Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 519 The Deeper Reasons for the Exorbitant Price of Materials and Divine Power
HanHai's meaning is very clear: they only want data and information, not physical assets.

This is like a man saying to a girl, "I came all this way to see you, but I only wanted to see your homework. I didn't want you."

Let's see if she believes it or not.

To be honest, if any other human said this, the dragons definitely wouldn't believe it.

But Han Hai is different; the other party has just sent a super gift package!

This is equivalent to a boy giving you a luxury house in a prime location in a first-tier city before he even says those words, and putting it in your name.

At this point, the girl's reaction is no longer a matter of belief or disbelief. Even if she doesn't like the other person at the moment, she will have to think about it: Why doesn't he want me?
The dragons were equally puzzled.

But having just accepted seven portions of complete dragon refining materials, it's hard to believe that the other party had ulterior motives or was plotting something.

What is the picture?
The courtroom fell into a long silence.

Although the hall of judgment was very spacious, it was dark because of the polar night overhead and the fact that it was inside a cave, with almost no outside light shining in.

Dragons have excellent eyesight and don't usually need lighting, but to welcome the humans, they made an unprecedented move by lighting a few magical lamps. The light projected the massive figures of the dragon leaders, their sharp horns and spines, onto the rough stone wall, distorting them into all sorts of bizarre shapes.

The dragon leaders exchanged glances in this chaotic atmosphere, their enormous vertical pupils glowing eerily in the dim cave.

Unbeknownst to them, several leaders turned their gaze toward the Crimson Dragon leader.

Sure enough, the first to speak was this impulsive, hot-tempered guy who also harbored resentment.

"That's it?"

The Red Dragon Clan Chief's voice was filled with suppressed resentment and unvented anger.

"You gave away such precious refining materials just to hear a few stories?"

"Speak, you lowly... insignificant humans, what evil intentions do you harbor towards the great dragon race?"

His tail thrashed restlessly behind him, each lash leaving a shallow groove in the rocks on the ground.

Chilong's choice of words was very impolite, and the translator hesitated for a moment. However, considering the delegation's repeated instructions, he still translated it without any compromise.

Xia Chenghui straightened up, adjusted his collar, and replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "In our Han Hai, knowledge itself is the most precious wealth. My lord often says that only by understanding the past can we see the future clearly."

"Furthermore, our lord's reputation for benevolence and charity is known throughout the entire Starry Continent. During this engagement ceremony, a trade fair was also held, and the Han Hai Territory was packed with guests, all of whom left with their bags full."

"As for why the 'great' dragons dare not go to the 'tiny' Vast Ocean, we don't really understand it either, which is why our lord sent us to pay them a special visit."

These words had a bit of a direct slap in the face, and the Crimson Dragon Leader's bone armor stood up even higher, making him look exactly like a porcupine with its fur standing on end.

In his desperation, the most stubborn of the Crimson Dragon Clan chiefs, in a panic, offered this stammering guess: "Perhaps... perhaps, these despicable humans want the dragons to reproduce more offspring, and then... then wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

As he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible.

It was obvious that even the Crimson Dragon Clan Chief himself was having trouble making up the story.

Xia Chenghui laughed heartily: "If you're afraid that Han Hai has some kind of conspiracy, just don't accept the gift. Can the 'insignificant' human race force the 'great' dragon race?"

That's true, but the truth is always the most hurtful and embarrassing.

At this point, could the dragons return the gift? Or rather, even if it was the red dragon, who disliked humans the most, could it return its gift separately?

impossible.

A single piece of refining material is roughly equivalent to a child surviving infancy, becoming a pillar of the tribe, and leaving more possibilities for the tribe's reproduction.

For a long time, the dragon race forcibly used incomplete or low-quality tempering materials, which is the main reason why the race has always been half-dead and listless.

In this situation, no matter how tough the Red Dragon Chieftain is, he cannot ignore the feelings of the other Red Dragons in the clan.

