"What is that? A ghost ship?" asked Alustriel in an uncertain tone.

Because the glass bottle clearly had a dazzling arcane aura, she was not sure whether it was some kind of decoration or a container used to seal something dangerous.

"this?"

Zuo Si picked up the bottle and shook it gently, then smiled and nodded and replied, "Yes, that's right, this is indeed a ghost ship, and the soul of an old friend lives inside it.

He colluded with a shark-like city of murlocs in the deep sea, attempting to capture and plunder the ports and warehouses I built on the Nelanther Islands.

You see these interesting activated transformation parts and the ability to control water flow, which are the unique deep-sea technology of the shark-like fishman.

The churning water flow under the hull, which is difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, is actually a kind of elemental life called water monster, which is often summoned and driven by the shark-like fishman.

The algae at the bottom, which have been eroded and twisted by negative energy, can entangle anything that enters its attack radius, whether it is another ship or a person.

The undead soft tissue in the giant barnacles protruding from the side can not only be used to catapult undead creatures, but also to throw heavy stones two or three hundred meters away, which is equivalent to a biological catapult.

To be honest, I was amazed when I first saw it.”

"The Nelanther Islands were attacked by ghost ships and deep-sea races? Is this the so-called little trouble you just mentioned?"

Valamaradace showed an expression of disbelief.

You have to know that for most coastal cities, no matter which of these two appears in front of them, it often means a catastrophic disaster.

Especially the large-scale attacks of shark-like murlocs. According to many historical records of the continent of Faerun, even the one with the smallest loss resulted in the deaths of more than 100,000 or 200,000 people, and several cities were looted or completely reduced to ruins.

Moreover, these robbers from the deep sea have no interest in things like land. After burning, killing and looting, they will immediately retreat back to the depths of the sea, leaving the humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings and other races on the shore with no way to deal with them.

The Golden Dragon Queen could not imagine the terrifying sight that would occur when a city of shark-like murlocs came out in full force, or the devastating damage that would be caused by giant sharks, deep-sea monsters, siege crabs and other creatures summoned and raised by the shark-like murlocs, all rushing towards a city or an archipelago.

Even she would feel helpless facing so many enemies.

What's more, the shark-like merfolk are no pushovers. A considerable proportion of their population are divine spellcasters who can heal wounds, provide protection and strengthen spells for those strong warriors.

"Haha, ma'am, have you forgotten my identity?

Or have you forgotten how the orcs in the north disappeared?

To me, numbers mean nothing unless they are elementals, undead, or machines that are completely immune to disease and poison.

Unfortunately, these shark-like fishmen chose the wrong enemy, so they have now completely disappeared from this world, and not even a single egg could have survived.

Since you dare to provoke me, you must be prepared for revenge.

When it comes to dealing with my enemies, I will never show mercy.

By the way, I am quite satisfied with the amount of gold, silver and treasures stored in that underwater city, especially the large number of magic items, precious materials, gems and pearls. "

Zuo Si spoke these creepy words in the most calm tone.

Because in these few short sentences, it means that a kingdom of shark-like fishmen with a population of perhaps tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions of people has completely disappeared.

Even though similar things have happened before among the orcs in the north, I still feel my scalp tingling when I hear it again.

However, since the shark-like mermen themselves are an extremely evil race, and have been regarded as a scourge on the same level as demons by coastal residents since their inception, if merchant ships are unfortunate enough to encounter them in the middle of the ocean, they basically have no hope of surviving.

Therefore, even Eribes, a holy knight, did not express any dissatisfaction with the massacre, but just frowned subconsciously.

It goes without saying that the ghost ship was none other than Hallet's soul which fell into the sea after his death and merged with the sunken ship.

Filled with strong resentment and unwillingness, he not only successfully transformed himself into a powerful undead creature similar to "Umibozu", but also secretly attacked passing ships in the Moonshadow Islands, killing all living people and transforming them into undead creatures under his control.

