In the early morning, Gwen received an urgent message from the Winter. Half an hour later, a second, more detailed report was delivered to him.
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation The rising sun shone on Elven Stronghold No. 112. The town in the valley slowly woke up in the warm spring breeze. Sunlight shone through the crystal window on one side of the room and cast a bright light on the exquisite elven tapestry. Gawain sat at his desk, the information copied from Amber beside his hand. The letters looked particularly sharp and clear under the sunlight.
Amber stood beside him. The half-elf had a rare serious expression on his face. "... Further investigation revealed that the Tiphons had built outposts on at least fourteen islands or large reefs. Basically, as long as it was a place where the wind and waves were still bearable, you could see the fluttering black flag. The furthest outpost from the land was even at the edge of the chaotic turbulence danger zone. All the outposts are very small. The big ones are just wooden houses, and the small ones are just tents. It can be seen that they were all repaired in a short period of time. Considering the existence of the engineering mages, those things may have even emerged in a day or two. After all, the Winter has investigated the situation of those islands. "
Gwen's fingers unconsciously tapped on the table beside him. His voice was very calm and natural. "No matter how small the scale is, it is proof of 'actual control'. There are people on it, there are flags, and more importantly, those islands are indeed in Typhon's waters. We can't say that those islands are ownerless. After all, there is currently no international certification standard to determine the ownership of those islands far away from the land. After all, humans have left the sea for too long."
"Maybe we can try to put those outposts …"
Gwen shook his head. "Any action we take now is to lay the foundation for our own international order. Thinking deeper, some of the Typhon people are probably waiting for us to do something that crosses the line. After all, not all of the Typhon people are happy to see the formation of an alliance, and not all of the Typhon people want to see Cecil continue to gain more and more prestige. Now that they have the ability to face us head-on, waiting for us to make mistakes is their last hope."
Amber could not help but mutter. "How did the Typhon people do these things under the nose of the Winter … and on such a large scale …"
"The Winter is just a ship, and an experimental ocean-going warship. From the ship to the crew to the supporting training, they are still in the verification stage. And they have to face an extremely vast sea. The vastness of the sea is beyond your imagination." Gwen shook his head. "Byron can't block the Typhon's territorial waters with just a ship. He's just a symbol there. But the Typhon people's reaction … is really not slow."
In the end, Gwen even showed a smile on his face, and this reaction naturally fell into Amber's eyes. The half-elf lady looked at Gwen's expression with some surprise and could not help but ask, "It looks like … you've already expected this situation?"
"I did expect that they would not budge on the issue of those islands, but I did not expect them to build those outposts … Their response was a little unexpected, but the whole thing is going well," Gwen said slowly, his finger pointing at the copy of the information as the latter turned into a puff of smoke in the sun. "It's almost time. Let's go. We'll talk to Rosetta again."
Amber blinked. She could finally confirm that all of this was indeed the situation that Gwen had expected. But she still could not understand why Gwen did not care so much about Winterwolf Fort and the coastline. She did not understand why Gwen's mood at the moment was so … happy. She even had an illusion that there was a smile in Gwen's eyes, and that smile was almost some kind of … relief.
But before she had the chance to ask, Gwen had already strode out of the room. His voice came from the direction of the door. "Why aren't you following me? Being late is not a good habit. "
…
In the reception room on the second floor of the Emerald Hall, Gawain and Amber once again arrived in front of Rosetta Augustus. When they entered the room, Mathilda was standing beside the floor-to-ceiling window not far away. She seemed to be lost in thought as she looked out of the window.
Looking out of the window, Hao Ren could see the barren valley outside the town and the vast wilderness at the end of the valley. The land above the wastelands of Gondor was uninhabited. Only wild and slightly polluted vegetation covered the dark brown ground. At this moment, the sun was rising from the east. The slanting light swept across the valley, spilled into the town, and finally shone on the wilderness outside the window. In the light, the lush vegetation, which was supposed to be a symbol of magical pollution, seemed to be thriving with vitality.
"The sun is very good today. The elven astrologer said that this sunny weather would last for at least a week. This seems to be a good sign." Rosetta got up to greet them. "When I came here yesterday, it was already dusk, so I couldn't see the scenery clearly. The wasteland surveillance point looks too gloomy at night. I didn't expect it to look so different in the morning."
