Chapter 196: Chapter 187: Another Way of Conquest

After noon, the banquet began to wind down.

The guests gathered in small groups. Some continued to drink and chat, while others rose to take their leave.

Just then, Elf Guards made their way through the crowd to the side of several faction representatives and guild masters, whispering a few words to them.

The representatives were slightly taken aback, but they quickly stood up and followed the guards, leaving the venue.

Similar scenes unfolded one after another.

In just a moment, dozens of people had been escorted from the banquet area and were heading toward the Eternal Hall.

The remaining guests exchanged glances, wondering what was happening.

Those who had been invited away were just as bewildered.

They followed the guards through winding arbored corridors and soon arrived before the doors of the Eternal Hall.

The great doors of the hall were open, revealing a long table and chairs already set up inside.

Anton sat at the head of the long table, with the three elders and Eleanor seated on either side of him.

"Please, have a seat."

Anton gestured to the empty seats on both sides of the long table. His tone was calm and revealed no emotion.

Everyone took their seats as instructed, their eyes all turning to Anton. They were both curious and apprehensive.

’Why has the Silver Moon Race suddenly summoned us here alone? What is their goal?’

’Could it be... that this new Clan Leader plans to follow the example of Kresol Dragon City and demand we hand over our resources?’

As soon as this thought occurred to them, the complexions of many in the room changed slightly.

Although Dragon City, which had ruled the Eldron Plain for thousands of years, had been destroyed, if its replacement was another power that demanded tribute, then for them, it would just be trading one oppressor for another.

Anton noted the changes in their expressions and a faint smile touched his lips.

"There’s no need to be nervous, everyone."

"I’ve invited you all here today for no other reason than to discuss a matter of cooperation."

’Cooperation?’

Everyone was taken aback for a moment, and the guarded looks on their faces eased slightly.

Anton continued, "The Silver Moon Race has no intention of emulating Dragon City by demanding tribute from any of you. Quite the opposite, in fact. We hope to establish a relationship of equal and mutually beneficial trade with everyone here."

His voice was calm and composed, as if he were chatting with old friends.

"To put it simply, the Silver Moon Race intends to release a line of products for sale across the entire Eldron Plain. If any of you are interested, you may purchase them from our Clan."

Hearing his first sentence, everyone present breathed a collective sigh of relief. But as Anton continued, they all began to look puzzled.

’What kind of products would be so important that the great Clan Leader would summon us all here just to explain things so formally?’

Anton waved his hand, and heavy footsteps immediately sounded from outside the hall.

One by one, Yellow Turban Warriors entered, carrying heavy chests. They placed the chests steadily in the center of the hall before silently retreating to the side.

The crowd focused their eyes on the chests and saw that each was filled with stacks of metal ingots.

There was Mithril, silver-white as the moon with a faint fluorescent glow on its surface.

There was Flame-Veined Crimson Copper, red as fire with what looked like embers flowing through its patterns.

And there was Abyss Steel, a deep blue hue as if forged from the depths of the sea.

Every single ingot was as smooth as a mirror, with almost no impurities visible to the naked eye. They refracted a soft, shimmering luster under the light of the hall’s Light Source Stones.

The people present were all discerning, and they immediately recognized the extraordinary nature of these ingots.

The three men from Gray Rock Castle shot to their feet with a CLANG, their chairs screeching loudly as they slid backward.

They strode quickly to the chests, their eyes glued to the ingots on the trays, practically pressing their faces against them.

"Th-this is..."

Hagrid reached out to touch one, then suddenly caught himself and looked toward Anton.

Anton smiled slightly and made a "go ahead" gesture.

Seeing this, Hagrid carefully picked up a Secret Silver Ingot. He turned it over and over, his rough fingers repeatedly caressing its surface, feeling the fine texture that was so smooth it had virtually no discernible unevenness.

It was a gentle smoothness, like the skin of a baby, a texture that could only be felt on metal of extremely high purity.

"Such pure Mithril... its ductility and energy conductivity are also outstanding..."

Hagrid’s voice was distant, as if he were muttering to himself, yet also seeking confirmation from his companions.

"How is this possible? Even the best master smiths in Gray Rock Castle, using the finest magical flames for repeated tempering, couldn’t achieve this level of quality..."

Thorvin and Knut were also filled with awe. They kept picking up various ingots from the chests, examining them closely, their astonishment and disbelief growing with every second.

Gray Rock Castle was famous for its forging; they were intimately familiar with all kinds of metals. A single glance was all they needed to see that the quality of these ingots far surpassed any comparable products on the market.

Take refined steel, for example.

The refined steel ingots circulating on the market typically had an impurity content between three and five percent, with lackluster toughness and energy conductivity.

But with the refined steel ingot before them, one could see with the naked eye that its impurity content was extremely low—no more than one percent at most.

Its toughness and energy conductivity were also far beyond the market standard.

It was simply incredible.

’It’s hard to imagine how these metals were tempered to such an outstanding quality.’

Seeing the behavior and expressions of the Dwarves, the rest of the guests realized how special these metals must be. Unable to restrain themselves any longer, they too left their seats and crowded forward for a closer look.

Gasps of amazement immediately filled the hall, rising and falling in waves.

"The purity of this Amber Gold is so high."

"What alloy is this? It absorbed more than eighty percent of the Magic Power I channeled into it! Its capacity for Magic Power is ridiculously high!"

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