After crazy devouring, evolution and transformation, the ghost ship controlled by Hallett has long been powerful enough to easily crush a fleet.

Later, after cooperating with the shark-like fishman, he obtained a stable source of souls, corpses and bones.

Especially the several "Banshees" transformed from the Sirens, each of them can release terrifying group negative energy attacks similar to the nine-ring magic [Banshee's Howl].

Not to mention ordinary people, even elite adventurers with a professional level above LV10 will be killed instantly if they are not fully prepared.

In addition, there are a large number of demon soul corpses, rotten war corpses, corpse demons, boda corpses, and giant skeleton creatures spliced ​​together with the bones of marine creatures that are twisted under negative energy.

The ability of "Umibozu" itself is like a natural disaster in the sea. Just the gaze emitted through the shadow can make people feel an intense fear that cannot be described in words, and thus fall into a state of paralysis and unable to move.

If stared at a second time, the negative energy will erode the body and cause a negative level.

And when Hallett merges with the ghost ship, he will wrap it up with his huge black shadow-like body and dive completely thousands of meters underwater.

This is why he attacked so many ships but was never caught or had any witnesses.

Unfortunately, this guy's strong obsession with revenge made him decisively propose a plan to attack and plunder the Nalanther Islands to his shark-like murloc allies after he thought his power was strong enough.

He wanted to kill that bastard Eric and all those traitors with his own hands, turn their bodies and souls into his own subordinates again, and torture and enslave them for a thousand or ten thousand years.

Since the shark-like merman had no idea about the information on land and was also very keen on looting towns along the coast, he agreed without even thinking about it.

The two sides hit it off immediately and decisively gathered their forces to launch an attack.

However, before these guys had time to go ashore, the lich stationed in the magic tower on the island was the first to discover the enemy situation, and then promptly notified Zuo Si's clone who stayed in the continent of Faerun.

As a result, a long-planned sneak attack turned into a one-sided massacre.

Although there are many high-level shark-like fishmen from the depths of the ocean, the two princes are truly legendary warriors, and there are two or three priests who can cast divine spells above the seventh level, but the number of arcane spellcasters is almost zero.

As expected, they were easily defeated and killed by the liches led by Zuo Si, who began to release a horrific magical plague against the shark-like murlocs, using spells and rituals to summon elementals and aquatic creatures from other planes to stalk and kill them.

There are more than twenty water element elders alone, and others like the Infernal Ferocious Shark, Infernal Giant Octopus, Dragon Turtles, and Dragon Eels are in large numbers.

Before long, thousands of shark-like fishmen's corpses appeared on the surface of the sea.

Even the siege crab that was ten stories tall lost its ability to resist under the touch of the shadow creature and was directly made into a card.

After killing all the invading enemies and capturing the ghost ship controlled by Hallett, Zuo Si was obviously not satisfied. Instead, he rushed into the opponent's underwater city and wiped out the most powerful shark-like fish-man kingdom entrenched in the depths of the Traceless Sea.

In the end, he himself had no idea how many murlocs he killed.

Anyway, blue mana has ushered in an unprecedented bumper harvest.

The corpses recovered after the war alone piled up into a small mountain. They were all prepared to be taken back and handed over to the necromancer wizard Ludevi to be processed, dismembered and turned into various corpse creatures.

Since the emergence of him and his fully automatic assembly line factory, the floating city has basically stopped using low-level undead creatures like skeletons and zombies, and instead uses corpse-smacking creatures that have a certain level of intelligence and stronger combat power.

However, since there are too many forces and gods watching over Faerun, there are no plans for large-scale replacements for the time being.

"Aren't you afraid of angering the father of shark-turned fishmen, Sekola, by doing this?"

Alustriel's expression was obviously a little complicated, and he asked in an uncertain tone.

Zuo Si spread his hands indifferently and said, "What is there to be afraid of?

