A sneeze destroys a magical civilization

In the solemn court next to the Municipal Office Building of the Askatra Administrative District, a lawsuit that attracted the attention of everyone in the city and lasted for two weeks was held as scheduled.

One of them knew without asking, that after investigation, it was confirmed that the expedition team had committed an unforgivable crime.

In order to ensure that these appalling crimes could be tried fairly, Captain Witherland even took action in person and stood in court to make an impassioned speech.

"Your Honor, the Prosecutor General, and all the citizens who came to listen.

I must tell you that after questioning all the sailors, it is basically confirmed that the first thing Cordell and his golden mercenary group did after discovering the Maztec continent was to carry out an inhumane massacre of the local indigenous people. .

In total, they sacked seventeen villages, six small towns, and a city housing tens of thousands of people.

More than 6,000 people died directly from this, including many old, weak, women and children who had no ability to resist.

As for being displaced, even more people will eventually die of hunger, thirst, injury, or infection.

If you commit such a crime, you can still get away with it and even enjoy the looted wealth.

Where is the justice?

Where is the law?

Where is the justice?

Most importantly, these evil deeds were committed in the name of Amn, which greatly damaged the reputation of the city and the entire country.

It is foreseeable that for a long time, the indigenous people of the Maztec continent will remain hostile and wary of us.

As everyone knows, the reason Amn sent out the expedition was to expand trade and do business with more cities and countries.

Just imagine, if the indigenous people of a continent are full of hostility and do not even allow us to approach their gathering places, how can merchants engage in trading activities?

So Cordell and his golden mercenary group must get justice!

Only in this way can we prove to the indigenous people of the Maztec continent that they are just a group of bandits who are motivated by money, and everything they do is not officially authorized and permitted..."

It has to be said that Captain Witherland of the Knights of the Burning Heart is very eloquent. He not only criticized Cordell and the Golden Mercenary Group from the standpoint of good and evil, but also analyzed the pros and cons from the perspective of a businessman. .

His purpose is very simple, that is, to make the man standing in the dock pay the price for the heinous crime he committed.

Because this is not a murder involving a few or a dozen people, but a genocide and genocide involving thousands or even tens of thousands of people at a time.

As a paladin who serves the God of Justice, Witherland will never allow Cordell and his group of golden mercenaries to escape the punishment of the law.

If Amn's laws fail to give a fair verdict, then he will not hesitate to risk falling out with the six-member council and directly lead the Knights of the Burning Heart to attack and kill these villains whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents. Almost exhausted.

Just look at the paladins standing at the door, fully armed and with solemn expressions, and you will know how angry these holy warriors who swear to defend justice and protect the weak are.

Especially Sir Kaidong, who was standing in the front row, clutching the two-handed giant sword shining with golden light in his hand. When he looked at the members of the Golden Mercenary Group, he seemed to be looking at a group of dead people.

You must know that in the not too long history of Amn, there has never been a case like today that caused the entire Knights of the Burning Heart to come out in force.

The judge and prosecutor sitting on the stage kept wiping their sweat, completely frightened by this unrelenting momentum.

They know very well that these single-minded paladins will not make any private deals or compromises with you, nor will they just threaten and intimidate you like the gangs affiliated with the Shadow Thieves. Instead, they will really take action without hesitation.

A few months ago, Duke Telga, whose territory is in the Giant Plains, revealed the whereabouts of the paladin team sent by the Knights of the Burning Heart to a vicious wanted criminal.

As a result, the latter set up an ambush and almost wiped out the entire team. Only Cassius and Kaidong survived.

And it was the two of them who, through constant tracking in the wilderness day and night, finally found the enemy's lair and slaughtered it.

After returning to Ascaltra and reporting the matter, the Knights immediately sent someone to question Duke Telga.

The latter refused to admit it at first, until the irrefutable evidence was presented, and then he hid in the castle and wanted to use his private army to fight against the law enforcement agencies.

But in the end, they were overwhelmed by a wave of attacks from the paladins and trainee knights of the Knights of the Burning Heart.

Not only was the entire family uprooted, but many other crimes were unearthed along the way.

During this process, no matter how the nobles involved with Duke Telga interceded, pressured, or threatened, the paladins remained unmoved and went through all legal procedures unswervingly.

