Chapter 2091: Relying on Foreigners to Bolster One's Position, Invitation from a Noble Person

"To be honest with Lord Xia Duo, I have actually long had the idea of stopping the smuggling here in Cormanthor. This time can also be considered an opportunity; after all, this kind of under-the-table business is truly too unsettling."

"If Lord Xia Duo is willing to help facilitate this, I am willing to share the profits of the ancient spices with you."

The latter part of this statement was somewhat blunt, but Xia Duo knew very well that for the Elves, the symbolic significance of ancient spices might outweigh their practical value, and also outweigh the money paid for them.

It is impossible for the Elves to allow a human to control something that represents their own glorious past. Whether it be spices or anything else, they would certainly find a way to obtain it.

Perhaps when Lord Collins heard the conditions proposed by the Cormanthor side, he realized that he could not monopolize the ancient spices. Today it is Cormanthor, tomorrow it could be another Elf nation.

Rather than passively waiting for unknown means that might arrive at any time, it is better to proactively sell at a good price. In the long run, it might not be impossible to reap greater benefits.

Xia Duo considered it and ultimately agreed, not only because of the profit-sharing proposed by Lord Collins, but also because he wanted to use this to deepen his relationship with the Small Nations Alliance led by Evereska.

The Seven Towers have the intention to construct an Ascension Order, and there is no way Xia Duo could ever see eye-to-eye with them. Coupled with the rapid development of his own Territory, the two sides are very likely to head toward a rupture in the end.

Unless the Seven Towers abandon the Ascension Order, or Xia Duo forgets his original intentions, this final outcome is likely difficult to change. But even if it cannot be changed, Xia Duo hopes that day comes as late as possible, allowing him to make full preparations.

Therefore, the relationship with the Small Nations Alliance within the Northland Alliance helps externally to consolidate Netheril's voice within the Alliance, and internally, it also helps him maintain a balance of power with the Seven Towers.

To use an inappropriate analogy, it is basically "relying on foreigners to bolster one's own position"!

Additionally, although the Small Nations Alliance has little national power, its foundation may not be small. Didn't Xia Duo previously obtain several Dragon Madness Secret Scrolls in Akaola? Perhaps he could even find clues about the Dragon Madness Mythallar Control Center there!

"Lord Collins, I am preparing to travel to Cormanthor recently. On the way to Yierlan afterwards, I might pass through Evereska. At that time, I will mention this matter to Elder Laruian!"

"Lord Xia Duo's itinerary takes priority. Just keep this matter in mind; I am not in a hurry."

Although he said he was not in a hurry, Xia Duo heard a trace of anxiety in the other party's words. However, he did not promise anything else and soon ended the communication.

……

Floating City, Public Zone.

On a terrace near Hengchun Square, Xia Duo and Niya sat side by side on a comfortable soft chair, quietly watching the ground scenery that had been shifted to the sky above their heads through spatial transformation.

The clear and azure Taisha River, like a jade belt, flowed out from between the mountains southwest of Kangnifeila City, winding eastward until it extended into the distance, finally merging into a long, narrow lake.

Of course, in the geographical concepts of the Elves, that place is called "Yuehai," but it is actually not even as large as the Narrow Sea, and even the Narrow Sea is still a long way off from the truly vast and boundless ocean in Xia Duo's mind.

"Is that the trace left by the Drow War the year before last?" Niya asked Xia Duo, pointing to a large area of nearly pitch-black land that the Taisha River flowed through.

Even though early winter had arrived, there were still specks of green in the forest. This was even more obvious within Cormanthor; those nearly pitch-black lands formed a very sharp contrast with the surrounding colors, which were either withered yellow or emerald green.

It is no wonder Niya noticed them at the first moment!

"It should be. I heard that after the Drow crossed the Taisha River at that time, they used large-scale life-extinguishing spells. I just didn't expect that a large number of unrecoverable traces would still exist there to this day."

In fact, it is not just the land where life was extinguished. If one looks carefully, one can also see a large number of city ruins south of the Taisha River, and north of the Taisha River, there are also quite a few fortress ruins, but there is even more destruction caused to the environment by war spells.

It has not been fully repaired even now; one can imagine that Cormanthor must have suffered a severe blow in that battle.

No wonder they were so impatient to promote the establishment of the Northland Alliance, even going so far as to pull in Yinerfalang, who was hostile to them.

And no wonder that among all the member states of the Northland Alliance, it is Cormanthor that provides the greatest support to the front line of the Dan Zuo battlefield in the Underdark.

In Netheril, the only real cities are basically Seventon, or perhaps territories that some Great Arcanists have managed for a long time; the vast majority of the rest are towns.

But within Cormanthor, cities occupy an absolute dominant position, or to put it another way, just from the surface, Cormanthor is a city-state nation composed of various cities.

And this is also a typical characteristic of Elf nations: centered on a city (Mythallar), with a number of satellite villages scattered around it.

But those villages do not serve the necessary agricultural needs of the city; they are just simple settlements for rural Commoners. The city's agricultural needs are provided almost entirely by Druids, right on the edge of the city.

The villages are located in the forest, truly adhering to Nature, and many are still in a primitive state of self-sufficiency. Although the Elves in those villages know that there are cities around them, they and the Elves in the city can almost be said to be two completely different species!

……

As the Floating City traveled eastward, Xia Duo was also explaining to Niya the various ins and outs within Elf society. Those rules and orders, whether overt or covert, are actually no different in essence from those within human society.

Even because they are longer-lived than humans, Elf society has long been in a state of ossification or even perversion. Perhaps there are noble and beautiful aspects, but its rotten and depraved aspects definitely exceed human imagination.

However, Xia Duo did not describe in detail exactly how the Elves are perverted; he just mentioned it briefly to avoid polluting Niya's ears and eyes.

And during the flight eastward, Xia Duo would occasionally land on the ground with Niya to observe or even experience the living conditions of the Elves at close range in Elf cities or villages.

What Niya felt most regretful about was that Xia Duo would not let her physical body go down, and she could only go via a Projection, which made many experiences somewhat distorted.

……

Soon, guided by the pass, the Floating City arrived above a city area that was larger in area than all the cities it had passed before.

In this city area, the most eye-catching things were the three high towers in the center of the city. Although this was Xia Duo's first time here, he was not at all unfamiliar with those three towers.

Those were special magical buildings created by three Elf divine swords.

Xia Duo had passed the divine sword trial in 【Projection Plane: Cormanthor Birth】, thereby becoming the Sole True King of the emerging Cormanthor. At that time, he had created a Tower of Governance through the 【Sword of Ruling】.

Now there are three towers here; clearly, all three divine sword holders had created their own high towers.

Just as Xia Duo was lamenting how things had changed, the Cormanthor side sent him an invitation via the pass—a noble person wanted to see him!