First of all, this god is cold, ruthless and cruel, and he especially hates weakness.

So from the moment those shark-like mermen were defeated and turned to flee, they were abandoned by their own gods.

What's more, the Nelanther Islands are located in a shallow sea, and the shallow seas of the entire Faerun continent are ruled by the sea goddess Amberlee.

In addition, the shark-like merfolk's unbridled expansion, conquest, and killing have long threatened the living space of the sea elves. It has also angered the patron saint of the sea elves, the great Dolphin Prince - Seshela, as well as the elven pantheon behind him and a series of animal lords and sea god allies.

I assure you that if the father of shark-like fishmen dares to descend incarnate, the same result will be waiting for him as when the Lord God of the Orcs descends.

As for driving other shark-like fish-man kingdoms in the deep sea to attack the areas I control...

If he is not afraid that the entire race of shark-like murlocs will be completely wiped out from the ocean world of Toril, then come on.

No matter if there are millions, tens of millions, or hundreds of millions, I will kill as many as come, and this will also teach the intelligent creatures in the ocean to learn to respect Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease."

There is no doubt that when carrying out the extermination massacre of that underwater city, Zuo Si had already thought clearly about the consequences of offending Sekola and the countermeasures he could use.

Simply put, Sekola is not a very powerful god and has no allies, but has countless enemies.

His shark-like merfolk even frequently clashed with the Isi rays who believed in the demon prince Demogorgon.

So this is basically no different from the Prince of Lies, Cyric, an evil god who has become so hated by everyone that everyone hates him.

In addition, Zuo Si, whose divine power was only medium, could summon Talona's incarnation at any time, so he didn't need to worry about it at all.

"As expected of you..."

The corners of Alustriel's mouth twitched as he sighed slightly.

Sometimes, she really envied Zuo Si for being able to fight back against the enemy's temptations and provocations without any scruples.

Especially after the gods of Faerun realized that Talona was willing to start an all-out war with any opponent for the sake of her chosen people, even the most powerful gods did not dare to provoke this pair easily.

After all, although they are not afraid of the plague, their mortal believers are.

With the living example of the northern orcs, no one would doubt that Zuo Si could use something as terrible as the plague as a weapon.

In addition, there are the world-destroying creatures, the Odrazi, who come from the dark void.

Although Io, the God above all gods, has expressly prohibited the summoning of this thing in the "Kingdom Sky Crystal Wall System" where the planet Toril is located, it does not mean that it cannot be summoned in the outer planes where the various kingdoms of the gods are located.

The most important thing is, when facing a planeswalker like Zuo Si who can teleport to other time and space at any time, as long as you cannot kill him with one blow, then you must be prepared to endure endless and unscrupulous revenge.

Of course, Alustriel was not the only one who envied this. There was also Lord Nasir, who was often troubled by the endless barbarians, dragons, monsters, giants and dark elves in the Neverwinter Forest.

Just two days before coming to Luskan to attend the Northern Lords Alliance Conference, a small town east of Neverwinter was invaded by hundreds of barbarians, including beastmen who believed in the beast god Mara.

Although the casualties were not heavy, the entire town was almost looted, and the enemy even set it on fire before leaving.

Although the church of Tyr, the god of justice, has been trying to bring these tribes wandering in the wilderness under the jurisdiction of order and law, teaching them to settle and produce instead of plundering.

However, because the means were too mild, not only did it fail to achieve the desired effect, but it was instead seen as a symbol of weakness and gullibility.

Thinking of this, Lord Nasir couldn't help but propose, "Lord Soth, I wonder if you are interested in signing an offensive and defensive alliance with Neverwinter City to jointly deal with the threats from Neverwinter Forest and Cliff Hill?"

"Covenant?"

Before Zuo Si could respond, Eribes showed a surprised expression.

Because this is not part of the plan of this trip.

