The Martial Unity

Chapter 3248: Proportionate Return

Naturally, Rui would not take the time to do elves this favor without something commensurate in return, of course.

He understood the value of what he was providing them.

He was helping them alleviate one of their increasingly larger weaknesses. While the warriors of the other species continued growing stronger and stronger and gaining more and more experience in war and in battle, the elven warriors were left behind in the dust. They grew more and more brittle and less and less effective. And it wasn’t just that the warriors themselves but also the high command of the elves.

“This training will also benefit you, Mothers of Nature, as well, Alicia,” Rui addressed her directly. “The job of a general is just as important, if not even more important, than the job of the soldiers. If you want to learn how to effectively lead your people to victory. You need experience. In fact, I would argue that you need this experience more than anybody else.”

Thankfully, Mothers of Nature, despite their sheer size, were not arrogant enough to ignore their own faults.

’You are correct,’ she admitted. ’The last time I led a battle in command of dark elves was centuries ago. I, too, am out of date, relying on natural power rather than my strategic leadership to quell conflicts. I, too, could use this sort of training. I do not deny the value of what you provide us, nor am I unwilling to provide you with appropriate compensation. The matter is, of course, how much.’

Rui smiled knowingly, aware that negotiations had already begun. By pointing out the value that it offered to even the Mothers of Nature of the dark elves, he knew that he had managed to give himself even greater bargaining power.

“Well, for one, we would like your flora network technology,” Rui began with an eager tone. “Do not think that I have not noticed that your trees are far more deeply connected with each other than they are on the Panama Continent. This has allowed them to have much greater bandwidth with each other, allowing for a network of not just vast information but also a resultant emergent superintelligence of unfathomable proportions.”

The superintelligence of the Greater Genoran Network was so unfathomably powerful that he suspected not even Gigabrain would allow him to match it in terms of cognition and processing power.

On top of that, the dark elves had managed to get their hands on such an extraordinary superintelligence without much of a price. The advantages of biotechnology, especially botanical biotechnology, were that it required very little energy compared to inorganic technology, which was extremely energy-hungry.

On top of that, botanical biotechnology could source energy from the Sun, from seismic radiation, and from other sources of energy, allowing them to become self-sustaining with very little intervention from the dark elves.

This was a power that human civilization could dearly use at the moment. Given that human civilization had already decided to live in harmony with the Beast Domain from this point forth, there was a need to put the flora and fauna of the Beast Domain to good use for the war effort; otherwise, it would be a waste to simply let the Beast Domain sit around doing nothing.

Rui had already handled the fauna with his Authority of Alpha.

The flora part, he had partially entrusted to the Elder Tree, but after entering the Genoran Continent and beholding what they were capable of, he truly felt as though they weren’t making the best use of their flora in comparison.

However, Mother Alicia also understood the value of her own technology.

’Our flora network technology is the basis of our power and dominance. Without it, we would not have the capital to stand among the strongest civilizations in the world. We cannot possibly trade it for something as simple as hypnosis. We are only willing to trade a portion of it for a sizable amount of esoteric matter and technology,’ she explained. ’There are other things we are willing to trade for it.’

That was unfortunate.

Of course, Rui understood that they simply couldn’t afford to give away the technology that was the fundamental reason they could ward off the Evolutionary Army, the Imperial Tekvorian Federation, and the giants.

“Hmm… then how about you give us your wooden infrastructure technology?” Rui asked with an intrigued tone. “The ability to spontaneously build bridges between vastly distant continents. That is a truly remarkable ability.”

’That is a more acceptable trade,’ Mother Alicia remarked. ’We call it Rapid Wood Expansion Technology. It allows us to build infrastructure at a rate that greatly surpasses the other nations and civilizations of the world. Do you intend to use it to expand into the Beast Domain on your continent?’

“No, not quite,” Rui shook his head. “We intend to use it to build giant wooden bridges and corridors across all of human civilization to connect the entire continent. This is to restore the full might of international trade and restore the continent’s economy. It is also designed to transfer Martial Artists across the continent to any other place on the continent at a very rapid pace, so that our effective military power rises multi-fold. This will secure us against future invasions and deter our enemies from attacking us.”

The wood technology of the elves was perfect for the purposes that human civilization had in mind. His father had already resolved to use it for this purpose from the very moment he had learned about elven biotechnology.

Of course, one of the disadvantages of biotechnology was that it had a very high barrier to entry. Worst of all, the Divine Doctor had already gotten bored with the continent and had departed from it to wherever he knew.

’If you are worried about adopting it, then you need not worry,’ Mother Alicia remarked. ’The Panamic Alliance has already sent a second convoy after you with the purpose of establishing a means of communication for them on this continent. Along with them is the woman known as the ’Ecologer.’’