The first time they met these three people were very embarrassed. It seemed that they were no match for Li Cong. Li Cong would definitely not show mercy to such people. Before they could recover one by one, he immediately
I waved my hand for the archers behind to start attacking. At this time, we have a bus of manpower, and we still have so many magic arrows. If we don’t let you join in, isn’t there something wrong with our brains? We rely on our own strength.
It is possible to take down these people, but you must not do it unless it is absolutely necessary. You must do the job well. Otherwise, if you take them down, you will be covered in scars.
If you encounter any danger, what should you do? You must know that this place is not your own camp. If something happens, no one will care about you, so it is better to be careful.
The seven archers around them started working immediately, all using ice magic arrows, because they knew that these black magic pharmacists were always able to produce some liquid life, so if they wanted to kill them, these things were the most useful.
Yes, your liquid life is all liquid. In fact, using the fire type is not bad, but it is not that powerful. It is better to use the ice type, which will freeze you directly. It depends on how you do it.
move, the fact is similar to what they thought. After these magic arrows were launched, each one carried a blue light and shot directly on the liquid life. Generally speaking, if you don’t understand these things,
People will definitely be very scared. They don’t understand how these people do it. They can directly turn ordinary liquids into life. But those who know them will know that they are not that big of a deal, as long as they are not like that.
The very old and powerful ones, these young ones just know how to bluff.
It can be said that these three guys have risen rapidly in the past few days, but now they are all feeling pressure, because they have met real opponents, and they are not fools to dare to come to Li Cong.
Of course, they were prepared to be discovered by Li Cong, but they didn't expect it to be so powerful so soon. As soon as they met, they could feel that Li Cong was not someone they could resist. The liquid life of three people
After the fight just now, each one of them was almost dead. At the same time, they also lost a large area of their strength. The black magic pharmacist himself cannot generate energy at all, and any part of his body
Energy is absorbed from others. It's just like now. They can't replenish energy. They can only fight for ten minutes at most. If they are some old guys, they will definitely use their energy reasonably. Absolutely not
They will do some useless things and cause chaos, allowing them to fish in troubled waters. Unfortunately, these three guys are all young characters. Although they are very capable, none of them have much combat experience.
Having such a huge guy wastes too much of their ability.
"Brother, we can't leave. The third brother and I will cover you. You leave quickly. As long as you get out, you can find someone to come back and avenge us." One of the boys said. The three of them turned out to be the third brother.
Sanye nodded. Indeed, these two people could see very clearly that it was absolutely impossible for all three of them to go out. At this time, everyone wanted to stay alive and encountered such a powerful enemy.
, they haven’t lost their minds yet, they are quite good, they still have people’s hearts, and the boss is the most powerful among them. This guy is the only one who can run away. Of course, this is what a few of them think.
, as far as Li Cong is concerned, it is impossible for any of you to escape.
"Haha, I think you don't want to act like brothers and sisters in front of me. Since the three of you came together, you should stay here together now. You just finished your performance.
Why don't you come and see how my water-washed summoned beasts are doing." After Li Cong finished speaking, two water-washed summoned beasts immediately stood up next to them. Although they were only three or four meters in height, not as huge as theirs just now, the color of the water
It is already turning blue. You can definitely tell that this summoned beast is not an ordinary thing. They must be very powerful. The combat power of this thing is much more powerful than the two sub-liquid beings just now. One of them
They want to use the various lives they created again, but will Li Cong give them that chance? Absolutely not, the water arrows to wash the summoned beasts have already arrived.
Water summoned beasts are the sixth level magic of water magicians. It is said that they cannot be created at Li Cong's level. The reason why Li Cong created them is to absorb all the surrounding water elements.
Even if you have liquid life, you can't do it. This is our goal. His combat power is just an eighth-level warrior. He's not very powerful. He can't hold you down.
Liquid life can be said to be the most important fighting partner of the black magic pharmacist. When they produced liquid life again, everyone understood why Li Cong would produce a water-washed summoned beast with little attack power. This thing
All the surrounding water elements have been absorbed. It is not easy to create another one. They can only use other beings.
"Haha, wait, if I were you, I wouldn't be busy with these things now, and now you don't have the chance to be busy. You may know that I am a magician, but you may not understand how powerful I am.
