246: trade

"These weapons and equipment are indeed not ordinary items. Both the enchanting craftsmanship and the transcendent forging techniques are exceptionally outstanding."

Lelia looked over several pieces of weaponry and equipment, feeling extremely satisfied and even somewhat amazed by their quality.

"I didn't expect that White Wolf Earl to have such a highly skilled Transcendent Blacksmith under him. Why haven't I heard of this before?"

"If that forge is truly as you described, the runes on it should be Dwarven forging runes. This White Wolf Earl likely has some connection with the Dwarves, which would also explain why he has such a highly skilled Transcendent Blacksmith in his possession."

Although Freya was not allowed to enter the forging area to observe, she could still see the general scale of the Red River Territory's forging area from the outside. Moreover, that tall forge could not escape the eyes of a Gold Knight.

"I also guessed they were Dwarven forging runes; after all, they are basically identical to the Dwarven runes recorded in books. The Red River Territory definitely has a connection with the Dwarves."

"Or perhaps there are Dwarven blacksmiths within the Red River Territory itself. That possibility isn't non-existent."

Freya boldly voiced her suspicion.

"It's very likely. Judging by the scale of the Forge Workshop you saw, the Red River Territory's capacity to produce transcendent weapons is definitely not small. Establishing trade with them might alleviate our predicament regarding the shortage of weapons and equipment."

"As for these potions..."

Lelia's gaze shifted to the dozen or so bottles of various potions before her.

"According to rumors from the Rage Bear Territory, the Red River Territory does indeed have a Potion Master cursed by an Evil God. But wasn't it said that the Potion Master was on the verge of death because of that curse?"

Freya shook her head.

"I suspect the rumors are incorrect. The Red River Territory has already built a powerful twelve-story Mage Tower. That Mage Tower, named the crimson glory, is even more powerful than our family's Mage Tower. It was likely built for that Potion Master."

"Are you sure that Mage Tower is that powerful?"

Lelia was extremely concerned about the Mage Tower Freya mentioned; a powerful Mage Tower could represent a vast amount of information.

"Yes, Mother. Although they wouldn't let me get close to inspect the Mage Tower, its height is right there. It looked extremely majestic from a distance, and the mana fluctuations radiating from it were very powerful."

Freya recalled the image of observing the crimson glory from afar.

"The number of Spellcasters in the Red River Territory might be even higher than I imagined. I watched the perimeter of the Mage Tower for a while and saw quite a few Spellcasters coming and going, looking extremely busy."

"I originally wanted to take a few more looks, but the people of the Red River Territory wouldn't let me continue observing there, so I had no choice but to leave."

"Besides the Mage Tower, the Red River Territory also has a massive Magical Plant Garden. The core of the entire Magical Plant Garden is covered by a huge Magic Array, so I couldn't see the situation inside. However, some of their outer cultivation areas for ordinary medicinal herbs don't have Magic Arrays, which allowed me to see some clues."

"Judging from the scale of the Mage Tower and the Magical Plant Garden, the Red River Territory should be able to produce low-level potions in large quantities."

"Furthermore, Earl Renn personally told me that the Red River Territory has the capability to refine gold-grade potions. As long as we provide the raw materials, they can refine gold-grade potions for us. Of course, we would also need to pay some fees for this."

Potion Masters capable of refining gold-grade potions were extremely rare. The Stag Territory also possessed a master who could refine gold-grade potions, but that master was getting old, and their success rate in refining potions had dropped significantly.

Even so, that master remained an honored guest of the Stag Family and currently lived within Stag Fortress. Lelia could not count on them to refine potions for her.

"Earl Renn is also willing to sell grain to us. I saw a large amount of reclaimed farmland in the Red River Territory. Their farming techniques are extremely advanced, and the yield per acre should be very high."

"In that case, that White Wolf Earl has violated the Thousand-Year Iron Law!"

"Yes, Mother."

One could see the issue with the farmland at a glance. High-yield farmland was everywhere in the Red River Territory; it was impossible to hide even if they wanted to.

"Hehehe!"

"As expected of a talent who can develop a flourishing territory in just a few years. He certainly seized the opportunity accurately!"

