less than ten days?"

"No wonder…"

The middle-aged king's expression darkened as he looked toward the direction of Hornreach in the Duchy of Silverbrook, wariness filling his eyes.

He could not be allowed to continue growing stronger.

Even if there truly was a wizard backing him.

The middle-aged king summoned the royal steward.

This man had once been his most loyal attendant.

His wife had been the daughter of the previous king. He had once saved her life and vowed to live and die together with her. Yet during a voyage at sea, his wife became involved with the ship's captain and threw him overboard to drown.

It was this loyal attendant who had risked his own life to save him.

Later, after he dealt with his wife and became the new king, that most loyal attendant became the court steward he trusted above all others. His glory was shared together with him.

The middle-aged king said to the court steward, "Tell him to move quickly. Time is not on our side."

"If he hesitates any longer, there will be no opportunity left for him."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The court steward nodded and withdrew.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged king continued listening to the voices of the animals, looking utterly immersed in them.

...

Silverclaw Territory.

When the Viscount of Silverclaw learned that the weapons, armor, and bows he had spent enormous sums purchasing from the two merchant groups had been intercepted and rerouted to Hornreach—

"Damn it!"

"Faithless merchants!"

"I'm banning both merchant groups from my territory!"

"AAAAAAHHHH!"

The Viscount of Silverclaw was so furious that he overturned the entire table.

His trusted subordinate, Grey Crow, stood beside him without making a sound, motionless like a statue.

After a long while—

The Viscount of Silverclaw finally calmed down slightly. Sitting back down, he took a deep breath.

Only then did Grey Crow finally speak.

"Viscount, that great figure said the time left for you is running short."

The Viscount's gaze immediately darkened.

As though he had seen nothing, Grey Crow continued, "In addition, over at Hornreach, they have already completed a gigantic wall around the Mist Swamp in less than ten days. Even knights cannot leap over it, and the top of the wall is wide enough for five soldiers to walk side by side."

"That's impossible!" the Viscount of Silverclaw exclaimed in disbelief. "Even using the finest mortar, there's no way such a thing could be completed in so little time."

"Yes. It should be impossible, Viscount. But it now stands right before us. I sent several scouts, and every one of them reported the same thing." Grey Crow spoke expressionlessly.

The Viscount of Silverclaw immediately fell silent.

Then Grey Crow's voice rang out once more.

"That great figure was right. We no longer have time, Viscount."

"It's time to make a real decision."

"You could also gamble that once the Baron of Hornreach completely secures his footing, he will choose not to pursue the current matters."

"But judging from this baron's conduct, he does not seem like a forgiving man."

"And what losing a seaport means for Silverclaw Territory, Viscount… you understand that better than I do."

The Viscount's expression shifted unpredictably.

On one side was the increasingly obvious threat posed by Hornreach.

On the other side, that great figure was no benevolent individual either.

That great figure had originally been nothing more than a commoner. He married the king's daughter, then swallowed the entire kingdom through his status as royal son-in-law. "Ruthless" alone was nowhere near enough to describe him.

What the Viscount of Silverclaw had always feared was that once he sided with the other party and cooperated from within, the ending awaiting him would likely not be pleasant either.

How could that compare to the freedom and comfort he enjoyed in the Duchy of Silverbrook?

But now, he no longer had any other choice… did he?

The Viscount of Silverclaw sank into deep conflict when suddenly a knight clad in silver armor hurried into the room.

"Viscount! Something has happened near the Mist Swamp!"

"For some unknown reason, the kobolds living deep within the Mist Swamp suddenly moved into the outer regions and launched frenzied attacks against us."

"The outposts near the swamp have already collapsed. The kobolds have surged into our territory and are slaughtering people everywhere!" the knight reported rapidly, panic clear across his face.

Upon hearing this, both the Viscount of Silverclaw and Grey Crow's expressions changed drastically.

The two looked at each other and saw shock—and even deeper fear—in the other's eyes.

'How did Levi know something would happen in the Mist Swamp?'

For a moment, neither of them could speak.

"Viscount! Viscount…" The knight on the other side was nearly frantic.

The village being ravaged by the kobolds happened to be his own fief.

If the people died, then even if the village was eventually reclaimed, his strength and influence would suffer devastating losses.

Yet his obligations as a lord could not be reduced because of that.

Only then did the Viscount of Silverclaw come back to his senses. His expression was extraordinarily complicated—regret, fear, confusion, all of it mixed together.

But after years in power, he quickly concealed those emotions.

He said to the knight before him, "Come. Take me there."

"Do we know why the kobolds came out?" the Viscount asked as he walked ahead.

The knight shook his head.

"My apologies, Viscount. At the time… I didn't know."

"Everything was fine the day before yesterday. Then overnight, it was as though all those kobolds suddenly went mad and poured out."

"I led my retainers to resist them, but there were simply too many kobolds. Like vermin—endless in number," the knight said with a pained expression.

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar

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