Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 229 The Elf's Dilemma and the Opportunity for Advancement

When the lord was in the Vast Ocean, the territory's development could be described as rapid and efficient. When the lord was not in the Vast Ocean, all tasks were carried out in a step-by-step manner.

With the foundation laid in the early stages, as long as officials at all levels follow the plan and do not act rashly, there will be no major problems.

However, there are many unforeseen circumstances that require the Lord's personal attention upon his return.

When the lord's flagship "Qiming" sailed into Emerald Bay, raised the lord's flag, and sounded its long horn, the once calm and tranquil Han Hai Territory suddenly erupted into a frenzy.

The civil officials were led by the governor of Helan, and the military officers were led by Macaja. Upon hearing the news, the people of the land spontaneously gathered at the dock, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks to look at the ship that carried the great ship.

Humans, orcs, half-orcs, goblins... the faces of different races were filled with genuine joy, and the shore was bustling with people.

Whether it's due to the dramatic changes in life or the relentless brainwashing by the propaganda system, in any case, on this land of Han Hai Territory, the lord is the only light.

When Chen Mo's figure appeared at the top of the gangway, a suppressed shout erupted from the crowd.

"The lord has returned!"

"Welcome back, Lord!"

Chen Mo rubbed his forehead in exasperation. He didn't want to cultivate a personality cult, but reality and his advisors were telling him that cultivating a personality cult was the simplest, most effective, and fastest way to establish rule and promote development.

none of them!

When people are accustomed to wise leaders, they will subconsciously obey and uphold everything.

The return ceremony was brief yet enthusiastic. Every word Chen Mo uttered elicited a deafening roar of cheers and applause. To be honest, in this atmosphere, even Chen Mo himself couldn't hear what he was saying, let alone the people below.

Back in the familiar city lord's mansion, Chen Mo didn't even have time to rest before heading straight to the study. On the huge desk, documents that needed the lord's review and approval were piled up into several small mountains.

The territory now has dedicated clerks who categorize all matters according to regulations and attach concise summaries and handling suggestions based on the council's ideas, using different colored labels to indicate the level of urgency.

Agriculture, industry, military and political affairs, rewards and punishments, budgets, technological development, task completion... Chen Mo only quickly browsed most of the documents, and made simple comments on a small number of them.

There are also some matters that the lord must handle personally, such as rewarding the soldiers who made meritorious contributions during the orcish spring hunt; whether to increase investment in newly established slave purchasing channels; approving personnel changes in Skyfrost City; and dealing with tribal conflicts in Profound Water City...

Chen Mo frowned slightly, but the overall handling was still quite orderly. If he really had a headache, he would use the AI ​​system to scan it and see what unreliable advice this guy could give.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Liu Shuang quietly entered the study.

As the only person granted special permission by the lord to enter and leave the lord's mansion without prior notice or inspection, Liu Shuang almost never left or entered without authorization. So, as soon as she entered this time, Chen Mo took a curious look at her.

"what happened?"

Facing Chen Mo, Liu Shuang clearly didn't know what concealment meant, and handed over a visiting card.

“My aunts… are the elves. They seem very eager to see you. They’ve been waiting here for a long time.”

"It seems the officials in your territory told them that you are very busy and don't have time. It will take at least several more days, unless... unless you use connections..."

"So...so..."

Chen Mo immediately understood that Helan was setting a trap for the elves.

I have been very busy since I came back, but not so busy that I don’t have time to see an important ally like an elf with whom I have a good relationship.

Helan dared to do this because he had the other party firmly in his grasp. The elves must have something they needed from the Vast Ocean Territory, and this request might not be easy to fulfill.

Therefore, when Helan hinted that the elves should use unofficial channels like Frostfall to contact him, the subtext contained multiple meanings. Not only did the elves have to lower their stance, but discussing official matters in private would also give him more flexibility in handling the situation.

If I agree, it's not just an exchange of benefits; the elf will also owe me a huge favor. If I don't agree, I can just push it out. You're contacting me privately, and I don't know the situation. You'll have to wait a few days for me!

Chen Mo raised his hand and opened the letter. The envelope carried a faint fragrance of grass and trees, and the sealing wax stamp was the emblem of Silver Moon Forest. The words were full of sincerity.