However, the shameful blade is hard to sheath.

The fact that a mere insignificant brat from the human race, whom they considered their sworn enemy, had so openly "humiliated" them to their face drove the Crimson Dragon Clan Chief to the brink of madness with shame and indignation.

With its back arched high, the scales on the Crimson Dragon Chieftain's body seemed to ripple, spreading out at an angle of twenty-five to thirty degrees; its huge claws visibly began to tremble, its long nails digging deep into the stone slabs of the ground; a low, violent roar came from its throat, as if brewing a thunderstorm.

Then, the giant dragon next to it pressed its back down with a claw, letting out a muffled groan.

Having received the gifts and conducted the tests, the Blue Dragon leader, the oldest and most prestigious among the Dragon Judges, who also considered himself to have the most beautiful voice, stepped forward.

"Please allow me to explain to our guests from the Vast Ocean that Chief Linus of the Crimson Dragon Clan lost all his mates and children in the war years ago... during the siege of the human race."

This is really bad.

Before coming, Han Hai had gathered information from various sources and done his homework.

Dragons, a race that sows seeds everywhere, are naturally not known for their unwavering loyalty in love. However, as their numbers dwindle, their actual pool of potential mates shrinks.

From the perspective of the continuation of the race, it is neither appropriate nor appropriate for this old man in the dragon race to compete with the young red dragons for growing female mates.

Therefore, once they lose their partner, it's almost like being a bachelor for life. Dragons are not celibate, so they must be burning with inner turmoil for quite some time.

Moreover, having lost all her children, her hopes for the future have been almost completely extinguished.

This was indeed something that could drive the dragons mad.

After saying this, the Blue Dragon leader paused deliberately to observe the delegation's reaction before continuing.

"Please don't take Linus's offense too seriously, esteemed guest."

"We dragons have felt the goodwill from the Vast Ocean. What kind of knowledge and information do you need? The dragons will certainly provide the answers within the limits of our capabilities!"

That old fox!
Xia Chenghui looked up at the old man with blue tiles and answered very decisively.

"everything!"

"We are very interested in all the information that the dragons know but we don't!"

"For example, what was this continent, where the dragons once roamed freely, like?"

What are the true stories behind those folk songs that circulate on the mainland?

"What ethnic groups have been wiped out by history? What did they look like? Do they still leave any trace in this world?"

"What about the Frost Giants and Snow Elves? Could you introduce them to us?"

"Are there any other landmasses or islands in the Endless Sea? Are there any races on them that we have never seen before?"

"..."

Xia Chenghui spoke slowly, earnestly, and with a sincere expression, his words revealing his curiosity and longing for the unknown world.

From his words, the dragons quickly understood that what Han Hai was interested in was objective information, not subjective technology.

In other words, many of the secret codes and magical techniques that the dragons treasured were completely ignored by the other party.

In that case, whether or not you understand the other party's motives, or whether the other party has any ulterior motives, doesn't really matter.

Some races treat dragons as mobile resource boxes, which is intolerable; some races treat dragons as ready-made spellbooks, which is also intolerable; and some guys use dragons as tools to show off their war achievements and demonstrate their strength, which is even more intolerable.

However, if I just want to hear bedtime stories about dragons, that's really fine.

It's like paying an exorbitant price for junk.

To put it simply, Han Hai's diplomatic strategy was perfectly aligned with the other party's outline, and it was just right.

The blue dragon leader nodded his enormous head and turned his gaze to the golden dragon beside him.

Because of their small numbers, although the dragons still maintain their own large structures, they have essentially achieved social cohesion. Currently, the management of warehouses and archives is handled by the Golden Dragons.

The golden dragon leader slowly stood up, shook the dense dark golden scales on its body, and unleashed a gust of ice wind. "Little fellow, some of the questions you asked, we know the answers to; some, even we ourselves don't know. And some—" it paused, its pupils slightly contracting, "...the answers to some questions may not be suitable for you to know."

