Chapter 578 - 367: An Unexpected Visitor
Chapter 578: Chapter 367: An Unexpected Visitor
In the past, before the weather grew so abnormal, merchants from Debei would travel in a constant stream to the Wilderness, an Unclaimed Land that was a veritable gold mine.
The land was filled with ignorance, chaos, and bandits as numerous as weeds.
However, the fine beast pelts, Magic Beast Crystal Cores, strong slaves, sturdy warhorses, and the occasional Bronze Artifact from ancient times that could be found there were all priceless rarities back in Debei.
And the bumpkins of the Wilderness had no idea what these items were worth; they could often be acquired for cheap goods like tea, ironware, or even strips of cloth.
A bankrupt merchant who came to the Wilderness with a Hundred Gold Coins worth of goods to take a gamble could see their fortune instantly multiply to over One Thousand Gold Coins if they made it back safely. Examples like this were everywhere, attracting countless gold-seekers.
Every year, trade with the Wilderness alone would generate hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins in revenue for Debei.
However, that all changed when the Lord arrived in the Wilderness alone. First, his occupation of the iron mine provoked an attack from the Wilderness Alliance Army. Then came the invasion of the Giant Dragon’s Vassal legions, followed by the Minotaur Alliance Army marching south.
The Wilderness was thrown into chaos, and the number of merchants plummeted. Later, Levi officially resolved the turmoil, but before merchants could set foot in the Wilderness again, a sudden, unending heavy snow began to fall.
And now, the Wilderness—a land vaster than the Southern and Eastern Territories combined—has officially become Levi’s domain.
As its rightful ruler, Levi also issued a policy forbidding those greedy merchants from sneaking into the Wilderness, restricting all trade to High Cliff Castle. Centaur Clan Warriors and Jackal Wolfman Cavalry now regularly patrol the critical routes to stop any who might try to take the risk.
Thus, the entire Wilderness became the Lord’s personal backyard. Miriel’s recent voyage to White Harbor in the Southern Territory was to sell the pelts and livestock that the Wilderness People had sold to High Cliff Castle, along with the castle’s own specially blended spices, strong malt liquor, and weapons.
"Levi, we sold practically all of our cargo on this voyage. Besides the fifty to sixty thousand Gold Coins we earned, we also bought tea, grain, and silk, just as you requested..."
In a High Cliff Castle warehouse, Miriel, who had changed into a red, strapless long dress, was going over the ledgers with Levi point by point. Beside them, two tortoise-shelled Model Scholars were calculating with quill pens.
"Your specially blended spices in particular—at first, no merchants wanted to buy them," Miriel explained with a smile. "We could only sell them in small batches to the minor nobles. But when Duke Liya found out we were in White Harbor, she bought nearly seventy percent of the spices and the wine brewed by the Elves. After that, the other nobles scrambled to buy up the rest of our goods."
"The bandwagon effect. Still, we really have Liya to thank." You could tell how happy the Lord was from the grin he couldn’t wipe off his face.
In the past, the majority of High Cliff Castle’s income came from the arms trade. But after High Cliff Castle became the Wilderness Tyrant, Levi was frustrated to find that he couldn’t sell weapons anymore.
The reason, surprisingly, was that High Cliff Castle would crush any restless tribes in its efforts to stabilize the domain. As a result, the natives were now as timid as groundhogs. Since they weren’t fighting anymore, they naturally had no need for high-quality weapons.
Fortunately, although the natives weren’t buying weapons anymore, they could now be sold to the Southern Territory.
The quality of High Cliff Castle’s weapons was on par with those on the market in Debei, so there was no shortage of buyers.
All in all, this trade venture was a great success.
Since the Wilderness was his territory, and with the continuous heavy snow, very few merchants came there anymore. This led to a large backlog of goods, and Bailiu City in the Northern Territory alone couldn’t possibly absorb such a quantity.
Therefore, traveling to the more distant Southern Territory not only allowed them to sell goods at a higher price but also to clear out their entire stock.
Levi intended to develop High Cliff Castle into a commercial city, the trading hub of the Wilderness. Members of the Wilderness Tribes could come here to buy what they needed, and merchants, in turn, could sell their goods to them.
But right now, there weren’t enough merchants. So, High Cliff Castle had to step in personally, shouldering the heavy responsibility of selling the natives’ goods to the outside world for the time being.
As for the Wilderness Tribes, although High Cliff Castle’s military might was at its peak, it still lacked the ability to govern the entire Wilderness. Therefore, as long as they behaved themselves, Levi wouldn’t move against them.
’The Wilderness is a vast Unclaimed Land; it has to be absorbed bit by bit. Only then can my rule be stabilized.’
The Model Scholars quickly finished inventorying everything and then took their leave in a flurry of activity. High Cliff Castle had a massive backlog of internal affairs. They had only just joined the castle, and even working day and night, they still weren’t finished.
Watching their departing figures, Levi couldn’t help but think, ’No wonder the tortoise won against the hare. If it were a race between the Model Elders and the Rabbit People, the Models would definitely win, too. It’s so counter-intuitive.’
"Oh, right. Duke Liya asked me to bring you this letter." Just as the two of them were leaving the hall, Miriel remembered something and took a gold-edged envelope with a tulip wax seal from within her dress.
"Come to think of it, it’s been nearly half a year since I’ve had any contact with her, not since I received that letter from the Southern Territory’s envoy in Gonda," Levi remarked, sounding strangely wistful.
Between Kolon and High Cliff Castle lay not only the Northern Territory but also the valleys of the Royal Court. The journey alone took more than two months.