Let's meet then!

A dozen minutes later, Eona, the chief elder of the Silvermoon Elder Council, along with several high-ranking elves, met the haggard-looking lord in the reception room of the Vast Sea Lord's Mansion.

"I am utterly sorry to bother you so late, my lord!"

"It's alright. I have a special connection with the elves, and you are relatives of Liushuang, so there's no need to be so polite. However, I just returned, and there are countless matters to attend to in the territory. I am indeed very busy, so please feel free to tell me your requests!"

Elder Aiona bowed again, her silver-frost-like hair swaying slightly.

"My lord, this visit is still... still about the compound bow!"

"Thank you for generously providing the blueprints and techniques. Our elven race has tried many times to make it, but we have never been able to reach the standard bow you provided. We have no choice but to come to you and ask for your advice again!"

Chen Mo nodded; he was somewhat prepared for this.

When the elves visited last time, they presented a large number of precious gifts. Based on their friendly attitude, and of course, the fact that the elves still possessed considerable strength as a major race on the continent, Chen Mo responded positively.

He opened his vast treasury, and apart from a small number of high-secret weapons, everything else was open to the elves for them to choose from.

Surprisingly, the elves were not very interested in firearms, but instead adored composite bows.

Aside from ideological reasons, the most crucial factor is that wielding bow-type weapons is more in line with the characteristics of the Elven race.

One of the most important concepts is called the feeling of breathing.

Chen Mo didn't quite understand this. Since it involved confidential matters, the elf didn't explain much. However, when Liu Shuang saw that Chen Mo had doubts, she naturally tried her best to find out and then ran back to explain it to the lord with gestures.

There are generally two ways to add magical effects to weapons. One is "solidification enchantment," which means imprinting the magical effect onto the weapon in advance.

This method is stable and effortless, but it has extremely high requirements for the material of the carrier. You can't just pick up any tree branch and create a thorny mess! It's fine for melee weapons, since a knife or a suit of armor can last a long time. But for ranged weapons, engraving an expensive solidified enchantment array onto a small crossbow bolt is not only extremely difficult in terms of craftsmanship, but also requires the bolt to be made from high-level enchantable materials.

In a major battle, hundreds of thousands or even millions of arrows are shot. Who can afford to use that?
Therefore, for ranged weapons, the common method is channeled enchanting, which means that when the weapon is fired, the user applies a temporary magical effect.

Because this type of enhancement mainly relies on the spellcaster's own magical power, the requirements for materials are relatively low.

However, the elven race's channeling enchantment also has its own significant drawbacks.

Enchanting from a distance is less effective. For example, with firearms provided by the Xia Kingdom, the bullets are deeply concealed inside the magazine and barrel, making them inaccessible to the spirits, so the effect of enchanting them is negligible.

The bigger problem is that crossbows with fixed strings may become inaccurate after being enchanted.

Once the crossbow is cocked, its firing force and path depend entirely on the crossbow's mechanical mechanism. When aimed in the same direction, it makes no difference who pulls the trigger.

However, enchantments greatly affect the flight path of arrows. For example, if "Armor Piercing Edge" is applied, a special vortex of mana will form at the tip of the arrow, rotating and cutting. This can cause a crossbow bolt that would normally hit its target to miss instead.

When Chen Mo first heard this theory, he was also confused, but after studying it, the experts from Dongxia gave a fitting explanation.

If we compare enchantment effects to adding health bars to weapons, adding health bars to swords would be the most effective, making it easier to attack in any way. However, adding health bars to bullets would be too costly, and would also require high-quality bullets.

The guided enchantment is like manually filing grooves into the bullet with a file before firing. This changes the aerodynamic principle, making it highly likely that the bullet will miss.

This is where the difference between a bow and a crossbow comes into play.

The bow always held in the hand allows the elven archer to adjust the angle, power, and even the technique of releasing the arrow at any time, depending on the state of the enchanted arrow. In the words of the elves, every breath is an adjustment; this is what the elves call the feeling of breathing in harmony with nature.

