Chapter 651: No One Can Stop the Drow from Sending Us Money!
Of course, even in the resource-rich Underdark, adamantine is still quite rare. Not every Drow city-state has its own mine.
Every transaction led by Sera couldn't possibly yield over 8000 times the profit.
But any rare metal still fetches hundreds of gold per gram. A return of over a thousand times is even more satisfying than robbery.
More importantly, all Sera had to do was let word slip, and people would line up to give her money.
She only needed to do two things:
Show strength and flex her muscles.
Transport massive amounts of food and ensure its safety.
It would dispel any delusions and showcase her might.
Sera had thought it through clearly. Since she flew the banner of Azshara's Matron Mother, she had to live up to it—stand tall and strike hard.
If she didn't take a few thousand heads, she probably wouldn't scare off the greedy Drow.
Sera's mind was fast, full of plans—already contemplating expansion and stability after growing in power.
For these Drow, the business was just beginning.
"I've got 472 gnolls. I want to trade them all for food..."
"I have 56 ogres, two of which are ogre warriors. I want to trade them all for food too..."
"I've got 1,762 kobolds, including four kobold shamans. I believe they count as magical creatures..."
"I've got 87 minotaurs. I think the price is too low—should be at least 1000 times..."
"I have 742 snow spirit herbs. I believe they should fetch at least 30,000 times the price..."
"1 kg of adamantine. I'm looking to exchange it for 3,500 tons of food..."
"500 grams of mithril. I want 900 tons of food..."
"..."
Once someone started raising the prices, the other greedy Drow weren't going to be left behind.
Sera had already expected them to haggle.
She, however, remained calm and poised.
Letting them ramble on, she merely signaled Famir to start slashing prices.
Facing those wolf-like eyes, even the well-trained Famir had to exhale quietly.
Suppressing her rising thoughts, she glanced at the sneaky Triss and suddenly lit up. She immediately said:
"You're coming with me. You haven't received your reward yet."
Triss wished she could run off immediately, but the gazes around her made that impossible.
Resentment nearly bursting through the roof, she still forced a smile and walked over like she had accepted her fate.
Facing the Drow's mocking smirk, she spoke quickly and decisively:
"You have a total of 247 minotaurs. How many of them are combat-capable soldiers?"
The smile froze. The Drow's face turned stern, ready to retort when she noticed Gatel's massive figure silently standing behind Triss.
Those cold, scrutinizing eyes made the Drow commander shiver involuntarily.
"How does this human have such terrifying strength?"
"If he wanted to, he could probably kill me instantly!"
The Drow had good instincts. Facing Triss's calm gaze, she softened her tone to argue for better terms:
"Only 50 are warriors, but the rest are juveniles and fertile females. They're still valuable."
Triss knew she had earned herself a grudge. Thinking of the horde of bitter Drow behind her, she could only pray silently.
Hopefully, this Matron Mother Sera really is different!
Otherwise, Triss didn't think she'd survive the night.
She couldn't help but steel herself. Since there was no avoiding this, she had to prove her worth.
Even if she was just a pawn, she had to be the most useful one!
"That might've been true a month ago. Now things are different. I think minotaur warriors deserve 750 times food. The rest only get 420 times..."
"The point is—now, right?"
Though still annoyed, the Drow didn't want to drag things out.
Azshara's offer was 30% better than Suramar's.
This deal had to go through quickly!
So the Drow commander agreed but shot Triss a deep, meaningful look, as if to etch her into memory.
Triss remained unfazed and moved on to the second negotiation.
Famir was surprised—Triss had a solid grasp of market rates.
Her read on the Drow's expectations was sharp.
Deals were struck within moments.
Famir breezed through the first transaction.
Once taxes were paid to Suramar, the Drow readily handed over 200+ minotaur slaves.
Below the residential district...
Was a sprawling slave cage zone—Sera had rented out a huge section.
Gatel stationed a squad of Catachan warriors there, and even sent adventurers to patrol.
Don't think Suramar is safe on the inside!
The Drow worship assassination and schemes!
If they aren't "seen" or "caught," then the crime doesn't exist!
Sera wasn't afraid of the Drow's tricks, but she didn't want trouble either.
She was very pleased with Triss's performance.
Triss not only knew the Drow factions well, but she was also a skilled negotiator—and very smart.
Thinking of the territory's hunger for talent, Sera couldn't help but be tempted.
The entire negotiation lasted the whole afternoon.
Sera received over 30,000 slaves.
