The reality was worse than Chief of Staff Duran feared.
This magical artillery, which was said by the great magician Mayev to have hit all the elites of the Military Magic Machinery Research Center, took more than three months to carefully build and cost a total of 340,000 gold coins to create. Regardless of the attack distance or The accuracy of the magic cannonball's landing point can be called horrific.
During the morning test, the best time this magic artillery hit was only a thousand meters away, and the impact point of the magic cannon was still more than fifty meters away from the target.
Not to mention comparing such a large error with the magic artillery of the New Flying Chamber of Commerce, even if Chief of Staff Durank's turtle legion is allowed to use the equipment, he has to seriously consider whether he should accept it.
This kind of unreliable thing, let alone attacking the enemy, is a question of whether it will accidentally hurt one's own people.
What really made Chief of Staff Duran despair was that during a test firing near noon, this magic artillery actually... actually exploded!
Such a powerful military magic machine actually exploded on its own!
Until he was far away from the Military Magic Machinery Research and Development Center, Chief of Staff Durank still had lingering fears.
If the great magician Moyev hadn't been by his side at that time, and deployed the magic shield in time to cover everyone around him, I'm afraid that the fragments produced by the explosion of the magic cannon would directly blow him into a ball of flesh not far away.
Moreover, regarding such a shocking accident, the great magician Moev turned out to be very calm and told Chief of Staff Durank that this was a normal thing and there was no need to make a fuss.
Chief of Staff Duran then asked further. Only then did I realize that it had been since the establishment of the Military Magic Machinery Research and Development Center. There have been more than 20 similar accidents so far. That's why the great magician Mayev behaved so calmly.
"It is normal to encounter accidents when studying magic. What is there to be surprised about?"
Thinking of the understatement on the face of the great magician Moev when he said this just now, Chief of Staff Durank could only smile bitterly.
He did not deny the words of the great magician Mayev, because he also agreed that studying magic and equally dangerous military magic machines would definitely encounter various accidents and even dangers, but this made him see clearly the fact that Sark The kingdom's current research level on military magic machinery is undoubtedly far behind that of the New Flying Chamber of Commerce.
It is almost a fantasy to rely on this military magic machine research and development center to catch up with the New Flying Chamber of Commerce.
And if it cannot catch up with the New Flying Chamber of Commerce in terms of military magic machinery, then the Sark Kingdom may never turn around.
at this point. This is what Chief of Staff Duran is most worried about.
Chief of Staff Durank, who was frowning deeply, returned to the city of Lordaeron in a carriage. He looked up and saw that it was almost noon. He originally planned to go to the military headquarters to make a report and communicate with the military intelligence agency, but suddenly I found a fleet of magic motorcycles with a very familiar flag slowly driving out of the city.
Since the Kingdom of Lampali and the Kingdom of Sark officially established diplomatic relations, and the New Flying Chamber of Commerce has also begun to cooperate with the Kingdom of Sark, it is no longer unusual to see magic motorcycles in the city of Lordaeron.
However, this convoy attracted the attention of Chief of Staff Duranke, because the flag flying in the convoy was clearly the flag representing the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce!
"Are these representatives sent by the New Flying Chamber of Commerce? Why did they suddenly come to Lordaeron?" A question passed through the mind of Chief of Staff Durank, and then he suddenly remembered something.
The Moon Shadow Tribe teamed up with the New Flying Chamber of Commerce escort team to repel the Spirit Turtle Legion's blockade of the Moon Shadow Tribe's territory, although this was not publicized. It did not cause much of a stir in the Kingdom of Sark, and even the Kingdom's military did not comment on the matter. But it is of course impossible to say that this incident had no consequences.
Three days ago, Chief of Staff Duranke received news claiming that the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce would send representatives to negotiate with the Sac Kingdom, and the subject of the negotiation was related to the territory of the Moon Shadow Tribe.
When Chief of Staff Duran heard the news, he felt incredible at first.
The Xinfei Chamber of Commerce sent an escort to attack the army belonging to the Sak Kingdom, and now it also actively sent representatives to come. This simply shows that the Sak Kingdom is not taken seriously.
But after thinking about it carefully, he felt that this was only reasonable.
If there is no follow-up action, why would the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce bother
Today I saw people from the New Flying Chamber of Commerce appearing in the city of Lordaeron, and they were still planning to leave. Does this mean that the negotiation is over
What was the result of the negotiation
Chief of Staff Durank rolled his eyes and changed his plan to go to the military headquarters. He changed the direction of the carriage and drove towards the north of Lordaeron.
# # #
"The request of the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce?" Paula Erwin, director of the Sac Kingdom's Commercial Department, looked at Chief of Staff Duran inexplicably. "Hey, Duran, you are such a war madman, why are you suddenly interested in this kind of thing?"
"Nonsense, we just had a battle with the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce escorts a few days ago. Of course I will be concerned about the actions of the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce." Chief of Staff Duran said angrily.
He and Paula Erwin were classmates in the same college and had been friends for many years, so naturally they could say whatever they thought of.
