Chapter 709: Vertical Alliance, Trend (Part 1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Sika, stop!” Eleanor could not help herself and shouted. Sika quickly released her hands. Eleanor frowned and was rubbing her elbows while saying, “You are so strong. I wonder how Saleen survives all this.”

Sika grinned and said, “Saleen is already used to it.”

After messing around with each other for a while, Eleanor’s facial expression was back to normal and she no longer felt so awkward. Her face turned red earlier because when she thought about how the medicine should be used, she could not stop her mind from wandering to Saleen. She was not as cheerful and carefree as Sika.

It was only a matter of time before these things must be said so Eleanor began to explain to Sika patiently.

The materials used to create this elvish potion were not expensive on the elf dimension, but, since the number of seeds that Eleanor had brought along was limited, she had to grow some more seeds on Myers Mainland in order to gather sufficient quantity.

The expenses involved were high. Eleanor calculated for Sika that in order to produce enough potion so that an offspring was guaranteed, approximately six-hundred-thousand gold coins would need to be spent.

“Giving birth is so expensive!” Sika could not help but grumble when she heard the figures.

“What other choices do we have? Sika, these materials must be used. If I could return to the elf dimension, I could have been able to buy all the necessary resources for about ten-thousand gold coins.”

“I know… who knows what Saleen is thinking. He is having a difficult time now and Lex has just taken away many items. I’m afraid…”

“You’re afraid that Saleen is not willing to spend that much?”

“No, I’m afraid of disrupting Saleen’s plan.”

“Silly girl. This is the biggest plan of all. If you wait for him to advance to sorcerer, even six-hundred-thousand gold coins may not be enough to solve this problem.”

“Oh? Eleanor, let’s get started then!”

“Start on what?”

“Plant the herbs. Who knows when will Saleen advance into a sorcerer? If we don’t hurry up, we will have to pay a fortune!” Sika was still extremely sensitive to gold coins. Some things just could not be forgotten. In her youth she and Saleen went to great lengths just to earn enough money for the village to survive through winter.

Eleanor did not respond. Sika laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling, engrossed in the past that she and Saleen shared together.

Outside of the temple, it was late and four teams of Caucasus warriors were patrolling. The snow white magic wolves hung their heads as they tried to sniff out any danger. These Caucasus warriors were wearing the elf armor that Eleanor had created for the temple army.

At the door on the side of the temple, a few spirits of the dead were leaning against the pillar aimlessly. The soul flames in their eyes flickered. Nightbirds were circling in the night sky as they peered below at the port. No one was allowed to hunt these low-level magic beasts within Metatrin for they were the eyes of the Caucasus people.

There were cargo ships loading and unloading at the pier. Saleen had never stopped his ore business. There were more than five-thousand miles of land north of Metatrin City and two-thousand miles away from there were quite a few mining sites. All of them had been monopolized by Saleen as all the ores that had been dug out were transported to Metatrin City before being sold to the south from this port.

On the city walls of Metatrin City there were soldiers that patrolled tirelessly and there was a spirit of the dead every few hundred yards that was staring out into the wilderness.

The north and south of the city were in complete darkness. There were very few shops in these two areas. The south of the city belonged to the Caucaus people and was also the place where Saleen’s alchemy factories were located. The north of the city was populated by many noble families.

Most of the residents in the west of the city were made up of commoners and merchants. Although it was already late in the night, the match at the fighting arena had just ended and quite a number of people would have supper outside first before heading home. The lights were still on in many shops.

Slowly but surely, Metatrin City was displaying strong signs of life. The people there had already treated this city as their home. If their offspring were to be born there, then this dimension would welcome its first batch of true Metatrins.

The night passed very quickly. When dawn broke, Sika woke up and took the list of ingredients that Eleanor had prescribed for her. In order to produce the elvish potion, she would need to plant herbs and also purchase a lot of resources that could be obtained on the Myers Mainland.

The resources on the list were worth six-hundred-thousand gold coins. Sika was at a loss. She did not approach Saleen directly. Instead, she returned back to South Court and tried to think of a solution on her own.

Saleen had woken up early too. He cast aside his curiosity and left for the palace immediately. He sent someone to bring Aini and the other Dukes, as well as Lex.

Today, they would discuss the military cooperation between the two armies. Lex possessed many military gadgets that were owned only by the royal swordsmen battalion. Since Ojarvis was willing to give Saleen the diagrams, there was nothing else that Lex would have to hide.

In order for the military equipment to be made in such a way that both parties would be able to utilize it, the majority of the logistics would have to be integrated so that there would be fewer problems in future when both parties went into battle together.

As such, not only would the four Dukes not be able to utilize the Grukos royal family’s information for their main forces’ equipment, they would also have to share logistics. Qin’s best logistical equipment was the spatial box.