Magician, now I will show you my strength, I think you may be able to capture it honestly." Li Cong said with a smile, and then several magical summoned beasts suddenly appeared around him, and everyone was dumbfounded.
Okay, how is this possible? Who is he? Most magicians are from the third line at most, but how many are there now? There are several. They counted, my God, there are six. This is
How did he do it? What kind of person is this guy? Is he a devil?
The three black magic pharmacists are not brainless. They also know now that there is no problem in continuing to fight, but what will be the result of continuing to fight? They all know that there will be no good fruits to eat, and what is in front of them is
This guy can be said to be too powerful. Don't talk about them, he is their master. Even their master's masters are here and have no effect. It is impossible to escape from the hands of the person in front of him. Everything about this person seems to be a
It's like a nightmare. The superiors told me not to provoke this person, otherwise there will definitely be bad consequences. The three talented people are bold. They just don't want to hear this, mainly because they don't want to give up such an opportunity. Now they
I finally understood why the other people didn't come here. It turned out that everyone knew how powerful this guy was. Some people had advised them not to come here. Everyone still felt that the guy had bad intentions and wanted to kill them.
I deceived them and then came here to absorb them. Now I understand. They have good intentions. They just don’t want people like me to fall into Li Cong’s hands. If they want to take advantage under Li Cong’s nose, they really
For those who don't have that problem, this is too difficult. Not only are they smart, but they are also no match for their skills.
The three people looked at each other, threw away the small bottles in their hands, and walked towards Li Cong. The people around them also admired Li Cong. These black magic pharmacists, as long as one of them appears, they will treat others.
Caused a lot of damage. What happened to a tenth-level warrior like Prince Zheng when he appeared last time? He still suffered at the hands of these guys. Of course, Prince Zheng's carelessness is also very important. Look at now, there are three here,
No, there were four of them including the dead one, so let Li Cong settle it directly.
"I don't like to say useless words. Tell me who your collaborators are in human society. I don't believe that you can find food by yourself after you come out and come to the battlefield by yourself. You should have a helper.
You busy people, this person should have great power and have a cooperative relationship with you. If you tell me, I will guarantee your life safety. If you can't tell me, then I'm sorry. You also know that I treat you.
That's very annoying. If you find one, you will definitely kill one." Li Cong walked over and said, time was tight now, and he didn't have much time to give them a good interrogation, so he started asking questions right here.
These three people don't seem to be the type to fight hard and won't kill them or tell them anything.
"It's Prince Ning..." One of the three guys said it, and the other two people immediately attacked this guy. But the two of them still wanted to do something in front of Li Cong. That was simply too much.
You underestimated Li Cong. They all threw away their unique weapons. In fact, they are no different from ordinary people. Li Cong just put these two guys here. You are better than ordinary people now.
He is just a little stronger, and he actually wants to do this with me. It seems that Prince Ning is a very powerful figure in their place. It just so happens that I am going to have some trouble with Prince Ning recently, but I didn't expect it.
This guy actually cooperates with the black magic pharmacist. If Li never guessed wrong, this Prince Ning should also be a black magic pharmacist. Haha, the backgrounds are bigger than the last, and the princes of the Eastern Empire are also involved.
Yes, he is still a relatively important prince.
In the aristocratic system of the Eastern Empire, there are dozens of county princes and more than a dozen princes. Prince Ning can be said to be the number one person, absolutely number one. No one in other princes dare to say that he is more powerful than Prince Ning, because
Prince Ning is the emperor's younger brother, and of course he is a half-brother. The southeastern province that His Majesty the Emperor promised Li Cong is Prince Ning's fiefdom. After so many years, Prince Ning is still the same emperor as before.
He has been the first prince for as many days as he has been the emperor. Is he satisfied with just being a prince? To others, this prince is actually quite good and aloof. Except for the emperor, others
People themselves don’t need to do anything, but really, people have the opportunity to be emperors. Now why do they want to be princes? For the common people, princes are very powerful, but for princes, this
The prince is actually a comfort product.
At that time, Prince Ning was also one of the most favorable contenders for the throne. Compared with the current Emperor, he was even worse. An important reason why he did not become the Emperor was the Eastern Empire Magician's Guild.
Generally speaking, the Magician Guild will not participate in matters in these palaces, but they are under the care of Prince Ning. Everyone who sees Prince Ning's Palace will be wary of them. Naturally, there are many people in the capital.
