Although Lilith was angry, she had no way to express it. She just glanced at Judith beside her, who quietly discussed with Lilith, “Your Majesty, our family still has some assets. Let’s leave those central nobles to us; this is also for the Southwest Borders, and Scott will support us.”
These weapons were originally intended to be handed over to the Southwest Border, so it was reasonable to have the Southwest Border assist; moreover, using people in exchange was much cheaper than direct purchases, as it only required coaxing those nobles.
Although it was somewhat difficult, the two dukes, Judith and Scott, still had some influence.
Not to mention, this list of weapons included ray guns and cutting swords, which had shone brilliantly in the Gold Ears Campaign.
It would be impossible to say that they didn’t want them.
Although Lilith understood that this was like drinking poison to quench thirst, having already drunk so much poison, what harm could one more cup do?
Furthermore, if they could clarify the current technological development of the Northern Border through the study of ray guns and cutting swords, then the costs incurred would all be worth it.
Just then, Lind suddenly said, “Of course, as officials, we from the Northern Border will understand Your Majesty’s difficulties, so this time, besides the weapons, some other things will also be opened.”
Lind crossed his legs, snapped his fingers, and a servant promptly handed over a new contract document.
Nora was quite dissatisfied with Lind’s attitude. If Lind’s companion Lena appeared overly restrained due to being unfamiliar with etiquette, and seemed rather awkward, then Lind had already seen through the essence of so-called etiquette, showing that he did not care about the rules set by high positions.
However, when Nora saw this new contract, she couldn’t help but swallow hard, continuously pouring water from the cup on the table into herself, as if trying to calm down by drinking.
On the negotiating table filled with mutual pulling, this was almost an indication of her being in a weak position, but Nora could no longer care about that; the content of the contract was truly shocking, to the extent that she completely forgot the negotiation rules she had brushed up on before coming.
Seeing the servant continuously refilling Nora’s water, Judith felt somewhat disdainful; after all, the young and inexperienced would inevitably lose their composure. Looking at herself, as the Grand Duke of the Southern Border, she remained unshaken, even knowing that both Her Majesty the Queen and the Governor of the Northern Border were descendants of the Old Empire, still maintaining a very calm demeanor, fully displaying noble grace.
But when Judith took the contract, she nearly spat out her tea.
She felt her hand shaking as she held the contract. Was the Northern Border Governor and Her Majesty the Queen really siblings? The big news had truly arrived.
Lilith was also quite excited upon receiving the contract, having just thought about considering the learning of Northern Border’s technology tree through ray guns and cutting swords, only to find that the other side had brought it straight out.
Of course, it wasn’t really a matter of sharing technology with the Royal Capital, but rather bringing out the Obelisk for energy supply.
The simple introduction of the Obelisk that Judith looked at was increasingly alarming; if the introduction were true, then those professions responsible for providing nobles with fireworks, heating, and energizing magical formations could all retire.
Not only that, but this Obelisk could also provide energy for weapons like the ray guns and cutting swords, although energizing weapons was just one minor role of the Obelisk.
The Northern Border had many devices compatible with the Obelisk, such as equipment in factories that produced various products, equipment for mass-producing potions, and equipment used in mines.
This was a complete set of systems. Although the entire set was in the hands of the Northern Border, and the Royal Capital only had the right to use it, it was still extremely exaggerated.
Lind did not think that this world was filled with fools; the secrets of ray guns and cutting swords could not be hidden. Eventually, the secrets of the arcane formations would also be exposed.
Instead of holding onto the arcane formations like an old party would until death, it would be better to take advantage of the exposure to exploit more benefits with these things.
Moreover, this also gave Lind a first-mover advantage, allowing for better control of the development of the arcane formations later on.
A single Obelisk could turn a city into a city that never sleeps. If the rumors were true, the Northern Border really had this kind of technology. Nora felt her heart tremble; as long as they had this technology, what was there to fear from An Zhu?
Loyalty; truly too loyal. The Northern Border Governor was simply the noble among nobles. Although it was clear that the core technology was definitely still in the hands of the other side, and that maintenance of these devices would take a substantial amount, which would be costly in the long run, Nora was quite sure that all of this was worth it. With a single Obelisk, the status of the Royal Capital could be reestablished. Even if they stopped the reforms, Nora had to secure the Obelisk and its supporting facilities.
As long as they could accomplish this matter, Nora would be immortalized alongside Lilith.
