Chapter 213: Divine Power Crystal, Eradicating the Fishman

Tuu, the Devourer, would never know the flaw in the oath taken by the other party, for it was not Donald who took action—it was the Bronze Dragon Nozdormu.
At that time, Donald thought of the Goddess of Agriculture as a comrade who had fought alongside him. Rather than choose some other unfamiliar true god, it was more reliable to go with the Goddess of Agriculture. After all, she was busy with countless affairs daily and likely wouldn’t take this matter seriously. Besides, he himself wouldn’t actually break the oath—it was Nozdormu who acted!
Moreover, Donald believed that even if he did break the oath, he wouldn’t face any punishment. The Book of Truth, which possessed numerous laws, was expert at finding loopholes in contracts and rules. Its calculation speed surpassed that of supercomputers from his past life, allowing it to deduce almost any situation instantly. It had easily stolen the power of the Abyss and confused its will by exploiting loopholes in contracts—so what about a simple oath?
After all, when taking the oath, he hadn’t specified what kind of punishment he might face. Oaths sworn to true gods involved rules, and the usual convention was that if a mortal broke an oath, the worst outcome would come true, with the true god imposing a just divine punishment.
If a true god failed to act and sided with one party, they too would be constrained by the rules. However, there were loopholes—like in Donald’s case, where he hadn’t specified the punishment for breaking the oath. In such cases, it was up to the true god to decide the severity of the punishment, which might be as simple as a fine or some other minor penalty.
That’s why Donald dared to swear under the name of the Goddess of Agriculture. Naturally, Tuu, the Devourer, had no way of knowing the details.
While collecting the corpse of the Golden Bottom-Dwelling Demon Fish, the Book of Truth unexpectedly discovered items hidden within it. Curious, Donald cut open the monster’s chest and took out a walnut-sized amber-colored crystal. It seemed very hard in hand, but light seemed to flow inside.
“What is this…”
Donald had some guesses, but the Book of Truth already gave the correct answer.
“A Faith Crystal? Is this why this bottom-dwelling demon fish could wield divine power at the Golden rank?”
A Faith Crystal was a crystallization of faith power that had become so concentrated due to intense faith—too dense to dissipate and continuously pressured by new faith—forcing it to condense on its own.

It was truly an unexpected surprise. Could it be those merfolk? Donald quickly figured out the key to it.
“That’s right. The bottom-dwelling demon fish are good at deceiving and enslaving creatures. The merfolk have limited intelligence and are easily deceived, ending up worshipping this bottom-dwelling demon fish as a deity. According to Count Leyton, those merfolk received the protection of the Ocean Lord decades ago. The collective power of faith accumulated over nearly a hundred years through their worship and sacrifices—amounting to a significant force even for the true gods.”
Donald estimated that this was why, although the bottom-dwelling demon fish knew some methods of converting faith power into divine power, it was still an amateur at best, not at a high enough level to transform much divine power on its own. Thus, it was possible that it retained so many manifestations of faith.
Once the bottom-dwelling demon fish died, even without the pressure of the bronze dragon, those sea beasts would likely disperse completely. Such aquatic beasts rarely ventured into shallow waters, just like wild animals in the forests—humans feared them, and they feared humans as well. Unless they were hungry, injured, or felt threatened, they usually wouldn’t attack humans on their own.
With the greatest threat to Port Leyton now dealt with, Donald returned to the city only to be greeted by admiring gazes and cheers from everyone.
“My lord, the crisis of the sea beasts attacking the city is over for now. But I still have some matters to attend to, so we can postpone discussing trade cooperation. Besides, order needs to be restored in the port!”
With that, Donald briefly bid farewell to the leaders of Port Leyton, then used the excuse of needing rest to take his men back to the room arranged by Count Leyton.
Seeing Donald summon everyone into the room and order the musketeer guards to stand outside, Catherine knew her man must have plans. She asked, “Donald, you have something to discuss, right? I guess it’s related to this attack by the sea beasts!”
Previously, she had witnessed her man displaying great prowess on the battlefield and felt proud of him. She was deeply proud of having chosen him. Many young masters and lords from prominent families had coveted her, but she had relied on the queen’s influence to ignore them all. It seemed her choice had indeed been right—being the lover of those spoiled nobles couldn’t compare to her current freedom and happiness.
Donald smiled and replied, “Exactly! You’re smart, Catherine!”
In reality, Donald had other plans in mind.

That is, once the Bottom-Dwelling Demon Fish die, those Toothfishman tribes, having lost their backing, will no longer be a threat. Right now, Port Leyton is busy dealing with the port damage caused by the war and recalling civilians. Once they recover, they will surely seize this great opportunity to eliminate this persistent threat lurking at their doorstep.

But Donald won’t allow them to do so—simply because he too has his eyes set on that archipelago of fishpeople.

