Chapter 809: Forest Elves' needs
Countless workers got started. The settlement constructions were temporarily halted as everyone moved to the excavation site in the center of Paradise Valley. In hours, more than ten thousand subjects arrived at the hole, ready to build several elevators and makeshift mineshafts, which would be improved over time.
Safety was the number one priority in constructing the elevators and makeshift mineshafts, but Michael quickly noticed that his subjects were as impatient as the Untamed Awakened. Everyone was excited about the Energy Vein and the Common Energy Stones.
Some mistakes happened in haste, but nobody died. Thus, Michael could finally take a breather after lecturing his subjects and telling them that their lives were more important than earning the first batch of Energy Stones a few minutes earlier.
Under normal circumstances, Michael would have helped his subjects more, but Lilica pulled him aside.
"I know I'm way too early with this, but the Forest Elves are interested in the Energy Stones," She announced straightforwardly.
Michael hadn't been certain how to add the Energy Vein into the trading cycle and whom to barter with. It was only obvious, but Michael would keep a significant portion of the Energy Stones to himself. To be precise, he would distribute them among his subjects to ensure their growth.
Now that he possessed enough energy stones, Michael could create an advanced Refinement Sanctum. A Refinement Sanctum was a massive hall overflowing with energy mist. The energy within countless energy stones would be released over time and compressed, filling the entire Refinement Sanctum to the brim. Absorbing the energy mist with the aid of various runic arrays and special concoctions, which accelerated the circulation of energy and the acceptance of the War Rune, would make it several times easier for talented and untalented entities to grow stronger.
Establishing a Basic Refinement Sanctum was already expensive. The construction would drain enormous resources, and it would be costly to maintain the Refinement Sanctum. Without enough subjects to train, the Refinement Sanctum would be wasted away. However, now that Michael had the numbers, he was only lacking enough wealth to procure enough Energy Stones to empower the Refinement Sanctum. That problem, however, was solved from this day onward.
"I know that the Forest Elves are struggling with Armaments, but Elder Silram told me they have many powerful Lords. The Forest Elven population is rather small after everything that happened to your people in the past. Still, some of your eldest Lords should have territories covering one or more Intermediate Regions," Michael responded to Lilica, who smiled wryly.
"That is...true, but we have encountered some issues in the last few months. There have been more enemies around the Forest Elven territories...too many..."
Lilica hesitated. She was unwilling to reveal everything, but Michael got the gist of the situation.
"The Forest Elves must have lost some territories with Energy Veins, or you're about to lose them, and you need more Energy Stones to push your Summons to the next Tier before the final battle. If it's the latter, you are either desperate and in a time crunch, or you still have some time left, and you're only asking me because you hope that my Energy Stones will make a difference. But then again, I'm not sure if the Forest Elves will be able to meet the market price. If they lost some territories, their financial situation must have worsened."
Even if Michael liked the Forest Elves, he wouldn't sell his Energy Stones for half the market price. If he did that, the aftermath could be devastating. Of course, at first glance, it didn't seem bad to be nice to the Forest Elves. However, if he offered them a 50% discount, Michael could only buy resourcing using the meager profit earned through the transaction.
The resources wouldn't be enough to continue expanding aggressively, so he would have to slow down. Slowing down, in that case, meant that he would have to spend a few more years before he reached his initial goal. Many things could happen in a few years, especially by being Michael Fang. He could hardly survive two years as a Lord. How was he supposed to 'take it slow' when stronger enemies obstructed his path at every corner?
He had enough trouble with the Supreme Human Alliance. Michael had to use all means to grow stronger, otherwise, someone like Bloodhound would reappear out of nowhere, only to crush him into bits and pieces. Michael couldn't afford to be considerate toward other people's situations since he was also in a tricky situation. He didn't know who his next opponent would be, but the Supreme Human Alliance wasn't an easy opponent.
"I think you're misunderstanding something," Lilica gestured for Michael to calm down, "We have more enemies, and we did, indeed, lose one of our biggest territories, but our financial situation hasn't changed as much as you might think. We managed to salvage everything valuable before Ulvon's territory was conquered. If anything, we have the resources of a massive territory but nowhere to put them."
Lilica smiled while trying to ignore the sweat pouring down her temples. " You require resources, and the Forest Elves need Energy Stones. We pay the market price, including the overpayment for your energy-dense Energy Stones."
Michael realized that he was a little rash, assuming the Forest Elves would try to get the better of him.
"Alright. I will sell the first batch of Energy Stones to the Forest Elves," He agreed, "But be prepared for the negotiations."
Lilica nodded with a smile on her lips. She was worried that Michael would misunderstand her, which he almost did. It was a good thing that she solved the issue faster than expected.
'The Elders will be happy. Maybe Michael's Energy Vein will rescue Gramps' territory.' Lilica thought, all while Michael pondered what they might need from the Forest Elves.
'Since they have materials to expand my territory, we should take them. But if we expand, we also require more highly nutritious plants and other means to keep my subjects fed and happy.'
Even though Forest Elves didn't have a massive population, they had large territories in forests. Using their understanding and the resources of their territories would be worthwhile. All Michael had to do...was to use the opportunities at hand properly.
[You can upgrade your ranches and farms in the Pentagon Fort. Ask for treasures that hasten the growth of plant life or extraordinary plants that can only be found in intermediate or advanced forest regions. You could also ask for special techniques to push plants to the next level. If the Greater Nature Spirit learns such a technique, we can accelerate the progress of all plant life within the root network of the Greater Nature Spirit.] Danny said, the excitement in his voice apparent.
Michael was hiding his smile underneath a poker face. Lilica was still there, and he didn't want to show her what his brother was previously scheming.
[If we make use of Tatjana's Eye of Evolution as well, we can develop the Nourberry into a perfect plant. Prepare yourself well for the negotiation with Lilica and the Forest Elven Elders! Make it seem like you're giving them a nice offer while asking for the ridiculous stuff...stuff that seems useless to the Forest Elves but will help you transform Pentagon Fort into a mass production of food and potion ingredients!]
'Calm down, Danny! You sound like the devil!' Michael reminded his brother.
[Did you meet the Devil?] Danny asked dead-serious all of a sudden.
'N-No?'
[Then, you don't know whether I sound like the devil!]
...
Whatever.