Nearly a month of time slipped away quietly in silent busyness and preparation, like a slippery fish, until this day, when the sunshine was exceptionally bright and the sky was clear as if washed.
Burning Steel Fortress, fourth level.
After finishing his daily exercise, the Red-Iron Dragon was lying on the dazzling 'treasure bed' piled up with countless gold coins, gems, and magic items. His dragon tail swept back and forth in the pile of treasure, making a tinkling sound of gold and jade colliding.
In the end, the tip of his tail barely managed to curl up a mere twenty or so Magic Gems.
The quantity was pitifully small, forming a stark contrast with his massive body.
The Borderlands had no gem deposits.
Relying solely on the gems previously looted from various tribes and those obtained through trade, it was completely impossible to satisfy Garros's consumption. Expenses exceeded income, and now there were not many left.
He wanted to eat a few, but because there were too few gems left, he really couldn't bring himself to do it.
Just as he was struggling with his own instincts.
A feeling of Bloodline tapping came.
Solrog's voice immediately sounded in his mind: "Gorton requests communication. He says, the Crystal Princess has once again expressed her desire to talk with us."
From the first time he leaked the existence of the Ignas Dragon Flight to Crystal Princess Elena through Iron Dragon Gorton's mouth, time had quietly passed.
In the following days, the Crystal Princess was clearly becoming less and less able to maintain that calm demeanor belonging to a member of the royal family.
The urgency in her heart was like the fire of a furnace under constant pressure, burning fiercely. This restlessness drove her to demand Gorton to immediately contact the powerful Dragon Flight far away in the Serel Wilderness twice more in a not-too-long period of time, attempting to push the cooperation process forward.
However.
These two expectant contacts were both lightly brushed off by Garros with various perfunctory excuses.
Garros was very patient, steadily controlling the rhythm of the negotiation, patiently letting time, this invisible carving knife, weaken the other party's psychological defenses bit by bit.
Compared to Dragonkin, the vast majority of biological races lacked patience.
However, when this third contact request from the Crystal Princess arrived.
Garros, lying quietly in the depths of the Burning Steel Fortress, had a glimmer of deep thought in his eyes. He tilted his massive head slightly to one side, and after pondering for a moment, he made a decision.
—The time was ripe.
He believed it was time to start a truly in-depth, decisive dialogue with the Lothern Princess who held abundant resources.
Immediately, with Gorton relaying the message through the blood kinship connection, Garros opened a formal dialogue with the Crystal Princess.
"Good day, respected and powerful Sky-Rending Wings."
The Crystal Princess's words were clear and carried a sense of solemnity that had been deliberately adjusted to fit the communication habits of Dragonkin. She opened with a standard greeting, with perfect etiquette.
She knew the temperament of the Dragon Clan well.
Whether it was the Red Dragon Bloodline, which was violent by nature and advocated power, or the Iron Dragon, which had a rigid personality, they generally preferred efficient, pragmatic, and straightforward communication methods, and loathed the long, tedious, and hypocritically polite useless small talk and red tape between human nobles and royal families.
Therefore, Elena decisively abandoned the set of complex etiquette she had been immersed in at the Lothern Royal Court for many years and chose the communication style most to the Dragon Clan's taste.
She got straight to the point and said: "I wonder, powerful Sky-Rending Wings, what are your thoughts on the proposal I put forward regarding the establishment of a mutually beneficial and win-win cooperative relationship between the two parties?"
Garros did not answer this question immediately.
He asked: "Before discussing cooperation in depth, Princess Elena, I need to clarify one key point first—is the one establishing cooperation with me and the Ignas Dragon Flight I represent in the future representing the entire Lothern Royal Court, or just... a princess named Elena herself?"
The other end fell into a brief silence.
Obviously, the Crystal Princess was thinking rapidly about how to answer most appropriately.
In the end, Elena chose to be honest.
She did not try to use the grand name of the Lothern Royal Court to elevate her own status to bluff. Instead, she clearly defined her position with a pragmatic and clear attitude: "The answer you need is—just a princess named Elena."
This honesty did not mean weakness.
Almost the moment her words fell, she immediately threw out a significant promise, as if placing a heavy weight on the negotiating table.
"However, I solemnly guarantee with my reputation and Bloodline."
She said: "The sincerity and specific chips I can offer, their value and weight, can definitely make you feel moved."
Garros nodded slightly.
"Princess Elena, I like this straightforward frankness of yours. It is more valuable than any flowery language."
"Then, let us talk about the specific matters."
