Chapter 1658: Setting the Contract, Functional Platforms

"Yes, yes!" Lord Leisen hurriedly shouted.

He had been too excited just now and almost forgot about this; compared to the airship, he was actually more concerned about this crude refining furnace modification plan.

"However, let us first establish the contract, and then we can talk about this plan!"

With the previous airship plan as a foundation, Lord Leisen no longer doubted whether Lord Xia Duo could produce a crude refining furnace modification plan; having already let the other party state one plan, he could not take advantage again.

Only by establishing the contract first could this matter be truly finalized.

"Very well."

Xia Duo did not object; although he did not think Lord Leisen would go back on his word, being able to establish the contract first was more in line with his own interests, but—

"Regarding the content of the contract, I feel it still needs some adjustments!"

"Adjustments?" Lord Leisen's expression changed, seemingly thinking of the possibility of the other party lowering the price again, and he could not help but ask in a deep voice, "I wonder what content Lord Xia Duo wishes to adjust?"

"The price. 300 Gold Coins per pound for Standard Mithril can certainly cover most of the costs, but this does not achieve a win-win goal. I believe 350 Gold Coins per pound is more reasonable."

"He is actually raising the price?!" Lord Leisen was greatly surprised in his heart.

And next, Xia Duo continued: "Considering the fluctuations in Mithril prices, and according to my speculation, the price of Mithril may rise in the future, and all costs may increase accordingly. I believe that renegotiating once a year is also in line with the goal of mutual benefit for both parties."

What Xia Duo needed was a reliable partner for long-term cooperation, not a trading object for a one-time transaction.

Taking the initiative to raise the price seemed like a loss, but it could secure a more stable supply of Mithril. If he were bent on suppressing the price, he might gain quite a bit in the short term, but after this order, would they be able to continue cooperating?

Even if they could cooperate, it would only cause resentment to accumulate deeper and deeper.

Xia Duo followed the Kingly Way, not the Hegemonic Way; he valued public welfare, not private gain.

Starting this way was difficult, but the momentum would be long-lasting, just like his hometown—although the heritage was often interrupted, there were always benevolent people and men of high ideals to continue it, which undoubtedly had the influence of the Kingly Way philosophy.

Put into modern terms, one sentence explains it: "Representing the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people."

Cooperation is naturally aimed at a win-win, not one person winning twice. The saying "those who follow the Dao receive much support, those who lose the Dao receive little" can also be applied here.

Lord Leisen did not expect that besides raising the price, Xia Duo would also offer the lenient condition of renegotiating once a year, which left him at a loss for words, and it was a long time before he managed to squeeze out:

"Lord Xia Duo, you really are a special person!"

Although he was not sure what the purpose of Lord Xia Duo doing this was, or if it was for a win-win as the other party said, at least at this moment, he believed Lord Xia Duo was a very trustworthy person, very suitable for cooperation!

Next, in a friendly atmosphere, both parties completed the signing of the order agreement.

"By the way, Lord Xia Duo, I wonder what use you have for purchasing so much Mithril? Of course, if it is inconvenient, just pretend I never asked."

"I am preparing to build a new Mage Tower, and there is also the consumption of the Tower of Time."

Xia Duo was not lying; he did indeed want to build a Mage Tower. Seeing that this month was almost over, the Northern Magic Restriction Treaty would take effect on the fourth day of next month.

And his Floating City did not even have its flight control system built yet. Of course, if he rushed, he could still drag the Floating City out of the 【Blue Crystal Plane】 before the fourth of next month.

But why bother?

Anyway, no matter how he rushed, it would certainly be impossible to finish everything. Rather than dragging it out now to attract attention, it would be better to wait until it was completely finished before bringing it out.

Another issue was the 【Mythallar】.

The one currently in the Blue Crystal Plane was experimental; it could certainly be used for the Floating City, but doing so would inevitably affect the subsequent output of Arcane Crystals.

And the output of Arcane Crystals was related to the efficiency of building 【Mythallar】s.

In that case, it would be better to build a few 【Mythallar】 devices first; this way, they could be used as backup Energy Centers for the Floating City without affecting the subsequent output of Arcane Crystals, and in fact, it would increase it.

Anyway, there were a mountain of things to do, and he certainly could not pull the Floating City out before the fourth of next month.

However, in the Territory, the capacity of the Tower of Time was already nearing its limit, and the Midsummer Festival at the end of next month would recruit a batch of New Apprentices, which required a new place to house them.

Of course, the Mage Tower Xia Duo wanted to build was not just to house the New Apprentices, but was an important component of the Floating City.

In Xia Duo's design, the spherical Floating City would have several Floating Platforms on its periphery, serving as functional platforms for temporary docking, inspection, or the installation of offensive weapons for outsiders.

The Mage Tower he was going to build now was for towing and anchoring these Floating Platforms, and it was quite different from a normal Mage Tower.

To summarize, it was roughly—single function, low cost, simple construction.

But occasionally modifying a special towing tower that possessed some functions of a normal Mage Tower was also possible, especially in the current situation.

Regarding Xia Duo's explanation, Lord Leisen had no doubts; after all, a Mage Tower befitting the status of a Great Arcanist indeed consumed a lot, and he had often heard of the reputation of the Tower of Time's Communication Magic Tools in the Leisen Territory.

Buying more Mithril to use as a strategic reserve was also completely understandable.

Leaving the Leisen Territory, the sense of resource crisis that had been lingering in Xia Duo's heart finally receded. As long as no accidents occurred, the first Floating City should be secure.

After returning to Seventon.

Xia Duo began preparing for the trip to Jilan Tower two days later. This was quite simple: just make a culture vessel with the Clone Technique attached.

Previously, whether in the Projection Plane or at the Tower of Time, he had made more than one, so he could be considered experienced.

It was how to proceed after returning to Nan Jing that needed careful planning; this trip had taken a bit long, exceeding his initial plan.

First was the Mage Tower; because it was being built on the Main Plane, most of the metamagic operations needed to be completed before the Northern Magic Restriction Treaty took effect.

Of course, overtime was not a very serious matter; it would merely consume his already limited metamagic quota. He would settle this account with the Elves sooner or later.

Secondly, this trip taking a long time was not without benefits; at least the output of Arcane Crystals in the Blue Crystal Plane had not stopped. By the time he returned, he could almost simultaneously manufacture 【Mythallar】 devices.

As for the construction of the flight control system, this was a major project, no simpler than building a 【Mythallar】 device.

But its main trouble did not lie in the final Spellcasting stage, but in the preceding step of arranging the Mithril Components, and this part could actually be helped by Niya, Aiboke, and others.

For Xia Duo personally, it would be much easier.