Salin's palace didn't have the grandeur of Yun Liuren. Instead, it was like Qinyin's palace. Everyone had a seat, and there were no stairs. The envoys were arranged to stay in the outer hall. They were tired from the journey and should have rested first. However, Salin had to meet Balder first. The envoys were also arranged to stay in the palace, so a banquet was held to welcome them first.
Salin sat at the head of the large oval table. On his left were his people, and on his right were the envoys. Balder didn't sit next to Salin. Two Magic Shooters were arranged next to Salin. Stephanie was seen through by Nicholas, but she didn't care. She just didn't say anything.
Salin felt conflicted. What did Sacred Rock City mean by sending two level-eight Magic Shooters? If Nicholas wasn't by his side, could it be that these two High Mages wanted to make a move on him?
He wouldn't have thought so. The problem was that Stephanie had disguised herself as a white-robed Mage, and Zola hadn't seen through her. It was Nicholas who reminded him, and he used his Elemental Eyes to observe and discover the problem.
Thus, this scene happened. Salin was indifferent to Balder, while the nobles on his left were very excited. They looked at Balder eagerly, hoping to hear news that would be beneficial to the kingdom from his mouth.
Sacred Rock City couldn't have sent him here to sightsee, right?
Balder didn't know what to say. According to the rules, he should stay in a place like a posthouse, arrange a time, and have a grand ceremony. Then, he would hand in his letter of credence. The envoys would communicate with the nobles of Metatlin, and he would tell Salin about the mission that His Majesty and Prince Sephiroth had given him.
Salin, on the other hand, acted like he couldn't wait any longer and brought him directly to the palace.
Fortunately, Salin was prepared. Metatlin didn't have much, but the nobles brought the most servants. Salin asked for a dozen good cooks, and a banquet was already prepared.
After a round of tea, dishes were served one after another. In order to take care of the envoys, Salin didn't use the undead to do the work like he did in the temple.
The servants in charge were borrowed from the nobles. Salin wasn't married, so he didn't have any female servants. The people coming and going were all strong men.
Raising his glass, Salin began to toast in a noble tone. Balder finally relaxed. Although Salin's way of speaking was a habit of the ancient Fourth Dynasty, it was to his liking.
After drinking three cups, Salin arranged for a few low-level mages to mix drinks for everyone. This was the style of Kushui County. Mixing wine with the Water of Recovery could make the wine lighter without harming the body.
The atmosphere was harmonious. Salin then asked, "Duke, did His Majesty have any special instructions for you to come here?"
He did not mention the letter of credence. The content of the letter of credence was nothing more than setting up permanent envoys for both sides to be stationed in each other's capitals for a long period of time to facilitate communication. The Embassy was going to set up a teleportation portal. The Teleportation Formation could be used to exchange letters at any time, but it could not transport living people like the large-scale Teleportation Formations.
The letter of credence would definitely talk about the borders, as well as issues such as permission for the military to enter. This was not what Salin was concerned about. What he was concerned about was the attitude of Qin Yin's Emperor. In any case, he knew what was going on between Sephiroth and Rex. Sacred Rock City would be wary of Metatlin City.
His regular army would not be able to enter Phoenix. At most, they would be at the border of Phoenix, where the expeditionary army of the Vatican had passed through, to give him a way out to Garoulan.
"His Majesty, he …" Balder sorted out his thoughts and said, "His Majesty hopes to open up a trade route between here and Sacred Rock City. Most importantly, His Majesty hopes that Metatlin can provide Sacred Rock City with magic cores during the war."
Balder did not mention Prince Sephiroth's request. Tiffany was the Emperor's person, and some things were best said behind her back. The Emperor might have secretly sent an extra Magic Shooter to target him. If he did too much for the prince and delayed the Emperor's matters, the two Magic Shooters would definitely slaughter him and the people around him.
After all, he only had 1,400 soldiers under his command, and that was what the Emperor had agreed to. As for the remaining 1,600 people, they had to listen to Tiffany.
The name Stephanie made him a little afraid. This woman was said to be a Mage trusted by Emperor Chanak and did not belong to the royal Mage circle. If she did something, the court would not admit it, nor would they bear any responsibility. When that happened, Stephanie would run to Alchemy City, and he would have died for nothing.
"How much does His Majesty want?"
"100,000 Level-Four magic cores."
"What price?"
"100 gold coins."
"This …" Salin purposely pondered. There was a price list on the market, and the price of Level-One magic cores fluctuated quite a bit. The cheapest was one gold coin, and the most expensive was no more than five gold coins. Level-Two magic cores could be sold for 10 gold coins, and especially pure ones could be sold for 20 gold coins. Level-Three magic cores could be sold for 100 gold coins.