In the end, not only was Duke Telga and his direct participants successfully sentenced to death, but the family territory that had been passed down for hundreds of years was also confiscated, and even future generations were expelled from Amn and were never allowed to set foot on this land again.

Therefore, in the eyes of those in the evil camp and those who have committed unforgivable crimes, paladins are more terrifying existences than mercenaries and killers.

Because the latter may still be bribed through financial benefits, but once the paladins are sure of something, even death cannot make them retreat at all.

Cordell was standing in the dock, his whole body soaked with sweat. He was thinking frantically about how to defend himself, while secretly cursing Bernard and Sir Kelvin.

If these two guys hadn't invited the Knights of the Burning Heart to arbitrate, it wouldn't be like this.

At the moment, the only thing he can count on is the solemn-looking Supreme Priest of the God of Guards, Osig, who holds the title of "General Overseer" sitting in the auditorium.

As long as this powerful man is willing to come forward, then with the consistent weak attitude of the Amn Council of Six towards the Church of God, most likely the matter will be settled peacefully.

As for the hard-headed paladins of the Knights of the Burning Heart, they can simply bribe the Masked Mage Guild to use teleportation magic to escape. There is no need to confront the opponent head-on.

However, Cordell is not sure about the attitude of "General Overseer" Oisig, nor is he sure whether the Church of Helm, the God of Guards, will kick him away after the things he has done are exposed.

Just when he was about to defend himself, a commotion and noise suddenly came from the passage not far away.

Immediately afterwards, the three sponsors of the expedition appeared in everyone's sight.

Especially Zuo Si, who had disappeared for a long time, instantly made some members of the top powerful families feel that something big might be going on.

After all, as a chosen one of Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease, his identity is extremely sensitive.

Coupled with the title of consultant of the six-person council, once he takes a stand, it will inevitably trigger a series of very serious consequences.

Looking at the silent court, as well as the somewhat confused judge and chief prosecutor, Zuo Si looked around, walked straight to an empty place, put one hand on his chest and bowed symbolically.

"I'm very sorry. Since I was not in Ascaltra some time ago, the other two sponsors, Bernard and Sir Kelvin, have been unable to express their opinions, which is why the matter has developed into such a bad situation. .

But now, on behalf of all sponsors, I officially declare that the crimes committed by Cordell and his gold mercenary group on the Maztec continent have nothing to do with us, and at the same time, we are willing to give up all the wealth we have obtained through killing and plundering.

Not only that!

We also want to publicly condemn their actions that are less than a beast and bring disrepute to the Chamber of Commerce and this country.

Most importantly, Cordel still sought to associate his evil deeds with the guardian god Heim, and violated Talona's domain while deliberately spreading plague and disease.

This is unmitigated blasphemy!

As the chosen one of the gods, I demand that the entire golden mercenary group, including him, be sentenced to death!

If the Church of Helm has any objection to this, then let's hold a divine judgment.

Let's see if the God of Guardians will still recognize such people as his followers. "

When saying these words, Zuo Si raised his head and did not avoid looking at the "General Inspector" Ou Xig in the auditorium.

He knows very well that the reason why this lawsuit has been delayed until now is entirely because this guy has been unwilling to remove Cordell and his golden mercenary group from the order of the Helm Church.

Although I don’t know exactly what the other party is thinking, and what kind of ulterior relationship or deal there is with Cordell.

But as long as Zuo Si forces the Church of Helm to carry out divine judgment, then no matter what Osig is planning, he will inevitably be unable to hide from God.

You must know that Heim is a god of the neutral camp, so the composition of his believers is quite complicated.

Coupled with its almost strict internal discipline, it is particularly prone to corruption.

There is no doubt that in the face of the doubts of another god's elect, Oceig has no room to retreat.

Because if he chooses to avoid answering, not only will the entire church be disappointed, but he will also lose a large number of believers.

In fact, since the revelation of what Cordel and the Golden Mercenary Group did in the Maztec Continent, the situation of the Church of the God of Guard has become very bad, and the number of believers has dropped significantly in a short period of time.

So after hesitating for a moment, the "General Inspector" finally stood up slowly and responded in an emotionless tone: "There is no need to hold a divine judgment. I officially declare in the name of the God of Guards that from this moment on From now on, Cordell and his gold mercenary group will no longer be part of the church organization. As for the crimes they committed, they can be tried how they want to be judged. I have no objection."

Wow——

Following Ousig's remarks, the entire court was in an uproar.