Many people were very curious. They all wanted to know what was going on, but after they checked for a while without any results, one by one they were honest. This King Ning dared to talk to the Magicians Guild.
When there is a festival, the royal family is not just for the emperor. The entire royal family can compete with the magician's union, but it is impossible for the emperor alone. Although the old emperor wanted to make the king the emperor when he was dying, it was a pity because
This reason can only make him the prince. But in the end, a very strange imperial edict was left. That is, as long as King Ning does not rebel, no matter what he does in the early empire, he can't behead this guy.
brain.
Little did he know that the old emperor's holy edict seemed to protect his son. In fact, after his death, his son became a thorn in the side of the later emperor and a thorn in his flesh. You are too old to die.
He is already dead, so why leave such an imperial edict? What is this doing? Is it telling all the people of the empire that you are not actually the heir you think of? In fact, the heir you want is Prince Ning.
Isn't that right? When the emperor just dislikes a person, that person's good days will come to an end. Although Prince Ning is a prince, his good days are also over.
He was assigned to a fief before he reached adulthood, telling him to stay away from the center of the imperial court. At that time, the coastal area was not as good as it is now. It was basically a barren land, mainly because it was close to the sea.
The land was not very good, and the food growth was not as good as in some inland areas. Prince Ning did not resist at all and just took his people to the fiefdom. In his opinion, no matter what, he
There is another place, which is very good.
When he was young, Prince Ning knew very well that he could not follow the normal track. If that was the case, he might not be able to get ahead in his life. As an emperor, he could only use this method to alienate himself. That imperial edict was everywhere in the world.
You know, as long as you don't talk about rebellion, who dares to say that you have rebelled? The emperor has to be reasonable. This world also pays attention to filial piety. I can't ask you to take good care of your brother just after you left. Who can
Just forget about this matter when you turn around. In that case, everyone in the world will laugh at this emperor and think that he is an unfilial guy. Such a person is not worthy of being an emperor.
In his fiefdom, King Ning looked at the sea and thought of building some big ships to see the outside world. King Ning was also the one who created the great navigation era of the Eastern Empire. At that time, the Eastern Empire and the other three major
Like the empire, they all want to stick to the inland areas. When they see the ocean, those people's hearts will become wild. Each of them will think about independence. Then he will be the one who suffers. However, Ning Wang thought
That's another aspect. He has no room for development on land. His land and his people are only so much. It is impossible for the emperor to give him a lot of room for development, but
He didn't want to be a person who lived a good life, so he had to find a good way for himself, and that was the way on the sea. This was the beginning of his good life. From that moment on, he began to explore
It's at sea.
The history of the Eastern Empire is very clear. King Ning discovered the first island in the waters of the Eastern Empire with his three thousand guards, and later established the first city on that island, which developed for tens of thousands of years.
In the past, how much territory did King Ning have on the sea? The royal family recorded about 150 provinces and island territories with a population of more than 7 billion people. The coastal province he was entrusted with back then was definitely the most prosperous along the coast of the Eastern Empire.
It can be said that Prince Ning became the richest man in the Eastern Empire by mining some gold and silver on the island.
His fleet helps most families in the Eastern Empire transport everything they need and transport back some specialties from the sea. Take seafood and other things for example. The entire Eastern Empire consumes about 100 million tons of various kinds of food every day.
Thirty percent of the overseas goods are made by King Ning’s people. Just from this transaction alone, King Ning’s daily income is as high as one billion silver. After he got money, this guy started to do some things.
The first thing I dare not do is to build my own army. Anyway, I said at the beginning that as long as there is no rebellion, I can do it. A prince can have an army of 1.8 million, which is allowed by the imperial government.
, What can’t I have? In fact, most princes will not let their army be full, because if it is full, how can they eat empty pay? Only King Ning has all his people in place, and also has
They are trained at all costs to make them real soldiers. It is said that their combat effectiveness is no worse than that of the emperor's Wu Weijun. The only difference may be that they do not have as long of experience as Wu Weijun. Others are almost the same.
of.
The emperor naturally felt uncomfortable when he saw Prince Ning. After this guy got rich and had his own army, he began to act well in the court. Although the empire was a dictatorship, the ministers spoke a lot to Prince Ning.
