Elven cultivators

After noon, the banquet came to an end.

The guests gathered in twos and threes, some continuing to drink and chat, others getting up to prepare to leave.

Just then, an elven guard walked through the crowd and approached several faction representatives and the guild leader, whispering a few words to them.

The group paused for a moment, then stood up and followed the guards out of the area.

Similar scenarios occurred one after another.

In a short while, dozens of people were asked to leave the banquet area and head towards the Hall of Eternal Repose.

The remaining guests looked at each other, wondering what had happened.

Those who were asked to leave were equally puzzled.

They followed the guards through the winding tree-lined corridor and soon arrived at the entrance to the Hall of Eternity.

The main hall doors were wide open, and long tables and chairs had already been set up inside.

Anton sat at the head of the long table, with the three elders and Eleanor sitting on his left and right sides respectively.

"Please have a seat, everyone."

Anton raised his hand and pointed to the empty seats on either side of the long table, his tone calm and revealing no emotion.

Everyone took their seats as instructed, their eyes falling on Anton in unison, filled with both curiosity and trepidation.

Why did the Silvermoon Clan suddenly invite them here alone?

Could it be that... this new patriarch intends to follow the example of Kresol Dragon City and also demand that they hand over resources?

As soon as this thought crossed their minds, many people's expressions changed slightly.

Although the Dragon City, which had ruled the Eldron Plains for thousands of years, had been destroyed, if it were replaced by a force that also demanded tribute from them, it would simply be a change of exploiter to them.

Anton observed the changes in everyone's expressions and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Everyone, there's no need to be nervous."

"I've invited you all here today for no other reason than to discuss cooperation."

Cooperation?

Everyone was slightly taken aback, and the wariness on their faces eased a little.

Anton continued, "The Silvermoon Clan has no intention of imitating Dragon City and demanding any resources from you. On the contrary, we hope to establish an equal and mutually beneficial trade relationship with you."

His voice was calm and composed, as if he were chatting with an old friend.

"In short, the Silvermoon Clan plans to launch a batch of products for sale throughout the Eldron Plains. If you are interested, you can purchase them from the clan."

Upon hearing the first sentence, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief, but as Anton continued speaking, they all looked puzzled.

What kind of goods are worth the clan chief summoning them over for such a serious and earnest explanation?

Anton waved his hand, and heavy footsteps immediately came from outside the hall.

One by one, Yellow Turban warriors carried heavy boxes into the hall, placed them steadily in the center of the hall, and then silently retreated to the side.

Upon closer inspection, everyone discovered that each box was filled with a large number of metal ingots.

There is mithril, which is silvery white like the moon and has a faint fluorescent glow on its surface.

There is flame-red copper with subtle fire-like patterns in its texture.

There is also the Lan Steel, which is entirely dark blue and seems to have been formed from the deep sea.

Each metal ingot is as smooth as a mirror, with almost no impurities visible to the naked eye, and reflects a delicate and soft luster under the light of the light source stone in the hall.

Everyone present had sharp eyes and immediately recognized the extraordinary nature of these metal ingots.

The three from Grayrock Fortress, including Thorvin, instinctively stood up with a clatter, their chairs sliding backward with a screeching sound.

They hurried to the boxes, their eyes glued to the metal ingots on the trays, practically pressing their eyes against them.

"This, this is..."

Hagrid reached out to touch it, then suddenly came to his senses and looked at Anton.

The latter smiled slightly and gestured for them to proceed.

Seeing this, Hagrid carefully picked up a mithril ingot, examining it from all angles, his rough fingers repeatedly rubbing the surface, feeling the delicate texture that was almost imperceptible.

It has a warm, smooth feel that can only be found on extremely high-purity metals, like the skin of a baby.

"Such pure mithril, its malleability and energy conduction are also excellent..."

Hagrid's voice was ethereal, as if he were talking to himself, or perhaps seeking confirmation from his companion beside him.

"How is this possible? Even the best blacksmith in Grayrock Castle, using the finest magical flames for repeated tempering, couldn't achieve this level of skill..."

Thorvin and Knut were also full of admiration, constantly picking up various metal ingots from the box, examining them carefully, and becoming more and more amazed and incredulous.

Greyrock Fortress is renowned for its forging expertise and is intimately familiar with all kinds of metals. They can tell at a glance that the quality of these metal ingots far surpasses any similar products available on the market.

