Chapter 130

Chapter 130

However, no matter how curious Lorant was about the abilities of the devouring frogs, he would have to wait about a month to see them in action.

For now, Lorant wasn't idle. With the Animal Pet Shop running smoothly, he had his own plans for using the pets and was preparing to find a good home for the devouring frogs in advance.

Due to the time limit on their abilities, the best place for the devouring frogs, aside from a few large outposts, was undoubtedly the entrance to the Lopulo Mountains.

Lorant had always been very interested in this place that guarded the entrance to the entire continent.

However, various reasons had prevented him from visiting the Lopulo Mountains before.

Now, with a reason to go there, Lorant couldn't help but have some ideas.

He wanted to take a good look at the barrier of that world.

Although the entrance to the Lopulo Mountains sounded dangerous, each entrance actually had a bustling small town.

The surrounding area was dotted with countless villages, where many people lived.

Lorant's aunt's family moved near the Lopulo Mountains three years ago, intending to open an inn for traveling professionals to rest.

During the beast tide in the Black Forest, Lorant had already witnessed the huge profits that could be made. At that time, the exotic meat he bought from the outpost still filled a significant portion of his warehouse.

But Lorant didn't regret buying so much exotic meat when his hoarding instinct kicked in. After all, he had invested heavily in a massive spatial array in his exotic kitchen.

Time was stagnant inside it, so no matter how much exotic meat he stored, it would remain well-preserved.

Therefore, Lorant was quite pleased with his decision at the time. He even regretted not buying more high-grade exotic meat.

After all, the prices were incredibly reasonable, and if he wanted to buy that much exotic meat now, it would cost at least half as much again.

At the entrance to the Lopulo Mountains, the price of exotic meat remained at the level during the beast tides year-round.

Lorant had already decided that if his stock of exotic meat started to run low, he would go to the Lopulo Mountains to purchase a large batch.

Although it meant paying a hefty fee for the teleportation array, the overall cost was still advantageous.

Of course, Lorant didn't plan to keep the pet food processing at the Animal Pet Shop indefinitely.

It was manageable when the number was small, but with the surge in pets, cooking for these little creatures every day was becoming quite exhausting.

Not to mention the pets that had already been sold, whose owners needed to provide them with canned food and other delicacies prepared by the Animal Pet Shop.

Even for the Crystal Ice Flame Dogs and Windbreak Horses, which Lorant explicitly stated could be fed small amounts of exotic meat, the demand for pet food was astonishing.

After all, first-time pet owners always wanted to give the best to their beloved pets.

In Lorant's plan, once the Animal Pet Shop expanded further and the Crystal Ice Flame Dogs were taken by their new owners, the demand for pet food would skyrocket again.

At that point, it would be necessary to build a pet food processing plant in one of the towns at the entrance to the Lopulo Mountains.

Industrialization and regional development were the optimal solutions, and Lorant understood this.

Industries like pet food processing were undoubtedly more convenient when located near the source of raw materials.

"Lancelot, I want to go to the entrance of the Lopulo Mountains and take a look," Lorant said during dinner.

Lancelot nodded while cutting his steak with a small knife, "No problem, I can accompany you. As long as we don't leave the Lopulo Pass, there won't be any danger."

"Don't you want to know why I want to go?" Lorant looked curiously at the calm white-haired knight.

Tonight, only the two of them were having dinner. Ruth and Jaina had gone to Holland for a jewelry auction, where a famous jewelry designer was launching his latest collection.

All the wealthy ladies of Holland's upper class had received invitations.

Although Ruth hadn't actively tried to 'infiltrate' the inner circle of noble ladies, with the continuous growth of the Animal Pet Shop, she had inadvertently become one of the most powerful and influential ladies in the empire.

After all, other noble ladies either came from powerful families or had married well.

Powerful families would be inherited by their brothers, and even if they were once favored, once their parents passed away and their brothers took over, their power and resources would quickly diminish. If they couldn't find a sufficiently capable husband by then, they might be forced out of the circle of power.

