Chapter 1173: The Continuation of Hatred, Elf Agents

"Has Lord Xia Duo also heard about the new god challenging the Lord of Radiance? I have heard rumors as well, though I have not witnessed it personally, but that new god is undoubtedly a Drow who has achieved Ascension to Godhood! Furthermore, not long ago, they personally killed an Advanced Rank Cormanthor Elf Mage!"

"Hmm."

Xia Duo did not refute this; in any case, he could still verify these reports with Iolum, Zhenna, or even Bailun. A Great Arcanist should have more accurate sources of information.

If it truly was a Drow who had achieved Ascension to Godhood, then it was only natural for Cormanthor to be so nervous.

After all, the Crown War had ultimately been a struggle between the two nations of Illefarn and Aryvandaar, and Illefarn had ended up defeated, its nation destroyed, and its survivors cruelly exiled.

And since Cormanthor claimed to have inherited the "great glory" of Aryvandaar and sought to restore the so-called "Great Elf Empire," did it not simultaneously inherit the hatred from Illefarn as well?

Although the Drow were not entirely composed of the Suri Elf of Illefarn, they certainly made up the majority, and even the minority were survivors like those of Maiyelita whose nations had been destroyed by Aryvandaar.

After their motherlands were destroyed, they turned to Illefarn, continued to fight against Aryvandaar, and those who managed to survive were ultimately exiled to the underground together.

For such beings, if they did not hate Aryvandaar—and by extension, its successor, Cormanthor—to the bone, then something would be wrong!

Now that a new god had suddenly emerged among the Drow, and one who dared to challenge the Lord of Radiance, how could Cormanthor not be nervous?

But the problem was—

"Lord Collins, did you wait here specifically for me just to tell me this information about Cormanthor, the Northland Alliance, and the Drow god?"

"Of course, it is not just that."

To this, Lord Collins spoke eloquently: "Cormanthor is currently seeking to establish the Northland Alliance as quickly as possible. Once the Alliance is formed, although it will very likely be threatened by the Drow god, for a considerable period, the Drow will also find it difficult to strike the Surface again. In this rare period of peace, I would like to invite Lord Xia Duo to join me in opening up trade routes to Cormanthor!"

"Opening up trade routes?"

Xia Duo tried hard to recall the specialties of Kelinsi Territory, but with his memory, he thought and thought yet could not think of any specialties that Kelinsi Territory possessed.

Could it be that Relic Hunters counted as a specialty? That would then raise the question of whether the Elf would be willing to introduce such a specialty to dig up their own "ancestral graves"!

"I wonder what specialties Kelinsi Territory has? What is the production volume? Can it be supplied stably? Is it suitable for introduction into the Cormanthor market?"

Xia Duo asked several questions in a row, which immediately stunned Lord Collins. The other party seemed to have never considered such questions before, and after hesitating for a moment, he said:

"I have excavated a large number of Elf Ruins. Currently, what can be considered a specialty of Kelinsi Territory should be the various ancient Elf spices transplanted and propagated from the ruins. Some have even disappeared from the Northern Elf Kingdoms for a long time; they are absolutely suitable for introduction into the Cormanthor market.

"But as for the production situation, I still need to send people to investigate before I can give an accurate answer."

Spices?

Xia Duo was immediately overjoyed. If it were in Netheril, these spices might not necessarily sell well; after all, the Netherese had not yet reached the stage of pursuing the desires of the palate, and even for the few Advanced Rank Spellcasters, the existing spices were enough to satisfy their taste requirements.

But the Elf were different; they were particular not only about their clothing and appearance but also very particular about their diet and daily life, and these particulars had long since spread to the Commoner.

With a population in Cormanthor that did not belong to Netheril, this was absolutely a huge market!

As for the production issue, Xia Duo was not worried. Since Lord Collins could transplant and propagate so many spices, he must have the relevant methods, and methods and technology meant they could be replicated. This was not some non-renewable resource; production volume was absolutely not a problem.

Furthermore, Xia Duo was intending to promote Daxia cuisine. If he could obtain some new spices, perhaps he could suppress the invisible invasion of the Elf to a certain extent!

As for defeating them completely, that was almost impossible. The strength of a culture was closely related to the strength of a nation's comprehensive power. The culture of a weak nation might become a novelty for a strong nation, but it would never become an object that a strong nation would compete to pursue and emulate.

The current Netheril was not yet strong enough to conduct cultural invasion against the Elf, but at least he could start working hard in this aspect.

A civilization of Magic must not only be strong in power, but also strong in culture, economy, and every other aspect.

"How does Lord Collins intend to cooperate?" Xia Duo asked.

"I heard that Lord Xia Duo has a good relationship with some Cormanthor Elf?"

Heard? Xia Duo almost subconsciously thought of those Cormanthor Elf who had once come by boat to Saivendun to seek asylum.

At that time, the Drow offensive was fierce, the King-Slaying Star persisted, and facing the dual threats of the Drow and the Dragon Disaster, even after hiding within the borders of Netheril, there were still many Elf who were so frightened that they traveled all the way north to Saivendun to seek asylum.

Perhaps Lord Collins learned of this from those Elf, and the so-called "good relationship with some Cormanthor Elf" likely referred to the "extortion" he had colluded in with the Silver Leaf Family.

He estimated that those Elf who fled to Saivendun would not have anything good to say about him.

Facing Lord Collins's probing gaze, Xia Duo could not help but feel a little awkward. He gave a "cough" as a cover, then said: "I do have cooperation with some Cormanthor Elf. Does Lord Collins intend to use Elf as agents?"

"That is exactly it!"

Lord Collins nodded affirmatively. "The goods of foreign humans and the goods of local Elf are absolutely not the same concept; the price could potentially increase by dozens of times. If there can be a reliable Cormanthor Elf agent, I am willing to share sixty percent of the net profit!"

The sixty percent net profit that Lord Collins referred to was, of course, for Xia Duo. As for how much Xia Duo would share with the Elf agent, that would depend on Xia Duo's own ability.

As for Lord Collins's forty percent profit, if the spices were sold at the Elf price, that would still be far higher than the total profit if sold at the human price!

The key to this was a reliable Cormanthor Elf agent who must have a certain status and position in Cormanthor to avoid some trouble during the transaction process, but who could not be too important, otherwise, they might defect at any time.

No, that would not even be called defecting, but rather "thinking for the interests of one's own country and actively reporting illegal smuggling activities"!

Losing a batch or two of goods was secondary; the key was that once this matter and this kind of operation were exposed, it would be very difficult to play this game again later.

Xia Duo did not have full confidence in the Silver Leaf Family. It was not a question of trust—trust could be given—but rather—

The Silver Leaf Family might not have as much influence in Cormanthor as Lord Collins imagined!