Chapter 1192: Returning to Nan Jing and the Problem of Murloc Governance

But on the other hand, Badijiaer's previous attitude clearly suggested that the relationship between Netheril and the Elves, especially with Cormanthor, was set to improve; how could there be such impractical demands?

Unless Netheril had also made some excessive demands of Cormanthor in return, Xia Duo truly could not understand how the Seven Cities Conference could possibly agree to liberate the Gnomes and even allow them to establish an independent nation!

What exactly those demands were, Xia Duo had no way of guessing for the moment; after pondering this question for a while, he decided to set it aside for now, as some things would eventually come to light.

As for asking Iolum, that was entirely unnecessary; Iolum might not even know the details of the negotiations between the Seven Cities Council and the Northland nations regarding the establishment of the Northland Alliance.

Even if he did know, he might not necessarily tell him.

Furthermore, since Badijiaer had suddenly announced such news on behalf of the Seven Cities Council during the day, he would certainly have to provide an explanation to all the lords of Netheril.

Otherwise, if things went poorly, Netheril would be on the verge of splitting apart.

In reality, it might be more convenient for Xia Duo to ask Badijiaer directly, but Badijiaer likely didn't have much time to explain anything to him right now.

In any case, as long as he waited a few more days, everything would become clear.

……

After spending one last night in Seventon, Xia Duo and Niya returned to Nan Jing early the next morning; naturally, Depake, Jibusen, and Halun returned with them.

In Xia Duo's original plan, the itinerary had not been arranged this way; he had originally intended to stay in Seventon for a few more days with Niya, and if there was an opportunity, they could even go out to sea for some fun.

But with the Seven Cities Council breaking such big news, neither of them had the heart to play anymore, and on top of that, some bad news had come from the Territory.

Thus, on the second day after the Snow Melting Competition ended, the two of them headed straight home.

As for the Leisen Territory Lord, just as Xia Duo had expected, the other party did not appear in Seventon, but Xia Duo had already conveyed his wish to pay a visit through Councilor Bulundesi of the Arcane Union.

The son of the Leisen Territory Lord, the student of Great Arcanist Kelifu, Arcanist Stern, contacted Xia Duo personally to express his father's welcome for Xia Duo's visit on his behalf.

The two sides agreed to meet in the Leisen Territory in five days.

……

After returning to Nan Jing, Xia Duo's mood immediately lightened significantly.

Whether it was demons or Gnomes, these problems would not bother him for a considerable time, and he could freely do as he pleased.

However, there were plenty of annoying matters as well; Saier Town Mayor had entrusted a Mage from the Tower of Time to pass a message to Niya, saying that villagers from a village west of the Wofu Fort River had discovered Murlocs by the river.

The Murloc Tide incident from last year hadn't even been a year ago yet.

And now, with Murlocs discovered by the river again, this kind of thing was extremely sensitive for any resident of the Savile Territory, especially those living by the river.

The discoverers did not delay at all and immediately notified the Town Hall; by the time Saier Town Mayor arrived at the scene, the Territory Guard, who had arrived earlier, had already killed the two Murlocs that were discovered.

Yes, there were only two Murlocs.

At first, when Xia Duo was in Seventon and heard Niya say that Murlocs had appeared in the Territory again, he thought it was another Murloc Tide, but when he learned that there were actually only two Murlocs, he really didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

However, this served as a reminder to him; after the Murloc Tide last year, although the vast majority of Murlocs were wiped out by the wave of Negative Energy created by the Death Priest, there were certainly not a few that had slipped through the net.

Only about half a year had passed, and Murlocs had already made their way to the Savile Territory; if these Murlocs were given a few more years to breed, it would truly be difficult to manage.

Tower of Time, Niya's study.

Xia Duo brewed some tea and adjusted the window projection to an overhead view of the Wofu Fort River before saying to Niya: "It is currently spring, the season of renewal, but it is also the best time to control the Murloc population."

"What do you want to do?" Niya asked.

"Dispatch the Territory Guard to travel north by boat along the Wofu Fort River, focusing on clearing out the Murlocs that slipped through the net between the Savile Territory and Maihete Lake!"

Murlocs do have a very strong reproductive capacity, but that is under the condition of a large base population; if the base is small, can Murlocs really reach adulthood in a year and then reproduce every year?

Without the influence of special Magic, such a situation could not possibly happen.

Generally, it takes at least ten years for a Murloc to reach the reproductive stage; as long as they are continuously cleared during this period, once the total number drops to a certain level, it will be much easier to control them later.

This is different from Goblins; Goblins are already rampant, while Murlocs are not, their numbers are relatively limited, and the living environment of Murlocs is also different from that of Goblins.

Although they are amphibious and can come ashore, they cannot stay away from water sources, unlike Goblins, who can run everywhere once they stretch their legs.

In other words, as long as they are cleared along the river, sifting through it time and again, the Murlocs can be completely eradicated sooner or later, provided, of course, that they do not become a disaster.

The ocean is the true home of the Murlocs; even the largest inland rivers are very limited.

Of course, with the current strength of the Savile Territory, it is almost impossible to clear all the Murlocs nearby; what Xia Duo wants is merely to delay the time of a Murloc population explosion as much as possible.

If they are not cleared this year, the number of Murlocs will multiply several times next year, and again the year after that; by the time the new generation of Murlocs starts reproducing in ten years, it will be almost impossible to control, unless they go find a Death Priest to perform a few more Negative Energy Baptisms.

But that is clearly not very realistic; not to mention whether they can find a Death Priest capable of controlling a flood of Negative Energy, even if they found one, they would have to consider the risk of the Negative Energy spiraling out of control.

It would be better to start from the source and limit the Murloc population growth from the beginning.

……

After hearing Xia Duo's suggestion, Niya did not agree immediately, but instead thought about it seriously, only saying after a long while: "This method is very good, but the Savile Territory does not currently have the ability to do such a thing."

"Why?"

"Like you said, dispatching the Territory Guard to clear Murlocs along the river from the Savile Territory to Maihete Lake—this trip alone would require at least 50 soldiers, two ships, and at least two months; have you considered the expenses during this period?"

"Of course I have considered it; it would only be about ten thousand Gold Coins a month!" Xia Duo replied calmly.

"Is ten thousand Gold Coins not much?"

Niya widened her eyes and looked at Xia Duo in shock, "The Savile Territory's total net income for a year in the past was only about one hundred thousand Gold Coins! Spending like this, how could we save any money at all!"

To this, Xia Duo shook his head, "You said it yourself, that was last year; the Tower of Time now has an annual income of at least one million, so why worry about this mere tens of thousands of Gold Coins!"