The closer you get to the center of the Ice Sculpture Island, the colder the weather becomes.
The capital of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom is located in the coldest area of the Ice Sculpture Island.
However, cold does not mean barrenness. On the contrary, because of the enrichment of frost elements, there are massive reserves of special resources. This is why when immigrants came to Ice Sculpture Island from the Frost Continent, the first place they chose was the address of the royal capital.
reason.
The Royal Capital is not only the geographical center of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, but also the center of power.
Viewed from a high altitude, with the Royal Capital as the center, various forces such as the royal family, the Alchemy Guild, and major sects are entangled with each other, weaving a network called power, which covers the entire ice sculpture island, and its influence radiates to the surrounding sea areas and islands.
In this giant network of power, the Utopia family is definitely a huge mesh.
As the top extraordinary family in the kingdom, they are extremely powerful. The kingdom's second navy has almost become the Utoma family's private army. Even the royal family has difficulty getting involved.
The main city of the Satoma family is called Igloo City, which is located in the hinterland of the kingdom, only a few thousand miles away from the royal capital.
This is a vast ice field.
It snows all year round, and there are violent snowstorms five days a week.
There are no peaks in the ice field. From a distance, the most conspicuous buildings are the buildings in the igloo city.
These tall buildings are lined up in rows. Because snow falls all year round, if a flat roof is used, the roof will be easily crushed by the snow, so almost all igloo cities adopt a dome design.
Snow elves belong to the elven race, and art and magic naturally flow in the blood of this intelligent life race.
Therefore, in the igloo city, the circular roof, circular arches, and petal-shaped urban layout form the cornerstone of architectural beauty.
In the vast white ice and snow, light blue and dark blue ice bricks are the main colors of the city. Together with the unique green and yellow coniferous trees, moss and other vegetation on the ice sheet, they form a wonderful splicing of colors.
The pedestrians walking on various streets in the city and the life activities in every corner are like a stream of water, integrating the beauty of architecture and color together.
Zidi looked through the floor-to-ceiling windows, her eyes involuntarily attracted, admiring the exotic beauty on the street.
The original cold and harsh natural environment has been greatly alleviated by various soft architectural lines. The vitality exuded by vegetation and pedestrians dots the white and blue city.
Zidi understood very well: the Utojian family had sufficient financial resources and could have done more greening. But they did not do so, as if they did so deliberately. However, the vitality dotted among them seemed particularly precious because of its scarcity.
Sitting on the wide-backed chair beside him was Zong Ge.
Zong Ge scanned the furnishings in the study with his eyes, guessing which ones were alchemy props and guessing the defensive performance of the study. He also kept making assumptions in his mind: If there was a conflict, would they choose to jump out of the window or break through the door?
Zong Ge is a very good general, with a fighting instinct in his bones.
He likes to observe the battlefield and imagine various situations to devise tactics.
However, the study room is simple and simple, with few facilities. Judging from the smell, there are only two or three extraordinary items.
You know, this is the study room of the patriarch of the Utoma family, so it is quite ordinary.
There was a faint doubt lingering in Zongge's heart, and the resulting vague pressure.
He really wanted to use investigative fighting skills to get a closer look. But considering that he and Zidi came to visit this time and came with a request, he couldn't do such a reckless move.
After receiving the letter from Sandao, Zidi, Zongge and their group immediately changed their itinerary and came from Frost Flower City to Igloo City.
This is the headquarters of the Satoma family.
I don't know if it's because the Dragon Lion Mercenary Group is famous far and wide, or because it has already reached cooperation with the Utama Family, but in short, Zidi, Zonge and their group received a high-level reception.
Moreover, they were directly received by the current patriarch, Mitsurizou.
This is undoubtedly a good start.
According to the predicted time, Zidi and Zongge were introduced into Mianli Zang's study, waiting for the latter's arrival.
"do you know?"
"There was a time when birds were singing and flowers were fragrant in the igloo city, and it was magnificent. Not only ice sheet vegetation was planted, but many greenhouse flowers were also moved. At that time, artificial hot springs could be seen everywhere, the spring water flowed, the temperature in the city was pleasant, and the trees
Just pick the fruits on the table and put them in your mouth, which is always the moment when the fruits taste the most delicious.”
"A hundred years after that period, our clan declined, our descendants were extremely weak, the family atmosphere was very bad, and we were even in danger of being exterminated."
"After learning from the pain, the patriarch of that term took the initiative to admit his responsibility and abdicated. The new patriarch led the entire clan to work hard, introduced famous teachers to educate future generations, and concentrated resources where they were most needed, rather than the gorgeous decorations of the city. Finally, the family was changed.
training.”
"Now, our family motto is - hide wealth in the sky and stand tall in the snowy wind!"
Zi Di was shocked when she heard the sound, and quickly turned around to look over.
The next moment, she saw a handsome-looking snow elf. He was a middle-aged man with a kind smile on his face, but his deep eyes revealed his deep thoughts.
"Marizo..."
