Nearly a month passed quietly like a slippery fish in the silent busyness and preparations, until today, a day with exceptionally bright sunshine and clear sky.
Burning Steel Fortress, fourth floor.
After finishing his daily exercise, Red Iron Dragon was lying on a dazzling "treasure bed" made of countless gold coins, gems, and magic items. His dragon tail swept around the treasure pile, making a clanging sound of gold and jade.
In the end, the tip of the tail could only barely wrap around a few dozen scattered magic gems.
The number is extremely rare and pitiful, which is in sharp contrast to his huge body.
Borderlands has no gem deposits.
Just relying on the gems collected from various major tribes and the gems obtained from trade are completely unable to meet the consumption of Garos. They cannot make ends meet, and now there is not much left.
He wanted to eat a few, but because there were so few gems left, he really couldn't open his mouth.
While he was fighting against his own instincts.
The feeling of light tapping of blood came.
Sorog's voice immediately sounded in his heart, "Gordon requested communication. He said that Crystal Princess once again expressed his desire to talk to us."
From the first time the existence of Ignas Dragonflight was revealed to Crystal Princess Elina through the mouth of Iron Dragon Gordon, time passed quietly.
In the days that followed, it became clear that Crystal Princess was increasingly unable to maintain the calm demeanor of a member of the royal family.
The eagerness in her heart was burning like a furnace fire that was constantly being pressurized. This anxiety drove her to solemnly request Gordon twice in a short period of time to immediately contact the powerful dragons far away in Ser Wilderness in an attempt to promote the process of cooperation.
However.
These two highly anticipated contacts were dismissed lightly by Garos with various perfunctory excuses.
Garos is very patient, calmly controls the pace of negotiations, and patiently lets the invisible knife of time weaken the other party's psychological defense line little by little.
Compared with Dragonkin, most biological races lack patience.
However, when the third contact request came from Crystal Princess.
Garos, who was lying quietly in the depths of Burning Steel Fortress, had a flash of deep thought in his eyes. His huge head tilted slightly to one side, and he made a decision after thinking deeply for a moment.
--The time has come.
He believes that it is time to start a truly in-depth and decisive dialogue with Princess Lothern, who is in charge of rich resources.
Immediately, Gordon relayed the story, and a formal dialogue started through Blood Kinship Link, Garos and Crystal Princess.
"Good day, dear and powerful Sky-Rending Wing."
Crystal Princess's words were clear and solemn, deliberately adjusted to fit Dragonkin's communication habits. She started with a standard greeting, with thorough etiquette.
She knows Dragon Race's nature well.
Whether it is Red Dragon Bloodline, who has a fiery nature and advocates strength, or Iron Dragon, who has a stubborn personality, they generally prefer an efficient, pragmatic, and straightforward communication method, and hate the long, cumbersome, useless greetings and red tape between human nobles and royal families.
Therefore, Elina decisively abandoned the complex etiquette that Royal Court had been immersed in for many years, and chose the communication style that best suited Dragon Race's appetite.
She got straight to the point and said, "I wonder what the powerful Sky-Rending Wing has proposed to me about establishing a mutually beneficial and win-win cooperative relationship. What do you think?"
Garos did not immediately answer the question.
He asked, "Before we discuss the cooperation in depth, Princess Elina, I need to first clarify one key point - whether the future cooperation with me and the Ignas Dragonflight I represent represents the entire Lothern Royal Court, or is it just... a princess named Elina herself?"
There was a brief silence on the other end
Obviously, Crystal Princess is thinking quickly about the most appropriate answer.
In the end, Elina chose to tell the truth.
She did not try to use the grand name of Lothern Royal Court to elevate her status and bluff. Instead, she clearly defined her position in a pragmatic and clear manner. "The answer you need is - just a princess named Elina."
This honesty does not mean showing weakness.
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, she made a substantial promise, like a heavy weight on the negotiation table.
"However, I solemnly guarantee it with my honor and bloodline."
She said, "The value and weight of the sincerity and concrete bargaining chips I can offer will definitely make your heart beat."
Garos nodded slightly.
"Princess Elina, I like your straightforward frankness, which is more valuable than any gorgeous rhetoric."
"Well, let's talk about specific matters."
"Tell me clearly and unmistakably, what specific type and amount of remuneration can you pay for Ignas Dragonflight? And what specific things do you want to entrust us, a group of predators in the wilderness, to do for you?"
At this point, Garos's statement has basically expressed his initial willingness to cooperate.