"That's it... But I clearly heard that your turtle army was beaten to the point of running away by the New Flying Chamber of Commerce's escorts, with no power to fight back." Director Erwin teased.
Chief of Staff Durank rolled his eyes and sighed helplessly: "There is no way, the guys from the New Flying Chamber of Commerce Guards are too strong. Don't say that our Spirit Turtle Legion can't stop them, even if it's the Candela Empire or the I think the most elite legion in the Maro Empire will not be able to resist it.”
"So? Have you given up resistance?"
"Fart!" Chief of Staff Duranke was furious. "As a soldier of the Kingdom, how can we give up so easily! Okay, stop talking nonsense and tell me, did the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce send people here this time to make any excessive demands to the Kingdom? They just taught us a lesson. There will definitely be conditions, right?”
"They did make a request, but if you want to go too far... that would be wrong." Director Erwin shook his head. "At least in my opinion. Not only is this request not too much for our Sark Kingdom, it is also a very big benefit."
"Benefits?" Chief of Staff Duranke was suddenly stunned. "How can this be?"
"Nothing is impossible. The representative sent by the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce said this time. We hope that our Sak Kingdom will open up the territory on the western coast and build a trade road from the Black Rice Wasteland to the north of the mainland. The idea of the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce is to establish Starting from the Principality of Standing to the Black Rice Wasteland, then passing through our Kingdom of Sark, and finally reaching the passages of several countries in the north of the continent, so that they can easily transport their various commodities to the north of the continent. "
"Oh? Is this the plan of the New Flying Chamber of Commerce?" Chief of Staff Duranke pondered for a moment and couldn't help but nodded slowly. "This does seem to be the style of the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, and it is very feasible. But didn't I hear that the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce just sent a fleet to explore the northern waters some time ago? Since they are going to open up a sea channel, why bother so much? Strength to open a passage on land? "
"Sea access and land access cannot be treated equally. The most obvious difference is that after winter, the northern sea area will freeze over a large area, and the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce will no longer be able to rely on sea transportation. So if I were Xu Yi, I would also look for A land passage," Erwin explained.
"Oh... So, the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce sent out the escort team to attack us together with the elves from the Moon Shadow Tribe. Is this the plan?"
"Judging from their actions now, it should be like this."
"Then why should they go to all the trouble? Why don't they just talk to the Kingdom directly?" Chief of Staff Duranke said in confusion.
"Do you think... if the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce had done nothing, would the Kingdom have so easily agreed to open the Kingdom's territory to allow their caravans to pass through at will?" Director Erwin asked.
"This..." Chief of Staff Duran thought for a while, then shook his head with a wry smile.
There are quite a few people in the Sark Kingdom who are hostile to the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce. Especially in the military department, there are very few people who can objectively examine the New Aircraft Chamber of Commerce like Chief of Staff Durant.
If the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce came directly to the Sark Kingdom to request the opening of the kingdom's territory, it would definitely be regarded as a provocation by the vast majority of people, and it would be surprising if it could be approved.
"Hey, when did we in the Sark Kingdom become bullies and shy of the strong..." Chief of Staff Durank smiled bitterly in his heart. When he looked up, he found that Director Erwin had a smile on his face. He couldn't help but wonder: "What do I think of you? You seem very happy? Don’t you think it’s humiliating that the caravans of the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce can roam around our Sark Kingdom at will?”
"Humiliation?" Director Erwin blinked, as if he didn't understand the statement, and then laughed again. "Okay, I understand what you soldiers think. But to be honest, in my opinion, as the Director of the Commercial Affairs Department, the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce is actually the best partner. We should have taken the initiative to seek cooperation long ago. We should not be interested in Xinfei at all. The Flying Chamber of Commerce has no hatred.”
"Why?"
"Why? Hey, Dulank, you soldiers know how to ask for funds every day, but you have never cared about how the large amount of funds allocated by the kingdom to the military department come from, right?"
Chief of Staff Durank's face turned slightly red, and he coughed lightly and said: "Well... I will still be more concerned about it. I know that the kingdom's finances are not very abundant, and the funds are actually still very tight."
"It's good to know!" Director Erwin snorted coldly. "Let me tell you, since we started formal cooperation with the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce more than two years ago, our Sac Kingdom's commercial taxes have increased significantly every year. Especially this year, if everything continues according to the current trend, the commercial taxes for the whole year will be It will be more than four times what it was three years ago! Do you know what this means?”
"Four times more?" Chief of Staff Duranke was surprised. "So exaggerated?"
"It's such an exaggeration." Director Erwin said sternly: "Dulank, this time the New Aircraft Chamber of Commerce took the initiative to seek cooperation with us. This is a good opportunity for us. Don't say that the New Aircraft Chamber of Commerce deliberately made such a mistake before. Big moves will force your military to make concessions. Even if they don’t do this, I will ask you to make concessions on behalf of the Commerce Department!”
Looking at the upright Director Erwin, Chief of Staff Duran curled his lips and was speechless for a moment.
Why did he suddenly realize that soldiers like him, who were dedicated to protecting the kingdom, seemed to have become sinners? (To be continued...)