Chapter 333: Dragon Strengthener
Chapter 333: Chapter 321: Dragon Strengthener
Luh Yao transformed the wonder and named it the City-State Alliance Council. His Apostle Marks were also restored to three.
This surface structure gave off a faint white glow.
…
[City-State Alliance Council]: Here, the Yao Race established the City-State Alliance based on the City-State Responsibility System. The Yao people in different regions now live by the same customs, and all allied city-states abide by the same systems and laws. This groundbreaking union has forged a new future for the Yao Race.
In the city where the Council is located, everyone gains +1 Morale, and the chance of various professions appearing in the city increases.
…
Like the Ghost Lighthouse, Alliance Councils were successively established in every city of the Alliance, their influence radiating to every member of the City-State Alliance.
Luh Yao observed with patience for a while.
The emergence of the City-State Alliance brought immediate and visible changes to Canopy City, the Elf Village, and Strait Pier.
A wide, flat road was constructed on the west side of Canopy City, located in the Eastern Continent Divine Valley.
The trade route passed through the mountains surrounding the valley and across a newly built bridge connecting the Divine Valley to the rest of the Eastern Continent. It continued onward, extending all the way to the pier by the sea, where several merchant ships were waiting.
These road projects were funded and built by Yan City, with cooperation from Canopy City allowing for their swift completion.
Canopy City’s main products were pine nuts, lumber, woven goods, and fruit.
A local material also garnered widespread attention from merchants.
[Canopy City has discovered: Pine Resin]
These local specialties and the roses from Pinkman Rose Garden were all exported to Yan City via the newly opened trade route, in exchange for potatoes, wheat, metal tools, pottery, and glassware.
The Pine Slipper Rats were skilled at planting trees and gathering. They sealed nuts and fruits in glass and pottery, allowing these local specialties to be stored for longer and making them easy to sell and ship to various places via Steamship.
Thus, Canopy City was connected to the Western Continent, becoming a source of raw materials.
…
Meanwhile, in the Southern New Continent, the Little Elves of the Elf Village learned beekeeping and how to make honey.
Two eras later, they had cultivated a special type of small tree. Its fruit, once dried, became a kind of spice.
[The Little Elves have discovered: Dry Fragrant Fruit.]
Honey, Dry Fragrant Fruit, and various forest mushrooms became the Elf Village’s main exports. Since both honey and spices commanded high prices, the Elf Village quickly grew prosperous.
Their simple, woven fences were replaced by fashionable Green Rose walls. The village gained a library and a theater, a small bathhouse was built, and they even purchased two Fire Steam Carriages, making the Little Elves’ daily lives much more comfortable.
…
Strait Pier was a settlement dependent on the Dragon Nest. It had a large transient population but only about three hundred permanent residents, truly the size of a small village.
After the Northern Divine Hall Army departed, its main industries became its taverns, inns, and the pier.
With the market for the Dragon Nest’s earthworm exports becoming saturated, Pasha had shifted his focus to cultivating the Dragon Descendant Ranch. Strait Pier’s economic pillar was already crumbling, so the locals decisively embraced Yan City.
Within the trade network established by the Alliance, it became a central hub connecting the north and south.
All of the Alliance’s merchant ships would dock and resupply at Strait Pier. From there, they traveled north to Uda City and Crystal City, or south to Yan City, the economic heart of the Western Continent.
Thanks to the sheer volume of trade between these major cities, Strait Pier was instantly revitalized.
The entire Alliance system bore traces of the former Twin Cities.
However, the Twin Cities of this Alliance had become Yan City and Crystal City.
One in the south, one in the north—these two core cities formed the backbone of the entire trade route, allowing commerce between the cities to flow efficiently and rapidly.
It took Luh Yao a while to fully grasp all the intricacies.
‘Who came up with this whole Alliance strategy?’ he wondered.
Luh Yao asked the Blood Knight stationed in Yan City.
Necied replied, “Lord God, it was Prophet Shi Bao and Mayor Boutu.”
Luh Yao glanced at the top of the screen.
[April, Year 22 of the Yao Calendar, Fire Steam Era]
‘Shi Bao is already a frail old man on the verge of death. So how is Boutu, who’s much older than him, still alive?’
It was only when he located Boutu that he learned the truth: the mayor of Yan City was already in Ghost Form. He wore Ghost Armor and was still busy with his official duties in the Council.