The spatial box could only contain objects of similar sizes. For example, a spatial box of two cubic yards would contain a space of also two square yards. The amazing thing about the spatial box was that the size of an object of irregular shape would be calculated by the area that its mass occupied. For example, a normal box could only contain two sets of crossbows that have already been opened. On the other hand, the spatial box would be able to contain a number of crossbows such that the total area their mass occupied reached the maximum space limited of the box.

All of Saleen’s spatial boxes were bought as it was too difficult to create them himself. Now that Lex was willing to share this technique, Saleen’s logistics would have an easier time in future.

There were too few purple-gold sea urchin skins as Saleen only managed to gather a total of eighteen-thousand and six-hundred. It was not possible to equip his entire army with these skins so Saleen only gave them to his mages and elite troops.

Lex also possessed excellent equipment used for offense. Even if Qin did not have war puppets, their equipment still surpassed Tanggulasi Empire’s. Mages would never lack the ability to create. In comparison, holy priests lacked this ability because their powers were borrowed. Without any indication from the Gods, holy priests would never study an object on their own for that would be blasphemous.

Mages on both sides shared the new diagrams that they had been studying with eachother. Except for the elvish equipment, Saleen had shared everything else he knew. Everyone spent the entire day discussing the issue of integrating their equipment.

At the end of the day, in order to integrate equipment, both sides had to share similar military regimes.

Lex did not possess a navy so Saleen would continue to study and create naval equipment on his own. Saleen lacked knights and warhorses, both of which Lex would provide.

Both sides decided to set up the six major military groups comprising of main battalion, auxiliary battalion, magic regiment, assault regiment, field operations battalion and logistics battalion. Of these six types of military groups, the integration of both parties’ equipment must be at least ninety percent.

Lex was envious after seeing the purple-gold sea urchins. Unfortunately, Saleen did not have a lot of them. It would be difficult to find himself in the same exact situation again like when when an earthquake occurred underwater at the habitat of the purple-gold sea urchins. Lex only requested for five-hundred sea urchin skins to equip her mages that were below grade-5.

Grade-5 mages could just about use spatial equipment, but the space that they could open was smaller than what the purple-gold sea urchin skin could contain. Grade-4 mages were unable to use spatial equipment at all and for the low-level mages, they would basically be like swordsmen carrying a huge bag on their horse.

Saleen was pleased with what Lex brought him. There were more than five-thousand spatial boxes. These were not created by Lex, but were given to her by Emperor Chanake. Lex had more than enough for her own army so she gave Saleen a batch first and once Saleen had the diagram, he would be able to create it on his own too.

After seeing Saleen’s magic cannon sample, Lex immediately decided to scrap the idea of using mini catapults. Instead, she would replace them with magic cannons to become the standard equipment in the army.

This item was just too convenient. It was a metal cylinder that was half a yard in diameter and more than three yards long. Magic cannons only weighed around one-thousand pounds each, but were negligible when stored in a spatial box. This was also one of the biggest advantages of using spatial boxes.

The value of items like the magic cannon rose tremendously once their shapes and weights could be ignored.

Another reason was that the magic cannons had been redesigned using elvish spells. The magic cannons on the Myers Mainland basically weighed close to ten-thousand pounds and were difficult to transport around. This was the reason why most still chose to use catapults even though their accuracy was much lower.

The number of techniques that Lex had provided Saleen with was quite significant, such as armor-break arrows. These arrows were made from pure metal and could break open heavy armor. These arrows could be made by high-level craftsmen without the need for mages.

Although armor-breaking arrows were more expensive than alchemy arrows, they did not require mages. Craftsmen alone would be able to manufacture these arrows on a large scale, so they would still be useful for major expeditions in future.

When Saleen mentioned the demon army to Lex, the she did not immediately agree to include it. She was cautious because the target of the Holy See’s main forces was Qin. If the demon army appeared, it would strike fear in the other two Empires.

The demon army would join in the battle only when all parties were already in the midst of it.

Saleen did not press the matter either. Demon city would only be completed at the end of the year. After that, the number of demons that could be summoned was also limited. These demons would need to be trained and also be deployed to guard over the mines. They would not be able to form an army on such short notice.

At the end of a busy day, both parties finally confirmed all the equipment. The logistics of the six military groups had also been integrated. Finally, Lex gave Saleen the map of a city and wanted his help to rebuild Huoxing City.

Lex would provide the finances while Saleen would be in charge of the city’s defense and security while it was being rebuilt. After the new Huoxing City had been built, both sides would deploy armies there to guard over the midline of Phoenix and govern over the lands in the north.

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Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Even if this suggestion did not tempt Saleen, it would have tempted the noble families around him. Gathering their armies at Huoxing City was only an opportunity. Whether anything would come out of it would still have to depend on Holy Rock City. Since Lex had decided to rebuild the city, there was no need to worry about Holy Rock City anymore.

