Chapter 458
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"Lex, just accede to Sika's request . I will resolve the issue of the magic nuclei . " Saleen finally opened his mouth . The magic wolf cavalrymen of the Caucasus people were not suitable to act as charging riders, since it was more expensive feeding a magic wolf as compared to a warhorse . A warhorse fed on specially produced grass while a magic wolf consumed meat . Occasionally, some magic powder had to be served in order to help a magic wolf maintain its powerful strength .
Such cavalry mounts were simply too costly . It was too troublesome rearing expensive items and it would be too painful to lose a few of them . In the future, Saleen had planned to deploy the Caucasus magic wolf cavalrymen as the city's defenders or scouts . It was impossible to build a large formation of cavalrymen . The magic wolf cavalrymen were suitable for mountainous battles, and normal cavalrymen would lose out to them .
There were countless of forests in the vicinity of the Metatrin City . If the Caucasus people occupied that area, no one would be able to infiltrate Metatrin through the woods anymore .
The capital required for hunting magic nuclei from the Frozen Sea would not be too high, since a huge quantity of magic nuclei could be obtained each time . Even if the warship's consumption and forecasted depletion were included, the price of magic nuclei would still be able to match that of the ones obtained from hunting on land .
"Since Sika has spoken, I will agree to it . The Caucasus people will have the selling rights to alcohol and the rights to extract a mine . Every Caucasus person will be allowed to rear magic beasts, and not to hunt them . " Lex's words were equivalent to law in the Bitter Water County . Sika was overjoyed when Lex acceded .
Metatrin City was developed by Saleen, but it had to be attached to the Bitter Water County legally, otherwise the Holy Rock City would conquer it at all costs . As a result, Lex's agreement was needed in the aforementioned issues .
If it was not for the chaos brought on by Nailisi, Lex might not have agreed to those things so easily . Sika patted Nailisi's shoulder, but did not say anything . That caused Nailisi's face to contort disgustingly, losing all her image . Sika knew that Nailisi was a demon, so Nailisi had to have a great physique . She did not withhold any strength . If Sika had patted Saleen, Saleen would have to bathe in magic liquid already .
A blanket of silence fell over the carriage suddenly . Sika had stopped talking, while Nailisi rubbed her shoulder, not intending to carry on sowing discord . Saleen felt slightly awkward, but was concerned about this duke who had suddenly come into the picture . He began thinking of ways to manage the relationship with the duke . "Lex's friend? Heh, he is more like Lex's suitor . "
Saleen's guess was not entirely wrong . Five to six years ago, the small duke from Titan had went to the Bitter Water Prefecture in hopes of recruiting a batch of low grade mages . Back then, the Lex he knew was amazing . Despite Lex not being an adult yet .
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Afterwards, both parties shared a business relationship, frequently communicating via letters . The small duke from Titan even acquiesced Lex to deploy her spies into the Cloudflow Empire using his duchy as a medium . This was no small matter . If those spies were captured, he would be responsible .
It would be wrong to claim that the small duke from Titan was Lex's admirer, at least he was not bent on marrying Lex . He simply wanted to please this female prodigy from Qin .
Given the culture in the Cloudflow Empire, loyalty would not amount to much . The small duke definitely possessed the heart to love .
The fact that Lex and the small duke could cover each other's tracks meant that they were excellent friends already . This time round, Lex was going to help him shift his assets around, which the Cloudflow Empire wanted to keep in their possession .
If the Duke of Titan did not make a trip to Cloudflow, the Cloudflow Empire would have deployed their troops for an offensive, just like how Qin dealt with Phoenix . If the troops were deployed, the Duke of Titan would never have the chance to return to his duchy again .
Lex did not give further thought into Saleen's issues, she began calculating the amount of fortune in Titan's treasuries . A duke's private assets could not be touched . Many treasuries were categorized as public assets, though, and they belonged to the Cloudflow Empire on paper . This was unlike Qin . Qin only demanded taxes from the local nobles, but Qin would never build a separate treasury .
The small duke granted Lex twenty percent profits because she had the God's Ring, which could help him transport large quantities of items . A twenty percent cut was not a small sum, a small duchy was very much richer than the Bitter Water County . Once the Pink Army got extirpated, its fortune would go to Lex . The small duke only wanted the Pink Army's secret base .
Of the current five large duchies, Phoenix was fragmented while Loulan had been razed to the ground, and Titan would soon be seized by Cloudflow . God Grace Duchy was also rumored to be in turmoil, where insurgents had launched an offensive against the army of the Tanggulasi Empire . Only Laiyin Duchy remained fine . The Sikeqinya Empire was no better, its emperor was only after profits .
Once these duchies disappeared, the four big empires would share a border . There would be no more buffer regions anymore .
It had to be noted that the small duke was extremely sagacious and decisive in wanting to seize all the assets in the duchy, leaving behind an empty shell for Cloudflow .
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When day broke, they were almost reaching the princess' castle . Lex allowed the convoy to stop and take a two hour break . The convoy only continued after the men had consumed some food .
Staring out the window, the fields on both sides were extremely fertile, they were filled with oil-producing vegetables . Titan had done a great job in the area of irrigation . Saleen spotted a magic water wheel and some low grade puppets ploughing the lands .
