Chapter 19: The Island in the River

Seeing the vast island in the river shrouded in mist before him, Ko Mo couldn’t help but want to hug this stern-looking jellyfish man and take a bite from him. He wondered if this jellyfish man, who had always had a poor relationship with him, was trying to surprise him by choosing such a place for him. To hide his inner excitement, he had to suppress his emotions and pretend to be indifferent, even slightly impatient, as he listened to the man’s explanation.

“Mr. Ko Mo, it seems this is the only place that meets your requirements and can also be accepted by our Pharaoh. Although this island is a bit higher up, it has its advantages—the rising waters of the Catania River don’t affect it. Look, these areas are quite suitable for building ship docks. Weren’t you looking for a proper spot for ships to moor temporarily? I think this will have to do. As for the fact that it’s mostly barren hills and grassy slopes, you’ll need to put some effort into clearing and organizing it to make it usable. There are no members of our tribe living within a few kilometers here, and they rarely come to this area, so it can also avoid unnecessary conflicts. What do you think?”

The jellyfish man, with his hair tied into numerous small braids, kept talking nonstop about the area while carefully observing Ko Mo’s expression. The Pharaoh and the Dual Lords had instructed him to keep the two as far apart as possible. This guy didn’t seem easy to deceive either—most of the places he suggested were too close to the tribal settlements along the riverbanks. His repeated objections had already made the other party impatient, but he still had to follow the orders of the Pharaoh and the Dual Lords. Allowing these cunning mortals to mix with his pure and kind tribe wasn’t a good thing for his people.

“Hmm, here? Isn’t it a bit too desolate, Mr. Seravi? The current is so strong that it’s not easy to stop the ships. Look at this huge island, all barren hills and overgrown with weeds and bushes—how many people would be needed to clean it up? Couldn’t we choose a spot along the riverbank instead?” Throughout the journey, Ko Mo had already decided to turn this place into an important transit hub for the Catania River in the Great Swamp Region, a stronghold to connect him with the jellyfish tribe. But on the surface, he still had to pretend to be dissatisfied and make up excuses to nitpick.

“Well, this place is a bit desolate, but there really is no suitable location along the riverbanks, Mr. Komer. Look, this island in the middle of the river is large enough—three to four kilometers long from end to end and over a thousand meters wide from side to side. It can easily be developed into a town, and there’s more than enough space to build a temporary dock. You want this place, right? That way I can report back to the Pharaoh sooner.”

As an official in the Council Hall, Seravi was assigned to select a site for a temporary docking point in the Caucasus. He was rather reluctant to deal with these cunning mortals—every issue required careful consideration. If they insisted on something, it could never be granted, even if the reason wasn’t clear at first; there must surely be some hidden scheme behind it. If they didn’t want something, he had to persuade them to accept it reluctantly. That was Seravi’s experience.

Komer kept shaking his head, refusing to accept such a desolate place with no inhabitants for miles around, located right in the heart of the Catania River. How could it be cleared in time? It would greatly affect the upcoming shipping routes. But the more Komer refused, the more convinced Seravi became that this was the perfect spot. It would not only keep his people from being too close to these mortals but also ensure their lives weren’t disrupted, as the mortals would be violating the agreement if they dared leave the island for the riverbanks, allowing for severe punishment.

In the end, Komer couldn’t outlast Seravi. After Seravi proposed including a slightly smaller island beneath it as part of the same area to be designated as a temporary docking point for the Caucasus, Komer was forced to “accept” these two islands as temporary docks. The two parties signed a treaty on the merchant ship *Marta*, designating these two islands as leased land for the Caucasus’ temporary docks, with a lease term of a hundred years and only a symbolic annual rent of one gold shield to be paid to the Jellyfish clan.

As Komer and his group watched Seravi and his men leave the *Marta* satisfied, riding rafts away, Komer couldn’t contain his joy and laughed heartily. Rebrí and the others also shook their heads with sighs, amused yet frustrated by the Jellyfish people’s overconfidence. These inexperienced Jellyfish people had no chance of outwitting this lord—his slightest gesture could cost them dearly.

