Chapter 1097: Tripartite Agreement, Known Loopholes

"Mithril Mine?"

Xia Duo immediately revealed a puzzled expression, "Master, could it be that all the Mithril Mines within Netheril have been blockaded by them? How is that possible?"

"A blockade is, of course, impossible. You must know that was several hundred years ago; not a single Mithril Mine had been discovered within Netheril at that time. The Mithril used by Netherese Mages back then all came from exploring ruins."

"Then, Master, you mean—"

"More insidious than a blockade!"

A trace of indelible resentment flashed in Kangjienio's eyes, but in front of a junior, he still managed to conceal it well and continued to recount:

"At that time, Yierlan, under the guise of helping Netheril develop, joined with Danzo to sign a long-term contract with us regarding Mithril. The main content of the contract was—"

"Within the validity period of the contract, all Mithril Mines discovered by Netheril—if not mined, that is fine, but once mined, the ore must be sold to the other two nations, while the other two nations would provide Netheril with finished Mithril, the quantity fluctuating with the amount of ore exported."

"Looks wonderful, doesn't it? It allowed Netheril, which at the time had almost no knowledge or surplus reserves related to Mithril, to gain an opportunity for development. But there are two problems within this—"

"One is that the quality of Mithril in the agreement seemed quite good at the time, but now it is long since unusable; to get higher quality, more ore is needed. The other is that the validity period of the contract is simply too long."

"These two problems are not much when viewed separately, but when combined, they are extremely fatal!"

Speaking to this point, Kangjienio could not help but heave a long sigh, not knowing whether he sighed for the far-sightedness of the Elves or for the simplicity of humans back then.

After hearing Kangjienio's account, Xia Duo also realized the severity of the problem. He had indeed not discovered any Mithril Mines within his current Territory, but if he did, would he also have to sell them to the Elves or Dwarves?

Even more seriously, if he discovered a Sub-plane filled with Mithril, would he have to sell that too?

Isn't this just making Netheril work for free for Yierlan and Danzo!

How detestable!

"Master, how long does this tripartite contract regarding Mithril last?" This question was critical, and Xia Duo asked it almost immediately.

Regarding this, Kangjienio was silent for a moment before saying: "For the Elves and Dwarves, it is not considered long, only 700 years, but for humans, it is an abyss where one cannot see the end! Think about the fact that there are still 263 years left until the contract expires, and you will know my mood!"

Know, how could he not know!

At this moment, Xia Duo felt his heart turn cold. Although Bloodline Awakening had granted him a lifespan exceeding that of an ordinary person, he was not sure if he could live until 263 years later.

Even with various types of Life Extension Magic, 263 years was still too long, almost 8 times his existing life journey! (Including the time in the Projection Plane)

This was truly a time difficult to imagine.

Full of calculations, about to lead a new era, yet at this critical juncture, he was suddenly told that everything he did from now on might be working for others for free. This feeling was truly hard for Xia Duo to describe.

Adjusting his emotions slightly and temporarily discarding those negative influences, Xia Duo looked at Kangjienio with a trace of firmness in his eyes:

"Master, since such a contract is already out of step with the times, why not terminate it?"

"Such a contract certainly needs to be terminated, but there are many other contracts that are relatively favorable to Netheril and cannot be abandoned to this day, which are built on the foundation of this contract. Furthermore, even if this contract were relatively independent, it is not something we can easily terminate unilaterally."

Kangjienio did not specifically introduce what other contracts there were, only saying that with Xia Duo's current status, he could easily check them at the Seven Cities Council, and then he stated a fact:

"In fact, our negotiations with Yierlan to modify this contract have been going on for nearly two hundred years and have achieved quite a few results, but in the last few decades, Cormanthor has frequently intervened, making it difficult for the negotiations to move forward."

As expected, the great enemy is indeed Cormanthor! Xia Duo sighed in his heart, while also inevitably associating it with some details of 【Projection Plane · Cormanthor Birth】.

Cormanthor in the Main Plane, in all likelihood, is the same as in the Projection Plane, merged together by the nations of the Listar Forest in the name of unifying the Elf World, which destined this nation and Netheril to be difficult to walk together.

After all, the region where Netheril is now belonged to the Elves in the past, and Cormanthor's unification of the Elf World is not just a political unification; restoring the entire territory of the past Aryvandaar, and even the Elven Nations, is also within the scope of unification.

If they could see eye to eye on this, it would be a miracle.

This is just like during World War II on Earth, Poland saying to Germany, "Let's coexist peacefully," and then—and then there was no then.

With a nation with an extremely strong desire for expansion by one's side, only developing oneself is the hard truth; pinning hopes on the other party's benevolence or the support of allies is unrealistic.

Of course, the current situation for Netheril is not as bad as Poland on Earth; at least Yierlan to the west is not like the big brother on the other side of Poland who also likes to expand.

There is only pressure from one side, and at the same time, although Netheril is weaker than Cormanthor, it has not fallen into an absolute disadvantage and is still in a state of constant pursuit.

This requires time and a stable environment, so the tripartite Mithril contract with Yierlan and Danzo is even harder to change.

But Mithril is related to war potential, and to be continuously bled by two parties like this for another 263 years is also very hard for people to accept.

"Master, I guess this contract should have some loopholes that can be exploited, otherwise this 700-year-long exploitation is really hard to endure. You just said you were originally prepared to talk to me about some issues regarding Mithril; is it related to these loopholes?"

"Yes, there are indeed some loopholes, and this is exactly what I want to tell you."

Kangjienio rarely stroked the snow-white beard on his chest, seemingly in a cheerful mood, "The loophole in the contract lies in the two points of 'Nether Territory' and 'Known Veins'. As long as you mine outside of Netheril, you can circumvent the agreement in the contract that requires the export of ore, and even within Netheril, as long as it is not discovered by Elves or Dwarves, you can mine at will."

Speaking to this point, Kangjienio suddenly turned solemn and issued a grave warning to Xia Duo:

"Pay attention to any Dwarves in your Territory. Do not think that just because you are familiar with them, you should entrust them with prospecting. The Mithril Mines they discover will absolutely be reported to their own country, and then this mine will no longer belong to you—at least not for the next 263 years!"

"In addition, you must also pay attention to rumors about Mithril Mines in your Territory. This might be a conspiracy by the Dwarves. Ever since Netheril took back their prospecting rights within the borders through negotiations more than 100 years ago, they have often done this, spreading word to let the Lord discover it themselves, and then they report it back."

"If you cannot be sure whether a discovered Mithril Mine is known to the Dwarves, then do not mine it, so as to avoid having no Mithril to use after 263 years!"

Xia Duo naturally accepted the Master's warning with an open mind. In fact, he had indeed had the thought of entrusting Buloutuo, the Dwarf in Savile Territory, to search for Mithril Mines.

But he eventually gave up, not because of secrecy, but because he felt there could be more efficient ways to prospect.

Now that he had received the Master's warning, Xia Duo could even less let Buloutuo go prospecting.

Sigh—

Never expected this twist!