Chapter 726: This is not like you at all

Three days later, the Wind Knights returned and rejoined the Black Earth Knights. Only a small number of troops remained stationed at the Magic Temple, and since Mondra’s army was ambushed by Madeline the last time they left the city, they wouldn’t dare to leave the temple in the short term. With only a small number of troops, the Magic Temple was able to hold its ground and not worry about being taken back by Mondra.

At this time, the Black Earth Knights had already advanced a lot and were approaching the Capital of Saints. Strategically, West Gran seemed to have the upper hand, but tactically, no one dared to underestimate Mondra, as he still had several major main force armies, the Mondra Knights (self-proclaimed Eastland Royal Knights), White Lion Knights, Flame Knights, Ice Knights, and Thunder Knights.

As long as these five knight orders still existed, Mondra was not to be taken lightly. Moreover, there was also a Light Archbishop by Mondra’s side, leading the templar knights, which was not to be underestimated. With the assistance of strong city defenses, it was not easy to take them down.

Therefore, the Black Earth Knights were very cautious and set up camp about twenty miles northwest of the Capital of Saints. The soldiers chopped down trees on the spot, bundled the thick trunks together, nailed them into the ground, and made a wall. Hundreds of magicians held magic essence potions in their hands and drew defensive magic arrays on the ground. This large-scale magic array had to cover the camp that accommodated tens of thousands of people, so the drawing of the magic array had to be planned in advance, divided into zones, and then a group of magicians was responsible for one area, just like the programmers in a software company in later years, with one group responsible for one function, and then compiled into a complete program.

Robb found that these ancients actually understood the production method of division of labor. However, they only used their intelligence on war. If they had tilted towards production a little bit, the assembly line would have been invented long ago.

Madeline was excited to see the Wind Knights return and join forces. She greeted them outside the camp when she saw Robb return safely. She waved to him happily, “Mr. Robb, congratulations on capturing the Magic Temple and achieving great success.”

Robb smiled and waved back to her.

Then he heard Madeline speak a bunch of nonsense at a flying speed, such as “You should be able to be promoted to Duke this time, right?” “At least we can get two more pieces of land.” These kinds of things made Robb sweat profusely. He estimated that even the Queen would flip a table if she heard it, so he just went in with Madeline.

He and Madeline walked side by side into the camp, and a Wind Knight ran over and handed Madeline a silver-glowing stone, “Commander, this stone…”

Madeline was angry, “Can’t you see that I’m talking to Mr. Robb? Get the stone out of here.”

The Wind knight was sweating as he said, “The stone was picked up by Mr. Robb.”

Madeline’s expression instantly eased up. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? It’s definitely a good thing if Mr. Robb picked it up.”

The Wind knight was speechless. Never mind, he wouldn’t say anything more and left.

Another Wind knight patted him on the shoulder and said, “Brother, from now on, when reporting anything, no matter what it is, start with the three words ‘Mr. Robb,’ and you can’t go wrong.”

“That’s right, that’s right!”

It wasn’t until a long while later that Madeline realized what she was holding was a piece of Thorium ore. She was really surprised to hear that Mr. Robb had found a vein of Thorium and had also obtained many giant bat pups. She couldn’t help feeling excited. “This is a great contribution. Elizabeth will be very happy to know about this. I must convince her to promote you to a duke.”

Robb cried and laughed. “No need, no need. My current position as a viscount is good enough.”

That evening, Robb left the identity of Robb Smith in the room in the camp and switched his consciousness back to the lazy priest in Westwind Town, sitting quietly and waiting for a phone call. He knew that the crazy woman would call soon.

Sure enough, when the setting sun was being dragged away by the evening glow, the phone rang.

As soon as he answered, he saw Her Majesty the Queen sitting in front of the crystal ball, with her usual stern face.

Robb said weakly, “If you have any business to report, please do so. If not, I will retire.”

The Queen didn’t blame him for being rude and got straight to the point. “Your student, Robb Smith, found a vein of Thorium ore in a strange valley.”

“Oh?” Robb said. “So what? If you find something good, why are you calling me with a silly face? You should be happy and excited.”

“Do you think I’m so easy to fool?” The Queen said sternly. “Your student found precious Thorium ore, but didn’t want any of it. He gave it all to my people. Meanwhile, your people were outside the gorge, skinning giant bats, and when they were finished, they didn’t even take a look at the Thorium ore. Do you think I should be happy? If I were really smiling right now, it would only prove that I am a fool.”

Robb said, “So what are you planning to do?”

“What is bat skin?” The Queen didn’t want to beat around the bush and got straight to the point.

Robb shrugged. “It’s a connective tissue, a very high-grade material for making leather goods. It’s tougher than the skin of Wyvern or Thunder Lizard, and the things made from it are even better.”

The Queen narrowed her eyes. “It doesn’t sound that good. It gives people the feeling that it’s not as useful as Thorium.”

Robb smiled and said, “That’s where you’re wrong. Leather and metal are used in different ways, and trying to compare them as good or bad is impossible. For example, if I ask you if cake or pudding tastes better, can you compare them?”

Robb summed up, “I got good leather and gave you good metal. This is my righteousness, and it benefits everyone.”

The Queen asked, “What if we swap? I want good leather, and you want good metal. Will you agree?”

Robb immediately said, “No!”

The Queen slammed the table and said, “See, that leather must be better. I want leather, not Thorium.”

Robb laughed and said, “Come on! It was discovered by my people, and the giant bats were dealt with by my Arcane explosion. I was the one who understood the value of the leather. It should belong to me, and there’s no room for negotiation.”

The Queen said, “But it was found in the territory of West Gran, and it belongs to the Kingdom of Gran. I must also have a share.”

Robb said, “Wow, how can you be like this? You’re being unfair.”

The Queen suddenly showed a rare coquettish smile and said, “I’m usually too reasonable and seldom unfair. You forgot that I’m a woman.” She suddenly acted like an ordinary girl and said, “Just give me some of the leather, don’t keep it all to yourself. Is that okay? Please, I’m begging you.”

“Stop!” Robb said, sweating profusely. “Don’t joke around. This doesn’t seem like you at all.”