Chapter 217: Alliance Formation

After the onslaught of the sea beasts, Port Leyton was covered in blood and charred debris. What was once a tidy port was now in ruins, with a stone wall added to the originally flat trading area.

Considering that the port had little defense against external threats, it could only retreat behind the city walls in such crises. Thus, the leaders of Port Leyton decided to use that stone wall as the foundation for the port’s first line of defense. The three large gaps in the wall that hadn’t been repaired yet were ideal for turning into gates, dividing the port area into two: outside the wall would be the docking and unloading area, while inside remained the original free trading zone. In case of war, people could take shelter within the defensive wall, greatly enhancing the safety of Port Leyton’s residents and merchants.

When Donald flew back to the walls of Port Leyton from above, he saw a group of civilians sorting through the carcasses of the sea beasts under the command of the guards. These civilians showed little fear at the horrors of the battlefield; instead, they were smiling. Likely, the beast invasion had been repelled, and Port Leyton was safe again, and they were happy at the prospect of receiving a good reward for their labor.

Although Donald had taken away much of the best from the dead sea beasts, there were still twenty to thirty thousand carcasses left. Aside from a small number of sea beasts at level three or above, there were over ten thousand intact lower-level sea beast carcasses. Even if sold at a reduced price, each one would still be worth at least ten gold sols. Sea beasts are usually larger than land-based monsters, so their prices are naturally higher.

Moreover, since Port Leyton dealt in marine products all year round, it certainly had the means to handle sea beast carcasses.

Processed magical beast products could be sold at a higher value than the raw materials. Sea beast skins could be used to make leather clothing and goods, while their flesh, blood, and bones could be turned into fine delicacies or used as alchemical materials. Not to mention the magic cores—gathering tens of thousands of them, even if 99% were lower-level cores below level three, would have a significant impact on the kingdom’s magic core market once released. Therefore, the leaders of Port Leyton wisely classified these magic cores as strategic reserves and did not put them on the market.

Now, Port Leyton and the small workshops in nearby villages were all working hard to skin and dismember the sea beast carcasses from which magic cores had been extracted, carrying out preliminary processing.

The direct profits brought in by just these sea beasts amounted to over a hundred thousand gold sols, far exceeding the annual tax revenue of Port Leyton by tens of thousands. This near-disasterous attack by sea beasts not only avoided destruction but also generated such substantial gains. Many high-ranking officials even wondered if they could take advantage of Baron Merlinar of Dalaran not being away to stage another similar operation.

Speaking of this kingdom’s hero, the greatest genius mage in the Northlands, everyone in Port Leyton now admired him deeply. Previously, they had only heard rumors from the capital and other places, but now, having witnessed the miracles he had created, they were utterly impressed.

In this world, the greatest reverence was for heroes and the strong. After returning from the sky, Donald was met along the way with countless admiring gazes.

Soon, the power of faith surrounding him surged rapidly. If anyone could see it, they would notice a holy glow forming behind Donald, making him appear like a deity.

Upon returning to Port Leyton, Donald first talked to Jesse and Augusta, then went straight to speak with the region’s most powerful lord, Count Leyton.

“What? Baron, you’ve conquered the Merfolk Islands?”

There were only Donald and Count Leyton in the reception room. Hearing what Donald said, Count Leyton was shocked. His Leyton family had long coveted those Merfolk Islands. He had planned to attack after dealing with the sea beast carcasses in the port, aiming to eliminate the Merfolk tribe once and for all. Unexpectedly, someone else had taken the lead, leaving the count feeling quite displeased.

“Baron, do you mean to claim these islands as your own territory?”

Donald had no reason to hide his intentions and said outright, “Exactly! After defeating the sea lord of Falling Star Bay, I certainly wouldn’t give away my gains. Just now, another sea lord from the north tried to take advantage of the situation, but I drove him away. Now, my subordinate Nozdorm has become the sea lord in an area of a thousand miles around here. I’ve also nearly wiped out those fanged Merfolk. From now on, Lord Count, you needn’t worry about ships in Falling Star Bay being threatened from beneath the water!”

Hearing these words, Count Leighton was shocked and helpless. This baron indeed possessed great strength and courage—capable of conquering the Golden Dragon and making it work for him willingly. Thus, even though he was reluctant to give up the interests of Fishman Island, he couldn’t afford to take any action to compete. After all, his territory had been saved by this man, and the Fishman tribe had also been conquered by him.

So Count Leighton thought for a moment before deciding to cooperate with this baron—never offending such a powerful figure.