A puppet was better than cattle because cattle would get sick due to effects of the weather . When dealing with high value crops, the wealthy nobles would procure some puppets and hire some magic disciples to care for the crops .
Saleen lapsed into gloominess when he realized that such a good farmland was going to be destroyed by the flames of war .
By withdrawing the land of the Titan Duchy, the Cloudflow emperor was planning on participating in the contention . A few years back, they were still sitting on the fence, but they had finally come to a decision already .
From afar, the princess' castle could be spotted . It was totally unlike what Saleen had expected . The princess' castle was void of any romantic vibes, it was a purely militarized castle . There were grey towers dozens of meters tall with tipped roofs, like a longsword piercing through the skies .
Even though there were no extravagant metal battlements like those found in Goodrid City, there was a pitch black magic structure at the front of the princess' castle . This structure could not be considered as a magical tower, it was a magic platform . Standing upright on the platform was a gigantic puppet with its eyes closed .
Such a large puppet was the specialty of Titan . It was rumored to be constructed based on the form of the giants . Even the name of the duchy emulated that of this puppet – Titan .
This castle gave people a feeling of oppression . On the lower portion of the grey city walls, the color was even darker, as though it had been soaked in fresh blood .
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Unlike the castles in Qin, the doors to the Titan's castle was very narrow and very tall . There were two protruding horse tracks located on both sides of the city gate . The ends of the horse tracks were elevated dozens of meters off the ground, they were very steep, almost perpendicular to the ground . During wartime, metal bridge planks could be slid down these horse tracks, allowing the cavalrymen to charge forward . At such an angle, the cavalrymen would need to be as proficient as a swordmaster to achieve that . Their warhorses would require at least five years of training .
The castle made Saleen feel cold, a kind of frostiness which penetrated his bones .
"Damn it, mental magic is fused into this thing . Powdered obsidian is even fortified into the front tower!" Saleen quickly regained his senses, and stopped observing the structure of the castle . Since the crux had been discovered and Saleen was a grand mage, the obscure tricks of this castle would hardly be able to harm him anymore .
A strange design like this was absent in Qin . If the enemy tried assaulting this castle, the normal soldiers would definitely be affected mentally, undoubtedly reducing their morale . The best method to deal with such a defense was to bombard it with several ancient magic cannons, in order to destroy the magical structure of the castle, before deploying the main army .
The other magic war chariot emanated several rays of magic light, descending upon the accompanying swordmasters . Lex's subordinates were slightly affected before reverting to their normal selves .
"Master, there is something amiss with this castle . I am afraid there might be a monster living inside," Nailisi muttered bitterly . Even though she was not affected, she could detect the gruesomeness of the castle . It was similar to that of black magic . In order to create such a mental effect, it was likely that many people had to die .
Hurried trots were heard as a team of cavalrymen rushed out from the city gate . The leader of the team was clad in extravagant hollow armor, trailed by a vibrant and colorful cape . With the gray castle as a backdrop, it looked very conspicuous .
A youthful voice spread from afar, "Your Highness Lex, you are finally here . "
The warhorses in that team were robust, they had reached the front of the convoy in the blink of an eye . Saleen noticed the face of a Cloudflow noble . Behind the astonishingly weak helmet, a bundle of onyx hair danced along with the wind . Even the helmet was hollow, any simple arrow could easily kill the wearer .
The riders following this youth were also clad in identical hollow armor, extravagant but impractical . If Saleen's subordinates dared don such items, they would have been beaten into pulp .
Jola, who was at the front, had his eyebrows locked in thought . "This youth is not a weakling, if I don't have the Tears, it might be a little difficult to deal with him . " Such an outstanding pugilist did not dress flippantly because he was an idiot, but because he was confident . Jola did not wear much armor . His armor made by Saleen contained leather . Its defensive ability was not outstanding . An advantage was that it was lightweight, which would not affect his movements . At the same time, it possessed magic resistance .
This person's metal armor had the same characteristics . "It will be best not to let such a person get close to Saleen . " Instinctively, Jola stood in the way of the youth .
The youth did not show a change in expression . He simply smiled breezily, he did not give a hoot about Jola . The riders behind him wielded onto blades, pointing the tip of their blades downwards as they stared at Jola .
"I am not Lex's subordinate, there is no use glaring at me . " Jola observed the team of swordmasters . With a simply calculation, there were about twenty cavalrymen who were at the standard of a swordmaster . He could not possibly deal with all of them . At the very least, he could not guarantee Saleen's safety .
"Since you are not Lex's subordinate, then Lex will not blame me if I kill you right?" The serene youth suddenly flashed his teeth at Jola . His snow-white teeth also emanated an insidious vibe .
"Yes . Even though you are a small duke from Titan, I will not show mercy when I take action either . " Jola would not budge . At this point in time, Saleen's voice came from the chariot .
"Jola, this is the small duke's territory, don't be rude . "
"Okay . " Upon listening to Saleen, Jola then rode to one side .
"Lex, you have brought outsiders here?" When the youth saw that Jola had made way, he did not continue advancing . Instead, he froze in his tracks, a grim spreading across his face .