Those who relied on their husbands fared better, though they often didn't appear as glamorous as they seemed.

Their husbands' illegitimate children and mistresses constantly caused them trouble, but as long as they handled these issues properly and avoided becoming a laughingstock in high society, they remained envied by others.

As for Diana and Jaina, who had become powerful through their own abilities, they naturally belonged to the highest tier among these noble ladies.

They often looked down on meaningless 'tea parties' and only occasionally attended such gatherings on a whim.

Most of the time, they operated independently and above these noble ladies.

Whenever they appeared, these noble ladies would go to great lengths to flatter and please them.

But apart from Diana and the like, none of the other noble ladies, regardless of their type, could match Ruth.

Her power and status came from her son, which was a lifelong dream for these noble ladies.

Cultivating a sufficiently powerful son to rely on was a dream they had always harbored.

After all, these intelligent women knew all too well how unreliable husbands and families could be.

Ruth indeed attracted a lot of envy. Everyone saw how well her son Lorant treated her. In everyone's eyes, Lorant should be quite busy running the shop.

Yet, sometimes when Ruth's social events ran late, these noble ladies would still see Lorant coming to pick her up personally.

His concern for her secretly made many people jealous.

Although some envious ladies consoled themselves, thinking that although Ruth was wealthy and powerful, and her family operated a 'noble' profession related to professionals, she lacked a noble title!

Strictly speaking, she didn't even count as being integrated into this 'upper' circle; she was merely brought along by Jaina and others.

But Ruth didn't mind these petty thoughts that couldn't be expressed openly. If at first she had been curious about these high-and-mighty ladies, after interacting with them, she lost all interest in these beautifully crafted but tightly bound 'dolls.'

However, Lorant wasn't very concerned about this. He strongly supported Ruth going out more often.

He even supported his mother finding a suitable person to remarry, though Ruth herself never had such intentions.

"Hmm? Why go?" Lancelot asked cooperatively, then took a bite of his richly sauced pasta: "But speaking of which, the Lopulo Mountains are truly magnificent. Even just for the scenery, it's worth a visit."

Lorant shrugged: "Maybe, but I'm not going specifically for the scenery."

Today, he prepared a stew made from a ninth-grade exotic beast, which was already fragrant without adding too many seasonings.

He chewed carefully on the well-cut pieces of meat, which were both chewy and juicy.

Lorant nodded in satisfaction with his cooking: "Hmm, today's stew really is delicious."

"Indeed, your skills have improved greatly," Lancelot agreed. In the eyes of the knights, Lorant's culinary skills could rank among the top three in the world: "So, do you have something specific in mind? You mentioned before that you planned to restock once the current batch of exotic meats ran out. Have they run out now?"

Lorant shook his head: "Not yet."

During the beast tide, he had almost filled all his storage devices to capacity, and even now, he still had nearly half left.

"But we're running low on the exotic meats we've been eating," Lorant thought about his stock and said.

Since they had enough funds, the Lorant family hadn't eaten exotic meats below grade six since then.

He was always picky about food, though his appetite wasn't large, he had high standards for the quality of his meals and wouldn't skimp on giving himself the best.

After tasting high-grade exotic meats, he found it hard to accept the low-grade ones with their strange, unpleasant odors.

This time, he planned to go to the Lopulo Mountains to acquire more high-grade exotic meats to stock up.

"Besides, I want to see the entrance to the Lopulo Mountains in person to find a good home for the devouring frogs."

Lancelot tilted his head curiously at Lorant: "Hmm? Devouring frogs? What do they have to do with it?"

"Of course, these little creatures have unique abilities and aren't suitable for individual sales," Lorant nodded, realizing he had only told Lancelot that the pet hatching was successful but hadn't given him the details.

He briefly explained the abilities of the devouring frogs to Lancelot and then said: "But these pets are very suitable for the Lopulo Mountains and the outposts."

