Chapter 590 — Seven Hundred Years Apart

In Gao Yang's presence, Suo You reported to Queen Belantia on what her messenger squad had seen and done in Ansul—her report was, of course, greatly simplified and limited to what could be made public, and while she spoke, Gao Yang used the time to organize his own thoughts.

He had finally succeeded in establishing contact with the Silver Empire at the far southern end of the continent—contact with this ancient civilization that possessed countless treasures of knowledge, and therein lay a significance he could not ignore.

He had to find a way to turn the Silver Empire into Sociology +8.jpg (×)

He had to rummage some ancestral technology out of the Silver Empire's treasury (√)

He mused on the possibility of establishing deeper exchanges with the Silver Empire, on how to trade for the wondrous technology in this ancient civilization's hands—though he had already copied a great deal from the Sentinel Tower, he knew well the vast gulf between those scattered fragments and truly complete technical archives.

After studying those anti-gravity runes, Camille had sent him a message explicitly stating that those rune arrays contained incomplete, difficult-to-parse, and encrypted portions. Though they still held great reference value, transforming them into usable technology was clearly no easy matter. Camille believed that simply copying a few runes from the Sentinel Tower for analysis was far from enough; if they wished to obtain technological results with the highest efficiency, it would be best to reach an open and candid exchange with the elves.

Gao Yang, who himself wished to establish good relations with the Silver Empire, deeply agreed.

Suo You's conversation with Belantia came to an end, and the latter's attention returned to Gao Yang. The queen nodded slightly: "You are still as you were seven hundred years ago—leading your people forward, opening up new lands."

"Survival is not easy; only through development can one endure at the edge of the wasteland," Gao Yang said, weighing his words and speaking unhurriedly. "In fact, I was just about to take this opportunity to discuss Cecil's development with you. Frankly speaking, now that we have established this line of contact, the Duchy of Cecil hopes to establish closer... exchanges with the Silver Empire."

"Exchanges?" Belantia's eyebrows rose slightly. "In what respect?"

Gao Yang looked into her eyes and finally decided to come straight to the point: "Technological. We are very interested in the Silver Empire's anti-gravity technology, rune-stacking technology, shield technology, and other fields, and at the same time Cecil's arcanotech should hold some reference value for the elves. The Sentinel Tower's malfunction has been a warning to us—the 'safety barrier' we built back then may not be safe enough. But everyone has stood still for far too many years. In this world that is gradually growing more dangerous, we must find a way to break this deadlock—development. Development alone is the unyielding truth."

Belantia seemed not to have expected Gao Yang to say such things; she looked somewhat surprised, while Suo You beside her wore an expression of having anticipated it: back when they were exploring the Sentinel Tower, she had already guessed such a development from Gao Yang's attitude—this old friend returned from the dead was quite interested in elven knowledge.

The High Messenger recalled a conversation she had had with her son not long ago, and thinking back on Suo Jilin's words, she decided to wait and see—to observe the queen's attitude for the time being.

Belantia did not declare her position immediately. She thought for a moment, then said: "Duke Cecil, may we speak privately?"

Gao Yang readily agreed: "Of course."

The attendants on both sides quickly left their respective rooms. Only Belantia remained in the Hall of Dominion where she sat, and only Gao Yang remained in the magic-net communications room where he stood. The line used for their conversation was itself an encrypted channel of the Elven Court, and across this connection spanning the entire continent, the two held a private conversation.

In the holographic projection, Belantia still sat upright upon her throne. She first looked at Gao Yang quietly for a moment, then suddenly let out a breath: "We do not have to stay so stiff, do we?"

Gao Yang was slightly taken aback, but recovered in an instant: "You are the queen now—there is no helping it."

"I was a queen too, once, Uncle Gao Yang," Belantia said with a faint smile—in truth she still maintained the dignified bearing of the Silver Queen, yet that smile and her tone were plainly far more approachable than before. "But you are right. I am a queen, so on formal occasions I must still keep up my deportment. This, however, is a private occasion, so let us relax a little."

"I would be glad to," Gao Yang said with a smile of his own. "Well then, Belantia—how does it feel, sitting on the Throne of Dominion?"

"Honestly, it is boring most of the time. This sanctum runs itself without any need for complicated control," the Silver Queen said, blinking. "And you? Have you really... really come back?"

"Yes, I have returned to this world, come back to face a fine mess," Gao Yang said, spreading his hands and heaving a slightly exaggerated sigh. "I would love to tell you about the experience of dying and coming back, but business first. Technological exchange—I am serious about it. This benefits both Cecil and the Silver Empire."

"Uncle Gao Yang, I am willing to trust you," the Silver Queen said, her manner growing earnest. "That is precisely why I wish to speak with you alone—I am no longer the little girl I was, ignorant of everything, able to dump affairs of state on the regency council and do as I pleased. As the Silver Queen, I must answer for my empire, so... whether it is technological exchange or anything else, I must think it over carefully before I can give an answer. I hope you can understand that."

"Careful consideration is necessary," Gao Yang nodded, then a flicker of curiosity rose in him. "But you seem to have no great doubts about the 'technological exchange' I proposed? Are you not curious? The magical arts of elves and humans... have always been unable to merge."

"But you have found a way for humans to cast elven spells through some kind of device, have you not?"

This time Gao Yang was genuinely a little surprised. "How do you know that?"

Communication between north and south had been cut off, the Cecil–Silver Empire line had only been established today, and Suo You surely had not yet had time to send this intelligence back to her homeland.

"I am not utterly ignorant of what happens in the north of the continent—your resurrection, the fall and rebirth of the Cecil territory, the war in southern Ansel, the civil war between the two princes of Ansel, the friction between Typhon and Ansel, the death of Francis II, and... arcanotech," Belantia said with a sly smile. "Yes, I do not know it very clearly, and it was only thanks to Suo You's descriptions that I came to understand more precisely what arcanotech is, but at least I know these things exist. After all, I am the Silver Queen."

Gao Yang was suddenly jolted alert by the other's repeated "Uncle Gao Yang," and he looked at Belantia in the holographic projection, reassessing this ruler who had been close to "himself" seven hundred years ago but now sat upon the Throne of Dominion.

"Since you know that our arcanotech has achieved the translation and control of elven runes, then surely you can understand the significance of arcanotech," Gao Yang said unhurriedly. "It is a technology capable of breaking down the barriers between the magical arts of elves and humans, and I believe it can also help you, from another angle, to decipher those lost arts of the ancestors—an entirely new perspective, whose significance in the technological field I need hardly stress again."