"Angus and his daughter Elaine were assassinated by the Tisiphone family."
Loranhill walked to the sofa opposite Jelinek and slowly sat down, then began to talk about his experience after coming to Hopeland and the ambitions of the Tisiphone family.
When Loran Hill talked about the new muskets of the Tisiphone family, Jelinek frowned slightly. He picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip, and then asked.
"Do you know where they got those muskets?" Jelinek seemed familiar with this new weapon.
"It should have been imported from Lurna Country, and then secretly transported here by the Tonisos family's fleet."
After hearing Loran Hill's answer, Jelinek fell into deep thought. His two hands unconsciously crossed together, and his fingers slowly tapped the back of his other hand.
After a long time, he finally spoke.
"Niece Lacy, I'm afraid this matter is not that simple."
"The firearm, or rather, a degraded version of the magic crystal gun, is still an experimental project even in Luerna. The magic crystal gun is currently Luerna's most cutting-edge research direction, and all kinds of confidentiality measures are very complete."
"Even after we reached an agreement with Luerna earlier this year, very little information about this has been released to the public. Luerna officials also claimed that this is still a test weapon and is unstable, so it is not for sale."
"The Tisiphone family wouldn't pay such a high price to acquire a new weapon that's still in the experimental stage. Besides, this isn't even the original, it's just a degraded version."
"Although the musket is stronger than the previous crossbow, it still doesn't reach the level of a silver-level extraordinary creation. The manufacturing cost is no less than that of a silver-level one. It is definitely a loss-making business."
"Some people will do business that will cost them their lives, but no one will do business that will make them lose money."
"Unless this new weapon costs nothing, or very little."
"To be able to give the Tisiphone family the weapons under test, this must be something that only the top faction within Lurna can do."
"Once they intervene, it means that the balance and tacit understanding between the seven countries of Xuehua will be broken."
Jelinek expressed his worst concerns.
"Could it be that Luerna thought the musket was unsuccessful and disposed of it casually?"
"No, I've been to Lurna with Angus and representatives from other major chambers of commerce. The mages there place great importance on technology. Even within their own country, they're divided into several factions, and they don't easily pass on core knowledge to outsiders. Generally speaking, when you graduate from a certain academy, you're naturally labeled with a certain faction, and trying to learn from other factions will be very difficult."
"Wouldn't this limit the development of technology?"
"That's true, but they also have their reasons."
"This is invaluable information obtained through generations of continuous experimentation and data accumulation by their teachers and their teachers' teachers. Countless efforts and resources were expended during this time. Why should they allow you to view it unconditionally? Therefore, it is difficult for those outside of this faction to learn about the cutting-edge technology of other factions."
"What about this year's agreement?" Loran Hill asked in confusion.
"Well, the agreement is that we can buy artifacts from all factions without restrictions, but they won't tell us how they're made."
"For businessmen, this is not difficult to accept as long as the price is reasonable," replied Jelinek.
"In fact, your previous inference is very likely true. That is, Luerna has begun to interfere in the internal affairs of Verga. And Yubere is closer to Luerna, so it is very likely that they have succeeded."
"That is to say, over time, you will not only have to face the combined forces of the three families including Tisiphone of Hopeland, but also the enemy reinforcements from Yubere."
"Whoever is plotting this secretly will only maximize their profits if they take over the entire Virga. They will not give up Hopeland."
"So, my Lacey 'niece', Angus' client, are you ready?"
Having said this, Jelinek slowly loosened his hand, picked up the teacup again, took a sip, and moistened his throat.
Looking at the middle-aged man in front of him, who was about the same age as Angus and was holding the teacup calmly, Loran Hill smiled.
"Now that you say so, clever Uncle Jelinek, you must have a solution."
"Then don't keep me in suspense. Please tell me." Loran Hill blinked rarely and acted coquettishly.
"Hahaha, am I so easily seen through?"
Jelinek smiled with a hint of pride, then spoke without deliberately holding back.
"Angus and I became successful back then thanks to a stroke of luck. We unearthed an ancient relic and handed it over to a wizard from the Hinayue Council. From there, we established connections and obtained a trade license with the Southern Islands, something many major chambers of commerce didn't have at the time. That's when we skyrocketed."
"If you've read the history of the two nations, you'll know that Lurna has always been at odds with the Kingdom of Hina. Although both nations are wizards, they view each other as heretics. This is also the reason why Hinazuki and the United Kingdom of Crimson Berry were unwilling to join the Seven Kingdoms of Snow Flower."
"Both countries believe they are the legitimate successors to the former Land of Oz, and the dispute has lasted for hundreds of years."
"The rise of Carites can also be said to be due to the support of the Hinayue Council. If you ask for help as Angus's heir and explain that this is due to the suppression of the Lurna Kingdom, they won't say they will help you defeat Yubere, but they will definitely have no problem protecting Hopeland."
"Because they also don't want to see their opponents expand their territory and strength so recklessly."
Jelinek showed Loran Hill a clear path.
------------------------
After the dinner, everyone in the Yagtilin family was about to say goodbye and leave. Rachel pulled Loran Hill aside to talk in private.
"Lacey, if you really can't hold on any longer, just take a boat out to sea. I heard from my father that the Carites had many branches in the Southern Islands in their early years. Although they've been somewhat abandoned over the years, they're still usable and can at least be preserved."
She looked at her good friend with a little worry. She had known many people since she was a child, but the only one she could chat with and talk about everything was the one in front of her.
"Thank you, Rachel."
Loran Hill hugged his friend, feeling warm inside, and then spoke.
"It's okay, I will protect myself."
"Have you practiced what I gave you before?" Loran Hill whispered in her ear.
"Yes, it's magical and amazing." Rachel's eyes lit up when she said this.
"So, since I can give you this information, I'm definitely not weak. So don't worry, don't worry about me, and don't worry about yourself either. It's best not to stay in Hopeland for the time being. Come back later when everything is stable."
"Yeah, I know." Rachel nodded, then let go of her hand and prepared to leave.
"See you later, then, Lacey."
"Well, bye."
Loran Hill also waved and watched the Yagtilin family get on the carriage and slowly leave.
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