Merchandise from Cecil's empire was gradually flowing into many countries in the north of the continent, and even though it was winter season, the merchants were still brave the cold of winter and the hardships of the journey, bringing the novelty, the interesting and the great use to distant foreign lands, driven by high profits and the support of the imperial family.

In the majestic mountains of the Far North, a gray-white boulder fortress is built on the top of the mountain, and the cold wind howls across the mountain, rolling up layers of snow and cold fog outside the fortress. Huge braziers burned all over the fortress, grease mixed with frost grass juice and glittering crystal dust that shone red and blood, and could not be extinguished even by the howling wind.

An invisible curtain shrouded the ancient "Dragon's Castle", which, together with the huge braziers, resisted the cold wind howling outside, and inside the fortress, there were also huge braziers and fire pits burning in the extremely wide hall. A middle-aged man in a dark red coat was sitting on a large chair, looking at the magic mechanism in front of him with great interest.

The glow of the flame shone on the middle-aged man's face, casting a glittering glow on the resolute face, short gray hair, high cheekbones, and bridge of the nose.

"Your Majesty, this is the magic terminal that the Cecil merchants brought with them - it can be used to cast different simple spells by inserting different plug-ins, and it is very convenient for self-defense and as a tool," a tall, bearded, broad-foreheaded courtier stood beside the throne, introducing the items presented by the attendants, "Also, this is the alchemical potion they sell - the effect is mediocre, but the price is surprisingly cheap, in fact, the potion in it is even cheaper than the bottle itself according to our prices...... ”

The middle-aged man with short gray hair, the contemporary dragon blood Grand Duke Baloger, who has ruled the Holy Dragon Principality for a thousand years, nodded: "I have often heard about this recently. ”

According to the tradition of the Principality of the Holy Dragon, although its head of state is "Duke", subjects are still addressed by the title of "Your Majesty" rather than "Your Highness" of the southern state.

"Yes, Your Majesty," said the courtier, bowing down, "the merchants from the south have been increasing in the last six months, and the new 'Cecil royal family' has encouraged commerce, and the novelties brought by those merchants are very popular with the young people of the principality—especially the machines that can run on their own, and the crystal devices that can record images. ”

Baloger looked at the magic terminal silently for a moment, and said unhurriedly, "Yes...... It's funny. ”

Standing on the other side of the throne, a courtier with a white beard and a white twill robe couldn't help but say, "But it doesn't seem to be a good sign that young people have been overly enthusiastic about the outside world lately, and are even discussing going to the south to 'see the world'. ”

Baloger didn't turn his head, and said casually: "Why isn't it a good phenomenon?" ”

"Curiosity about the outside world will shake the minds of the younger generation, and the children of the principality will easily forget the admonitions of their ancestors when they begin to chase the wonders of the foreigners, and it is not a noble act to set out of the mountains before the long exile is over......

"The premonition of our ancestors only told us not to go north—but not to go south," said Baloger lightly, "and the reason why we were not interested in the kingdoms south in the past was simply because they were old and weak, and they were not worth seeing. ”

As he spoke, the dragon-blooded Grand Duke shook his head with a playful smile on his face: "But now...... Something fantastic is going on in the south. ”

After a moment's pause, the ruler of the Holy Dragon Principality turned his gaze to the white-haired courtier: "As for the so-called 'noble act'...... Sir Eugene, the so-called noble, is determined by men. ”

Then he looked to the other side of the throne and nodded to the courtier with his thick beard and broad forehead, "Sir Golosh, the Ice Lord in the southern mountains has recently sent us two emissaries to discuss the official opening of trade routes, and we should probably have some response. ”

……

West of Cecil Empire, Ten Grove City, Franklin Castle.

Sitting in the living room with a soft carpet and decorative shields and rune curtains hanging from the walls, the light of the magic crystal lamp shining on the smooth round table, glowing with psychedelic brilliance among the colorful glazed lattices on the tabletop, she looked at Duke Badwin Franklin in front of her, with a faint smile on her face: "Our first cooperation in the new era was very successful - the first alchemy potions and the oriental cloth as samples were very popular in the plains and hills. A gift from His Majesty Cecil to show our friendship. ”

The woman, who was as small as a human child, but who was in fact the leader of a large Grey Elf tribe, gestured to her attendant as she spoke, who stepped forward and placed a small, richly decorated box about a foot square on the table in front of him.

A faint runic glow flashed, and the magic mechanism of the small box was lifted, and when the lid was opened, a crystal ball about the size of a fist lay silently on the velvet cushion.

"This is a high-clarity crystal ball from the Ancestral Peak. As you know, the Ancestral Peak crystal is of the finest quality in the continent, and this crystal ball was hand-carved and polished by the dwarven craftsman Mackintosh Grey Mountain, and blessed by the Fairy King, may the friendship between the two kingdoms remain as pure and immaculate as this crystal. ”

"I will pass on this precious gift to our Imperial Majesty," the Duke of Franklin nodded, and ordered his attendants to put away the gift, "and when the roads are cleared in the spring of the next year, and we have established a permanent embassy for each other, and we have sent ambassadors, I will surely invite you to our imperial capital, and you will surely enjoy the prosperous business atmosphere there." ”

"I'm looking forward to it," the gray elf Wenna smiled and bowed slightly, then asked, "One more thing our king wants to be sure, when will the second batch of textiles and alchemy potions be delivered?" In the plains, there is a large shortfall for both commodities. ”

"Alchemy potions can be supplied in large quantities at any time, alchemy factories have been built in the West, and as for the textile ...... from Typhon," Bardwin Franklin pinched his chin a little embarrassed, "You also know that it will take a long transportation process, the last batch of samples was transported from the east to the west through the relay transportation of the White Water River and land convoys, but now the bulk of the White Water River has been temporarily interrupted due to seasonal changes, and the railway required for the magic train is ...... It will not be possible to complete it this year.

