Chapter 657: Sharing Development Means Sharing a Trap
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A large quantity of supplies was transported back to "Azshara City."
Even more containerized goods, along with adventurers and combat soldiers, came out of the teleportation array.
The Azshara Camp expanded rapidly from its original 500-meter radius.
Taller city walls rose from the ground.
Towering watchtowers, each tens of meters high, stood at various points along the walls.
Installed on them were powerful ranged weapons, including automatic ballistae, magical cannons, dragon-hunting crossbows, and enchanted heavy bows.
What was even more astonishing—
In just one night—
Hundreds of sturdy flat-roofed houses,
More than ten hospitals, restaurants, taverns, training grounds, adventurer halls, and other public facilities,
And twenty to thirty massive warehouses,
All sprang up like mushrooms after a rain.
They occupied most of the newly renamed Azshara Fortress.
Busy construction workers were working to perfect the interior facilities of these buildings.
The stone wall behind Azshara Fortress had also been hollowed out into several enormous caves.
According to exploration by Bay Territory's civil engineers, a huge metal smelting plant would be built inside.
It would specialize in metal refining.
The various metal ores mined from the Suramar Valley would continuously supply Bay Territory with high-quality metal raw materials.
The giant engineering golems that played a significant role in building Azshara Fortress had now moved to work underground and in the rock walls.
Intense explosions and rhythmic vibrations could be faintly heard from within—especially conspicuous in the otherwise silent underground world.
More than the vast architectural changes, what surprised Triss most were the orderly patrols of soldiers on the streets.
The dragon-emblazoned insignia glowing brightly on the chest armor of these human soldiers looked particularly "unique" in the eyes of the young drow elf.
She turned to the smiling Tyrael beside her and asked doubtfully:
"I think I've seen this insignia before—it seems to belong to a human territory on the surface, right?"
Tyrael didn't answer directly. Just as he hid his skin color and the traits of a Cole Elf, he responded from another angle:
"Azshara City has a very good relationship with Bay Territory. They've established multiple partnerships."
"There will be more and more soldiers and adventurers from Bay Territory appearing in Azshara City."
"They're essentially paid mercenaries, helping Azshara City with battles and adventures."
"The establishment and development of Azshara City wouldn't be possible without their help..."
Hearing this, Triss's head buzzed.
She recalled meeting Matron Serra and suddenly wanted to question her thoroughly.
Could a drow elf city-state actually have allies?
Did Matron Serra really feel secure allowing Bay Territory's military forces to be so "reckless" in fortresses and cities under Azshara's control?
That wasn't the style of a traditional drow matron at all!
As Triss's mind was thrown into disarray, unaware of the ideological storm heading her way—
The very Matron Serra she was thinking of was smiling as she discussed and negotiated via magical projection with several drow commanders.
"Expensive? Not at all!"
"It's been the same price all along!"
Serra calmly shook her head, radiating proud confidence, and said with a composed tone:
"A high-quality enchanted crossbow currently only costs 30 grams of Adamantine."
"We'll charge a little for shipping, but we'll also throw in 300 armor-piercing bolts for free."
"Magical items and potions are slightly cheaper—currently 20 grams of Adamantine per item."
Cheap?
They didn't see anything cheap about it!
To them, the prices looked sky-high.
Although most drow city-states had no contact with surface-world factions—
They had traded with other forces in the Underdark.
Buying or selling magical items was a skill every drow commander excelled at.
Compared to Serra's prices, their previous sales of magical gear seemed downright charitable.
Many drow commanders were silently cursing Serra's greed and shamelessness.
Yet even so, none of the commanders stopped negotiating.
The reason was simple: compared to Serra's sudden 50% markup—
Suramar City was now offering triple the original price.
And with limited quantity, the drow commanders had to pull strings and invest effort just to get the goods.
In comparison, even though Serra's pricing was infuriating, it was the best option.
Their complaints were just part of bargaining tactics.
Serra easily saw through them and, unwilling to sacrifice her territory's interests, casually added:
"The more sought-after magical cannons are difficult to manufacture and have very limited output."
"Even we in Azshara City don't have enough for trade."
At that, the drow commanders could feel the threat embedded in her words.
Raise the price at a whim?
Refuse to deal if the price isn't met?
Is that how you do business?
Seeing Serra's unshakable confidence, the frustrated drow commanders didn't hesitate to agree once she mentioned contacting other drow leaders.
They were all drow—who didn't know each other's tricks?
Thus, after being threatened, the drow commanders forked over their gold without delay.
Watching their smiling faces, Serra could imagine the curses and roars in their hearts with the worst of assumptions.
"Ha, typical drow!"
"Same rotten core as Cole Elves!"
"When faced with profit, no matter how insulted they feel, they'll still wag their tails and beg."
