Defeating the World with the Power of One Dragon!

Chapter 289: Elena's Sincerity, Black Oil Crystal

Nearly a month's time slipped away quietly like a slippery fish amid silent busyness and preparations, until today—a day of exceptionally bright sunshine and crystal-clear skies.

Scorchsteel Fortress, fourth level.

After completing his daily training, the red iron dragon lay sprawled across a dazzling "treasure bed" piled high with countless gold coins, gemstones, and magical items. His dragon tail swept back and forth through the treasure pile, producing a jingling sound of precious metals and gems colliding.

Eventually, the tip of his tail managed to scoop up only a meager twenty-odd magic gems.

The pitifully small quantity formed a stark contrast with his massive physique.

The convergence lands had no gemstone deposits.

Relying solely on the gems previously extorted from various tribes and those obtained through trade completely failed to meet Garoth's consumption needs. Expenditures exceeded income, and now very little remained.

He wanted to eat a few gems, but with so few remaining, he simply couldn't bring himself to open his mouth.

Just as he was wrestling with his instincts...

A gentle tapping sensation came through his bloodline connection.Sorog's voice immediately sounded in his mind: "Gordon requests communication. He says the Crystal Princess has once again expressed her desire to speak with us."

Time had quietly passed since that first moment when, through Iron Dragon Gordon's words, they revealed the existence of the Ignas Dragon Cluster to Crystal Princess Elina.

In the following days, the Crystal Princess clearly found it increasingly difficult to maintain that composure characteristic of royalty.

The urgency in her heart burned like fire in a continuously pressurized furnace. This anxiety drove her to solemnly demand twice more within a relatively short period that Gordon immediately contact the powerful dragon cluster far away in the Ser Wilderness, attempting to advance the cooperation process.

However.

Both of these hopeful communications were casually brushed aside by Garoth using various perfunctory excuses.

Garoth was very patient, steadily controlling the pace of negotiations, patiently letting time—that invisible carving tool—gradually wear down the other party's psychological defenses.

Compared to dragonkind, the vast majority of biological races lacked patience.

However, when this third communication request from the Crystal Princess came...

Garoth, resting deep within Scorchsteel Fortress, had a thoughtful glint flash through his eyes. His massive head tilted slightly to one side as he pondered for a moment before reaching a decision.

—The timing was now ripe.

He believed it was time to begin a truly deep, decisive dialogue with the princess who controlled Lothrian's abundant resources.

Immediately, with Gordon acting as intermediary through their bloodline connection, Garoth and the Crystal Princess began their formal conversation.

"Good day, respected, mighty Wings of the Skyrend."

The Crystal Princess's words were clear and carried a deliberately adjusted solemnity that conformed to dragon communication habits. She began with a standard greeting, observing proper etiquette.

She understood dragon nature well.

Whether it was the fiery, power-worshipping red dragon bloodline or the rigid iron dragons, they universally preferred efficient, practical, straightforward communication methods, detesting the lengthy, complicated, hypocritically polite small talk and cumbersome etiquette common among human nobility and royalty.

Therefore, Elina decisively abandoned the complex etiquette she had been immersed in for years at the royal court, choosing instead a communication style most suited to dragon tastes.

She got straight to the point, saying: "I wonder what the mighty Wings of the Skyrend currently thinks about my proposal regarding establishing a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship between our two parties?"

Garoth didn't immediately answer this question.

He asked: "Before delving deeper into cooperation discussions, Princess Elina, I need to clarify one crucial point first—in the future, who exactly will be establishing cooperation with me and the Ignas Dragon Cluster I represent? The entire Lothrian royal court, or merely... a princess named Elina herself?"

The other end fell into brief silence.

Clearly, the Crystal Princess was rapidly considering how to answer most appropriately.

Ultimately, Elina chose to be forthright.

She didn't attempt to inflate her status using the grand name of the Lothrian royal court for bluster. Instead, with a pragmatic and clear attitude, she precisely defined her position: "The answer you need is—merely a princess named Elina."

This honesty didn't mean weakness.

Almost the moment her words fell, she immediately followed with a substantial commitment, like slapping a heavy weight onto the negotiation table.

"But, I solemnly pledge with my honor and bloodline."

She said: "The sincerity and concrete stakes I can offer will absolutely make your heart stir with excitement."

Garoth nodded slightly.

"Princess Elina, I appreciate your straightforward honesty. This holds more value than any flowery rhetoric."

"Then, let's discuss specific matters."

"Tell me clearly and precisely: what specific types and quantities of compensation can you provide for the Ignas Dragon Cluster? And what exactly do you wish to entrust us predators from the wildlands to accomplish for you?"

