Warlord: King of All Clans

Outside the gate of the imperial palace in the imperial capital, Noreen, Denise and Leo looked at the Elf Queen together, their eyes full of distrust.

The Elf Queen Ostara held Six's ribs with both hands, lifted him up high, whispered a spell, and threw him forward, "Go! Six!"

Wearing a small leather jacket, Six's sense of smell was enhanced beyond measure thanks to the elven magic.

Before, she could only smell something strange about Leo, but now, with the lingering scent and magic in the air, she can trace the direction of that strangeness.

She clenched her fists and strode forward angrily, vowing to find the hiding enemy.

Every ten steps or so, she would get on all fours and sniff left and right.

But this momentum did not last for five minutes, because a group of unfamiliar people from the imperial capital appeared in front.

Six was immediately frightened and hid behind Ostara's thighs.

This is the human imperial capital, and there are humans everywhere. Low-level alien races like the Gnolls can only serve as pets at best.

Gnolls are cowardly by nature. The courage of the Gnolls in the River Bay is all cultivated. Once they leave the River Bay and lose their protection, they become extremely cowardly.

The group of people from the imperial capital that appeared in front were all local citizens. In fact, they had no hostility towards Six. Some even thought she was cute and wanted to touch her.

Ostara patted her head, "Six, don't be afraid, I'll protect you!"

Only then did Six regain his courage and continue searching.

Leo and Norin followed behind, unable to help but question, "The capital is so big, how long will it take to find the enemy if we keep searching like this?"

Ostara thought it was very interesting. "The casting distance of a low-level blood mage won't be too far, so the opponent must be near the palace. As long as he doesn't run away, Xix will find him soon!"

Leo looked at the beautiful faces of the Elf Queen and Freya, and suddenly an idea came to his mind, "The elves' noses should be very strong, right? Can't you smell it yourself?"

Leo had heard from Freya that elves were pure magical creatures. After being successfully shaped into entities, they could also practice transfiguration and transform into various animals according to their preferences.

The powerful elven druid can also absorb the advantages of various shapeshifting creatures.

For example, Master Bobak, his beast form has many advantages of biological beings.

The Elf Queen is Master Bobak's junior sister, so she must not be too weak.

Ostara hesitated, "Isn't this a bad idea?"

As she spoke, she also pretended to lie down, ready to sniff around like Six.

Leo couldn't bear to watch it, so he quickly stopped her and said, "Let Six come."

After that, he began to lecture her, "Why don't you pay attention to your image? You just want to smell it. Do you have to lie down?"

Ostara wasn't as easily manipulated as Freya. Upon hearing that, she crossed her fingers, stretched her muscles, and glared at Leo. "Oh, it feels like I haven't beaten anyone in a while!"

Leo immediately shut up and dropped his humble attitude, "Your Majesty, please continue!"

Noreen and Denise were walking behind, looking at the scene in front of them, and couldn't help but smile at each other.

Denise arrived at the palace early in the morning, waiting for Leo to appear and report the latest research results, and then she also joined the search operation.

She walked to Leo's side, her expression slightly serious, and said: "Leo, the Imperial Capital Lead Research you mentioned has already produced some results."

"What do you mean?"

"My teacher, Professor Herod, helped me. He used his influence to form a research team and collected a large amount of historical data about the imperial capital. During this period, we also secretly visited many lead workshops and made some amazing discoveries."

"Leadware has been popular in the imperial capital for hundreds of years and has always been the most used metal vessel. Ordinary pottery is rough and fragile, while copper and porcelain are too expensive. The wealthy citizens of the imperial capital are accustomed to using leadware."

"We started with the families of the leadsmiths in the workshops, and continued to investigate the health of the residents who sat on the streets near the workshops. We also studied the population fertility and mortality rates in the imperial capital, and compared them with the rural residents who could not afford leadsmiths."

"The artisans and apprentices in the lead workshops are in the worst physical condition, suffering from severe premature aging and difficulty in having children."

"The imperial capital has a population of one million, but only less than 30% of the population can afford to use lead tools. This portion of the population is wealthy, and many families have one wife and multiple concubines. There are also quite a few who keep mistresses outside. However, the fertility rate is much lower than that of the rest of the population. In serious areas, there are even entire streets that have been sterilized."

"The effects of extensive use of lead utensils and consumption of lead sugar are almost visible to the naked eye."

Leo listened to Denise's story and nodded, "Although it's tragic, it's in line with my prediction. But I see that the upper class people in the imperial capital all seem to be very healthy, which is a bit unreasonable."

Denise whispered, "The Imperial Capital has the Holy Light Cathedral and twenty-four street churches, all of which can release the power of Holy Light and cure illness. The radiation of Holy Light covers almost 70% of the Imperial Capital."

Leo seemed to be thinking about something. The people in this world are under the influence of magic, and their physical fitness is far superior to that of the people on Earth in their previous lives. The imperial capital also has holy light manifested by magic to wash them around the clock, so it is reasonable that they have a greater resistance to heavy metals.

But while the strong individuals can recover, the tadpoles may not be able to survive. Just look at the imperial family and a large number of upper-class nobles in the imperial capital. Many of them are extraordinary people, and they are also the key groups of care of the Holy Light, but they still have a hard time.

The royal family was quite populous hundreds of years ago, but the population gradually declined after they moved to the imperial capital. Now, the family has been passed down from generation to generation, and the old Emperor Charles VII even has only one daughter left.

His first queen had been married into the royal family for more than ten years but was unable to give birth to a child.

The second heir to the empire was actually a distant nephew from a remote area in the province of Orlantieri. In the royal family genealogy, one had to go back at least eighty years and three generations to establish a blood relationship with him.

The biggest reason is the weakness of the royal family and the small number of people.

As expected, Denise continued, "The people of the Imperial Capital are protected by the Holy Light. Although they look healthy and rarely get sick, their average life expectancy is actually similar to that of people in other places. If we only compare the fertility rate, it may not even be half."

"The fact that lead objects are poisonous was actually proposed hundreds of years ago. Many poems and essays in history have written about the harm of lead objects, but it did not cause much response, and the voices against lead objects were eventually lost in history."

Denise said solemnly, "Next, I will form an investigation team and go to several lead mines in the imperial capital to investigate the living conditions of local miners and slaves, and expand the research targets from humans to surrounding creatures."

Leo nodded and encouraged, "Work hard and ensure your own safety. Your research is no worse than studying the history of elves. It can really save people from disaster."

Denise was very excited because her mentor, Professor Herod, said the same thing, so he used his appeal to help her form a professional team.

But now Denise has some life experience, and is no longer as clear-headed and stupid as before. In her excitement, she whispered, "If you don't investigate, you won't know that the lead industry in the southern border is so huge, even more amazing than the gold and silver mines. The teacher said that in a place where interests are in conflict, the truth cannot flow freely. Even if the lead industry has caused endless harm, who can stop it?"

It was for this reason that Leo was unwilling to rashly intervene in the problems of the Imperial Capital. If the people of the Imperial Capital were poisoned by heavy metals, even if their descendants would be wiped out, what did it have to do with him, a person from the Northern Territory?

He forced the princess's bedroom to be renovated, made appropriate suggestions on the decoration of the palace, and gave some advice to the local Denise, which was already the limit.

Any more words will arouse hatred from interest groups.

While the two were talking, under the guidance of Six's sniffing, the five of them sneaked into a residential area near the palace.