According to the world’s backend display, Boutu was invited back by Prophet Shi Bao and the city council after his death.
Boutu had declined several times but eventually relented, continuing to serve as the mayor of Yan City. He was also the first Ghost to return to his original post after death.
Looking at the outcome, it was clear: if the Council hadn’t brought Boutu back, the Alliance would not exist today.
The Alliance framework was proposed by Boutu.
He believed that for Yan City to develop further, simply encouraging residents to buy bonds was not enough; it needed a larger population of newcomers. Yan City had vast quantities of goods to export and inventories to clear, which required expanding foreign exchange and cooperation.
Yan City’s development could not be confined within its walls. Those forgotten and marginalized settlements were the partners and future allies that Yan City most needed to win over.
Because those places were less economically developed, they were desperate for growth. By persuading them to join the Yan City system, a much vaster trade loop could be formed.
This idea came from the former Fifth Fearless Empire.
The Old Imperial Capital Crystal City had a similar plan.
It involved using main roads to form concentric rings. Each ring would encompass various towns and villages, allowing a single central city to radiate its influence over numerous settlements, pooling and directing raw materials and labor from different areas.
Once the initial plan was drafted, Prophet Shi Bao used mathematics to make projections and calculations—a crucial step.
Shi Bao, along with Mathematicians including Shang Meng, veteran merchants, Engineers, and ship captains, calculated in detail the direct benefits that the Alliance could bring to different cities.
They provided detailed calculation methods and their underlying assumptions, which included factors like transportation costs, maritime risks, labor costs, trade cycles, and distribution losses.
Even someone who didn’t understand mathematics could read the proposal from start to finish and intuitively grasp that the integration brought by the City-State Alliance would yield enormous returns for every city.
The projection framework, built on mathematics, became the most persuasive invitation. This led several settlements, including Crystal City, to quickly agree to join.
The final results proved that involving mathematics in decision-making was very successful.
From then on, mathematics saw widespread application throughout the City-State Alliance, and Mathematicians became highly sought-after talents in every city-state. The field of mathematics officially entered the public consciousness, becoming a hot new discipline on par with Theology, Medical science, and Engineering…
Luh Yao took a sip of hot tea from his thermos, preparing to go out for a run.
It was important to get a moderate amount of exercise after sitting in front of the computer for so long—even the Committee’s official website was constantly issuing reminders about it.
He had just put on his running shoes when a notification popped up on the interface.
[Snowman Jimmy is calling you.]
‘A Snowman?’
Luh Yao clicked the notification bar.
The view jumped to above the Snowman’s head.
“Lord God, Jimmy apologizes for the intrusion, but the first Sub-Dragon has appeared in the Dragon Nest, and Jimmy wanted to share the good news!”
Jimmy raised his arms high, excitedly doing a moonwalk on the spot, his red fleece hat swaying from side to side.
Luh Yao looked around and found the target in the Dragon Nest.
It was a draconic creature with two long, curved horns. It was pitch-black all over, with forked tips on its horns. Its body was thick and powerful, and when it spread the wings on its back, they revealed purplish-red stripes.
…
[Sub-Dragon Shovel Armor LV20]
Life Value: 1202/1202
Mana Value: 1/1
Damage: 21
Defense: 18
Speed: 11
[Dragon Strengthener]
Possesses strength rivaling that of a Dragon. An outstanding melee fighter.
[Sub-Dragon]
A Sub-Dragon creature. Possesses a long lifespan, excellent all-around abilities and growth potential. Its growth is extremely slow.
[Dragon Painting with Combined Talisman]
Evolves by collecting various Elements and living creatures to imitate the forms of the Dragon Race.
…
Luh Yao was pleased to see this.
‘They’re making fast progress. They’ve already managed to cultivate a Sub-Dragon.’
Pasha also came out to report the good news: “Lord God, Pasha has cultivated a Sub-Dragon! The Dragon Nest has a Sub-Dragon!”
A smug, grinning expression appeared above the Dark Sun Dragon’s head: “Lord God, Pasha has a small request.”
“Isn’t White Castle using metal and glass to imitate Dragons? Pasha wants to take this Sub-Dragon over there and show them the true power of the Dragon Race.”
Luh Yao thought, ‘He has a point. It’s time to put them to the test.’
‘Let’s see what both sides are made of.’