Chapter 775: Looking Towards the Sea

The latest website: What opened the stubborn door of the Holy Dragon Principality?

Gawain was indeed very curious about this.

The Holy Dragon Principality is located in the extreme north of the mainland. Half of the country is covered with lofty mountains and mountains. There is not much fertile land. The living environment is even worse for ordinary human beings. In a country with a harsh living environment, Ansu, who was at the most prosperous period of the year, was particularly afraid. Even half of the establishment of the Northern Mountain Corps was to guard against the principality in the frozen mountain range. There was a reason for this.

The citizens of Shenglong Principality call themselves Dragonborn, and the more noble they are, the more they claim to have pure dragon blood. Outsiders do not fully believe this statement, because Shenglong Principality hardly deals with other countries, nor does it People have seen the "Dragonborn" showing the power of a giant dragon, but at least one thing everyone can be sure of is that the people of the Holy Dragon Principality are by no means ordinary human beings. Although they look similar to humans in appearance, their children Being able to run around the mountains with a shirtless beast in the extreme northern mountains with dozens of degrees below zero doesn't look like the average physical fitness of a human being...

And now Gao Wen has obtained evidence from Maggie: The so-called "Dragonborn" identity of the Holy Dragon Principality is true, at least their upper-class citizens are indeed dragons, but they are genetically defective and weaker than ordinary dragons. Just a dragon.

The kingdom established by the Dragonborn, even if it is small in size, will be extraordinarily capable of fighting.

In addition to its powerful combat power, the mountains of the Holy Dragon Principality also contained the highest quality magic metal ore veins in the northern part of the continent, and a small amount of metal ingots that flowed from the Holy Dragon Principality to the outside world were in high demand in the northern countries.

Such a country that can fight by itself, has valuable strategic resources, and is still in a neutral state will naturally attract the attention of neighboring countries. As early as the Ansu era, the northern aristocratic forces of the kingdom represented by Victoria Wilder have been trying to make peace with each other. The Holy Dragon Principality established a clearer and more stable connection, but it was always ineffective.

Those dragonborn seem to be very uninterested in the "outside world". Apart from maintaining the most basic material flow with the outside world, they do not establish diplomatic relations with any country, and there is no precedent for sending envoys.

"Perhaps it was our magical creation that aroused their interest, or it might be that the change in the empire's situation reached the ears of the Duke of Dragon Blood." Facing Gawain's words, Victoria could only say her own speculation, " It is even possible that the Cecil merchants who have been operating frequently in the north for more than half a year have changed the way those 'Dragonborn' think of us..."

"How do you say this?"

"Those 'Dragonborn' have always respected the warriors who can challenge the mountains and are not afraid of the cold winter,

As long as this standard is met, even ordinary human traders will be treated with courtesy on their side - in the past, such 'warriors' were very few, and since the wholesale price of frost resistance potion has been reduced to one and a half gold pounds After a ton, all the Cecil merchants operating in the northern region are all 'warriors'..."

Gao Wen laughed dumbly: "Is that count?"

Victoria's tone was indifferent: "The people of the Holy Dragon Principality don't care whether the unexpected comers challenge the cold winter and the mountains or not rely on equipment and medicine - in their opinion, foreign objects are also part of their strength, as long as they walk into the mountains against the cold wind. Yes, they are all their friends."

"...It seems that I have time to ask Maggie to learn more about the Holy Dragon Principality." Gawain said with a smile.

Of course, he didn't believe that he really relied on a large group of people pouring potions and singing songs, and the businessmen driving their cars on the icefield knocked on the door of the Holy Dragon Principality. When Victoria talked about this, she took it as a joke, It's just that no matter what, the closed and inextricably linked kingdom opened its doors to Cecil, which itself is worth celebrating—

The exiled "Dragonborn", even if they surpassed human beings in all aspects, should not have a good life in the icy mountains, and the various creations of the magic industry can undoubtedly improve their quality of life. Wouldn't reject magic nets and machines - it would be easier if you didn't.

The Cecilians are going to help the Allies build railways again...

When he was in a happy and relaxed mood, Gawain's thoughts moved to the north, and he remembered what he was planning recently.

"In the previous correspondence, I talked to you about plans to build the northern coast, establish a port, and explore the ocean," he looked at Victoria. "What do you think about this."

Victoria's light-colored eyes were as quiet as snow, and she said while thinking: "Some northern nobles are a little worried about this, mainly because they are worried about the huge investment, the low return, and the danger of the ocean, but they have no real power, so don't worry too much about this.

"I understand your idea of ​​setting up a port. From the perspective of building the 'Cecil Settlement Area', the current land transportation is very limited, the terrain in the Ogure tribal country is complex, the road construction period is long, and the western and southern parts of the continent are Blocked by mountains and forests, and there are not too many continuous rivers, only relying on the trade portal bordering the moss forest and the western border, the scale of trade that can be accommodated is very limited - if a port can be established on the north coast, and the northern route around the continent can be restarted, there is no doubt that it will greatly improve. solve this problem.

"The one-time investment is indeed huge, but the subsequent benefits are equally unimaginable.

"During the Ansu period, nobles from all over the world were divided into vassals, and it was impossible for the lords near the northern ridgeline to complete this kind of project, but now the empire has the ability to concentrate the power of the whole country, and it is possible to build the northern coast, set up ports and even restart the northern route around the continent. of."

Victoria Wilder, who has always been less talkative, was not stingy when talking about these things, and listening to the duchess's coherent remarks, Gawain gradually showed a satisfied look.