"Of course, even then we can supply a small amount of textiles, which will at least partially solve the shortfall."

"Half of the problem is solved if the alchemy potion is supplied in sufficient quantities," Wenna said with a smile, "as for textiles...... We understand your difficulties, and it can be extremely difficult to move large quantities of goods from the east to the west. ”

Speaking of this, the leader of the Grey Elf clan suddenly paused, and then naturally changed the subject: "Besides, since you mentioned the 'magic train' just now, I've really heard this strange term a few times recently...... Can you tell me more about it? ”

The corners of Bai Dewen's mouth curled slightly, and he leaned over his body while gently rubbing his fingers: "Oh? Are you interested in it? ”

"Being able to transport a huge amount of goods across the empire quickly and at a very low cost, I don't think any merchant in his right mind would not be interested in it," Wenna said in a soft, mature voice, "Not only I'm interested, but even our Grey Elf King, and even the other kings, are interested." ”

"Ah, then I'm going to introduce you in detail," Bai Dewen smiled and beckoned to the shelf next to him, and the delicately restored model of the magic train flew smoothly into his hand, "First of all, we have to start with the concept of 'magic power vehicle'......"

……

The foggy month is deepening, the year is coming to an end, and in this special year, this young and old country has experienced too many things and too many changes.

This year, it is destined that many people and things will be recorded in history and become a pivotal mark in the vast civilization of mankind, and this year is also destined to have many new things born in this world and change people's lives, and many old things have been quietly eliminated by the times and began to gradually disappear from their original stage.

At the end of the day's training, Kina walked slowly down the ramp at the back door of the Storm Caller camp, the wind from the mountains and forests blowing past her, not violent, but surprisingly cold.

She recalled today's special flight experience in her mind, and felt that her mood was still quite excited for a short time.

Today, she finally got out of the stage of ground simulation and familiarization with mechanical operation, and for the first time flew into the blue sky with the help of a secondary trainer, the magic machine called the "Dragoon", and even though it was only an hour of aerial training, the experience was very different from riding a griffin.

Smoother, faster, more agile, lifeless steel and crystals were made into bird-like flying machines, and she and another trainee sat in the cockpit of a three-person dragoon, led by the trainer across the skies of the northern foothills of the Dark Mountains, the tremor of the air currents transmitted to her hands through the joystick, reminiscent of the griffon's reins, but felt completely different.

Two loud chirps came from nearby, interrupting the new dragoon commander's thoughts, and she looked up to find that she had unknowingly reached the southern end of the Stormcaller's camp, to a special place.

Several large wooden nests were set up under a row of plank sheds, and around the nests there were railings thicker than an adult's thigh, and the smell of large birds wafted into her nostrils in the wind, and she saw the huge wings and sharp beaks flashing through the balustrades.

Unknowingly, she walked near the griffon's nest.

The Wind Caller Camp is a facility for training dragoon pilots, which is somewhat one of the most cutting-edge facilities of the Empire, and the old-style griffon's nest seems a bit nondescript here, but from a practical point of view, this is actually normal - the new magic guided aircraft has just come out after all, except for a few trainers sent from the research and development unit, even the training of the first pilots has just begun, especially before this, there is not even a single training aircraft that can fly in this training facility, in this case, The task of transporting the camp to and from the Imperial Capital was of course carried out by the old flying units.

As a result, Camp Stormcaller, a cutting-edge aircraft training facility, has always maintained an old-fashioned team of griffons.

But I'm afraid it won't be long before these griffons are dismissed......

A sudden hint of emotion flashed in Jinna's heart, and she couldn't help but come to a lair she was familiar with.

Almost instantly, a behemoth figure rose to her feet in the lair, and the head with its sharp beak and white feathers appeared in front of her.

"Hey, old man."

The female knight reached out and gently brushed the feather around the neck of her old friend.

The griffon let out a loud cry.

Jinna couldn't help but laugh: "You're still so spirited. ”

"Actually, it's cursing the street," a voice suddenly came from the side, "and it's weird and ugly." ”

Kina turned her head in some surprise, only to see the blonde-haired elven instructor approaching from not far away.

The elven instructor was followed by a silent and quiet lady with long black hair.

The black-haired lady was the assistant trainer who led Jinna through her training today, one of the technical experts sent from the Magic Technique Research Institute.

Jinna immediately stood up straight and gave a standard and neat military salute: "Instructor Sonia, Lady Maggie." ”

Sonia first responded to Jinna's military salute, and then waved her hand: "You can relax, today's training is over." ”

Gina exhaled, and the griffon next to her screamed loudly again.

Sonia suddenly glared at the loud fowl that was making noise: "Rude words! ”

The griffon raised its head, and there was a hint of pride on the feathered face.

Jinna: "......"

(Mom!!!!

Anyway, the manuscripts are about to run out...... But tomorrow I should be able to try a little harder...... ）