Lord Nasir glanced at this capable assistant with a very high paladin level and explained with a wry smile, "Yes. The area of ​​Neverwinter Forest is really too large, far beyond the control of Neverwinter City.

According to Arian's report, an unknown force seems to have entered the depths of the forest recently, as if they are planning something.

The recent frequent attacks may be a precursor to this.

So we need an ally, an ally that is close enough and has a strong deterrent power.

Fortunately, we can at least rule out the Arcane Brotherhood as the biggest suspect this time."

"Then what can I get from it?" Zuo Si asked with a smile.

"In exchange, first, Neverwinter is willing to give up all of its navy, but your fleet must guarantee the safety of our merchant ships.

Second, we will be fully open for business with no restrictions.

Third, Neverwinter will pay you 50,000 gold coins per year as compensation and is willing to follow your lead politically and militarily.

Of course, the premise is that it does not violate the principle of justice. "

Lord Nasir quickly put forward the conditions he had been brewing for several days.

The first one is easy to understand. With the Nelanther Islands fleet unifying the entire west coast of Faerun, the few pitiful warships owned by Neverwinter are simply a mantis trying to stop a chariot. It would be better to throw them away as bargaining chips, which would save some maintenance costs every year.

The second concession in the business area was also well thought out.

Neverwinter was not originally a city with a strong commercial atmosphere. It mainly produced handicrafts, wood, rare and precious garden magic plants, and a small number of magic items, scrolls, and potions made by spellcasters of the Star Cloak Guild.

In other words, its industrial structure is dominated by high value-added manufacturing, supplemented by agriculture and fisheries. Even if the trade sector is completely occupied by outsiders, there will be no turbulence.

On the contrary, it may become more prosperous as a result.

As for the huge hidden dangers that may arise from the control of the commercial and financial fields...

I'm sorry, Lord Nasir can't see that far with his limited knowledge and insight.

He only hopes that he can fulfill his duty of "protecting the country and the people" so that civilians can live and work in peace without having to worry about their homes being attacked by monsters or wild beasts all day long.

The last one is equivalent to saving the part of the expenses originally used to deal with the threat of the Arcane Brotherhood and paying it to the other party as "reward" or "protection fee".

Coupled with the political statement, in exchange for the deterrent power and military protection that Neverwinter needed most at the moment.

In fact, Neverwinter was founded to resist the invasion of Luskan Pirates and the Arcane Brotherhood, and it has no ambition to dominate or expand outward.

It is not difficult to see from Lord Nasir's attitude that the city does not mind following a powerful and friendly neighbor and putting itself in a subordinate position.

Zuo Si lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then quickly stretched out his right hand and said with a smile: "Deal! I wish us a happy cooperation!"

"It's a pleasure to work with you! I will assign Eribes to be in charge of this matter in the future."

Lord Nasir also stretched out his calloused right hand and held Zuo Si's hand tightly.

Seeing that the two most important coastal port cities in the North had reached an alliance, Valamaradace immediately complained in a low voice: "Well, this Northern Lords Alliance meeting finally has some exciting good news.

Sometimes I really don't understand why those human rulers are always so keen on fighting each other.

Can't we just take a step back and get along as friends? You didn't see the ugly scenes of the lords and representatives arguing and cursing at the meeting. "

Zuo Si turned around and glanced at the Golden Dragon Queen who had transformed herself into a "blonde little girl" and responded meaningfully: "Madam, fighting is one of the inevitable natures of all intelligent creatures in order to obtain better survival resources and to pass on their genes.

Or it can be said that it is a universal competition phenomenon that exists in the entire natural world.

Not to mention intelligent creatures, even wild beasts, birds, fish, insects and plants all follow the rule of the survival of the fittest.

It is almost impossible to eliminate it.

Would you expect two male bears in estrus to get along harmoniously while fighting for mating rights? Would you expect a female praying mantis to let go of an exhausted male mantis after mating instead of eating him?

