"Father Faria, the details of this southward exploration are as follows... We relied on the ocean currents along the coast to explore southward, and the voyage was very fast. There’s this coastal southward current (Brazilian current) throughout the journey... The coastlines are covered by vast expanses of green jungle, with hardly any trace of civilized development. Unlike the fearsome southern continent of Africa, we sailed for three to four months without any appearance of the Devil’s Curse..."

"May the Almighty protect us! Until we reached the boundary between sparse grasslands and rainforest at 28-30 degrees south latitude, we stopped sailing and erected a pillar belonging to explorers, declaring the Kingdom of Portugal’s discovery and occupation!... Then we turned and rode the southeastern trade winds northward. Between 10-30 degrees south latitude, the southeastern trade winds seemed very stable and the fleet’s speed returning north was also quick. This southern coast is particularly fast both coming and going..."

In front of the wooden church of the Cross, Bruno looked at Father Faria and detailed the exploration of the southern Brazil Coast. Subsequently, he piously praised the Almighty, while smiling contemplatively.

"Praise the merciful Father! This is indeed a conveniently navigable, truly suitable New Continent for development! It’s far better than the barbaric dangerous ’Cipangu Indian Islands’ to the west..."

"I also named several particularly remarkable coasts encountered along the way. Near Natal Port at 6 degrees south latitude, we could call it ’Natal Bay’, ’Christmas Bay’. At 13 degrees south latitude, there’s a very deep natural harbor and excellent port that we can call ’Salvador Bay’ (Salvador), ’All Saints Bay’ in honor of our sacred Savior. At 23 degrees south latitude, we discovered an unusually broad river that had never been seen before! Since the timing was right in January, we named it ’Rio de Janeiro’, ’January River Bay’!..."

"The vastness of the New Continent in the South is beyond all our imaginations, perhaps several dozen times larger than the Kingdom of Portugal! Furthermore, this expanse of fertile land shows little sign of development, no powerful Native Kingdom. We did not encounter any native towns or tribes numbering thousands on the southern coast. It’s completely a Land without Master, the best gift bestowed upon the Kingdom of Portugal by the Almighty!..."

"Blessed be God! Is this New Continent truly so vast, with holdings that could comprise dozens of Kingdoms of Portugal?! Baron Bruno, the Almighty truly shields you and even more so shields the Portuguese people!..."

Upon hearing about the remarkable expanse of the New Continent in the South, even the devout and ascetic Father Faria couldn’t help but feel a stirring in his heart. If the gospel of the Almighty could be spread throughout this vast Jungle Continent, the resulting divine merit would far surpass the conversion of Magyars into the Hungary Kingdom by the Catholic Church five hundred years ago... This alone could lead to the canonization of several, even a dozen Saints!

"Almighty! These barbarians within the Jungle Continent, though of different skin color, lagging in civilization, and uninitiated... But they haven’t been contaminated by other evil religions and still reside in an animistic state of ignorance... Maybe they could also become believers in the Almighty, become the ’Magyars’ converted by me, adhering to the Church?..."

Apparently, Father Faria’s pursuit of the faith of the Almighty starkly contrasts Bruno’s pursuit of land and wealth, leading to differing attitudes towards the natives. Behind them, the Catholic Church and the kingdom’s nobility, shared interests in colonial enterprises but also potential conflict over control of natives.

Of course, in this era, the upper echelons of the Catholic Church are already corrupt with the devout monks like Father Faria being truly rare. The Church’s upper class extraction of social wealth and its oppression of members parallel those of the European nobles, and is even more covetous...

"Baron Bruno, during this southward exploration, did your fleet contact other Tupi tribes? Like the coastal villages, trade exchanges..."

"Uh! Contact with natives? Yes, naturally, there was..."

Upon hearing Father’s concerns about the ’Tupi Tribespeople’, Bruno’s eyes flicker but his face still maintains a smile. The two landings along the way, the slaughtered native villages, the raging fires, the sailors’ reckless laughter, all flash through his mind. Finally, he politely smiles as a nobility would.

"Father Faiar, we conducted friendly and peaceful trade with the natives! Exchanging some cheap glass beads, sailors hats, for food supplies from the native villages! Uh... yes! That white powder, and a kind of grainy stick, and some oily nuts that surprisingly taste good... These natives have no domesticated animals, no meat can be found in the village. However, the white powder they use as a staple though it doesn’t store well, is bland in taste but very filling! Like bread..."

"..."

Seeing Bruno’s flickering eyes, Father Faria silently shakes his head internally. He knows of the Kingdom of Portugal Navy’s conduct, their raiding and slaughter along the West Africa Coast are customary practices. As a priest, he cannot directly oppose the sailor’s and officer’s desire for wealth and can only offer limited admonitions. Otherwise, in this overseas Wilderness, if he blocked the naval fleet’s path to fortune, even the Almighty’s glory couldn’t save his life.