Everyone present did not expect that as soon as Zuo Sicai appeared on the scene, the top leader of the Church of Helm, the God of Guard, who had always refused to express his position, chose to retreat.

"Damn it! Who can tell me what's going on?"

"Are the chosen ones of Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease, so powerful? Even the church of Helm, the God of Guard, is so afraid of her?"

"I don't think things are that simple! Maybe Osig had some unknown deal with Cordel in private, and maybe the massacre in Maztec Continent was ordered by the former."

"What? Really! The Church of Helm would actually do such a thing?"

"Hmph! What's so strange about this? In some areas on the border between civilization and barbarism in the north, many followers of the God of Guard have become depraved and corrupted to an eye-popping level, and are even simply bandits."

"I see. No wonder Cordell and his golden mercenary group would do such a thing that is outrageous to both humans and gods."

…

Suddenly, everyone in the entire hall was talking.

You must know that in the recent turbulent year, the guardian god Heim was unkind and killed the goddess of magic who wanted to return to the Pantheon to expose the conspiracy of the three gods of death to the god Io, which directly led to the following series of Disasters occur and thousands of civilians die.

Therefore, many city-states, regions and countries in Faerûn have a fairly negative view of the Church of Helm.

With such a big scandal happening this time, it is unlikely that the reputation will be restored within a few decades.

But Ou Xig didn't have any intention of explaining. He stood up and walked out.

Cordell, who was in the dock, saw this scene and immediately couldn't help shouting: "Sir! Lord General Inspector! You can't just abandon me! There is an agreement between us!"

Unfortunately, Ousig seemed not to have heard anything and disappeared at the end of the corridor without looking back.

"Your Honor, I think you can pronounce the sentence now." Zuo Si reminded him unceremoniously.

He never paid attention to Cordell, a clown who was abandoned as an outcast, and never felt that the Golden Mercenary Group deserved his attention.

Quite the opposite!

Whether it is Cordell or the Golden Mercenary Group, they are just pawns pushed to the front stage.

Zuo Si even suspected that the Church of Helm had long known about the existence of the Maztec Continent through certain channels, so it ordered Cordel and the Golden Mercenary Group to be the pioneers and use Amn's ambitions for colonial expansion to achieve their goals. Hidden purpose.

But what exactly is this purpose, I am afraid no one knows except Ousig.

Of course, that doesn't matter now.

Because according to the laws of Amn and the fair contracts that have been made before, Zuo Si, Bernard and Sir Kelvin, as investors, have already obtained the development rights of this new continent.

As for the Church of Helm, they were already out the moment they chose to retreat.

No matter what plan they had before, it has completely failed now.

The reason is very simple!

If you want to cross the dangerous ocean to reach the Maztec continent, the first thing you need is a ship. There are many, many large ocean-going ships with an astonishing weight.

On the entire west coast of Ferenc, the country with the most ships and the strongest navigation ability is undoubtedly Amn.

Next is the turn of the rising Nelanthel Islands.

At present, of these two forces, one is completely under Zuo Si's control, and the other has become a member of his upper ruling class.

Therefore, he has many ways to completely defeat the plan of the Church of Helm, the God of Guards.

In this way, under the gaze of countless pairs of eyes, the judge and the prosecutor discussed in a low voice for a few minutes with their heads lowered, and then publicly pronounced Cordell and the Golden Mercenary Group guilty. Three days later, they were burned at the execution ground, that is, tied up. Pouring oil on a wooden stand and burning them alive.

It must be said that this result made many kind-hearted people with relatively high moral standards applaud.

There are also some families who want to use Cordell to muddy the waters and take advantage of the situation, secretly cursing this guy and the Church of Helm behind him for being so useless.

In short, in just a few minutes after the verdict was announced, the human world was fully displayed.

But one thing they have in common is that no one cares about Cordell, who was forcibly dragged down by the guards, or the mercenaries under him who were stained with the blood of the Maztec indigenous residents.

After everyone in the auditorium was completely gone, Witherland, the leader of the Knights of the Burning Heart, came over with a kind of paladin, solemnly put one hand on his chest and bowed deeply to Zuo Si.

"Thank you very much for your timely appearance, Your Excellency Thos, the chosen one of the goddess of poison and disease. Although I do not agree with Talona's teachings, I still want to thank you for your actions in upholding justice, justice and law today. Otherwise, Things could take a turn for the worst.”