The main key to whether the cooperation can be truly achieved next is whether the specific rewards Crystal Princess can provide are attractive enough, and whether the entrusted tasks she proposes are within the risk tolerance range of the dragon group.
Crystal Princess has a keen mind and captured the positive signal conveyed in Garos's words.
She considered and weighed it briefly for a moment, and then responded, "Gemstones, gold coins, magic metals. All the treasures that Dragonkin loves and pursues and treasures by nature, I have them all here."
In order to prove that she was not making empty promises, she very sincerely began to list the types and quantities of resources that she could provide in detail.
For example, there are all kinds of magic gems mainly containing crystals of different elemental energies and colors, as well as precious and expensive magic metals such as Adamantine, Mithril, Iron Marrow, etc., as well as the most straightforward gold and silver, etc.
As for the action requirements she expected the dragons to pay, they sounded quite simple and straightforward.
She hopes that the powerful Ignas Dragonflight can attack and defeat some specific targets for her in Ser Wilderness.
--Aber Duchy's stronghold in the wilderness, and any other country's stronghold in the wilderness that may turn against the Lothern Kingdom in the future.
"As long as there is a suitable reward, I can lead a group of dragons to attack the strongholds under the duchy."
At this point, Garos changed the topic and said, "But which stronghold to attack will ultimately depend on my thoughts and judgment. As for the more powerful kingdom forces, I will not consider taking the initiative to provoke them at the moment."
At this time, the kingdoms have not yet come to an end. They are just silently watching the changes in the situation and adding fuel to the fire behind the scenes.
In this case, attacking the kingdom's base may lead to fire, and the risks far outweigh the benefits. However, when the war between the kingdoms breaks out, you can also consider attacking the strongholds under the kingdom's command.
"I completely understand your concerns."
Crystal Princess said, "Then, according to your wishes, our current cooperation is limited to the principality level."
She did not stupidly ask for the reason, nor did she stubbornly try to persuade Garos to change her position. She just asked in a probing tone, "Have we both reached a consensus on cooperation here?"
Garos did not agree immediately.
"The dragon will never engage in bloody battles for empty promises. I need to see tangible benefits that I can hold in my claws first."
He said, "Take out a unit of high-purity solidified Black Oil Crystal - prove to me your sincerity."
Only forces above the kingdom level, relying on their large and solid alchemy industry system with profound technical background, are able to stably produce Black Oil Crystal, which can be called an industrial treasure.
They are usually packaged as a standard unit with a fixed weight of ten kilograms.
Its purity level is officially divided into ten progressive levels by Federation. Each level of improvement means a leap in energy output efficiency and stability.
Among them, crystals with purity levels above level 5 can be recognized as high purity.
This level of crystallization is also the core energy necessary for the Legendary Realm level Alchemy Golem.
Because its manufacturing process is extremely cumbersome and complex, the requirements for equipment precision and technical craftsmen are so demanding that it is almost abnormal, coupled with its irreplaceable strategic importance in the military field (such as War Golem, floating fortress) and high-end magic research (such as portals to stabilize space, maintaining giant barriers).
Even if it is only the lowest purity first-grade Black Oil Crystal, the value of just one unit is enough to eclipse the magic gems of the same volume. It is truly priceless.
More importantly, this type of strategic materials are strictly controlled at the highest level by Federation.
The flow of every unit and every transaction will be recorded and placed under the most stringent scrutiny of the kingdom's security department.
Want to buy them in the regular market? It's hard to find them!
This is by no means a problem that can be solved with simple gold coins.
On the other end, Crystal Princess fell into a brief silence.
After a moment, she responded, "With high-purity Black Oil Crystal, every unit's movements will be put under the most stringent scrutiny. I cannot directly provide the level you require."
"However, I can give you ten units of grade 1 purity Black Oil Crystal and one unit of grade 2 purity Black Oil Crystal. This is the limit of what I can take out at once."
Hearing this, Garos's eyes lit up.
This has exceeded his psychological expectations.
Obviously, Her Royal Highness the Princess' wealth is much deeper than he imagined.
"I accept your sincerity, and our cooperation will take effect."
Red Iron Dragon said, "After successfully receiving Black Oil Crystal, Ignas Dragonflight will give you a grand and fiery "fireworks" show under the sky of Ser Wilderness, as the first meeting gift for new allies and as a sign of our sincerity."
ps: I am too busy accompanying the patient in the hospital, and my language coding experience is also poor. The plot has been a bit slow recently, but it is confirmed that I will be discharged from the hospital the day after tomorrow, and I can start updating daily. Then the progress will be faster.