"Merciful Almighty, you know all things of this world! Honorable Baron Bruno, please try to restrain your men from engaging in needless massacre against potential convertible Tupi Tribespeople. Although these natives are uninitiated, they haven’t heard the Lord’s guidance, nor have they listened to the Demon’s call following the Crescent Moon’s path... They aren’t evil, they are potential Citizens of the Almighty, as long as they are willing to convert they can gain the salvation of the Lord! Uh... inquiring about those unwilling to convert? Well... then they aren’t under the Lord’s protection..."

Father Faria silently looks at the coastal camp within the expansive Forest Sea, then speaks earnestly.

"Moreover, though the New Continent is vast, it’s overrun with dense Forest Sea, consuming significant labor for clearing. The colonization of this land, relying on a small number of kingdom immigrants, may take an undetermined time..."

"Baron Bruno, this here is your future ’Fief’, without adequate manpower, there’s no discussion of land yield, thus no prospect of profit!... You know, the colonial development on the West Africa Coast relies on integrated local tribes as the main force. Assimilating Tupi Tribespeople to believe in the Lord and utilizing native manpower is absolutely of long-term interest for you and the Kingdom!"

When discussing specific ’future wealth’, Bruno’s expression finally turns solemn. From sailor to captain, entrusting his life to the uncertain and frightening sea is for those shining "lovable things", is it possible to own his overseas fief and manor, gaining wealth consistently without toil? Who would still be willing to risk life and limb at sea?...

Bruno ponders for a moment, bows respectfully, and sincerely asks.

"Honorable Father Faria! You are learned and knowledgeable, and far more adept than us captains and officers at managing land!... Could you impart some guidance on operating this new colonial port? So that this colonial land can also possess continuous wealth production like the West Africa Coast?"

"Uh... the operation of this colonial land?..."

Father Faria opens his right hand, glances at the calluses on it, then draws a praying cross. Then, he first gestures towards the surrounding expansive forests and begins to speak.

"This forest sea is rich in wealth! The sailors hunt vibrant birds and running beasts, with their feathers and skins both being tradeable goods. However, hunting cannot last; the truly bulk, stable goods should be the redwoods abundant in this forest sea!..."

"Redwoods?..."

"Precisely! These redwoods are firstly excellent timber, capable of being made into furniture favored by nobility, fetching a high price in the markets of Lisbon! But transporting redwood back to Lisbon is overly burdensome, and there’s not much one can carry at a time, plus it easily decays. It’s better to extract dye on-site..."

"Red symbolizes wealth and power; the red dye is popular not only in Lisbon markets but also in the affluent Italian states. The red dye extracted from redwood, when transported to Italy, is worth at least 10 gold coins per pound, making it the most valuable ’commodity’ of this colony!"

"Ah! Red dye! Ten gold coins per pound?! Wouldn’t a barrel weighing a hundred pounds be worth over a thousand gold coins?..."

Bruno shuddered at these words, as if hearing the crisp jingle of gold coins. He couldn’t help swallowing, and inquired further.

"Respected Father! Do you know how to extract dye from redwood?..."

"Baron Bruno, extracting dye is not difficult; you just need to chop the redwood into shavings and boil them in a large pot to produce red liquid... It’s just that both the logging process and the collection of fuel and the boiling of wood require a lot of human labor! These people also need to eat and sleep, requiring locally produced foodstuff, which means opening up farmland and building houses... I’m afraid the colony would need a scale of a thousand people, cultivating thousands of acres of farmland, to steadily produce a few barrels of dye every month!..."

Father Faria circled back again to the topic of manpower for the colony. He smiled slightly, squatted down again, picked up a handful of brick-red soil (latosol), and handed it to Bruno.

"Baron Bruno, please taste this soil!"

"Uh?..."

Bruno was taken aback, dipped his finger into the soil, and tasted it lightly. But aside from a slightly sweet earthiness, he tasted nothing.

"Father, what does this mean?"

"Is the soil sour?"

"Hmm... not sour."

"Then is it salty?"

"Not salty, a bit sweet."

"Is it soft or loose? Oh, for this, you don’t need to taste, just squeeze it!"

"... Very soft, very loose. When squeezed... it feels good..."

"Feeling good is just right! Although this red soil is by the sea, it’s not saline-alkali nor sour soil! It is good soil for cultivation! Though not very fertile, it is loose and thick, making it easy-to-grow soil!..."

Father Faria nodded with a smile, scattering the red soil back onto Brazilian land. Then, he gazed at the red ground, the green forest sea, feeling the hot tropical climate and the abundant moisture brought by the Bogotong River, and sincerely remarked.

"Praise the Lord! This New Continent coast is more bountiful, warm, and humid than the West Africa Coast! If my guess is correct, the climate and environment here would be more suitable for planting sugarcane than the already developed Madela Archipelago! This means that if this colony has enough manpower, enough livestock and poultry to provide manure, it can produce ’sugar’, a great amount of sugar!..."

"What? Sugarcane? Sugar! Sugar that is worth more than gold!!..."

At this moment, hearing the Father’s words, Bruno’s heart was greatly shaken! This red Brazilian land seemed to be covered in golden light, completely captivating his eyes, and also his heart.

"Oh, Lord! A Southern New Continent capable of growing sugarcane? This truly is a land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey, the fertile soil bestowed upon the Kingdom of Portugal by the Lord!..."