The drow elves' reemployment initiative had been progressing slowly, primarily because these drow were trying to run away every single day.
If they were simply turned loose to work, they would flee faster than an airship. Even with magical contracts restricting them, all sorts of troubles would inevitably crop up.
However, the lengthy wait had finally yielded results.
Catherine's charm was second to none. Even if many drow elves still couldn't rid their hearts of evil, they had all more or less "fallen in love" with Catherine.
Perhaps this love was not pure in the slightest, but at the very least, these drow were now willing to do things for Catherine.
This was completely fine—in fact, it was the most reasonable outcome.
After all, which deity wasn't loved by their believers? Even profane thoughts were perfectly fine. Lolth the Spider Queen and the Goddess of Magic both played it that way; whether to sleep with their believers was entirely up to their own choice.
Still, Anbaixiu guessed Catherine would probably remain a virgin goddess for life, perfectly in keeping with elven style.
All in all, the drow elves were now barely usable, proving that their previous efforts had paid off and that Catherine truly possessed the power to move even evil beings.
Anbaixiu brought Constance and Catherine to his airship factory.
Anbaixiu explained to Constance how the transport ships were operated, along with various details of the plan.
The first batch of transport airships was already completed. The smallest had a hull twenty-five meters long and five meters wide, while the largest was one hundred and ten meters long and sixteen meters wide, totaling ten vessels in all.
Because they were airships, their cargo capacity couldn't compare to waterborne vessels: the largest could carry at most ten thousand tons, while the smallest held only a hundred tons.
Yet their speed was something no water vessel could hope to rival. Even the slowest could reach three hundred kilometers per hour, while the fastest small craft could hit five hundred kilometers per hour.
With this kind of transit speed, cross-border trade would take less than a single day to reach its destination.
As for the cost... it was lower than water transport, and by a wide margin.
This was because magic gems from the Underdark were supplied without limit, at prices even lower than cost.
With these magic gems serving as the power source, the single greatest expense was reduced to something practically negligible.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed by such generosity, Anbaixiu had gifted the mercury soul puppets straight to the Rose of Decay, teaching her how to cultivate them.
The Rose of Decay possessed vast reserves of ore, so cultivating these mercury soul puppets would be far faster in her hands.
Anbaixiu led Catherine and Constance into the cockpit. With a gentle tap on the crystal sphere at the center, a soul formed of smoke drifted out from within.
"Respected Master, Gull No. 1 awaits your orders."
The transport ship was entirely controlled by the custom soul in the cockpit. The captain could issue voice commands at any time, eliminating any piloting difficulties and even bypassing the need for training.
This custom soul possessed exceptionally high intelligence, making it the most qualified pilot possible.
Excluding stevedores and guards, the vessel needed only a captain to run.
To prevent necrotic aura from contaminating the cargo, the cockpit was equipped with specialized magical shielding. Anbaixiu gave a brief introduction, effectively handing over command to Constance.
"Th-th-this... is this a specter?"
An elf from the Underdark had little worldliness and had never seen an undead—or rather, an alchemical creation—like this.
Anbaixiu offered no explanation. Maintaining an aura of mystery helped keep his subordinates well-behaved.
What he hadn't expected was that even the Elven Queen's eyes went wide as she asked with curiosity, "What on earth is this? Has alchemy already advanced to such a level?"
Tch. What kind of Elven Queen was she? Acting just like some country bumpkin.
"It's far too complex; I'll explain it to you slowly later." Anbaixiu went through each of the ship's functions one by one. Seeing the magic mirror that allowed long-distance communication anytime, anywhere, Constance showed little reaction.
This ignorant rustic had no eye for quality—the technological marvel of that magic mirror far exceeded the rest of the ship combined.
"Alright, I leave this ship in your hands. Catherine, you've read the detailed proposal, so simply execute it according to what's written."
Hearing Anbaixiu's words, Catherine hesitated and said, "Leave it entirely to me? Such an important business—are you truly comfortable handing it over to me?"
Though Catherine knew nothing about commerce, she had been a queen, after all. A little imagination was enough to understand just how lucrative an exclusive transport enterprise was.
This lich was actually entrusting such vital business to her? Being regarded with such importance felt utterly surreal.
Anbaixiu said, "You have to stand on your own feet eventually. You're the one who must fulfill the mission from the Elven Gods, not me. If I do everything on your behalf, none of it will hold any meaning."
It was Catherine who had to attain godhood, not him, a lich. If Anbaixiu did everything in her stead, the relationship of faith would be thrown completely into disarray.
"But... I lack confidence."
Catherine had already suffered one catastrophic failure that nearly brought ruin to the elven race, leaving her devoid of self-assurance. Had Anbaixiu not promised to help, she would have turned down this grave responsibility from the start.
Anbaixiu consoled her, "Catherine, there's no need to demean yourself. You've done extraordinarily well; otherwise, why would Constance have spoken up for you?"
Making a wicked drow elf learn to care for someone else was an achievement worthy of being recorded in continental history.
Hearing Anbaixiu's praise, Catherine's face flushed slightly pink.
"I will do my best," Catherine said.
Standing to the side, Constance watched the two of them.
An Elven Queen and a lich? No way... could it really be? Not even the drow elves were into something that wild!
This lich had definitely tricked the Elven Queen. It had to be that.
Anbaixiu paid Constance's expression no mind whatsoever. Whatever was running through this drow elf's head did not matter.
After entrusting the transport plan to Catherine, Anbaixiu returned to his laboratory. He pondered how to deal with the dragon race's troublesome mess. If possible, he wanted to prevent the dragons from returning so they wouldn't ruin his business.
Perhaps he could perform a divination; at least it might offer a few clues.
Just as he prepared to summon his Dice of Fate, Anbaixiu sensed a new message in the Necrotic Codex.
He opened it to take a look, finding the group chat bustling with activity.
Flipping through the messages, he saw that even Mute, who lurked in silence year-round, was actively taking part in the heated discussion.
They were discussing how war seemed to be brewing in the overseas regions.
[Mute: The fishmen are uniting—along with sirens, giant sharks, and more. The order of the ocean has been thrown into chaos.]
[Dislikes Humans: Where did this news come from?]
[Mute: My subordinates recently shifted hunting grounds and brought this report back. The fishmen are the ocean's largest faction. Previously, their different tribes slaughtered one another, but those feuds have now ceased. Fishmen of all tribes have united under a silver trident.]
[Crown of the Headless Horseman: It's probably related to those Astral red dragons and Githyanki. With so many mouths to feed, the dragons' food supply simply isn't enough, and the Githyanki have no choice but to hunt on their own to fill their bellies. I heard they slaughtered several fishman tribes, triggering a major conflict.]
Seeing this, Anbaixiu also sent a message: [Senior Mute, how far are you from godhood? If you had a massive amount of the power of faith, could it help you take that final step?]
Chapter 355