"To be honest with Lord Chateau, I have actually had the idea of stopping smuggling in Cormanso for a long time, and this time is an opportunity. After all, this kind of secret business is really uneasy.
"If Lord Xia Duo is willing to help broker the deal, I am willing to share the benefits of ancient spices with you."
The last words were a bit explicit, but Xia Duo knew very well that the symbolic meaning of ancient spices to elves may be greater than the practical value, and also greater than the money paid.
It is impossible for the elves to let a human master something that represents their glorious past. Whether it is spices or something else, they must find a way to get it.
Perhaps when Collins heard the conditions proposed by Cormanthor, he realized that he could not monopolize the ancient spices. Today it is Cormanthor, and tomorrow it may be other elven countries.
Instead of passively waiting for unknown means that will arrive at an unknown time, it is better to take the initiative to buy at a good price. In the long run, you may not be unable to reap greater benefits.
Chateau thought about it and finally agreed, not only because of the benefit sharing proposed by Collins, but also because he wanted to use this to deepen his relationship with the alliance of small countries headed by Everesca.
The Seven Pagodas intend to build an order of divine ascension. There is no way that Xia Duo will piss in the same pot with them. Coupled with the rapid development of their own territory, the two sides are likely to break up in the end.
Unless the Seven Towers give up the order of divine ascension, or Sha Duo forgets his original intention, it may be difficult to change the final result. But even if it cannot be changed, Sha Duo hopes that day will come as late as possible so that he can be fully prepared.
So the relationship with the alliance of small countries in the Northland Alliance will help consolidate Netheril's voice in the alliance externally, and it will also help it maintain the balance of power with the Seven Towers internally.
To use an inappropriate analogy, it is probably "relying on foreigners' self-respect"!
In addition, although the small country alliance has a small national power, it may not have a small foundation. Didn't Xia Duo obtain several Dragon Madness Secret Scrolls in Akola before? Maybe you can also find clues about the Dragon Kuang Mystic Lock Control Center there!
"Lord Collins, I am going to travel to Cormanthor recently, and I may pass through Evereska on the way to Yeerlan. I will mention this to Elder Larian then!"
"Lord Xia Duo's schedule takes priority. Just keep this matter in mind. I'm not in a hurry."
He said he didn't say it in a hurry, but Xia Duo could hear a hint of anxiety in the other party's words, but he didn't promise anything more and quickly ended the communication.
…
Floating city, public area.
On a terrace near Hengchun Plaza, Xia Duo and Niya sat side by side on a comfortable soft chair, quietly watching the ground scene above their heads as the space transformed.
The clear blue Tessa River, like a jade belt, flows out from between the mountains southwest of Conifera City, winds eastward and extends into the distance, eventually merging into a long and narrow lake.
Of course, in the elves' geographical concept, it is called the "Moon Sea", but it is actually not as big as the Narrow Sea, and even the Narrow Sea is still far from the real vast sea in Xia Duo's mind. One piece.
"Are those the traces left by the Drow War the year before last?" Niya asked Shado, pointing to a large area of almost pure black land where the Tessa River flows.
Even though early winter has arrived, there is still a bit of green in the forest. This is even more obvious in the territory of Cormanso. The almost pure black land forms a very sharp contrast with the surrounding yellow or emerald green colors.
No wonder Nia noticed them right away!
"That should be it. I heard that after the drow crossed the Tessa River, they used a large-scale extermination spell. But I didn't expect that there are still a lot of irrecoverable traces there today."
In fact, it is not only a land where life is extinct. If you look carefully, you can also see a large number of city ruins south of the Tessa River. There are also many fortress ruins north of the Tessa River, but most of them are war spells. Environmental damage.
It has not been completely repaired until now. It is conceivable that the battle with Comanso must have been very serious.
No wonder they were so eager to promote the establishment of the Northland Alliance that they even did not hesitate to rope in Yin Erfalang, who was hostile to them.
It is no wonder that among all the members of the Northland Alliance, Cormanthor is the one who provides the greatest support to the front line of the Danzuo battlefield in the Underdark region.
In Netheril, the only real cities are Severdon, or the territories that some great arcane masters have operated for a long time, and most of the rest are towns.
But within Comanso, cities dominate. In other words, just from the surface, Comanso is a city-state composed of various cities.
And this is also a typical feature of the elf country, with the city (Mystic Lock) as the center and a number of satellite villages scattered around.
But those villages do not serve the necessary agricultural needs of the city, they are just rural civilian settlements. The agricultural needs of the city are almost entirely provided by Druyin, just on the edge of the city.
"Five Dynasties Rivers, Mountains and Winds"
The villages are located in the forest, truly in line with nature, and many are still in a primitive self-sufficient state. Although the elves in the villages know that there are cities around them, they and the elves in the city can almost They are said to be two completely different species!
…
As the floating city moved eastward, Sha Duo was also explaining to Niya the various secrets within elf society. Those explicit or implicit rules and orders were actually not fundamentally different from those within human society.
Even because they live longer than humans, elven society has been in a state of rigidity and even perversion for a long time. There may be noble and beautiful parts, but its decay and depravity are definitely beyond human imagination.
However, Xia Duo did not describe in detail how the elf was perverted, he just briefly mentioned it so as not to taint Niya's ears and eyes.
While flying eastward, Shaduo and Niya would occasionally land on the ground and go to elven cities or villages to observe and even experience the living conditions of elves up close.
What makes Niya most regretful is that Xia Duo will not let her go down in her own body, so she can only go there in incarnation, which makes many experiences somewhat distorted.
…
Soon, according to the guidance of the pass, the floating city came to the sky above an urban area that was larger than all the cities it had passed before.
The most eye-catching thing in this urban area is the three towers in the center of the city. Although it is the first time for Xia Duo to come here, he is no stranger to those three towers.
It was a special magical building created by three elven swords.
Shado once passed the Divine Sword Trial in [Projection Plane: Birth of Cormanthor] and became the only true king of the emerging Cormanthor. At that time, he created a tower of domination through [Sword of Dominance].
There are three towers here now, obviously the three Excalibur holders have created their own towers.
Just when Chateau lamented that things have changed, Comanso sent him an invitation through a pass - there was a noble person who wanted to see him!
