It was the coffin that Fellomar had carried behind him for a long time. The heavy chains held the seemingly broken coffin firmly, and it seemed that it was used to lock the loose lid of the coffin, but in fact it was more like a seal of some kind of cold power.

It's an evil charm that is enough to freeze the flesh - the treehouse, which has always been warm, is especially cold because of the presence of the coffin, not to mention the biting cold wind brought by the release of the chains, and the residual power that flows out of the cracks alone is terrifying.

As the owner of the coffin, Fallomar naturally does not feel cold, after all, he is used to it. Ulfinn trembled, not knowing if it was due to the force of the coffin's flow, or if it was the coercion of Pheromar himself.

What was the atmosphere like?

In fact, it was obvious - Ulfin forced his composure to squeeze out an official smile, and Pheromar was as unsmiling as if a cold snap had passed through, and the gaze of Ulfin seemed to freeze the air and even Ulfin's body.

How can such an obvious guest-host relationship be dealt with fairly?

There was only a simple wooden table in the treehouse, and Pheromar rested his elbows on the table, his fingers interlaced with the back of his hand on his chin, and his eyes seemed to judge Ulfin's manners, words and deeds, and if he was dissatisfied, he would kill him.

All that was on the table was two cups of hot pear tea, a specialty of the wetlands, and a scroll detailing the items.

Flip through the reels.

"I will confirm the needs of your village—30,000 bales of rice, 30,000 pieces of fine cloth, 5,000 heads of pork, 5,000 heads of mutton, and 2,000 pieces of fine iron. In exchange, we will take 2,500 baskets of fish, 2,000 bales of coarse salt, 2,000 bales of timber, and 500 handmade iron nets? ”

"The quantity and items are indeed correct, but I don't know if you are satisfied with this transaction, Captain?"

"Well—there are still some things that I am not satisfied with."

A greedy tone leaked from Philomale's mouth, making Ulfin nervous.

"Please...... What is it that makes you unhappy? ”

"Indeed, there is nothing unfair about bartering this time, perfectly using the resources of both parties to execute an equivalent transaction, and this is exactly what the long-standing transaction between Enk and the snake people has been like this - but out of selfishness, this time I want to be strong and propose favorable terms for my own side."

"Please don't hesitate to speak."

"You know who I am in the Kingdom, right? The term 'Mad Experimenter' is what I call it. Personally, I don't really reject this unaesthetic nickname, because my fetish is not so aesthetically pleasing - to get back to the point, in recent years, I have been working on the artificial breeding of monsters, and the progress has lasted for more than two years. ”

"Artificial breeding of monsters? Dare to ask what the details are ......? ”

Fellomar suddenly gave a rare smile.

"The so-called monsters, it is precisely because of genetic errors that there are abnormal changes in appearance or behavior, and most of the consciousness will become stronger, and the expression is usually based on attack. Einke has never included monsters in the army, and the reason is precisely because of the danger factor of his brutality and restlessness. For this reason, I want to change this dilemma. ”

“…… The implication is that you have a tyrannical tendency to transform monsters by hand, and finally turn them over to the kingdom for inspection. If the transformation is successful, will it be able to be used as a tool of war? ”

"Good understanding. From the perspective of biology and demonology, if you want to change the behavior or personality of an experimental subject, you must first modify its genes before you have a chance to modify its behavior or thinking. ”

"Yes...... Yes. ”

"But the crux of the trouble is that monsters are different from ordinary creatures, because they are rugged crystals caused by genetic mutations, not only the structure in the body is several times more complex than normal creatures, but also in terms of 'gene sequence', it is even more strange beyond common sense, and this factor alone is enough to delay the research time for several years."

"Isn't there any other starting point? It is only by simply extracting several different sets of genes that we can find the common ground, and then record the same sequence combinations into a book to reduce the total research time - just humble opinion, please forgive me. ”

"This method is really effective in other places, but as I said, the structure and organization of monsters are beyond common sense, and cannot be dissected with such a broad understanding."

"Taught below...... But why? ”

The question resurfaced on the table, and the serious face of Fallomar couldn't help but show helpless anxiety.

"Because different gene sequences are cross-influenced, a single correction cannot completely modify the behavior of an individual. If you follow your method, at most you will only sort out the genes of the same kind, and you will not be able to determine the final behavior caused by the cross-influence between different gene sequences. ”

“…… It's more complicated than expected. But with your personality, you're never going to give up, are you? Rather, you've sorted out all the methods and picked the easiest shortcuts. ”

This statement immediately won the favor of Fellomaar, and the anxiety that had accumulated on his expression was suddenly swept away.

"Hahahaha! Your instincts are so accurate! Yes, I did give up on the method I just mentioned, and finally found a more efficient way to work with my subordinates in the experimental department one night two years ago. ”

"That'...... That's great. ”

As if he had found a soulmate, Fellomar smiled like a child, losing all of his previous serious and cold image.

Ulfin doesn't think so at all. At least, the trembling hands of fear of Phelomar continued.

"The sticking point of previous research was that the completed gene sequences were too complex to pick out, in other words—wouldn't it be solved if the gene sequences were manually sequenced before they were completed?"