In the end, Saleen still managed to convince Lex to invest in a fleet.

The reason was simple. There was a gigantic lake separating Qin, Cloudflow, and Titan. This lake was close to one-thousand miles wide and was practically an ocean.

If a fleet patrolled this lake actively, all the cities around the lake could be potential targets.

Lex occupied some lands near Luolan where the lake was only a few hundred miles behind. It would be a good location to launch attacks on Cloudflow or the south of Qin in future.

Lex knew what Saleen wanted; the real diagram of the Grukos family’s diving combat vessel and more mages.

“Alright, alright,” Lex said to Saleen helplessly, “I will give you the diagram and you will help me build a fleet. I will provide the money and the mages. I will send over five-hundred low-level mages and one-thousand high-level apprentices to Metatrin to help out in your alchemy factories. You have to deliver the fleet by next spring.”

“So many!” Saleen was shocked.

“Father left them for me, why do you think I have the determination to enter Luolan? This will not affect the development of Bitter Water Prefecture. After they follow you…”

Saleen smiled and said, “I will not treat them badly. I know how you usually treat your mages.”

“That’s good. Gather the materials you need quickly. As big as the lake may be, it will never be as dangerous as the ocean. There is still a fleet from Cloudflow on the lake so my vessels must be the best.”

“Don’t worry. I will send a skeletal warship over as well. Warships are easily longer than one-hundred yards. I will not be able to send them over in one piece.”

“I will be advancing into a sorcerer very soon. I will then be able to make full use of God’s ring. A hundred yard long warship is nothing. As long as I have sufficient mental strength, I will be able to store it.”

Saleen then realized that Lex’s abilities were way above his expectations. He had no idea what else Emperor Chanake left behind for her before his death.

Being born into a good family would really make things so much easier compared to being poor.

The only thing that Emperor Chanake would never expect was that Lex would build up a country and expand her armies by ten times so quickly. She did not lack money, materials, or mages. She only lacked armor, weapons, and arrows; all of which could be obtained easily.

Based on Lex’s status, these items could be purchased legally. Lex urgently needed to obtain these items within a month and could not seek help from Holy Rock City, so she came to Saleen for help.

What Saleen could not figure out was why Lex would lack magic nuclei.

After the military issues had been discussed, agricultural issues were next. Lex did not hide the fact that she wanted to take over Phoenix for its land. The land in Metatrin was fertile, but the window for farming was short. A change in weather could easily cause countless seeds to go to waste. This was why Saleen only dared to grow vegetables.

Green vegetables could be harvested within one to two months, but grain was a different case. He would not be able to hasten the process.

The weather in Bitter Water Prefecture was not any better. It was close to mountains and the soil was barren. Even the underground water was mostly bitter. If not for the snow accumulated on the high mountains that provided freshwater, Bitter Water Prefecture would not have been able to sustain its population of one-million.

Conquering half of Phoenix would solve the problem of lack of grain for both Saleen and Lex.

Lex’s purpose for fighting in Luolan was to quickly develop an elite army. Her main priority was still Phoenix. If she could choose to ignore Holy Rock City’s reaction, she would have deployed troops at the border and built a pass opposite of Guderian City to completely seal off the route towards Qin.

Saleen had struggled for close to two years, but still had yet to develop such an ability to see the bigger picture. Being aware of the global trends had long been an ability that the royal family felt confident in. It was due to pure luck that Saleen managed to control the resources in oceanic ice block for the time-being. If not for the enormous number of magic nuclei provided by the oceanic ice block, Saleen would not have been able to support so many armies.

Lex eventually left. Within these short two days, she and Saleen exchanged thousands of opinions and made many decisions together. It was fortunate that both of them were also mages and could use magic to boost their memories.

Both of them even shared the same thought that Nicholas would escort Lex on her journey back.

The strongest person that Saleen could deploy was Nicholas. Nicholas had no choice but to accept Saleen’s order. He really did not wish to get any closer to the Holy See’s army for fear that he would be found out and by then, who knew what kind of people the Holy See would send to deal with him?

After a thorough discussion with Lex, Saleen had finally understood the direction he should be taking. Huoxing City was more important than he thought. Lex left behind a lot of gold coins for Saleen to hire manpower for the building of the city.

Saleen had a plan. Since Huoxing City, Cexing City, and Tuxing City were originally cities that had been militarized, they would form an important gate on Phoenix’s north-south tunnel after they had been rebuilt.

Huoxing City would have to undergo expansion in order to fit two-hundred-thousand men and one-hundred-thousand soldiers. The cities on both sides would also have to be expanded in order to fit more than forty-thousand men. These three cities would split Phoenix up so that the northern lands could be reclaimed for agriculture. Once the crops had been harvested, they would be kept for their own use instead of being sold.

After ten years, he would have the means to feed armies made of millions.