Gwen smiled slightly and sat down casually. "When we met yesterday, the night was still shrouded in the town. But today, the sun is shining in the room. Comparatively, I prefer the day. It makes me feel good."
Mathilda turned around and walked over from the window. After hearing Gwen's words, she seemed to be stunned for a moment. But soon she returned to normal. She came to Rosetta Augustus' side. As she sat down, she pointed to a plate of red fruits on the coffee table. "This was sent by the elves this morning. They said that this is a gift you specially brought from Cecil for this meeting?"
Gwen glanced at the red fruits on the plate and nodded with a smile. "Yes, I brought this. During the meeting, it will be provided to all the representatives. Considering that the people of Typhon have a habit of eating fruits in the morning, I asked them to send some here this morning. How is it? Do you like it?"
"It's very good. I have never seen this kind of thing anywhere else," Mathilda said. "What's its name?"
"The fruit of the Solin tree, the fruit of the giant Solin tree. You should have heard about this giant tree."
Mathilda did not seem to react for a moment. Rosetta Augustus, who was next to her, could not help but show a somewhat strange expression on her face. She then coughed twice, seemingly deliberately interrupting the current greeting and took the initiative to change the topic. "Did you have a good rest last night?"
"Very good," Gwen nodded and said very casually. "And we received information from the Winter early in the morning."
The room was quiet for a moment. Rosetta seemed to be surprised that Gwen's attitude was so calm. He could not help but look at Gwen for a few seconds. After that, he said in a deep voice, "The Winter is indeed a very advanced ship."
"I'm a little curious," Gwen's body leaned forward slightly with a serious expression. "How long did it take you to build those outposts? When did you start to build them? "
Rosetta was silent for a moment and said calmly, "After noticing the patrol route of the Winter, we realized its role. Then we spent more than half a month to observe its patrol pattern and detection distance, determine its approximate crew size, and finally completed the construction of all the outposts in a 12-hour gap."
"Twelve hours?" Amber could not hide her surprise. "How did you do it?"
"Twenty-six thousand engineering mages, saturation construction," Rosetta said slowly. "Most of them were responsible for using human relays to freeze the ice passage on the sea or the bottom of the sea. The rest were responsible for delivering the materials to the island and completing the construction. They were also in position before the Winter's blind spot disappeared. Maybe we don't have as advanced a warship and construction machinery as you do, but the sea conditions near those islands … we have studied it for a long time."
Gwen stared at Rosetta for more than ten seconds before he retracted his gaze. He leaned back and said softly, "Admirable."
"I think this can explain our attitude, and also prove the problem of 'substantial control,'" Rosetta said. He calmly met Gwen's gaze. The gloominess on his face had completely disappeared, and there was only sincerity in his deep-set eyes. "I have no intention of provoking confrontation and disputes between Typhon and Cecil. Just like the message you wrote to me in that book — we must enter a new era. Whether it is for the peace of the present or for the future of future generations, this world needs prosperity and development. In the past, there have been some misunderstandings and frictions between the two countries, but we have come this far, haven't we? "
"Yes, we should look forward," Gwen said solemnly. "But I also need to give an explanation to the people and the soldiers on the front line. I can withdraw from Winterwolf Fort, I can bring the Winter back, and I can work with you for the peace between the two countries and the restoration of diplomatic normalcy. But this doesn't mean that everything is written off. "
"… Except for Typhon's land and those islands, everything else is negotiable," Rosetta said solemnly after a moment of silence.
Gwen pondered, his fingers gently tapping on the armrest of the sofa. After a long time, he slowly said, "Well, I can take a step back. I can no longer pay attention to those islands, but I must keep the port of Dragoncalling Fjord. Also … you should know that I have been working to restart the former route around the continent."
"… Yes, and Typhon is also working on this." Rosetta nodded. "We are trying to restore the connection with the southern part of the continent through the sea, just like you did in the north."
