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"Contacting the core figures among human merchants and negotiating with them in the capacity of the Light Goddess of 'Sacred Love Heaven' and the spokesperson for Fontainebleau will greatly benefit our future actions," replied Li Jia.

"Eh? Wouldn't that... make them hostile? After all, humans are..." Jin Luosha was somewhat surprised by her companion's suggestion.

"There's no need to worry about that," interjected Chen Xuanfeng, who affectionately stroked Jin Luosha's forehead, knowing that this young girl still harbored feelings for the human world, having only abandoned her racial stance for his sake. "The world today is different from four hundred years ago. Whether acknowledged or not, humans' dominant position on the Mainland is unshakable. Even if we orcs win, it would take at least a century or two to digest the western territories of the Mainland, let alone launch further wars. Merchants, as profit-seekers, understand this very well. Therefore, they don't need to worry about orcs threatening their interests. In fact, the opposition between different factions has expanded their business channels and importance. Otherwise, under a unified human rule, the exploitation of merchants by royalty and nobility would be endless."

"In fact, the commercial alliance has always had extensive trade relations with the orcs," Li Jia continued. "Especially after the orc alliance occupied the western part of the Mainland, Orc King Samanda and his Riftfang family have become the primary targets of southern merchants' flattery. Smuggling caravans continuously travel between the two sides, and even merchants visiting Fontainebleau are not few. However, due to the great distance, slow communication, and our lack of the deep-rooted connections of the Orc King's Riftfang family, we have been cautious about entering into comprehensive agreements for fear of being cheated. Now that we have the opportunity to come to the south, we might as well take this chance to meet with the core leaders of the commercial alliance. Firstly, to plan for future commercial connections; secondly, to use the commercial alliance's intelligence network to gather information about the elves; and thirdly, to collect traces of forbidden spell casters. At the same time, Miss can also take this opportunity to see the sights of what is known as the most luxurious and extravagant country in the human world."

Indeed, only the last reason was most appealing to Jin Luosha. Women of any age cannot help but be particularly fond of those captivating, dazzlingly beautiful garments, shimmering mysterious jewelry, and various kinds of art. To some extent, the saying "women are like dragons" has already been acknowledged by most men. Jin Luosha, being a girl of twelve or thirteen, is no exception.

"Hmm..." Jin Luosha hesitated, resting her chin on her hand, her eyes sparkling as she sneakily glanced in Chen Xuanfeng's direction, clearly already tempted but still waiting for her brother's decision.

Chen Xuanfeng, who could not be unaware of the little girl's thoughts, immediately laughed and said, "Haha, that's a good idea. However, I can't transform into my werewolf form, as there are still many people here who are hostile to orcs. I'll act as the human guard of the 'Light Goddess' and we'll move together."

"Yay! Brother is the best!" For a moment, the room was filled with the joyful laughter of the young girl.

Ten days later.

On the other side of the Mainland, four human youths gathered together in a meeting.

"So, you're going to be our new companion?" asked a refined noble youth with golden hair and twin crescent moon swords at his waist.

"Correct," nodded the red-haired, calm youth in reply.

"However, with one of the six gone, talking about companions is meaningless. What exactly are your plans in coming to us?" interjected another youth with the appearance of a prairie tribesman, his gaze sharp like an eagle's.

The last youth, with the appearance of Yellow Dragon descent, answered, "We need your recognition and support. Precisely because we have lost one position, the abilities of the remaining five are even more important. I believe no one can cross that boundary in just three months like my companion did. With his presence, the future situation can hope to remain unchanged. However, we cannot ignore the attitude of the 'Mercenary Empire'. If those foolish and selfish royals refuse to back down, things will get very troublesome. So, today, with the Holy Domain of the Light Temple lost, excluding the one from Yellow Dragon who has not yet appeared, and the already destroyed Viking, as long as you two can express support for Morova, we can completely suppress the 'Mercenary Empire's' unpredictable actions."

The four youths talking were Carol, the 'Crescent Moon Knight' who inherited the power of the Sword Saint, Xian Lan, the 'Tide Knight' from the eastern Tiele Empire, Morova, who had newly become a Saint, and Xi Luo, who had arrived with Morova.

To eliminate the possible adverse consequences of seizing the 'Holy Emblem' of Fire, Xi Luo and Morova, after leaving the underground palace, went north to find Carol and Xian Lan, who happened to be together, hoping to use their influence to suppress any potential reckless actions by the 'Mercenary Empire'.

Xian Lan had known Xi Luo and Morova from the battlefield three years ago, and Carol had once fought with Hein, the previous holder of the 'Holy Emblem' of Fire, and had been accused by the 'Mercenary Empire' of being Hein's murderer. Due to their respective subtle positions, both eventually agreed to Morova's request and even established some cooperative methods to ensure their independence and rights, as the constant manipulation as Sword Saints was utterly unpleasant.

"By the way, Morova, as the new Holy Emblem Knight, what title will you adopt?" Carol asked the new friend about his title as the conversation came to a pause.

"Fenghuang, the 'Fenghuang Knight'."

Chapter 23: Secret Meeting at the Trading Port

"Where earth, sea, and sky meet,

Lies a legendary harbor.

It is the birthplace of all dreams,

A place where air turns into diamonds..."

Diamond Harbor, an excellent natural harbor on the southern coast of the Mainland, originally named Andinos City, was an important hub connecting thousands of miles of sea routes during the era of the Elven Empire. In the elven language, Andinos means 'the land favored by the sea'. After humans gained dominance over the Mainland, during the distribution of rewards, the financial magnates who operated behind the human army, providing the allied forces with endless supplies, naturally chose this place as their fiefdom and established it as the largest hub for financial and material distribution on the Mainland. It is said that in its most glorious era, thanks to efficient commercial operations, the transaction volume here alone matched the total annual tax revenue of the 'Yellow Dragon Empire', 'Tiele Empire', and 'Mercenary Empire'."