Prince Ortis finally lowered the airs he had been putting on.
Having his itch scratched so precisely left him wanting more.
Selling a grand vision was an art in itself.
What was more, Zong Shen was not really selling him empty promises.
The core of this trip was sincerity.
Of course, he had only made the envisioned blueprint seem a tiny bit more magnificent than it actually was.
Large-scale purchases of military equipment, technological cooperation, and mercenaries were all support the territory needed.
What Desolate North Imperial City needed most, meanwhile, was all kinds of daily necessities, construction materials, and food.
As well as Denar to ensure active trade.
As long as there was enough Denar, those large merchant groups would change their ingrained views of the Desolate North.
Merchants were driven by profit, after all.
When Prince Ortis pulled out heaps of Denar, they would not mind taking a proper, fresh look at this "backward" land.
It was not as if Prince Ortis had never considered military trade.
He simply lacked a suitable trading partner.
Scattered traveling merchants and merchant groups could not possibly swallow enough military equipment to meet the Desolate North's scale of demand.
Nor could he dump military equipment into the central and eastern regions of the Saland kingdom, or other kingdoms.
Military equipment everywhere was prioritized for fulfilling orders and meeting domestic demand.
As for central and eastern Saland, they had even less need for the Desolate North to interfere.
Whether dumping military equipment or having soldiers accept paid employment in organized units as mercenaries, both ran contrary to tradition.
At the same time, it would arouse the vigilance of Saland's Imperial City—the main imperial city—and Golden Neverfall.
Zong Shen's appearance at this moment undoubtedly opened up a new path for Prince Ortis.
At the