MC's career as foreign lord

“What promise?” Shia asked eagerly, her eyes filled with urgency.

“Don't panic, and don't worry about me trying to take advantage,” Zhou Ren said with a smile. “Your elves are already prepared to give me their best treasure, what more could I ask for?”

He looked at Shia and chuckled, making the elf feel a little awkward. “The condition is very simple: I want your elven race to acknowledge that, no matter what, this territory will truly and undoubtedly belong to me, and give me expanded authority!”

“You want a human fiefdom?” Shia asked in surprise. “The elves will never allow anyone to establish a kingdom on their territory!”

“I don't want a fiefdom, I just want authority over the territory. That's not too much to ask, is it?” Zhou Ren said. “I want to become the master of this border region, and have the right to speak with you on equal terms!”

He had clearly thought this through before saying it. In reality, after revealing so many miraculous abilities, it was almost impossible for him to sever ties with the elves!

However, he wasn't the type to enjoy conquest or ruling over everything. It all came down to the same question: What's the point?

If he could find happiness within his territory, it might not be more difficult than finding it elsewhere. Moreover, according to Mosa, the world was so chaotic that he definitely wouldn't run around. There was no benefit to it, so why bother?

Therefore, Zhou Ren's reclusive nature was quite suitable for being a lord, and he probably thought so himself.

Shia raised her head, somewhat disappointed. “Is that all? I thought you would demand a greater profit.”

Zhou Ren smiled and said, “I'm not short on money right now. Aside from bringing me a little bit of money, I don't think your elves can bring me anything more, can you?”

“Compared to what you bring, we indeed bring nothing!” Shia nodded sincerely. “But I promise you that the elves are not an ungrateful race. For tens of thousands of years, we have never betrayed our allies or friends. You can rest assured about that.”

“Then what about Netheril?” Zhou Ren asked curiously. In history, the glorious Netheril Empire was an important ally of the elves.

Yet, in the history Zhou Ren knew, there was no elven assistance in the empire's downfall.

“Netheril's downfall came from the Phaerimm and Karsus. That was the greatest disaster for the elves since the Crown Wars. The Weave collapsed, arcane magic dissipated. If it weren't for the Druid Council and the Elven Church taking action, I'm afraid the Silver Marches would no longer exist!”

Shia said, “It's not that we didn't want to help, but… we couldn't help! By the time the elves finally sorted out the magical chaos and resolved the troubles of the High Forest, not a single floating city of Netheril remained!”

“Hiss!” Zhou Ren felt somewhat shocked listening to this grand epic, but he had heard a different version from Mosa.

“Those mages controlled the floating cities and became the masters of the continent, a more terrifying power than dragons and elves. Wherever the floating cities were, even the gods were forced into silence!”

“Thus, the gods sent down their punishment, ending the era of unified empires on Faerûn!”

Zhou Ren realized that most of the strange occurrences in this world were related to the high and mighty gods. They controlled everything, making everything develop according to their will. The only ones who could resist were gods of equal power!

But of course, he couldn't say that out loud. “So, have you thought it through, my princess?”

Zhou Ren continued to ask, his eyes gleaming. If Shia didn't agree, he wouldn't let her in. It was still uncertain whether the abilities of the Tree of Life had been enhanced!

He didn't want to antagonize the elves, but he had his own bottom line. It was simple: he possessed benefits that the elves needed to bet heavily on, so they would inevitably accept the conditions he offered.

If they didn't… there were plenty of people, forces, or races who wanted to help them give it. Zhou Ren didn't think these people would be so unwise.

Again, if it weren't too troublesome and likely to offend the elves, he could completely hold a continent-wide auction and sell the elves' Tree of Life. Surely humans, dwarves, magical kingdoms, and even dragons would be willing to pay.

However, in such a situation, the outcome would be beyond Zhou Ren's control. The participation of all the races on the continent might not be a grand occasion, but rather a disaster. If the gods were added to the mix, it wouldn't be just a disaster.