Lilith, however, understood that things weren’t that simple and watched this Northern Border Governor with caution. After all, the technology was still in their hands. Although if this entire system could be purchased, it could allow the Royal Capital to easily enter the technological era, to be honest, the current system of the Royal Capital was somewhat lagging behind, putting tremendous pressure on Lilith.
Moreover, Lilith felt that this was more of a preparation for the other side’s future plans. If the Royal Capital and the surrounding areas also established Obelisks, then the opponent’s troops wouldn’t even need logistics support when they reached those places.
However, that wasn’t all. Lind continued, “To be honest, I don’t trust the people of the Royal Capital much. I am very worried that after the Obelisks begin to be used, before long, An Zhu and the Demon Clan will possess similar technology.”
In reality, this was impossible; the establishment of the Obelisks wasn’t done overnight. Currently, only the Northern Border’s runic engineers could build Obelisks and play around with them.
Even if An Zhu put all its effort into cracking and researching it, they would likely only manage to figure out the basic principles of arcane formations at most, and create some similar production lines.
As for the Demon Clan, it was even more of a stretch. Bloodline Magic was both a talent and a curse; it was nearly impossible for the Demon Clan, which found it difficult to learn other types of magic, to understand the arcane formations.
Moreover, being able to bring out the Obelisk, Lilith speculated that based on this Governor’s nature, he probably already had a more perfect substitute, just like how his side had already had ray guns but only sold the old-fashioned firearms and cannons to the Royal Capital.
Lilith’s guess wasn’t wrong; Lind was already working on Obelisk 2.0 and had a finished product in his hands.
A single Obelisk looked very tempting, but in reality, the richly experienced runic engineers in Lind’s hands and a bunch of alchemists were the most valuable assets.
However, Lind pretended not to know and continued, “Therefore, in order to prevent this technology from leaking, I will also sell the Obelisks to the Anju Kingdom.”
Upon hearing this, Nora suddenly exploded, saying, “Governor Lind, are you selling out the country!”
To voluntarily leak in order to prevent leaks was naturally inconsequential to Lind, as he had better technology in hand. It’s entirely reasonable to profit from these old devices, but for the Royal Capital, that was tantamount to a disaster.
Everyone knew that An Zhu’s research strength was far superior to Cape’s. If An Zhu also obtained the Obelisk, then Cape would have already entered a countdown to destruction.
Lind shook his head and said, “Your Excellency, the price I’m offering to the Royal Capital is already very favorable. Do you want to see the price I’m offering to An Zhu?”
Nora really glanced at the contract Lind handed over regarding An Zhu. Although it was still a draft version, compared to An Zhu, the Royal Capital would indeed be considered a major loss.
Moreover, from the perspective of the contract with An Zhu, it seemed that the Northern Border and An Zhu would likely have to negotiate for a long time; even Alberto found this price outrageous.
As for how long the negotiations would last, that was up to this Northern Border Governor to decide. In simple terms, cooperating with An Zhu was like a Damocles sword hanging over the head of the Royal Capital.
Nora fell silent. The King’s power was gradually collapsing, and she even began to feel pessimistic about the future. There were wolves in front and tigers behind, and the Northern Border was even starting to balance the situation of the Royal Capital, turning everything upside down.
After skipping this topic, both sides continued to finalize some cooperation details, with the Royal Capital like a marionette continuously agreeing to a pile of treaties that could be deemed as humiliating and detrimental to the country.
Nora understood that after this negotiation, all the benefits would nominally belong to Her Majesty the Queen, while all the sins would be borne entirely by herself. This was enough; wasn’t she in this position just for this purpose?
As the end approached, Lilith sighed, “I have some matters that I need to discuss privately with the Northern Border Governor. Chancellor Nora, Sir Judith, please excuse yourselves for a moment.”
Judith perked up; the main event had arrived.
Seeing that even the guards had to exit, Nora worriedly said, “Your Majesty, if there’s anything, be sure to contact us. I will be waiting at the door to protect you at any time.”
This matter had been discussed between Lilith and Nora’s group before coming; she had some trump cards that might allow her to negotiate with that Northern Border Governor again, although she didn’t know what those trump cards were.
Originally, Nora opposed this, but upon hearing this, Judith was very supportive. In the end, Nora had no choice but to let Lilith take a runic scroll with her; once activated, Nora and Judith would immediately know if Lilith encountered danger.
Lind also understood that this was about to enter the old hometown gossip stage. After saying a word to Lena, the guards accompanying Lind and Lena also began to leave the room.
Confirming that there were no other people in the room, Lilith was the first to open her mouth in standard Mandarin, saying, “The heavenly king covers the tiger on the ground.”