Xia Chenghui seemed completely oblivious to the implied meaning, saying nonchalantly, "Han Hai never forces anything. We learn whatever the Dragon Clan is willing to share. Even a few words are a gain for us."

"Very well, I will arrange for members of the tribe to answer your questions..."

Before the words were finished, a strong storm swept in from outside the hall.

The wind came without warning, carrying the biting cold air from high above, mixed with fine ice shards and snowflakes, howling into the Judgment Hall. Several low-ranking communications soldiers responsible for recording were nearly blown away, but were quickly caught by the knight commander and the elf captain and pressed to the spot.

A huge white figure descended from the sky; the Silver Dragon Clan Chief, Sig Silverlight, had returned.

For the first time ever, the silver dragon leader used his precious energy to fly over. Overwhelmed with excitement, the old man was covered in a thin layer of frost, and his body trembled slightly from head to tail.

His eyes shone brightly; his originally dark gray vertical pupils now gleamed with a fiery light, like two small, burning suns.

He didn't even have time to restrain his dragon might. The overwhelming pressure belonging to a high-ranking dragon was released without reservation, making it almost impossible for the humans present to breathe.

"Success!"

"Success on the first try!"

"All the refining materials are top-notch, of excellent quality, and extremely active, especially the Thousand Machine Strips. I have never seen such a good variety on the mainland!"

How did you get it?

These words swept through the Hall of Judgment like a hurricane, invigorating the spirits of the dragons.

Shock, curiosity, greed, awe, and perhaps, a touch of fear...

After listening to the translation, Xia Chenghui didn't mince words and solemnly met the other party's curious gaze, giving his answer.

"Because the Thousand Machines Alchemy Plant was already close to death, we had no idea what its normal state was like. So we had to put in extra effort during its cultivation, which may have made it more vigorous?"

The last few old dragons, who were still lying down and dozing, suddenly raised their heads.

"Cultivated? You grew them yourselves?"

Xia Chenghui nodded: "We really can't find any. There's no other way, so the lord has to try planting one himself."

These words were spoken casually, but to the dragons present, they were so compelling that they felt an urge to grab the guy and give him a good beating.

The silver dragon leader, Sig, was in a very good mood and didn't hold the little guy's Versailles act against him. Instead, he immediately followed up with a series of questions that concerned him most: "How did you grow these? How many were planted in total? Can the rest be replaced?"

Xia Chenghui listened intently to the translation, and the sounds of dragon breaths at the scene unconsciously became more cautious.

Under the direct gaze of numerous enormous eyes, Xia Chenghui provided the answer.

"The cultivation process was indeed very difficult. Our Lord Chen Mo had no choice but to ask for divine grace and use some divine magic. He also summoned several archdruids from the elves to nourish it with the Fountain of Life around the clock. It can be considered a lucky success."

"By the way, the one in the lead is called Videlran. You dragons might have heard of him."

"There are still some in the plantation, but it's uncertain whether they will all bear fruit successfully. As for exchanging them, of course, it's possible if the conditions are right."

"Our human children don't have a hobby of gnawing on Thousand Machine Dish."

There was a lot of information, but the dragons had even more questions.

Despite the lavish praise given to deities in the mortal world, the dragon race, as one of the oldest races on the continent, possesses a deeper understanding of gods than other races.

Having seen so much, one naturally comes to discover the patterns.

The dragon race also has its own gods; for example, the blue dragons worship the elemental gods, and the silver dragons worship the guardian stars. However, no matter how devout their faith, they cannot change the fate of the dragon race's gradual decline.

This aligns with the old saying on Earth—there has never been a savior, nor do we rely on gods or emperors. To create happiness for our race, we must rely entirely on ourselves.

why?

