There is a natural strait to the south of the New World in the north.
There are scattered houses built along the shore of the strait, which used to be the former site of the [Northern Temple Army].
With the liberation of Yancheng, the slave traders were expelled and exterminated, and most of them migrated to Yancheng or Yaocheng, but a small portion stayed behind.
Together with the frequent travelling of adventurers, scholars, merchants, sailors, fishermen and medicine men who came and went, the place was gradually settled by people on a permanent basis. This place now has a new name: Channel Pier.
In the Channel Quay Tavern at this time, two men are drinking hot ale over baked potatoes.
“So, Fabiani, you are thinking that the key to the world is underground?”
Pava looked curiously at the man sitting across from her.
Fabiani swallowed the food in his mouth and wiped his mouth with his hand, “The places where people can go are the oceans and the land. There are too many dangers in the oceans, and man is the life of the land. Yes, I think there may be truth hidden underground.”
“Like splitting earthworms, for example?”
Pava smiled, “You were the first to discover the Split Earthworm. Though the god-sama gave it its name, and in private, many call it the Fabiani Earthworm.”
Fabiani shook his head, “I was just lucky, now those guys have turned into dragon livestock.”
“Another drink?”
“Nah. Drink just to get warm, not to get drunk.”
Fabiani exhaled a breath of white air, his bearded mouth slowly opening and closing, “I was once a prophet of a fallen old god.”
Paiva’s face didn’t change, as if he already knew all this.
“Witnessing the collapse of the idol and the demise of the miracle, I was lost for a long time, not knowing what to do. The omniscience and omnipotence displayed by God Yao made me feel that no matter what an ordinary person like myself does, it is meaningless ……”
“I’ve since travelled to many places, Salt City, Yao City, Saniro, the Eastern Continent, overseas, the New Continent where the Southern Elves live, and then here.”
“More than ten years before and after, I realised that the underground is a place that is ignored by most people. The old history and truths that died out were preserved because they were buried underground.”
“Cave monsters, who are descended from ancient mankind, have many caves and relics underground that have so far gone unnoticed by everyone.”
“I once heard from an old dying cave monster that many eras ago, before the continent was torn apart, it was much more vast than it is now. At that time, there was a Kingdom of Roses on the surface.”
“The Rose Kingdom cultivated many roses, and those roses were transcendent beings, and at that time humans and roses ruled the world together ……”
Pava’s eyes lit up as she listened, “Have you found any relics of this ancient kingdom?”
Fabiani shook his head, “I was just looking around, and I ended up digging up splintered earthworms …… underground at the time, and was chased all the way by the guys. In the end, I realised that they were trying to eat the sour raspberries and berries in my backpack.”
“So that’s how it is.”
Pava flips through her journal and notes with a charcoal pencil, “It seems it’s really true that when you’re out and about, you should bring plenty of food with you. Archaeologist Fabiani’s personal experience.”
“……”
Fabiani asked, “Why did the earthworms come to the Dragon’s Nest?”
He had passed by the Dragon’s Nest from afar and had seen the spectacle of a large earthworm infesting the surrounding area, burrowing through the thick ice and ploughing through the caked soil.
“This I do know.”
Pava took a sip of her wine, “It’s a gift for the Dragon King.”
“You know about the elf lake side, don’t you? A portion of the population has learnt to give gifts to the pixies, building them tree houses and watering holes, planting tree seeds and grass seeds, and building friendships to gain access to the treasure chests in the lake. But the elves are also getting smarter now, no longer being silly and giving away treasure chests to random people.”
“Some adventurers have thought to use the same method to get in good with the Dragon King to see if they can get some treasures.”
“Although it’s not easy to meet the Dragon King, there’s a young dragon in the Dragon’s Nest, so giving it a gift might be useful as well.”
Fabiani frowned, “But dragons and elves are very different creatures.”
Pava sticks a fork into a piece of potato and says, “Splitting earthworms is a favoured food of the transcendental creatures, ah.”