"As long as you remain 'useful' and keep the pressure strong enough—"
"No matter how much they resent you, they'll still instinctively submit and fawn..."
Happily counting her gains, Serra looked ecstatic.
She knew drow nature well: they feared strength but lacked gratitude, and would abandon righteousness for petty gain.
After studying valuable knowledge in Bay Territory, Serra had learned much more.
Her thinking and understanding had reached a whole new level.
By securing deals with those drow commanders, Serra and Bay Territory gained materials and resources worth nearly 50 million.
Over one-third of that would be converted into materials, contributions, and valuable manpower to support the construction of Azshara City and Fortress.
Of course, Serra had received Matthew's formal approval yesterday, officially becoming the Bay Territory's manager in the Underdark.
For Serra, it wasn't just an honor—it was an exhilarating challenge.
She had a more important deal to make, not with Suramar City, but with an old acquaintance—Liya!
Seeing the calm-faced Serra and noticing the sparkling blue glow of thunder magic armor on her, Liya couldn't help but marvel:
"You really surprised me—just like Bay Territory."
Serra knew what she meant. What struck her was—
All those emotions she had imagined beforehand vanished the moment she saw Liya again.
As if hatred, revenge, and pride had never existed in her mind.
Remaining calm, Serra smiled and said confidently and proudly:
"Haha, only by joining Bay Territory could I change like this."
"Otherwise, I'd be no different from those cannon fodder who died recently."
The cannon fodder, of course, referred to drow who had died helplessly in combat.
Liya carefully studied Serra's calm expression, trying to discern her true thoughts.
After all, lying and acting were ingrained talents for the drow.
But then she thought—given Serra's status and Bay Territory's strength, there was no need to play such petty tricks.
"Let's talk about the trade first. That's what really matters to us."
Serra interrupted Liya's thoughts and got straight to the point.
Liya didn't argue and simply nodded, then stated her needs:
"We need critical psychic defense equipment!"
Serra wasn't surprised by Liya's knowledge—she had deliberately leaked the intel.
The goal was to attract Liya or the forces behind Mobliso City.
Because they were the richest!
From looting just 20+ scattered drow remnants, they had gained over a billion gold coins.
The centuries-old wealth of Mobliso City was a staggering treasure trove.
Serra absolutely wanted to carve out a big chunk of it.
Psychic defense gear was one of Serra's trump cards.
Looking at Liya's slightly tense eyes, she spoke calmly instead of making things difficult:
"No problem at all. Azshara City is happy to engage in 'friendly' exchanges with other cities."
"First, let me introduce a psychic defense device developed by Bay Territory."
"It allows individual combat units to resist psychic spells like 'mind control' for a short period."
"It's easy to use—just wear it and it activates automatically."
"It lasts up to a full month on standby and can be recharged with energy blocks provided by Bay Territory..."
Surprised by how agreeable Serra was, Liya's heart skipped a beat. She immediately focused and listened carefully.
She'd already forgotten Serra's openness about ties to Bay Territory.
Her priority was survival—and rising higher in Mobliso City—to honor the goddess's favor.
"I won't elaborate on the other effects of the psychic defense device."
"Just its resistance to mind flayer control proves its worth."
"Each unit costs 100 grams of Mithril."
"But since we're old acquaintances, I'll give you a discount: just 88 grams."
"Like the device itself, that price is a rare find."
Liya, having heard the explanation, nodded without hesitation and declared:
"No problem. I accept the price."
"I'm ordering 100 units of the psychic defense device right now!"
Liya's decisiveness surprised Serra.
But Serra had no intention of turning away such a deal.
With a smile, she nodded and showcased another item:
"This is a multifunctional energy crystal from Bay Territory. It supplies rapid energy to devices like the psychic defense unit."
"Each brand-new crystal is priced at one gram of Mithril—no discounts."
Multifunctional energy crystals?
Specifically for charging psychic devices?
Liya now realized: Bay Territory's psychic defense gear wasn't disposable like those crafted by drow mages.
Defensive magical items could be recharged via skill recovery, releasing spells periodically—
But repeated use would erode their core.
Without maintenance, the item's power would wane and eventually fail.
But Serra described a special effect of Bay Territory's gear:
Reusability!
That meant drow would need a constant supply of energy crystals—and more psychic gear.
Especially since Serra just mentioned one more thing—
She'd get a 12% commission!
That alone made Liya's heart race.
Why? Because she saw the opportunity—
To seize this line to Bay Territory and earn big.
But 12%? Not enough...
100 units? Too few...
Half an hour later—
Serra received an order from Liya for over 2,000 psychic defense devices and at least 20,000 multifunctional energy crystals.
A massive deal worth nearly 75 million gold!
It showed Liya's wealth and her unhidden ambition.
Watching her smile, Serra felt no disdain—just a quiet reflection.
"As expected, drow never fall behind when it comes to sacrificing public good for personal gain..."