The floor of the court was light-colored, and the deeper one went, the darker it became until it was pure black. The military boots would make crisp echoes when they stepped on the marble floor. The guards here were all dragonkin, dragonkin who had been strengthened by radiation. They didn't look much different from real pure-blooded dragonkin. They were just as big and strong as they were.
Krendo didn't look around and walked forward carefully. After turning a corner, there was a long and wide marble corridor with beautiful patterns. It wasn't difficult to pass through the long corridor of the imperial court. The difficult part was passing through the corridor with so many dragonkin around. Fortunately, Krendo was able to keep his composure and didn't show any signs of embarrassment.
Just as he was about to step into the hall, he saw a high-ranking imperial official who happened to be coming out — Ryan.
The half-lich seemed to have received some kind of reward. He seemed to be in a good mood. The soulfire in his eye sockets flickered. When he brushed past Krendo, he muttered "Angramo" but nodded at him in a friendly manner. This calmed Krendo's nerves considerably.
The lizardmen guards pushed open the tall and heavy door for him. After he walked through, the stone door closed with a bang.
"Commander of the voyage fleet, Captain of the Empire, Krendo Statham, greets you, Your Majesty. Your majesty is supreme."
Krendo knelt on one knee with his left hand on his chest and his right hand holding the commander's sword in front of him.
This was the way imperial soldiers greeted each other.
"You haven't even raised your head. How do you know my majesty is supreme?"
A burst of laughter came from the throne in front of him. The sound reminded Krendo of thunder when dark clouds gathered on the sea. "Rise, Commander.
I'm glad to see you back. "
Krendo stood up and raised his head. His pupils constricted and dilated before returning to normal. He suppressed the waves of shock that surged in his heart when he saw the True Dragon.
"I think we have a lot to talk about, Commander."
While he was carefully sizing up the dragon, the dragon was also sizing him up. Krendo guessed that the emperor needed some time to remember him because he had to meet so many people every day.
"We successfully landed on Villoster on the 27th of the year 1660 and explored the new continent for 180 days. The voyage fleet brought back hundreds of detailed information.
I've also submitted a report to the court. I hope it won't disappoint you, Your Majesty, "Krendo said calmly.
"Alright, I guess I'll go and see it."
Black Dragon seemed to be troubled by the written reports and information. He rubbed his head and changed the topic. "But before that, I want to hear your description, Commander. What did my fleet encounter when we discovered the new continent?
Also, what do you think of Villoster? "
"There are many things that happened during this time. If Your Majesty is willing to listen, I would be more than happy to tell you all about it.
But before that, there's something I have to explain to you. "
"Hmm?"
"Our fleet can reach Villoster."
"Isn't that obvious?"
"No, Your Majesty.
This is something only the great Northern Empire can do. "
Krendo licked his lips. The familiar topic made him confident. His speech became smooth and confident. "As everyone knows, Villoster is a place where magic is hated.
According to our observations, the Dead Magic Zone has already begun to appear ten thousand miles away from Loster. "
This means that the other nations of Airadia, such as the Empire on which the sun never sets, the trading city-states, and the Hejian nations, can't sail into Villoster using warships powered by magic. To reach that place, these nations can only rely on ancient sailing ships. "
"But we're different. Even though we encountered all sorts of problems along the way, and the stability of the warship without the help of magic technology is questionable, with the combined efforts of the crew, the Empire's Grasp finally sailed into the coastal waters of Villoster." As he said this, Krendo's eyes shone with pride.
"You're saying that currently, there are no other nations of Airadia that can compete with the empire for Villoster, right?"
"It will be the same in the future," Krendo said with certainty.
"I know that the other nations will also learn and think of ways to copy, but as long as the empire doesn't change its support for the docks and workshops, the Northern Empire will always be one level ahead of them in terms of core non-magic warfare technology. Our fleet will also always be one generation ahead of them, or even more."
"Maybe." Caesar nodded casually, looking like he didn't care.
He knew very well that in the third era, steam power was not a difficult problem to overcome. If the Northern Empire wanted to truly form a technological barrier against the other nations, they would have to wait until they entered the era of internal combustion. This was the problem that the Northern Empire was currently facing, and it required time to accumulate.
The Black Dragon gestured with his large jaw, indicating that Krendo could sit down on the metal chairs at the two sides of the hall. However, there was no way he was expecting someone to pour him tea. Many of the rules and etiquette in the court were based on the habits of dragons, which was very different from that of humans.
Even so, when the Imperial officials had the opportunity to learn about this, they would compete to imitate it, striving to make their etiquette somewhat similar to that of the dragons. If one were to make a bold guess, if the Black Dragon were to publicly express its fondness for long-legged human girls one day, then the status of long-legged girls everywhere would immediately rise, and they would be pursued. This could also be considered a disguised form of worship.
Krendo sheathed his commanding sword and sat down on a chair suitable for humans (the two sides of the court had a variety of designs, and some were clearly not made for humans). He continued, "Although Villoster is a land of hatred for magic, the climate is mild, the land is fertile, and the products are abundant. I have to admit that the land there is more fertile than the Northlands. The terrain is also flat, and it's suitable for large areas of land to cultivate farms, pastures, and plantations."
The Black Emperor's claw tapped lightly on the metal chair, producing the sound of metal hitting metal. "I know about this. There are similar records in the reports of other nations on Villoster. The shapeshifters told me about it.
How about this? Tell me about the ecology of Villoster and the native species.
"Similar to the investigations of other countries, there are an unknown number of indigenous people in Villoster. They have red eyes, black skin, and sparse hair. They are tall and strong, generally more than two meters tall. Their physique is similar to that of the orcs. Our crew calls them 'little giants'," Lucien said.
"Have you had any contact with them?" Caesar asked.
"We tried to have friendly interactions with them," Krendo said, lowering his head.
Kendo lowered his head. "But it's very difficult. No matter how we encounter them, the natives will immediately attack us with bone spears and arrows. Some of the warriors of the natives are strong, while others are weak. The few coastal tribes that we've come into contact with seem to worship a god called Attuso, and the tribal warriors gain strength through bloody sacrifices.
Later, we searched through all the books related to the gods, but we couldn't find Attuso's name. This is a fake god that doesn't exist. "
"It could also be an evil god," Krendo said.
Through Krendo's description, Caesar had a rough understanding of the natives of Villoster, and he had a first impression of them in his mind.