“I agree!” A gentle voice sounded, like a breeze blowing past the two, then stopping at the edge of the territory.

Just as Zhou Ren was pondering the bargaining chips and Shia was slowly considering the pros and cons, a young male elf had already arrived beside them, stopping at the edge of the territory.

In that instant, Mosa, who was still on the tower, put down his hoe, tidied up his clothes, and appeared next to Zhou Ren in the next moment.

The two iron golems, who were originally like gatekeepers, also came before Zhou Ren at this moment, guarding both sides of the entrance.

This sudden arrival of the male elf seemed to make them feel a trace of danger. Only Zhou Ren remained indifferent, looking at the person in front of him.

“I wonder if the visitor… is a guest or an enemy?” Zhou Ren looked at the elf in front of him. He was clearly a young man, about the same age as Shia, but he looked like a weathered old man.

“Of course, a guest!” The male elf said, “Greetings, Lord Zhou Ren. I am Olykhan Dawnglow.”

His gaze was calm and wise. No one would have thought that this young-looking elf was actually the current Forest Regent of the Silver Marches, the Chief Elder of the Druid Council—the Great Druid Olykhan Dawnglow!

“Teacher!” Shia said, but her next words were blocked, because Olykhan waved his hand, walked straight to Zhou Ren, and stopped in front of the transparent wall.

“Can I come in?” he said.

Zhou Ren nodded, “Of course, Lord Dawnglow!” He gave the other party permission to enter, allowing Olykhan to walk smoothly into the territory.

The moment this Great Druid stepped into the territory, he suddenly felt refreshed. His originally youthful face bloomed with light at this moment, and he exclaimed.

“Such pure magic and life force, I even thought it was the Mother Tree's reappearance and Corellon's re-descent. It seems Shia's rumors are true!”

Zhou Ren smiled, “Now that the elves have sent you, I think a conclusion has already been reached, right?”

“Of course, there is a conclusion. If you want, we can take down the North Wind Wastes and give it to you. Of course, we also have conditions!” Olykhan said, “I want to see the Elven Fruit!”

"Of course!" Zhou Ren nodded, saying to Mosa casually, "Mosa, have Jim bring two elf fruits!"

"Yes, Master!" Not knowing whether Mosa's arrival had any deterrent effect on O'Halloran, Zhou Ren politely invited them to sit down and asked Mosa to bring his brewed tea.

Hmm… how does that saying go? 'A friend from afar'—though far, must be slain! Bah! 'Isn't it a joy?'

Before, due to the limitations of the venue and items, even hospitality only consisted of boiled water and ordinary items, which was not in line with his identity as a descendant of the Chinese nation. But now it's different.

There's tea and fruit, not bad, right?

The three of them sat on bamboo chairs, watching the bamboo lamp flicker slightly, feeling the gentle breeze caress their faces.

O'Halloran didn't say a word, just stared intently at the man. He would occasionally look up at the sky, then continue staring at Zhou Ren, making Zhou Ren very uncomfortable.

Before, Shia had also told him about O'Halloran's situation. This was an elder among the druids, and also the oldest of the current elven elders, except for those true old antiques residing in the elven kingdom and Silvermoon City, he was the oldest.

However, his usual appearance was that of a very young man, truly worthy of being a druid, well-maintained indeed.

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"I'm very curious, what are the noble ranks of the elves like?" Zhou Ren, not accustomed to the situation, finally initiated the conversation when the other party's gaze swept over for the third time.

This man wasn't aloof or anything, just had an indescribable sense of strangeness, making people surprised and astonished.

"Hmm… calm, not too ambitious, quite suitable for Shia!" As a result, O'Halloran's words instantly made Shia, who was expressionless, blush, and the somewhat distant emotions instantly exploded!

