Elven cultivators

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Chief Anton. Please forgive this sudden intrusion."

In the Hall of Eternity, Igna greeted the guests with a smile.

"Your Excellency Igna, you are too kind. We are more than happy to welcome the renowned dwarven hero to our clan."

Anton smiled and exchanged pleasantries with Igna.

Eleanor and the two elders following behind Anton had strange expressions.

This was the first time they had ever seen such polite, even gentle, dwarfs.

It gives the impression of seeing a dwarf version of Roman.

Perhaps Roman and the dwarf hero before him should switch races.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two sides took their seats around the long table.

Igna didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "Chief Anton, I suppose you've already guessed the purpose of my visit."

Anton smiled slightly: "The allied forces want to purchase rune-inscribed equipment?"

"That's right," Igner readily admitted. "I'm here on behalf of the Allied Forces to reach a long-term procurement agreement with your clan for rune equipment."

Anton nodded and said, "That's fine, but the entire cost of purchasing the rune equipment will be paid in magic cores of equal value."

Igner hesitated only for a moment before agreeing, "No problem."

Upon hearing this, Eleanor subconsciously clenched her fist, a hint of joy flashing in her eyes.

Others might not know, but she, who was in charge of clan affairs, knew that the clan's current crafting of all Dao weapons basically required the use of magic cores.

This thing is indispensable.

The Silvermoon Clan currently relies on its trade network to acquire magic cores from various regions, and has even formed partnerships with more than a dozen dwarven factions, such as Grayrock Fortress, to purchase magic cores on a long-term basis.

The current amount of Magic Cores purchased is sufficient to meet the clan's needs, and a considerable amount can be accumulated each year.

But it's always better to be prepared.

As clans grow and expand, the demand for magic cores will only increase dramatically. No one knows when these transactions will be interrupted, so it's always better to have another stable channel for purchasing magic cores.

The faction that currently produces the most magic cores on the Dawn Continent is the Heart of the Mountains.

Even the Dragon Court is no match for these dwarves.

After the two sides reached an agreement, Igna did not show any joy. Instead, he seemed hesitant to speak, as if he wanted to say something but was too embarrassed to.

Anton raised an eyebrow slightly: "If you have anything to say, please speak frankly."

Igna rubbed his hands together and said, "Chief Anton, to be honest, I have studied your clan's rune equipment. Its crafting techniques are completely different from most of the mainstream alchemy schools on the continent. I am very curious about what kind of secrets are hidden behind this technique."

He paused here, a hint of awkwardness creeping into his voice.

"I know this request is somewhat presumptuous, but I still wish to ask, would your clan... be willing to sell the forging techniques for rune-inlaid equipment?"

Upon hearing this, Eleanor and the two elders' expressions changed.

The Third Elder, who had a relatively fiery temper, frowned deeply, a hint of annoyance appearing on his face.

The Silvermoon Clan's current business empire is built on four pillars: rune equipment, potions, runes, and metals.

Among them, the importance of rune equipment is second only to metal.

This unique skill brought countless profits to the Silvermoon Clan.

Anyone with eyes can see how important it is to the Silvermoon Clan.

In this situation, Igner's request to purchase the forging techniques for rune-inlaid equipment was tantamount to taking away their livelihood.

Noticing Eleanor and the two elders' expressions, Igna became even more embarrassed.

He certainly knew how taboo it was to covet someone else's core secrets.

But the dwarves' obsession with forging is ingrained in their very bones.

In particular, Ignar, as the guardian of the Heart of the Mountains, once swore an oath before the First Flame to dedicate his life to forging and protection.

Forging was arguably the most important part of his life.

Faced with the unprecedented forging process of rune-inlaid equipment, the fact that he has been able to hold back from speaking until now is already quite remarkable.

That being said, Igner didn't actually have high hopes for it.

The reason I spoke up was simply because I was thinking, "What if?"

To everyone's surprise, Anton agreed to Igna's request without hesitation.

"Can."

Igna was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening. His eyes lit up, and he was about to speak when Anton raised his hand to stop him.

"But not for sale," Anton said calmly. "I hope to cooperate with Heart of the Mountains through technical exchanges."

Technical exchange?

Igna paused slightly, then asked, "What do you mean?"

Anton said, "It's very simple, just give us the core technology of Magic Crystal Technology in exchange."

Upon hearing this, Igna stared wide-eyed at Anton, his gaze filled with undisguised astonishment.

The Heart of the Mountains had indeed developed Magic Crystal Technology long ago.

However, due to the existence of the Dragon Court, they have kept it hidden and have not revealed it.