, the emperor can't always let Prince Ning stay in his palace. He has no choice but to let this guy return to the capital when he is forty years old. It has been hundreds of years since he returned to Niancheng.
In the past, this guy is also an eighth-level warrior. His power and financial resources have become even greater. Some large-scale industries in the Eastern Empire are directly related to Prince Ning. This guy’s power is the most powerful among the princes of the royal family.
Strong, ranking fourth in the Eastern Empire after the Linghu family and the Magician's Guild. But the ones in front of him are some organizations, and he is an individual. If he is really considered an individual, he can probably do it.
He is number one. Over the years, he has even had more privileges in the Eastern Empire than the Linghu family. Now it has reached a point where it is too late to lose. The conflicts within the royal family now allow him to see the dawn of his victory.
, if it works well, it may be able to overthrow the emperor's rule.
Li Cong squinted his eyes and thought for a while. Maybe his people were already facing off against King Ning's people. After talking to the emperor, he ordered the navy to start approaching NW Province. That was King Ning's territory. On the sea
King Ning's fleet has a lot of them. For Li Cong's navy, he is a frequent visitor to the coastal areas of the Eastern Empire. He doesn't kill people when he comes, he only robs things. We are so skilled at this, there is absolutely no chance that there will be any
If there is anything wrong, they will definitely understand what we mean.
At this moment, there is a huge fleet 300 nautical miles away from the eastern waters of the Eastern Empire. This fleet has just returned from an island in the Eastern Empire. The entire fleet has at least 300 large ships. Although these ships are related to the Cao Family Trading Company
It can't be compared to the large merchant ships, but compared with most of the ships in the Eastern Empire, they are definitely huge. Most of the merchant ships in the Eastern Empire are 300 to 500 tons, but King Ning's fleet is comparable to those of those people.
There is a very significant difference, that is, all of Ning Wang's ships are 1,000-ton class. Of course, in the eyes of people from the Cao Family Trading Company, these ships are naturally not good-looking, and they are not considered anything at all, but for
For most of the people in the Eastern Empire, they are already very good, and they are still very powerful.
The person on the ship at the moment is Yang Decai, the second steward of Prince Ning's Mansion. This guy can be said to be Prince Ning's overseas supervisor. It can be said that this guy has not been seen at sea in the past ten years. If it weren't for the comparison of these goods this time,
If it was important, he wouldn't come here. He no longer had the same enthusiasm as when he first met Prince Ning. Now he spends most of his time enjoying himself. Today, Prince Ning has issued a death order. If
If this guy doesn't do it right, he'll lose his head.
"Uncle, we are going to the mainland soon. It will only take three days at most. Let's go down below and take a rest. It has been a few days, but you have been on the deck all the time. We have been here recently.
It's very peaceful here, and we still have thousands of palace guards. Those pirates have their eyes wide open to their butts, and they probably don't dare to attack our people from Prince Ning's palace. The one on the east side was so powerful last time.
The Bajiao boss was killed by one of our guards, so it's not that big of a deal for them." It seems that the guy next to Yang Decai is also related to him, and is the nephew of one of his concubines.
Speaking of which, he can be considered a veteran at sea. As long as he is not out, this kid is always on the boat. He has not made any mistakes for so many years. But this time these things are too precious, so precious that he himself
Surprised, these are what the master wants to use to do important things in the capital, and he must not delay them.
"You know what the heck, only the two of us know what the things on the ship are. Those responsible for getting these things didn't come up. We also changed the route. What are they, those pirates? Go ahead, they are just some pirates.
Who dare to open their mouths to people from Prince Ning's Mansion? I think they are tired of living. What we are afraid of is the people from the Cao Family Trading Company, no matter what their name is. They look just like a regular trading firm, but those
These guys are all cannibals. If they are really evil, they are even darker than those pirates. If we encounter them, we will still be good. I heard that they all have long-range attacks.
Yes, although the guards on our ship are powerful, the sea is so far away, so what role can they play? If the ship sinks, how long can they hold on?" Yang Decai hit the boy on the head. This*
** knows how to talk nonsense. If someone from the Cao Family Trading Company really catches their eye, it will be impossible to leave here.
