Chapter 2116: Seeking Cooperation and Resource Control

After leaving the Golden Autumn Courtyard, Xia Duo returned directly to the Floating City, but by the afternoon, news came from the Elves that Yinsteliya, Chief Advisor to Crown King Helien, had invited him to a meeting.

If it were any other consultant, Xia Duo could easily decline, but he found it difficult to refuse Yinsteliya's invitation; this was, of course, not because of the other party's title as Chief Advisor to the Crown King, which was actually more of an honorary title.

Yinsteliya was not actually a follower or subordinate of Crown King Helien, but rather a Mage Leader of Yierlan whose status was on par with, or even more transcendent than, the Crown King.

Under Yierlan's new system, this was a position similar to that of Yinaole in Netheril—an arbiter; the title of Chief Advisor was merely a means for Crown King Helien to show respect or, in other words, to win the other party over.

In reality, Yinsteliya also held a seat on the High Tree Elder Council of Yierlan, which could be regarded as an "Honorary Elder."

For an Elf of this status to want to see him, it was naturally impossible for Xia Duo to decline casually; it was clear that this was the true "hospitality" from the Yierlan side, similar to the invitation from Kelanni back in Comanthyr.

After briefly pondering the elements the other party might bring up after they met, Xia Duo set off from the Floating City.

Moreover, unlike the high-profile Pegasus procession when attending the banquet yesterday, this time the Yierlan side had specifically prepared a curtained flying carriage capable of avoiding the gaze of the common people, and without any detours, it went straight from the Floating City to the palace.

A short while later, Xia Duo was sitting opposite Yinsteliya, and through the decorations on the walls surrounding this reception hall, he sensed that more than one Elf was observing him with the aid of Spells.

Combined with Yinsteliya's identity, it was not hard to guess that these were likely Crown King Helien and representatives of the Council.

Because it was a private meeting, Xia Duo did not intend to beat around the bush with the other party, so he went straight to the point and asked: "Master Yinsteliya, you summoned me here—may I ask what your instructions are?"

"Lord Xia Duo, although I have long known your appearance, the moment I saw you in person, your youth still surprised me greatly. With an existence like you in Netheril, it is hard for it not to grow and flourish!"

Such sycophantic flattery, while somewhat superfluous, was indeed quite gratifying to Xia Duo, and it also caused his slightly confrontational mindset to relax a little.

Yinsteliya then said: "The reason for inviting Lord Xia Duo to a private meeting this time is mainly because there are a few matters that Crown King Helien and the Council have unanimously agreed are best discussed with you. Of course, there is also some personal motive of mine involved."

"Please speak plainly, Master Yinsteliya!"

"First—" Yinsteliya paused, seemingly communicating with the observers outside the reception hall, before continuing:

"It is the issue of the Demon Descendants. Now, the Demon Descendants have become the greatest threat to the Northland Alliance, and Yierlan hopes to conduct deeper cooperation with Netheril regarding the issue of the Demon Descendants."

The issue of the Demon Descendants was a cliché for Elven nations; Xia Duo was not at all surprised that the other party brought this up first, but he did not represent Netheril on this trip, so he gave a very official stance:

"I will convey Yierlan's opinions to the Seven Towers. Based on my understanding of the Demon Descendants, I think the Seven Towers would be very willing to accept such cooperation."

Although it was not yet certain on the side of the Seven Towers, they had already determined that the Demon Descendants might threaten the safety of the entire world, and they intended to carry out more cooperation with the various countries of the Northland within the framework of the Northland Alliance; if all went well, this request from Yierlan should be satisfied.

"The second matter also involves a major crisis in the Northland, which is the climate anomaly. Although Yierlan's grain production has not yet been affected at this stage, it is hard to say what will happen in the future. Therefore, the Crown King and the Council hope to obtain Eriwen seeds and cold-resistance blessing Spells from Netheril."

Yinsteliya spoke of worries about future grain yield reductions without changing expression. Xia Duo was somewhat surprised by this; he had originally thought that the Elves, protected by a Mythallar, would not care about the cold-resistant seeds developed by Master Eriwen!

However, upon closer thought, it was not hard to understand. No one could guarantee to what extent the climate anomaly in the Northland would develop in the future. While a Mythallar could maintain a certain planting environment, if this environment differed significantly from the outside world, the efficiency and durability of the Mythallar would be affected.

In other words, planting cold-resistant seeds (or perhaps heat-resistant seeds, of course) would be more energy-efficient and cost-effective at that time.

As for the blessing Spells, it went without saying; even if they weren't used and were only taken for research, it was pure profit, especially since the Elves were more skilled in the Domain of Life. Xia Duo would not be surprised at all if one day they completed improvements and surpassed the original Spell.

By then, it might be Netheril seeking help from Yierlan or other Elven nations.

After pondering for a moment, Xia Duo did not express his own views this time, only saying that he would convey Yierlan's opinions to the Seven Towers, to which Yinsteliya also expressed understanding.

……

Then came the third matter, which was also somewhat beyond Xia Duo's expectations—

Yierlan intended to renegotiate the previous Tri-Nation Mithral Agreement with Netheril and Dan Zuo.

But one had to know that the initial Tri-Nation Mithral Agreement had already been changed around the time the Northland Alliance was established. With Yierlan wanting to renegotiate the Mithral Agreement again this time, Xia Duo almost subconsciously thought that Yierlan wanted to scheme regarding the export of High-Grade Mithril.

One had to know that in the past, besides archaeological excavations of ruins, Netheril's greatest source of High-Grade Mithril was Yierlan, or more accurately, the Moonhorn Family where Xierdalanna belonged.

Although Netheril now possessed the technology to refine Mithril, and the Mithril Mines within the country were no longer subject to mandatory export restrictions under the Tri-Nation Mithral Agreement, most of the source of High-Grade Mithril would still rely on imports if things went as expected.

Now that internal reform in Yierlan was a foregone conclusion, it was unlikely that a centralized regime would allow the Moonhorn Family to continue monopolizing the lucrative trade of High-Grade Mithril, even though the Moonhorn Family must have previously obtained permission from most of the Upper Families.

Yet, the control of strategic resources was also an important process of centralized reform; it was impossible to let one family monopolize it forever.

Xia Duo had long anticipated this, but he hadn't expected this day to come so soon, even though he had already mastered Mithril Refining Technology, including the continuous purification of High-Grade Mithril.

But his source of Mithril was not self-produced; it was purchased from other Territories or merchant guilds. Once Yierlan made a decision unfavorable to Netheril's import of High-Grade Mithril, it would inevitably affect the price of Mithril within Netheril.

This was very obvious; once Netheril could not obtain a stable supply of High-Grade Mithril, it would seek self-production, and the production of High-Grade Mithril caused great loss to the Mithril itself, and this was unavoidable.

It would only decrease with improvements in refining technology and craftsmanship!

Under such circumstances, how could Xia Duo not be affected? Unless Netheril discovered several super-rich mines, the kind that wouldn't run out for hundreds or thousands of years, or used its own mines.

The former was not very realistic, and he was reluctant to do the latter, as he wanted to keep them as strategic reserves.

"This is reality—"

Xia Duo sighed in his heart; it was just as the hometown idiom said: "Heaven will rain, and mothers will remarry."