Chapter 1073 — Convergence
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 4
Wenna looked wearily at the space behind Camilla. "Your tail's been swishing out there for ages—didn't you feel the draft?"
"So that's it!"
...
In the eastern part of the city, the industrial district, a construction site was bustling with urgent work. Great magitech machines roared, seizing the warming weather to make up the progress lost to winter—for though the festive air was thick, for a Cecil developing at breakneck speed many projects in Xuanyao City would not halt entirely for the holidays.
Short and stocky, with a yellow beard and unkempt hair, clad in light black armor, Balamo Blacksteel stood on an open patch beside the road, staring wide-eyed as the great mechanical grabs lifted heavy steel and earth as easily as if they were tufts of cotton, setting them precisely in place. The dwarf envoy from Forge City had gone red in the face with excitement, and he pounded his thick arm against his companion's shoulder. "Hey! Paladin!! That thing looks stronger than our rune stone giants! No wonder you're so set on figuring out the Cecil people's magitech and bringing it into Forge City—I'm convinced. When we get back I'll petition King Morton alongside you!"
"You were convinced by the facts, not by me," said Paladin Brightcrag, equally short and stocky, with a gray beard and hair, his voice gruff as thunder in the mountains. He watched the heavy machines at work, excitement kindling in his eyes as well. "I saw their mechanical ships at Whitefeather Port. Even then I knew these immensely powerful things would change the world sooner or later—look at that steel, look at that stone, look at those machine beasts. In our Ironstone Hills and Forge Mountain there's no end of places where those beasts could be put to work... The only pity is that none of it comes cheap."
"Aye, none of it comes cheap. This world holds many fine things, but all of them carry a price tag—the Cecil people's machines and potions, the ores and crystals of the continent's east, the elves' medicinal ingredients and rare timbers. The folk who never stir from their homes in Forge City can't imagine what such things cost," said Balamo Blacksteel, then fell silent. After a brief moment of thought his expression turned serious. "But if His Majesty Gao Yang Cecil's promises hold, once we join the alliance the cost of trade between nations will fall sharply, and many goods once restricted from export will have their channels opened. Add to that the reopening and clearing of the north and south circumcontinental routes, and the transport costs of bulk goods will drop very low as well."
"If all those promises are kept," Paladin Brightcrag muttered. "Clearing the north and south circumcontinental routes... The old circumcontinental route lasted only a short time, but its glory still lives in the history books. That was an inspiring age... To bring the circumcontinental route back into the world would indeed be a feat, but I'm not optimistic about it."
"Is that so?" Balamo Blacksteel said offhandedly. "It would benefit everyone."
"Yes, it would benefit everyone—because at present none of us have ships fit for ocean voyages. But for the two human empires it's another matter. Linking up the circumcontinental route means that not only Cecil but the Typhon Empire too must open its ports and sea lanes and complete the connection with Cecil's route network. I don't doubt for a moment that those mechanical ships can run a full circuit of the continent—but only if the Typhonians can truly accept Cecil's terms. After all, from what we know, Typhon's national strength has taken a heavy blow; it can't even build a few new ships now. If it opens its sea lanes at this juncture, dominance over the entire circumcontinental route will without question fall wholly into Cecil's hands... And when the Typhonians recover their breath and want to contest their share of the seas again, it won't be so easy."