Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1122: Chapter 1121: The Ambassador Lady

The rebuilding of this land has occupied much of Heragor and Andar’s energy, but even so, they remain focused on the news coming from the Loren Continent. The cage has shattered, the shackles that once bound the dragons no longer exist, and what happens in this world is no longer unrelated to the dragons. The Dragonkin must quickly adapt to the era of returning to the mortal world, and mastering information from the outside is a crucial part of that.

Unfortunately, the war with the gods destroyed everything in Talronde, including the once-advanced global communication system. Dragons traveling abroad can no longer contact Talronde at any time, forcing the dragons, who were well-adapted to technological conveniences, to deeply understand what ”mountains and waters” truly means. Now, relaying messages from the Loren Continent can only rely on courier travel, and even at dragon flight speeds, a one-way message takes over a day, while two-way communication suffers from even more severe delays.

In this context, Melita and her delegation are of exceptional importance to the two Ancient Titans currently stationed in Talronde. This is the first official communication line established after the Dragon Kingdom opened its doors to the outside world and will serve as the basis for establishing regular contact with the Loren Continent in the future.

Therefore, when Melita arrived from Coastal Shire to Agondale, she was received with honors by the two leaders—whose primary concern was the details of this 112 meeting.

Information conveyed through couriers is ultimately limited, and it’s already been a while since the 112 meeting ended. Heragor and Andar are particularly keen to know if there have been any new developments on the Loren Continent.

In the temporary ”municipal center” in the New Argondale Central District, remodeled from old factory frameworks, Melita sits somewhat tense before the two Ancient Titans in human form. Not far from them, the alloy wall bears the flag of Talronde, which makes Miss Blue Dragon involuntarily recall the solemn and grand Oath Stone Circle adorned with dozens of flags. She actually has many things to report, but after Speaker Andar inquires, she starts by discussing the alliance situation.

”...In summary, the mortal nations have now formed a Commonwealth Alliance centered around Cecil Clan, Typhon, and the Three Great Empires of Silver. The depth and breadth of cooperation within the alliance, from economy to military, far exceed any previous ’pact’ among nations. The foundational basis of this alliance’s establishment is ’life and death survival,’ and I believe that at least until the common crisis ends and major interests conflict arise among the three empires, the structure of this alliance will be exceptionally stable...

”Talronde’s entry into the alliance process was very smooth... even surprisingly so. The nations greatly welcome the powerful Dragonkin as their allies. Even after they understood Talronde’s predicament, this welcoming attitude did not change. However, the potential ’dragon calamity’ hazard did indeed make several small northern countries quite nervous, which was within our expectations...

”I have engaged with the rulers of the Three Great Empires and visited representatives of several nations. They are deeply curious about everything in Talronde. With mutual interests guaranteed unharmed, they are willing to explore with us how to establish a long-term trade route between the Loren and Talronde Continents—meanwhile, they also propose varying degrees of technical exchange... intentions.”

Melita carefully chooses her words to accurately and impartially convey her experiences on the Loren Continent to the two leaders before her. After hearing her report, Heragor simply nods: ”To them, the powerful dragon civilization, even after destruction, is a treasure. Advanced technology is the most dazzling and valuable part of it, and for us today, using these technologies that can no longer be utilized to exchange for scarce resources... is an unavoidable choice.”

”Perhaps we should call it ’knowledge,’” Andar said aside. ”The technology once used by Talronde far exceeded that of the outside world. When technology reaches a certain level, it conversely loses its communication value. However, the knowledge deep within technology, possessing universality, can be relatively easily absorbed by lesser-developed civilizations. The key is to grasp the ’degree’ of this—some basic dragon language magic and dragon language runes can bring considerable advancement to many backward countries and regions. But for the Three Great Empires of Silver, Typhon, and Cecil, which have developed to a certain extent, they are no longer satisfied with basic dragon language magic and runes, and have started researching deeper secrets of this world...”

”Higher-level technical exchanges will be unavoidable, which is an inevitable part of Talronde’s return to the mortal world,” Heragor nodded. ”We should set up a special department to sort, identify, and screen the vast knowledge we possess, eliminate the black boxes and pollution within, and establish communication mechanisms with scholars on the Loren Continent. I think this department could be called ’Knowledge Sanctum’...”

Recognizing this essentially dragon-like name, Andar agreed: ”I have no objections to this; just be mindful, this matter must be handled with extreme caution.”

Melita waited for the two Ancient Titans to complete their dialogue, then began organizing her thoughts, saying, ”Regarding the exchanges between Talronde and the Loren Continent—including economic and cultural aspects, Gawain Cecil provided a suggestion. Ah, calling it a suggestion—in my view, it’s almost a complete set of plans...”

”Gawain Cecil’s suggestion?” Andar immediately showed interest, his brows slightly raised on his aged face, ”What did he say?”

”He proposed a... tourism-centric ’Talronde Economic Revival Plan,’” Melita said while grabbing a prepared document from the side—this was written during her stay in the Sacred Dragon Kingdom, including Gawain’s suggestion and her adjustments based on Talronde’s actual condition. ”Personally, I think it’s an extremely... bold and creative plan, and it looks as though it might actually generate astonishing profits. At least it can help us quickly escape our current predicament without long-term reliance on aid from other mortal realms.”

Andar and Heragor exchanged glances as they took the document Melita handed over, swiftly browsing through it while deep in thought.

”’Tourism’... now that’s a word that brings back memories,” Andar lifted his head first, with a sense of nostalgia on his face, ”Long, long ago, before Talronde became so...’stagnant,’ we also had such an industry within our society.”

”But back then, we didn’t have it so... so...” Heragor broke the silence, but after pointing at the proposal in the document as ”this” for some time, he couldn’t come up with a suitable word, and finally expressed his view with a peculiar expression, ”This plan is indeed quite creative—”

Andar nodded, ”Indeed.”