The most valuable included 200+ ogres, 800+ minotaurs, and 2000+ specialized slaves.
Total weight: around 3,000 tons.
Sera paid 30x the food weight, totaling 90,000 tons of grain.
Cost? Only 9,000 gold.
Bay Territory calculated these slaves would generate over 1 million gold per year.
In ten years, that's 10 million gold in total value!
Even if most of the Drow's dumped slaves had problems...
In the coming battles, they might be weak, useless, or even liabilities.
But for Bay Territory, such slaves were easier to train and re-educate.
And this was just part of the gain.
What made Sera even happier was the pile of resources from the Drow.
Nearly 30 kg of high-grade rare metals—worth over 15 million gold.
1.5 tons of top-quality magic plants—at 5 gold per gram, worth around 7.5 million gold.
70,000 tons of food for the metals. 30,000 tons for the plants.
Total cost: 10,000 gold worth of food!
19,000 gold in food for 32.5 million gold in value!
Over 1,700 times the return!
Right place, right time, right goods—all essential!
With luck like this, Sera promptly ordered her undercity logistics team to prep more supplies, and adventurers to handle delivery.
To each Drow who completed a trade, she offered a subtle message:
"You're now partners of Azshara."
"If you need anything else, contact us."
"Besides food, we've got tons of war supplies."
"And the storage gear? It's a freebie."
Most Drow believed her.
Why? A Matron Mother who could toss out nearly 200,000 tons of food clearly had a massive city—or more.
Such Matrons are rare, but not unheard of among the eccentric Drow.
Like Mobresso City, rallying everyone for war—it's not unprecedented.
And Sera's magical gear and her elite slaves backed up her power.
Maybe this Matron Sera had planned for this war all along—stockpiling supplies to grow her forces.
Most Drow still assumed Sera came to Suramar just to buy slaves in bulk.
They figured only a Matron with vast territory could feed so many non-combatants.
And her hints at further "trade" were tempting.
They were about to face a brutal war.
Getting war gear from Sera meant a better shot at survival.
Of course, war supplies would be pricier than slaves or raw materials.
But Drow live long—survive this, and slaves will fetch their fortune again.
Sera glanced at the stunned Famir, then turned with a smile to the silent Triss:
"You're very useful to me."
Hearing that, Triss finally let go of the anxiety crushing her.
But then she felt even more pressure. The closer she got to Sera, the more she saw how "powerful" she truly was.
Controlling this much food and resources spoke volumes.
Sera didn't waste time. She smiled at Triss and said:
"Take her to see our goods. She needs to know what we have."
"Also, deal with those idiots before they cause trouble."
"Warn the others—get ready for battle."
"Trading is a bonus. We fight to seize real power."
Famir nodded excitedly and said to Triss:
"Come on. You've made a huge contribution. There'll be lots of surprises!"
Surprises?
Today's already been full of them!
Triss looked at the dim lights in the distance and followed Famir.
She sensed something off about the tall, slender Drow.
But seeing over a dozen towering Catachan warriors following behind, she dismissed her doubts.
They looked plain, but gave her an extremely dangerous vibe.
Few in Suramar made her feel that way.
Half in a daze, Triss stepped out of Suramar.
The moment she passed the gates, her senses flared—someone was watching her.
A threat like needles on her back put her on guard.
She glanced at the calm Famir, thinking she hadn't noticed.
But Famir gave her a sly wink.
That sudden playful expression stunned Triss.
"They were prepared all along?"
Triss recalled Sera's words to Famir and acted natural.
They walked nearly 2 kilometers...
Leaving Suramar's lights behind, into the dark Underdark.
The hidden ones couldn't hold back any longer.
A barrage of shadow arrows flew at them.
Triss moved to dodge, but saw none of the Catachans react—only two in front rushed forward into the arrows.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Triss saw sparks fly. The arrows were deflected—only a few got through.
Beside her, Famir waved, a glowing magic shield forming ahead.
Seeing Triss draw her curved blade, Famir calmly reassured her:
"Don't worry. We'll keep you safe."
Right as Famir finished, distant screams echoed.
Only then did Triss realize the two warriors had vanished into the darkness.
"Those are Drow screams!"
"They're that strong?!"
"More than ten Drow hunters were taken out. The fight ended fast—they barely resisted..."
"They were ready all along..."
"Azshara? Never heard of that city before..."
"..."
Triss, ears sharp, looked dazed at the two returning Catachans.
No wounds. Not even blood. If not for the moaning Drow in their grip, she wouldn't have believed they fought.