Chapter 857 — Befriending Dragons

"That's part of the reason," Gao Yang said, seeing through Hetty's little maneuver to change the subject but not calling it out. "The dragonborn call themselves deformed exiles, and from their outward circumstances that does indeed seem to be the case—even most of the dragonborn themselves appear to believe it. Yet I feel... their relationship with the dragon race behind them is likely not so simple.

"From Mehng Pernia's attitude toward the dragonborn, and from the strange state of the dragon race itself that I have observed, I believe there is something else hidden behind this 'exile.'

"By my guess, the dragonborn's highest rulers—the Grand Duke of Dragon Blood and the group known as the 'Dragon Blood Council'—must all have some understanding of this. It is only that, for some reason, this hidden matter is not made public.

"At this stage we have no means to investigate anything, but at least cultivating good relations with the dragonborn can do us no harm—one day in the future, it may even produce effects beyond imagination.

"Of course, there are other reasons besides this that compel me to value the Holy Dragon Duchy."

Hetty blinked and reacted quickly. "You mean... they rejected your initial batch of proposals, and afterward readjusted a great deal of the commercial cooperation terms?"

Gao Yi nodded slightly.

"They can see what even Luoyan Augustus could not," he said gravely. "This is clearly not because the Emperor of Typhon is foolish—it is because the dragonborn have exceeded my expectations.

"The claim that they are 'closed and xenophobic, sealed away in the deep mountains and glaciers' is all a lie.

"The dragonborn live very long lives, and it seems the closer one's bloodline is to the primal dragons, the longer the lifespan. A race so long-lived—their civilization may be slow, but it is by no means closed and ignorant. Even if they only glance at the outside world now and then, the long years are enough for them to accumulate ample wisdom and experience.

"Human dynasties rise and fall, and in the eyes of such long-lived races it is as swift as a play on the stage—one play ends, and a dynasty is gone. And if they also possess secret trump cards enough to withstand the magic tide, then the 'plays' they have watched must far outnumber anything you or I could imagine."

"Our arcanotech and our market plans may be novelties to them, but a great many of our ideas are probably nothing new in their eyes.

"Against a race like that, we can't keep using the same approach we took with Typhon and the Augustan tribes..."

Listening to Gao Yang's unhurried words, Heddy thought for a moment, then caught on: "Because they can't be fleeced?"

Gao Yang: "...That's not your style of speaking. Where did you hear that?"

Heddy promptly lowered her head: "Amber says she's compiled a collection of terms you coined, usable for all occasions involving new things..."

Gao Yang's eye twitched: "Don't you start learning from her. Sooner or later I'll dig out all the little notebooks she's hidden away and burn them."

Then he cleared his throat, dispelling the momentary awkwardness: "In any case, the dragonborn are a people worth taking seriously—though they call themselves a 'grand duchy,' there are probably few in this world who would underestimate such a 'grand duchy.' As enemies they would be a great nuisance, but if we can bring them onto our side, they would surely be an ally of extraordinary value.

"Such an ally is worth our spending a little more sincerity and cost to maintain."

"Yes," Heddy replied very earnestly. "I will remember it firmly."

Gao Yang nodded in satisfaction, then glanced at the mechanical clock on the wall nearby and said thoughtfully: "According to the schedule, today we should go inspect the computing center..."

"Yes, there's still half an hour before we set out," Heddy replied. "Yuri's side is already prepared."

Gao Yang gave a murmur of acknowledgment. He turned his head, his gaze sweeping over a map on the desk not far away, and after drawing his eyes back he said casually: "Go make the arrangements. We're preparing to set out."

Gao Yang and Heddy left the study.

On that broad wooden desk, a map depicting the entire territory of the Cecil Empire lay quietly spread open.

On the map, several key locations—the Southern Region, the Northern Region, the Eastern Region, the Western Region, and the Holy Spirit Plain—were all marked with peculiar tower-shaped icons, and smaller icons were drawn around those towers, red lines linking node to node like strands of a spider's web.

Southern Region Master Hub, Northern Region Master Hub... the Imperial Capital Control Center... the Sorin Master Hub, the Saint Sunil Master Hub...

At the bottom of the map, a line of handwriting seemed to glow, bathed in sunlight:

Imperial Arcane Net Territorial Connection Plan.