The most expensive Level-Four magic cores could be sold for 1,000 gold coins, but usually they would not exceed 400 gold coins. This was before they were cut. After they were cut, they would be sold for 200 gold coins. A skilled Magician could cut a level-four Magic Core into three or more standard units.
If the magic core was not cut, it could not be embedded into the magic formation.
Uncut magic cores were priced according to their size. After they were cut, they would be of the same size. After deducting the cost of labor and wear and tear, a Level-Four magic core would cost almost half of it.
100 gold coins was definitely the price after it was cut, because a Level-Four magic core could be cut into at least three standard units. No matter how arrogant Emperor Qin Yin was, he could not force a sale like this.
The nobles became nervous. This was the price Salin had given them. If Salin agreed, they would not earn anything. Level-Four magic cores were dozens of times more difficult to cut than low-level magic cores, and it was very expensive to cut them by hand. If Salin did not help them, they would earn even less. So whether Salin agreed or not, they could not change his mind. Otherwise, if Salin did not cut them in the future, their profits would be reduced by at least 30%.
"This price is not good. I have already sold this year's magic cores to the dukes and earls. I only have 40,000 magic cores left."
Everyone was excited. Salin did not give them the magic cores. Their agreement with Salin was only a verbal agreement. It was reasonable to sacrifice their interests for the sake of associating with Holy Rock City. Moreover, associating with Holy Rock City would be beneficial to them, and these nobles did not want to stop them. That was why they were so conflicted.
Balder still wanted to say something, but Salin said, "The market price is 200 gold coins. This is not a low-level magic core. Mages have to cut it, and even apprentices may not be able to do it. How about this, I ask for 15% more, 115 gold coins. If you are willing, I will pay for my nobles and have them sell it to you at this price. "
Balder's heart ached. Before Ojarvis left, he had reminded him that he had to buy the magic cores. He was allowed to raise the price by 20%. In other words, the emperor was actually willing to buy it for 120 gold coins. But if the price exceeded 110 gold coins, he would not be able to make a profit.
But Salin had made it clear that he had already sold the magic cores. If he did not agree to this price, he could talk to the nobles separately.
If that was the case, he would have offended all the Metatlin nobles, and there would be no hope for the prince's request.
The nobles' hearts were at ease. Although 115 gold coins was still very low, they did not need to use any funds. They could just sit and collect money, and they could earn 15 gold coins per magic core!
Salin's final distribution was 20,000 magic cores for each of the four dukes, 5,000 for each of the 12 counts, and the remaining 20,000 were distributed to the other nobles. It would be good if each of them could get a few hundred.
"The four of you, 10,000 magic cores each. You guys, 5,000 each. How about it? "Salin did not care if Balder agreed or not, and started discussing the conditions with his nobles.
Guya and the others were from the four major families, and they were all rich but powerless. The other nobles could not compare. The four of them were not afraid of using up funds, but the 12 counts could accept this method. Selling all 5,000 magic cores at once, they could earn 50,000 gold coins directly. They did not even need to move their butts. Salin said he would pay for them, but they did not dare to accept it.
Even if Ainphent and the others were not willing, they could not refuse. Anyway, there were still 10,000 magic cores to sell. On average, they would still earn a lot.
"Your Highness Salin, His Majesty also asked me to bring you some gifts." Balder did not harp on the matter of the magic cores. He saw that Salin did not bow and scrape to the two Magic Shooters, and knew that this man could not be subdued. Naturally, he had other plans.
"Oh, His Majesty is too polite. What kind of gifts are they? " Salin looked curious. The matter of the magic cores was settled. According to this price, he could sell them to the emperor privately. The emperor would definitely not put it on credit, so it was good business.
Balder also thought that His Majesty should buy as many as possible. He had asked for 100,000, and Salin had agreed readily, so there must be some left. If he asked Salin for some, according to this price, it would be a good income when he returned. This time, he had brought more than 20,000 gold coins with him. If he used all of them to buy magic cores, he would earn more than 10,000 gold coins when he returned.
"This is not what I carry with me, Master Tiffany, please …" Balder said to Tiffany very politely.
Tiffany smiled and stood up. He walked to an empty space in the hall and released a huge thing from his spatial equipment. This was an alchemy machine that was more than 10 meters long. It was golden all over and looked like a huge weaving shuttle. This was an alchemy machine that was more than 10 meters long. It was golden all over and looked like a huge weaving shuttle.
"This is a submersible warship, newly developed by Holy Rock City. Even Cloud City does not have it. His Majesty knows that your city is near the sea, and coastal defense is very important, so he asked me to bring this to you, "Balder said proudly. Salin did not know whether to laugh or cry.
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