Chapter 86: Founding the City
Dragon scales are, in fact, extremely important and precious to dragons. If given the choice, the black dragon would much rather donate two or three liters of dragon blood than give up a single scale. After all, nothing compares to the black dragon’s scales when it comes to defense—their resistance to both physical and magical attacks is unparalleled, and their durability is extraordinary. Just a few centimeters of those scales rival several meters of alloyed steel in strength.
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. To grow something as robust and resilient as a dragon scale requires an enormous expenditure of energy and nutrients. The black dragon had once done a rough calculation: the energy and resources required to produce two liters of dragon blood might not even match what it takes to grow a single scale. While it wasn’t certain if other dragons experienced the same, intuition suggested the situation was much the same for them—dragon scales were likely prized possessions among all dragons.
So, when Dr. Ding mentioned they had obtained scales not from the black dragon, but from another dragon, the black dragon was naturally surprised, even suspicious—could it be that there were other dragons out there they weren’t telling him about?
...
“It’s like this, Mr. Huang. Do you remember the red dragon who once tried to sell its blood?” Dr. Ding quickly explained. “Most of those scales were traded from that dragon.”
Red dragon...
Of course, the black dragon remembered. So much preparation had been made to deal with that very creature, hoping to obtain from it the means of returning to human form.
Return to human form...
A jolt ran through Huang Ze’s mind. It seemed that over the past month, his desire to become human again had grown weaker and weaker, as if, deep down, he was starting to feel that simply being a black dragon... wasn’t so bad after all.
That simply wouldn’t do. How could he have lost sight of his original intent so quickly? He had been so determined to return to human form!
No, he had to master the way to revert as soon as possible. If he kept putting it off, he feared he’d eventually forget about it entirely. And when that day came, what meaning would his life—no, his dragon life—have left?
The black dragon reflected deeply.
“...At the time, the red dragon was close to striking a deal with a buyer, but then news arrived that you, Mr. Huang, had been ‘captured’ by our nation. The price of dragon blood immediately collapsed, and the trade fell through,” Dr. Ding recounted with a smile. “Naturally, the red dragon was furious, quarreled with the buyers on the spot, abducted several people by force, and even threatened that if it ever encountered our citizens abroad again, it would beat or capture every one it saw.”
“Just beat and capture? That’s what passes for a threat?” the black dragon couldn’t help but remark. “This red dragon’s more restrained and rational than I expected.”
Red dragons were notorious for their arrogance and brutality, blatantly disregarding morals and laws, treating human lives as worthless, and historically committing acts of slaughter and genocide. Why, then, was it suddenly showing restraint when dealing with people from his homeland?
“Yes, Mr. Huang. We later learned that this red dragon seems to greatly admire and respect our civilization, and is consciously embracing ‘Sinicization,’ which is why it’s holding back and being careful not to antagonize us too much.”
...
Sinicization?
The black dragon paused, then felt oddly relieved. At least it was only adopting cultural traits, not turning completely red—otherwise, even his own livelihood might be threatened.
“...The buyers suffered a huge loss at the red dragon’s hands and couldn’t swallow their anger. When prayers and rituals proved useless, they began petitioning our authorities, hoping the nation would step in and right the wrongs.”
Dr. Ding sighed. “Although many of these people had illegally left the country and been stripped of their citizenship, and thus were no longer under our legal protection, there is still a bond, a lingering connection. From certain perspectives, their existence can be beneficial to the nation as well.”
“So, after careful consideration, the authorities planned to take action. Once you returned, Mr. Huang, we intended to conduct a joint operation to crack down on the red dragon’s criminal activities.”
“But before our plan could be carried out, the red dragon sent envoys to us, sincerely apologizing for its earlier words and insisting it meant no offense, hoping we wouldn’t take it to heart…”
Seriously? That quick to capitulate? Or perhaps… it suddenly sensed an imminent nuclear strike?
The black dragon’s eyes widened. This red dragon seemed to have a flair all its own.
“The red dragon also claimed to be a follower of Waukeen, the goddess of commerce, and had thoroughly studied our nation’s policies of equality, mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. It admired our great power’s demeanor and sincerely hoped to establish diplomatic relations and conduct trade with us.”
“Well now, that’s something!” the black dragon exclaimed, then scoffed. “But it’s just a red dragon—does it really think it can establish equal diplomatic ties with our nation? Isn’t that a little too presumptuous?”
...
“It’s not just that one dragon,” Dr. Ding said, shaking his head helplessly. “Mr. Huang, this red dragon is quite shrewd. It has already, through persuasion or coercion, gathered several hundred of our countrymen who ventured abroad. They’re planning to establish a polity—a city-state—near the barrier.”
“When its envoys came to us, their main goal was to seek our policy support. After all, if we didn’t permit it, their city could never officially come to be.”
“And how did we respond? Did we actually agree?”
“Of course not!” Dr. Ding shook his head. “Such a major matter can’t be decided lightly.”
“Besides, the red dragon’s background is highly suspect. Even if it sincerely wishes to befriend us, it must first pass our political vetting.”
“But after several meetings, we realized there’s likely a think tank of our own people advising the red dragon. They have an impressively thorough understanding of our strategies and policies.”
“The red dragon says its city-state will be an equal, free, secure, and just hub for trade and tourism, drawing on our advanced systems and experiences to draft laws, crack down on crime, and strongly support free trade.”
“I have to admit, the proposal is attractive. It would give us a stable window to the outside world, and provide a haven for our people struggling abroad.”
“But we still refused. Our trust in that red dragon is simply too limited.”
At this point, Dr. Ding couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s funny, really. When we wouldn’t budge, their envoy even played the discrimination card!”
“He asked why minotaurs, half-elves, and gray dwarves could build settlements and live freely within safe zones, but red dragons could not. Wasn’t this discrimination against dragons?”
“We could only smile wryly and say we’d have to discuss it further, and asked them to await our response.”
...
For a moment, the black dragon was at a loss for words. All he could do was marvel: as expected of ancient, extraordinary beings—there are clever dragons among them!
Judging by its actions, there was clearly human influence behind the red dragon, but for a dragon—a race so often blind, arrogant, and unyielding—to be willing to learn and listen was already an enormous leap forward.