Take high-quality steel as an example.

The impurity content of steel ingots circulating in the market is usually between three and five percent, and their toughness and energy conductivity are only mediocre.

However, this piece of refined steel ingot in front of us can be seen with the naked eye that the impurity content is extremely low, at most no more than one percent.

Its toughness and energy conductivity far surpass those of the market average.

Simply incredible.

It's hard to imagine how these metals were tempered to achieve such outstanding quality.

Having observed the dwarves' behavior and expressions, everyone realized the special nature of these metals and could no longer resist leaving their seats to examine them closely.

Exclamations of amazement immediately filled the hall.

"This amber gold is of very high purity."

"What kind of alloy is this? It absorbed more than 80% of the magic I poured in! Its magic capacity is ridiculously high!"

"This is the first time I've ever seen this quality of stainless steel..."

"Chief Anton." Thorvin finally came to his senses, looking at Anton with disbelief. "These metals... were they all smelted by your clan?"

"That's right." Anton smiled and nodded.

Thorvin, Hagrid, and Knut exchanged a glance, all seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

Greyrock Fortress has always prided itself on its superb smelting techniques.

But honestly, Grayrock Fortress couldn't smelt any of the metals in those boxes.

Or rather, even if it were to be successfully smelted, the cost would be incredibly high, making large-scale production out of the question.

Anton then waved his hand, and immediately elves distributed parchments to everyone present.

"This is the first product list released by the Silvermoon Clan. It includes information and prices for these metals. Please take a look."

Everyone quickly picked up the list and began to browse through it.

The list details the name, specifications, quality parameters, and unit price of each metal.

Every piece of data is written clearly and without any ambiguity.

After reading the above, everyone fell silent.

The metals on the list are of more than twice the quality of similar metals available on the market.

However, the price is only 40% to 50% higher.

The implications are self-evident.

Once these metals enter the market, one can imagine the enormous impact they will cause.

After a long silence, one of the councilors from Bishui Port spoke up first.

"Chief Anton, how much of this metal can the Silvermoon Clan provide? Can we place an order now?"

Upon hearing this, the others also realized what was happening and began to speak up.

"Chief Anton, our Dawnstar Town is very interested in these metals, especially mithril and amber gold."

"In our Changhu Town, we want as much Lan Steel and Flame Pattern Red Copper as there is."

"And us, we are willing to sign a long-term procurement agreement with the Silvermoon Clan."

Everyone present knew very well that with the quality and price of these metals, there was no worry about selling them.

Once they hit the market, they sell out instantly.

They might not even be able to snatch it then.

Why not seize this opportunity to purchase a batch and store it in the warehouse? Even if you can't use it all, you can still make a considerable profit by reselling it.

Seeing this, Thorvin, Hagrid, and Knut felt a mix of emotions.

Once the Silvermoon Clan releases these metals, the sales of metals in Grayrock Keep will inevitably be greatly affected.

After all, given the same price, who wouldn't want to buy something of better quality?

The problem is, they simply cannot stop the Silvermoon Clan.

not to mention……

Thorvin's gaze lingered on the list for a moment, and he sighed inwardly.

To be honest, even he himself was very interested in these metals.

With such high-quality metal forging equipment, the quality of the finished product will inevitably be further improved.

Perhaps they could raise the price of the new equipment and use the profits to offset the loss in metal sales.

Thinking of this, Thorvin's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

"Everyone, there's no need to rush."

Anton raised his hand and gestured for everyone to be quiet.

"Our clan offers more than just these products; please read on to see more."

Everyone paused for a moment before realizing what was happening and continued flipping through the pages.

The next few parchments also prominently displayed a wide variety of goods.

Potions, scrolls, alcohol, spirit ink, equipment...

Each product is accompanied by detailed descriptions of its effects and price.

Everyone watched intently, occasionally letting out an uncontrollable gasp of amazement.

The variety and quality of these goods far exceeded their expectations.

After all, these were all carefully selected by Anton.

Taking the medicines as an example, they are all improved versions of low-level pills from the Great Dao Jade Slip, and their effects are much better than similar medicines on the market.

There are also many medicines that are not available on the market.

Of course, core potions such as Dragon Essence Potion and Returning Origin Potion are definitely not included.

These potions are fundamental to the clan and will never be sold to outsiders.