If you don't expect this absolutely impossible thing to happen, why would you expect it to happen to a higher intelligence that understands the benefits of resources?"

moment!

Valamaradace fell into deep thought. After a long while, she raised her head and asked, "But the members of the Northern Lords' Alliance were not like this before. They were very united, and often supported each other when facing the threats of the Luskan Arcane Brotherhood and the orc army. Why do they start fighting each other now that the threat is gone?"

“This is exactly the second phenomenon I want to talk about.

That is, when faced with a huge external threat that is sufficient to threaten one's own survival, internal conflicts will be alleviated to a certain extent, or even temporarily shelved.

You have to know that in this world, from a country, an alliance to a tribe or a village, if you want to maintain unity rather than division, you need to have a basic concept of "us" and "them".

Generally speaking, "us" refers to our own people, while "they" refers to our enemies and potential external threats.

因为如果不团结的话，自己就会遭到入侵乃至占领，从而失去一切。

为了确保这件事情永远不会发生，所有成员都会甘愿牺牲一部分原本属于自己的利益。

毕竟这个时候，在各城镇和贵族领主眼中彼此是【我们】的一员。

可当外部威胁消失的时候，原本【他们】这个概念也随之消失，统治者们需要寻找一个新的【他们】来维持内部团结。

此时此刻，那些曾经跟自己有过利益冲突、摩擦和仇恨的【我们】，就自然而然会转化成为【他们】。

换句话说，就是北地领主联盟成员各自的立场、心态变了。

既然已经将对方视作敌人，争吵与谩骂肯定也就不可避免。

说实话，他们忍到现在都没有爆发战争已经有点出乎我的意料了。

继续往下引申，还可以用来解释国家乃至民族的形成。

翻开费伦的历史很容易就能发现，凡是历史悠久的国家和民族建立过程都是在不断区分【我们】和【他们】。

如果【他们】消失了或是被击败了，那就再想办法树立一个。

毕竟想要通过文化、宗教、思想和行为习惯来建立群体认同感，是非常困难且需要时间沉淀的。

哪怕最短也得几百年乃至上千年。

在如此长的时间里有太多的不确定因素可能会将其打断。

但反过来找一个敌人可就容易多了，不是吗？”

伴随着这句话脱口而出，在场四位客人都立马震惊的无以复加。

纳西尔领主和艾瑞贝斯回想起了无冬城从建立到现在的历史，发现它就是在一直跟路斯坎不断地对抗中团结了一批反抗者，然后慢慢发展成今天的样子。

同样的，薇拉玛兰黛丝和艾拉斯卓也意识到，银月联盟的成立好像最初也是为了应对无穷无尽的兽人侵袭，以银月城为主导建立起来的军事同盟，并且在后来不断增加新成员才达到现如今的规模。

沉默了良久，薇拉玛兰黛丝率先打破沉默，瞪着两只不断闪烁异样神采的金色瞳孔赞叹道：“真是令人耳目一新的见解，而且十分的准确、精辟。难怪艾拉斯卓遇到什么头疼的问题，总会在第一时间想到你。”

“感谢您的夸奖。

但这并不是我的见解，而是另外一些专门研究相关领域专家的研究成果。

我只是单纯的把它们讲述出来，仅此而已。

我们还是坐下来边吃边谈吧，不然某些菜凉了就不好吃了。”