It is indeed a very efficient method, not only saving the trouble of finding common genes, but also arranging the correct genes according to the will, and cultivating "artificial monsters" that can obey human instructions as soon as possible.

Properly speaking, it should be "creation".

Ulfin understood all these truths quickly, but there was still one problem that he could not understand.

"Yes...... However, monsters are the product of sudden mutation of living things, so before solving this problem, we must first find a way to stably produce a large number of monsters, right? ”

"You know 'summoning magic', right?"

As soon as he said this, Ulfin suddenly woke up.

"Do you want to use summoning magic to produce monsters and transform them!? However, the sacrifices required to summon the monsters will all touch the bloody dirt, and this experiment may cause countless unnecessary casualties, right? ”

"I said Ulfin, ......"

What had been a cheerful smile suddenly returned to its original seriousness—and even darker stare.

"The speed at which you understand things is indeed astonishing, but your knowledge of my character is nowhere near as good as your intelligence."

"I'm so sorry!"

Ulfin immediately bowed his head and apologized. Even if he didn't know what he was apologizing for, he just felt the reflex action from Phelomar's murderous and ferocious intent.

"For the sake of Enke's strength, the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of people is simply not enough. I understood the king's reluctance to touch the experiment, and I knew his role in the relationship between light and darkness as if fire and water were incompatible. Successful paintings are made up of colors intertwined, and there is no distinction between beauty and ugliness. ”

"You...... You're talking about it! So which sacrificial monster are you going to experiment with? ”

Ulfin's panicked apology won Fellomar reluctantly agree, and the latter's frightening face was slightly soothed.

After moving back to the sitting position, he spoke eloquently.

"The larvae of the skeleton butterfly are single-celled organisms called the ghost anchovy. Just like the species defined by 'Monsterology', the use of the fact that the ghost anchovy has only a single cell makes it easy to perform cell modification and manipulate all possible variables. ”

"A little shallow in knowledge...... Dare to ask what is the sacrifice of the oni anchovy? ”

"It's very simple, it only takes the heart of a child under the age of six."

When he said the sacrifice, his tone was so plain, and his expression did not change a little.

It's a cold-blooded murderer.

Ulfinn almost vomited stomach acid just by listening to it, and the uncontrollable night sweats made Ulfen very uncomfortable.

A child's heart!? It's such a deadly organ, not to mention that the object is an ignorant child. If the current King of Eynk had known of such a horrific act, the experiment would have been abandoned.

But, how dare you report it? He is just the patriarch of the snake people who has a bad relationship with humans, will the other monarch easily believe his words? Not to mention that their actions could cause the destruction of the entire wetland.

can only pretend to agree with a wry smile.

"I see, hahahaha......"

"It's hard to find a heart, let alone under the age of six...... Two years ago, the hearts of the first children were only 10 before the experiment began, but then nearly 10,000 were bred by mutant anchovies, and they are in excellent condition. ”

"Nearly 10,000!? If you don't rely on the monsters summoned by the sacrifices, how can you breed? ”

"Not bad! You mentioned a very important point. At the beginning, we also knew the rarity and danger of children's hearts, but when there was a serious case of missing children, the kingdom would never take a break. To this end, while modifying its cells, we have also slightly rewritten the breeding path of the anchovid, which is to reproduce instead of sacrifice. ”

"In other words, now that you have nearly 10,000 ghost anchovers and the genetic sequence for breeding has been successfully developed, you won't need to collect the hearts of children under the age of six in the future, right?"

"yes."

Ulfin breathed a sigh of relief. Although I regret the ten children who were killed two years ago, it is a glorious sacrifice to satisfy the ambition of the man in front of me by relying on their sacrifice alone.

Too much remembrance only adds to sorrow, and Ulfinn only prays in his heart that Phelomar's ambitions will be stopped.

But—

"Originally, this was supposed to be the case, but a month ago, the base of our experiment was attacked by unknown people, which eventually caused a large number of ghost anchovies to flee to various parts of the plains, and even took advantage of the chaos to parasitize the bodies of those unknown people."

"What does it mean to churn...... Will reproduction be interrupted? ”

"It's not completely interrupted, but the progress of the experiment will be slowed down a lot, and the money and manpower it consumes will also increase exponentially, and this delay is definitely a loophole to be filled for the secret experiment that is expected to be only five years old."

"Don't you...... You're going to have to capture the hearts of children...... Is it? ”

"Humph! That's right. Recently, a grand peace anniversary has been held throughout the Staphen Plains, and the Kingdom of Aynk, as the host country, will be flooded with tens of millions of people in these days, and I will take advantage of this to take advantage of the fact that I will take an estimated hundred children and present the substitute lamb to the court to cover my captivity. ”

The tone of the confession seemed to come true—Ulfin broke out in a cold sweat, and Pheromar smiled.

Nearly 100!?

How innocent those children were! Is this helping the country or harming its future?

Ulfin's expression grew heavier and heavier—Pheromar didn't catch a glimpse, immersed in the plan.

