Everything seemed to have quieted down over the past month.
However, it was hard to imagine that those nobles would truly remain obedient.
Almost every move Luo Li had made so far was effectively a strike against the nobility.
These administrative decrees were gradually eroding the rights and interests held by the nobles.
The fact that they hadn't made a single move yet felt incredibly eerie.
It wasn't normal.
With a blade practically hanging over their heads, would they really just stand there like idiots?
Luo Li set down her teacup, her slender fingers habitually twirling a strand of hair.
In the past, she had a habit of rubbing her thumb and index finger together while thinking.
Now that she had long hair as smooth as silver silk, she naturally fell into the habit of playing with it between her fingers.
She looked down at the silver hair sliding through her fingertips.
The quality of her hair was unbelievably good.
Did holy energy also have the effect of maintaining one's hair?
Of course, whether it did or not didn't matter.
That wasn't the priority right now.
In the current noble circles, with the exception of three families, almost everyone else was in a state of semi-hostility.
One of those three was the Stuart family, led by Lord Byron.
Another was the Von family, led by Lord Audis, who had sided with her from the beginning and now served as her Finance Minister.
And the last one was the Cavendish family.
Luo Li had no fondness for slave traders.
From the very start, that family had been a pawn in her hand.
And it was a pawn whose fate was already sealed.
The purpose of this pawn was to centralize the 'rights over slaves' into her own hands.
Once that was done, she would nail that family to a pillar of shame and liberate the slaves.
But everything had to be done step by step; moving too fast would cause too much turmoil for a nation.
She weighed the situation in her mind.
The power she currently wielded was by no means weak.
She had two level 60 powerhouses.
Two dragons at level 50.
There were also over a dozen others at level 50.
And then there were the two Saintesses.
This level of strength was considered terrifying even among the many nations of the human race.
The more power she held, the more anxious the nobles should be.
Yet now, they had become completely silent.
This defied all logic.
Luo Li fell into thought for a moment, then looked back at the interaction between the two Saintesses and the two dragons.
She didn't disturb the girls' curiosity, instead leaving the main hall quietly and inconspicuously.
However, Nara remained exactly one step behind her the entire time.
As she stepped out of the Temple, a knight followed her.
Luo Li glanced back.
It was Dominica.
She nodded to her without saying a word and headed straight for the side rooms of the front hall.
Behind her, Nara quickly gave some instructions to the young nuns before hurrying to catch up with her mistress.
Dominica followed Luo Li closely, never straying a step away.
Dominica had practically become her personal bodyguard now.
No matter where or when, Dominica would be the first to step up and stand by her side.
As for Cain, the Guardian Knight on duty today, he was stationed at the main entrance of the front hall.
Unless it was necessary, he wouldn't easily enter the main hall.
When she reached the door of the side room, Luo Li paused slightly.
It seemed quite lively inside, as if a meeting was in progress.
Luo Li turned and made a shushing gesture to the two behind her, then tiptoed toward the door.
She pressed her ear to it, and the voices from inside drifted into her ears.
"Bishop Lola, are these the locations you've selected for the new naval base?"
The voice sounded like Kevin's; they seemed to be discussing the site for a new naval base.
To be honest, she hadn't paid much attention to this matter, but now was a good opportunity to learn.
She wanted to see what everyone else was thinking.
A young voice, carrying a slight trace of weakness, echoed in the room.
"Mr. Kevin, these are the sites Bishop Lola and I have determined after several days of research. What do you think? Although we have plenty of territory in Moonrise City, we don't have much freedom there."
As he spoke, Augus pointed at a large map spread out before them, holding something that looked like a command baton.
He tapped the upper corner of the bay.
This was Moonrise City.
The bay of Moonrise City was shaped like a crescent moon.
The opening faced the sea.
"I suggest installing two mana cannons at each of these tips to protect ships that haven't yet set sail."
Kevin seemed to have a different opinion.
"Mr. Augus, while your plan is good, four mana cannons would be too heavy a burden on the treasury. And if I'm not mistaken, you haven't been to Moonrise City, have you?"