说罢，左思做了个请的动作，随后带头坐到餐桌旁边的一张椅子上。

毫无疑问，像金龙女王薇拉玛兰黛丝，还有左思和艾拉斯卓这样拥有银火的选民，少吃一顿饭根本不会有任何感觉，甚至都不会觉得饥饿。

品尝美食对于他们而言更接近于一种享受，而非维持生存所必须得营养补充。

但身为人类的纳西尔领主跟半精灵艾瑞贝斯就不一样了。

而且两人都是战士，原本饭量就要比一般人大得多。

再加上整整一上午都在想方设法化解各城镇与贵族领主之间的矛盾，肚子早就饿得咕咕叫。

在左思示意请随意之后，这二位立刻便以优雅的动作快速往嘴巴里送食物。

才短短几分钟功夫，一只香气四溢的烧鹅就被消灭的仅剩下一堆骨头。

随后又吃了些涂满美味酱汁的肉排、茄汁鱼块、洋葱炒蘑菇、夹有大量肉馅的松脆千层饼，外加一碗蛤蜊蔬菜汤，这才依依不舍的放下餐具，开始品尝杯子里暗红色的上等葡萄酒。

毫无疑问，从那惊人的进食量和纳西尔领主、艾瑞贝斯惊艳中带着满足的表情不难分辨出，他们对于菜肴的味道、口感和色泽都相当满意。

事实上，由于两人都是正义之神提尔的信徒，所以别看一个贵为无冬城的最高统治者，另外一个则是其最信任的左右手，可平时都很少会把时间、精力和金钱花在享受上。

所以舌头和味蕾瞬间就被这些精心调制出来的味道给征服了。

艾拉斯卓和薇拉玛兰黛丝也一边吃一边点头称赞，并且还向左思要了一份菜谱，打算回银月城也推广一下这些美食，让自己统治下的民众也能享受到。

当正餐结束，各种菜肴和主食被换成精美的点心、蛋糕后，艾拉斯卓这才再一次把话题转移回北地的政治。

她稍微组织了一下语言，很快询问道：“索斯，在你看来，难道北地领主联盟解散已经成为了一种必然吗？”

“解散到不一定，但分裂已经不可避免。除非……你能找到一个足以让所有人都感受到威胁的【他们】。”左思耸了耸肩膀回答道。

这也是为什么，他宁愿在博德之门所在的西哈特兰德地区做文章，也不愿意以路斯坎为根基在北地扩张。

无他，实在是这里完全不具备建立一个统一国家的基础。

尤其是遍地的城堡和大大小小的贵族，经过数百年相互联姻、结盟，早已形成了复杂的关系网络。

而且领地内的民众十分依赖领主的武力保护，所以忠诚度往往非常高。

在这片土地上搞扩张纯属给自己找不痛快，百分之百得激起强烈的反抗，之前路斯坎和奥术兄弟会一直失败的原因就在于此。

“你的意思是……找一个共同敌人？”艾拉斯卓迅速皱起眉头。

“没错。不光北地领主联盟需要一个敌人，银月联盟也同样需要一个敌人。

否则内斗愈演愈烈直至演变成为战争都只是时间问题而已。

另外，我建议你最好把更多的注意力转移到内部，时刻注意那些充满煽动性的言论。

如果我是银月联盟的敌人，那么一定不会放过这样绝佳的机会，而是竭尽所能通过散布谣言跟仇恨来让那些不同城镇的平民相互厌恶、憎恨彼此。

因为民众是最容易被煽动、愚弄和激怒的，而且在群体效应下几乎没有什么分辨是非的能力。

最终通过裹挟民意，像散塔林会、红袍巫师、拜龙教这样的邪恶组织就能迫使当地的统治者不得不做点什么，以确保自己不会被愤怒的民众赶下去。

一来二去，你花费几百年时间好不容易建立起来的那点认同感，很快就会随之烟消云散。”

在说这番话的时候，左思语气中明显带着强烈的警告意味。

他这可不是在危言耸听，而是收到了许多相应的情报。

甚至就连最擅长颠覆政权的暴政之神班恩教会也积极参与其中，想要瓦解掉银月联盟这个眼中钉、肉中刺。

眼下北地领主联盟日趋尖锐的内部矛盾，八成少不了这些家伙在暗中煽风点火。

艾拉斯卓听到这些脸色瞬间变得十分难看，立刻与薇拉玛兰黛丝交换了一个眼神，表情严肃的继续追问道：“你是不是已经知道了什么？”