Information about this person quickly flashed through Zidi's mind.
This person's style is soft on the outside and strong on the inside. On the surface, he is soft and weak, but if others think that he is weak and can be bullied, it would be a big mistake. Once he really takes action, he often hits the nail on the head and even kills him with one blow. In fact, he has a deep fortress.
, a ruthless person.
He possesses a gold-level extraordinary level, specializes in magic, and has outstanding attainments in space and summoning.
This is the case with the bloodline of the other world, which has great advantages in space.
The Utona family under his leadership is even more prosperous than the previous one.
He likes to accept outside talents. For example, the time magician Zhi Jiansha in the Second Navy Fleet was recruited by Matarizo himself.
He also recruited Yunzhong, but the latter was not very interested in joining any force and declined politely.
Although Matsurizou was rejected, he didn't take it seriously and tried to recruit him again and again. The conditions he offered kept rising, and his superiority made others jealous.
Yun Zhong was really not interested and was extremely annoyed by him. But he had no choice but to reach out and not hit the smiling man, so Yun Zhong could only hide in all directions. Mianli Zang visited Yun Zhong, but he repeatedly failed, but his interest never diminished.
Some people made fun of him, but the truly wise people knew that this was an excellent political show staged by Mianli Zang with the help of Yun Zhong.
In this performance, Mazurizo profoundly demonstrated his unique attitude of eagerness and absorption of foreign talents.
Yunzhong promised him that the Utojian family would have another gold-level member and its strength would increase.
Yun Zhong refused to agree to him and became his tool, which made Mianli Zang's reputation as a talent lover spread widely and left a deep impression on the public.
"This is an excellent patriarch and an excellent politician!" Zidi commented in her heart, cheering up.
She bowed and said hello to Mianrizang.
Although Zong Ge has been promoted to gold, he is still a silver level on the surface, so he stood up and saluted proactively.
The door to the study room was not opened, and Matarizo appeared quietly using his spatial ability.
He did not sit behind the desk, but took out the utensils from the side cabinet and gently asked Zidi and Zongge: "Tea or wine?"
As a mage, Zidi immediately replied: "Drinking tea is the best."
Matarizo took it upon himself to take out the cup and put it on the coffee table in front of the guest seat.
He picked up a low stool, sat down at the coffee table, and actually started making tea himself.
Matarizo was smiling and showed no pretense of being the patriarch of the Utama family.
But Zi Di was sitting on his left hand side, feeling a lot of pressure in her heart.
From Matarizo's appearance to his words, everything has a purpose.
This business negotiation has already begun since the appearance of Matarizo.
According to the previous arrangement, the main negotiator for the Dragon and Lion Mercenary Group is of course Zidi.
As for Zong Ge, he knew that he was not good at this. Although, before that, he had performed brilliantly in the last negotiation at the Ax Gang station. But that was due to his insight into the battle situation and his
His intuition about combat and the experience of an excellent general allowed him to draw parallels in other areas.
To achieve the previous performance again, the prerequisite for Zonge is a lot of observation.
Previously, when he was stationed at the Ax Gang, Zong Ge would not say a word. He would only speak after he had full insight and captured the opportunity.
Zidi is the main force, and Zong Ge is the rare soldier.
This is the formation of the Dragon and Lion Mercenary Group.
The three of them sat around the coffee table and started drinking tea.
Mianrizang smiled and introduced where this silver-level tea was produced and what its functions were.
Zidi took a sip of hot tea. First she lamented how comfortable it felt to have a sip of hot tea in this cold weather. Then she followed Mianli Zang's topic and talked about other types of tea she knew, and how it compares to what she is drinking now.
tea for comparison.
Zidi has been surrounded by her father since she was a child. Later, she became a mage, studied in the academy, and gained more knowledge. After taking charge of the dilapidated Wisteria Chamber of Commerce, tea is a large category of goods, and she learned a lot about it.
Therefore, some of the topics Zidi mentioned around "tea" can also arouse Mianli Zang's curiosity and active inquiry.
Zong Ge watched for a long time, a little impatient at first.
Because the two of them talked for a long time, they added two more cups of tea, and they were all chatting without touching the real topic.
But later, Zonge came to his senses and realized that this kind of chatting was already a competition.
Both sides want to show patience, and whoever brings up the real issue first will lose for a while.
Zong Ge was worried, because he knew that the Dragon and Lion Mercenary Group was the more anxious party. They were attacked by mysterious forces, and the Utopia family must know this important information.
He, Zidi and others came to the Igloo City and took the initiative to visit the Satoma family. Their motives and purposes were easy to guess.
The patriarch of the Utojian family obviously knew this, so he sat firmly on the Diaoyutai and was not in a hurry.
It's not that Zidi is not anxious, but she can't show anxiety, which will put her at a disadvantage in the subsequent real negotiations.
However, although she is young, she has very rich negotiation experience.
For an opponent like Mitsurizou, she already had the correct way to deal with the current unfavorable situation.