"Uncle, if you say that, I will understand. In the past, their warships often wandered around here. I have also encountered them a few times. But they just came up to have a look, unless they encountered them and wanted to
We need something, otherwise we wouldn’t ask for it. But they always ask us where we come from and where we are going. The people on our boat are pretty strict with their words. Generally speaking, no one talks too much. I heard that other people
Some of the people from the merchants chatted with them very speculatively." This guy thought of the warships of the Cao family merchants he had seen a few days ago. Those ships were really powerful. Compared with others, their ships were like small sampans.
They are the same, there is no comparison. Besides, the speed looks like a black dot from a distance. Who knows that it will be right in front of my eyes in a short time. How do these guys achieve their speed? Some of them are even faster.
There was smoke, and some people who didn't know it thought their boat was on fire. Who knows what happened, and they didn't let us go up to have a look.
"You idiots, you don't even understand this. If you are as careless as them, sooner or later our nest will be found by them. The islands in the southern sea have been occupied by them, one by one.
It's very powerful. Aren't they setting their sights here again? Of course they won't rob you now. When they find your home, they will have everything. They can still distinguish between the big fish and the small fish.
, It will definitely not go wrong, damn, I always feel that something will happen this time, but the master has taken care of it this time, and asked us to transport these things completely. Think about it, these are all treasures, sir.
That little bit is enough to kill me dozens of times, I'm so nervous." In the eyes of the ship boss, his uncle, who is considered his uncle, has not said a bad word in a long time. Today,
I don’t know what happened, but I kept saying one sentence after another. It seemed that I was really scared. After all, I have been walking on the sea for so many years. Why did I become so courageous after staying on the shore for a while?
So small?
But this kid also thought about the things on the ship. Damn it, he knew that one of the boxes was full of pearls. Damn it, they were all pearls the size of a child's fist. There was no way he could get even one out of this.
There are millions of pieces of silver in this box, at least tens of thousands of pieces. Everyone in the world knows that their master, Prince Ning, is very rich, but no one knows how much money Prince Ning has.
Yes, what happened to the master this time that he had to spend so much money?
But these things are not what they think about. As long as they can get these things back, these are things that have been on more than a dozen islands for decades. King Ning is different from other people. Those nobles think
These things must be placed in the capital and in your own hands to be considered safe. But King Ning is different. If you put them in the capital, who is the biggest in the capital? Definitely not you, that is the emperor. This time the order
He understood clearly what happened to the Fox family. It would be better to put everything on the island. Even he couldn't figure out everything there, let alone the court. In fact, everyone was looking at King Ning's ship.
The team transported large amounts of gold and silver back again and again, but what they didn't know was that a large amount of platinum was also transported back at this time. Their most important wealth, Prince Ning, was on the island. Something must have happened this time.
Otherwise, it would definitely not have been shipped back just like that.
"Boy, please keep an eye on me here first. You must not make any mistakes. As long as we see people from the Cao Family Trading Company, we will immediately turn around and return to the sea. These things cannot get into their hands. I have to
Let's go down and rest for a while. I haven't slept for a few days. I'm so tired." Yang Decai looked at the endless sea in the distance. He still has to walk for several days. He can't just watch here all the time.
, I also need a good rest for a day, otherwise I won’t be able to persist.
"Uncle, just go and rest. I'm here. Although I'm not as good at things, I still learned from them. This wind watching thing is pretty passable. Go and rest." This guy said with a smile,
In fact, Yang Decai still trusted his nephew's affairs, but the things on the ship were too valuable. If something went wrong, not to mention his own head, even the heads of the whole family might be lost.
Even though I have been with the prince for such a long time, it is not something I can afford to lose. Prince Ning really values these things.
Yang Decai nodded and gave a few more instructions before going down. In the past, he could stay here for more than ten days and nothing would happen. Who knew that things were completely different now?
My body is really useless. I can't support myself in such a short period of time. What if it takes a long time? But my master also said that this may be my last chance to go to sea. I can be honest in the future.
is in the capital. Although I don’t understand what the master means, this can be regarded as a good hope for me.
Naturally, the boss of this ship is not as careful as Yang Decai. After watching Yang Decai go down, this guy asked people to bring his grand master's chair. Are you kidding? Just standing here and watching, is there something wrong with my brain? What's in front of me?
, the weather today is surprisingly good, neither wind nor rain, just walk slowly towards the mainland, you can't see anything at all, the observers just can't be too comfortable, because they have to face
It's a very boring thing in front. If you stand by yourself, it is absolutely impossible to fall asleep. But if you have a Taishi chair, there are some people chatting and spanking with you, and the sun is so comfortable.