左思轻轻点了下头：“嗯。据我所知，散塔林会的一部分已经和拜龙教结盟，打算先挑起人类跟矮人之间的矛盾。

而红袍巫师则跟班恩教会合作，试图利用北地领主联盟的内部各城镇和领主的矛盾扩大自己在这片土地上的影响力。

总之，在未来很长一段时间内，局势都会变得十分动荡。

而且这不是一个短期的过程，而是一个长期的过程。

也许几年之后，一个全新类似奥术兄弟会的组织便会拔地而起也说不定呢。”

“该死！这可真是个糟糕的消息。”

薇拉玛兰黛丝忍不住低声咒骂了一句。

“没办法。我们所生活的这个世界就是如此。

善良与邪恶、混乱与秩序，永远都维持着某种动态上的平衡。

当你们在积极追求推动善良和秩序的时候，邪恶与混乱自然也会随之滋生。

站在宏观角度来观察，前者与后者之间的总量通常都是保持不变的。

有一个地方转向善良和秩序，那么就必然会有一个地方投入邪恶与混乱的怀抱。

关于这个观点，我很早以前在烛堡就明确的阐述过。

这也是为什么在我控制的区域内，永远都维持着中立。

既不过分追求善良，也不过分追求秩序。

因为只有如此，它才会呈现出一种可持续的稳定状态。”

左思用一种漫不经心的语气说出了自己经过观察和实践总结出来的经验。

“感谢你的提醒，我发誓绝不会任何人破坏银月联盟的团结。”

艾拉斯卓眼睛里闪过一抹银色的光芒。

不用问也知道，那些邪恶组织的卑鄙伎俩已经彻底将其激怒，来自魔网最深处银火的力量正在熊熊燃烧。

但没过多久，她就突然把话题一转，指了指脚下的飞艇说道：“对了，我差点忘了问，我们现在乘坐的这个交通工具是怎么回事？你的某项新发明吗？”

“啊！你终于注意到了。

我刚才还在想，要找个什么理由提起它呢。

这可不是我的发明，而是一名叫做吉法尔的人最先发明的。

Several of my men redesigned and enchanted it, eventually transforming it into this form.

It can fly at an altitude of several thousand meters at a speed of about 400 kilometers per hour, easily carrying thousands of people and thousands or even tens of thousands of tons of cargo.

There is no need to worry about the bad road conditions on the ground, the robbers and monsters that may rush out of the woods at any time, or the terrible wind and waves on the sea, or the giant beasts and murlocs hidden under the water.

Compared with ships and carriages, both safety and speed have made a qualitative leap.

Next, I plan to open fixed routes to important cities on the west coast, such as Luskan, Nelanther Islands, Silvermoon City, Neverwinter City, Waterdeep City, Askatla, Mylatma, Calim Port and Sul'dorfor.

Anyone who is willing to spend money to buy a ticket can enjoy a comfortable and fast flight service.

Merchants can also rent space to transport their own goods.

Just imagine, if you travel by land from Luskan to Silvermoon City, it will take at least two weeks even on a fast horse, and if you travel by caravan, it will take at least a month.

It can be replaced by an airship, which can arrive in just one day.

At that time, trade and cultural exchanges between cities will become incomparably simple, fast and frequent.

The fruits produced in Silvermoon City can even be transported to the southernmost Calim Port for sale within three days, and the silk and spices produced in Calim Port can also be sold in the markets of various towns in the Silvermoon Alliance at a lower price..."

Zuo Si used illusion magic to create out of thin air a prosperous scene brought about by the popularization of airships.

Anyone with a little modern knowledge would understand that his purpose in doing this was actually to further monopolize the extremely important industry of transportation.

At the same time, it also prepared to control Amn, capture Baldur's Gate and the West Heartland region, and finally take over Calimshan and Tethyr from King Shayne VII to build a west coast empire.