"The outposts have a solid foundation of cooperation with us. I believe that once the devouring frogs grow up, they won't refuse to let the animal pet shop temporarily place them there. So, I mainly want to explore the market in the Lopulo Mountains."

Lancelot nodded: "That's indeed necessary. Apart from the entrances guarded by the Knight Regiment, the other entrances, although managed by the Congress of Magic, the Church, or the Imperial Diet, actually operate under a different system from the inland areas."

"They stay at the entrances for long periods and may not be well-informed about new developments inside. If it weren't for the sudden fame of the Knights of the Thorns, I suspect many wouldn't even know about the existence of pets."

"But now that the devouring frogs haven't grown up yet, it would be difficult to persuade them to invest in advance."

Lorant smiled and shook his head: "No, Lance, I'm not in a hurry to sell the devouring frogs. The animal pet shop isn't short of cash, and I don't plan to sell them directly."

"I just want to see if my idea can be realized there."

The uniqueness of the devouring frogs gave Lorant a new idea. He didn't plan to sell them directly.

Instead, he intended to pay a rental fee to places like the outposts so that his devouring frogs could stay there.

Similar to how banks place ATMs in malls; although they are in the mall, the ultimate ownership remains with the bank.

"Since that's the case, I have a good suggestion," Lancelot, understanding the situation, smiled and winked.

Two days later, after handing over the animal pet shop to Silem, who was on holiday, Lorant, carrying Maomao, and Lancelot arrived at one of the entrances to the Lopulo Mountains.

This entrance is directly overseen by the human empire's parliament and is the largest of all the mountain passes managed by humans.

Here, there are always more than two fifteenth-grade powerhouses and over twenty tenth-grade powerhouses stationed.

It is also the location where the most military force is deployed throughout the empire.

Therefore, this city is naturally the most prosperous of all the towns behind the Lopulo Mountains.

Riding wind-breaking horses, Lancelot and Lorant walked out of the teleportation array and, after being checked by the soldiers guarding the array, entered the city named 'Pokara.'

The architectural style here is completely different from Holland or Mauplan. The houses in this city have almost no windows, each room is a completely enclosed small box.

Most buildings are constructed with yellow earth, with rounded exteriors, resembling large and small yellow loaves of bread placed on the ground.

When they arrived at noon, the sun was scorching.

Although Lorant had a magic item made from pearls of grade five or higher that could regulate the temperature around him, he still felt a wave of dry heat.

There were almost no trees in this city, and even scattered greenery was hard to find. The entire city looked barren, as if carved from yellow earth.

A gust of wind blew, raising dust that crashed against the protective barrier around Lorant.

"Lance, where are we going?" Despite the protective barrier, Lorant didn't smell the dust, but seeing the yellowish air, he instinctively covered his nose.

Lancelot, however, was accustomed to the environment here. He looked around to determine their direction.

"This way, follow me." Lancelot guided Little Qing's reins to move in the right direction: "We'll go straight to the military camp and then head to the foot of the Lopulo Mountains."

Although they were already outside the Lopulo Mountains, looking out from the city, only a small part of the Lopulo Mountains could be seen.

To get to the Lopulo Mountains from here would take more than two days, but further ahead, there were only scattered villages.

This was the last city of human civilization.

Beyond the city gates, it was an endless desolate wilderness.

Lorant and Lancelot spurred their horses into a gallop, and in no time they arrived at the barracks outside the city.

As the most powerful military machine of the Imperial Diet, the sentry posts here were well hidden. Just as the two were about to reach the camp, a small knight suddenly emerged from one of the nearby hillocks, blocking their path.

"Please stop, military camp ahead. Please turn back or identify yourselves."

Lancelot coughed and pulled down the sunshade covering his face: "I am Lancelot Cavendish."

"Cavendish Earl?" The small knight who had stopped them looked at Lancelot in surprise, seemingly confirming his identity, then quickly stepped aside to let them pass.

"Sorry, Cavendish Earl," the small knight bowed his head beside them.

