Yue Nu and Tulan High Mage arrived shortly after, leading the military officers. "Gale, are the test results out yet?"
"Not yet! But the current results are all within my expectations."
Gale explained the function of the Ice Imprint Grip and suitable tactics. Yue Nu and the others nodded repeatedly after listening.
Yue Nu: "If the Ice Imprint Grip could be mass-produced, I'd want to equip the entire army with it."
Gale smiled and shook his head. "That's obviously impossible! The entire army not only has warriors, but also rangers and Mages, and they have no need for the Ice Imprint Grip. Furthermore, the cost of the Ice Imprint Grip is at least 5 gold coins, and with over ten thousand warriors in the entire army, even the Queen couldn't afford that much money."
Yue Nu was speechless. Over 50,000 gold coins—forget the Queen, even if they emptied the entire Sin'dorei, they couldn't come up with that much cash.
Don't let the 50,000 gold coins, which is only the cost of five Mage Towers, seem like a small amount.
In fact, the entire commercial tax revenue of Sin'dorei is less than 10,000 gold coins annually, and merchants trade approximately eighty to ninety thousand gold coins each year. But you must understand, the merchants' money is active; they buy goods today and restock tomorrow. The total gold coins circulating in the market are only around twenty to thirty thousand.
Mages are indeed wealthy, but their wealth is either in Mage Towers or in the treasures and materials they collect. These are all resources, and it's impossible to liquidate them into cash in a short time. If any Mage were to clear out their inventory and convert everything into gold coins, the entire market would likely collapse.
Similarly, the items in Azshara's treasury are priceless; they could buy an entire Sin'dorei without issue. However, those items also cannot enter the market because no one has that many gold coins.
Turann High Mage then said, "I heard that the ore used to forge the Ice Imprint Grip was excavated from the Fortress?"
"Exactly!" Gale nodded. "Metri and his team discovered a special refined iron ore in the Fortress that has strong Frost Spell affinity, which they call Han Tie. So, when calculating the cost, I didn't include the cost of Han Tie. The cost of the Ice Imprint Grip comes from the enchantment; I enchanted it with three rune sets and permanently cast the Frost Nova spell."
Tulan was also speechless. Enchanting permanent spells is the latest enchanting technology, costing nearly 5 gold coins. Adding the other three rune sets, Gale's estimate of five gold coins for the cost was still an understatement.
Maiev looked at Gale in surprise. The cost was so high, yet he still agreed to forge a batch of Ice Imprint Grips for the Sisterhood?
Gale softly explained, "The Sisterhood's contribution to this war deserves a batch of Ice Imprint Grips. Moreover, providing better equipment for warriors is what a quartermaster should do. Priests are important combat forces on the battlefield and are among those prioritized for preparation."
Maiev felt a mix of emotion and embarrassment upon hearing this.
She knew that Gale was giving her special treatment. Because, by all accounts, Priests are not considered combat units and are not within the scope of equipment replacement. Gale's statement directly categorized Priests as combat units, allowing them to enjoy free equipment replacement.
Her own squad would be equipped with the Ice Imprint Grip, and then, under the pretext of the Sisterhood's contributions, a batch of Ice Imprint Grips would be rewarded. By this estimate, the Sisterhood could receive at least a hundred Ice Imprint Grips.
That's over 500 gold coins?
The Sisterhood not only managed the Temple of the Moon but also frequently helped their compatriots, living a very frugal life. Over 500 gold coins would be enough for the Sisterhood's daily expenses for several years.
This was a bit too generous!
However, Maiev thought about the benefits Gale gained from the last war, which must have been at least several thousand to tens of thousands of gold coins, and so she accepted it with a clear conscience.
Gale didn't know what Maiev was thinking. He said to Yue Nu and Tulan, "While there's still some time for the test, let's discuss the distribution of the Han Tie Mine."
Yue Nu said, "The Han Tie Mine was discovered in the Fortress, so it should, by rights, belong to the logistics troops. As long as the portion for Her Majesty the Queen is delivered, you should manage all of it."
Gale shook his head. "The Han Tie Mine was not discovered within the Fortress; its location is outside the Fortress, so not all military regulations can be applied."
Tulan's eyes lit up. He had received a fair share of things during the last time in Heda'shal.
"Gale, how do you suggest we distribute it?"
Yue Nu also understood and immediately dropped the topic of military regulations. "You go ahead and tell us your plan."
Gale: "First, for Her Majesty the Queen, 20% of the Han Tie Mine shares are allocated to Queen Azshara."
"No problem!" Yue Nu and Tulan immediately agreed. Others' portions could be reduced, but Her Majesty the Queen's could not.
"Secondly, 20% of the shares will be used as military funds, serving as funding for logistics work."
"Agreed!" Logistics supplies support the entire army, and this money cannot be saved either.
"Of the remaining 60%, the First Legion, Logistics Department, Mage Corps, and Priest Corps each get 10%."
The First Legion belonged to Yue Nu, the Mage Corps to Tulan, and the Logistics Department to Gale. As long as Maiev didn't object, the other three certainly wouldn't.
"What about the remaining 20%?" Yue Nu asked.
Gale pointed to the Fortress. "The remaining 20% will be left for the Fortress, to pay for its construction and to maintain its future defenses."
Upon hearing this, Yue Nu immediately expressed his approval. This was Alpha Fortress; by its name, it should belong to the First Legion. And as the overall commander of the army, wasn't it up to him to decide who would defend the Fortress?
Tulan also thought about this layer, but then he considered Gale's words.
Paying for the construction of the Fortress? The Mage Corps had helped a lot, and the defensive spells and magic towers on the city walls were clear evidence.
Thinking that he could still get some benefits, Tulan no longer objected.
To be honest, the Kaldorei Empire had too small a population, and the demand for Han Tie Mine was also very low. 10% of the shares seemed like a lot, but getting 100 gold coins per year would be good. 100 gold coins divided among the entire Mage Corps wasn't even enough for one of Tulan's experiments.
With that thought, Tulan no longer worried about the shares.
"Since there are no issues, the matter of the shares is settled."
Maiev was speechless. Is it really okay for you to so brazenly distribute imperial property? However, since the Sisterhood would receive 10% of the shares, she could only pretend not to hear. As long as the Sisterhood's portion wasn't missing when the time came, then there would be no problem.
With the Han Tie Mine distribution complete, the testing of the Ice Imprint Grip also entered its final stages.
The artisan handed the Ice Imprint Grip to Gale. "Archmage Gale, the test results are almost identical to your design."
Gale looked at Yue Nu, who said, "Forge the Ice Imprint Grip as quickly as possible. I want to equip the Alpha Squad with it."
Tulan looked at Gale, who smiled, unconcerned.
The Alpha Squad's commander was Carlos. According to the previous plan, the elite soldiers equipped with the Ice Imprint Grip would attack the mountain pass guarded by the trolls. Yue Nu's order was to transfer Carlos away from Alpha Fortress.
With Carlos gone, Yue Nu could then appoint a new Fortress commander. This way, Yue Nu could utilize the Fortress's 20% shares.
"I will forge them as quickly as possible."
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