The priest frowned. He didn't want to get involved with humans either.
But now Giant Whale Island was exposed, and the iron ore on the island made many powerful groups scared. Without human protection, they would have a hard time surviving.
The priest thought for a moment and said, "We can trade with Kano Kingdom, but no soldiers from Kano Kingdom can be on the island. And the amount of trade will be decided by us."
"No problem." Elyse said quickly. Then she changed her tone and pointed at Leo. "But I have a condition. Giant Whale Island is Lord Leo's territory. With his protection, you will be completely safe."
The priest frowned again and looked at Leo with suspicion.
He, like other minotaurs, didn't trust humans.
"High Priest, Mr. Leo is a good man." Biggy said, his eyes lighting up. He knew how strong Leo was. If they could tie themselves to Giant Whale Island, they would be safe for sure.
"Yes, Mr. Leo is different from those evil humans." Secondy added quickly.
The priest looked at the two of them, then at Leo. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, I agree."
In his mind, as long as there were no soldiers stationed there, humans couldn't control the minotaurs.
"Hmph. It seems I have no choice but to accept the princess's reward." Leo said coldly, looking at Elyse with an angry tone.
This woman was clearly using the minotaurs to threaten him.
Elyse smiled and was not at all angry. "This was the condition you agreed to before, Lord Leo. But you still have to come back to Carno City with me."
Boom…
At that moment, two loud explosions happened, and the cannon fire stopped. On the distant sea, fire was still burning, and the sound of fighting kept going.
"Why did the cannon fire stop?" Lilia felt a bit uneasy. She was worried about Anna's safety.
Leo also had a bad feeling.
Anna wouldn't stop shooting unless she used up all the gunpowder.
"Let's go check." Leo said quickly and ran toward the shore.
Lilia, Biggy, and Secondy followed right behind him.
The priest also organized a group of elite minotaur warriors and chased after them. The rest of the minotaurs went to save their fellow captives.
"Damn it. Which kingdom are you from? The Black Dragon Kingdom won't let you get away with this…"
The sound of shouting and curses came from somewhere nearby.
The soldiers of the Black Dragon Kingdom were suddenly attacked by cannon fire. They were scared, then attacked by the elite soldiers of Kano Kingdom. They were in chaos and were mercilessly killed.
When Leo arrived, the battle was almost over.
He didn't pay much attention. He quickly ran toward the sea.
On the rough sea, a few figures appeared.
It was Anna and some of the women.
Marina was struggling to pull two people out. It was Barnett and Solomon.
Solomon was holding a wooden box in his arms. Inside were dragon eggs.
Leo ran toward them. When he saw that everyone was safe, he finally relaxed. He asked, "What happened? Why did you end up in the sea?"
He remembered that the Black Dragon Kingdom soldiers stationed on the island didn't have strong long-range weapons. They couldn't threaten the ships. So, was it the soldiers of the Kingdom of Noah who did it?
Anna glanced at him secretly and said, "The big ship sank."
"Ship sank? Who attacked it?" Leo frowned and asked.
Anna said, "It wasn't attacked. It broke apart from the Skyfire cannon."
"What?" Leo realized. The big ship looked strong, but it was made of wood. It couldn't handle the huge recoil from the Smoothbore cannon.
He didn't need to think to know how crazy Anna had been. Otherwise, the ship wouldn't have sunk so suddenly.
"Mr. Leo, it's not Anna's fault." Barnett defended her. "The ship suddenly split in half. We didn't have time to react. We only managed to find the box in a hurry."
"Fuck, no, there were still gold coins on the ship!" Anna shouted and tried to run toward the sea, but Leo grabbed her.
"It's just a few hundred thousand gold coins. I think Princess Elyse will compensate us." he said, looking at Elyse.
"A few hundred thousand? I don't think there was that much." Anna scratched her head, looking confused.
"Anna, didn't you forget? It was more than seven hundred thousand coins!" Ava blinked, clearly understanding Leo's plan. He was trying to get Elyse to pay for it.