"Yes, the northern route around the continent and the southern route around the continent will, to a certain extent, bring economic development to all the countries along the route, and also promote the exchange process of the entire continent. But this is far from enough," Gwen said, shaking his head. "The route is divided into north and south, so it is far from being called a 'continental route'. With the consolidation of economic separation, this will only gradually lead to the entire continent becoming a distinct northern and southern exchange circle. Considering the 'alliance' we are about to establish, can you imagine that in an alliance with the goal of unity and common development, there will be a 'southern alliance' and a 'northern alliance'?"
"You want to open up the northern and southern route around the continent?" Rosetta looked into Gwen's eyes, and then he showed a thoughtful look. After a moment of consideration, he nodded gently. "Actually, I also expected this … You will definitely do this. You are committed to changing the development of the entire world, and you will certainly not tolerate the situation of the continent continuing to be separated from each other. Any plan that can promote the union of the mortal countries must be in your plan. "
He paused, and then said, "This matter … I agree in principle, but we have to slowly discuss the specific details, just like you have to give your people an explanation — I also have to consider the interests of Typhon."
Rosetta was very careful with his words, and it was obvious that his decision was not easy. Frankly speaking, if it was not long ago, he would have rejected Gwen, and the reason was obvious: Typhon was not ready to connect with the northern route around the continent.
Typhon's oceanic warships may have started early, but the development was slow, and because the initial development direction was too focused on rebuilding the colonies, it led to the sea trade route plan being put on hold for a long time. In this regard, Cecil's people were clearly ahead. On the other hand, Typhon was the main battlefield in the war against the gods, and its national strength was obviously more damaged. Under the premise of the restoration of order and the restoration of production, the Royal Family of Typhon did not have the spare energy to build a usable ocean-going merchant ship in a short time. However, Cecil's national strength was limited, and now they could bring out the powerful Winter, which meant that they could soon pull out more warships and an entire trading fleet.
Perhaps they had already prepared the trading fleet.
On this basis, once the sea route with the northern route around the continent was opened, it would allow Cecil's maritime trade force to directly participate in the commercial activities in the southern part of the continent.
For Typhon's maritime trade that had not yet started, it was a disaster even if it was not a disaster.
Rosetta was not afraid of strong opponents, and he believed that Typhon under his leadership had the kind of tenacity and spirit to forge ahead. Even in the worst situation, Typhon's people could still find a way out, but in the future, he had to carefully consider the price to pay for this way of survival.
Once the blockade was formed, it was not so easy to break free.
But Rosetta was also very clear that he did not have much choice. He could keep the land on the land and the islands in the sea, but as long as a warship like the Winter still had overwhelming power in front of Typhon's own ships, he could not stop Cecil's fleet from going to the southern sea. In fact, they could even directly go around the western part of the continent, but it was more expensive.
Gwen chose to talk to him about this matter here, which was already out of morality and dignity.
"I know what you're thinking," Gwen looked at Rosetta's face and said with a very sincere and serious attitude, "You may think that this will become a one-sided monopoly and blockade. You think that in name, the route around the continent is jointly maintained by Typhon and Cecil, but in reality, the entire sea port of the continent will be controlled by Cecil's fleet. The entire route around the continent will be controlled by me, and I will not give anyone a chance to survive. If you think so, then you've misunderstood me.
"From the start to the end, I've never thought of ruling this world, nor have I ever thought of swallowing the benefits of any country. In fact, other than those who openly oppose me, every single one of Cecil's business partners have reaped enormous benefits and long-term development. My goal is to strengthen all of my allies, and not to oppress them to maintain my so-called ruling position.
"So back to the topic of the route around the continent. I will not sacrifice Typhon's interests to ensure Cecil's dominance on this route, whether the interests are current or future. All trade activities will be conducted under the premise of fairness. There will not be any unilateral blockade, oppression, or even suppression. This can even be written in the memorandum of our covenant."
Rosetta carefully considered every word that Gwen said, his eyes almost never moving.
Covenant … A covenant written in front of the gods could be tampered with and betrayed, let alone a verbal promise. In the end, everything still depended on strength. A country that weakened would inevitably lose its status, and a strong country would always have more say. He knew this very well in his heart.
"I believe in your promise, and I also believe that both of us will faithfully fulfill the covenant," Rosetta sighed softly and said solemnly, "Together, we will restore the glory of the route around the continent, and let it further promote the entire world."
Gwen smiled, "Of course."
Typhon's last line of defense was finally opened to him.
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