Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon's Might-Chapter 459 - 451: Could She Have Been Trafficked?

On the map of the Talia Alliance, two bright pearls shine in tandem.

Raffi is entirely a city built on trade and profit; goods are stacked like mountains on the docks, and large merchant ships, like steel beasts, are swallowing and spitting out wealth. All sorts of legal or not-so-legal transactions make everyone gain significantly, always offering opportunities for those with dreams of getting rich.

In contrast, Miren is nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the colorful buildings are mesmerizing. It is a famous art center, renowned across the continent for its fine arts and textiles, while its industry mainly focuses on steel and leather. Gold and silver processing and art replicas are also well known.

After wandering around Raffi for about a week, Leon took his wife and daughter to Miren. To be honest, he was quite eager to see that industrial city... The positioning of Watchtower Port is similar to Raffi’s, and the Zhen Dan Kingdom is currently lacking a proper industrial city.

"Industry refers to economic activities based on mechanization, large-scale production, and high-efficiency production methods, involving the processing of raw materials, manufacturing production, and distribution of products. Industry is an essential part of the modern economy and has significant importance for the development of national and global economies..."

"Industry is one of the main driving forces of economic growth. Through industrial production, a country can provide more employment opportunities and create more value and wealth. Industrial development can drive the growth of other related industries, promoting overall economic prosperity..."

"Why do you think Miren can become an industrial city, and what do you think is needed to develop industry?"

"Do you need raw materials to produce goods? Once goods are produced, do you need to sell them? If selling, what is needed? Yes, transportation is required, first to ship them out; water transport is cheaper than land transport. Following that, a somewhat higher transportation cost isn’t a big problem. Without a market, everything else is moot."

As he walked through the streets and alleys of Miren, Leon never forgot to teach Sharon various knowledge and principles, combining both spoon-feeding and heuristic education.

Spoon-feeding education allows students to learn the most knowledge in the shortest time, while heuristic education can activate students’ initiative and enthusiasm in learning, encouraging independent thinking, developing logical reasoning abilities, and cultivating the ability to solve problems independently.

"I find you truly know a lot, but you just don’t take action. Otherwise, our Zhen Dan Kingdom would certainly be much more prosperous and powerful than it is now," Tassera commented while listening in, "You are indeed lazy."

Leon glanced at Tassera and said, "I thought you had known already."

"I have known for a long time, but now I truly feel it," Tassera remarked, feeling grateful for her quick actions in the past, having struck first to gain the advantage.

Sila was a place Tassera insisted on visiting.

That radiant city of mages is governed by a nine-member council of mages who meet to discuss significant issues and vote on certain matters. It is said that members of the nine-member council include dragons, high elves, and humans.

At this time, the group finished strolling through Sila’s famous Mage Sisters’ General Store and spent half a day wandering in the Magic Plant Park, watching the glowing vines swaying in the wind and the incredibly beautiful yet foul-smelling Overlord Flower, finally standing at the entrance of Shira University.

"I realize we don’t have a decent higher education institution yet," Leon suddenly thought as he watched the stream of young mages entering and exiting the campus gates, "we should establish one when we return."

"Agreed," Tassera said, stroking her large hoop earrings, "I remember Edwin used to be a professor."

"He is the head of the research institute, and they still need him over there... I was thinking of making you the principal," Leon turned to look at Tassera, "You as the queen can’t just do nothing."

"I don’t want to; it’s too troublesome," Tassera squinted her eyes, "I’d only be a hands-off leader."

"I find you can be quite lazy at times too," Leon quirked an eyebrow.

"Same to you. Birds of a feather flock together, as you say," Tassera wrinkled her nose, "I only want to do what I’m interested in."

There are only a few famous cities in the Talia Alliance, and it took everyone more than a month to visit them all. Now, Leon wants to take a look at the rural areas of the Talia Alliance.

In the countryside of the Talia Alliance, people begin their day just before dawn, having breakfast, pulling scythes and hoes from the grass hut to start working, constantly working except when sharpening tools to cut firewood. Apart from activities like harvesting pasture, weeding, plowing, and thinning, they also have to repair the yard, with hardly any pause in work.

Most people live outside the precisely divided hours, typically eating just twice a day: breakfast and dinner. Bread is made from a mix of wheat, rye, and barley flour. Being too hard to eat alone, it has to be dipped in a bowl of hot soup.

"This won’t do."

Leon admits that his Watchtower Port currently cannot compare with those big cities in the Talia Alliance, but in terms of rural life outside the cities, he has every confidence.