There are also regenerative medicines, but because the main ingredient is the Fountain of Life, the production is limited. Even the clan itself doesn't have enough, so naturally it's impossible to sell them.

As for the scroll, it is actually a talisman.

Unlike the clan's existing talismans, this talisman is made by grinding spirit stones into powder, mixing them with special spirit ink, and then drawing the talisman with this mixed spirit ink.

The moment the talisman is formed, the energy in the spirit stone powder is 'locked' within the talisman's structure.

Users only need to touch the runes with their mental energy to trigger the release of energy; they do not need to inject energy themselves or use sensing stones.

This was another method that Anton had envisioned when he was developing the sensing spirit stone, allowing his people to also use talismans.

It's just that the consumption of spirit stones increases dramatically during the production of this kind of talisman, and the final cost of the talisman is more than ten times that of a normal talisman, almost comparable to that of a magic scroll, so he abandoned it.

However, he recently improved this method and reduced the cost. Although it is still more expensive than using sensing spirit stones, it is much cheaper than magic scrolls on the market, and the profit margin for selling it is huge.

Of course, what they sell are low-level auxiliary talismans such as storage talismans, purification talismans, tranquility talismans, water-avoidance talismans, and fire-avoidance talismans.

The talismans that can be widely used on the battlefield and greatly enhance the strength of the army, such as the Vajra Talisman, the Lightness Talisman, and the Golden Blade Talisman, are only kept for personal use and will not be sold.

The wines are brewed using various spirit wine recipes found in the Great Dao Jade Slip, such as "Hundred Flower Wine" and "Green Bamboo Wine".

These alcoholic beverages not only taste excellent, but long-term consumption can also strengthen the body and nourish the spirit.

Spirit ink is made from spirit stone powder, monster blood, and various herbs in a specific ratio, and is used to draw scrolls and magic circles.

Its energy conductivity and stability far surpass any magic ink on the market.

Scrolls drawn with this spiritual ink have a higher success rate and produce better quality finished products.

As for the equipment, it's all a weaker version of rune equipment, equivalent to secondary magic items.

True rune-inlaid equipment is something that clans would never sell.

Anton stood at the head of the long table, his gaze calmly sweeping over the excited faces in the hall.

He had considered the launch of this batch of products for a long time.

Although the Silvermoon Clan has now replaced Krethor Dragon City as the most powerful force on the Eldron Plains, Anton never intended to follow the old path of Dragon City. Forcing vassal races to pay tribute with resources may seem like a quick way to make money, but in reality, it carries enormous hidden dangers.

The essence of tribute is one-way plunder. Those who are plundered only harbor resentment and will resist given the opportunity.

The thousands of years of rule in Longcheng have proven this point.

Under intense pressure, the flames of resistance were never truly extinguished; they were merely waiting for an opportunity to erupt.

More importantly, even if all the forces in the entire plain were subdued, the amount of tribute resources that could be received each year would be limited.

As the clan's development accelerates, those resources will become increasingly insufficient.

Instead of racking our brains to exploit those forces, we should develop the Darklands, which are the real treasure trove of resources.

So Anton never intended to take this path from the beginning.

What he wants to do is trade.

The goods produced by the Silvermoon Clan were sold throughout the plains and even further afield.

They exchanged goods for resources, used those resources to further develop their clan, and then used even better goods to acquire more resources, creating a virtuous cycle.

In this cycle, the Silvermoon Clan controls all the core elements.

Tempering metal requires spirit fire talismans and sensing spirit stones. Even if outsiders obtain metal ingots, they cannot replicate the same process.

The recipes for potions, spirit ink, and spirit wine are all controlled by the clans, and many of the materials are only available to the clans.

As for rune-enhanced equipment, needless to say.

Those runes are so incomprehensible to outsiders that they can't even be understood, let alone imitated.

These products are all unique and cannot be replicated.

It is impossible for outsiders to replicate.

This is what Anton wanted.

There is no need for weapons or oppression, and no need for any power to bow down to the Silvermoon Clan.

With enough goods and unobstructed trade routes, resources will flow naturally into Silvermoon Forest, just like water.

As time goes by, these forces present will find themselves unknowingly becoming inseparable from the Silvermoon Clan's things.

Only then, when the Silvermoon Clan, possessing both powerful military strength and economic lifeline, can be considered the true overlords of the Eldron Plains.