Chapter 849 — The Meeting

Asarena made her way to a quiet corner of the room, undisturbed by anyone, and slowly spread her hands, unleashing the power she had possessed since birth.

Phantom flames rose from the void, little by little engulfing and surrounding the Dragon-Marked Witch's figure. Light and shadow flickered and swayed within the fire, and runic sigils of shifting solidity began to blink one after another. Within a few breaths, Asarena seemed to have already merged with those flames; her red hair drifted slowly upward, floating soundlessly in the air like fire, while a host of illusory, low murmurs appeared at the boundary between flame and the waking world, echoing ever more clearly in Asarena's mind.

That was a "language" ordinary people could never understand—a "psy-echo" that only Dragon-Marked Wizards or Dragon-Marked Witches could comprehend.

Sir Gorosh and several advisors waited quietly to one side, watching as Asarena conversed with another Dragon-Marked Witch far away at Dragon's Rest Keep—once the flames had steadied, they knew that Grand Duke Bayang'er was beside the witch on the other end, and by now he must already have learned of those "new things" the Cecilians had brought out.

The process lasted about half an hour before those phantom, circling flames gradually subsided.

Asarena let out a soft breath, fine beads of sweat sliding down her forehead. Clearly, sustaining this kind of ultra-long-distance "psy-echo" was no easy matter; even for a Dragon-Marked Witch, the toll was considerable.

Sir Gorosh waited a full minute with great courtesy, and only when he saw Asarena recover her spirits did he step forward. "Has Grand Duke Bayang'er responded?"

"Our timely report was the right call—the Grand Duke affirmed that first of all," Asarena said, glancing at Sir Gorosh and the advisors and giving a slight nod. "The Grand Duke's words were as follows:

"The Cecilians have their eyes on our mineral resources, while we have ours on their arcane technology and industrial goods.

"The problem is that arcane technology and industrial goods can be churned out endlessly from academy facilities and factories, but steel and mana crystals will not keep growing out of the ground. Trading resources for industrial products carries enormous risk and long-term loss.

"If the Cecilians set up their factories in the Holy Dragon Duchy as well, they will even use our own ore to build their machines and then sell them back to us at a markup. That is a losing bargain.

"As for their many investment plans—from a certain angle they benefit the Holy Dragon Duchy, but if mishandled they will turn the Duchy into a market and 'farmland' in the Cecilians' back garden.

"On the whole, the Cecilians have both sincerity and cunning. They may genuinely wish to build a more prosperous and wealthy future, but in that future they will be wealthier than anyone else—a perfectly natural ambition, and in a sense it actually shows that their diplomatic intentions are genuine and credible.

"Reject every investment proposal in which Cecil holds full or majority control; reject every project involving basic industry, education, or resource development; treat their railway investments with caution—we need railways, but they must be railways belonging to the dragon-blooded.

"The dragon-blooded will agree to open ordinary commercial channels with Cecil, agree to station an ambassador and open civilian exchanges. We can trade mana crystal raw materials and magical knowledge for their arcane technology and industrial goods. We are willing to hire their technicians at prices that satisfy them. Everything can be priced, and everything must be priced.

"On such a basis of equality and good faith, the dragon-blooded are willing to be friends with Cecil—including joining their 'Cecil Settlement Zone.'

"The Cecilians will agree, Sir Gorosh. The Holy Dragon Duchy lies on the shared border between Cecil and Typhon, and they value that 'Settlement Zone' more than you imagine. So long as the Holy Dragon Duchy is willing to join their Settlement Zone, many things can be negotiated.

"Finally, every piece of wealth the mountains grant the dragon-blooded has its worth. Use them well."

Asarena repeated this long passage, and only when she had finally finished did she softly draw a breath. "That is all of it, Sir Gorosh."

Gorosh listened solemnly to every word Asarena repeated, and only once her voice had fallen did he at last let out a long breath. "As expected, His Majesty Bayang'er sees further and keener than we do..."

"Humans are more cunning than we imagined," one advisor could not help muttering. "I am beginning to doubt their 'sincerity'..."

"And yet this is precisely the rule of the human world," Asarena said, glancing at the advisor who had spoken. "They will inevitably seek greater profit, and we will inevitably maneuver with them for our own. Gao Yang Cecil may well be an honorable hero, but the Emperor of Cecil is certainly an old fox. There is no contradiction in that."

"Exchange between two nations is a business deal, and haggling is a normal part of it. So long as the price at last reaches a level both sides find suitable, the two sides may well call each other intimate and sincere partners," Sir Gorosh said, shaking his head with a faint smile. "Fortunately, I have had a good deal of dealings with the human Wilde family, so I can manage."

"Everyone, go and rest for now," Asarena said. "It is not until tomorrow afternoon that we begin a true 'crossing of swords.'"

The remaining advisors took their leave one after another, and at last Asarena nodded to Sir Gorosh as well. "Then I shall return to my room first as well. If there is anything else to ask—"

Before the Dragon-Marked Witch had spoken even half her sentence, Sir Gorosh, standing across from her, suddenly frowned and strode quickly toward the French window nearby.

The knight leaned out. Beyond the window the sky held only half a patch of sunset glow; the outline of the Dark Mountains rose and fell in winding ridges beneath the light, and across the vast open space between heaven and earth there was nothing amiss.

"Sir Gorosh?" Asarena frowned. "What is it?"

"I sense Maggie's aura..." Sir Gorosh's gaze remained fixed beyond the window, sweeping continuously through the clouds high above. "There is no mistake—it is hers, and... she seems to have let it leak out on purpose..."

Asarena of course knew about Maggie, knew she was a girl somewhat "rebellious" in the same way Asarena herself had once been, and that this Sir Gorosh before her was in some ways rather like her own father had been—a daughter who ran away from home and a father whose head ached fit to burst. That curious coincidence, in a setting like this, seemed almost a tradition of dragon-blooded society, and it lent Asarena's expression a certain subtlety.

She too leaned out to look beyond the window, her gaze sweeping across sky and earth, and as she looked she murmured softly, "Perhaps she really is nearby. After all, we received word..."

Before the Dragon-Marked Witch could finish, a shadow suddenly burst from the clouds above and to one side of the Autumn Palace.

As distance and angle shifted, that shadow swiftly grew distinct, tracing a graceful arc through the air as it drew near the ground. Asarena's eyes went wide, and for a moment she even forgot what she had been about to say. Within a few breaths she had made out the details of that shadow—

It was a giant dragon armed in steel, a fearsome creature that tore through the sky under the dim red evening light, brimming with an awe-inspiring presence.