Chapter 203: The Guest in the Inner Chamber

"Oh—" Feinuoweita suddenly wore a teasing, ambiguous expression on his face. "What did Lady Weilanse say?"

Weilanse was quite famous for her beauty in the capital of Cormanthor City, and the stories of her romantic affairs were countless; of course, the most important thing was that this lady was a High Mage.

In the capital, who didn't know that Aolando of the Star Dew Family had recently become a guest in Lady Weilanse's inner chambers? However, no one despised him for it; on the contrary, they were exceptionally envious.

Even Feinuoweita often sighed that he and his brother had similar appearances, so why couldn't he gain Lady Weilanse's favor!

*Cough—*

Aolando, being scrutinized by his younger brother with such an ambiguous gaze, couldn't help but cough lightly to slightly dispel the awkwardness, and only then said:

"Weilanse told me to be more restrained on the Netheril side."

Speaking of this, Aolando frowned. His recent actions on the human side were merely sending people to the Green Pearl Forest to search for the Star Dew Scepter; how could there be any major moves?

Moreover, what Weilanse said was "Netheril." He didn't believe a High Mage would be unable to distinguish between "Netheril" and "Green Pearl Forest"!

Or could it be that there would be some change on the Netheril side that could actually affect him, who was in Cormanthor City?

Aolando was puzzled, and Feinuoweita was also very confused, even suspecting that his brother was hiding something. "Just this? Anything else?"

"Just this." Aolando's tone changed. "You don't really think that because I climbed into Weilanse's bed, she would tell me everything, do you? Remember, the power of outsiders is ultimately hollow. If you have the mind to think about these things, you'd be better off thinking about how to become a High Mage. Your talent is very good; don't let me down!"

"Yes." Feinuoweita lowered his head.

"Alright, no need to be so serious." Aolando adjusted the Magic Array in the courtyard with a wave of his hand, and a trace of cheerful music drifted from afar.

Feinuoweita also raised his head, looking at the brightly lit Cormanthor City beneath his feet, looking at the Elves walking to and fro on the ground, and suddenly he understood something.

The Star Dew Family sat high above the clouds, but there were countless Elves below wanting to step on them to climb up. The family's only support was that High Mage who was about to return to the realm of Arvandor.

Once that person left, perhaps the Star Dew Family would fall from the clouds.

Whether it was searching for the Star Dew Scepter or befriending other High Mages, Aolando was doing it all for this family. Feinuoweita suddenly wanted to share some of the burden, and he looked at his brother and said solemnly:

"Brother, let me go search for the Star Dew Scepter!"

Aolando turned back. In his younger brother's eyes, he did not see resentment or an eagerness to show off, but rather a trace of steadiness and responsibility.

Aolando thought for a moment, and this time he finally did not refuse, but still reminded him: "The Family Guard in the Green Pearl Forest is handed over to you to command. Weilanse's warning surely isn't without reason. If possible, try not to have conflicts with humans, but this ultimately involves the Star Dew Scepter; you weigh for yourself to what extent you should go."

"By the way, there is a small family on the border that seems to be inquiring about the Green Pearl Forest. It is estimated that they were commissioned by humans. Go over and warn them to stop meddling!"

"Yes." Feinuoweita nodded heavily, then turned and left.

And not long after Feinuoweita left, Aolando's figure also gradually merged into the night.

On the other side, after Xia Duo got the map of the Green Pearl Forest and returned to his residence, he immediately spread the map out on his desk. This map was very large, almost covering more than half of the desk.

Starting from Savile Territory in the north, reaching the foot of Wofu God Mountain in the south, the west was the Wolfburg River that ran north and south, and the east merged into the Eastern Forest without boundaries.

Or rather, the Green Pearl Forest was originally a part of the Eastern Forest, but this piece south of Savile Territory was called the "Green Pearl Forest."

The map was very clear, as if it had been taken from a high altitude and then artificially embellished to highlight various landmarks.

Seeing this map, Xia Duo thought of modern maps on Earth. Except for not having a scale, this map was actually not much different from modern maps on Earth.

Xia Duo found the places he had walked through during the Orc War last year almost at a glance.

For such a precise map, besides Magic, Xia Duo couldn't think of any other possibility. It wasn't that he hadn't seen ordinary maps in the Library, but those maps were very abstract.

Most of them only had some routes; things like terrain or landmarks were almost non-existent, and if they did exist, they were just things the creator thought of on a whim.

For example, a circle with a dot in the center might refer to a symbol the creator carved on a tree. As for where the tree was, only the creator knew.

Of course, it could also refer to a stone in a certain place, but as long as there was no set of common marking standards, it was impossible to use someone else's map directly.

Now that the lord had given him this map, it was probably a display of the lord's sincerity.

Xia Duo casually pulled a piece of hemp thread from his clothes and made a two-inch loop. Given a fixed circumference, a circle has the largest area. Enclosing land, enclosing land, of course, one wants to enclose a circular piece of land.

First, he gestured on the map a few times. By comparing some familiar terrain, Xia Duo roughly judged that the land the lord promised to give him was not small.

It was a circle with a diameter of about 5 li. If one only looked at it from the map, this circle only occupied a very small part of the Green Pearl Forest.

But the reality was that Xia Duo was very worried about how much he could develop within three years. According to the development standards on that Gold Paper Document for "Pioneer," it required immigrant production and self-sufficiency.

The lord might give him slightly relaxed conditions, but they would definitely not be much looser. Thinking about it now, the lord promising that the part exceeding 5 li developed within three years would also count as his might just have been a casual remark, not believing Xia Duo could do it.

To develop a territory in the forest, first of all, how to clear the trees within that 5-li diameter was a huge problem.

Fortunately, the Three-Year Agreement was only a partial incentive. If Xia Duo had no ambition, he could just develop this 5-li land slowly.

With this territory, there would be no need to go play with Trolls, Gnolls, and Orcs near Kangqi City; that would truly be too deadly.

Regarding the choice of the territory's location, Xia Duo had two considerations: one was development potential, and the other was transportation convenience.

Synthesizing them, Xia Duo had two choices. One was the stretch from Savile Territory to Kangnifeila City. If there was a place for caravans to rest halfway, then it would surely be profitable, and it would also be convenient for immigrants.

The other was similar to Savile Territory, following the Wolfburg River south to find a place by the river, mainly using water transportation. Moreover, there was a Basin Lake in the lower reaches of the Wolfburg River, with nice scenery, and Netherese often went there for sightseeing and vacations.

Having more places to rest on the road would surely be excellent. At that time, he could build a Villa District like Savile Territory and engage in real estate.

Of course, this would have to wait until his Mage Tower was built to do it this way; otherwise, no one would want their villa to be precarious.

Thinking and thinking, Xia Duo couldn't help but laugh out loud.