Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 469 - 462: Switching Concepts

Chapter 469: Chapter 462: Switching Concepts

Cheng Ziang was aware that the headquarters would never abandon their cooperation with Ilanadale to support the foundation of a half-elf nation. The cost would simply be too high, and the return too low.

Currently, the headquarters was still focusing on developments in the north. As for the south, if they could gain Ilanadale as a stronghold without resorting to military force, it would certainly be an advantage. If not, they would not divert their energy to instigate unrest in the south.

While Cheng Ziang was a special envoy of the headquarters, from the beginning, he had been speaking on behalf of Luo’er. Acknowledging Luo’er’s status or not does not affect the cooperation between Ilanadale and the headquarters. Cheng Ziang could simply ask for assistance for Luo’er as a partner. However, he switched the focus, insisting that Ilanadale must acknowledge Luo’er’s status to cooperate with the headquarters.

Despite his seemingly wild gamble, if the headquarters knew his intention, they would undoubtedly agree with his plan. Nina was the person most likely to become the queen of Ilanadale and she was Luo’er’s mother. If Nina abdicates, the already acknowledged Luo’er could easily succeed her. In that case, the upper hierarchy of Ilanadale would be on the side of the headquarters—a considerable gain for them.

The proposition of Cheng Ziang made the queen hesitant. Acknowledging Luo’er’s status would set a precedent, and Ilanadale would have to accept the half-elves. Despite his logic about Ilanadale needing half-elves as combat power, longstanding prejudices were not easily overlooked. Truly accepting half-elves requires great courage.

"Can’t Ilanadale prosper and strengthen with your help?" the queen asked after a long silence.

"We can aid development, but the achievements will be limited. Your Highness, I hope you understand that population is a crucial factor restraining development. We can help increase your birth rate, but in a short period, Ilanadale’s development requires a large workforce. Your tribes alone cannot support this kind of growth. The only solution is to accept half-elves and let them contribute to the development of Ilanadale," explained Cheng Ziang.

Compared to original elves, half-elves matured at a much faster rate which was an advantage. Nina was equivalent to a human’s age of twenty when she was two hundred, meaning it took her almost two hundred years to become an adult. But her children, Luo’er and Luoya, would reach adulthood in just over thirty years. This pace might not be comparable to that of the human race, but it was certainly much faster than the original elves.

It’s apparent that living up to a hundred years makes a human exceptional. An elf at this age would just grow up to a ten-year-old human. Making such individuals participate in labour would mean employing child labour illegally.

The more Cheng Ziang researched, the more he came to believe that the Elf Race seemed like a superior species in a state of fusion with alien races. The reproduction rate of the elves was incredibly low, a design that seemed to force them to intermarry with other races, thereby producing the second form of the elf race, the half-elves.

Once elves evolved into half-elves, their excellent genes hardly showed any decline. Earthlings had studied half-elves from the Otherworld and discovered third and even fourth generation half-elves. These half-elves had intermarried with other races or half-elves, but, without exception, their offspring were all half-elves whose various indexes hadn’t fallen much but even improved in some aspects.

These third and fourth generation half-elves almost all retained the characteristics of the Elf Race. Very few traces of their other half could be detected in them, which is why it is said that the Elf Race is like water that has dissolved sand. No matter who they mate with, the offspring of elves will always be elves.

In their study surrounding the Elf Race, Earthlings once came up with a far-fetched plan called the Elf Star Plan. Through biogenetic technology, they aimed to turn all the descendants of Earthlings into half-elves. Consequently, the lifespan of the next generations on Earth would take a great leap forward. Moreover, due to their superior genes, elves hardly had any disease. This way, Earthlings would fulfil their age-old aspiration—everyone would live to be hundreds of years old, even up to a thousand.

If Ilanadale understood this, perhaps they wouldn’t be so prejudiced against half-elves. Even the half-elves were widely welcomed on Earth. This was evident from the treatment Luo’er received at the academy in his time.

Seeing the Queen’s hesitation, Cheng Ziang spoke again, "Do you know, when I first arrived at Ilanadale, everything here reminded me of a story, a story about the Queen of our country. Would Your Majesty be interested in hearing it?"

"Please go ahead!" The queen nodded.

"This happened about two centuries ago. My country used to be the strongest nation on Earth. We prided ourselves in being the Heavenly Dynasty, despised and rejected all foreign influences, oblivious to the drastic changes in the outside world. Our queen then led a luxurious life, thinking she was the strongest queen in the world. When foreigners started to invade my country, the queen ordered resistance. Do you know what happened in the end?"

Cheng Ziang paused, looking at the queen. The latter had her face taut, staring at him intently.

"We failed in our resistance. The foreigners had more advanced weapons and better armies than us. For the following hundred years, my country was in a state of war, with the people suffering indescribably. The foreigners were free to slaughter our people in our homeland, and we could only bow in submission. Since that war, we went from being the most powerful nation to a nation that could be oppressed at will. Those foreigners we once looked down upon became our superior. This humiliation taught us a lesson: those who fall behind get beaten."

With that, he surveyed the crowd. They all lowered their heads involuntarily, even Nina dared not meet his gaze.

"Because we have suffered, we know the taste of suffering. Because we have been exploited, we know the consequences of being weak. Your Majesty, the opportunity is right in front of you. Either you uphold the tradition, watch Ilanadale weaken, or open your arms and embrace the future. It all depends on your decision," Cheng Ziang stared at the queen, his eyes filled with earnestness as if genuinely concerned for Ilanadale’s future.

"But why do we need to cooperate with you?" Before the queen could respond, the elf guard named Sophie interrupted.

"Yes, why should we cooperate with you," Cheng Ziang smiled, a hint of mockery on his face, "When we reach Xia Yue Island, perhaps you won’t be asking this anymore."

Cheng Ziang’s words stirred a ripple of unease among the crowd. They all knew of Xia Yue Island, a territory of their arch-rival, the Night Elves. These people did not object to half-elves or new technologies. If Cheng Ziang and his people collaborated with the Night Elves, once the Night Elves becomes powerful they would undoubtedly turn against Ilanadale.

Cheng Ziang’s intent was clear—if the Queen didn’t save Luo’er, they would seek assistance from Xia Yue Island. If the Night Elves were to help them save Luo’er, it would undoubtedly mean that their headquarters would owe Xia Yue Island a favor, facilitating deeper cooperation between them.

The benefits of cooperation were apparent. Although the Queen had been living in Divine Wood Town for a long time, she was still aware of the outside world’s affairs. The North’s High-Peak dwarves, Ronisca were already powerful, and with the assistance of the Earth people, their air forces dominated the continent, being invincible.

Cheng Ziang continued to emphasize the relationship between the queen and Luo’er, telling them that the willingness to cooperate with Ilanadale stemmed from Luo’er. Because if Luo’er were not the Queen’s grandson, they could seek help from other powers. If Luo’er had no relation to the queen, they would naturally not need to consider the fate of Ilanadale. They could leave them to their own devices until Ilanadale gradually went extinct.