Although Scotia was located slightly north of Phoenix, there were mountains everywhere along the border. The climate was mainly influenced by the Western Warm Current, so the average annual temperature was slightly higher than that of Phoenix. Because of the special geographical environment, Scotia did not have to face the Tanggulas Empire's cavalry directly. The Tanggulas Empire's sea was harassed by the currents, so they could not use their navy to deal with Scotia.
There were not many roads to the south in the Scotia Empire. Basically, they had to go through the Rhine Duchy. There was only one way to enter the Grace Duchy. There were three impregnable passes along the way, completely sealing off any possibility of the Tanggulas Empire invading by land.
If the Tanggulas Empire wanted to invade Scotia, their best choice was not to attack from the Grace Duchy. Instead, they would enter the Rhine Duchy from the east of the Jialoulan Duchy, then enter Scotia from there. This would increase the distance by more than ten thousand miles, which was an unbearable factor for logistics.
However, entering Scotia from the Qinyin Empire was much easier. The Qinyin Empire and the Rhine Duchy were very close. Even part of Phoenix was connected to the Rhine Duchy. After passing through the Rhine Duchy was the Great Wall of Scotia. There were not many places to defend, so the Scotia Empire tolerated the Dragon and Rose mercenary group.
This level-nine mercenary group had two peak masters and tens of thousands of elites, far exceeding the scale of a mercenary group. However, the Scotia Empire needed them to guard the border, so they could only turn a blind eye.
Salin knew that there was no hope of attacking from the Rhine Duchy. Unless he had a hundred thousand soldiers and dozens of Magic Shooters, there was no hope. However, he could go through the Chaos Swamp and enter Scotia from the side.
Salin was no longer the ignorant youth he used to be. He knew the situation on the continent better than most nobles. He also understood the possibilities of the future. Invading Phoenix was a necessary move. Although there were mines, wood, and resources from magical beasts in the north, they were still lacking in food.
The land in the north was fertile, but there was only one season to plant. Apart from self-sufficiency, there was not much left. If there was a war, farmers could not farm and would have to buy food from outside. At that point, the enemy only needed to block his way, and Metatlin would become an isolated city.
He had to take down Phoenix. It was the granary. The nobles of Phoenix might not be the richest, but they definitely had the most food reserves in the world.
During the war, even if they had money, they wouldn't be able to buy food. Thus, they had to prepare as much as possible before the flames of war spread across the entire continent. Metatlin City had an advantage, and that was a large number of Magicians. Salin could totally build a huge warehouse and store enough food to deal with it.
Normal grains could only be stored for three to five years, but a magician's warehouse could store grains for thirty to fifty years without spoiling.
Metatlin City had always been planning to purchase food and ores. Transactions were basically settled with food, and only 20% were exchanged for gold coins.
No matter how smart Sha Man was, there was still a limit to what she could do. In terms of scale, the Roland Family was even bigger than a Marquis's family. In terms of title, it was a first-class Earl. Sharman thought that the Count's vision was the highest. She was just a little girl, so of course she didn't know what Salin was thinking.
However, seeing Salin in such a state, she couldn't continue pretending to be naive. She could only say dejectedly, "Anyway, I only brought this many people. If we all die, I won't be able to come out in the future. My sister will restrict my movements."
"How is that possible? Your losses this time can be completely paid for with those goods."
"I'm talking about Wizard Bukharin. He's the chief Magician under my sister. If he dies, my sister will hate me to death," Sha Man said gloomily.
"A fifth-level Magician won't die so easily. Look, I'm not even afraid."
As Salin spoke, he took out a tea set from his demon ring, a stove, and began to boil water.
"Do you have wine?" Sha Man was a head shorter than Salin, and no matter how one looked at her, she was still a little girl. She asked for wine, but Salin shook his head and said, "Just tea. Magicians don't like to drink."
"I just want to give myself courage. You have to protect me. I'm only fifteen, I don't want to die." Sha Man untied the short sword at her waist and placed it on the table. She propped up her chin with both hands and watched blankly as Salin boiled water.
"Fifteen? How old is your sister? "
"Nineteen. When she was fifteen, the emperor personally conferred her a baron, not the kind in the lower house."
"I heard that girls from noble families have to talk about marriage at sixteen. Usually, they should be married at eighteen."
"The emperor said that he would make the decision for my sister's marriage, but then the emperor … died. No one in the family dared to raise this issue, afraid that Sacred Rock City would cause trouble."
"Ha, no wonder she went to Metatlin City. Rex can take care of this matter. "
Hearing Salin's words, Sha Man's pupils involuntarily contracted. Salin directly called the Duke of Kushui by his name. This meant that the two were already very close.
"My sister is too embarrassed to mention it."
"I'll go talk to her." Salin used magic powder to ignite charcoal, creating a portion of Restoration Water to make tea.