By this point, Garoth's statement had essentially expressed preliminary willingness to cooperate.

Whether true cooperation could actually be achieved depended mainly on whether the concrete rewards the Crystal Princess could offer were sufficiently enticing, and whether her proposed commission fell within the dragon cluster's risk tolerance.

The Crystal Princess, keen-minded, caught the positive signal conveyed in Garoth's words.

After briefly weighing and considering, she responded: "Gems, gold coins, magical metals... all those treasures that dragons naturally love and chase to collect—I have them all here in abundance."

To prove she wasn't making empty promises, she very sincerely began listing in concrete, detailed terms the types and quantity levels of resources she could provide.

For example, various magic gems primarily consisting of crystals containing different elemental energies and colors, as well as rare and expensive magical metals like adamantine, mithril, iron pith, and the most straightforward gold and silver, etc.

As for the actions she hoped the dragon cluster would undertake, they sounded quite simple and direct.

She wanted the powerful Ignas Dragon Cluster to strike and eliminate some specific targets for her in the Ser Wilderness.

—Strongholds of the Duchy of Abbe in the wilderness, and any strongholds of other countries in the wilderness that might potentially oppose the Lothrian Kingdom in the future.

Whether it was the fiery, power-worshipping red dragon bloodline or the rigid iron dragons, they universally preferred efficient, practical, straightforward communication methods, detesting the lengthy, complicated, hypocritically polite small talk and cumbersome rituals common among human nobility and royalty.

Here, Garoth changed tack, saying: "But which specific stronghold to attack will ultimately depend on my thoughts and judgment. As for those more powerful main kingdom forces, I currently won't consider proactively provoking them."

At this time, the various kingdoms hadn't yet entered the fray, merely watching the situation develop silently while stirring things up behind the scenes.

Attacking kingdom strongholds under these circumstances could backfire, with risks far outweighing rewards. However, once war flares up between kingdoms, we could consider striking those kingdom-affiliated strongholds.

"I completely understand your concerns."

The Crystal Princess said: "Then, according to your wishes, our current cooperation will be limited to the duchy level."

She didn't foolishly press for reasons, nor stubbornly try to persuade Garoth to change his stance. Instead, with an inquiring tone, she asked: "Have we both reached a consensus on cooperation here?"

Garoth didn't immediately agree.

'Dragons never commit to bloody battles for vague, empty promises. I need to see tangible benefits I can grasp in my claws first.'

He said: "Provide one unit of high-purity solidified black oil crystals—prove your sincerity to me."

Only kingdom-level powers and above, relying on their vast, solid, technically profound alchemical industrial systems, could stably produce black oil crystals worthy of being called industrial treasures.

They were typically packaged in fixed ten-pound weights as one standard unit.

Their purity grades were strictly divided by the Federation into ten progressive levels, with each level's increase representing a leap in energy output efficiency and stability.

Among these, only crystals reaching fifth-level purity and above were publicly recognized as high-purity.

And crystals of this grade were also essential core energy sources for legendary-level alchemical golems.

Due to their extremely complex and intricate manufacturing processes, nearly impossible demands for equipment precision and technical artisans, plus their irreplaceable strategic importance in military fields (like war golems, floating fortresses) and high-end magical research (like stable spatial portals, maintaining massive barriers)...

Even the lowest purity, first-level black oil crystals, just one unit's value was enough to pale in comparison to magic gems of equivalent volume, truly priceless and rarely available on the market.

More crucially, such strategic materials were subject to the Federation's strictest level of control.

Every unit's flow, every transaction was recorded and placed under the most stringent scrutiny of kingdom security departments.

Want to purchase them on conventional markets? Extremely difficult!

This absolutely wasn't a problem solvable by mere gold coins.

On the other end, the Crystal Princess fell into brief silence.

After a moment, she responded: "High-purity black oil crystals—every unit's movement is placed under the most rigorous scrutiny. I cannot directly provide the level you requested."

"However, I can give you ten units of first-level purity black oil crystals, and one unit of second-level purity black oil crystals. This is the maximum I can provide at once."

Hearing this, Garoth's eyes lit up.

This already exceeded his psychological expectations.

Clearly, this princess's wealth and resources were much deeper than he had imagined.

"I accept this substantial sincerity of yours. Our cooperation takes effect now."

The red iron dragon said: "After successfully receiving the black oil crystals, the Ignas Dragon Cluster will stage a grand, blazing 'fireworks' display under the skies of the Ser Wilderness, as our first greeting gift to our new ally, as our sincerity."