"Yeah, seven hundred and ninety thousand coins." Anna realized and nodded seriously.
Elyse smiled and didn't expose the two girls. She said, "It's just seven hundred thousand coins. Mr. Leo is worth more than that."
She looked at the wooden box in Solomon's arms and asked, "What's inside this box? You gave up the gold coins to save this?"
Solomon held the box tightly and stared at Elyse with a worried look.
Barnett quickly said, "It's some of our dwarf notes on crafting."
"Is that right?" Elyse's eyes moved. She guessed it might be the blueprints for the Skyfire cannon.
But she didn't care. As long as she had Leo and these two dwarves, she could make as many Skyfire cannons as she wanted.
At this point, the battle was almost over.
Leo looked at the fighting in the distance and said, "Princess, these soldiers don't have any fight left. There's no need to kill them all. Just capture them and make them mine."
"Right, let them feel what it's like to live in the dark." Biggy said, excitedly.
"Okay." Elyse nodded to Cynthia, who was guarding them. The remaining soldiers were captured.
"Let's go check out the iron forge." Leo said. He was curious about the Black Dragon Kingdom's forging skills, and he also wanted to build a big iron ship.
This was an open plain. Not far away was a wide river leading to the sea. When the tide came in, big ships could sail through.
On both sides were simple factories with big furnaces burning hot. It was the most basic way to refine the iron ore.
Leo looked at Barnett and asked, "Do you think you can build it?"
Barnett knew his idea and said, "The location is good, but it needs some improvements."
"Are you trying to build that Skyfire cannon?" Elyse asked, curious.
"No." Barnett shook his head. "We're building an iron ship."
It wasn't a secret. Many dwarves could do it, so he didn't hide it.
"Can you build an iron warship?" Elyse's eyes lit up. "These furnaces aren't needed. We can just trade the iron ore. As for Mr. Leo, he's coming back to Carno City with us. He won't need a ship."
She was clearly always on guard against Leo.
Giant Whale Island couldn't have soldiers stationed there, but it also couldn't have any forces that opposed the Kano Kingdom.
As for Leo, he had to go back to Carno City with her, and stay under the royal family's control forever.
Elyse continued, "It's getting late. Lord Leo, you should rest early. We'll leave for Carno City first thing tomorrow."
She said that and immediately walked toward the soldiers by the shore with Cynthia.
She wasn't worried about Leo running away in one night.
"Sir, are we really going to Carno City?" Barnett asked, still confused. He didn't like Elyse much either.
"No choice for now. Let's go see what's going on in Carno City first." Leo said, sighing. With the big ship gone, he had no way to protect himself. He'd have to think of a way to escape later.
A group of soldiers came over and took control of the workers here, tearing down the furnaces.
Leo noticed there were minotaurs here too.
He asked, "Barnett, do you think these minotaurs can make Smoothbore cannons on their own?"
No matter if Giant Whale Island was his land or not, the island was rich in resources. It needed to be developed.
Barnett knew what he meant and shook his head. "The process for making a Smoothbore cannon is too complicated. Without our help, the minotaurs couldn't do it alone."
"Yeah." Leo sighed again. He also saw that the minotaurs working by the furnaces had no real skills.
He thought for a moment, then turned to Biggy and said, "Biggy, bring the priest over. I have something to say."
"Okay." Biggy said and ran off right away.
Leo had already learned that there was an active volcano on the island.
Even if they couldn't build Smoothbore cannons, he wanted the minotaurs to collect the materials for gunpowder.
No matter if he was a noble or not, Giant Whale Island would be his base.
As for making gunpowder, he didn't trust the minotaurs. Only he and the people he trusted most could know the secret.
Leo met with the minotaur priest, and both were watched by Elyse.
But she didn't know what they talked about, and she didn't care.
As long as she had Leo under control, he wouldn't cause any real trouble.