"Planning...... Already Executed...... Is it so? ”

"Of course! I guess this time is almost over. ”

Fellomar smiled cunningly.

"But it's strange to say - those ghost anchots that live in unknown people are not mentioned for now, and the ghost anchots that fled to the plains have not been found so far, and it is not known whether they are dead or quietly establishing their own kingdom under the plains. However, I don't need those escaped experiments anyway, and the second batch has already arrived. ”

Smug began to talk to himself, but Ulfin had no intention of listening to Pheromara's muttering.

It's the ultimate evil.

"Since I'm going to give you a rough idea of what the experiment is about, I'll tell you what I'm going to ask you to help me with this time. Isn't there a rift between the Celestial Snake Clan and the Fish-Man Clan, and it has plagued this land for many years? ”

“…… It should be. ”

"In recent years, the development of the land has begun to stagnate due to the boring disputes between the two tribes - this area is rich in ore and fish, however, not to mention that the ore has stopped developing, even the fish needs to be hunted by you who live on flat land, and you who are not good at humidity cannot meet the demand of Aiink."

"Yes...... Yes, we know that it will be difficult to achieve the desired trading volume of your country with only our snake people's jerky fishing skills, but just give me another two or three months, and we will definitely improve! ”

"Stop making up empty words. Recently, due to the festival, the supply of any food is huge, and now there is a shortage of food, which has forced the kingdom to take out the food stored in the treasury for emergencies. So—since you have no intention or ability to solve the problem of the wetland, then I will solve it myself! ”

Ulfin lowered his head in shame, not daring to look directly at Fellomar .

"Non-...... I'm sorry. How do you plan to solve it? ”

"yes...... What to do......"

Fellomar thought with a frown.

It didn't take long for the answer to emerge.

The frowning expression quickly turned mysterious—Pheromar waved his finger and motioned for Ulfin to come closer.

"Uh......?"

He left the table as Felomar suggested, and slowly crawled to his seat.

Whispering gestures close to Ulfin's ear.

Ten seconds of whispering.

The whispers seemed to pierce Ulfin's ear, and Ulfen's expression suddenly became embarrassed.

Then he nervously bounced away from Felloma's side, staring incredulously at his father's killer.

"Don't do that!"

Ignoring the dangers of one's actions can lead to murder, there is now a lot of information that is more serious than life.

But Pheromar wasn't angry at Ulfin's shouts—he smiled calmly.

He stood up and walked to the coffin at the table, his pale right hand resting steadily on top of the coffin.

"Take it to heart! You don't have the power to decide, you don't have the power to turn things around, and even if you tell you, you don't have any worries about the destruction of your plans—no one can stop me, not even God. ”

"Nope! There must be other ways to fix it! However, there is no need for your country to personally settle the boring disputes in the land, and you really dare not spend the troops and efforts of the adults! ”

"How can it be a boring trifle? It is related to the import situation of our country, and it is necessary to personally intervene. ”

“…… Never! I beg you to spare the land......"

After all, Ulfin broke down and wept silently.

"I can't imagine that the wise man who has always been smart and sharp will also have the fate of losing his soul now?"

A tone of regret came out of Fellomaar's mouth.

"You haven't forgotten, have you? When the predecessor of the 'End' seat died for unknown reasons, and I took over the second seat, you acknowledged that the relationship between the second seat and the snake people will continue...... Right? ”

"Ugh! Be...... Yes. ”

"Do you remember that in this cooperation contract, it was mentioned that 'when one of the parties to the transaction has a force majeure factor that causes an error in the transaction process, the other party has the right to interfere partially'?"

“…… Yes. ”

"Then that's easy to say! Since the partnership still exists, the contract is still in effect, right? ”

Ulfin stopped answering and gave up his resistance. Nodding silently, the snake collapsed to the ground.

Fellomar laughed again.

"If you understand, then you're welcome. The internal dispute in the land has been going on for more than ten years, and it has not yet been resolved, doesn't it prove that it is a 'force majeure' factor for the three clans, right? ”

"Ashamed ashamed ......"

"Then it's decided!"

At the same time, Phelomar's expression faded again—glaring at Ulfin, who was limp on the ground.

"By the way, I'm very dissatisfied with the tone you just said to me, forget it today, if you dare to speak out next time, then don't blame me for being ruthless-"

Before the words fell, and the conversation was still so far, the coffin, which was still dead and heavy, suddenly moved, and began to be restless, as if there was some force in the coffin trying to break through the coffin.

Ulfin was so frightened that he forgot his body, and struggled away from the treacherous coffin, trembling all over.

"Don't forget, what is the reason for the peace of the snake people so far, I hope you can think about it."

After the last sentence, the coffin stopped restlessness and returned to its original dead sink.

At this point, Fellomar laughed again, as if his emotions were fluctuating.

"That's right! Recently, as the progress of the experiment is accelerating, and the sacrifice to summon the oni is about to be sent to the base, the workload of the experiment will increase several times, so I would like to borrow more of your people. ”

"Big ...... Probably...... How many more? ”

I was frightened by the power of the coffin floating just now, and I still haven't calmed down.