"Tell me clearly and accurately, what specific types and quantities of rewards can you offer the Ignas Dragon Flight? And, what exactly do you want to entrust us, this group of predators in the wilderness, to do for you?"
Speaking of this, Garros's expression basically expressed his initial willingness to cooperate.
Whether a cooperation could be truly reached next mainly depended on whether the specific rewards the Crystal Princess could provide were tempting enough, and whether the commissioned tasks she proposed were within the risk-bearing range of The Dragon Flight.
The Crystal Princess was sharp-minded and captured the positive signal conveyed in Garros's words.
She pondered and weighed for a moment, then responded: "Gems, gold coins, magic metals. All the treasures that Dragonkin are naturally fond of and chase after, I have them all."
To prove that she was not making empty promises, she very sincerely began to list the types and quantity levels of resources she could offer in detail.
For example, various Magic Gems dominated by crystals containing different elemental energies and colors, as well as rare and expensive magic metals such as adamantine, mithril, and iron marrow, as well as the most straightforward gold and silver, etc.
As for the action requirements she wanted The Dragon Flight to pay, it sounded quite simple and direct.
She hoped that the powerful Ignas Dragon Flight could take action for her in the Serel Wilderness to strike and crusade against some specific targets.
—The strongholds of the Duchy of Abel in the wilderness, and any other strongholds of any other countries in the wilderness that might stand against the Kingdom of Lothern in the future.
"As long as there is a sufficiently suitable reward, I can lead The Dragon Flight to attack the strongholds under the Duchy."
Speaking of this, Garros changed the subject and said: "But which specific stronghold to attack, ultimately depends on my thoughts and judgment. As for those more powerful kingdom forces, I will not consider taking the initiative to provoke them for the time being."
At this time, the various kingdoms had not yet entered the field, just silently watching the situation change and fueling the flames behind the scenes.
In this case, attacking the strongholds of a kingdom might bring disaster upon oneself, and the risk far outweighed the benefits. However, when the war between the kingdoms ignited, one could also consider taking action against the strongholds under those kingdoms.
"I fully understand your concerns."
The Crystal Princess said: "Then, according to your wishes, our current cooperation is limited to the Duchy level."
She did not foolishly ask for the reason, nor did she stubbornly try to persuade Garros to change his position, but asked with an inquiring tone: "Have we reached a consensus on cooperation here?"
Garros did not agree immediately.
"Dragons never commit themselves to bloody battles for ethereal, empty promises. I need to see tangible benefits that I can hold in my claws first."
He said: "Take out one unit of high-purity solidified black oil crystal—prove your sincerity to me."
Only forces above the kingdom level, relying on their huge, solid, and technically deep alchemy industrial system, have the ability to stably produce black oil crystals, which can be called industrial treasures.
They are usually packaged as a standard unit with a fixed weight of ten catties.
Its purity Rank is strictly divided into ten progressive levels by the Federation authorities, and each increase in level means a leap in energy output efficiency and stability.
Among them, crystals with a purity reaching the fifth Rank or higher can be recognized as high-purity.
And this level of crystal is also the core energy required for Legendary Alchemy Golems.
Because its manufacturing process is extremely tedious and complex, the requirements for equipment precision and technical craftsmen are demanding to the point of being abnormal, coupled with its irreplaceable strategic importance in the military field (such as War Golems, floating fortresses) and high-end magic research (such as stable space portals, maintaining giant barriers).
Even if it is just the lowest first-Rank black oil crystal, the value of just one unit is enough to make Magic Gems of the same volume pale in comparison. It is truly priceless.
More importantly, this type of strategic material is subject to strict control by the highest level of the Federation.
The flow of every unit and every transaction is recorded and placed under the most stringent scrutiny of the kingdom's security department.
Want to buy them in the regular market? As difficult as ascending to heaven!
This is by no means a problem that can be solved by simple gold coins.
On the other end, the Crystal Princess fell into a brief silence.
A moment later, she responded: "The movement of every unit of high-purity black oil crystal is placed under the most stringent scrutiny. I cannot directly provide the level you requested."
"However, I can give you ten units of Rank 1 purity black oil crystal, and one unit of Rank 2 purity black oil crystal. This is the limit I can take out at one time."
Hearing this, Garros's eyes lit up.
This had already exceeded his psychological expectations.
Obviously, this Princess's wealth foundation was much deeper than he had imagined.
"I accept your heavy sincerity. The cooperation between us is now in effect."
The Red-Iron Dragon said: "After successfully receiving the black oil crystal, the Ignas Dragon Flight will present a grand and fiery 'fireworks' show for you under the sky of the Serel Wilderness, as the first greeting gift for a new ally, as our sincerity."
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