RISE OF EROS

Andrew did not think that things in the Dunnas Kingdom were going to become what happened in the Cannaris Empire, because the night before when the Elder Johan had repelled the expert who was planning to attack them, he could observe him with his Eros eyes and could see that his aura was one of caution towards him, but not malice.

This meant that the old man was worried about what Andrew could do, but he still gave him the benefit of the doubt and as long as they proved that they had no bad intentions, the relations would remain the same.

Even so, Gaston's proposal was not bad, because expanding had been part of his plans for a long time and therefore he accepted, "I do not think that things here will become what happened in the Cannaris Empire, but I still think that Gaston's proposal is convenient."

Everyone had similar thoughts to Andrew, but they would not allow things to get complicated to take action, so they all supported the expansion. Gaston seeing that his proposal was approved smiled delightedly.

"Well, now the question is, where do we expand to?" Andrew suddenly asked and before anyone could answer he added, "Gaston, you must have some proposals, right?"

"Yes, I have some," Gaston replied and added, "I think we should expand beyond Tampilla into the kingdom of Rios." Many of those present did not know this country.

They knew where it was located, as it was south of Tampilla, but they did not know the politics or situation of that country, and Gaston noticing this began to explain, "The kingdom of Rios is a small country, but one of great power and very stable."

"Its territory is blessed with many water resources, which also makes invasion difficult. Although it is very attractive to enemies, the cost of attacking it is actually high," Gaston concluded.

His explanation made everyone wrinkle their eyebrows and Candice could not hold back and asked, "What does that have to do with it being suitable for our destiny?", to which Gaston replied, "Well, it is a united country. Certainly, its territory makes it difficult to attack, but being small its population is also small compared to its neighbors, so they are not safe".

At that moment Oliver understood Gaston's intentions and said, "Because it is so united, there are no conflicts and it is a peaceful environment, perfect for developing business." When everyone listened to Oliver they understood Gaston's recommendation.

Gaston nodded and added, "That is correct. In addition, there is no influence from the empire, not even from Tampilla which is its neighbor, which allows us to enter a new environment, without obstacles."

"What races live there?" Andrew suddenly asked. From the description he had heard, such a complex territory did not seem suitable for humans, so Andrew was curious.

Hearing the question Gaston smiled and answered, "As expected from the young master. This country although inhabited by humans, the rulers are elves." With that statement, several of them furrowed their eyebrows.

The northern elven kingdom is quite well known, but no one had heard that there was another clan of ruling elves on the continent. Gaston saw their expressions and understood what they were thinking and began to explain.

"The elves of the Rivers Kingdom are different from the elves of the north. In fact, they are different from the mountain elves in Star City, this clan is known as the water elves," Gaston said mysteriously.

Unexpectedly, no one knew about this kind of elves, not even Candice who had business with merchants all over the continent. Even Oliver who was a general of an extinct country knew about this information.

Andrew even looked at Zany and Sansa to see if they knew, because the Amazons had a long history since before the war on the lost continent, so he wanted to know if they knew anything, but he was disappointed to see that they were also wrinkling their faces.

Seeing that no one seemed to know about this, Andrew looked at Gaston as if asking him to explain how he knew this and Gaston did not hide anything, "Well, when I was exiled I traveled to this country because it is close to the Candelaria kingdom if you travel by boat on the river and the water elves have great healing abilities."
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"Also, the water elves have the ability to breathe underwater and even mix with it, which is quite an impressive characteristic," Gaston continued to explain.

When Gaston said these words, Sansa seemed to remember something and exclaimed, "Ah, the water elves you mention are the liquid spirits." Everyone looked at her strangely, because the term "Spirit" in this world is special.

Andrew knew that the spirits of this world were only below the gods and that caught his attention. He looked at Sansa seriously and asked, "What do you mean by liquid spirits?"

"Well, when Gaston said they were water elves, I thought it was strange because that race doesn't exist, at least it's not known by that name, but on the lost continent, more than 1,000 years ago, there was a race that could mix with water and was known as liquid spirits."

"So, they're not real spirits?" Andrew asked again. He knew that spirits are elemental beings of nature, not a race, so he wanted clarification.

"Well, to be more precise, they are the descendants of elves and water spirits," Sansa replied, surprising everyone. Seeing that everyone was waiting for her to continue explaining, she took a breath and told everything she knew.

"They are actually half spirits, half-elves, but they are very powerful. Their control over liquids is impressive. They have an affinity with water and some experts can even control blood, similar to vampires' blood magic. Someone said that they are even better than vampires in that," Sansa explained.

This surprised them, as that ability is not something to be underestimated. Just think about it, if one of those water elves could control blood, they could make their enemies immolate by controlling their blood.

In a way, they were more powerful than vampires, as the latter control their own blood, and very few can do that to their enemies. "Isn't it dangerous to cross paths with such a race?" Carolina suddenly asked, scared of the capabilities of these elves.

Everyone seemed to share her concerns, but Sansa said, "Well, not everyone can have that power, only the most exceptional talents achieve that level. Also, liquid spirits are pacifists, unless you mess with them or destroy their rivers, they won't mess with you."

Sansa paused and clarified, "These liquid spirits have a great love for water and even live in it, so if you contaminate or damage their wetlands, well, be prepared to suffer."

Everyone seemed to understand what she meant. Still, many of them thought it was dangerous to be around such a race and weren't sure if it was a good idea to go to that place.

Despite their thoughts, it was Andrew who should make the decision, so everyone looked at him as if asking him to decide. Andrew knew that everyone was looking at him, but he still didn't answer right away.

He internalized the words that had been said and began to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of going to that country. Honestly, he was also a little worried about expanding to that place.

While those elves are pacifists like Sansa said, it doesn't change the fact that if they were seen as enemies, it would be problematic. Unlike the other countries, a race that can control water in a country with so many water resources was problematic.

In the end, Andrew decided that it wasn't worth the risk. Andrew could somewhat understand Gaston's reason for proposing this country, but the risk was high, so he decided not to go there.

Andrew knew that Gaston wanted him to get some water elves like he did with the Amazons since everyone knew that he got stronger by having sex with beauties and races with special attributes and water elves were both.

"Although it is tempting, I think it is still risky. I think it is better to go somewhere else and think about the River Kingdom for later when we get stronger," Andrew said.

Gaston became a little depressed because just as Andrew had thought, his intention was for Andrew to fall in love with some water elves so that he would get stronger, but he also understood the dangers of that mission, so he had prepared a contingency plan.

"Well, since the young master considers that it is not yet time to go there, my other proposal is the free republic of Comers," Gaston said. The new country left everyone lost again, except for Candice.

There was no merchant who did not know this country. If Cannes Island is the kingdom with the maritime power of the west sea, the free republic of Comers is the ruler of the southern sea.

Also, it was not a monarchy, there were no nobles there, but a parliament. Although this parliament was composed of a set of families from centuries ago, there was greater freedom and many who wanted riches went there.

When Candice explained this, everyone thought that it was what they needed at the moment, but then she poured cold water on them by saying, "But getting there would be a trip of several months on horseback."

This depressed them because it was very far, however, Gaston interrupted, "Not if we take a boat from the kingdom of Rios." Everyone looked at him because they did not understand, and Gaston then explained, "The kingdom of Rios has many river routes and there happens to be one to Comers."

"How long?" Andrew asked and Gaston said, "I'm honestly not sure, but at least half the time on horseback and it's a direct trip." With that said Andrew fell back into deep thought again.

After a few seconds, he said decisively, "We'll go to Comers, but we'll wait a while. We have things to finish here first, so until that's done, we won't be traveling unless something happens."