"You're welcome, I just did what I should do. We, the sponsors, actually don't know anything about what Cordel did on the Maztec continent, and we don't want what was originally a good expedition to end up turning into a A despicable killing and plundering. By the way, I don't really agree with the teachings of the goddess of poison and disease." Zuo Si responded with a smile.

In Amn, the Knights of the Fiery Heart are a very special organization.

First of all, it does not belong to any god's church, and it does not even completely obey the government of Amn. It belongs to a small group voluntarily organized by the paladins who serve the good gods.

At the beginning, it did not even have the power to enforce laws and could only do some work of mediating conflicts and disputes.

Later, the six-member council discovered that this organization had a very high prestige among the people and could greatly alleviate the conflicts between the poor at the bottom and the upper-class businessmen and nobles, so they were given a certain degree of law enforcement power.

But in return, the Knights of the Hot Heart are not allowed to violate any laws and regulations of Amn, and they are also not allowed to engage in any activities that may subvert the existing order and upper-level ruling class of this country.

In other words, by granting law enforcement powers, the Council of Six put a layer of shackles on these paladins, turning them from potential threats into tools to help them maintain their rule.

It has to be said that Amn's top dignitaries are much smarter than the merchant class in Baldur's Gate in this regard.

Even for a long time, the Knights of the Burning Heart were the sharpest sword used by the commercial aristocrats to suppress the traditional aristocrats.

However, in Zuo Si's eyes, the Knights actually played a huge role in society.

It especially brings hope to the poor and civilians at the bottom whose lives are not satisfactory.

As long as these holy warriors are still active, it proves from a certain aspect that this country has not been corrupted to the point of hopelessness, and the law has not completely become a toy in the hands of the powerful.

Of course, this is just wishful thinking.

In fact, if the Knights of the Burning Heart were really that important, it would be impossible for the Shadow Thieves to maintain such a large scale and influence.

"You are really as special as the rumors say." Witherland couldn't help but smile.

Because there's nothing more comforting than coming from the mouth of a chosen one of an evil god who doesn't approve of that god's teachings.

Zuo Si shrugged his shoulders indifferently: "It's not that I am so special, but that I have never believed in Talona from the beginning to the end."

"But I heard that under your influence, this evil goddess, who has been talked about by countless city-states and countries, is now transforming into a neutral camp. Especially the new sects established near the slums are no longer There is no shadow of evil, but they are actively teaching the poor to maintain good hygiene habits, thereby reducing the chance of illness and poisoning."

Standing in the back row, the paladin Kaidong, who believed in being loyal to Tom, the god of courage, couldn't help but interject.

Since this god formed the "Three Holy Alliance" with the God of Suffering Ilmat and the God of Justice Tyr a long time ago, they often cooperate closely with each other in the mortal church.

Therefore, Kaidong knew some inside information about Zuo Si becoming the chosen one of the goddess of poison and disease through the Church of the God of Suffering.

"No, that is the goddess's own choice and has nothing to do with me. To be precise, I never participate in the management of the internal affairs of Talona Church, so whatever they do has nothing to do with me."

Zuo Si did not hesitate to completely cut himself off from the believers and followers of the goddess.

Because he couldn't be sure whether Talona from the chaotic camp would suddenly have a brain twitch and suddenly change her direction.

There is no way, the chaotic camp is too arbitrary, which is really a headache.

"The establishment of that new sect was not based on your instruction?" Kaidong was stunned for a moment.

Not only him, but the other paladins of the Knights also showed expressions of seeing ghosts.

You must know that Talona is a very ancient god. For thousands of years, she has been a representative of extreme evil and chaos, and there is no reason at all.

But with the appearance of Zuo Si, a voter, everything began to change.

They couldn't figure out whether this was a manifestation of the goddess's excessive love for this elector, or whether she had some other plan.

Zuo Si shook his head slightly and explained: "Of course not. Regarding this new sect, I just gave some reference suggestions, nothing more.

Also, I think you'd better not be too optimistic.

Because I think the reason why Talona created such a sect is not so much to change her own camp, but to take revenge on Ilmat for interrupting her good deeds, and to deliberately steal believers from the God of Suffering. .

Of course, as the number of believers increases, some inevitable changes will definitely occur in her camp. "

"So, we need to pay more attention to this new sect in the future." Captain Witherland showed a thoughtful expression.