Lelia tilted her head back and sighed softly.

"Mother?"

"The Thousand-Year Iron Law? That thing is already outdated."

"The Chaos Demon Abyss is in upheaval, and a large number of spatial rifts connecting to the Abyss have appeared. This has allowed those lunatics of the Demon God Cult to become active everywhere, and Chaos Demons are appearing in the Main Plane in large numbers."

"The chaos corruption brought by these demons is spread across the kingdom. This chaos corruption from the Abyss is extremely difficult to purge. Wherever it has corrupted, not a single blade of grass will grow, and normal living beings will suffer the erosion of Chaos Laws upon it."

"Many places on the Golden Plains have already been contaminated by the power of corruption, leading to crop failures. The Four Borderlands are even more so."

"Our Stag Territory is the same. This year's grain harvest might not even reach half of what it used to be."

"The Royal Family's Ordinance Knights won't care about any Thousand-Year Iron Law now. They can't even finish clearing out those active Chaos Demons, let alone the Evil God Believers who are fishing in troubled waters and stirring up trouble everywhere."

As Lelia spoke, she took some letters from the desk in front of her and handed them to Freya.

"Take a look. You have also broken through to the Gold Rank. As my successor, you are entitled to know these things."

The letters Lelia handed over contained secret intelligence from various parts of the kingdom.

"In addition to the demons of the Chaos Demon Abyss and the Evil God Believers, the Assassins Court, which assassinated the Grand Duke of the Raging Bear a few years ago, has resurfaced and become active. Besides these groups that have jumped out, there are many evil forces hidden in the shadows that are beginning to stir."

"It truly is a turbulent time!"

Because of the internal turmoil in the Stag Territory, some evil forces hiding in the shadows had become active within the territory, which left Lelia overwhelmed with dealing with them.

The intense pressure from Heisenberg forced her to focus most of her energy on the confrontation with him. Other conflicts within the territory were temporarily suppressed, but that didn't mean those conflicts and hidden dangers had vanished. One day, these hidden dangers would inevitably explode.

"Mother!"

Looking at the various thorny problems written in the letters in her hand, Freya looked at her Mother with heartache.

"I agree to the trade agreement you made with Earl Renn. Since he wants our minerals, give them to him. We need grain, weapons, equipment, and potions."

"But how is he going to trade with us? Where is the trade route? The distance between the Red River Territory and us is not short."

"If we rely on spatial equipment, we won't be able to transport much ore."

Freya stood up, walked to one side of the study, pulled open a map on the wall, and pointed out a path for Lelia.

"Mother, don't worry. Lord Renn has already settled the issue of the trade route for us. His territory includes the Black Corridor region. Earl Renn claims he has a stable forest secret path in that area that can be used."

"The caravan will depart from the Red River Territory, enter the Black Corridor, and travel east directly to our northern border. It doesn't need to pass through any other noble's territory at all; it's very convenient and also extremely discreet."

"Earl Renn doesn't want our trade to be made public because the current Grand Duke of the Raging Bear is still extremely hostile toward our Stag Territory, and he doesn't want to court trouble."

Lelia stood up and looked at the route her daughter had drawn with some surprise.

"The Black Corridor region? That place is full of ancient forests; where would there be a road? Even if there is a forest secret path, it couldn't possibly support a large-scale caravan. Furthermore, the Black Corridor region is extremely dangerous. Can they guarantee the safety of the caravan?"

"I'm not sure about that either, but Earl Renn said we don't need to worry about the transportation of goods. As long as we agree to trade, the Red River Territory's caravan will arrive at our border through this path."

"We only need to transport the items we want to trade to this location, and both sides can complete the transaction. At that time, their Red River Territory caravan will transport the goods back themselves."

Freya pointed to a place on the northernmost border of the Violet Territory, which was precisely the location closest to the Black Mountain Range.

"Since he is so confident, let's try it once."

"Doesn't he want Obsidian?"

"Transport a batch over. We'll see what he's capable of first!"

"Yes, Mother!"

The Mother and daughter quickly reached an agreement. Not long after, a messenger hawk flew out from Violet Castle, heading toward the west.