Volume One: Hell-Level Lord World Chapter 48: Allen’s Gains

“How did it go?”
Riding the Fire Crow, Chen Gu followed Allen’s directions and arrived near the small island. Even before they approached, Chen Gu saw the water’s surface crowded with water elementals.

Although these water elementals were packed together in an unseemly fashion, none of them were willing to leave the island. Even while standing on the water, they kept pushing toward the island’s center.

“Sir.”
At that moment, the Mars also drifted close, and Chen Gu spotted the slightly disheveled Allen.

“How are you? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. These water elementals had no intention to attack me—there were just too many of them emerging at once. I simply couldn’t get out of their midst, which is what delayed me.”

“As long as you’re alright. If something happened to you, things would get much more complicated on my end. By the way, do you think there’s any chance we could bring these water elementals under our control?”
Staring at the multitude of water elementals, it would have been a lie to say Chen Gu wasn’t tempted.

“It’s difficult. We don’t control the Flowing Water Shrine. Right now, these water elementals are masterless and only obey the shrine’s command. No matter what we do, they won’t heed us.”

Chen Gu glanced at Allen, then asked, “How did you manage to activate the Flowing Water Shrine before?”
Hearing this, Allen could only reply, “I just followed the path inside. At first, I thought it was some sort of family crypt, but it turns out they had hidden a troop garrison right on their own family’s land.

It’s all a bit awkward, really.
If you call it a wild garrison, that’s not quite right—it’s built inside the Holy City. But it doesn’t belong to the Holy City either, since it relies on the island’s magical energy to function. That’s why we’re in this predicament.”

Hearing Allen’s explanation, Chen Gu couldn’t help but rub his forehead. He understood what Allen was getting at.
The Flowing Water Shrine’s ownership was ambiguous, which led to the current situation.
If it were a wild garrison, then when Allen touched it earlier, he would have claimed it as his own.
But since it’s not, even if the shrine’s original masters have been dead for who knows how many years, the energy supply has continued uninterrupted, so the right of ownership remains unbroken.
Even if Allen wanted to seize it, he couldn’t.
There was simply nothing to be done.

Moreover, the Flowing Water Shrine didn’t require any energy from the Holy City, so even if Chen Gu gained control of the city, he still wouldn’t be able to take over the shrine by any means.
Thus, the shrine now found itself in an awkward position.
The two of them fell silent for a moment before Chen Gu finally asked,
“After you activated the Flowing Water Shrine, how long can its energy supply last?”
“A very long time. That elven noble was definitely a mage; he had stored up an enormous amount of energy. And since the shrine isn’t for high-tier troops, it can keep running for another hundred years without any problem.”
Allen thought Chen Gu was planning to wait until the energy ran out before taking over the shrine, so he explained the situation with a touch of resignation.

“Which means the shrine is still under the control of the elven noble’s family, right?”
Chen Gu had already spotted another solution.
“Yes, but we can’t get onto the island to retrieve the elven noble’s credentials.”
Allen immediately guessed what Chen Gu was thinking, but it wasn’t really a feasible plan.

“What about the Holy City’s Council Hall?”
Chen Gu pressed further.
“What?”
Now Allen was confused.
“I mean, in the Holy City’s Council Hall—when the elves divided up these islands, they must have assigned each one to a particular noble, right? So, their crests and identification documents, wouldn’t there be copies kept somewhere?
If there are, and the elves are now gone, can’t we use a little creative means to inherit this family’s rights?”
Chen Gu’s words were tactful, but Allen understood his implication.
If what Chen Gu had done in Silversong Vale was flipping the table, then this was outright forgery.
For a moment, Allen was uncertain about what kind of master he was serving.

“That should be possible.”
Hearing Allen’s answer, Chen Gu smiled. “You see, there’s always a solution to every problem. If we think hard enough, we can always find a way.”
He paused, then added, “And if there’s truly no solution, then we flip the table and change the one who’s asking the questions.
As for the water elementals, let’s leave them be for now. Since they’re still under the shrine’s control, they won’t attack us. For now, let’s take care of our own matters.
By the way, about that water elemental you were supposed to find—well, I suppose you’ve found plenty already. But have you discovered anything else, anything similar?”

As he spoke, Chen Gu glanced at the sea of water elementals and abandoned the idea of asking for more information about them.
Unexpectedly, Allen had a surprise for him.
“Sir, I actually found another water-elemental-related item.”
“Oh? What is it?”
Chen Gu brightened at the news.
“Please take a look at this.”
As Allen spoke, he had someone wheel out a statue of a water elemental.
The statue was entirely translucent blue; if Allen hadn’t produced it, Chen Gu might have believed it was a real water elemental.

“What is this?”
“A figurehead! I found it at the home of a fleet commander. It’s definitely still usable.”
“Excellent! Is there more?”
Chen Gu’s eyes lit up at once.
“Yes, I found several items. Here are some magical scrolls—you can learn the spells inside, though I haven’t opened them yet. From the exterior, they seem to be water spells.
And this, this is a water-repelling bead. I found an entire chest of them; they seem to be mass-produced.”
Allen hurriedly laid out all the items he’d found over the past few days.
As Chen Gu steered the two ships back to the island where the World Tree was planted, he listened to Allen’s report on his discoveries.
This time, Allen had searched with a clear purpose, so most of the items he found were navigation-related.
This pleased Chen Gu greatly.
If he had searched himself, it might have taken two or three times longer, and he still might not have found so many treasures.
With all these items laid out, Chen Gu was already considering some possible combinations.
As for other synthesis materials, the fish in the Sacred Lake and the ships he’d brought back would serve nicely.