Chapter 875 — The Siren's Answer
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
The breath of summer grew stronger with each passing day.
Even in this northern realm, the lands near the Dark Mountains were beginning to feel the creeping assault of heat.
The study window stood open, and the sounds of birds and singing insects drifted in from the courtyard. A breeze swept across the sunlit desk, lifting a few sheets of paper, but then a hand reached out, took up those documents, and began to read them closely.
A rhythmic tapping came from the direction of the door. Gao Cen did not look up from the papers before him. "Come in."
The study door was gently pushed open, and Tyr gave a yawn as she squeezed her way in—first her upper body, then, with practiced ease, she drew her several-meter-long tail back in bit by bit, coiling it into a great mass upon the floor. The once spacious study suddenly seemed a little cramped after the siren lady had fully entered.
"How rare—you are actually awake at this hour," Gao Yang glanced up at this deep-sea salted fish and said with a smile. "Something come up?"
"There is word from Antavien," Tyr said, yawning again before summoning her spirits. "That signal you captured earlier was not sent by the sirens—the Queen has begun investigating its source."
"...So it really was not the sirens..." Gao Yang's hands came to a complete stop. After a slight frown, he shook his head. "Anything else?"
"The Queen asked me to convey her thanks to you on her behalf," Tyr said, doing her best to straighten her face and appear serious and formal. "She is delighted that humans are willing to share the principles of the magic-net communication with the sirens. It will help us repair Antavien's main antenna under the magical environment of this world. Moreover, our technicians also say that if the main antenna's restoration proceeds smoothly, communication between Antavien and Cecil may become more convenient afterward—perhaps even direct communication could be established. Of course, whether that can actually be achieved is for the technicians to decide."
Listening to Tyr's report, Gao Yang could not help raising an eyebrow. "Ah, that is truly good news..."
Tyr offered a rather perfunctory expression of shared joy, then stretched mightily into a five-and-a-half-meter-long, coiled-up laziness. Wagging the tip of her tail and with sleep still blurring her eyes, she said, "Well, if there is nothing else..."
"There is," Gao You spoke up hastily before this deep-sea salted fish could drop dead on the spot from sleep. "Hold on a moment. There is something I need your help with."
"Ah?" A look of regret immediately appeared on Tyr's face, but she nodded nonetheless. "Go on, then."
"You know that we are building North Port in the Empire's northern frontier, preparing to reopen the sea routes," Gao Heng said unhurriedly. "Infrastructure there is already more than half complete..."
"...I think I understand what you mean," Tyr glanced at Gao Cen, immediately grasping what the other wished to say. "A further exchange of technology... That is indeed what we agreed upon. You have now, as promised, given more of your arcane technology to the sirens, and it is time we sirens made our response."
"We need to return to the ocean, and that requires a higher order of shipbuilding technology—as well as methods for avoiding danger and finding safe routes across the open sea," Gao Yang nodded frankly, his expression serious. "You know that the Typhons have already made a start in this regard."
Tyr looked at Gao Yang and after a moment shrugged. "Rest assured, we will provide help as agreed. Your arcane technology has proven its value in Antavien's restoration, and the Queen is most satisfied with it. She has already agreed to let more sirens come to Cecil to serve as 'advisors,' including professional deep-water technicians—far more expert in technical fields than I am. After all, my specialty is really just raising wind and waves at sea."