In this situation, the ability to maintain a fully charged composite bow with minimal effort for an extended period means that elven archers can repeatedly stack and channel enchantments, then repeatedly adjust their final attack state to ensure both powerful and accurate shots!
This is clearly the embryo of a divine artifact!
Regardless, as long as it's useful, that's good enough. Adhering to the principle of repaying kindness with kindness, Chen Mo immediately retrieved the complete set of composite bow manufacturing technology from Dongxia and gave it to the elf along with the blueprints and videos.

The elf was so excited that she almost called him "son-in-law" on the spot!
However, after returning, the elves realized that the real problem with this bow, which was easy to understand at a glance, lay in its materials and craftsmanship.

Facing Chen Mo's questioning gaze, Elder Aiona slowly spoke, her voice tinged with bitterness, "The Elven race has been inseparable from bows and arrows for generations. In bow-making skills, we believe we are in no way inferior to any other race, including those short, barrel-like dwarves!"

"We can even do the traditional parts, like the bow's structure, the wood treatment, and the bowstring weaving, better than the drawings. However, we still can't find suitable substitutes for certain key materials in the composite bow."

"The master craftsmen have devoted countless efforts and even used natural magic to enhance the bows. However, the samples they produced still showed insufficient strength or severely weakened abilities. The best bow they made was enhanced with four solidification enchantments, but even at full strength, it was only half as effective as the original composite bow."

"But this level of investment is vastly different from what we originally anticipated!"

Iona took out a package from her side and, after obtaining Chen Mo's permission, handed it to Liu Shuang, allowing Liu Shuang to take out the components that the elves had made one by one.

Bow limbs, bowstring, pulleys, pulley bearings, bow handle, arrow rest, sights...

There is also adhesive placed separately in the bottle, as well as matching arrows.

Without the other party explaining, Chen Mo roughly knew which parts of the other party would malfunction.

High-strength alloy steel, fiberglass, precision bearings, and adhesives—it's not that the Starry World can't solve this problem, but without materials science and chemistry, and relying solely on manual testing, unless the elves also seek divine intervention, they're in for a tough time.

As for whether the gods invited can solve the problem of materials... only the gods themselves know.

Ultimately, Elder Iona took out two items that the elves eventually confirmed were irreplaceable: a bow slat and a pulley bearing.

This was far beyond Chen Mo's expectations; no wonder they are an old-established immortal race.

Chen Mo remained silent for a moment, then spoke in a calm and honest tone as much as possible: "Elder Aiona, Elder Ysera, if I may be so bold, these components cannot be made even with the craftsmanship of the elves, so they certainly cannot be provided by my Han Hai!"

“If we ask the gods for something, a small amount is fine, but a large supply is impossible. Even if I can provide enough offerings, I cannot handle such a transmission. You know that my strength is weak and my ability to summon altars is extremely limited.”

"I'm afraid I can't be of much help in this regard!"

"Why don't you try a few more times and look around? You might be able to find more suitable materials. After all... elves have more time than other races."

The elven elders let out a soft sigh.

Can they wait? Of course they can wait, but who can be willing to wait? Especially when they think of having 100,000 longbows in hand, the elves might be able to return to their homeland and no longer have to hide in the dark and sunless Black Forest forever. Which elf wouldn't be filled with excitement?

Even more importantly, because elves are long-lived, they understand all too well how fragile short-lived humans are.

What if Chen Mo is gone one day...

The elves felt they couldn't wait a moment longer at the thought that they might never be able to obtain such a magical artifact again.

Elder Ysera, who had remained silent, clasped her hands together in a devout gesture, closed her eyes, and murmured a string of Elvish words, seemingly in prayer to a deity. Beside her, Iona also wore a solemn expression and murmured softly.

After the mysterious prayer was finished, Ysera spoke, her face solemn.

"We understand!"

"Your Lordship, we cherish our friendship with you above all else, and we understand your predicament!"

"If your rank can be rapidly increased, thereby gaining greater summoning authority from the otherworldly lord, could you possibly allocate a portion of that to supply the elven race with materials for composite bows?"

Chen Mo's eyes suddenly widened.

"You mean, the elves can help me quickly advance my mage rank?"

Isera kept her hands clasped together, and the words she spoke made Chen Mo's heart beat faster.

"The elves cannot do it, but the Tree of Life might!"

"We hope to use the seed of the Tree of Life to seek an opportunity. Please consider this, Your Lordship!"

(End of this chapter)