Yaen's family heading south was naturally not something they could act on immediately after making a decision in a few words.
Yarn's wife had been ill ever since she fled here three years ago, and only in the last few months had she finally been able to help with household chores and become a bit closer to the other women in the village.
Of course, all of this was actually due to the extraordinary nature of Yaen's family, the father and his two sons.
So, no matter what, Yarn's wife definitely couldn't travel with them.
After all, they could only sense that the components needed for the rusty sword were located in the south, but they couldn't predict the exact location in the south, and traveling all the way south would require passing through Gem Territory, which also made Yaen's family somewhat uneasy.
White Mountain Territory is located north of Gem Territory, sharing a mountain range with it, but unfortunately, although two-thirds of this mountain range is on White Mountain Territory's side, it has no resources; while the one-third on Gem Territory's side has an iron ore deposit with reserves exceeding one hundred thousand tons.
To the northwest of Gem Territory, which is to the west of White Mountain Territory, is Red River Territory.
To the southwest of Gem Territory, which is to the south of Red River Territory, is Red Soil Territory, the only territory among the surrounding ones where Inferno Hounds nest.
Under normal circumstances, Red Soil Territory, Red River Territory, and White Mountain Territory could be traveled through unimpeded; although some commercial taxes had to be paid when crossing territories, overall, it was still very profitable for merchant guilds and even individual merchants.
But when the war between Gem Territory and Red River Territory ignited, the private soldiers of the Lord of Gem Territory immediately occupied two key routes in Red River Territory, directly cutting off Red River Territory's southward direction, forcing Red Soil Territory and Dense Forest Territory, which border Red River Territory, to be unable to enter Red River Territory through trade routes. This led to soaring prices in the surrounding territories recently, especially the inability to circulate various monster resources from Red Soil Territory.
Yarn had also previously inquired clearly from the group of familiar merchants.
Now, to go to Red Soil Territory, one could either only go south from Gem Territory and endure the harsh taxes of Gem Territory; or bypass Gem Territory and Red River Territory: from White Mountain Territory, head west into Red River Territory, then from the northwest of Red River Territory enter Bayor Territory and Long Wind Territory, then transfer to Dense Forest Territory, and finally proceed to Red Soil Territory.
This journey would take at least five months, as it required crossing four territories.
So, after some discussion, this travel plan was directly rejected.
Ultimately, Yaen's family decided to cross Gem Territory, which would only take about a month and a half to enter Red Soil Territory, and if they were lucky, they could return in two or three months after that.
However, before that, they needed to prepare some other materials.
After all, Yarn didn't intend to bring the Inferno Hound heart back, but rather planned to directly boil the secret medicine on the spot to complete the Bloodline awakening ritual.
...
In a slightly old castle corridor, a middle-aged man walked quickly with a solemn expression.
Before long, he pushed open two heavy wooden doors.
The interior of the wooden doors seemed to be a study, but in the center of this study was a large sand table.
Mountains, rivers, and forests were all present on the sand table, lifelike, as if an entire territory had been scaled down proportionally.
But if someone familiar with the surrounding territories were present, they would find that this spacious sand table displayed more than just one territory.
The terrains of six territories: Gem Territory, White Mountain Territory, Red River Territory, Red Soil Territory, Dense Forest Territory, and Bayor Territory were all shown.
As the middle-aged man who pushed the door entered the room, the three men and one woman inside all looked up.
"What happened?" a middle-aged man standing at the front of the sand table asked in a deep voice.
"Lord, Red River Territory is about to collapse," the middle-aged man who pushed the door in said in a deep voice, "The forces of Gem Territory are clearly not right."
"Are Dense Forest Territory and Red Soil Territory making any moves?"
"No," the middle-aged man replied.
"Heh," a young man who looked similar to the Lord in the center couldn't help but sneer, "It seems they have reached an agreement with Robert, that wolf. I knew it! Why else would Gem Territory immediately occupy two trade routes as soon as they deployed troops, and then these two families would have no reaction? How foolish."
"You are the foolish one... The Anta Family and the Whister Family have been able to control Dense Forest Territory and Red Soil Territory for over fifty years immediately after the Bourbon Family's demise. Do you think they are fools?" The middle-aged Lord glanced at his son, then sneered, "The royal family must have promised them something. Without the royal family's guarantee, how could they conspire with that wolf from Gem Territory?"
"Father!" The young man's face immediately showed a look of fear.
Not only this young man, but the other three people in the room were also like this.
"Then Duke..."
"Didn't you see that even Earl Shufang didn't show up?" The middle-aged man snorted coldly, "This is a war between us 'Barons'. So even if that wolf from Gem Territory can take Red River Territory, he can't occupy Red River Territory, but it's undeniable that he will definitely get the biggest benefit."
"After all, the royal family is behind him," the young man said sarcastically.
"The Bourbon Family's Furious Flame Lion is a Seventh-Tier Bloodline after all, and the discord between Griffin House and Golden Lion House is no secret in the Kingdom of Tyrael," the middle-aged Lord said coldly, "If you can't learn this noble way of doing things, then you'd best not think about inheriting my title, you will destroy the entire family."
Upon hearing these words, two men and one woman in the room lowered their heads to look at the sand table in front of them, wishing they were deaf.
The young man, however, seemed somewhat indifferent to these words, and instead sneered, "If it weren't for the family, I would have left long ago. Who told you that among the children you bore, only I could awaken my Bloodline? If John, Joel, or even little Lily could awaken their Bloodline, do you think you would still see me?"