"Not only Talona's new sect, but also the behavior of the Church of Helm in recent times. I feel that the general inspector seems to be hiding something." Zuo Si reminded meaningfully.

Hearing these words, the paladins present frowned subconsciously.

Kaidong even asked bluntly: "Do you think the massacre and plundering of the indigenous residents by the Golden Mercenary Group in the Maztec Continent was authorized by the high-level officials of the Helm Church?"

“I don’t have any evidence on this yet.

But please pay more attention to the next movements of the Church of Heim.

If they really have any intention to attack the Maztec continent, they will definitely send priests and believers there on a large scale in the future.

In addition, I suggest that the Knights best send a team of paladin to follow the fleet to the Maztec continent to ensure that similar things never happen again.

After all, with the discovery of the new continent and safe routes, there will definitely be a lot of adventurers, mercenaries and businessmen flocking there to hunt for gold in the future.

Given that it takes time to establish agglomerations and ports, there could be a long legal vacuum.

No one knows what crazy behaviors these greedy adventurers, mercenaries, and businessmen will do after losing their restraints. "

Zuo Si made no secret of his invitation to the Hot Heart Knights.

Considering the blood and violence of the Earth's colonial era, he felt that it was necessary to use the power of the paladin to deter those who wanted to follow the example of the Golden Mercenary Group and go to the Maztec Continent to plunder.

In particular, shadow thieves and some merchant guilds who occasionally guest-appear as pirates are targets that need to be closely monitored.

Captain Witherland was obviously a little moved. He lowered his head and thought for a moment and quickly replied: "This is indeed a good idea. But I can't make a decision alone. I need to go back and hold a meeting to discuss it seriously."

"No problem. At any time, the ports and strongholds we established on the Maztec continent welcome members of the Knights of the Burning Heart."

At this moment, Zuo Si feels like a "good person" who advocates kindness and order.

So much so that all the paladins present had a certain amount of admiration for him.

Some people think that the reason why he became the chosen one of the goddess of poison and disease is completely the result of a strange combination of circumstances, or it is Talona's wishful thinking.

But Bernard on the side knew very well that all this was just a sensory illusion.

As long as Zuo Si is willing, he can show values ​​that are perfectly in line with the good, neutral and evil camps at any time, and make the other party think that he is one of his own.

It is this powerful ability to deceive and disguise that allows him to move between different camps with ease.

After the people of the Knights of the Burning Heart left, Sir Kelvin couldn't help but ask: "Your Excellency Soth, do you really plan to invite these paladins to the Maztec continent?"

"Why not?" Zuo Si asked with a smile. "Are you sure you can control the behavior of those adventurers, mercenaries and businessmen?"

Sir Kelvin smiled bitterly and shook his head: "How is it possible? Maybe in the settlement, we can also use the rights granted by the six-person Council of Amn to restrict their behavior. But once we enter the dense jungle in the wild , who can know what they have done.”

“Because of this, the paladins of the Knights of the Fiery Heart are needed.

In many cases, as long as they are there, they can awaken the conscience and bottom line in some people's hearts, preventing the settlements that will be established on the Maztec continent from becoming a gathering place for ruffians and bandits.

Remember, we need to trade with the local indigenous people and not be viewed as intruders and pests by them. "

Zuo Si warned solemnly.

"I understand this even if you don't tell me. In addition, do you have any good suggestions about where the first settlement and port should be established?" Sir Kelvin asked in a low voice, stroking the beard on his chin.

Zuo Si pondered for a moment and quickly replied: "If possible, it would be best to build it on an island closer to the mainland.

In this way, you can not only ensure your own safety, but also keep a certain distance from the local indigenous residents to prevent unnecessary conflicts and troubles.

In addition, treaties were signed in advance for those who wanted to follow the fleet to the Maztec continent in the early stage to ensure that they were not allowed to return to Faerun within five years to prevent premature exposure of the route. "

"What a great idea! It seems that next time we form a fleet to sail, we can recruit more farmers and craftsmen." Bernard added excitedly.

"Anyway, I'll leave it to you to establish a stronghold. I'm afraid I won't be able to help you much in this regard."

Zuo Si expressed his attitude simply and neatly.

Because this is not something that can be done in one or two years. Immigration alone requires at least five years.