It wasn't until the Allied Forces attacked the Annihilation Fortress that they unleashed various golems and magic crystal cannons made with magic crystal technology, making a name for themselves with their extraordinary combat power and might.

Even so, Magic Crystal Technology's reputation has not yet spread.

Even within the Allied Forces, only a few high-ranking officials knew of the existence of Magic Crystal Technology.

How did Anton know that Eldron Plains was so far away?

Moreover, he seemed to have a good understanding of Magic Crystal Technology.

In fact, Anton is indeed very knowledgeable about Magic Crystal Technology.

It even surpasses the heart of the mountains in some respects.

After all, the Magic Crystal Technology of the Heart of the Mountains is only in its early stages, yet he knows the development history of Magic Crystal Technology over the next few thousand years.

So-called Magic Crystal Technology is a local technology system developed by the Dawn Continent based on energy crystals such as magic stones, magic crystals, and magic cores, combined with alchemy, enchanting, and potion-making.

Its core is an energy crystal called "Magic Crystal".

A concentrated energy crystal made by refining and purifying multiple natural magic stones using special alchemy techniques, with an energy density far exceeding that of ordinary magic stones.

Powered by magic crystals, magic crystal technology has flourished in numerous applications, including magical items, alchemical golems, magic circles, magic scrolls, and potions, serving a wide range of needs in war, defense, production, and daily life.

In the future, Magic Crystal Technology's products will be found almost everywhere on the Dawn Continent.

"Chief Anton, where did you hear about magic crystal technology?" Igna couldn't help but ask.

Anton smiled slightly: "I have my own channels."

Seeing that Anton was clearly unwilling to say more, Igner felt somewhat helpless but did not press the matter further. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I can agree to your request on behalf of the Heart of the Mountains."

Anton had expected this, so he wasn't surprised to hear it.

In the original timeline, the Heart of the Mountains would begin promoting magic crystal technology after the Dragon Slayer War.

Whether in war, production, or daily life, Magic Crystal Technology boasts performance and cost-effectiveness far exceeding ordinary levels.

Most of Magic Crystal Technology's products were immediately welcomed upon their launch and quickly replaced similar products from the past.

However, magic crystal technology also has a natural bottleneck—it requires a large amount of magic stones and magic cores.

These two resources are precisely what the dwarves don't have much to worry about.

The Heart of the Mountains controls dozens of magic stone veins deep within the Kazadum Mountains, with its output consistently ranking among the top three in the Dawn Continent.

The same applies to the magic core.

In other words, the more widespread Magic Crystal Technology products become, the greater the market demand for Magic Stones and Magic Cores, and the more profits the Heart of the Mountains can extract from the supply of these two resources.

What's even more remarkable is that the core technology of Magic Crystal Technology has an extremely high threshold. Even if the basic principles are made public, it will not be easy for other forces to catch up overnight.

The dwarves have cultivated their expertise in forging and alchemy for thousands of years, and their accumulated experience and skills cannot be replicated by a few technical documents.

Their Magic Crystal Technology products, based on their quality, have secured them a dominant market share.

As long as the Heart of the Mountains can maintain its technological lead, the more widely Magic Crystal Technology is popularized, the greater the benefits they will gain from it.

In fact, in later generations, the Heart of the Mountains did indeed become the wealthiest power on the Dawn Continent, without exception, thanks to the promotion and popularization of magic crystal technology.

Their magic crystal products are sold all over the mainland, ranging from magic crystal lamps and magic crystal furnaces to magic crystal cannons and magic statue cores, covering almost all fields of civilian and military use, and have always occupied the largest market share.

Using technology that was originally intended to be widely adopted in the future to exchange for the crafting process of rune equipment is an incredibly worthwhile deal for Heart of the Mountains.

Igner didn't even need to go back and relay the request; he was able to agree on behalf of the Heart of the Mountains.

As expected, Igner hesitated for only a moment before nodding and saying, "Okay, deal."

Seemingly feeling that he had agreed too readily, he scratched his beard somewhat guiltily.

It's clear that this dwarf hero isn't good at business negotiations.

But at least he's much better than most dwarves who just bang on the table and yell.

"Lord Igna, there's something I need to tell you beforehand," Anton suddenly spoke up. "Crafting rune-inscribed equipment isn't as easy as you think. Be prepared."

Igna frowned slightly.

What does that mean?

Does this mean the refining process is extremely complex?

Or is there a technical barrier in some core aspects?

"Chief Anton, do you mean...?" Igna asked, puzzled.

Anton shook his head, showing no intention of continuing to explain.

It's too early to talk about these things now. Igna only has a superficial understanding of rune equipment, and he doesn't understand many concepts at all.

Even if Anton explained all the key points of crafting rune equipment to him, he still found it difficult to understand.

