CHAPTER 386: CHAPTER 336: ADVANCING TO LEVEL 8 DOMAIN_1

Yan Xing certainly wanted to sell weapons to Prince Elrado; it’s foolish not to make money when one can. However, the Eternal Domain’s weapon production capacity was barely sufficient to arm its own forces, not to mention the secret weapons procurement agreement he had with Lady Karol.

The current situation in the Silvermane Principality was precarious. Facing threats from Cloud Tower, the Gryphon Heart Empire, and lords with uncertain allegiances, armaments from Thunderous Swamp were needed more than ever. With an ample supply of weapons, the Silvermane Principality would have the confidence to make a bold wager in this gamble. Otherwise, capitulating, ceding territory, and paying reparations would be the wiser choices.

This very point decided that the Eternal Domain, even if it slowed down the arming of its own forces, had to supply the Silvermane Principality with a batch of equipment that would empower them to fight daringly. Aircraft, artillery, and firearms would flow continuously to the Silvermane Principality along aerial trade routes.

To respond, Cloud Tower would have no choice but to open its reserves of Alchemical Weapons to the Silvermane Principality’s enemies. For the Eternal Domain, this created an opening.

As for Snowland, it held a less important strategic position for Yan Xing than the Silvermane Principality. What he valued were the abundant resources within Snowland.

After understanding Yan Xing’s stance on selling weapons to the Snow Elves, Arlanda said, "Sir, I will convey your thoughts to Prince Elrado."

Yan Xing thought for a moment, then added, "You don’t need to bluntly tell him I’ve refused his request. Just say... the Eternal Domain’s Alchemical Weapons are very expensive, and given the Snow Elves’ current economic strength, they cannot afford to purchase them in large quantities. Buying too few wouldn’t significantly enhance their military power. Once he becomes the Elf King or has decision-making power in Snowland, he can use the mineral resources within his territory as collateral to buy weapons from the Eternal Domain."

"I understand. I will go find Prince Elrado now and convey your message," Arlanda stood up, bowed to Yan Xing, and said, "I shall take my leave. Good night, Sir..."

After Arlanda left, Yan Xing couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

There was money to be made, but he couldn’t make it, which was truly frustrating. But without production capacity, there would be no weapons. And without money, there would be no production capacity. In the real world, purchasing goods required Gold or cash, and the Grain Tickets issued by the Eternal Domain were unwanted. As for Gold... it was needed in too many places. Large-scale infrastructure projects and agricultural development in Thunderous Swamp required a substantial sum of money. Fortunately, some progress had been made with Magic Alchemy Integrated Engraving Technology. It was crucial to quickly produce a batch of high-level Magic-powered Composite Armor and exchange it for money and equipment with Renlun Investment Bank. Apart from Magic-powered Composite Armor, what other technology and materials could be taken to the real world for resale? Sigh... When the enterprise was small, I handled everything myself and felt constantly swamped. Now that the enterprise has grown and I have more capable people under me, I still feel just as swamped. The more the domain develops, the more it lacks. I won’t think about it anymore. Time to sleep!

The next day, the Thunderous Swamp Clan Leaders’ Conference continued.

On the third day, all important topics of the conference were concluded. Yan Xing delegated the remaining work to the council for deliberation and returned to the Eternal Domain.

At this point, the Eternal Domain had just completed its upgrade from a Seventh Grade Domain to an Eighth Grade Domain, with a plethora of construction work needing Yan Xing’s supervision. The most important of these was the construction of recruitment buildings.

An Eighth Grade Human Domain could recruit and train Eighth Order Knight’s Retinues.

Knight’s Retinue (Eighth Order Human Unit)

Attack: 12

Defense: 11

Damage: 11

Stamina: 45

Talent: Following (Under the command of a Knight, the Knight’s Retinue gains +1 Attack and +1 Defense)

Eighth Order Knight’s Retinues represented a significant upgrade in strength over Seventh Order Cavalry, equipped with Half Body Plate Armor, skirt armor, and wielding lances and steel swords. As Knight reservists, Knight’s Retinues also enjoyed attack and defense bonuses when they fought alongside Knights. When compared to other units, Knight’s Retinues led by Knights already possessed the capabilities of Ninth or Tenth Order troopers.

Human Lords placed great importance on training Knight’s Retinues, as this rank was a preserve of the privileged noble class, with children of nobility often starting as Knight’s Retinues. Being a strong military unit by nature, with a little training they could advance to Knights, and with a bit more, become heroes. It could be said that Knight’s Retinues were a stepping stone to becoming battle heroes; reaching this rank meant one was on the verge of joining the heroes’ ranks.

However, for the current Eternal Domain, Knight’s Retinues were somewhat superfluous because the Eighth Grade Eternal Domain could not construct a Knight Training Ground, which only an Eleventh Grade Domain could build. Count Theodore was currently maintaining a hands-off approach and would not train Knights for the Eternal Domain. Therefore, in terms of talent, the Knight’s Retinue’s "Following" was less suitable for the Eternal Domain’s tactical needs than the Cavalry’s "Forced March."

As for the increased initial attack and defense... with the advanced equipment provided by the Eternal Domain, the difference in combat strength between the two unit types was not significant. It’s like the difference between a one-year-old and a two-year-old child, which is quite pronounced. But when those children are ten years older, it’s harder to tell who was originally the elder. Talent thus became the standard measure of value.

Before advancing to Knights, the cost-effectiveness of Eighth Order Knight’s Retinues was far less than that of Seventh Order Cavalry. After Yan Xing recruited all the initial soldiers from the Knight’s Retinue recruitment building, he did not arrange for a large-scale advancement of Seventh Order Cavalry. Instead, he threw a batch of Werewolf Raiders into the Knight’s Retinue training camp, hoping this would yield a surprisingly effective Eighth Order unit.

The training of the Werewolf Raiders would take a few more days, so Yan Xing continued to focus on the development of the Eighth Grade Domain. The domain upgrade introduced many new functional buildings and numerous technology trees. For example, he could now construct buildings like the Opera House and large fountains to increase the city’s prosperity and public sentiment, the Hall of Elements to improve the concentration of magical elements, and the refinery blast furnace for the deep processing of alchemical materials. There were also more Magic systems and more alchemy separation technologies. Academies could now add new subjects, unlocking more formulas.

This also meant that Yan Xing faced another seemingly bottomless pit of expenses. While investment increased, the pace of city development slowed even more. It had taken over two months to upgrade from a Seventh to an Eighth Grade Domain, and future domain promotions would only take longer.

But that’s slow in Yan Xing’s opinion. For other domains, the Eternal Domain’s development speed was nothing short of a miracle. Keep in mind that just six months ago, this land was an unwanted stretch of barren grassland. Now, it had not only become a significant presence on the Wildwind Highlands but was also influencing the entire world’s situation. Considering the global responsibilities currently shouldered by the Eternal Domain, its development was indeed slow.

Without more ways to speed up the domain’s progression, Yan Xing could only compensate through various means. The development of the Eternal Domain’s industrial zone had always been a top priority among Yan Xing’s many tasks. The industrial zone was now centered around the automobile modification institute and the alchemy laboratory. The automobile modification institute was a joint venture between the Eternal Domain and the Goblins. Starting with research on auto parts, both parties engaged in cooperative development on various mechanical subjects. The best outcome, of course, was the Gryphon Armor.