Hearing this, Augus smiled.
"As you say, I have indeed never been to Moonrise City, and I am not very familiar with the local environment. Therefore... I believe you have more of a right to speak than we do. How do you think this area should be configured?"
Kevin watched the young man, who remained neither servile nor overbearing throughout the discussion.
His previous remark could have been seen as a provocation to most young men.
However, Augus didn't show the slightest hint of embarrassment.
He even asked for advice with a expression as pleasant as a spring breeze.
This level of self-restraint alone was enough to earn respect.
'The Saintess's judgment is indeed good; this man is talented.'
With that thought, a smile appeared on Kevin's face.
After all, they would be colleagues from now on. Among the group, the Ministry of Land was something Kevin had never heard of before.
However, it was clear just from the name.
It was obviously meant to manage the nation's territory.
But in the past, the country never seemed to have a similar official position.
After all, the vast majority of the land was controlled by local nobles.
The direct jurisdiction of Brilliant City only covered the northeast and the city itself.
Now that this position had appeared, Kevin couldn't help but think deeper.
Most of Moonrise City had already fallen into the Saintess's hands.
Seaview City had been completely slaughtered, and most of the surrounding towns had no survivors.
This meant the entire province was effectively vacant.
Not to mention the northeast region and Brilliant City itself.
Of the thirteen major provinces in the Kingdom of the Moon, three and a half were now fully under the Saintess's control.
While there were thirteen provinces, only ten actually had main cities.
The other three provinces had no main cities or names of their own, as they were attached to the other three.
Strictly speaking, it was equivalent to ten provinces.
This was because over the course of a thousand years, various changes had occurred.
Gradually, some main cities declined and eventually vanished into the river of history.
While those provinces kept their administrative structures, they had effectively been merged.
In other words, the Saintess now effectively controlled one-third of the territory of the Kingdom of the Moon.
So... what exactly was this Ministry of Land for?
Even if these lands were currently in the Saintess's hands, wouldn't they eventually have to be distributed in the future?
Would those who performed meritorious service not be rewarded?
Was the Saintess planning to keep a firm grip on all this land and never give it away again?
At that thought, a terrifying idea suddenly flashed through Kevin's mind.
Could it be... that the Saintess wanted to reclaim all the land in the entire country?
If that were the case, the Kingdom of the Moon would surely fall into utter chaos!
"Sir Kevin... Sir Kevin?"
Seeing Kevin suddenly daze out, Augus waited patiently for a moment.
Eventually, he couldn't help but call out.
After all, he had been waiting for five minutes, and he didn't have the physical stamina to keep waiting.
He still had to organize the land surveys from various regions when he went back tonight.
"Ah, my apologies, I got a bit distracted."
Kevin was suddenly jolted awake, but he didn't show any strange expression and apologized naturally.
He looked back at the map of Moonrise City and returned to the main topic.
"We were talking about the tips of the Moonrise City bay, right? Then I'll give my thoughts."
He stood up, walked to the map, took the command baton from Augus, and pointed at the lower tip.
The opening of Moonrise City's bay didn't face the sea directly.
The upper part of this crescent protruded far into the land.
The lower part only had one tip sticking out.
Overall, it looked like it was looking down at the sea at a forty-five-degree angle.
Kevin raised his hand and tapped the point where the upper crescent met the mainland.
"This upper tip seems like a good spot for going out to sea, but strictly speaking, there are too many areas that need protection here. Furthermore, there are many hidden reefs in this area; even local fishermen rarely go near it."
"Also, because the upper tip protrudes too much from the mainland, it is easy to attack but hard to defend. So, I think instead of worrying about the upper tip, we should focus on the connection between the upper tip and the mainland, which is right here."
"We can set up a checkpoint at the connection point. Meanwhile, we can build two hundred-meter-high gun towers at the lower tip. With just two mana cannons, we can cover most of the upper bay."
"If the enemy tries to land from the upper bay, they'll be trapped by the checkpoint and bombarded by the two mana cannons from the lower tip."
