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Chapter 483: A Trade Every Three Months
"Based on its current growth rate, the Life Tree sapling should pass its most fragile stage in about a month."
"Once it enters the relatively safer 'growth phase,' its acceleration range and efficiency can further improve, potentially increasing by over tenfold."
The experienced Old Li withdrew his gaze with a hint of amazement.
Suppressing his urge to study the Life Tree sapling further, he voiced the judgment Matthew wanted to hear.
Over the past few months, even someone as knowledgeable as Old Li had realized the potential of Bay Territory and the mystery surrounding Matthew.
Especially a few days ago, when Old Li saw Matthew conversing freely with Grand Arcanist Cronorman, it sparked even more speculation.
Matthew's identity and background were clearly enough to support him in reaching higher limits.
The over-a-hundred novice Druid trainees, in particular, greatly satisfied Old Li.
He admired these students—they were obedient, diligent, and eager to seize every opportunity to improve their abilities.
Beyond teaching and passing down his legacy, Old Li, who had once been resigned about his own strength, unexpectedly broke through his limits and saw hope for advancing to the legendary tier.
Naturally, he valued Matthew and Bay Territory highly for providing these conditions.
Nearby, Rebecca excitedly rubbed her hands together and winked at Elona.
Both of them had successfully been assigned the task of caring for the Life Tree sapling.
Although the task wasn't difficult, it demonstrated the level of trust they had earned.
The Life Tree sapling didn't require much care, but its growth process offered significant benefits to Druids.
After all, the Life Tree, as a unique transcendent lifeform, inherently aligned with Druid growth.
Compared to their excitement, Annie was more cautious. She asked expectantly in a soft voice:
"Once the Life Tree grows, it should greatly reduce the costs of cultivating red mulberry saplings, right?"
Bay Territory's red mulberry project consumed over 3 million gold coins monthly, with total investment potentially reaching 30 million.
Saving such a large sum would allow more resources to be invested elsewhere, accelerating Bay Territory's development.
Matthew didn't become distant with Annie over this; no alliance is unbreakable, especially with the Ail Elves.
Strengthening cooperation with the Silverleaf family was what Matthew aimed to advance.
Furthermore, Matthew was counting on the Ail Elves to help him fend off the pressures from the Cole Elf Kingdom.
By next year, they wouldn't have the leisure for such efforts!
Under Annie's eager gaze, Matthew produced another Life Tree seed and straightforwardly said:
"Does the Silverleaf family want a Life Tree?"
Silverleaf family!
Annie sharply caught the key point in Matthew's words. Relaxing slightly, she nodded excitedly and replied:
"Of course. No elven family would refuse a Life Tree."
"As long as it's within our means, we'll agree to any condition."
No, you won't!
At least, not now!
Matthew responded ambiguously with a nod, then rubbed his temples and stated plainly:
"Some of the materials for building the Mage Tower, 500 elf spellbooks, and one legendary elemental crystal."
This cost was considerable, but for the wealthy elven families with thousands of years of accumulation, it wasn't overly burdensome.
Before Annie could nod in agreement, Matthew smiled and patted her shoulder, speaking meaningfully:
"That's the price I've set. You can decide what price to offer other elven families."
"As for the trading frequency, once every three months."
Matthew's intention was clear—use the Life Tree to string along other elven families.
This approach had several advantages.
Each Life Tree could bring resources worth at least 30 million gold coins.
Instead of letting these resources be taken by the Cole Elf Kingdom to strengthen themselves, they could fuel Bay Territory's development.
Additionally, nurturing these Life Trees would indeed boost the strength of the Ail Elves to some extent.
With the Ail Elves growing stronger, the Cole Elf Kingdom would have to invest more effort and time to subdue them.
This naturally reduced the pressure on Matthew.
Moreover, Matthew could vaguely sense the status and location of the Life Tree saplings he cultivated.
When the time came, these saplings could potentially reveal a lot of information.
Keeping a backup plan never hurt!
Annie, who hadn't expected the Silverleaf family to gain such benefits, immediately understood and exclaimed excitedly:
"No problem! I'll do my best to persuade the other families and extract more benefits from them!"
"We'll split any extra gains fifty-fifty..."
Matthew's "once every three months" frequency was actually intended to accumulate Fate Energy.
After all, the Abyssal Rift only provided around 4 million Fate Energy monthly for Matthew.
The Scarlet Pass provided even less, yielding only 1 million per month.
Spending 10 million Fate Energy every three months was just the right balance.
Annie thought Matthew was "reasonably" raising prices to encourage competitive bidding among the elven families.
Getting resources in hand was the safest bet.
Who could resist owning a Life Tree?
Seeing great potential in the situation, Annie discussed further details of the trade with Matthew.
Receiving Matthew's promise to conduct the first trade in half a month, she quickly left Bay Territory with the other Aer Elf researchers.
Convincing other elven families to "pay up" obediently wouldn't be simple and required meticulous preparation.
Looking at the remaining 15 million Fate Energy, Matthew felt fortunate.
Though the Abyssal Rift and Scarlet Pass cost Bay Territory an additional 1.5 million gold coins monthly...
The Fate Energy, trained soldiers, and numerous soul shards they provided offered Matthew substantial returns.
At least in the short term, Matthew didn't need to worry about running out of Fate Energy.
After tidying up the Druid greenhouse and strengthening its defenses, Matthew returned to the Lord's Manor.
There, Butler Ralph had been waiting for quite some time.
He needed to consult Matthew regarding Bay Territory's development plans for the coming month.
The reinforced Drow Elves...
Potentially raiding Orcs...
The chaotic Karl Plains and northern Eastern Provinces—all posed significant challenges to Bay Territory's future.
The next steps and development strategies were of utmost importance!