According to the experience of the dragon race, this means: Gods are omnipotent, but first of all, they must be able to do this thing!
In other words, the gods can only help you accomplish something if you yourself have the ability to do it. If you can't do it yourself, then sorry, you can't afford the price of asking the gods for help.

To give a simple example, when Farrell invoked the divine grace of the Seven-Eyed God, a wide aqueduct was instantly built for the Vast Ocean Territory, which could indeed be described as a divine miracle. However, the essence of this was because building an aqueduct was inherently feasible and existed.

Even without divine favor, Han Hai could complete it in six months to a year by spending a few hundred gold coins and a thousand workers.

Extrapolating further, even for super-events like moving mountains and filling seas, a group could still accomplish them over a hundred or a thousand years; it would still fall within the realm of "capability."

Divine intervention is simply a different form of offering time that would normally be used for work to the gods, and then using these reserved divine blessings to super-accelerate the process itself.

In short, it is because this thing itself "can" that the "great power" of the gods is revealed!
Seeing through the essence, doesn't it seem absurd? Actually, it's just the most basic principle of energy conservation and equivalent exchange.

Gods aren't your parents, why should they take care of you?

So, if it's something that was originally "impossible," something that the people of the Starry World could never do, could the gods do it?

Unfortunately, I don't know if it's truly impossible, or if the cost is too high and they're deliberately making things difficult, but the amount of divine grace that the gods demand in this matter is simply beyond what anyone can afford.

The most famous example is the time when the Sky Empire was at its peak, when a deeply devoted monarch begged the gods to bring his unexpectedly deceased lover back to life.

He gathered the power of faith from the vast empire, yet he still could not fulfill his wish.

Because the possibility of being resurrected after complete death is essentially "impossible"!
If all of this were possible, then even now, the one sitting on the throne in the heavens would still be that founding emperor.

According to the Dragon Clan, this event dealt a heavy blow to the Celestial Royal Family's faith in the gods. This is also the main reason why, although the Celestial Royal Family, and even the Qiyue Dynasty and the Central Kingdoms that separated from it, also believed in gods, their faith was not as fanatical.

Returning to the dragon race, they too had prayed to their revered gods for the continuation of their race and for successful reproduction.

Even among those dragon races with severe gender imbalance, the male dragons pray every day that the gods will "smack" and smash a beautiful woman with a perfect figure and smooth scales for them.

Of course, it was all for naught, otherwise the dragon race wouldn't be in this terrible state.

The Silver Dragon Clan is well aware of the magnitude of divine grace required to obtain a full, vibrant Thousand Machine Seed.

Let alone Sig Silvershine, even the remaining few members of the Silver Dragon Clan combined wouldn't be enough to form a complete cohort.

Now, the Lord of the Vast Ocean did not find a usable seed by accident somewhere, but rather sought divine favor and summoned the High Druid of the Elves for assistance.

It's about skill, not luck!
This was enough to send shivers down the spines of the dragons present who understood the implications.

How did you do it?
Why do you want to do this?
Could it be... just as the Crimson Dragon Clan Chief said, that this is to raise dragons for later slaughter?

The air in the hall seemed to freeze. After a while, the blue dragon leader, who was the first to recover, bypassed the gold dragon patriarch and made a decision that went against the ancestors.

"Thank you for your care, Lord of the Vast Ocean. Our Dragon Clan's [Old Treasury] will now be open to you all."

"However, I still have some doubts."

"My dragon clan has never met that lord before, nor have we ever had any dealings with him. Why is the lord so concerned about the affairs of my dragon clan?"

Xia Chenghui hesitated for a moment, then raised his head.

"The lord originally instructed me not to mention this matter, otherwise, I fear you might think I was trying to force a connection."

"However, since all the leaders are so sincere, I think there is no need to deliberately avoid it."

"My Lord Chen Mo said so."

"Although he had never seen a dragon in person, a voice within his bloodline told him that he was—"

Xia Chenghui took a deep breath and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Descendants of the Dragon!"

(End of this chapter)