"As for the naval base, I actually don't recommend placing it inside the bay. Once a battle starts at sea, the mouth of the bay could easily become a battlefield. While the space inside the bay is large, it's close to the inland and the water is shallow with many reefs, which isn't ideal for naval combat."
At this point, Kevin raised his hand and pointed to the outer edge of the lower crescent on the map.
"I think if we're going to build a naval base, it would be better to put it on the outer side of the lower crescent."
"This spot faces the sea directly without the restrictions of a bay entrance. In case of an emergency, we can head straight into the ocean, and we have the protection of the mana cannons at the lower tip when retreating. It's the safest and most convenient location."
Everyone in the room nodded repeatedly.
Even Luo Li, sitting outside the door, couldn't help but nod slightly.
She had lived in Moonrise City over a month ago, though unfortunately, she hadn't had time to survey the terrain then.
But she remembered the general layout of the bay.
It was very similar to how Kevin described it. Strictly speaking, the inner bay of Moonrise City was more like a small inland sea.
It was like the Bohai Sea she remembered from her past life.
However, the space was smaller, and its shape was like a crescent moon.
Supposedly, it was a remnant of a prehistoric war from tens of thousands of years ago.
She wondered what kind of powerful being or skill could have left such a massive deep crater.
The place Kevin mentioned was the outer side of the lower crescent, where it met the mainland.
She recalled the map in her mind.
As he said, it was indeed a good place that was advantageous for both offense and defense.
However, building hundred-meter-high gun towers would be a significant expense.
Fortunately, the Dragon King would be sending money in a few days.
Fifty million gold coins were equivalent to the purchasing power of five hundred billion dollars.
She didn't need to worry about funds for the short term.
What she did need to think about was how to prevent currency devaluation.
In the long run, the amount of gold coins on the continent was fixed, so the chance of devaluation was minimal.
But in the short term...
The heavy snow in the north was continuous, and transportation had been cut off in many places.
In such a closed environment, a massive influx of money would inevitably cause some ripples.
It seemed that transportation was the real priority.
If winter transportation wasn't blocked, even with a massive influx of gold coins, the devaluation would be minimal and could be fully recovered within a month.
She had to find a way to speed up the construction of the railway.
The voices inside the room continued.
Augus and Lola both seemed to agree with the suggestion.
"The naval base is settled then. Now, for Seaview City, does Mr. Kevin have any preferred locations?"
At this, Kevin shook his head.
"Large areas of the sea near Seaview City are suitable for building docks. Since most of the beaches are very smooth, it doesn't really matter where we put it, as long as it can coordinate with the naval base in Moonrise City."
"In that case, let's move on to the next step. Mr. Kevin, how many troops do you plan to recruit in the first phase?"
"That..."
Kevin's brow furrowed; it seemed he hadn't decided on this matter yet.
Augus raised an eyebrow.
"Does Mr. Kevin have some doubts? Feel free to speak up, and we can all try to find a solution."
Kevin let out a long sigh.
"To be honest, I don't know how many troops to recruit in the first phase either."
"Setting aside the fact that our Kingdom of the Moon's navy has always been ignored, I haven't even seen what these so-called ironclad warships actually look like. Without a physical ship, I can't judge their combat power, let alone determine how many men to recruit."
The naval quota was one hundred thousand men. If each ship only held one or two thousand people, they would need over a hundred large ships.
The Kingdom of the Moon didn't have that kind of production capacity right now.
As the conversation reached this point, all problems seemed to shift in another direction.
The gaze of the three people in the room instantly turned toward Anton, who had been silent the whole time.
Lola spoke first.
"Minister Anton, the Saintess has spoken to you the most about the ironclad warships, so you should be the most knowledgeable. In your opinion, what is the combat power of an ironclad warship? Roughly how many people can one carry?"
Anton shook his head helplessly.
"To be honest, I don't know either. Although the Saintess has described them to me many times, so far, not only have the cannons she wants not been built, but even the ironclad warships themselves are just a vague concept."
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