The facts were pretty much as Byron had guessed.

The [Hammerhead God] Copacati had indeed been seriously wounded in a previous conflict.

Even a large tribe under his command, which once numbered in the thousands, had almost been wiped out, with only a handful of people managing to escape. Years of accumulated gold and various treasures had also been plundered.

The perpetrators were none other than another group of overseas colonizers!

The influence of the colonization wars was beginning to show gradually on the Southern Continent.

Perhaps for the Sun Empire, with the [Sun God] Inti at its helm, the foreign colonizers only had a certain impact and wouldn’t shake the foundation of the Empire in the short term. But for some of the smaller indigenous tribes, it was a pure, unmitigated disaster.

Copacati had been careless in a battle with the outsiders, resulting in a devastating defeat. This forced him to give up his vast territory on an island at the northern end of the continent and lead his tribe and Bloodline on a great migration.

They had just settled in Crescent Bay less than two days ago.

He had just established the village, connected with the leyline nodes, and re-anchored his Divine Domain. He had barely taken a breath when he encountered another warship from the outsiders.

This rural Totem God had no understanding of the different flags on the ship and concluded they were all from the same group.

Filled with hatred, and needing to consume humans to recover his Spirituality and stabilize himself, he decisively ordered his Divine Descendant to block their way.

Just as he heard Byron say, "Please do me a favor," and was subconsciously about to grant him that favor and let him leave with ease...

BOOM!

A long, thin shadow, surrounded by countless cheering Storm Sprites, transformed into a siege crossbow. It violently tore through layers of rain and waves, instantly piercing the water.

If he hadn’t dodged quickly, he would have nearly been nailed to the seabed by this "returning courtesy."

Although he could dodge, the leyline node beneath him couldn’t. It was immediately pierced deeply by an [Earth Vein Sealing Bolt].

The Divine Domain that covered Crescent Bay and the tribe above grew dark in an instant, and his power quickly fell from the Fourth Order.

While Byron didn’t have a Law-Breaking Stone column in his hand, he had an inexhaustible supply of the same anti-magic material: White Lead. The underground labyrinth of Silvergold Island had been filled with this byproduct of [Life Alchemy] used to fashion Gold, and they had taken quite a bit with them when they left. In addition, Violet’s own Alchemy experiments also yielded regular outputs, which they utilized as repurposed waste, proving even more effective.

Unfortunately for the [Hammerhead God], he had already anchored his Divine Domain to this leyline node, becoming the Ampu of the area. Now that he was nailed by the sealing bolt, he couldn’t leave a ten-meter radius, which was even worse than when he was an Earth-bound Spirit.

"Warships, broadside! Open fire!" Byron waved his hand grandly.

The next moment, accompanied by singing and the howling of the organ, the cannons on the Golden Deer roared, sweeping across the entire coastline where the enemy was located as if tearing down rotted wood.

The first round merely blasted a vast expanse of white mist, mingled with shrill screams.

By the second round, the mist and waves were tinged with blood, and the screams grew fainter.

By the third round, the murky sea was silent. Only a huge, mangled Corpse slowly floated to the surface.

"That’s a wrap." Byron dusted off his already pristine hands, watching the scene of "cannon-blasted gods" without much disturbance in his eyes.

This task was too simple. All these Apus who claim territory as kings have one weakness: they are passively confined by their land. Their own Divine Domains aren’t large and aren’t networked, consisting only of isolated points. If they leave the range of their Divine Domain, their Power drops rapidly. At worst, after placing down an [Rift Seal Plug], we can just sweep the area with cannons, directly altering the terrain so they can’t even run away. This is still because the colonizers don’t thoroughly understand their specifics. If they had learned more about them over time, this tribe wouldn’t have been able to escape from this place.

The [Sun God], on the other hand, didn’t have this concern. They had not only established a vast empire but also implemented a centralized system, connecting each point into a massive network of faith, no longer reliant on outdated leyline nodes.

To describe it using the theories of another world, one was a Heavenly God, the other an Earthly Deity.

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!...

Prince Atahualpa was a smart man. He only needed to watch once to understand the core tactics and essence of this combination, his excitement so intense that sparks practically flew from his clapping hands. "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! It turns out these tough nuts that cause so many headaches aren’t so hard to crack after all. We just need to find the right method. This is no longer a matter of simple weapons and equipment; this represents the boundless territories of the Hundred Beasts Paradise!"

