583 Saleen’s Wild Ambition Part 2 (1/2)
Although Sikeqinya was to the north of Phoenix, its borders were surrounded by mountain ranges, and its climate was highly affected by the warm currents from the west. Its average temperature in a year was slightly higher than Phoenix's. Due to its unique geographical location, Sikeqinya need not face Tanggulasi empire's iron knights head-on, nor worry about its naval forces since the Tanggulasi empire's coastal areas were affected by cloud currents.
The roads leading from Sikeqinya to the south were limited, and they all basically began from Laiyin Duchy. There was only one road leading to God's Grace Duchy, and the road contained three impregnable passes. That eliminated any possibility of Tanggulasi empire's invasion.
If Tanggulasi empire wished to invade Sikeqinya, the best route would not be through God's Grace Duchy. Instead, they should enter Laiyin Duchy from the eastern part of Luolan, then enter Sikeqinya from Laiyin Duchy. This was a much longer route that would increase their mileage by an additional 10,000 miles, which would be a headache in terms of logistics.
Entering Sikeqinya through Qin would be much easier. Qin's borders were very close to Laiyin Duchy's, and some of Phoenix's lands even overlapped with Laiyin Duchy's. Pass through Laiyin Duchy, and you would reach Sikeqinya's great wall. The great wall must be guarded heavily, so Sikeqinya empire was willing to put up with the Dragons and Roses Regiment.
This grade-9 regiment consisted of two very powerful leaders who commanded more than 10,000 of the most elite members. Their numbers surpassed what a normal regiment should have. Nevertheless, the Sikeqinya empire needed them to guard the borders, so they chose to turn a blind eye to it.
Saleen knew that it was hopeless to attack from Laiyin Duchy unless he commanded an army of 10,000 with more than ten sorcerers. He could enter Sikeqinya from the side through the chaotic swamp, though.
Saleen was no longer the clueless youth that he had been in the past. Now, he was more aware of what was going on in the mainland and also understood the various possibilities available to him. Invading Phoenix was a necessity. Although the north had mines, wood, and even a sufficient supply of beasts, they did not have enough grain.
Although the lands of the north were fertile, the issue was that there was only one season throughout the year that was suitable for agriculture. Excluding the crops that the farmers would keep to feed themselves, there would not be much left. Once a war broke out, the farmers would not be able to farm and would have to buy grains from external sources. If they reached that stage, the enemy would only have to seal up all the roads, and Metatrin would become an isolated city.
Taking Phoenix was a must. It would serve as a granary. The noble families of Phoenix might not be the richest, but they definitely possessed the most grain in the world.
During wartime, grain might not be available even for all the money in the world. Therefore, it was essential to stock up before war fully broke out throughout the mainland. Metatrin City's advantage was that there were a large number of mages. Saleen definitely had the resources to build a huge granary to store all the grain.
Ordinary grain could only be kept for three to five years, but if they were stored in granaries built by mages, they could last up to 30 to 50 years instead.
Metatrin City had been stocking up on grain all this while. They sold most of their ores for grains, with only 20 percent being sold for gold coins.
Sharman was intelligent but was also limited by contextual knowledge. Based on their size, the Rolande family might be bigger than a Marquis family and could be considered as a grade-1 Earl. Therefore, the issues that were on Sharman's mind were still stuck at the level of an Earl. She was still a young girl. Naturally, she would not know what Saleen was thinking.
Seeing how Saleen looked, she could no longer pretend to be naïve and said defeatedly, ”In any case, these are all the men that I have. If they all die, there is no way my sister will allow me to come out like this in the future.”
”That is not possible. The losses that you have suffered can be fully compensated by those goods.”
”I am talking about mage Buharin,” Sharman said in frustration. ”He is the top mage under my sister. If he dies, my sister will hate me forever.”
”Grade-5 mages will not die so easily. See, I am not afraid at all.”
Saleen spoke and took out a tea set from the demonic ring at the same time. Soon, he was starting a fire and boiling water.
”Is there wine?” Sharman was one head shorter than Saleen and was still a young girl no matter how you looked at here. When she requested wine, Saleen shook his head and said, ”Let's drink tea. Mages do not like to drink wine.”
”I just want some wine to boost my courage. You must protect me. I am only 15 years old, and I don't want to die.” Sharman unbuckled the half-sword at her waist and put it on the table. Her hands cupped her face, and she was in a daze while watching Saleen boil water.
”15 years old? How old is your sister?”
”19 years old. When she was 15, the rank of Baroness was personally assigned by the Emperor to her instead of the House of Commons.”
”I heard that for the women of noble families, the topic of marriage will come up when they are 16, and by the time they are 18, they are usually married.”
”The Emperor said that he will make the decision on my sister's marriage. Subsequently, the emperor… died and no one in the family dared to bring this up for fear of upsetting Holy Rock City.”
”Ah, no wonder you have come to Metatrin City. This is something that Lex will be able to settle.”
Sharman could not help but squint her eyes after hearing what Saleen said. Saleen mentioned the Duke of Bitter Water's name casually, which meant that the two must be very close.
”My sister does not know how to bring it up.”
”I will talk to Lex.” Saleen used magic powder to light up the charcoal and created restorative water to make tea.
”Brother Saleen, you have a good relationship with the Duke?”