Chapter 532 — Feedback

"Oh, incredible..." Duke Bo Yu's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly furrowed his brow. "There is a flaw in its internal flow of magic."

Victoria nodded. "Indeed—as I said, its arcane mechanism is fragile. According to Duke Cecil, this is to save on cost."

The Duke of Wilder shut off the arcane mechanism; as the blade slowly cooled, his mind too cooled from the curiosity of beholding something new. After a brief consideration he looked at the Duchess: "You said just now that replacing each arcane mechanism costs one gold coin?"

"That is correct."

"...Apart from this weapon called the molten-cut sword, the magic cores of the other equipment also generally require frequent replacement?"

"Indeed," Victoria nodded, and before Bo Yu could speak she went on: "No need to remind me—I know it will be costly. Though a single magic core is cheap, its consumption will be enormous."

Bo Yu looked at Victoria quietly for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "No, Duchess Wilder, you do not know—you underestimate just how 'costly' it will be. In truth, the cost of replacing magic cores is the real price of this bargain; beside it, the price of these swords and armor is not worth mentioning at all."

"So grave?" At last a flicker of surprise entered Victoria's eyes.

"Do not question my head for business," Bo Yu Franklin said with a deep sigh. "But neither be disheartened by the truth I speak—what we face is an open stratagem, and we have no choice. Duke Cecil calculated precisely on this, which is why he set these terms. Even had I been present, I would have had to accept it all. And even at so high a price, this arms and equipment... is still worth the money."

"Worth the money..." Victoria regarded Duke Bo Yu's helpless expression, and her own face grew calm again. "In any case—first, summon the mages and scholars. Let us begin trying to copy these weapons, take apart their arcane mechanisms, and understand just how these things work."

"Of course, we must understand these things," Bo Yu said in a low voice, a note of emotion in his tone. "Truly... a lesson well taught. So business can be done this way as well?"

"The lessons before us this time will likely be more still," Victoria said, glancing at the Grand Duke of the West, sunk in reflection; a certain complexity colored her tone. "Only after seeing how the Cecil people live did I realize something: in these seven hundred years of peace, Anseth has likely made no progress at all—compared with our forebears, we have fallen far behind."

"Oh?" Bo Yu's tone rose, a look of curiosity coming over him. "Tell me in detail..."

Victoria pondered a moment, marshaling her words: "That must begin with their Administrative Hall..."

...

"The Cecil people's commerce is very advanced. What we saw at the Corde Trading Company is only a small part of their commercial genius," Belk Loren said, standing in the Long Hall of Sorengard before his father and Prince Edmond, describing what he had learned on his investigation in the South. "There I contrived to make contact with a great many merchants, and also, in the guise of a merchant, with their 'Administrative Hall'—with a great many of their approval and regulatory procedures. I found they possess a very rigorous commercial oversight—rigorous to a shocking degree, utterly unlike the impression we first formed upon hearing of the Cecil Duchy's various new policies of commercial openness."

Silas Loren listened to his son's report, his gaze occasionally falling on Prince Edmond seated at the head of the table—the young prince had long since shed all traces of callowness. He wore light black-steel armor, a wolf-pelt cloak over his shoulders; the rawness had left his face, replaced by the marks of wind and frost. He sat upright in the castle's seat of honor, wholly attentive as he heard Belk's report, now and then wearing a look of thought.

Below the steps of the seat, Belk Loren was still speaking: "Their commerce is indeed open, but it is an openness under precise control. That explains how their merchant guilds and the newly risen 'companies' can operate with such efficiency while so rarely making any misstep..."

"Under the operation of the 'factory,' Cecil's material output is astonishingly high, with vast quantities of goods available for sale, and this has given rise to many merchants who specialize in wholesale trade and the transport of bulk cargo, carrying goods in great volume to distant places...

"Duke Cecil has built a great many roads, roads that connect all the major cities and the sources of raw materials, working in concert with the canals. They have a new magical device called a magic-guided vehicle, a self-propelled mechanical carriage...

"To administer such an enormous and complex system, their civil affairs hall is divided into multiple departments, each with clearly defined duties and corresponding oversight measures. Everyone is under supervision, everyone is responsible for supervising others, and everyone has clear standards of work and assessment—though one cannot rule out that loopholes remain, their civil affairs hall has already reached an inconceivable level of efficiency and administrative capability. I have copied out their list of departments and every rule and regulation I could see..."

"It seems the five-year mining rights in the White Sand Hills were not wasted," Prince Edmond said suddenly from the seat of honor. "At last we have seen something useful."

"Your Highness," Silas Loren said, rising to his feet, "the thinking behind your various new policies appears to have been correct all along—Duke Cecil has merely taken one step further in that direction, and the experience he has blazed for us is of great significance."

"Indeed," Prince Edmond nodded, his expression unusually grave. "This experience will make us stronger, and we must grow strong quickly. Our time... is not much."

Yes, time was running short.

In the great hall of the castle, every person present understood the deeper meaning in Prince Edmond's words.

That Typhon Empire, watching with covetous eyes... the time left to the people of Anseth was already running out.

(Begging for monthly votes!!)

Recommending the urban master Lao Shi's new book: