A Core Ship From The Start Chapter 1058

Chapter 1058: Chapter 729 Hong Robe Chapter 1058: Chapter 729 Hong Robe For Calga, this was the greatest opportunity of his life, and the greatest challenge as well.

Next, he would, as a representative of the Red Robe Mage Association, negotiate with the Tribunal regarding the establishment of an outpost in Arkham City.

For any Red Robe Mage, negotiating abroad was a desirable appointment. If you could get the consent of the local lord, then you would become the outpost's representative. For Red Robe Mages, this meant a constant flow of money and magical items, as well as the possibility of rising in rank within the Red Robe Mage Association.

Even though at the start the tiresome exchanges and banquets would take up the Mages' time for studying magic, the subsequent wealth and magical items would compensate for this slight inconvenience, making the role of a negotiator a much-coveted one among the Red Robe Mages.

Well, except for this time.

Because they were facing the Tribunal.

Sitting in the solemn and magnificent rest area, Calga forced himself to remain calm, but a fine layer of sweat still appeared on his forehead. The Red Robe Mage Association was very eager to establish an outpost in Arkham City and to trade with the Tribunal. On one hand, it was their custom to expand into new territories. On the other hand, the Red Robe Mages were envious of the technology controlled by the Tribunal.

Especially the steel machines that could carry soldiers flying freely through the skies, these made the Red Robe Mage Association especially envious. Any clear-headed person could understand how powerful these vehicles were, being able to cross the skies at will, to go anywhere they desired without fear of being discovered.

Then there were the Steel Guardians, powerful and loyal, with the ability to think for themselves. Though the Tribunal had declared that these were souls loyal to the Tribunal willingly inhabiting the Steel Battle Armor, the Red Robe Mages were more inclined to believe that the Tribunal had used some unique technology to bind and control these souls.

After all, humans can be brainwashed, so theoretically, souls can be brainwashed too, right?

Unfortunately, these were not for sale by the Tribunal.

Of course, the Tribunal did engage in trade with the outside world, but what they traded were… ores!

Although, in theory, selling raw materials was a common practice for many territories, the problem was that… the Tribunal's ore trade was overly extravagant.

Calga had once heard that a trading company which engaged in trade with the Tribunal opted for barter, and the Tribunal gave them–an iron ore the size of a house!

And it was high-purity iron ore at that.

In the end, it was the Tribunal who delivered this house-sized iron ore to the trading company's city using their steel machines. Then, the trading company sold it off, making a tenfold profit.

After all, though iron might not seem as precious as gold and silver on the surface, it was an essential commodity for all regimes and nations, necessary for crafting weapons and equipment. High-quality raw material could be turned into high-quality finished products, which any country and person needed.

Thus, the Tribunal's trade exports were primarily based on raw ore materials, including the likes of gold, silver, copper, and iron, of course, the most unexpected among the ores exported by the Tribunal would be meteorite iron from outer space!

The so-called meteorite iron from outer space is the residual part after a stone fallen from the sky has melted. These pieces of meteorite iron are rare, but they are incredibly powerful, whether forging weapons or armor, jewelry, if one could incorporate a bit of meteorite iron into them, then the effect would increase exponentially. Even when using magic, if you can incorporate meteorite iron, the magic array's effect will also be enhanced.

In history, the quantity of meteorite iron has been very scarce, and nearly every time a meteorite stone falls to the ground, it attracts a large number of adventurers and mages to collect this mysterious and rare ore, with murders and looting being quite common. After all, the portion of meteorite iron that remains each time is very limited, at most the size of the palm of a hand, so naturally, everyone is scrambling for it.

However, at the Tribunal, this stuff is actually sold by the jin!

Of course, you could also sell it by the kilogram if you wish.

Now everyone has gone mad.

Meteorite iron used to be priceless due to its scarcity. Some nations even treasured it like a national heirloom and strictly guarded it in their treasuries, but at the Tribunal, it seemed to be abundantly available, sold almost at the price of cabbages–impossible, but although expensive, at least it was genuinely for sale–if you pay, they will sell!

Or you could also opt for bartering…

And so, the Tribunal instantly became the big juicy target in everyone's eyes.

As mentioned before, this meteorite iron can exponentially increase weapon effectiveness.

For example, a magic weapon with a starting point of +1, if you incorporate a bit of meteorite iron during forging, it would be directly upgraded to a +5 level, the same goes for armor.

The case is similar for magic jewelry and equipment. Generally, manufacturing magical items can become more expensive depending on the magic that needs to be attached. For instance, a fireball magic wand might require diamond dust and gold crystal chunks to craft, so naturally, the cost won't go down.

And equipment infused with meteorite iron, you could enchant level five magic without issues, and there are even rumors saying that a wand forged entirely of meteorite iron could even be enchanted with level nine magic…

Alright, it's just a rumor, that stuff is so heavy, let alone enchanting, an ordinary mage wouldn't even be able to lift it. If a mage could swing around a magic wand weighing over a hundred jin, you might as well forget being a mage and switch to becoming a barbarian instead.