For him personally, the meaning was even more significant. This wasn’t just about cannons and Earth Vein Sealing Bolts; it was the "escape safety plug" that might let him retire in peace and even possibly make a comeback if he failed in the struggle for the throne! Under the knowledge system of the "Book of the Beast Kinship" (Volume Two), humanity itself represented the greatest Wealth. Even if he was forced to the borders of the Empire, he could use this tactic to capture a large territory and gather enough people, allowing himself the chance to congeal his Divinity and ascend to Fifth Order [Pseudo-God]. Leveraging human "variables" and his own Rank, he could easily purify his tribe’s Bloodline, turning them back into his own people.

He turned to look at Byron, his gaze burning. "Your Majesty, the Lord of the Celestial Kingdom, I wish to place an additional order. Another set just like this one—no, make it five sets!"

Byron felt somewhat embarrassed and even tried to dissuade him. "These ’Earth Vein Sealing Bolts’ can be reused repeatedly. They won’t wear out even after hundreds or thousands of years. I can just gift you a few; no need to pay." This time, he was exceptionally sincere, without a hint of pretense.

It was simply because the Prince had offered so much! Byron feared that appearing too miserly might scare off this major client.

Unexpectedly, the Prince merely waved his hand. "No! Listen to me. My previous purchase was private, but now I am speaking as Governor of Chinchasuyu, representing an official imperial purchase. If I bring this strategy back, along with the population of the [Hammerhead God]’s tribe, the council of Nobility will definitely approve the purchase plan. Five sets are just to whet the appetite; the Big Head is yet to come."

Clearly, who said natives couldn’t self-colonize? The territory of the Sun Empire, compared to the vast Southern Continent, was not large and had long been plagued by dense Totem Gods that were difficult to eradicate completely. If they had this set of tactics, they could surely expand their territory significantly in a short period. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Only then did Byron have an epiphany. "So that’s the case. For a large order, there will naturally be a discount. I’ll give you one. Major clients enjoy a 30% discount. The original cost for one set of cannons and sealing bolts was 220,000 pounds, but now it’s just 150,000."

A thirty-nine-fold profit margin felt a bit too hot to handle. He felt uneasy, sensing it wasn’t a sustainable way to do business. This was the perfect excuse to offer the Prince a concession. Torrent Fortress, as the largest steel industrial base in the world today, could easily crush competitors through sheer volume and small profits on mass sales.

However, upon hearing of the discount, Prince Atahualpa’s face showed no joy. Instead, it suddenly turned stern as he emphasized again, "Your Majesty, the Lord of the Celestial Kingdom, I believe you have misunderstood me. I mean this upcoming deal is an official purchase and must go through public accounts!" He particularly emphasized the words "public accounts."

"Public accounts? Oh..." Hearing this, Byron finally managed to wrap his head around it.

In his Sacred Golden Empire, after unifying all the city-states, the entire country belonged to him. Every plant, mountain, body of water, and underground mineral resource bore the Lancaster name. But the Sun Empire had different owners; it had belonged to the [Sun God] Inti for over a thousand years. These Divine Sons, governors, and kings were merely career managers at various levels within the Empire’s centralized system. Therefore, the interests of the state were not entirely synonymous with their own interests. The treasury’s money was decidedly not their money. This wouldn’t change even if the Prince became King one day.

Having understood this, Byron promptly nodded decisively at the Prince. "I miscalculated just now. Since the Empire is the client, the quality must be the best. It should be handcrafted by artisans with at least eighty years of experience, a limited edition, with the additional stamp of the Sun Empire’s emblem. What we want is one thing: good cannons, masterfully made! One price, 500,000 pounds per set! However, I notice that the shell buttons on your clothing are very distinctive. They must be antiques passed down through a thousand years of the Sun Empire, right? I am willing to purchase them for... 300,000 pounds each! For every set of cannon equipment sold, I’ll purchase one button. The deal for cannons and Earth Vein Sealing Bolts is business, but this button—no, this art trade—is also a perfectly reasonable business, wouldn’t you agree, Your Highness? Surely you wouldn’t refuse a collector’s small pursuit of art?"

The two looked at each other, seeing mutual understanding in each other’s eyes.

Then they burst into loud laughter together. "HAHAHA..."

The desire for money knows no bounds for the wealthy. They might disdain small change, but they certainly won’t let big money slip away. The Dog Landlord didn’t mind his wealth growing even more while conducting significant affairs; the chance to get rich on the side while doing so was just icing on the cake! Or rather, if he didn’t possess this quality, where would his family’s initial wealth have come from? And how could he have become the wealthiest of the four governors?

At this moment, having fought together and shared the spoils, all feelings of distance between them instantly vanished. Even though they had known each other for less than a day, their "bond" was now as close as that of blood brothers.

Mr. Byron’s journey to the Southern Continent was indeed becoming ever more promising!

Even with a thirty-nine-fold profit in hand, his heart felt utterly assured.