Chapter 857: Chapter 856: Befriending Dragons

As the rising sun illuminates the earth, the city that sleeps in the night sky gradually awakens. The sun shines a light mixed with pale gold and a hint of bright red, sweeping past the undulating border of the Dark Mountain Range, casting brilliant shadows between the plains and hills. Gradually, the line of light and shadow moves to the tallest tower of the Imperial Academy, and at that very moment, a majestic and solemn bell rings.

The magic mechanisms drive the gears and levers inside the high tower, the rotating bearings pull the steel-forged chains, balancing hammers sway within the belfry, and the sound of the bell resounds. The first to awaken is the Imperial Academy, then gradually the streets and squares surrounding it, residences and shops...

The bell towers in several places in the city all started to ring, and soon, a more crisp and rapid ringing sound, different from the chimes, appeared in the streets and alleys.

Young children wearing felt hats and short clothes, and young adults set out from various post offices and newspaper distribution points, riding the increasingly popular "two-wheeled vehicle" in Cecil across the streets. Those crisp bicycle bells serve as the city’s second alarm clock.

They are the newsboys and postmen of this city, and in most modernized cities in Cecil, the citizens’ day typically starts with these crisp bell sounds from the newsboys and postmen.

Sir Golosh donned a casual outfit, walking along the foreign city streets with Asharena, similarly dressed in casual attire. In the morning sunlight, they watched the city awaken from its slumber, surrounded by architecture and residents starkly different from Dragonwatch Keep.

"There’s a book in the room I’m currently staying in, which describes this city like this: the morning in Cecil Castle awakens with the ’sound’ of modern industry, mechanical-driven chimes, bicycle bell sounds, public magic-guided vehicle’s horn sounds..." Sir Golosh said casually, "Now, it seems that one must see it to understand the meaning of those sentences."

"The human world in my memory wasn’t this prosperous and... fast-paced," Asharena shook her head, "Of course, it feels good now."

A clear and slightly childish voice interrupted the conversation between the two Dragonborn, coming from beside them: "Sir, Lady, would you like a newspaper? The latest news, most interesting stories! Just two Ayr! Two copies for three Ayr!"

Sir Golosh turned around and saw a boy in a deep blue checkered jacket standing in front of him. The boy had a cheerful smile on his face, his eyes large and bright, and his waist bag was full of newspapers.

Ah, another "Cecil landscape" unseen elsewhere.

Sir Golosh chuckled, unable to resist asking casually, "What’s the biggest news?"

"The Empire and the Sacred Dragon Kingdom are about to establish diplomatic relations, Sir!" The boy said happily, raising a newspaper, "The meeting in the Great Council Hall has successfully concluded, and now we have another ally—perhaps soon we can expect some specialties from the distant north, or a new market—and even more! Take a copy, Sir, you look like someone who cares about current events, you can’t miss more big news on this newspaper!"

A hint of surprise flashed across Sir Golosh’s eyes, and he was briefly stunned, but Asharena had already taken out two coins—Cecil’s new currency, and she handed them over with a smile, "One newspaper, handsome boy."

"Thank you, Lady~"

The newspaper-selling boy ran off, and Asharena, as if showing off a trophy, waved the freshly ink-scented newspaper in front of Golosh, face smiling, "Now we are part of the news, Sir."

"...What word did you use just now? Ah, ’fast-paced,’" Golosh’s face carried a bittersweet expression, and he spread his hands, eyes sweeping over the newspaper, "It only happened yesterday... and now even the kids know."

"...The negotiations lasted nearly a week, and with a spirit of inclusiveness and honesty, the two countries finally came together, the Empire will cooperate with the new ally in the economic and cultural fields..." Asharena skimmed the headline content on the front page, reading a couple of sentences casually, with a hint of sentiment, "Twenty years ago, a human lord would hire twenty spies and assassins to probe into such ’intelligence’, spending hundreds of silver coins to buy off opposing castle cooks and maids..."

"There are still rulers who do similar things now, though the things they’re probing for have certainly changed," Golosh spoke casually, and then glanced at Asharena, "But you’re quite knowledgeable about the ’market’ back then."

"I did similar jobs when I was a mercenary—working for aristocrats paid quickly, but Byron didn’t really support partners dealing with the nobility. He preferred hunting non-human monsters and collecting precious materials for the mages," Asharena said, shaking her head, "But no matter what job, it was a period of freedom, dealing with monsters in the mountains was much easier than dealing with those cunning and shrewd Cecil diplomats."

Sir Golosh laughed, "Anyway, it’s finally over. We’ve opened the door, the Dragonborn will enjoy products from the human world’s industries, gain new knowledge and technology, while humans get a northern market—and more importantly, a powerful ally."

...

Aunt Heidi walked into the study room laid with blue carpet. Bright sunlight shone through the wide floor-to-ceiling windows, and she saw the stalwart figure of her ancestor standing by the window, sunlight casting a glow around his tall form.

"Ancestor," the Empire’s Crown Princess lowered her head, speaking respectfully and gently, "The commercial adjustment plan with the Sacred Dragon Kingdom has been finalized."

Gawain nodded slightly, "Hm, proceed according to the final meeting result, have Patrick execute it."

Aunt Heidi came next to Gawain, gazing out the window with him—against the increasingly bright daylight backdrop, a few silhouettes appeared in the southeastern sky, two cone-shaped flying machines and the figure of a flying dragon were traveling along the Dark Mountain Range’s border from east to west.

"Today, the flight technical team has a series of test projects—Rebecca is leading her team to collect more data on the Wings of Steel, accumulating more information for subsequent mass production versions."