Then the two Ancient Titans fell into silence synchronously, and after a slightly awkward few seconds of quietness, Heragor couldn’t help but say, ”Is that Gawain really not a dragon disguised as a human being?”

”Impossible, even the dragon doesn’t earn money as... unrestrained as him...” Andar instinctively said halfway before quickly correcting himself, ”I mean, as creatively...”

Melita cautiously looked at Andar, then glanced at Heragor: ”And this plan?”

”We will arrange it promptly,” Heragor immediately replied, ”In fact, we recently completed cleaning and surveying around the old hatchery factory, which might be suitable as a relatively safe ’scenic spot,’ and the wilderness north of the old factory zone can be left for adventurers from the Loren Continent to clear... Hmm, in this way, we would need to establish a facility dedicated to reception in Agondale, an ’Adventurer’s Hall’? That sounds likely...

Melita looked somewhat stunned as the ”Dragon Priest,” who has always been indifferent in her impression, suddenly showed such enthusiasm, suddenly aware that this awe-inspiring Ancient Titan unexpectedly showed favor towards Gawain’s plan.

Realizing that she was losing focus, Melita quickly gathered her thoughts, cleared her throat twice, and redirected the topic back to her report: ”Moreover, I have another very important matter that needs to be reported, two leaders.”

”Is it something important?” Speaker Andar noticed Melita’s serious expression and immediately grew serious himself. ”What happened?”

Melita instinctively glanced twice more at the two leaders, suddenly worried whether the aged Speaker Andar could withstand the coming information. She chose her words carefully, subtly hinting at the topic: ”I previously sent a special dragon egg to the Cecil Empire. It is the inheritance of the gods...”

”Yes, we remember,” Heragor nodded and said, ”In fact, Andar and I discussed this matter just yesterday.”

”You were discussing the egg?” Melita’s heart skipped a beat, thinking the two Ancient Titans might have some foresight. ”Then what do you think about our god...”

”Our god should be happy, I suppose,” Speaker Andar said with a tinge of sigh and a deep tone, ”After all, He has been trapped on this land for so many years. If that egg carries His will, then He must also be happy to step on an unfamiliar land...”

Melita breathed a sigh of relief, smiling, ”Of course. When I saw her a couple of days ago, she seemed to be in a really good mood—though I couldn’t quite decipher her expression...”

As soon as she finished speaking, the room fell silent. Andar maintained his contemplative pose, taking two seconds before squeezing a syllable from his throat: ”...Huh?”

Melita: ”...Huh?”

”What did you just say?!” Heragor suddenly broke the silence. ”You just said you saw... Her?!”

”Should be ’her’,” Melita seemed not to realize, ”She’s no longer a god, right?”

”Melita, this is very serious!” Speaker Andar said sternly. ”You just said... you saw ’the God’ again?!”

Melita jumped in surprise, realizing she might have misunderstood something. She hurried to organize her somewhat fragmented thoughts and vocabulary, clearly explaining everything she knew in the shortest time possible: ”Yes, the egg we previously sent to Cecil is actually...”

Heragor and Andar’s expressions became extremely grim as Melita spoke, only gradually easing up when she had confirmed Lady Enya’s current situation multiple times. Nevertheless, another kind of complex expression unexpectedly appeared on the faces of the two Ancient Titans. Heragor first broke the silence: ”You mean, our god... Enya, she is now a dragon egg without divinity, theoretically considered mortal, currently residing in the Cecil Emperor’s palace, and last time she even chatted friendly with you?”

”Yes,” after the earlier misunderstanding, Melita dared not speak casually anymore. Instead, she sought to relay all the information she knew as quickly as possible. ”Moreover, from what I understand, her daily activities mainly consist of reading newspapers and... researching beverages.”

Andar frowned: ”I can understand reading newspapers, but what is this about researching beverages?”

”...In fact, I can’t even understand ’reading newspapers’ too well,” Heragor frowned even more. ”I never knew He... she had such hobbies.”

”I am completely at a loss,” Melita reported honestly. ”This is merely the situation I am aware of.”

Heragor furrowed his brow in contemplation for a long time before looking at Melita: ”Besides what you reported, did she say anything else to you? Or did Gawain Cecil mention anything?”

”They wish for this matter not to spread within dragon society, confined only to the upper echelon’s knowledge,” Melita nodded and said, ”Gawain Cecil expressed his desire to seize this opportunity to research the separation of ’divinity’ and ’humanity’ in gods. This will be a major, long-term project for the theocracy Authority Council, and he hopes that Talronde could also participate once they are able. Lady Enya did not express much. It seems she is simply enjoying her current ’retirement life’, relishing the peaceful days in Cecil, and does not wish for us to disturb her.”

”I understand the situation,” Heragor said, rubbing his temples, clearly finding this ’understanding’ process quite challenging. ”If that truly is her, all of this does make sense.”

”Researching the decoupling of divinity and humanity,” Andar’s deeply frowned brow finally began to relax. ”Indeed, there are enormous secrets hidden here. I was too shocked earlier to consider this aspect...”

”In any case, this matter absolutely cannot spread within dragon society, especially at this stage where the interim government lacks control,” Heragor stated firmly. ”The fall of dragon’s goddesses is an incontrovertible fact, leaving no room for any discount or ’discussable’ space.”

”We should discuss the subsequent issues,” Andar lightly tapped the table. ”It now seems we not only need a resident ambassador in the Cecil Empire, but this matter is more urgent than imagined—we need a permanent representative and liaison there, and we should decide on the candidate immediately.”

The two dragon leaders exchanged a glance, and a second later, both gazes unanimously fell on Melita.

Melita: ”?”