Once the dwarves try it themselves, they will naturally understand the key points.

Seeing that Anton had no intention of continuing, Igner had no choice but to suppress his doubts and get up to take his leave.

"Then I won't bother you any longer. Once everything is ready, we'll contact your clan immediately."

"Okay." Anton stood up to see him off. "I will arrange for someone to handle things at that time."

Watching Igna's figure disappear at the entrance of the hall, the Third Elder couldn't help but ask, "Clan leader, are you really going to entrust the crafting techniques for rune-inlaid equipment to the Heart of the Mountains?"

Anton smiled faintly: "What does it matter? They only obtained the refining technique, not the principle. It poses no threat to the clan."

The crafting techniques for rune-enhanced equipment that he provided only covered the aspect of "how to inscribe fixed runes onto equipment".

As for the principles behind the runes, he would not reveal a single thing about the profound knowledge of the circulation of spiritual energy, the interaction of the five elements, and the harmony of yin and yang.

In fact, even if he were willing to teach everything he knew, the dwarves of the Heart of the Mountains would not be able to learn it.

The underlying logic of the rune system is completely different from the mainstream rune system of the Dawn Continent. It is based on the concept of "spiritual energy" and is deeply bound to the cultivation system.

Without spiritual energy, a rune is just a soulless pattern.

As for spiritual energy, currently only disciples of Taichu City and a few cultivators who have switched to other cultivation methods can master it in the entire Dawn Continent.

Therefore, Anton is not worried at all that Heart of the Mountains can replicate rune equipment.

Without spiritual energy and sensing spirit stones, even if the dwarves obtained the complete refining process, they could only stare blankly.

Unless the Heart of the Mountains can find a new way to replace spiritual energy to drive the runes.

However, spiritual energy is the foundation of the entire cultivation system. It is the crystallization that countless powerful beings in the cultivation world have perfected bit by bit over millions of years, and it involves the understanding and application of the essence of the energy of heaven and earth.

If the Heart of the Mountains can innovate on its own and find a new type of energy to replace spiritual energy, Anton will give them a big thumbs up.

In fact, apart from Anton and Eleanor, only the disciples of Primordial City in the entire Silvermoon Clan are capable of crafting a complete rune-enhanced equipment from start to finish.

Other alchemists and enchanters in the clan, who supposedly crafted rune equipment, simply inscribed fixed runes rigidly onto the equipment.

This is the most a dwarf can do.

Whether they can craft more types of rune equipment depends on the mood of the Silvermoon Clan and whether they are willing to sell more types of runes.

Even if the Silvermoon Clan were willing to sell runes, the rune equipment made using sensing spirit stones could never compare to the orthodox rune artifacts made with spirit fire.

It is virtually impossible for outsiders to surpass the Silvermoon Clan in terms of skill.

From this perspective, both Anton and Heart of the Mountains are actually plotting the same thing.

The Heart of the Mountains believes it controls the supply of magic stones, the core of magic crystal technology, and has a technological advantage, so it wants to promote magic crystal technology to reap profits.

The Silvermoon Clan's rune equipment forging technique is the same, and even more unique than that of the Heart of the Mountains.

Other parts of the Dawn Continent at least have magic stone mines, so other factions can always find magic stones and don't have to buy them from the Heart of the Mountains.

The only ones capable of crafting the Spirit Stones are the Silver Moon Clan.

This is the only one of its kind; there are no other branches.

Even if other factions obtain the crafting techniques for rune-inlaid equipment, they may not be able to forge rune-inlaid equipment; the Silvermoon Clan will ultimately have the final say.

If they don't sell you spirit stones, you can only stare blankly at the craftsmanship.

Eleanor, who had been in charge of this matter, quickly understood Anton's plan.

As she explained in a low voice, the two elders quickly understood, and their gazes toward Anton changed instantly.

Our clan leader is truly cunning...and has a real business mind.

Ignoring the thoughts of the two elders, Anton turned to the elven girl and said, "Eleanor, once the data on the Heart of the Mountains arrives, you will be in charge of the integration with Magic Crystal Technology."

"Okay," Eleanor replied solemnly.

Anton nodded without saying anything more and turned to leave.

Besides increasing his income, he had two other reasons for wanting to acquire Magic Crystal Technology.

One reason is to master the crafting process of magic cores.

Dao soldiers will inevitably become one of the core combat methods of clans in the future. The core materials for refining Dao soldiers must naturally be in our own hands and not be controlled by outsiders.

Another reason is that I think magic crystal technology and weapon crafting should be able to learn from each other. Perhaps we can gain some inspiration from magic crystal technology to improve the crafting skills of Dao weapons.