Standing where he was, Kalunu turned around and looked at the map in front of him.
There was a huge and exquisite map before him, and it detailed the terrain and the distribution of various forces.
The Kobold Kingdom was currently at the center, while the Centaurs were at the back.
At this moment, Kalunu’s gaze gradually moved downward, gradually focusing on another place— the Qika Kingdom.
In the south of the Kobold Kingdom, other than a large area of desert, it belonged to the human kingdoms like the Qika Kingdom.
As for the situation in these places, Kalunu had grasped the situation over the past year. The Qika Kingdom was still in a state of internal strife.
After the king’s death, the Qika Kingdom was plunged into chaos. Several princes fought within, dragging the entire kingdom into the quagmire of war.
Under such circumstances, the entire Qika Kingdom was in a state of chaos. Many refugees roam about every day, trying to escape from their original location.
To the Kobolds, this was an excellent opportunity. As Kobolds, there was no need to overthink about the elites of the human race.
To the elites of the human race, as long as they had a choice, they would not be willing to work for the Kobolds.
However, humans were not the only elites. Among the commoners, there were also many talents. For example, there were craftsmen and some literate people.
To the Kobolds, these were rare talents. If they could obtain them, it would be a good supplement. Of course, under normal circumstances, it would be difficult.
Different races were naturally wary and isolated. Without a long period of adjustment, the humans would not come to seek refuge.
However, it didn’t matter.
The Qika Kingdom was currently in a state of chaos. Under the current circumstances, if Kalunu made a move and stole some refugees, it shouldn’t be a problem.
As long as this batch of refugees were plundered into the desert, then the rest wouldn’t be up to them.
While standing on the spot, many thoughts flashed through Kalunu’s mind. However, this matter was still a little troublesome.
Even though the Qika Kingdom had fallen into internal strife, it was still very powerful. It was far from what the Kobold Kingdom could compare to.
If he really wanted to plan, he would need to prepare.
He lowered his head and fell into deep thought as he thought of this. Then, he turned around and left the place.
In the following period, he had been preparing, and the preparation process was not complicated.
With the continuous development of the Kobold Kingdom, many people came to the desert to try to do business with the Kobolds these days.
In the past, they did this for the fur and various herbs in the hands of the Kobolds. Later on, they had done so for various unique products such as sugar, refined salt, paper, and liquor.
These were relatively simple products. With the support of the people of the Cursed World, they were quickly picked out and became the specialties of the Kobold Kingdom.
They had recently found several iron ores with rich content nearby that could be mined to forge iron weapons. In this aspect, the Kobolds had an inherent advantage.
After all, the Kobolds loved to dig. Apart from digging, they were also good at searching for minerals and mining. In this aspect, they were much more useful than humans.
Before long, the Kobold Kingdom could even produce iron weapons for use.
Of course, there was no need to export iron weapons. Just the huge profits from the sugar and paper were enough to make people envious.
There would always be people who were willing to take risks and come to trade with the Kobolds to obtain this wealth.
These merchants were also one of the reasons why the Kobold Kingdom could develop so quickly.
At this moment, Kalunu’s gaze fell on these people. No matter how he looked at it, these merchants were the best allies.
They first came from the Qika Kingdom and were extremely familiar with everything in the Qika Kingdom— they were suitable guides.
Similarly, their identity as merchants meant that they were destined to be driven by benefits.
As long as they could bring them sufficient benefits, these people would absolutely not mind being used by a group of Kobolds or even selling out their own country.
They could be considered good candidates for an alliance.
Having made up his mind, Kalunu began to select targets. Even if he wanted to search for guides, this didn’t mean that Kalunu would take in anyone.
Ordinary merchants weren’t able to enter his line of sight.
He wanted to work with existences that possessed a certain amount of power within the Qika Kingdom. Only such figures could give him what he wanted. Some suitable targets were found very quickly.
Far Away, within the Qika Kingdom.
“You mean that the Kobold Tribe’s Chief wishes to meet me?”