“Whether it’s man-eating crabs, fiery turkeys, sandworms or fishmen, they all love split earthworms. The merchants are going crazy everywhere right now for the same reason.”
“It is said that Splitting Earthworms will constantly split themselves, but they need a large area of land. The wider and more fertile the land, the faster they grow.”
“These large earthworms were originally given to the Dragon’s Nest as food, or tribute.”
Fabiani dumbfounded for a moment, and a new doubt arose, “But here in the Dragon’s Nest, it feels like the number of earthworms is particularly high …… and that yeti is still selling them to the public, so what’s going on again.”
“Who knows?”
Pava recalled, “I’ve been to the Dragon’s Lair with the Blasted Oddfellows Adventure Group, and I’ve met the Yeti as well, and it’s one of those …… very special snowmen.”
“When I initially saw it, I thought it was a bit silly, but then I thought it was particularly intelligent, and what normal people take for granted, the yeti could not understand, and it claimed to be the Dragon’s Nest Steward …… earthworms were also sold to the public by the yeti.”
The vast area around the Dragon’s Nest, although cold, but split earthworms hiding deep underground still can live normally. Within a few years, this place became the place with the most split earthworms in the entire world.
Of course, all the earthworms around here are the property of the Dragon’s Nest and belong to the Dragon King Pasha.
Fabiani rubbed his face vigorously with his big rough hands, “We’re almost ready to sail, let’s talk as we go.”
The two walked out of the tavern one after the other, and were immediately sobered up by the cold wind blowing on their faces.
“If I didn t see it with my own eyes, I would never believe it. Ice and snow trolls raise earthworms outside the dragon nest and sell them to the public …… This is completely different from the imaginary dragon nest.” The archaeologist sighed.
Pava also smiled bitterly, “In the first draft of the Dragon’s Nest chapter I conceived earlier, I wrote that the Dragon’s Nest was a dangerous sanctuary, and that challenging the dragons represented the highest level of courage and defiance against fear …… Who would have thought that in just a few years’ time the Dragon’s Nest would have turned into a centralised market for the sale of earthworms, and that the Straits Wharf would have prospered as a result. ”
Fabiani suddenly thought, “Are dragons short of money? There shouldn’t be a shortage, should there?”
Pava rubbed his hands together, “Anyway, the Dragon King must be very rich right now is all. It’s likely going to be the richest one soon, and it’s rumoured that half of the Splintered Earthworms in Saniro City are imported from this side.”
“The earthworms from the Dragon’s Nest grow incredibly fast and are very strong with firm meat, especially the kind of black earthworms among them, which are hard to find for thousands of dollars……. Reality is always more bizarre than imagination.”
“The only problem is that the Dragon’s Nest chapter I wrote is all but ruined.”
Pava pressed her rabbit-ear hat and looked ahead with a depressed expression.
The ice trolls were tying a large, thick, maroon coloured worm with a rope and stuffing it into a dockside crate, which the sailors then carried aboard the ship in their unicycles and placed in the cargo hold.
One by one, the paddleboats left with full loads, and new merchant ships came in the distance.
Everyone knows the dangers of breaking into a dragon’s lair.
However, no one was sure whether or not they would be able to obtain the treasures.
However, at the strait pier outside the Dragon’s Nest, there were long term docking of boarding ships. Just by helping out at the docks or working as a sailor on a ship, one could earn a small fortune.
Many young people came from far and wide to work here to earn money.
Pawel looked up at the sky.
Yaojin-sama, did you assign the name Split Earthworm as a creature in order to make dragons and humans live in peace?
The power and wisdom of the gods is truly incredible.
Fabiani boarded the deck of the paddleboat and waved at the men at the dockside, “Goodbye.”
Pava looks back and yells, “Please give my regards to the Mayor of Copper Sea.”
The archaeologist nodded and tugged at the linen parcel on his back, “Keep yourself safe.”
“Please rest assured, God Yao is with us.” Pawaha let out a breath of white air.
Fabiani also said seriously, “God Yao is with us!”
