Chapter 291 Elena's Sincerity, Black Oil Crystals
Nearly a month has passed quietly, like a slippery fish, amidst the silent busyness and preparations, until today, a day with exceptionally bright sunshine and a clear, bright sky.
Steel Fortress, fourth floor.
After finishing his daily training, Red Iron Dragon lay sprawled on a dazzling 'treasure bed' made of countless gold coins, gems, and magical items. His tail swept back and forth in the treasure pile, making a tinkling sound of gold and jade colliding.
In the end, the tip of the tail only managed to catch a few dozen magic gems.
The number of them was extremely small and pitiful, which contrasted sharply with his enormous body.
There are no gemstone deposits in the border area.
The gems plundered from various tribes and acquired through trade were completely insufficient to meet Garos's needs, resulting in a deficit. Now, there was not much left.
He wanted to eat a few, but because there were so few gems left, he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth.
He was struggling with his instincts.
A sensation of light tapping in the veins came over me.
Sorog's voice immediately echoed in his mind: "Gorton requested communication, saying that the Crystal Princess has once again expressed her desire to speak with us."
Time has quietly passed since the existence of the Ignas dragon horde was first revealed to Crystal Princess Elena through the mouth of the Iron Dragon Gorton.
In the days that followed, Princess Crystal became increasingly unable to maintain the composure befitting a member of the royal family.
Her inner urgency burned like a furnace under increasing pressure. This anxiety drove her to twice, within a short period of time, to earnestly request Gorton to immediately contact the powerful dragon horde far away in the Sel Wilderness, in an attempt to advance the cooperation process.
However.
Both of these eagerly anticipated contacts were dismissed by Galos with various perfunctory excuses.
Galos was very patient, calmly controlling the pace of the negotiations, patiently letting time, like an invisible sculptor, gradually weaken the other party's psychological defenses.
Compared to dragons, most other species lack patience.
However, when the Crystal Princess sent her the third contact request...
Garros, lying quietly deep within the Steelfortress, had a thoughtful glint in his eyes. He tilted his massive head slightly to one side, pondered for a moment, and then made his decision.
The time is ripe.
He believed it was time to begin a truly in-depth and decisive dialogue with Princess Lorthene, who controlled abundant resources.
Immediately, with Gorton acting as a translator, Galos and the Crystal Princess began a formal dialogue through their blood ties.
"Good day, esteemed and powerful Skybreaker Wing."
Crystal Princess's words were clear and carried a deliberately adjusted solemnity that conformed to the communication habits of dragons. She began with a standard greeting, with impeccable manners.
She knew the nature of the dragon race very well.
Whether it's the fiery and power-loving red dragon bloodline or the tough and unyielding iron dragon, they generally prefer efficient, pragmatic, and straightforward communication methods, and abhor the lengthy, tedious, hypocritical, and useless small talk and formalities among human nobles and royalty.
Therefore, Elena decisively abandoned the complicated etiquette she had been accustomed to in the royal court for many years and chose a communication style that best suited the tastes of the dragons.
She cut to the chase, saying, "What does the mighty Sky-Splitter think of my suggestion regarding establishing a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship between the two sides?"
Galos did not answer the question immediately.
He asked, "Before we delve into the cooperation, Princess Elena, I need to clarify one crucial point first—will the one who establishes cooperation with me and the Ignas Dragonflight that I represent in the future represent the entire Lorthen Royal Court, or merely... a princess named Elena herself?"
A brief silence fell on the other end.
Clearly, Princess Crystal was frantically trying to figure out the best way to answer.
In the end, Elena chose to tell the truth.
Instead of trying to elevate her status by invoking the grand name of the Lorthene Royal Court, she adopted a pragmatic and clear stance, definitively defining her position: "The answer you need is—simply a princess named Elena."
This candor does not mean weakness.
Almost instantly after she finished speaking, she made a weighty promise, like placing a heavy weight on the negotiating table.
"However, I solemnly swear on my honor and bloodline."
She said, "The sincerity and concrete offers I can offer are so valuable and substantial that they will definitely make your heart flutter."
Galos nodded slightly.
“Princess Elena, I appreciate your straightforward frankness, which is more valuable than any flowery words.”
"Now, let's talk about the specifics."
“Tell me clearly and unambiguously what specific kind and quantity of compensation you can offer the Ignas dragon herd? And what specific tasks do you wish to entrust to us, these predators of the wilderness, to do for you?”