Donald could easily guess that Count Leighton was reluctant, so he added, “The two administrators of my territory must have mentioned to you the plan to establish trade relations between our families, right?”

Count Leighton nodded eagerly. He was very interested in the wealth that trade with Dalaran could bring. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, and as the lord of Port Leighton, he certainly wouldn’t object.

“What I bring to the Leighton family isn’t just wealth—there are adventurers and mercenaries from the Adventurers’ Guild, equipment and medicines produced by the mages in my territory. If you need them, you can even hire the warriors under my command. These should all be valuable assets for the Leighton family!”

He knew that the Leighton family had controlled Port Leighton, the kingdom’s wealthiest commercial city, for many years, and wealth was not their lack. But in Donald’s view, what the Leighton family lacked was the strength to protect their vast wealth.

A family that relies on bribes to maintain its position for long without its own strength is easily defeated by ambitious rivals.

The Leighton family was aware of this situation, but having come from a merchant family, they lacked a strong professional legacy. Few of their descendants had the aptitude to become powerful, and the martial arts and magic books they could afford were mostly ordinary, yielding little real progress in training.

So when Donald proposed this form of indirect military support from the Merlin family, he immediately became excited.

Now that the kingdom’s elite were discussing the strength of Dalaran, it was hard to imagine how a young man from a fallen noble family could have gained so much support from powerful figures.

As for the mages, it goes without saying that a baronial domain having four silver mages already makes the nobles both envious and jealous. It is said that there are also many bronze swordsmen in Dalaran, at least two silver swordmasters, as well as fierce magical beasts like griffins. Now, an even more astonishingly powerful dragon has appeared, and even the lord of this domain has become a mage. Adding to this the mysterious silver mage who came along, Dalaran, a remote place, now has six silver mages. If a gold archmage appears someday, Count Leighton won’t be surprised at all.

Count Leighton himself lacks talent, but fortunately, his two sons are outstanding. One has a brilliant mind and is already a well-known young scholar, while the other has a strong physical aptitude and has been sent to study under a famous martial artist in the capital.

However, the family’s military strength is extremely weak, even weaker than that of some smaller local nobles with hereditary military traditions. The loyalty of hired soldiers cannot be guaranteed. If they could gain the support of powerful Dalaran, given twenty years, they believe they could cultivate a group of capable young talents for the family. It would be even better if they could produce one or two mages.

Still, Count Leighton is an experienced negotiator. Though excited, he didn’t show it, so as not to let his opponent guess his intentions, and continued to compete with Donald, hoping to secure more benefits.

After some debate, the terms for an alliance between the two families were initially established.

First, Dalaran must entrust the sales of its four major commodities in the Eastern Province to the Leighton family. Of course, the distribution of profits with other forces in Port Leighton will also be handled by the Leighton family.

Second, a Dalaran Adventurers’ Guild branch must be established in Port Leighton, with at least one silver-level expert in charge. At the same time, if the Leighton family needs it, they can call upon some of Dalaran’s armed forces, and Dalaran is obligated to provide support in times of crisis.

In return, the Leighton family must fully support Donald in obtaining ownership of the island inhabited by fish people, now renamed Emerald Dream, and also support all future commercial activities of Dalaran in Port Leighton and the Eastern Province.

Since it was a private alliance, only the heads of the two families secretly signed the agreement, without inviting other nobles or temple representatives as witnesses.

Additionally, Count Leighton had a personal request: he hoped Donald could give him a young dragon, and he was willing to exchange it for anything Donald valued.

This was actually prepared by Leyton for his youngest son. All that was needed was to hire a mage to forge a contract between his son and the young dragon, and then his son would truly become a Dragon Knight, even though the dragon was still young.
Seeing that Count Leyton had his eyes set on the dragons currently resting on the walls of Leyton Port, Donald thought about it for a while. What harm would it do if he agreed?
After all, he also planned to relocate the dragon nests to the Emerald Dream Islands, where there were plenty of sea beasts for the young dragons to hunt.
Still, Donald explained the situation of the young dragons to Count Leyton to prevent him from having overly high hopes that might lead to disappointment.
“Even if these young dragons consume enough magical beast flesh and cores to shorten most of their growth time, it would still take at least a decade or so to grow into bronze dragons. Raising a young dragon would likely cost no less than a hundred thousand gold sols, not to mention an adult dragon!”
Yet Count Leyton merely smiled upon hearing this, completely unconcerned.
A decade or so was nothing. If it took fifty years to train a Dragon Knight, then the major families would surely invest heavily. Besides, dragons were easy to come by now, so he could live to see his family grow stronger!