"The Holy See is weak, Middle-earth is gradually becoming chaotic, even if we continue to provide magic crystals, we will not be able to exchange as much food as in previous years......" Cynthia said this, glancing at the elders, and then at Donner, her eyes full of worry. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Donner frowned slightly, but did not answer.

It stands to reason that with such a vast area of the Huls Continent, it is enough to feed more than 40 million people in the Far North. However, due to the high terrain in the south and low in the north, almost all the rivers on the entire continent go straight to the north, and the land that can be irrigated along the way is quite limited. The backward agricultural production methods of slash-and-burn farming have made the grain output on the only cultivated land also pitifully low.

With the gradual expansion of the Fog City Factory and the Aili Industrial Zone, and the emergence of various agricultural machinery, the arable land area of the Hulse Continent is bound to soar in the next few decades, but in the short term, it is completely impossible to feed the Far North with a population of less than 20 million people in the entire continent.

Cynthia apparently understands this, too. So, seeing that Donner didn't answer, she didn't say anything more.

In the vast government hall, everyone was silent, except for the beep of burning torches.

The firelight shone on the backs of several elders from the corners of the surrounding walls, casting their shadows on the long stone table, like the silhouettes of figures drawn on the table, motionless.

A few minutes passed before a dwarf elder broke the silence.

"Caios's confusion is inseparable from Patine the Lion...... his voice came to an abrupt halt, but the afterglow of his words echoed silently through the hall.

At this moment, not only Cynthia looked at Donner, but even the dwarf king Grunada looked up at him.

Donner knew what they wanted to say. In fact, being able to sit in the Presbyterian Church of the Far North is already the greatest expression of goodwill for Cynthia and Grunada.

However, Donner has his own position and a bottom line that cannot be crossed.

Cynthia's meaning is already obvious, to solve the food crisis in the Far North, it is necessary to step into Caios and other places like Patin. But Donner stood on his own side and could not have agreed.

"I want to ...... From the first day we started working together, we knew what we were up against. The magic crystal is exhausted, and the troubled times are coming, and nothing can defeat us...... There is one exception. Donner's eyes swept over the Elders, the Dwarven King, and his son, and finally settled on Cynthia's face.

In the government hall, everyone looked towards Donner, even the dwarf elder who had been closing his eyes and recuperating.

Donner was silent for a moment, then continued, "In Fog City, in Misty Town, and even in the entire province of Santan, dwarves, gnomes, and ordinary humans can live together peacefully, with curiosity but no hatred...... Yes, Patin's forces are encroaching on Middle-earth, and the barbarian Godin will not sit idly by and watch Middle-earth empty, but those knights are no different from the humans of Middle-earth, and even if they bring endless disasters, the hatred will eventually disappear. ”

Donner's meaning is very clear: no matter how much the humans fight each other, they will be safe in the end, but once the dwarves and dwarves completely tear their faces with ordinary humans, the war will never end.

"Is it because they are different from ordinary humans that dwarves and gnomes deserve to sit and wait for death?" the gnome elder who had closed his eyes before stared straight at Donna, his eyes like fire.

"Do you want endless wars, hatred, and isolation?" Donner, without showing any hint of weakness, looked back at the dwarf elder.

A dwarven elder slowly stood up, and the dwarven king Grunada stopped in front of the man, shaking his head slowly, and the elder sat down again.

The atmosphere in the government hall was a bit violent, and Donner could feel that at least two elders were hostile to him.

"Guys, I think you may have misunderstood Donner. Cynthia spoke at the right time to mediate, comforting Donner with her eyes by the way.

Donner nodded at her, and after calming down, he smiled slightly, and said to several elders: "Even if we can't exchange so much food with magic crystals, don't we still have machines and magic energy engines to sell?"

"You're right," the dwarf elder said in a cold tone, "our machines and magic engines have to be exchanged for food, and we can't provide them to you for free." ”

Donner was slightly stunned, not only him, but even Cynthia and the Dwarven King were taken aback by the Elder's words.

"Elder Spike, the Magic Engine and all the machines produced in Fog City were originally designed by Donner...... Cynthia busily said.

"I know, so, in order to repay Duke Vane, our Far North Nation has been protecting the safety of the Hulse Continent, haven't we?" Elder Spike glanced at Cynthia and said, "Cynthia Vader, this is the unanimous opinion of the Elders, you won't object, will you?"

"What are you talking about?" Grunada rushed up, grabbed Elder Spike's robe by the collar, and said fiercely, "Dwarves aren't ungrateful, say, is it all your idea!?"

"Gru ......" At the other end of the table, the dwarven elder who had just been motioned by the dwarf king to sit down again slowly stood up and said in a rough voice: "This is the unanimous decision of our elders, and in troubled times, we can no longer blindly pay at any cost." ”

The Dwarven King's hand tugging at Elder Spike's collar shook with anger, and it took him a long time before he let go of his hand and turned his back, not daring to look at Donner in shame for a moment.

"Interesting," Donner laughed suddenly, "that's what you're for." ”

He smiled as he got up and walked to the door of the government hall.

"Donner, listen to me...... That's definitely not what Gru and I had in mind!" Cynthia's anxious voice of defense came from behind him.

"I know......" Donner pushed the door and walked out of the Fog City Government Hall, the sun shining brightly outside the door.

......

Due to the intervention of the Presbyterian Church of the Far North, Cynthia's previous promise to join the United Kingdom of Huls has become an empty word.

On the 29th day of the month of doom in the second year of the new calendar, Merkel, the prime minister of the Femont Empire, the Archduke Gustav of the Silver Finch, and the Queen of the Thorn Empire gathered in Fog City and signed three letters of state with the Presbyterian Council of the Far North, leasing five cities from the north to the Far North for a period of four hundred years.

At the same time, the three countries also signed a grain trade agreement with the country of the Far North. At this point, the magic crystal quota agreement, which had been fulfilled for more than 3,000 years, was officially invalidated on the Huls Continent.

On the 31st of the month of bad luck, Downer officially took back 20% of the shares of the Far North in the SAR Bank on the condition of the transfer of technology for a magic engine chain tractor. On the same day, the SAR Bank changed its name to the Fremont Nord Bank, sharing the right to issue notes with the newly established Fremont Royal Bank.

Beginning in the 3rd year of the new calendar, Donner took over the grain tax of the Faemon royal family, and exchanged these grains for secret metals with the Far North.

In June of the 3rd year of the new calendar, Downer integrated his industries and organized several factories in the Aili Industrial Zone and Misty Town into the North Industries Group.

At the end of August of the same year, Lisa's Chiga Industrial Group was established in the eastern area of the Aili Industrial Park, and the contract was awarded for the construction of a railway between the industrial zone and Coennas. More than 1,000 magicians from the Chiga Mountains have moved to the eastern area of the Aili Industrial Park, including more than 70 white-robed mages alone.

That year, the Stone Villa at the top of the Foggy City was completely abandoned by Donner, and Layla and Una moved to Coennas, occasionally commuting to the Avery Industrial Zone.