The witch thought I am a Demon God
Chapter 693 - 371: The Law and The Church of the Blue Blood sponsorship with the Kingdom!_1

Chapter 693: Chapter 371: The Law and The Church of the Blue Blood sponsorship with the Kingdom!_1

Lord Ivita furrowed his brows, he hadn’t expected to receive support from his own family, but it was indeed something he desperately needed at the moment.

But there was one issue, which was quite troubling.

It seemed that the support they were offering him came at a price. The challenge now lay in weighing the support from the Mango Tooth Family branch against the cost he’d have to pay if he was successful.

Lord Ivita thought for a moment and asked the envoys, "What would you require if I was to take over Cross Island?"

Returning the question was also a way of responding. It could help assess their intent and limitations.

The two envoys from the Mango Tooth family exchanged glances, then spoke to Ivita, "In our situation as a small nation, the most crucial thing is to ensure our homeland’s survival. Despite having vast ocean space, great kings and steadfast faith, the small size of our homeland makes us an easy target for powerful enemies to annihilate."

"Hence, Mango Tooth Kingdom always needs allies. Our recent ally, the Champagne and Cognac Kingdom, is suffering from internal heresy and turmoil, causing us to no longer rely on them. This has stirred nearby, seemingly historical friend Pearl Tooth Kingdom, as well as prompted the heretic state across the sea to harbor illicit designs on us."

The envoy bowed to Ivita, "Therefore, we need a true ally to replace our previous unstable one."

"If you can secure the kingdom in the Black Sea, perhaps you can ally with our kingdom and join the thirteenth holy war, deploying forces against the kingdom across the sea."

Ivita did not object, "None of these are issues."

He always needed allies, so the Mango Tooth Kingdom’s request for a future alliance was not even, for him, a request.

As for the second point, joining the holy war.

That wasn’t an issue either. In the Magic Black Forest, the duty of each country was to join the holy war and fight against the heretic forces.

Lord Ivita quickly realized that this was a move by the Mango Tooth Kingdom, not sure if he could achieve his goals, but having made a play nonetheless.

Therefore, they didn’t impose many requests on him, but they all implied mutual benefit.

To confirm his understanding, Lord Ivita asked the envoys, "How many resources can I gain each year if I accept your county’s sponsorship?"

The two envoys looked at each other, and the leading envoy said to Ivita, "We will provide you with 1,500 gold pounds of war aid each year."

Ivita gave a wry smile.

Well, this amount wasn’t small, but it certainly wasn’t much, either.

The leading envoy of the Mango Tooth Kingdom said to Ivita, "Besides this, our Mango Tooth Kingdom will prioritize supplying you with many resources, including alien flora and finished products of secret medicine, but won’t provide knightly inheritance and the transmission of secret medicine system."

Lord Ivita nodded. Therefore, they only sold finished products, not principles or formulas.

This was reasonable, too.

Just like a superpower nation on Earth would support arms but not give out its technology.

Lord Ivita turned serious. "I have a question then. How can I increase your sponsorship of my territory?"

The two envoys exchanged glances once again and said cautiously, "There is a way, Lord Ivita. The thing is, our king, Alfonso III, is not much interested in the Black Sea’s fleet and treasures. However, we are interested in a thing held by the pirates in the Black Sea, which is... their sea map."

"If you agree to share the sea maps to the greatest extent after acquiring Cross Island, then we can sponsor you a fourth-level knight, a third-level witch, a troop of five hundred infantrymen, one hundred cannoneers, and one hundred ordinary cavalry troops."

"However, you must pay the annual salary of these troops yourself. This military expense is approximately 7,000 gold pounds a year."

Lord Ivita pondered for a while, guessing the purpose of his cheap uncle.

Sea maps were crucial for maritime nations, it was the main reliance for fleets to explore unknown seas, something inland countries would find hard to grasp - the determination and interest of maritime nations in collecting sea maps.

For the Mango Tooth Kingdom, the information recorded on a sea map of the Black Sea about various unfamiliar seas of the world was like a scrumptious delicacy.

Just the thought of it made people from the Mango Tooth Kingdom drooling.

Moreover, Lord Ivita and the Hearthstone Witch had speculated on Volcano Island that Marco Anson’s fleet possibly had discovered a new world. Therefore, it was hard to say if his cheap uncle Alfonso III knew this, and hence asked him to share the sea map of the Black Sea.

However, despite this, what he desired was always the Alsace Kingdom on the land.

Moreover, he alone could not digest a new world.

An undeveloped new continent was like a desolate, barbaric place. It could not provide tax revenue, nor could it conscript soldiers.

Although it went against common sense, the truth was that recklessly developing a new continent could bankrupt a weak king.

As for the troop costs, considering this mercenary team had a fourth-level knight, it was reasonable to pay 7,000 gold pounds. After all, maintaining Chino Kennedy’s thousand (ragtag) troops cost him 5,000 gold pounds per year.