"Mm …"
In between Casia's narration, the black dragon sensed a faint sound behind him. His slitted vertical pupils moved. He let go of the Elven Queen's claw and turned his head away, not listening to her whisper.
Luna rubbed her eyes, propped up her wall-like scales, and flipped out of Caesar's adjusted mezzanine. At the same time, she said in a daze, "Caesar, did you fight with someone again? It was so noisy."
"No."
The Black Dragon Lord's voice was gentle as he said frankly, "Jacia is here. I'm talking to her about the Elven Forest."
"Her Majesty Yufeng is here?"
The little one flapped her wings, climbed onto the Black Dragon's head, and greeted the Elven Queen while lying on top. The scene was quite comical.
Luna was very sensible. She just greeted her and then retreated. She knew that Caesar and Jacia might have something to talk about, so she did not waste any time. She wanted to wait for them to finish talking before pulling Jacia to chat.
After all, Luna would naturally care about the Elven Forest and her parents after a period of time.
Now that the little one had woken up, Caesar's ferocious aura was slightly suppressed. He was no longer so condescending. After a pause, the Black Dragon Lord spoke again, "The reason I called you here is to talk about two things. Let me ask you first, how many metal mines are there in the Elven Forest?"
The Northern Lands were remote and barren. Minerals had always been Caesar's biggest worry. In this situation, the Black Dragon had a real need for minerals. However, even if he took in all the countries in the Northern Lands, he would only have three more mines. Moreover, there was not a single magic mine among them.
Not enough, this was still not enough!
Before he could find other ways to replenish his energy, Caesar naturally had his eyes on the Elven Forest, which had great mining value.
"In the deepest part of the Elven Lake, there is a Mithril mine. Other than that, there are two more mines in the central area," Jacia replied accurately. As the leader, she was very clear about the situation in the Elven Forest.
"None of them moved?"
Caesar asked curiously. According to what he knew, it had been at least a thousand years since the establishment of the Elven Forest, but those mineral veins were still there.
"No, we don't need any minerals."
Garcia said that most of the time, the elves could use magic to replace steel with wood, so that was indeed the case.
However, this also revealed another piece of information. What Luna told him before was purely a rumor. It was impossible for there to be a Metal Dragon hiding in the Elf Forest.
Even if they were from the Good Faction, the Metal Dragons could not resist their endless greed for wealth.
"Very good."
Caesar revealed a satisfied smile. "After some time, I'll send the Kobold Clan to the Elven Forest to mine minerals and transport them to Blackwing's Nest."
Subconsciously, this guy had already treated the Elven Forest as his subordinate.
But Garcia rejected him. "No."
"Don't worry, I won't do anything to the creatures in the Elf Forest. I'll also try my best to restrain my spawns and prevent them from destroying your environment."
"No."
Unexpectedly, Garcia rejected Caesar's request for the second time. "I will never allow evil outsiders to enter the Elven Forest."
“？”
Caesar narrowed his eyes, feeling that his dignity was being challenged. He stood up and lowered his huge head to look down at Garcia.
According to the Black Dragon Lord's plan, things should not have developed like this. Logically speaking, the Elven Queen, Garcia Whisperwind, should have listened to him.
Could it be that Garcia's nature had been changed by the Moon God?
This time, Garcia was not afraid. Her silver eyes were filled with determination as she bravely looked at the powerful and ferocious Black Dragon Emperor.
Caesar made a mistake in his judgment. Garcia's bottom line had never been herself.
After a long period of corruption, Garcia had indeed become deformed and had a certain inclination towards the Black Dragon Overlord. Under such circumstances, she would do anything for Caesar. Even if she had to become a slave, Garcia would be able to accept it.
But when it came to the Elven Forest, Garcia would never give in. If he wanted to harm the Elven Forest through her interference, she would rather die.
This had never changed.
"You are rejecting the cooperation of Black Wing's Nest."
Caesar lowered his head, his protruding fangs gleaming. "The Elven Forest will die because of your ignorance."
His voice was not soft. Little Luna, who was focused on her painting, also heard him.
The little fellow's hand trembled slightly as she glanced in the direction of the Black Dragon. Then, she muttered a few words before returning to her work. She was very confident that Caesar would not do that.
The stupid dragon was scaring Queen Whisperwind again.
"We have a plan that both sides can accept, Dragon King," Garcia said softly.
"Your dog-headed people do not need to enter the Elven Forest. Our Tree Shepherds can modify the environment, while the Flower Goblins will be in charge of scouting for minerals. The Tiya Elves also know how to mine."
"Of course, this is a cooperation. You will have to pay the people of the Elven Forest as remuneration," Garcia added.
The current concept of the Elven Forest was changing. It was no longer the Elven Forest that advocated free labor. Instead, the concept of distributing according to one's work and determining one's status based on ability was becoming more apparent.
Due to the existence of the Queen, Caesar certainly could not exterminate the Elven Forest. Although the Elves were not as good at this as the Kobolds and were not as efficient, he could accept this proposal.
"Don't you have no need for material things?" Black Dragon snorted.
"Yes."
Garcia did not hold back. "But kind races also need to eat."
"Whether it is the Chimera or the Giant Eagle, they are actually omnivorous creatures. Although they can feed on leaves and roots, I still encourage them to eat meat at the same time in order to let their children grow stronger faster. And this meat … needs to be imported."
After all, the Elven Forest could not produce and sell their own kind like Black Wing's Nest did.
"Alright, then let's do this."
Caesar nodded in agreement. Then he brought up the second matter. "I want to ask if there are any iconic items that can represent you, or rather, the Elven Forest. The request is that they are not rare or expensive."
The Black Dragon's question was baffling. The first thing that came to Garcia's mind was the Moon Dew, but the other party's request was not rare, so she could only rule it out.
She thought for a moment and said tentatively, "The leaves of the Ancient Tree of Knowledge?"
"Leaves?
Are there many? "
"There is a grove of the Ancient Tree of Knowledge in the Elven Forest."
The Ancient Tree of Knowledge was not the name of a tree in the Elven Forest, but an entire species. It had a rigid requirement for its growth conditions. It would only appear and sprout in the soil where there were tree shepherds and unicorns.
Some special, blessed Ancient Trees of Knowledge had a very small chance of sprouting some branches with magical power.
For example, when Caesar captured Garcia previously, Luna's staff "Spring", which was destroyed in the dustless land. It was a magical item produced by the Tiya Elves with a unique enchantment spell using the branches of the Ancient Tree of Knowledge as the material.
"Then leaves it is. The size is suitable."
Caesar nodded in satisfaction. "First, send a batch of well-preserved ones over. At the same time, I need to borrow the name of the Elven Forest. You don't mind, do you?"
"Why?"
Garcia was alarmed and puzzled. She did not know why the Black Dragon Lord wanted the leaves of the Ancient Tree of Knowledge for.
"Don't worry, it's not a bad thing."
Airadia did not have the concept of the right of reputation. As long as it was not used for evil, Garcia should not refuse. Caesar explained, "The Northern Kingdoms want to develop a new industry and produce a product. One of the specifications needs to be sold under the name of the Elven Forest and needs to be signed."
"Of course, whether you agree or not, I will use it."
Caesar raised his head. "I call this authorization. Together with the leaves, I will pay the Elven Forest a certain amount of compensation."
After the discussion, the Black Dragon Lord left the Emerald Palace, giving Luna and Garcia time to catch up.
He was prepared to go to the manticore and boar people's ranch to take a look. The Blackwing clan was gradually expanding. Although they had many territories and could survive by sucking blood from the Northern Kingdoms, it would be best if they could always be self-sufficient.