"Brother Salin, are you very close to the duke?"
"Sort of."
"I want to ask, what is the relationship between the duke and Metatlin City?"
"Why are you asking this?" Salin's hands didn't stop moving. After the water boiled, he first brewed the tea, removed the dust and impetuous smell, and filtered the first brew of water.
"Because my sister can't make up her mind. I see that you and Ainphent are very close. I advised my sister to go with you, but she still wants to go with Rex."
"If she goes with Rex, your sister will still be affected by Sacred Rock City for now. If she goes with Metatlin City … what does your sister want? "
Salin's words were ambiguous, and Sha Man didn't understand. She continued, "My sister's baron was conferred by the emperor, so the lower house can't take it away. The current emperor also doesn't have the guts to criticize the upper house. But His Highness will control the upper house sooner or later. You don't know, but my sister got the title because the emperor … the emperor thinks she looks like His Highness. The prince knows about this, and there's no time to settle it now. If he takes away my sister's title in the future … "
"I understand. Is your sister a Magician?"
"Yes, my sister is a level-four Magician." Sha Man was very proud when she said this. The sisters didn't have a low status in the Roland family, mostly because of their strength. She was a high-level swordswoman when she was very young, and her sister became a level-four Magician more than three years ago.
These two sisters would be treated seriously even in the royal family. However, she didn't know that Salin didn't lack Magicians, but Sword Saints like her. She was only sixteen years old, and in five years at most, she would become a Black Iron Sword Saint. It was also very promising for her to become a Silver Sword Saint around thirty years old.
A Magician with a strong body like Salin was not as useful as a Sword Saint when it came to charging and breaking through enemy lines. Salin didn't care much about Baron Guya's rank, but he was very interested in this little Sword Saint.
"The surname Metatlin … was very glorious in the Fourth Dynasty." Salin didn't continue and let Sha Man guess.
Sha Man was born into a merchant family, so she immediately understood what Salin meant. Now that the world was about to be in chaos, those with strength would definitely not be willing to be left out. Most of the families in the Fourth Dynasty were in Cloud Flow City, and those that could survive in Qinyin must have a strong foundation.
"There's a river five hundred miles north of Metatlin City. I want to build another city there and control the northern mines. If your sister can get me a group of weaponsmiths, I will let her leave the Roland family's control. As for the title, I can't promise it to her now."
Sha Man was a little disappointed. "My sister doesn't care about the title, she's just worried …"
"Worried about the safety of Metatlin City?"
"Yes," Sha Man answered straightforwardly.
"No rush, no rush." Salin was still smiling, not caring about Sha Man's tone. He poured Sha Man a cup of tea and said, "In a year, I will sweep through Phoenix. I guess your sister will also break through the limit and become a level-five Magician. Otherwise, she wouldn't have the courage to make such a request."
Sha Man was stunned. Salin's words had hit the nail on the head. Her sister, Baron Guya, did have hopes of breaking through the limit and becoming a level-five Magician. Moreover, after being rewarded by Great Emperor Chanak, Guya had recruited a group of warriors. Her 20 personal guards were all advanced swordsmen below the age of 30.
As long as one wasn't stupid, they could definitely become an advanced swordsman by the age of 60 if they practiced swordsmanship. However, if they became an advanced swordsman before the age of 30, they definitely had hopes of becoming a Sword Sage.
The two sisters had money, strength, and the emperor's support. In a short year, they had risen in the family. However, Great Emperor Chanak's sudden death made Baron Guya's heart skip a beat. Fortunately, Holy Rock City didn't immediately find trouble with a small baron like her. She still had time to plan for her future.
Ainphent sent her a message, asking her to come to Metatlin City. Without a word, Baron Guya came with all her trusted aides. However, after arriving, Baron Guya was very hesitant. There were two forces in Metatlin City. One of them was the Metatlin family. This family was the master of the city. Usually, it was a necromancer who made the decisions. The other was the army of Kushui Commandery.
Baron Guya couldn't figure out the relationship between the two, and Ainphent didn't want to reveal it. Thus, she didn't make up her mind and kept watching from Metatlin City.
"Let your sister watch for another year. I think she'll be able to make up her mind by then." Salin raised his teacup and took a sip.
"Hmph, my sister won't wait a year. The family already has … "Sha Man suddenly stopped. She realized that if she continued, wouldn't she lose the bargaining chip?
"Then call all the people she can take to Metatlin City. The Roland family won't dare to do anything to her."
"Why?"
"A large part of the Roland family's business goes through the northern part of the empire. The Kushui Commandery will soon control the northern part of the empire, unless they don't want to do business anymore." Salin sneered. The four families prioritized profit. They'd probably already sided with Prince Sephiroth. However, Salin wasn't worried at all. If the four families wanted to do business, they couldn't offend the Kushui Commandery either.
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