Zhou Ren remembered, he had seen this look before, this appraising and awkward gaze, was very similar to the look her dad gave him when he went home with his ex-girlfriend, this…

This was the gaze of a father-in-law scrutinizing his son-in-law, no wonder it was so awkward, but O'Halloran was oblivious, "This is a good question, after all, if you become a prince in the future, you will have to deal with these nobles!"

"The human noble system originated from the elves, there's nothing difficult about it. In fact, headed by the Queen, the elven nobles are divided into five ranks: duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron, but not based on strength, mainly distinguishing bloodline and family."

"Above these five ranks is the prince, only the confirmed heir to the throne and the Queen's consort are qualified to be called that, second only to the Queen herself."

"Oh!" Zhou Ren nodded, which was not too different from the Western noble ranks in his impression, "So can I know what the conditions of the elves are now?"

"This matter is actually not up to me," O'Halloran said, "After I see the elf fruit, Her Majesty the Queen will personally explain it to you!"

"Shia, as a princess, you can choose to reject the conditions. In that case, we will promote the Second Princess Elsa to the first-in-line heir!" He said directly in front of Zhou Ren, "Your Excellency Zhou Ren, our condition is—you need to become a prince of the Silvermoon Empire, and a prince with real power!"

He didn't say this out of thin air, but the unified decision of the entire Elven Council of Elders, "However, this will only happen after we solve the dragon in the Northwind Wastelands and prove your worth!"

He took out a scroll from his怀里, "From now on, Your Excellency Zhou Ren, you are the Earl of the Empire, the actual owner of the Northwind Wastelands, how about it? This appointment will last until you and the Empire's princess are engaged!"

"I can accept this!" Zhou Ren didn't hesitate, took the scroll, carefully read it, and after confirming that there were no traps, signed his name.

Then he saw his soul seemed to be imprinted on it, a hand stretched out from it, turning into a very handsome elven ranger.

"Oh! How many years has it been since someone activated the Divine Pact again?" This young elven ranger had a flawless face, his arrival seemed to cast a ray of light on the world!

Zhou Ren curiously watched the light fall, he found that except for the things in his territory, everything else was in a standstill, the two elves stared blankly at the descending man.

"Ah! Helping Angrathal a favor, didn't expect it to cause problems!" He was a very talkative person, after seeing that everyone could speak, he didn't have any surprised expression. "Is that guy playing jokes with me like this?"

"Greetings, Your Eminence!" O'Halloran and Shia quickly bowed, this was the highest etiquette of the elves, they didn't expect that the Divine Pact, which could only communicate with contractors, would summon such an incredible being!

No, this sentence was disrespectful to the summoned, the moment he thought of this, it seemed that thunder struck in the sky!

"Boom!" The loud noise alarmed Mosa, who was carrying tea and walking with Jim, he put the tea on the table, and was about to take a look, when he discovered the familiar face of the elven ranger.

"Lord Corellon?" He said in surprise, it was this sentence that made Zhou Ren turn his head in surprise, "Wait, you said he is… Corellon?!"

"Ah! It seems that my followers have brought me to an incredible place!" Corellon said, "Hello, young otherworldly god!"

"Wait!" Zhou Ren felt his head was a little numb, he was going to sort it out a little. First Shia came to him, talking about the price and conditions, then came a young-looking druid named O'Halloran, who wanted to marry their Empire's future to him without saying a word.

Good heavens, he was originally going to agree to their conditions, and slowly discuss the remaining matters, but then a person popped out of the contract, and suddenly the elven archdruid didn't dare to speak, and now you're telling me he's Corellon?

Corellon Larethian? The chief god of the elven pantheon, one of the most powerful war gods on the continent of Faerûn, the creator of the elves, an ally of the World Tree Yggdrasil, a greater deity, Corellon???

"Hiss!" Zhou Ren made a small contribution to warming Faerûn, if this wasn't a magical world, and time outside seemed to be paused, he would have suspected that this group of people had colluded to deceive him!

"Well, actually I also want to know, what's going on! My archbishop?" Corellon said.

PS: Thank you for Ji Ge's reward, Muah!