The middle-aged Lord glanced sideways at the young man, then did not continue the topic.
He knew very well that although his Bloodline was relatively powerful among Third-Tier ones, the side effect was that it was difficult to have offspring. Therefore, compared to other Baron families who had four, five, or even more than ten children, he only had four children. However, what made him most despair was that, compared to his generation where three people awakened Bloodline Power, in his children's generation, only one person awakened Bloodline.
John and Joel had already taken ten bottles of Bloodline secret medicine, but they ultimately failed to awaken their Bloodline, and it was clear they would never awaken it in this life.
The only one still with hope was his youngest daughter, Lily, who was only fifteen years old now and had just taken her first bottle of Bloodline secret medicine, with no signs yet.
"Lord, what do we do next?"
"We have no direct interest in the Baron of Red River, so if Earl Shufang doesn't give orders, it's none of our business." The middle-aged Lord shook his head, "This war won't end until those big figures finish negotiating their interests, but we can take this opportunity to form a caravan to purchase and stockpile some supplies... Oh, by the way, have our merchants discovered anything?"
"Half a month ago, someone purchased an Inferno Hound heart."
"Flame Hound Bloodline?" The middle-aged Lord couldn't help but frown, "Is there still someone trying to attempt this Bloodline path now?"
"It's just a waste of effort," the young man said with little interest, "It has been proven over the past few decades that Second-Tier is the limit. No one has succeeded with the Third-Tier Flame Tiger except for the Bourbon Family back then. Who doesn't know that the secret medicine for the Furious Flame Lion Bloodline promotion path has been problematic for a long time?"
"The Furious Flame Lion path is blocked, but it can still be converted into Magic Flame Vajra and Fire-breathing Lizard. If not for that, do you think Inferno Hound hearts would still sell for a price?"
"Nine out of ten die," the young man scoffed, saying disdainfully, "Meaningless struggle."
"As long as one succeeds, it's another 'Baron'," the middle-aged Lord said in a deep voice, "And the Fire-breathing Lizard is one of the promotion routes for the Fire-elemental Dragon Bloodline. If one successfully promotes to Fire-breathing Lizard, there will be no risk of promotion death before the Sixth-Tier, only the question of whether one can awaken the Bloodline."
After speaking, he no longer paid attention to his son, but turned to look at the middle-aged man who had just pushed the door in, and said in a deep voice, "Did you find out who purchased it?"
"It was the militia instructor of Fisher Village," the middle-aged man said, "It should be preparation for his eldest son. I have already investigated, he has a very solid foundation in swordsmanship, typical Kingdom Military Swordsmanship. The eldest son is even stronger than his father in swordsmanship, but the second son is currently unclear."
"Don't mind it for now, our focus is still on this war between Red River Territory and Gem Territory."
"Yes."
After giving a few more instructions, he then allowed his three knights to leave.
Once the three had left, the middle-aged man looked at his son and asked, "Do you know what to do next?"
"I will keep an eye on that person," the young man nodded, "If he successfully awakens his Bloodline, I will invite him back."
"No," the middle-aged Lord shook his head, "You should invite him as the future heir to the Lord of White Mountain Territory, asking him to become your vassal knight, and promise him that Fisher Village will be his fief in the future."
A thoughtful expression appeared on the young man's face.
A moment later, he spoke, "In that case, he will train the Fisher Village militia group even more diligently, and once I succeed as the Lord of White Mountain Territory, I will immediately have a private army loyal to me and a knight."
The middle-aged Lord nodded slightly, then asked, "And after you inherit the Lord of White Mountain Territory, what should you do?"
"Collect the Bloodline secret medicine for Magic Flame Vajra or Fire-breathing Lizard..."
"No," the middle-aged Lord interrupted his son, "It can only be Magic Flame Vajra."
The young heir pondered for a moment again, then nodded, "I understand what you mean, Father. Magic Flame Vajra can only reach Third-Tier, and there are no further promotion secret medicines after that. This way, his strength can never surpass our family, and even if he successfully promotes and becomes a Baron, he will be a natural ally of our family, so there's no need to worry about him taking over."
"Go," the middle-aged Lord nodded with satisfaction, then waved his hand, signaling the young man to leave, "Continue to play your role."
"Yes, Father."
Watching his son's retreating figure, the middle-aged Lord, whose temples were slightly gray, his gaze once again fell upon the sand table, his expression no longer as calm and composed as before, but filled with a sense of worry.
...
Yarn's execution ability has always been extremely strong.
He only took less than a month to collect all the auxiliary and consumable materials for the second Flame Hound Bloodline secret medicine, with the only two missing items being the ice pot and the Inferno Hound heart.
But having gained experience from the first boiling and blending, he understood that it was actually possible without an ice pot, so he planned to make do with the previous broken one. As for the Inferno Hound heart, it was already one of the purposes of their trip, so they would just get it on the spot when the time came.
However, he still made some extra preparations, and after staying in Fisher Village for about two more months, he set off with Yaka.
Only Yam was there to see them off.
"Take care of your mother," Yarn patted Yam's shoulder, "Wait for us to come back."
"Be careful on the road, Father," Yam took a deep breath, feigning calmness, "Take care of Father."
"Don't worry, big brother," Yaka laughed, "Wait for my good news!"