At this point, Galos's statement had essentially conveyed his initial willingness to cooperate.
Whether a true partnership can be reached depends on whether the Crystal Princess's offer is attractive enough and whether the tasks she proposes are within the dragons' risk tolerance.
Princess Crystal, with her keen insight, picked up on the positive message conveyed in Garus's words.
She pondered and weighed her options briefly before replying, "Gemstones, gold coins, magical metals—all the treasures that dragons naturally love, pursue, and collect are all available here."
To prove that she wasn't just making empty promises, she sincerely began to list in detail the types and quantities of resources she could provide.
For example, there are various magical gemstones, mainly crystals containing different elemental energies and colors, as well as rare and expensive magical metals such as adamantite, mithril, and iron marrow, and the most straightforward gold and silver, etc.
As for the actions she expects the dragons to take, they sound quite simple and direct.
She hoped that the powerful Ignas dragon herd could help her fight and hunt down certain targets in the Sel Wilderness.
—The strongholds of the Duchy of Abel in the wilderness, and the strongholds of any other nation in the wilderness that may later turn against the Kingdom of Lorthen.
"As long as the reward is appropriate enough, I can lead a horde of dragons to attack the strongholds under the duchy's control."
At this point, Garos changed the subject, saying, "But which stronghold to attack will ultimately depend on my thoughts and judgment. As for those more powerful kingdoms, I will not consider provoking them at the moment."
At this time, the various kingdoms had not yet entered the fray; they were merely observing the changing situation silently and stirring things up behind the scenes.
Attacking a kingdom's stronghold in this situation could backfire, with the risks far outweighing the benefits. However, once war breaks out between kingdoms, it might be worth considering targeting those kingdoms' strongholds.
“I completely understand your concerns.”
Princess Crystal said, "Then, as you wish, our cooperation will be limited to the duchy level for the time being."
She didn't foolishly press for reasons, nor did she stubbornly try to persuade Galos to change his stance. Instead, she asked in an inquiring tone, "Have we both reached a consensus on cooperation here?"
Galos did not agree immediately.
"Dragons never throw themselves into bloody battles for empty promises; I need to see tangible benefits that I can hold in my claws first."
He said, “Prove your sincerity by producing a unit of high-purity solidified black oil crystals.”
Only kingdom-level powers, relying on their vast, robust, and technologically advanced alchemical industrial systems, are capable of consistently producing black oil crystals, a true industrial treasure.
They are usually packaged into a standard unit with a fixed weight of ten kilograms.
Its purity level is strictly divided into ten progressive levels by the Federation, and each level of improvement means a leap in energy output efficiency and stability.
Only crystals with a purity level of five or higher are recognized as high purity.
This level of crystallization is also the core energy required for legendary alchemical golems.
Its manufacturing process is extremely complicated and demanding, requiring near-obsessive precision in equipment and skilled craftsmen. In addition, it has irreplaceable strategic importance in the military field (such as war golems and floating fortresses) and in high-end magical research (such as portals to stabilize space and maintaining giant barriers).
Even the lowest purity, first-grade black oil crystals, are worth more than a single unit, enough to make a magic gem of the same size pale in comparison; they are truly priceless and unavailable.
More importantly, these strategic materials are subject to the strictest federal control.
Every unit's movement and every transaction is recorded and placed under the strictest scrutiny of the Kingdom's security services.
Want to buy them in the regular market? It's practically impossible!
This is a problem that cannot be solved simply by using gold coins.
On the other end, Princess Crystal fell into a brief silence.
After a moment, she replied, "High-purity black oil crystals are subject to the most stringent scrutiny in every unit, so I cannot directly provide the level you requested."
"However, I can give you ten units of grade 1 purity black oil crystals and one unit of grade 2 purity black oil crystals. This is the limit of what I can provide at once."
Upon hearing this, Galos's eyes lit up.
This has exceeded his expectations.
Clearly, the princess's wealth was far greater than he had imagined.
"I accept your sincere offer, and our cooperation is now in effect."
Red Iron Dragon said, "Once we successfully receive the Black Oil Crystals, the Ignas Dragon Swarm will present you with a grand and fiery 'fireworks' show under the sky of the Sel Wilderness as our first gift to our new ally, and as a token of our sincerity."
P.S.: I've been too busy taking care of patients at the hospital, and my writing skills haven't been great. The plot has been a bit slow lately, but I've been confirmed to be discharged the day after tomorrow, so I can start updating daily again. The progress will be faster then.
(End of this chapter)
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