When the population of the entire gathering area reaches tens of thousands, a real port city can be established.

In addition, because it is too far away from Faerun, the stronghold also needs to solve a series of problems such as food, housing, metal smelting, maintenance and upkeep of weapons and armor, etc.

Even with the full support of the six-member council, it will take time to build it bit by bit.

As the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning.

What's more, the natural environment of the Maztec continent is a rainforest, with dense jungles, lakes and swamps everywhere. It is not easy to find a suitable settlement.

In this way, after leaving the court, the three people went straight to the municipal building of Ascaltra and had an hour-long secret discussion with the six-member council who had been waiting for a long time.

No one knows what kind of agreement the two parties reached.

Anyway, within a few hours, a notice was posted at the door of the municipal building, and a special announcer loudly announced it to the passing civilians, businessmen and nobles.

As for the content, it is also very simple.

The first was that the Council of Six recognized all legal rights to the Chamber of Commerce that sponsored the expedition.

The second is that the Amn government decided to fund twenty ships at one time, as well as a large number of tools and materials necessary to establish a stronghold, as support for the development of the New World.

The third item is to recruit pioneers from outside. Not only can they get generous settlement fees, but they are also promised that everyone can get a large piece of land of their own.

The last and most important one.

All ships that want to go to the Maztec continent for business must obey the unified arrangements of the Amn government and must pay high fees, otherwise they will be considered illegal.

All ships sailing without permission will be captured and detained, or directly sunk if discovered.

Obviously, the Six-person Council wants to use this method to completely monopolize the trade routes with the New World, thereby making huge profits.

From the things brought back from the expedition, they could already identify more than a dozen specialties that had never appeared in Faerûn.

And these things will bring unimaginable wealth to the entire upper ruling class of Amn.

In addition, the Maztec continent is also rich in precious metals, magic metals and various gemstones.

In short, under the coordination of Zuo Si and the six-person council, the upper ruling class of Amn quietly completed an exploitative carve-up.

To celebrate this historic moment, a banquet was held on the upper floor of the municipal building as an exception.

The leaders of the major families expressed their gratitude to Zuo Si, the "prophet" who successfully predicted the Maztec continent more than half a year ago, and what followed was a flood of praise and flattery.

"Lord Soth, absorbing you as one of the masters of Amn was probably the most correct decision we have ever made in our lives." A noble businessman in his fifties said in a very serious tone.

Another old woman next to her, who was also quite young, nodded with deep understanding: "That's right. This Maztec continent, which is full of unknowns, will bring huge benefits to all of us. Especially that A bean called cocoa can keep people's spirits high after being taken, and can even act as an aphrodisiac to a certain extent. I think as long as we find a suitable cooking method, many people will fall madly in love with it."

"Ma'am, if you mean cocoa, I can tell you that it's very easy to make it delicious. Just add a little sugar and milk. Oh, and by the way, I happen to have a ready-made snack made from cocoa. , you can taste it.”

With that said, Zuo Si took out a can of chocolates given to him by the Weasley twin brothers from the satchel he carried with him.

If he guessed correctly, it was most likely that George and Fred sneaked into the Hogwarts kitchen and asked for it from the house elves during their night tour in the castle.

"Is this... made of cocoa beans?" The old woman had a surprised expression on her face.

"Yes. You just need to simply grind it into powder, then add milk, sugar and a small amount of flour, stir it, and then pour it into a mold to cool, and you can get this snack that tastes pretty good."

As Zuo Si explained, he opened the jar and gave a small piece to everyone around him.

The nobleman who got it first put it in front of his nose and smelled it, then licked it with his tongue, and finally put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly.

After a few seconds, their eyes began to light up, obviously amazed by the unique taste.

The old woman licked her lips and exclaimed: "Unbelievable! I was still having a headache on how to remove the bitter taste from cocoa beans, but you gave me the answer directly. With this formula, I think Aspen It won’t be long before Catla is home to a large number of workshops specializing in the production of cocoa-based foods.”

"It seems that we have been able to determine what special products the first batch of fleets heading to the Maztec continent should bring back."

"Hopefully, those indigenous people have enough cocoa beans to provide us."

"Don't worry. I heard that there are a lot of trees of this kind of plant over there. As long as we can provide them with the goods they are interested in, there is no reason why the other party will not agree to the transaction."

"I'm going to send two ships to the Maztec continent to load them back with cocoa beans!"