This island in the river not only has an excellent geographical location but also a large land area, with elevated hills suitable for building watchtowers. By willingly giving up this strategic location at the heart of the Catalonia River route, the Jellyfish People were essentially handing over this waterway to the Caucasus. Although they remained the masters of the Great Marshes, without their involvement, the Caucasus had effectively taken on the role of the actual controller of this river route. No matter how things changed in the future, as long as the Caucasus maintained control here, all ships traveling up or down would have to be inspected and even taxed by them, if they so desired.

Standing on the soft soil along the shore of the island, amidst grassy areas untouched by humans, there was a smell of decaying aquatic plants and wild grasses. The Marta could not approach too closely, so Komer had to use the rescue boat from the merchant ship to slowly cross the more than ten-meter-wide area of water plants before reaching solid land. These water plants in the shallow waters were over ten meters wide, making it impossible for ships to cross this distance. Komer had to use fire magic once again to burn these worthless weeds through the water surface. Mist mixed with the smoke from the burning weeds filled the entire island until a path was created, allowing Komer’s rescue boat to barely reach the shore.

Reaching the highest point of the island—a small hill that wasn’t very tall but appeared elevated compared to the surrounding flat land—the Catalonia River was divided into two by these two islands, continuing its mighty flow eastward. With a hand raised to his forehead, Komer looked into the distance. Vast reed marshes formed the most important barrier in the Great Marshes, stretching hundreds of miles from east to west and over a hundred miles from north to south. More than 200,000 Jellyfish People lived in these extensive reed marshes. For centuries, despite the presence of numerous countries and powers around them, no one had ever challenged their authority over this land, nor had anyone managed to gain even a slight advantage from them. But now, all that had changed because of his arrival. Knowledge is power—this saying was truly true.

Only Haiding accompanied Komer ashore for inspection. This former pirate warrior had become wildly enthusiastic ever since Komer promised to let him return to his own stage. He had a strong desire to complete any task diligently. While everyone else showed no interest in exploring this desolate island, only he eagerly accompanied Komer on this journey.

Strolling along the riverbank, the putrid smell was somewhat choking. Even Haireding gradually lost interest, but Komer was thoroughly enjoying it. This land would become his new stronghold and bridgehead on the Catania River. At the thought of this huge gain, Komer couldn’t help but grin.

“Huh?” A sudden wave of icy cold made Komer stop in his tracks. He quickly recited spells silently, and the staff he had never used before flew out of his pouch immediately. A crystal ball at the top of the staff began to generate magic power rapidly. Komer’s whole body almost stiffened, but deep down he cursed his bad luck. That damned ice dragon—everyone thought it had escaped the Great Swamp, yet here he encountered it again. From that familiar icy chill, Komer knew he had run into this ice dragon.

Haireding also noticed the abnormality. Waves of coldness were spreading, which was highly unusual. In the warm region of the Catania River, such weather seemed impossible. This could only mean something unexpected had happened. He was over ten meters behind Komer. He had no interest in Komer’s almost obsessive desire to walk along the entire riverbank and merely followed behind out of courtesy.

“Haireding, don’t move! Leave quickly! Go back and summon Mr. Rebrí and Knight Sorenborg. Tell them I’m in danger and ask them to come and reinforce me right away!” Komer took a deep breath. His dark defense magic, the Demon Barrier, immediately formed to protect his entire body. He breathed a sigh of relief. He had seen the power of ice dragons before. Someone like Haireding would only be a burden and require him to protect them. It would be better to risk everything and see how much strength this severely damaged ice dragon still had. If things went wrong, he could just run away. With the few magical artifacts in his pouch, Komer was confident he could escape from this already heavily wounded ice dragon.

Years of a life as a fugitive at sea had made Haireding decisive. Without hesitation, he turned and ran at full speed. Only by notifying Rebrí and Sorenborg as quickly as possible could he minimize the danger his lord faced.