Lex left behind quite a number of resources that were sufficient for Saleen to start work and arm his armies. This time around, the first group of soldiers that he would set up would be the temple corp.

The temple corp, which would be Saleen’s bodyguards, would be made up of three battalions. These thirty-thousand men would be complemented with one-hundred and twenty-thousand demons so there would be four-thousand demons in every regiment. In the future, the temple corp would be Saleen’s core force to suppress any noble families that dared to rebel. These thirty-thousand men and one-hundred and twenty-thousand demons would be the equivalent to Holy Rock City’s royal swordsmen battalion.

The proportion of the temple corp would be the benchmark for demon armies. There would be eight-thousand demons for every two-thousand humans.

As Saleen’s influence expanded, more and more noble families began to pledge their allegiances to him. It was essential that Saleen possessed the means to deter these noble families, otherwise it was not impossible for a rebellion to take place.

Since the demons had yet to be summoned, the equipment that Saleen prepared for the temple corp was a little strange.

Magic wolf warriors would take on the role of scouts since they could not be included within the three battalions. There were two-thousand of them in total. Saleen did not wish to depend on these Caucasus people riding on magic wolves as his assault team. He would have plenty of demons in the future. They would be the ones making up his main force.

In reality, after the temple corp had been set up, it would be made up of fifteen battalions and every battalion would be made up of two human regiments.

Demons would take on the roles of heavy-armored knights, heavy-armored infantry, and light-armored knights while the two human regiments would be in charge of command. The captain of each regiment would command four regiments of demons, then there would be a single battalion commander who would be given two-hundred bodyguards and would command a battalion on his own. Saleen gave all his best equipment, such as the wings of an elf and elf alchemy crossbow, to the temple corp first.

The palace swordsmen battalion would support the temple corp. If the temple corp suffered any losses, the vacancies would be filled from the palace swordsmen battalion.

The alchemy factories were doing all they could to produce the equipment that Saleen needed. If he did not arm the temple corp, Saleen felt insecure. How could he think of gaining the support of all the noble families if he did not even have his own core force in place?

Metatrin City seemed to regain peacefulness once again. Aini had left to build a city while the second battalion had led the noble families’ armies to Huoxing City. Other than training every day, Saleen would also head down to the alchemy factories to check on the progress of the production of equipment.

On that day, Saleen was on his way back to the temple when he was stopped by someone.

“Brother Saleen!” A young lady in long dress stopped him. Nailisi was not by his side, but he was accompanied by Isabella and a few hundred soldiers. The soldiers were ready to spring into action when they saw someone blocking their path.

Saleen waved his hand and said, “Sharman, you are looking for me?”

“Yes, Brother Saleen. What happened to what you promised me?”

Saleen smiled and said, “Why didn’t you just look for me at the temple? Why did you have to stop me on the road?”

There was sorrow on Sharman’s face as she spoke, “There was no way I could get near your temple. No matter what I said, those Caucasus people never let me pass.”

At that point, Saleen recalled the order that he had given. No one was supposed to get near the temple other than the temple corp or anyone from Sregl Island.

“Come with me then,” Saleen waved his hand and allowed Sharman to come to his side. Saleen preferred to walk instead of ride on a horse when he traveled within the city. Sharman tugged at Saleen’s sleeve with a grin on her face and said, “Brother Saleen, did you miss me?”

There was nothing seductive about her smile, only naivety. Saleen’s mood improved greatly. He patted Sharman’s hand and said, “Don’t beat around the bush. You want to become a general right?”

“Of course.”

“What does your sister think?” Saleen asked about Guya’s opinion. Guya was in the first group of people to whom Saleen had given the title of ‘Duke’. She was also a grand mage herself so she was considered to be a member of a noble family that was most similar to him.

“Sister said that it is better to become your follower first if I really want to become a general.”

“Haha!” Saleen laughed. Guya was really smart. If her sister did not become a follower, she would only be a battalion commander at most and lead ten-thousand elite soldiers. On the other hand, if she became a follower, there would be more paths for her to take in the future.

“Sharman, are you willing to become my follower?” Saleen smiled and asked.

Sharman felt awkward and said, “Brother Saleen, why should I become your follower?”

“So, you are unwilling?” Saleen purposely teased Sharman. This girl was already powerful but still had a very pure heart.

“No, I just want to know what is in it for me.”

“I want to set up an elite corp and I will need a general. A general and not a battalion commander. It will be tied to a rank of nobility. The person taking up this position needs to gain the trust of the people around me first.”

“So, I will have to be like them and call you ‘My Lord’ in the future?” Sharman pouted and seemed unwilling.

“If you prefer, you can still call me ‘Brother Saleen’, but we need to sign a bond first, alright?” Saleen felt a little uncomfortable bringing up bonds. It was as if he only believed in the power of bonds more than anything else now.

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