Chapter 2092: Backhand, Retainers

"I will not hide it from Lord Xia Duo, but I have actually long had the idea of stopping my smuggling operations here in Cormanthor. This time can 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 value of ancient spices might be greater than their practical value, and greater than 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 is spices or anything else, they must surely find a way to obtain it.

Perhaps when Kelinsi heard the conditions proposed by the Cormanthor side, he realized that he could not monopolize the ancient spices. Today it is Cormanthor, and 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 for 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 Kelinsi, but also because he wanted to use this to deepen his relationship with the Small Nations Alliance led by Evereska.

The Seven Towers intends to build 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 eventually head toward a rupture.

Unless the Seven Towers abandons 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 consolidate Netheril's voice within the Alliance externally, and internally, it also helps him maintain a balance of power with the Seven Towers.

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

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

"Lord Collins, I am preparing to travel to Cormanthor recently, and I might pass through Evereska on my way to Yierlan later. I will mention this matter to Elder Laruian then!"

"Lord Xia Duo's itinerary is the 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 moved to the sky above their heads due to space transformation.

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

Of course, in the geographical concepts of the Elves, that place is called the "Yuehai," but it is actually not 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 spots 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 there would still be a large number of unrecoverable traces 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 there are also many fortress ruins north of the Taisha River, but there is even more destruction caused to the environment by war spells.

It has not been fully repaired even now, so one can imagine that Cormanthor must have been severely damaged in that war.

No wonder they were so eager to facilitate the establishment of the Northland Alliance, even going so far as to pull in Yierlan, which was hostile to them.

And no wonder that among all the member states of the Northland Alliance, Cormanthor 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 Commoners in the countryside. The agricultural needs of the city are almost entirely provided by Druids, right next to the city.

The villages are located in the forest, truly close 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 moved eastward, Xia Duo was also explaining to Niya the various ins and outs of Elf society. Those rules and orders, whether explicit or implicit, 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 specifically describe exactly how the Elves are perverted; he just mentioned it briefly to avoid tainting 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 as 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 they had passed before.

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

They are special magic 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 have 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!