Chapter 1241: Contract Credit, Thoughts on the Demon-Slaying Arrow

Regarding Xia Duo's quote, Charles Halan did not make any counteroffer and agreed immediately, then said with a look of difficulty:

"Lord Xia Duo, this order is very important to me. If you don't mind, I hope we can sign a Sacred Contract."

Generally, the higher the position a Spellcaster reaches, the more they avoid signing Sacred Contracts to prevent being exploited by those with ulterior motives.

Although being on the blacklist of the Lord of Radiance does not cause any substantial harm to spellcasting itself, the potential impact is enormous.

It is similar to the credit reporting of banks in Xia Duo's hometown; although it seems inconspicuous and lacks presence, it might cause obstacles at any moment.

Since crossing over, Xia Duo has only signed Sacred Contracts three or four times, but apart from the marriage contract with Niya, the others have already been completed and terminated.

Signing another one now is not something Xia Duo resists. Coming from a credit-based society, he actually quite approves of Sacred Contracts. As long as he is careful enough and the contract leaves room for maneuver, the positive aspects of a Sacred Contract can be fully utilized.

Although Xia Duo was not a professional lawyer before crossing over, being in that environment, he believes he understands the various terms of contracts and the potential hidden dangers no less than any legal envoy of the Lord of Radiance!

The complexity of the internal rules and phenomena of a society with a population of one billion far exceeds that of a small society like Netheril with a population of one million.

Xia Duo can be considered well-informed. If Lord Halan plays no tricks, that is fine; if he truly dares to play tricks, he will let the other party know what it means to be crushed by civilization.

……

The manufacturing contract was drafted entirely by Lord Halan, and Xia Duo just nodded. The contract did indeed have loopholes, but they were not aimed at him; rather, they were room left for both parties.

This is considered a standard practice for Sacred Contracts signed between Spellcasters. As long as one party is willing to pay a certain price, they can overturn the entire contract, which is equivalent to a breach-of-contract penalty.

As for how high this price is, it depends on the specific circumstances.

Without such a clause, almost no one above the rank of High Mage would dare to sign a Sacred Contract; this is almost clearly telling the other party that there is a conspiracy in the contract!

The manufacturing contract that Xia Duo signed with Lord Halan this time has a very high breach-of-contract penalty, over one million Gold Coins.

Even a Great Arcanist might not be able to produce such an amount of penalty at once, but both parties agreed that it could be paid with various materials, such as Mithril, Adamantine, Five-Colored Gem, or Arcane Crystal, at a price 30% lower than the market price.

A single breach would mean losing almost an entire Mage Tower. Under such circumstances, both parties naturally would not breach the contract easily.

……

After the contract was signed, the atmosphere in the Reception Room suddenly became relaxed, and both parties talked again about the initial purchase of the Halansaide estate.

"Lord Xia Duo, the estate can be handed over in advance, but I need to obtain at least one Demon-Slaying Arrow within three days."

"That's fine, no problem, but are you sure you want to customize Demon-Slaying Arrows for 300,000 Gold Coins?"

"Of course!"

Lord Halan nodded heavily, "To tell you the truth, Lord Xia Duo, for every Demon-Slaying Arrow, Prince Baside can prioritize receiving an order for a Demon-Slaying Amulet!"

"So that's it!"

Xia Duo understood now. A Demon-Slaying Arrow costs only forty or fifty thousand, and while he is not sure how much an order for a Demon-Slaying Amulet is worth, it certainly has a profit of more than forty or fifty thousand.

Correspondingly, the Dwarves gained a large number of Demon-Slaying Arrows without needing to pay almost any extra cost.

And these Demon-Slaying Arrows are used on the battlefield; as long as one Drow Mage or Drow Priest capable of summoning demons is killed, the demand for Demon-Slaying Amulets can also be greatly reduced.

If there are enough Demon-Slaying Arrows, perhaps there would be no need to purchase Demon-Slaying Amulets at all.

Of course, Demon-Slaying Arrows at forty or fifty thousand each cannot be used in large quantities like ordinary arrows, but this trend still makes Xia Duo feel worried.

The current Netheril is still largely in the stage of human-powered warfare, and even if Spellcasters engage in Joint Casting, it does not change this essence.

But Magic Arrows like the Demon-Slaying Arrow are different. Although the cost is high, they can be mass-produced and stockpiled, similar to missiles on Earth.

The most critical point is that the emergence of long-range heavy weapons will change the philosophy of war and simultaneously increase the cost of war.

This will allow the wealthy Elven and Dwarven Nations to use their wealth to overwhelm others.

Perhaps Cormanthor released the Demon-Slaying Arrow technology to show deterrence through such means; after all, they suffered heavy losses in the Drow War not long ago, and such deterrence is exactly what they need.

But there should also be technology to defend against Demon-Slaying Arrows, or supporting spells that go with them, as the Demon-Slaying Arrow has also effectively increased Netheril's war capabilities.

Cormanthor has no reason to give benefits without digging a pit.

The more Xia Duo thought about it, the more he felt there was a trap, but for a moment, he did not know where the trap was. Perhaps he really should study the Demon-Slaying Arrow carefully, as well as that Magic Arrow in his Personal Space!

It is a pity that a large part of the High Mage knowledge and experience Xia Duo obtained in the 【Projection Plane: Cormanthor Birth】 were personal achievements, and not much involved War Spells or war technology.

And strategic weapons like the "Demon-Slaying Arrow" were almost never seen in other Projection Planes, except for when he saw them in 【Projection Plane: Maiyuelita Sukanweisa】.

Perhaps it was lost, or perhaps it was hidden.

But at that time, Xia Duo was only a child when he projected into 【Maiyuelita Sukanweisa】 and could not come into contact with the secrets of war at all.

If he could have come into contact with them at will, the knowledge of the Mythallar and Mage Towers would be what he wanted to know most. After all, in that era, Magic Arrows were not rare or high-end; the Mythallar and Mage Towers were the main force of war.

It was just unexpected that Cormanthor in the Main Plane would suddenly bring out a "Demon-Slaying Arrow," and there is no telling how many hidden trump cards they still have. This made Xia Duo, who considered himself very knowledgeable about Cormanthor, somewhat panicked.

For the time being, the Demon-Slaying Arrow does not pose much of a threat to him, but that Magic Arrow in his Personal Space might be different. If it were in perfect condition, it might be able to kill a Senior Arcanist with one shot.

Of course, the spear and the shield are always waxing and waning. Xia Duo has had that Magic Arrow for quite some time, and he has some insights on how to defend against it.

But in any case, the threat level of the Elven Nations, especially Cormanthor, has been raised by more than one notch in his heart.

At the same time, the necessity of the Dwarves, who have no competition for living space with humans but can provide many complementary advantages, as allies has also risen by more than one notch.

This underground war must not let Danzo be destroyed!

In this regard, the help Xia Duo can provide is actually not much. Even if he needs allies, it is not his turn to go to the underground to fight in person. Doing a good job in logistics and support is his greatest contribution, and also the greatest support for Netheril!