Chapter 220 — The True Profiteer
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
The magic web—the cornerstone of arcanotechnical industrialization, the foundation for channeling magical power into every household, and the greatest boon behind the Cecil domain's swift rise to its present state.
Gao Yang had no qualms about teaching the technique to others. In fact, if he could, he would have wished for the magic web to spread across the whole of the Southern March—no, across the entire Kingdom of Anzu—even faster.
For he understood perfectly well that the magic web was the cornerstone of arcanotechnical industrialization, but not the whole of it. To truly raise this vast edifice, what was needed was a complete system of advanced thought, a research-and-development framework that demanded precise coordination, and a mountain of theoretical foundations that could only be grasped through deep study. With these things, new arcanotechnical machines and industrial chains would come into being; without them, the magic web would remain nothing more than a magic web.
Viscount Andrew beheld the newly laid honeycomb magic web on the northern side of the mining town: neat hexagonal rune arrays inscribed upon bases of fired clay tile, soon to be covered with protective sealing plates once the connections were complete, and finally encased in cement to finish the enclosure entirely. This wondrous, orderly rune array differed from every magic circle Viscount Andrew knew, and he naturally took it for yet another marvel of "ancient Gondorian magical technology."
"I can send craftsmen to help Tansang Mine lay its foundational magic web, and instruct your people on how it should be expanded," Gao Yang said with a smile, watching the plainly tempted Viscount Andrew. "I will also give you a set of technical manuals. Magic is a most rigorous thing—the web must be laid in strict accordance with the instructions in those manuals before it can function and establish a connection with the mana engine."
Viscount Andrew did not believe good fortune simply fell from the sky. "These things... will no doubt come at a greater price, I fear?"
Arcane craftsmanship was priceless, and ancient magical technology even more so. The mages of the Violet Kingdom in the north guarded their puppetcraft and magic-circle techniques as treasures beyond price; every magical device they sold to the Kingdom of Anzu commanded an exorbitant sum, and each was fitted with exceedingly intricate self-destruct mechanisms purely to prevent the leakage of knowledge. In his eyes, these ancient Gondorian techniques Gao Yang had displayed were every bit as precious.
"The price is lighter than you imagine. Beyond the construction costs of the first-phase magic web and the craftsmen's wages, I ask only for a closer partnership with Tansang Town. Tansang boasts the largest commercial port on the Whitewater River and gathers adventurers and mercenaries from every corner of the Southern March. I hope to obtain partial free-use rights to the trading port and the opportunity to open a merchant guild in Tansang. The Cecil family is presently building up its own industries; we have already found trade routes to the north, and if we are to expand westward..."
"The Leslie family is willing to cooperate with you," Viscount Andrew said, understanding Gao Yang's meaning at once, and nodded with a smile. "But as for the details, it would be best to wait for my commercial advisor to discuss them with you—I am hardly an expert in such matters."
Both sides negotiated, and host and guest alike were well pleased.