According to what Count Leyton mentioned earlier, that archipelago is strategically located, backed by Starfall Bay, in a sheltered area with low tides. Storms and cold currents coming from the north and south are deflected outside the bay by its natural barriers. The area is also quite large—the largest island is almost as big as Baron Redmaple’s territory, and the other smaller islands combined make up a significant size as well. If developed, it could become an excellent island territory and resort. The Leyton family has had their eye on that land for a hundred years, but at that time, it was occupied by a large number of powerful sea beasts. To drive them away, their family would likely have to pay a heavy price.

Thus, things dragged on until the appearance of the Toothfishmen. By the time the Leyton family was ready to take action, those fishmen already had a marine lord to protect them—a force far beyond what their family could confront.

There are indeed golden warriors in the kingdom, but the cost of hiring one would likely be nearly half the value of those islands. Moreover, there’s a pact between the human warriors on the continent and the golden sacred beasts in the seas and forests: golden-level beings are not allowed to enter each other’s territories without reason. Unless passing by, either side has the right to attack together.

Because of this pact to maintain peace on the continent, Port Leyton and the nearby human territories have coexisted peacefully with those fishmen for decades.

Considering the advice given by Her Majesty the Queen during his time in the capital, Donald feels it’s truly necessary to acquire another territory outside the North County. This way, even if he doesn’t plan to have other wives in the future, he can grant it to his descendants.

It’s the same principle of not putting all eggs in one basket. If the Merlin family only has Dalaran as their territory, they could easily be exploited if something goes wrong in the future. With two territories, if one faces problems, there’s still a backup base, making it harder for enemies to defeat them all at once.

Although Donald was very confident in his own strength and that of his territory, there were always those stronger than him. Before he became absolutely powerful, he felt it was better to remain low-key and cautious sometimes. With such a good opportunity now, Donald naturally wanted to seize it promptly, so as not to work hard only for others to benefit. After sharing his thoughts with his subordinates, Catherine and Jesse, who knew best about the intricacies of the court and nobility, immediately offered many useful suggestions. Of course, deciding how to handle this matter also required some thought. The group discussed it in the room for half an hour before deciding to divide the task into three parts to ensure everything was handled as safely as possible. One group would consist of Donald and Kelsas, along with the powerful bronze dragon Nozdormu, to eliminate the Gnome tribe. Without the strong backing of the Bottomless Sea Dragon, those Gnome tribesmen, who were at most at the Silver level, should not have much resistance. As for Port Ratonel, Jesse and Augusta would be responsible for communicating with the local nobles to negotiate trade between the two places, subtly revealing their intentions. Of course, the most important factor would still be the attitude of the Earl of Ratonel. Finally, there was the matter of the capital. To successfully pass the approval and officially obtain ownership of the territory, a joint decision from the royal family and the nobility council was needed. This was not like the small knightly territory in the Orc Valley before, which could be easily legalized. This was a valuable island belonging to Port Ratonel, the kingdom’s largest commercial city, and surely many would be eyeing its benefits. Donald knew that although he, as the lord of Dalaran, was the most prominent in the Northlands, he was not yet powerful enough to influence the collective opinions of the kingdom’s elite. If he managed to defeat the Gnome tribe but faced interference from those powerful nobles, it would be difficult for him to fully claim the Gnome Islands as spoils. Therefore, sending someone to the capital in advance to make arrangements was a crucial step. He didn’t trust anyone else; only Uther could be sent to protect Catherine and go to the capital first to prepare everything. Otherwise, even if he captured the Gnome Islands, it might end up benefiting others. After Catherine’s airship left, feeling that things still weren’t fully secure, Jesse expressed her concerns: “I’m worried that even if everything goes smoothly here and the kingdom’s favor is on our side, those powerful nobles might deliberately delay things to gain some advantage for themselves!”

Donald had seen plenty of the nobles’ greed. What he feared most was delay—the longer things dragged on, the more variables there would be, and the more troubles would arise. So, still uneasy, he summoned the golem to send a message to the Ansel family as well.

Augusta praised, “The lord has thought this through well. With Her Majesty the Queen handling matters on the royal side, and the Ansel family, the most prominent noble in the kingdom, providing support, plus the Ansel family’s stance representing that of most of the kingdom’s military forces, once we repel the sea beasts’ siege, kill the merfolk, and report the news of securing new territories to the capital, ownership of these islands should be established.”

Donald shook his head and said, “This still requires the help of Count Leighton. After all, his family is the largest local lord and ranks among the top ten nobles in the kingdom. If even he, as a local lord, has no objections, then other nobles won’t have any grounds to claim a share!”

After dealing with the merfolk tribe’s occupation of the islands, Donald decided to go straight to that count. Whether to win him over or exploit him, given that he had removed the threat of the sea beasts and saved Port Leighton, the count should be willing to offer assistance.