Just as he had judged before, Victoria had a vision.

What is the difference between a divided kingdom and a centralized empire, and what is the significance of opening a port, she can easily understand it.

But her limitations are also obvious: she only noticed the economic benefits of restarting the northern route around the continent, but she never thought that Gawain's vision of "exploring the ocean" was actually broader.

But it's not her fault. This is caused by the limitations of the times and the general social environment - after humans have been away from the ocean for 700 years, how many people can realize how cramped this seemingly vast continent is?

"In addition to the northern circumcontinental route, what I really care about... is the entire ocean," Gawain said calmly, "Victoria, I mean the open sea."

Sure enough, after hearing this sentence, Victoria, who has always been expressionless, also frowned slightly.

"The far sea... There are storms and magical turbulence there, Your Majesty, the Church of the Storm is no longer there," she couldn't help but say, "Exploring the far sea and restarting the offshore route are completely different."

"I know, but after all, we can't hide on this narrow continent forever," Gawain said, "There is a wider world in the depths of the ocean - sirens, dragons, these powerful races, as you all know, they are From the opposite side of the ocean, they can come and go freely between their country and this continent, but we humans can't step out of it, this situation is not very reassuring."

Is this continent... very narrow?

Victoria had some doubts in her heart for a while, but she still agreed with Gawain's second half of the words.

Those ancient and powerful races can come and go freely in the human world, but human beings can’t take a step in front of the ocean. They know that there may be a wider world across the ocean, but they can only hide on the land and guess what is there. This kind of situation... is indeed a bit embarrassing.

Of course, an empire, especially an empire that still needs to develop, cannot start an ocean-going operation regardless of the cost just to "not suffer". Without sufficient profit promotion, no matter how high the prestige of the emperor and the Supreme Council of State is, it can be pushed forcibly. A business that does not see the future will also shake the foundation of the empire, but if it is only a certain degree of exploration, a certain degree of technology accumulation... that is no problem.

She knew that Gawain meant the same.

On this basis, she seriously considered how to explore the distant sea with the current national strength of the Cecil Empire.

While thinking about it, she said slowly: "Your Majesty, if you want to explore the open sea, the northern coastline is probably not a good 'starting point'..."

Gawain frowned: "Why do you say that?"

"According to many records, starting from the northern coastline and crossing the sea passage formed by the Violet Kingdom and the Holy Dragon Principality, there is an extraordinarily large permanent storm circle on the sea. This storm circle does not seem to weaken or shift throughout the year, and there is no internal Any safe route, man-made ships should be unable to break through its blockade..."

Gawain opened his eyes slightly in surprise: "Is there such a storm circle?"

Crossing the extreme north of the continent, crossing the Violet Kingdom and the "Going to the Sea Peninsula" of the Holy Dragon Principality, there is a blind spot for surveillance by his satellite lens!

"Yes," Victoria nodded, "in fact, there are not only ancient records, but when the weather is clear and the magical environment on the sea is relatively stable, you can sometimes see the ocean from the heights of the mountains in the north. A hazy 'wall of clouds' surging over the sea is indirect proof of the existence of the storm circle."

"The cloud wall that can be seen directly with the naked eye in the north?!" Gawain was really shocked this time, "How big is that thing?"

"If the ancient records are correct, and if the Wilder family's observations and calculations for hundreds of years are correct, its effective range is larger than the entire northern region, or even larger than the entire Violet Kingdom, enough to cover half of the Cecil Empire. !"

Gao Wen: "..."

After a moment of astonishment, he couldn't help but mutter to himself: "How did this thing form..."

"No one knows, the existing magical theories and meteorological theories cannot explain it, but there are many legends and stories about the eternal storm on the ocean among the people of the north, but they are either paradoxical and absurd, or they are randomly attributed to the gods. power, no reference value."

"This storm circle is permanent?" Gawain couldn't help confirming it again.

"Yes, the Wilder family hasn't seen it fade in the slightest for at least seven hundred years."

"Can you go around?"

"It can't be bypassed from due north - it completely blocks the northern route. If the northern circumcontinental route is successfully activated, it is possible to start from the west of the strait, bypass the western coast of the Violet Kingdom, and officially enter the ocean - but this is very difficult. difficult."

"Yeah, it's not that difficult," Gawain couldn't help sighing, "not to mention adding a long voyage out of thin air, whether the Violet Kingdom is willing to let our exploration ships go around their offshore waters is unknown... …”

While speaking, he thought of another question in his mind:

The north of the continent...the north of the continent has a huge and never-ending storm structure, so what else is in that direction?

The giant dragon seems to be coming from that direction...

Could that huge storm have something to do with the dragon? Or... was that storm created by the dragons to guard their portal?

If that's the case, then exploring the ocean from the north is really the way to go.

At this moment, Victoria suddenly spoke again: "Your Majesty, if the northern route is not an option, we actually have another option..."

Gao Wen raised his eyebrows: "Is there another option?"

Victoria nodded slightly: "We don't only have an outlet on the north coast. In the northeast corner of the east border, near the border with the Holy Dragon Principality, at the end of the cliffs and highlands, there is also a small outlet..."

"The Duke of Ice and Snow" said slowly, and the satellite map in Gawain's mind was also slowly adjusted.

He saw the estuary, the estuary that he subconsciously ignored because it was near the border of the Holy Dragon Principality and lacked clear landmarks around it.

Suddenly, he felt the image in his mind shake.

A few scattered memory fragments emerged in the depths of his mind!

Those are memories belonging to Gawain Cecil!