He must say that his Undead Factory can provide cheap labor for mining and forging, continuously producing inexpensive farming tools. Meanwhile, a group of Fallen Druids are researching grafting, breeding good varieties, interplanting, and other technological innovations ahead of their time under his guidance, spreading everywhere. Lastly, the fertilizer made from guano proves to be significantly useful.

Now having visited all the cities and countryside of the Talia Alliance, Leon guarantees that Sharon’s horizons have been broadened and that she won’t easily be deceived in the future.

The sea breeze carried a salty fishy smell.

Riding the carriage and arriving at the Porto Duchy, Leon looked around curiously.

Due to Raffi’s siphoning effect as a port and financial city, the Porto Duchy found it difficult to get a share of the sea trade, relying mainly on fishing for survival. As a result, the faith in the Goddess of Wealth was not prominent, while the Ocean Goddess was widely worshiped. The local nobility’s devotion to the Ocean Goddess did not just stop at words.

Although finance and trade were difficult to develop, they did not completely give up. It is said that the Duke of Porto has been striving to develop tourism. A holiday sanctuary named Bay Town within the Porto Duchy was precisely their destination.

As the carriage approached Bay Town, in the distance, one could gradually see the colorful houses scattered along the coastline like candies, backed by lush green mountains and facing the shimmering sea. Pink, green, yellow, brown—forming a stark contrast with the green hills and blue-green sea, it was a beauty beyond words. freeweɓnøvel~com

Under the bright sunlight, people engaged in soft conversations and, in passing, praised the Ocean Goddess, prompting Sharon to ask with a bemused look, "You have to thank the Ocean Goddess for going out to sea and returning, and even before eating... They’re not chosen ones or priests; the Ocean Goddess can’t possibly use divine power to help them. What exactly are they thanking?"

Some sea gods are embodiments of justice, kindness, and beauty, a shining paragon blending many traditional virtues like compassion, benevolence, charity, and gallant heroism.

Nevertheless, the Ocean Goddess that the Talia Alliance worships is a capricious deity, fierce as the sea and as ruthless as the waves. To a large extent, this is because most people fear power rather than virtue, respect evil rather than good, and find it easier to garner faith through creating natural disasters.

Leon, who had never held much reverence for the divine, laughed, "Guess why?"

"My dad’s maids are all very kind to me..." Sharon blinked innocently, "I don’t remember who treats me well, but I remember distinctly who bullies me."

Leon nodded in delight.

Tassera frowned and asked, "Which maid dares to bully you like that?"

"No one did." Sharon said innocently, "It’s just a metaphor, I’m just speaking metaphorically."

Let’s find a restaurant to eat first.

Under the bright sunshine, the wind chimes on the restaurant terrace jangled softly.

Sharon quickly finished her grilled fish, cheeks puffed out, and then hopped toward the beach to play with sand, while Leon and Tassera took their time enjoying the food, comfortably nestled in chairs facing the sea, savoring the rich taste of wine in the warm sea breeze.

"Are you full?" Tassera suddenly said, "Want to take a stroll?"

Leon, his eyes trailing their frolicking daughter, turned his head at Tassera’s words and nodded, "Sure, I’ll go call our daughter."

"Let her play by herself for a while." Tassera smiled gently, tucking stray strands blown by the sea breeze behind her ear, "It’s rare for us to be out, we should have some couple time too."

Leon felt tempted but also a bit worried, hesitatingly said, "Leaving her here alone... she’s so adorable, what if she encounters a kidnapper?"

Tassera chuckled, waves crashing with her laughter, "What are you thinking? Who do you think can kidnap her? She’s a dragon, a Nether Dragon."

Leon suddenly understood, realizing his concern was misplaced.

His daughter wasn’t an ordinary little girl but a dragon, a Nether Dragon at that. Even as a young dragon, she mastered most spells below the fifth circle and had trained under Fiora. What kidnapper could take her unless she decided to roar aloud?

"That works." Leon stood up, "I’ll go let her know."

Leon quickly walked toward the beach and found his daughter. Sharon was sprawled on the sand, fine grains dotted her nose, engrossed in decorating the sandcastle with shells, "You play here first, your mom and I will go for a stroll... If there’s danger, you can use the Short Message Technique, or shout, and we’ll hear you."

"Got it." Sharon replied without lifting her head, continuing to devote herself to constructing her sand-castle kingdom.

When Leon returned, Tassera was leaning against the wooden railing, the sea breeze lifting her light blue skirt.

The two walked hand in hand, fingers tightly intertwined, leisurely strolling along the street by the sea. The stone-paved alley flanked with green trees wound onwards to the castle at the end.

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