Sword of Daybreaker

What opened the stubborn door of the Principality of the Holy Dragon?

Gao Wen was really curious about this.

The Holy Dragon Principality is located in the extreme north of the mainland. Half of the country is covered with frozen mountains and mountains. There is not much fertile land. The living environment is even worse for ordinary human beings, but it is such a country that always claims to be the "Principality", A country with a harsh living environment made Ansudu, who was the strongest in the year, extremely scary. Even half of the Northern Mountain Corps was established to be vigilant against the duchy in the frozen mountain range. There is naturally a reason.

The citizens of the Holy Dragon Principality call themselves Dragons, and the more aristocratic they are, the more they claim to have pure blood of the Dragon family-outsiders do not fully believe this statement, because the Holy Principality has almost no dealings with other countries, so it does not People have seen the "Dragonborn" show the appearance of the power of the dragon, but at least one thing is sure, that is, the people of the Holy Dragon Principality are by no means ordinary humans. Although they look similar to humans, their children Being able to run around the mountain with bare arms in the extreme northern mountains of tens of degrees below zero, it doesn't look like the average physical fitness of a human ...

And now Gao Wen has obtained evidence from Maggie: The so-called "Dragon Origin" of the Holy Dragon Principality is true. At least their upper nationals are indeed Dragons, but they are genetically defective and weaker than ordinary Dragons. It's just a dragon.

The kingdom established by the dragon ancestors will be able to fight even if the body is very small.

In addition to the powerful fighting power, the mountains of the Holy Dragon Principality also contain the highest quality magical metal veins in the northern part of the mainland. A small amount of metal ingots flowing from the Holy Dragon Principality to the outside world are in demand in the northern countries.

Such a country that can fight itself and has valuable strategic resources, which is still in a neutral state, will naturally attract the attention of neighboring countries. As early as in the Ansu era, the northern noble forces of the kingdom represented by Victoria Wilde have been trying and The Principality of the Holy Dragon established clearer and more stable links, but it has always been ineffective.

Those dragon descendants do not seem to be very interested in the "outside world". Apart from maintaining the most basic material circulation with the outside world, they do not establish diplomatic relations with any country and have no precedent for sending envoys.

"Perhaps it was our magic creations that aroused their interest, or it might be that the changes in the empire's situation passed to the ear of the Grand Duke of Dragon Blood," facing Gao Wen, Victoria could only say her own speculation, " It may even be that the Cecil businessmen who have been active in the north for more than six months have changed the perception of us of the 'Dragon Origin' ... "

"How do you say this?"

"Those" Dragons "have always respected the warriors who can challenge the mountains and are not afraid of the winter. As long as this standard is met, even ordinary human vendors will be treated with great courtesy. In the past, such" warriors "were rare It is small, and since the wholesale price of Frost Resistance Potion has been reduced to one and a half pounds a ton, all Cecil merchants operating in the northern regions have been 'warriors' ... "

Gao Wen laughed abruptly: "Does that count?"

Victoria's tone was calm: "People of the Holy Dragon Principality do not come to challenge the cold winter and the mountains by accident. Do they rely on equipment and potions? In their view, foreign objects are also a part of strength. Just walk into the mountains against the cold wind. Yes, they are all their friends. "

"... It seems I have time to find Maggie to learn more about the Holy Dragon Principality." Gao Wen said with a smile.

Of course, he did not believe that he really relied on a large group of potions to sing songs. The merchants who were driving on the ice field knocked on the gate of the Principality of the Holy Dragon. Victoria talked about this as a joke, But no matter what, the closed country that has inextricably linked with the dragon opened the door to Cecil, which itself is worth celebrating-

The exiled "Dragonborn", even if it exceeds human beings in all aspects, should not have a good time in the icy and snowy mountains, and the various creations of the magic industry can undoubtedly improve their quality of life, presumably the Archduke of Dragon Blood Will not reject the magic net and machinery-it is easy to do so.

The Cecilians are again asking to help AIA build railways ...

In a happy and relaxed mood, Gao Wen's thoughts moved north, and he remembered what he was planning recently.

"In previous correspondence, I told you about plans to build the northern coast, set up ports, and explore the ocean," he looked at Victoria. "What do you think about this?"

Victoria's light-colored eyes were still as ice and snow, thinking while saying: "Some of the northern nobles are worried about this, mainly because they are worried about the huge investment, the small returns, and the danger of the ocean, but they have no real power, so don't worry too much about this.

"I understand your idea of ​​setting up a port. From the perspective of building the 'Cecil settlement area', the current land transportation is very limited, the territory of the Ogure tribal country is complex, the road construction cycle is long, and the western and southern parts of the mainland Blocked by mountains and forests, without too many continuous river channels, relying only on the trade portal of moss woods and the western border, the scale of trade that can be accommodated is very limited-if a port can be set up on the north coast and the northern route to the mainland will be restarted, there is no doubt that it can greatly Solve this problem.

"One investment is indeed huge, but the subsequent benefits are also unimaginable.

"Aristocrats in various places were separated during the Ansu period. It was impossible for lords near the northern ridgeline to complete such projects, but now the empire has the ability to concentrate the power of the country. It is possible to build the northern coast, set up ports, and even restart the northern continent. of."

Victoria Wild, who has always been less talkative, didn't say a word when talking about these things, and listening to the duke's methodical remarks, Gao Wen gradually showed a satisfied look.

As he had previously judged, Victoria had vision.