After learning of this, many people's first thought was that the Tribunal's territory must be hiding a huge meteorite iron mine, otherwise, it could not explain why the Tribunal would go to such lengths to build walls around the entire territory! As a result, many forces sent spies and scouts, and numerous adventurers also entered the Tribunal's territory, attempting to find that mine. Although the Tribunal was indeed formidable and no one dared to rob openly, stealing a little or picking up a few fragments to sell still seemed like a guaranteed profit.

As it turned out, these people practically scoured the whole Lost Ground from top to bottom, only to be astonished to find not a single mine!

How could this be? The Tribunal's daily sales of gold, silver, copper, iron, and even the gem crystals and meteorite ore, which one does not require digging and mining? And every time the Tribunal brought out ores, they were so extravagantly large, you're telling me there's not even one mine throughout the entire territory?

Where did their ore come from?

If Duanmu Huai knew their questions, he would surely tell them–where else could it come from if not from the heavens?

With so many asteroids, casually mining one is enough to satisfy Faelun's needs for a decade, right?

However, Duanmu Huai had no intention of monopolizing Faelun's entire ore trade, after all, others have to make a living too, like the Dwarf King, who once sent an envoy to the Tribunal, expressing his hopes that the Tribunal would not sell at depressed prices, and very embarrassingly asking to purchase some meteoric iron ore…

Of course, strictly speaking, the Dwarves generally do not sell raw materials, but finished products, although the cost of the ore also needs to be factored into the final product price. If Duanmu Huai were to sell the raw materials too cheaply, then the market price of finished products would decrease, and then those Dwarves would earn less, wouldn't they?

However, Faelun does produce some unique ores, like mithril, which Duanmu Huai hasn't seen even after mining so many planets.

The raw materials currently sold by the Tribunal mainly include copper ore, iron ore, refined iron ore, silver ore, gold ore, various gemstones, crystals, and meteoric iron ore.

Of these, only copper and iron can be bought and sold freely, while the purchase of others must go through official channels and partners.

For instance, the Tribunal has signed an agreement with Elascoe, Silver Moon City, Deepwater City of Kelben, and Baldur's Gate, to sell them a fixed proportion of various ores each year, including meteoric iron ore.

This situation is very disadvantageous for the Red Robe Mage Association, the nation-state of Ser.

Because these raw materials can almost all be used in the production of magic equipment, and for a long time, Ser has been the main producer of magic equipment, even monopolizing the trade of magical equipment in many places.

After all, Ser is the home of the Red Robe Mages, possessing a large number of magic apprentices and mages, enough to engage in industrial production of magic equipment.

But the Red Robe Mages are not exactly noble; they indulge in the smuggling of slaves, and it's no secret that they concoct various dark schemes, including assassinations and illegal deals. It can be said that most cities begrudgingly allow the Red Robe Mage Association to establish bases in their territories mainly because of the magic equipment produced by Ser.

But now, things have changed. With the Tribunal openly selling the raw materials for all kinds of magic equipment, even diamonds and gemstones are dirt cheap, making enchanting and crafting magical items not as difficult as before. Therefore, various domains and nations have started to improve and even prepare their own magic equipment industrial chains.

In the past, this was not worth the effort, but with the raw materials now so cheap, if successful, it could oust the Red Robe Mages from the market. With the Red Robe Mages' propensity for backstabbing, who would care for these scoundrels if not for the magic equipment they peddle!

For the Red Robe Mage Association, this posed a problem.

In Ser's foreign trade, magic equipment is the main source of revenue, and the ruling Red Robe Mages certainly did not want to see such a situation, so they have sent an envoy to the Tribunal to negotiate, hoping to secure the same share of the mining trade.

However… Calga knew that internally, the Red Robe Mage Association was not optimistic about this mission, which was why he had been sent.

Though the Tribunal's methods were forceful, everything they did was to guard mankind.

Unfortunately, topping the hierarchy of Red Robe Mages and ruling Ser… was none other than a Lich.

Okay, it's not publicly stated as such, but it's an open secret to those who know.

Honestly speaking, Ser is indeed aggressive by nature, but because of the strength of the neighboring nations, which have rebuffed their advances a few times, they have eased down.

But now…
Upon this thought, Calga sighed.

Nations have begun to cultivate their magic equipment industries, striking a major blow to the Red Robe Mages' businesses. What's more, many Red Robe Mages, tired of the cutthroat inner strife of Ser, chose to accept the invites of other lords and nations, leaving Ser behind.

Profit declines, hearts waver, internal unrest stirs.

Honestly, Calga felt that even if the Red Robe Mage Association struck a deal with the Tribunal, it wouldn't make much difference. Even if transport through the Tribunal could reduce costs to some extent, the monopoly on magic equipment is a political issue, not simply a business one. For those territories and nations wishing to distance themselves from the Red Robe Mage Association, there'd be no better opportunity.

So, would the Tribunal agree to his request?

Honestly, Calga thought… the chances were slim.

“Sir.”

While Calga was deep in thought, a maid walked in, and Calga quickly looked up.

“Apologies for the wait, Lady Amalice is expecting you.”

“Thank you.”

Calga nodded, stood up, and prepared himself.

Next came the crucial negotiations.

Chapter end

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