A red line stretched out from the Stantin Duchy, crossed the Black Rice Wasteland, and entered the Sark Kingdom from the wasteland's northwest. It then followed the coast of the Endless Sea northward, passing through the Dolan Kingdom north of the Sark Kingdom and the Kachiton Kingdom farther north. Turning east, it crossed several small countries in the Northern Continent before finally entering the Malo Empire, which occupied a vast expanse of the map.
Xu Yi withdrew the hand he had used to trace the line on the large map and took two steps back. His gaze followed the red line once more before settling on its endpoint, Angelo City, the capital of the Malo Empire. He nodded in satisfaction.
This red line represented the Land Route he had planned to connect the Xinfei Merchant Guild with the countries of the Northern Continent. Once it was completed, the guild's various products could travel quickly and conveniently along it into those northern countries, bringing magic machinery into widespread use there.
This overland trade route would also provide another link between the Xinfei Merchant Guild and the Malo Empire. Together with the existing overland route through the Lampari Kingdom, the Drake Duchy, and the Falk Kingdom into the Malo Empire, as well as the sea route across the Endless Sea that was still being explored, it would give them three complete freight routes. These would strengthen the guild's ties with the northern countries and the Malo Empire.
After a moment's thought, Xu Yi extended the red line entering the Malo Empire farther to the right on the map, drawing a dotted line through several countries in the northeast of the Sains Continent. It then turned south, finally reaching the Nozdormu Commercial United Kingdom in the continent's southeastern corner, where it joined a