It's easy to see where the difference between the confederation kingdom and the centralized empire is, and what is the significance of opening the port.

But her limitations are also obvious: she only noticed the economic benefits of restarting the northern circle of the mainland, but she did not think that Gao Wen ’s "exploration of the ocean" had a broader vision.

But this is not to blame her. This is due to the limitations of the times and the social environment-after 700 years of human beings away from the ocean, how many people can realize how aggressive this seemingly vast continent is?

"In addition to the northern continent route, what I really care about ... and the entire ocean," Gao Wen said slowly, "Victoria, I mean the ocean."

Sure enough, after hearing this, Victoria, who always had no expression, frowned slightly.

"The open sea ... there are storms and magic currents, Your Majesty, the Church of the Storm is no longer there," she couldn't help but said. "Exploring the open sea and restarting the offshore route are very different."

"I know, but after all, we can't shrink into this narrow continent forever," Gao Wen said. "Deeper oceans have a wider world-Siren, Dragon, these powerful races you all know, they are exactly From the opposite side of the ocean, they can move freely between their country and this continent, but we humans cannot step out in one step. This situation is not very reassuring. "

Is this continent ... very narrow?

Victoria was a little puzzled for a while, but she quite agreed with the second half of Govin.

Those ancient and powerful races can come and go freely in the human world, but human beings can't take a step in front of the ocean, knowing that there may be a wider world opposite the sea, but they can only hide on land to guess what is there. This situation ... is indeed a little bit aggrieved.

Of course, an empire, especially an empire that still needs to be developed, ca n’t just start ocean operations regardless of cost for the sake of “unyielding”. There is no sufficient interest to promote it. A cause that does not see the future will also shake the foundation of the empire, but if it is only a certain degree of exploration and a certain degree of technological accumulation ... that's no problem.

She knew that Gao Wen meant the same.

On this basis, she seriously considered how to explore the open sea with the current strength of the Cecil Empire.

In thought, she slowly said, "Your Majesty, if you want to explore the open sea, then the northern coastline may not be a good 'starting point' ..."

Gao Wen frowned: "Why do you say that?"

"According to many records, starting from the northern coastline and crossing the sea passage formed by the Kingdom of Violet and the Principality of the Holy Dragon, there is an extraordinarily large permanent storm circle on the sea. This storm circle does not seem to weaken or drift throughout the year. On any safe route, a man-made ship should not be able to break through its blockade ... "

Gao Wen slightly opened his eyes in surprise: "Is there such a storm circle?"

Crossing the extreme north of the continent, crossing the "Going to the Peninsula" of the Kingdom of Violet and the Principality of the Holy Dragon, there is a dead corner monitored by his satellite lens!

"Yes," Victoria nodded. "In fact, there are not only ancient books, but when the weather is clear and the magic environment on the sea is relatively stable, you can see from the heights of the northern mountains to the ocean, and sometimes you can see it. The hazy 'cloud wall' surging on the sea is an indirect proof of the existence of a storm circle. "

"The cloud wall that can be seen directly with the naked eye in the north?" Gao Wen was really shocked this time. "How big is that thing?"

"If the ancient books are correct, if the Wilde family's observations and calculations for hundreds of years are correct, its effective range is greater than the entire northern territory, and even larger than the entire Violet Kingdom, enough to cover one-half of the Cecil Empire. ! "

Gao Wen: "..."

After a moment of astonishment, he couldn't help talking to himself: "How did this thing ..."

"No one knows that the existing magic theories and meteorological theories cannot explain, but there are many legends and stories about eternal storms on the ocean in the northern borders, but they are either paradoxical or paradoxical, or they are attributed to the gods Force, there is no reference value. "

"This storm circle is permanent?" Gao Wen couldn't help but confirm it again.

"Yes, the Wilder family has not seen it fade in any way for at least seven hundred years."

"Can you get around?"

"It ca n’t be bypassed from the north direction-it completely blocks the northern route. If the northern ring-continent route is successfully launched, it is possible to start from the west of the strait, bypass the west coast of the violet kingdom, and officially enter the ocean-but it is very difficult."

"Yeah, it's not that difficult," Gao Wen couldn't help but sigh. "Not to mention that the long voyage has been increased out of thin air, it is unknown whether the Violet Kingdom is willing to let our exploration ship make a large circle around their offshore ... ... "

As he spoke, he thought of another question:

North of the mainland ... There is a large and never-ending storm structure in the north of the mainland, so what else is there in that direction?

It seems that the dragon came from that direction ...

Will that huge storm be related to the dragon? Or rather ... was the storm created by the dragon to guard their portal?

If that's the case, then exploring the ocean from the north is really the next option.

Just then Victoria suddenly said again: "Your Majesty, if the northern route is not optional, we actually have another option ..."

Gao Wen raised his eyebrows: "Another option?"

Victoria nodded slightly: "We're not just one estuary on the north coast. In the northeast corner of the east, near the border with the Principality of Shenglong, at the end of the cliffs and highlands, there is a small estuary ..."

"The Duke of Ice and Snow" spoke slowly, and the satellite map in Gao Wen's mind slowly adjusted.

He saw the estuary, an estuary that he had subconsciously ignored because it was near the border of the Principality of Holy Dragon and lacked clear landmarks around it.

Suddenly, he felt a jittery picture in his mind.

A little bit of fragmented memory emerged deep in his mind!

It was a memory belonging to Gavin Cecil!