Lancelot shook his head: "It's just your duty."

Hearing this, the small knight looked up in surprise at the two figures riding away.

When did the Crown Prince become so approachable?

The young master Cavendish was quite famous in the camp for his fierce fighting spirit.

Although he didn't usually make things difficult for the likes of them, he had never given them a second glance. Something must have happened during his absence from the Lopulo Mountains; he seemed gentler now.

The small knight shook his head to dispel this strange thought and retreated back to his position in the hillock.

The two continued to ride for about five minutes before a grand military camp came into view in front of Lorant.

Calling it a camp, it was actually a massive and sturdy castle.

The defense against the offensive in the Lopulo Mountains had been ongoing for over a thousand years, and over generations, it had been transformed into an impregnable fortress.

The towering walls were built from stones as tall as a man.

The gaps between the stones were filled with the sap of 'Wind Trick Flowers,' a sticky substance that helped bond the stones and soil, making the walls virtually indestructible.

The soldier who had stopped them earlier had clearly relayed the information somehow, and when the two arrived, a small gate next to the massive main gate was already open, allowing Lorant and Lancelot to enter smoothly.

"Master!" A towering man, dressed in full knight's armor and standing about two and a half meters tall, approached them: "Why have you come?"

"Why not?" Lancelot smiled, dismounted, and bumped fists with the giant.

"Ha! Of course, I welcome you! I just wonder what the old man will think when he finds out you're back." The giant laughed heartily and gave Lancelot a bear hug.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not planning to stay long, just came to visit," Lancelot smiled. "By the way, where is the old man?"

"The old man is in the valley below," the giant said, then turned his gaze to Lorant: "And who is this?"

"Oh! This is Lorant, my... partner," Lancelot walked over to Lorant, still on horseback, and introduced him to the giant: "Lorant, this is one of the great generals of the Cavendish family, Pang De. He's a powerful ninth-level knight."

Though called a general, Pang De was actually a vassal of the Cavendish family, more like a 'household retainer.' Lancelot had spent much of his childhood running around with him, and their relationship could be described as both mentor and friend.

"Pang De, nice to meet you," Lorant took Lancelot's hand for support and dismounted, smiling friendly at Pang De.

"Lorant? Oh! Could you be the shopkeeper?" Pang De reacted dramatically, taking two steps forward to stand opposite Lorant. His imposing figure added a considerable amount of pressure.

"The Lennart brothers haven't stopped boasting about the two Windbreaker Horses they got from you!" Pang De quickly revealed his true intentions: "They made me envious, but no matter how many times I beat them, these two stubborn guys never changed."

As he spoke, he stared intently at Lorant with his eyes.

What might have seemed like a pleading and cute look on someone else appeared as a threatening presence on Pang De.

Lancelot pulled Lorant to his side and pushed Pang De away: "Pang De, don't rush. There will be Windbreaker Horses eventually, we'll talk about it later."

He knew his uncle meant no harm, but he was worried Lorant might be intimidated.

Pang De sighed regretfully: "Alright, alright, Master, you have to understand me a little. My two apprentices boast in front of me every day, and all I can do is beat them. Sigh!"

Pang De's sigh made Lorant's lips twitch, and he felt a bit of sympathy for the Lennart brothers.

He had a feeling that the beating Pang De mentioned was probably real...

"Take us to the teleportation array," Lancelot shook his head, finding the two shield knights' stubbornness and willingness to endure beatings for bragging rights somewhat exasperating, almost deserving of their punishment.

With Pang De leading the way, the two quickly passed through the short-range teleportation array in the camp and arrived at the true entrance to the Lopulo Mountains.

As soon as they stepped out of the gate, Lorant and Lancelot saw a tall man.

This knight had golden hair and a rugged face, and even though he was clearly no longer young, his handsomeness was undeniable.

A genuine middle-aged handsome uncle.

The moment this handsome uncle saw Lancelot, his brows furrowed, and his imposing aura made it hard to breathe.