"Thankfully, the Church of Heim was kicked out. Otherwise, it would not be easy to monopolize the trade in the New World so smoothly."

…

Suddenly, everyone present unanimously expressed their optimism for this addictive snack.

After all, Amn now monopolizes the only route to the Maztec continent and completely controls the origin of raw materials, so it can completely sell the food made from cocoa beans at the same price as luxury goods.

In order to avoid competition with each other, the leaders of this group of big families also got together to divide each family's exclusive area in detail and set unified pricing.

In terms of doing business, apart from Sambia, no other city-state or country in Faerûn can compare with Amn, which has begun to capitalize.

Of course, as the heroes of the discovery of the New World, Zuo Si, Bernard and Sir Kelvin got the biggest piece of cake.

Looking at the large area painted in red on the map, the young businessman Bernard clenched his fists in excitement and said to his father-in-law: "Now we are really going to make a fortune. No need for more, We only need to transport one ship of cocoa beans back, and we can make a net profit of at least 300,000 gold coins. This is simply faster than making money through robbery!"

"Yes! We have caught up with the best of times, and at the same time we have met people who can fight for the best interests for us."

Sir Kelvin touched his gray hair and turned his gaze to Zuo Si, who was concentrating on eating a seafood noodles.

"What are your plans next?" Bernard asked enthusiastically.

"First choose a location to establish a stronghold, and then use the support given by the six-person council to immigrate to the stronghold as much as possible while trading with the indigenous people of the Maztec continent to obtain more cocoa beans. The money earned by selling cocoa products , continue to invest in the construction of the port city. Once the port is completed, we will benefit from it in the next decades or even centuries."

Sir Kelvin didn't hide anything and told his plan openly.

He was obviously more interested in building a permanent port than making quick money.

"I support your decision. However, when allocating funds, it is best not to allocate too much at once, otherwise I am afraid that Mr. Soth will be in trouble when he suddenly encounters money." Bernard reminded in a low voice.

You must know that the huge cost of building the mage tower last time left a big shadow in his heart.

Sir Kelvin smiled and patted his son-in-law on the shoulder: "Don't worry, I know how high-level mages spend money, so I will save at least one-third of the funds as reserves. Compared to this, I'm more concerned about how you and Edith have been married for almost half a year, but there is still news of pregnancy. Could it be that you have encountered some problems in that area? "

Hearing these words, Bernard instantly turned red and quickly denied: "No, of course not. Don't get me wrong. In fact, Edith's period didn't come last month, but I haven't had it yet. Make sure it’s really there.”

"Oh? Really! That's great. It just so happens that Mr. Soth is a priest and elector. I'll ask him to help take a look after the banquet."

Sir Kelvin couldn't help but dragged Bernard to Zuo Si and told the matter again.

In Faerûn, rich and powerful people will ask a priest to confirm the position, health, gender and other conditions of the fetus when their wife is pregnant.

At the same time, it will ensure the safety of babies and pregnant women during childbirth and prevent death caused by sudden hemorrhage.

It has to be said that this request made Zuo Si, who had never given birth to a child or seen anyone else give birth to a child, stunned on the spot.

Although his mind contained a lot of knowledge about midwifery and prenatal care collected from the British Library, his practical experience was completely zero.

But in the end, under Sir Kelvin's warm invitation, he reluctantly helped Bernard's wife do a health check-up after the banquet, and it was immediately confirmed that she was indeed pregnant.

However, since the relationship has only been less than two months, the gender cannot be confirmed yet.

Bernard was overjoyed when he learned that he was finally going to be a father. He not only gave the servants an extra month's salary as a reward, but also sent housekeepers and donated five thousand gold coins to the temple of Ilmat, the god of suffering. .

Because this god is the one who cares and loves babies and young children the most among all the gods in Faerûn.

Therefore, merchants hope that Ilmat can bless their children to be born smoothly and grow up healthy.

Since a large amount of donation had been made before, the priest of the temple was very thoughtful and made a blessed amulet out of wood as a reward after learning about this situation, which can keep pregnant women and fetuses in a calm state of mind.

At the same time, it was also guaranteed that when the baby was born, he would personally go to deliver the baby.

You must know that the priests of the God of Suffering often help poor people deliver babies for free, so their experience and skills in this field far exceed those of their peers. Even professional midwives have to be inferior.