It would be weird if I didn't sleep. At first, I might feel like I won't fall asleep when someone is talking to me, but I will definitely fall asleep after a while, and I won't be able to keep up with the energy level.
The ship still sailed at the original speed. Three hours later, most of the people except for a few people in critical positions almost fell asleep. There was no sound at noon on the sea, and there was no voice at all. In such weather,
If you don't sleep yet, I'm really sorry for myself. Everyone is covering their heads and having sweet dreams. The reward given this time is definitely a lot. They are all thinking about how to spend it well if they go to the mainland in the future.
, who cares about the situation around them? The only few people who were not asleep were just looking at the front, and no one cared about the situation behind them.
But in the sea behind them, if they had telescopes, they would probably be able to see small black dots in the distance. Unfortunately, they don't have that thing now. Ten ships came up behind them.
In terms of quantity, it is no match for this huge fleet, but what if it is the fleet of the Cao Family Trading Company? It would be completely different, and the weapons on it are not comparable to the swords, guns and sticks here.
The thing on it can kill them with one shot, and such a wooden ship has no resistance at all.
"Colonel, the ship in front is the ship of Prince Ning's Mansion. We have been following them for two days. After receiving your order, we immediately started searching in this generation. A few days ago, we said that they had already passed by our defense area.
Now, their fleet is relatively large. Should we wait for other fleets to come to support us? As far as I know, the nearest fleet can arrive within two days." These ten warships are from the beginning of this generation.
Squadron, since the Cao Family Trading Company signed an agreement with the Eastern Empire, they separated their fleets. Most of them were composed of ten warships in a small squadron, and they began to wander around the waters of the Eastern Empire. In fact, they were
They will map out the surrounding area, and of course, they will also do some intelligence gathering. In a pinch, they can do some necessary things. A few days ago, the naval colonel above arrived at their location in an airship.
On the warship, his order was to deal with King Ning and have these warships quickly go to the nw province. If the Cao Family Trading Company wanted to directly capture the entire nw province, it would have to gather a large amount of maritime power. None of their navies were idle.
I was about to die. Now that I had a combat mission, I immediately handed over the surveying and mapping mission I was doing to the merchant navy. Anyway, even if I encounter the enemy, they can run away if they can't be beaten. There is no need for warships to follow.
, it’s better to go back quickly, if you go late, you may not be able to catch up.
"Did such a large fleet appear often before?" The colonel did not answer him, but asked this question. The colonel also had his own ideas. If this happened often, there probably wouldn't be anything important on the ship.
Things, but if they don't appear often, they must be there. This brings up the idea of taking risks. If you go to a place a day's journey from the mainland, there will be many ships, and things will not be so easy. It may be
All kinds of troubles arise.
"In the past, we would often encounter Ning Wang's ships, but each time there were only dozens of ships. It is rare to see such a large scale as this time, and in the past, it was almost the end of the year.
It only appears when the time comes. It's the middle of the year now, so it's a bit abnormal to appear." This guy has been hanging around here for a while, and he understands the situation here to some extent, and he also feels that this
This fleet is a little different, but if you don't get on board, how do you know what's different?
"At night, we will launch our small airship to investigate the surrounding area. If there are no other ships around, we will take action early tomorrow morning. We cannot wait until they are about to dock. If we take action at that time, I am afraid there will be
Other variables, let the brothers have a good rest tonight. The game of She Tun Xiang is about to begin. They will definitely have good armed forces. We must not get close. We must distinguish which ones are transporting goods.
, which ones are transporting people, directly sink the ones transporting people, we don’t have so much energy to look at those prisoners." The colonel looked at the fleet in the distance and said, the ratio of 1:25, this is definitely
This is the battle with the largest proportion among all the navies of the Cao Family Trading Company. Even if the opponent is a merchant ship, there is still a huge disparity. Look at your luck. If you win, you will set a new record. If you lose, you will just leave.
.
Later, the colonel recalled that he was really lucky to have obtained this fleet. If they were really allowed to return to the mainland, they would not know how much weight it would add to King Ning. Li Cong also started fighting with Ning because of them.
With Wang's first shot, the Eastern Empire truly began to gain a firm foothold. (To be continued...)