You must know that the reason why a huge empire collapses and splits rapidly after expanding to a certain extent is that it is restricted by transportation and communications and cannot fully mobilize its own resources and financial resources.

The lack of economic and cultural exchanges and the isolation caused by geographical factors will make some regions relatively independent and closed, which naturally leads to separatist tendencies.

But now with the airship, it only takes three days to travel from Luskan in the north to Calim Port in the south.

Coupled with a civil service management system similar to that of modern countries, as well as the supervision and deterrence of the liches within the organization, it is basically possible to maintain the stable operation of a huge country.

After all, although the construction and enchantment of an airship are not complicated, the helium filling it is not something that just any person or organization can produce.

Alastor stroked his chin and pondered for a moment, then immediately responded with a smile, "I can't think of a reason to refuse. Strengthening trade and exchanges is beneficial to the people of all cities. I look forward to seeing all the cities on the entire West Coast usher in unprecedented wealth and prosperity under your leadership."

"Me too. Although it would be a waste to use such a high-speed flying tool given the distance between Luskan and Neverwinter, it would be nice to be able to bring our handicrafts and exquisite clocks to the farther south for sale."

Lord Nasir also quickly expressed his attitude.

What's more, he really likes the wonderful feeling brought by flying.

"In that case, let's make it a deal."

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Zuo Si immediately raised the wine glass in his hand, clinked it with the other two, then tilted his head back and drank it all.

After finishing the wine in the glass, a faint blush immediately appeared on Alustriel's fair face and neck. He pursed his lips and asked in a meaningful tone: "Do you have a place to take a bath? I feel a little tired, and I want to soak for a while to relax my tense nerves."

"Of course! How could I possibly forget your little hobby."

After saying that, Zuo Si immediately stood up and pushed open the door leading to the next cabin.

After passing through a slightly narrow corridor, he came to a bathroom filled with white mist and with several giant beige porcelain basins underneath.

It can be clearly seen through the water inlet that this thing is closely connected to a hot spring somewhere through space magic.

Alustriel took off his boots and socks and tested the water temperature with his toes, then walked straight in and began to undress.

Lord Nasir, who believed in the god of justice and had a somewhat old-fashioned personality, could not stand such provocation and immediately turned around and left without even saying hello.

The Golden Dragon Queen, Valamaradace, had long been accustomed to this. She also took off her clothes and walked into the bath. She sat down in a very relaxed posture and waved to the bewildered Eribes with a smile: "Come along! Nothing can make you feel more relaxed and happy than lying down and taking a bath after eating and drinking. And the water temperature is just right."

"Uh-thank you for inviting me, I...I'm not very comfortable taking a shower with others."

After saying that, Eribes glanced at Zuo Si who was standing next to him with a red face, then ran away in panic.

Watching her quickly receding figure, Alustriel couldn't help but laugh and splashed a handful of water at Valamaradace: "Ha! You bad guy, you still like to tease the paladin so much."

"Hehe! This is not a prank. I just simply want to make these dull guys a little happier." A sly smile appeared on the face of the Golden Dragon Queen.

"Thoth, what are you waiting for? Do you want me to get up and drag you in?" Elastro urged in a very frivolous tone.

“This is not good…”

Zuo Si subconsciously glanced at the Golden Dragon Queen.

If he remembered correctly, this woman was already married and had a legal husband who was an ancient silver dragon.

What's the matter with going in by yourself?

NTR?

Cuckolding a married woman?

Oh, no, it should be Dragon’s Wife.

But unfortunately, Alustriel obviously didn't care about this, and neither did Valamaradace.

Or in other words, in the dragon's view, things like being naked are nothing at all.

Because in dragon form, they were originally wearing nothing.

Finally, under the strong urging of the two, Zuo Si had no choice but to sacrifice his life to accompany the gentleman, took off his clothes and slowly walked into the bathtub...

(End of this chapter)