Chapter 349: Chapter 321: Declaration of War

Gray Rock Castle, council chamber.

Titus sat behind a long table, a ledger spread open before him.

The ink-dipped quill in his hand hovered above the paper, where it had been paused for quite some time.

He sighed, set down the quill, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

After catching a ride on the Silver Moon Race’s coattails, Gray Rock Castle’s business had grown larger and larger over the years, creating an air of prosperity.

But along with this came account books that had multiplied several times over, and the number of matters needing his attention had increased dramatically.

Most of the capable Dwarven stewards from before had grown old, their energy no longer what it once was.

The newly promoted younger generation were either too reckless in their work or too impatient to focus, and none of them seemed truly capable of shouldering the heavy responsibilities.

He was still the one managing all of Gray Rock Castle’s affairs, and he had to personally oversee nearly every matter, big or small.

Even for a Golden Tier powerhouse like him, the prolonged effort left him feeling mentally and physically exhausted.

’If only Gray Rock Castle could produce a brilliant young talent like Eleanor of the Silver Moon Race.’

Titus sighed.

The assistant to the Silver Moon Race’s Clan Leader was now known by practically everyone on the Eastern Continent.

At such a young age, she could single-handedly manage the vast internal affairs of the Silver Moon Race with perfect order.

Foreign trade, resource allocation, personnel appointments... she handled every single matter flawlessly.

Her organizational and management skills alone were enough to earn anyone’s admiration.

Not to mention, she herself was a Legendary Powerhouse.

Gray Rock Castle had dealt with the Silver Moon Race frequently in recent years, so they had a profound understanding of this assistant’s capabilities.

In their various collaborations over the years, Titus had interacted with her several times. On each occasion, he was struck by her meticulous and methodical nature; her words and actions were flawless and never sloppy.

’If Gray Rock Castle had a young person like that, I wouldn’t have to do everything myself.’

Just as he was thinking this, the main door was pushed open from the outside, and Thorvin strode in.

Titus didn’t scold him for not knocking. Few of the gruff Dwarves bothered with such formalities. He asked casually, "What’s the rush? Did something happen?"

"There’s a message from the Silver Moon Race."

Thorvin took a letter sealed with wax from his coat and placed it on the table.

"The Silver Moon Race wants to increase their purchase quota for Magic Cores by four times, starting next month."

Titus paused for a moment, took the letter, broke the seal, and glanced over it.

It was indeed a formal letter from the Silver Moon Race. The wording was polite and considerate, but the meaning was clear.

They wanted more.

"Four times... What do they need so many Magic Cores for?"

Titus put down the letter, his brow furrowing slightly.

The Silver Moon Race had indeed purchased large quantities of Magic Cores from Gray Rock Castle in the early years.

But ever since they mastered the technique for creating Magic Cores themselves, their purchase volume had shrunk year by year.

In the last couple of years, their order volume had dropped to less than half of what it was in the beginning.

Suddenly demanding four times the original amount was a significant increase, even more than during the peak of their collaboration.

It was truly quite surprising.

Thorvin stroked his beard and said thoughtfully, "Most likely to expand their Puppet Legion."

"When the Silver Moon Race attacked Black Stone Territory, they deployed a large number of Alchemy Puppets. Those iron lumps are really effective on the battlefield. Now that their territory is expanding, their Puppet Legion is probably undergoing a large-scale expansion too, which would explain the sharp increase in demand for Magic Cores."

Titus nodded slowly. That explanation made sense.

But then his brow furrowed again. "The castle’s production capacity is already maxed out. Every batch of Magic Cores has a designated buyer, with long-term agreements signed long ago. If the Silver Moon Race suddenly wants this many, where are we supposed to squeeze out a surplus for them?"

Before Thorvin could answer, he asked another question, "Did the Silver Moon Race say what they’d use for payment?"

Thorvin nodded. "They said they can use Refined Metal to pay for the goods, and at a price five percent lower than before."

Upon hearing this, Titus’s eyes lit up. All his initial difficulty and hesitation vanished, and he made a snap decision. "Agree to it!"

Refined Metal was one of the Silver Moon Race’s most prized assets.

Every time they received a quota from the Silver Moon Race and turned it into equipment, the profits more than doubled.

Especially now, with wars breaking out across the continent, Magic Equipment was selling better than ever.

Since the Silver Moon Race was willing to use Refined Metal as payment and even lower the price, there was no reason not to take this deal.

"As for the insufficient production capacity, we’ll squeeze it out of the other buyers’ shares." Titus waved his hand decisively. "If any of them are dissatisfied, I’ll go explain it to them myself."

Thorvin grinned. "Alright, I’ll arrange a reply right away."

The importance of Refined Metal was self-evident.

He wholeheartedly approved of the Great Elder’s decision.

Just as Thorvin was about to turn and leave, the council chamber door was suddenly thrust open from the outside.

This time it was Hagrid who rushed in, his expression looking extremely grim.

He strode to the table in a few quick steps and said in a low voice, "Something’s happened."

The expressions of both Titus and Thorvin tensed.

Thorvin quickly asked, "What is it?"

Hagrid said gravely, "Just now, the Steel Mane Tribe declared war on the Silver Moon Race."

At these words, both Titus and Thorvin’s eyes widened in shock.

The Steel Mane Tribe was in the Thundering River Basin, and the Silver Moon Race was on the Eldron Plain. The two had always kept to themselves and never interfered with one another. There had never been any word of conflict between them. How could the Steel Mane Tribe suddenly declare war on the Silver Moon Race?

Coming to his senses, Thorvin quickly asked, "What reason did the Steel Mane Tribe give for declaring war?"

Hagrid’s expression was solemn as he replied, "The reason the Steel Mane Tribe gave is that the Silver Moon Race killed one of their core leaders. I’m not clear on the specifics, but I heard it has something to do with Slave Hunting Teams and Half-Elves."

Titus and Thorvin exchanged a look, understanding immediately.

The news that the Silver Moon Race had recently been taking in Half-Elves and eliminating Slave Hunting Teams had already spread throughout the Eastern Continent.

And it was no secret among the surrounding powers that the Steel Mane Tribe was one of the biggest backers of the Slave Hunting Teams.

If the conflict between the two powers arose because of the Slave Hunting Teams, then it wasn’t all that surprising.

"What was the Silver Moon Race’s reaction?" Thorvin asked.

Hagrid shook his head. "I haven’t heard of any official response yet, but they most likely won’t back down. You know as well as I do, that Fallen Dragon Sword Saint is not someone to be trifled with."

Thorvin nodded.

Back when the Silver Moon Race was weaker than Kresol Dragon City, they still dared to confront them head-on.

Let alone now.

Titus leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling on the still-open letter on the table. He pondered for a long while before speaking. "Who do you think has the upper hand in this war?"

Thorvin considered this for a moment, then said slowly, "The Silver Moon Race has developed very quickly these past few years and is quite powerful. But the Steel Mane Tribe is not weak either. If these two powers fight... it’s really hard to say who will win or lose."

Hagrid nodded in agreement. "This is definitely going to be one hell of a fight."

Titus was silent for a moment and made no further comment.

If possible, he would prefer for the Silver Moon Race to win.

After all, the majority of Gray Rock Castle’s income now depended on the Silver Moon Race; one could say they were already deeply tied to them.

If the Silver Moon Race were to lose, it would be a considerable blow to Gray Rock Castle.

But with Gray Rock Castle’s strength, they couldn’t play any significant role in a war of this scale.

The only thing they could do was wait quietly for the two sides to determine a victor.

Titus sighed inwardly.

’What troubled times.’

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