In a luxurious manor, a middle-aged man looked at the servant before him and couldn’t help but frown as he spoke.
“Yes, Master.”
In front of the middle-aged man, the servant’s expression was respectful as he said, “Moreover, he not only passed the news to you, he also passed the news to other people.”
“Other people from the Chamber of Commerce?”
The middle-aged man frowned, appearing somewhat puzzled at this time. “What exactly does he want to do?”
Many people in the Qika Kingdom already knew about the Kobold Kingdom in the desert.
In the beginning, not many people knew about this. They were only limited to some desert hunters and merchants.
But later, with the appearance of products such as sugar and paper, more and more people began to pay attention to the Kobold Kingdom.
There were even many noble families and powerful merchants from the Chambers of Commerce.
There was nothing they could do about it. The profits were tempting.
An ordinary piece of white sugar was an absolute luxury in the human world. Even the noble families could not enjoy it often.
There were no plants that could extract sugar like sugarcane and beets in this world. It was challenging for the noble families in this world to enjoy the sweet taste.
The same was true for paper.
Before this, the paper was basically made from specially-made furs and was extremely expensive.
However, the paper that spread out from the Kobold Kingdom used the advanced technology of the Cursed World. Not only was it exquisite in appearance and soft in texture, but it was also exceptionally comfortable to use, naturally causing people to go crazy.
In just a short time, the various goods that originated from the Kobold Kingdom immediately became popular and were noticed by many people.
While in the face of huge profits, people wouldn’t be bothered even if they were trading with the Kobolds.
Some noble families were moved by this and began to gradually contact the Kobold Kingdom, forming a connection with it and conducting trade.
They might not do it themselves, but the Chambers of Commerce under them, as well as the caravans of their own components, would often conduct trade with the Kobold Kingdom.
Both sides had enough benefits and were satisfied with each other.
But this time, they didn’t know what the situation was…
“Did you find out what the situation is?”
Looking at the servant in front of him, the middle-aged man thought for a moment and then asked.
“I’m not sure yet.”
The servant shook his head, then thought for a moment and said, “But it’s said that it will affect the trade in the future.”
“It is said that the Kobold Chief wants to hand over the rights to sell the sugar and paper to a few people.”
Hand over the rights to sell the sugar and paper to a few people…
The middle-aged man heard this, and he was stunned for a moment before his expression changed drastically.
“Send someone to inform Chief Kalunu.”
Many thoughts flashed through the middle-aged man’s mind as he stood on the spot. However, he did not hesitate at this moment and said directly, “Just say that I will definitely attend his invitation on time.”
“Yes, Master.”
The servant respectfully nodded his head as he stood in front of the middle-aged man and listened to the middle-aged man’s words. Then, he silently left and left just like that.
At this moment, many people in the Qika had made similar decisions.
They could do nothing because Kalunu’s actions were too important to them.
Sugar and paper were the best-selling goods in the Qika Kingdom. Even the Church used them and praised them as a gift from the Gods.
If anyone had enough sugar and paper, wealth would immediately roll in and gather in their hands.
According to Kalunu, the sugar and paper in the Kobold Kingdom would only be sold to friends who worked closely with them.
It was no longer like before, where people could buy them as long as they went to buy them.
If that were really the case, then those who had already tasted the sweetness would undoubtedly be unable to accept it.
The profits from the sugar and paper were already in front of their eyes, and they had truly tasted it.
If they gave up at this time, then they wouldn’t be willing to give up no matter what.
On the contrary, it would undoubtedly mean a huge fortune if they reached an agreement with the other party at this meeting and became the only few sugar and paper business in the Qika Kingdom.
Huge benefits would roll in, and they and even the family behind them would also obtain new opportunities in this meeting.
On the contrary, if they missed this opportunity, it would be tough to obtain such an opportunity in the future.
Therefore, no one was willing to miss this meeting.
To let these people be at ease, Kalunu specially set the meeting place in the northern region of the Qika Kingdom.