"We’ve finally gotten the Dragonborn on board..." Gawain said softly.

"Indeed, it’s hard to imagine...we’ll have a dragon army," Even at this moment, Heidi’s voice carried a hint of disbelief, "Honestly, even after the Steel Wings’ successful test flight, I didn’t dare imagine this would actually succeed..."

"Don’t place too much importance on it, Heidi," Gawain turned his head, "Dragonborn armed might be powerful, but they are not part of the Cecil Clan. Not any portion of the Empire’s military strength can entirely rely on foreign mercenaries—let alone these mercenaries being costly and not numerous. Our own aerial combat troops are the foundation of the Empire’s skies, Dragonborn are just an auxiliary."

Heidi immediately bowed her head, "Yes, Ancestor, I will remember your teaching."

"Don’t be so serious," Looking at the always earnest Heidi, Gawain couldn’t help but shake his head, "Always so tense, won’t get married."

"An...ancestor?"

"Don’t be so nervous, just joking to help you relax," Gawain laughed. "Ah... how I wish you could balance things out with Rebecca. As a Transcendent, you’re actually still young, but far too mature. Rebecca has grown a lot over the years, yet her personality remains as impulsive as ever."

Aunt Heidi wanted to say that the ancestor’s joke only made her more nervous, but she was afraid of inadvertently steering the topic back to "you’re not young anymore," so she quickly shifted the subject. "You attach so much importance to the relationship with the Sacred Dragon Kingdom... is it because you’ve considered the dragonkin? Are you making some sort of ’preparation’?"

"That’s part of it," Gawain noticed Aunt Heidi’s careful attempt to change the topic but didn’t call her out on it. "The Dragonborn claim to be exiled anomalies, and on the surface, this seems true. Most Dragonborn themselves seem to believe this to be the case. However, I think... their relationship with the dragonkin might not be so simple."

"From Melita Ponia’s attitude towards the Dragonborn, and from what I’ve observed about the strange state of the dragonkin, I suspect there’s a hidden truth behind this ’exile.’

"Based on my speculation, the top rulers among the Dragonborn, like the Grand Duke of Dragonblood, and the group known as the Dragon Blood Council, should have some understanding of this. But for certain reasons, this hidden truth is not made public.

"At the current stage, we don’t have the capability to investigate anything, but at the very least, maintaining good relations with the Dragonborn can’t hurt us—one day in the future, this might have unexpected benefits.

"Of course, there are other reasons that compel me to take the Sacred Dragon Kingdom seriously."

Aunt Heidi blinked, quickly catching on. "Are you saying... they rejected a lot of your initial proposals and then restructured many of the business cooperation agreements?"

Gawain nodded slightly.

"The things Rosetta Augustus couldn’t see, they noticed," he said in a deep voice. "It’s clearly not because the Emperor of Typhon is foolish—but because the Dragonborn exceeded my expectations.

"The so-called ’closed and xenophobic, secluded in the deep mountains and glaciers’ is all false.

"Dragonborn have long lifespans, and it seems the closer the bloodline is to the Primal Dragon Tribe, the longer the lifespan. For such a long-lived species, their civilization may be slow, but certainly not ignorant or isolated—no matter how rarely they gaze outward, their long years give them ample time to accumulate enough wisdom and experience.

"The shifts of human dynasties happen as quickly as a play on stage in the eyes of such long-lived species. An era passes, a dynasty is gone. And if they possess the secret cards to resist the chaotic wave, the ’plays’ they’ve witnessed would surely outnumber what you and I could imagine.

"Our Magic Guide Technology and market strategies might be novel to them, but many of our concepts probably aren’t fresh in their eyes.

"When dealing with such a species, we can’t use the same approaches we have with Typhon or the tribal country of Augari..."

Listening to Gawain’s calm words, Aunt Heidi pondered briefly and caught the drift. "Because we can’t simply... exploit them?"

Gawain: "That’s not your usual style of speaking, where did you pick that up?"

Aunt Heidi quickly lowered her head. "Amber said she compiled a set of terms you created for occasions involving new matters..."

Gawain’s eye twitched. "Don’t learn from her; eventually, I’ll find her hidden little notebook and burn it."

He then cleared his throat, easing the momentary awkwardness. "In any case, the Dragonborn are a group worth paying attention to—though they call themselves a ’principality,’ few in this world would truly underestimate such a ’principality.’ They would be formidable foes, but if we can bring them to our side, they’d be highly valuable allies.

"Such allies merit sincerity and investment on our part to maintain the relationship."

"Yes," Aunt Heidi replied seriously. "I’ll keep that firmly in mind."

Gawain nodded in satisfaction, then glanced at the mechanical clock on the nearby wall, and said thoughtfully, "According to the schedule, we should be inspecting the computing center today..."

"Yes, it’s half an hour before departure," Aunt Heidi replied. "Yuri has already made preparations."

Gawain acknowledged with a hum, turned his head, and glanced at a map on the desk not far away, then casually remarked, "Go make the arrangements; let’s prepare to depart."

Gawain and Aunt Heidi left the study.

On the large wooden desk, a map depicting the entire Cecil Empire lay open quietly.

On the map, the southern borders, northern parts of the Dark Mountain Range, Duke of the East, West, and Plains of the Holy Spirits, key locations were illustrated with tower-like symbols, with smaller icons surrounding those towers, connected by red lines resembling spider Silk connecting the nodes.

Sorin Nexus, northern parts of the Dark Mountain Range Nexus... Imperial Control Center... Sorin Nexus, St. Soniel Nexus...

At the bottom of the map, a line of handwritten letters glimmered in the sunlight:

Empire’s Magic Network Connection Plan.