Chapter 1656: Cultivating Upstream Resources and Ideological Differences

Building, accumulating, and expanding simultaneously is the only way to maximize efficiency.

Of course, this is merely Xia Duo's current estimate; as the construction schedule progresses, he might have new ideas, and perhaps expenses will increase again.

After all, he is building the first Floating City primarily for experimental purposes, so it is certainly impossible to create something perfectly refined right away.

Furthermore, there are different ways to handle things depending on the amount of money available.

Clearly, if all areas where Standard Mithril could be used were replaced with High-Grade Mithril, it would undoubtedly make the Floating City perform better.

According to Xia Duo's current estimate, if using Standard Mithril, at least about 100,000 pounds would be needed, but if using High-Grade Mithril, the quantity might be less, though the price could be several times higher.

Although Xia Duo has already mastered the technology to refine High-Grade Mithril, he has never considered using it exclusively for construction.

He only intends to use High-Grade Mithril at certain key nodes where energy flows at high frequencies, thereby reducing the rate of Elemental Transmutation reactions.

……

Soon, Xia Duo, accompanied by Lord Leisen, finished touring the Three-Furnace Workshop; the finished product produced by this workshop is not yet Standard Mithril, but rather 【Silver-Mithril】 ingots.

As for the subsequent refining process, although Lord Leisen did not say, Xia Duo is someone who has purchased Netherese Mithril Refining Technology from Seventon, so he is well aware that this step can be carried out entirely within a Mage Tower, which is also safer.

In fact, even for ordinary Mithril Mine, Xia Duo could refine them within a Mage Tower.

The 【Element Extraction】 he obtained from the Projection Plane can be used to refine High-Grade Mithril, and naturally, it can also refine Standard Mithril, but using this method to refine Mithril results in greater losses the lower the purity of the sample.

If refined directly from ore, it is very likely that the costs would exceed the returns.

It is instead less cost-effective than using it solely to refine High-Grade Mithril; of course, if it is just for an emergency, it is still quite good.

……

After leaving the smelting workshop, Xia Duo and Lord Leisen returned to the Mage Tower, where Xia Duo formally proposed an offer to purchase Standard Mithril.

"I wonder how much Lord Xia Duo intends to purchase?"

"About 200,000 pounds!"

"So much?!"

Lord Leisen's eyes widened instantly; the monthly output of 500 pounds he had just mentioned to Lord Xia Duo was indeed conservative, but it was absolutely not enough to easily swallow such a large order.

If calculated solely based on current production capacity, this would essentially cover the entire output for the next twenty years!

Lord Leisen very much wanted to agree, but he still shook his head firmly, "Lord Xia Duo, it is not that I do not want to accept such an order, but I am truly powerless. Even if all the Mithril Mine in Leisen Territory were mined out, it might not be possible to smelt 200,000 pounds of Standard Mithril. If the quantity were smaller, Leisen Territory would have some reserves, but with this much—"

"Lord Leisen, no need to rush to refuse. This quantity is, of course, not for you to provide all at once. Even if you could provide it all at once, I could not afford the money for these 200,000 pounds of Standard Mithril. You can treat it as a long-term order."

Declaring 200,000 pounds of Standard Mithril all at once was, of course, not something Xia Duo said casually, but the result of careful consideration.

Leisen Territory has the potential to become a major Mithril smelting plant, and as a future major consumer of Mithril, it is naturally necessary for Xia Duo to cultivate upstream resource suppliers who are close to his side.

Providing stable orders is undoubtedly a way of cultivation.

Before coming, he had originally thought that ordering ten or twenty thousand would be enough, and the rest could be left to the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce or other territories that produce Standard Mithril.

But after arriving at Leisen Territory, he noticed that Leisen Territory had already begun purchasing external Mithril Mine and had started on the path of resource integration; since that is the case, it would be better to deepen the cooperation.

After all, Xia Duo and the Great Arcanist Kelifu behind Leisen Territory share a life-and-death friendship, and it is basically certain that Kelifu, as a believer in the Lord of Radiance, will at least not become his enemy in the future.

Of course, if Xia Duo were to become an enemy of the Lord of Radiance, then Kelifu might have to stand on the opposite side of him.

Such a situation is, of course, possible; after all, during the Midsummer Festival last year, he had debated with the Lord of Radiance, leading to the withdrawal of Laidun's Divine Grace.

The greatest ideological difference between Xia Duo and the Lord of Radiance lies in whether the spirit of legislation is needed; Xia Duo's view is, of course, that it is needed.

And the Lord of Radiance, although not saying whether it is needed or not, clearly believes it is not needed based on the Doctrine approved by the other party.

However, this ideological difference does not involve the core tenets of the Lord of Radiance and can even be understood as a positive extension of the Lord of Radiance's philosophy.

As long as the other party is not foolish, it is basically unlikely that they will become enemies; at most, they will simply not respond to the calls and Perception of Xia Duo and his associates.

And judging by the fact that the Holy Light on the Code Sculpture in the territory square is still present, at least it has not reached that point yet.

As for what the future holds, one can only take it one step at a time; in any case, the possibility of hostility is not high.

And now, Xia Duo can also safely cooperate with Lord Leisen within Kelifu's camp.

……

Regarding such a long-term order, Lord Leisen would undoubtedly not refuse; he produces so much Mithril, he certainly cannot use it all himself, and if he doesn't sell it, is he supposed to keep it to hatch eggs?

The only problem now is the purchase price.

However, before discussing the price, Xia Duo took out a Measurement Artifact that uses Daxia Standard Weights and Measures. This artifact is, of course, unencrypted, intended to make it easier for other Mages to learn the relevant measurement spells and achieve the goal of promotion.

"Lord Leisen, if possible, I hope our transaction can be calculated using the measurement standards of the Tower of Time."

"The measurement standards of the Tower of Time?"

Lord Leisen glanced at the Magic Item Xia Duo placed on the table. He has lost his ability for Spellcasting, so his Magic Vision naturally cannot exist, but being inside a Mage Tower, he can still use the Mage Tower to make some simple judgments.

He could see that the Magic Item should be a Measurement Artifact; there is no problem with that, but he still had doubts about whether to accept the standards of the Tower of Time.

After all, if Kelifu's camp does not use the Radiant Standard, it would indeed be a bit inappropriate.

Xia Duo saw Lord Leisen's dilemma and did not insist, instead putting away the Measurement Artifact, "If it is difficult for Lord Leisen, then pretend I never mentioned it."

In fact, he believes that with the high order and logic of the Daxia Standard Weights and Measures, it is more likely to be favored by the Lord of Radiance, and he plans to have Laidun "offer" it during this year's Midsummer Festival.

The Lord of Radiance may not care about the spirit of legislation, but he does care about the Law itself. Weights and measures are undoubtedly Law and order, and they are clearly superior to the Radiant Standard.

Xia Duo speculates that even if the Lord of Radiance does not send down an Oracle to change the measurement standards, at least he will be able to let the Priests perceive his tacit permission.

In this way, it might not be difficult for Leisen Territory to accept it.

By then, it might instead be those organizations, forces, and camps that do not believe in the Lord of Radiance that will choose to resist the Daxia Standard for various reasons.

Gains and losses sometimes reverse back and forth.