Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 310 Under the water
It was still dark, the light on the sea was dim, the huge ships were bathed in the damp and cold sea fog, and the sound of sailors' clappers could be heard in the distance.

In the captain's cabin of the "Dragon's Roar", Nidru quietly smoked tobacco sold by the Golden Empire, with thick white cigarette smoke surrounding him.

On the bulkhead behind it hangs a painting of a giant dragon roaring in the clouds at sea. The painting is vivid and colorful, and is an art collection carefully created by a master painter.

Industries related to the Golden Empire or civilized countries with which it has relations are all more or less influenced by the culture of the Golden Empire. The worship of and cultural research on dragons has begun to prevail among pirates on the sea.

However, Nidru was not a blind worshipper of the dragons. He only bought this work of art from a great painter to express his desire to make friends with the Golden Empire due to his long-term dealings with the Empire.

The actions of some superiors are all purposeful and it is rare to see them act out of simple preference.

Although Nidru was not considered a superior being, he was the undisputed ruler in his fleet.

The former great pirate puffed on his tobacco and began to think excitedly about how large the size of his fleet should be in the next year.

Should he hire those 'Mentat' apprentices in the Golden Empire to help him plan the future of managing the fleet?

Although he did have this intention, the emerging 'Mentat' butler in the Golden Empire was an extremely noble profession.

Even a wealthy ship owner like Nidru had to be determined to spend a lot of money to hire a 'Mentat' apprentice from the relevant institutions of the empire.

The amount of money that the Dragon's Roar paid to the mercenaries of the Golden Empire every year, as well as the interest paid to the Empire's shipyards, was a heavy burden on this former great pirate.

This flagship was originally a third-generation product of the Golden Empire Shipyard. It was an expensive but very powerful ship.

Although it has a mast, it is only a backup facility to prevent some unexpected events. What really drives this giant ship is the steam-magic hybrid engine developed by the Magic Research Institute.

Only this powerful dual engine can provide enough power to allow this 80-meter-long and 18-meter-wide ship to sail across the raging sea in the west.

Such huge ships are much larger than the flagships of the merchant caravans of the northern and southern countries. They travel back and forth between the Western Continent and the Golden Empire, relying on the newly opened sea routes of the Golden Empire.

Each time, they sent fur products, tea, salt, food, and various weapons and ironware to the western continent, and brought back slaves, gold, magical specialties, magical gem concentrates, etc., as well as specialties from the Kingdom of Vampires, the Kingdom of Darknest, the Kingdom of Elf, and the Kingdom of Dwarf. This cycle has been going on for several years.

Whether for the merchant groups of the Golden Empire or for trade caravans like Nidru, this new sea route is a road to wealth comparable to the Golden Road.

As the Golden Empire abandons old colonialism and adopts new colonialism in economy and capital, the economic forces within the empire are extending their shadowy tentacles toward its friendly neighbors.

However, the sea route also contains huge risks. Unlike the mature Golden Sea Route, the sea route between the Western Continent and the Golden Empire is more dangerous.

Not only because the Golden Empire's rule has not yet expanded to the coast of the West Sea, but also because of the storm whirlpools, sea monsters, pirates, etc. on the sea.

However, some small pirates did not dare to block the road and cause trouble in front of Nidru's merchant group, not only because of Nidru's former identity as an insider, but also because of the veteran guards Nidru hired.

Nidru tapped his pipe, opened the window, let the cold sea breeze blow away the smoke in the room, and heard the lively sounds coming from the hall of this luxurious flagship.

Nidru smiled, opened the door and walked towards the hall on the top floor.

The hall was brightly lit, with a moonlight from the Golden Empire hung up, and a fireplace was burning to dispel the chill from the sea.

A one-eyed old soldier with an eyepatch was lying alone in front of the fireplace. The thick recliner allowed the old soldier to fall into a warm dream.

This is a veteran from the retired legion of the Golden Empire, and a warrior who once made great contributions.

Such veterans are popular figures in the caravan. Even if they do not do anything, just staying in the fleet can bring many conveniences to the caravan.

Not only did customs interactions become less harsh when these veterans stepped forward, but even when they encountered threats near the coast, these veterans were able to exert their energy and summon help from the Imperial Navy fleet that might be cruising on the sea.

This rule, which is not an unspoken rule, also allows retired soldiers of the empire to enjoy a high status and a respected reputation.

As one of the first veterans to purchase the Golden Empire's "Indulgence", Nidru was able to hire retired veterans of the empire through the introduction of others.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for these retired veterans to be impressed by simple wealth.

In addition, the tasks of these veterans also include supervising the behavior of those pirates who have surrendered to the empire. Once these pirates show their old habits, they will be eliminated by the empire to avoid affecting the credibility of the Golden Empire.

However, it is also because of the fair rules and restrictions that many pirates who have surrendered to the Golden Empire can rest assured and embark on the path of economic expansion of the empire as citizens of the empire.

Nidru looked at the scene in the cabin where every table was packed with people. Among them were many vampires, dwarves, some elves, etc.

These mainstream races on the Western Continent temporarily lived in peace in his fleet, even though they had once had disputes with each other.

It is not only because these races in the Western Continent were once blocked by the technology and resources of the human kingdom civilization, which resulted in these races having almost no intention of building fleets to sail the ocean, but also having to rely on the Nidru Merchant Corps.

This is also because Nidru is a "red-top" merchant of the Golden Empire, and this great pirate of the Holy Rank has been received by the Empire's Dragon Lord.

Wherever Nidru went, he was greeted by many voices.

"Good day, Mr. Niederru!"

"Good day, sir,"

Nidru nodded one after another. Those who took the initiative to greet him were all members of the fleet who were playing the Golden Empire casual card game around the table.

The cultural influence from the Golden Empire has begun to spread rapidly to the surrounding areas in terms of entertainment. Not only the crew members of the fleet, but also the vampires and elves gathered around the card table, abandoning their previous elegance and pride, shouting angrily or excitedly.

Pik the Elf Riven, the Minister of Agriculture and Deputy Minister of Culture and Propaganda of the Empire, not only perfected the rules of the Aeon Cards, but also reproduced another card game.

It also belongs to the Dragon Eternal Card, but it belongs to a variant system of the Eternal Card. It is called Hearthstone by the ancestor red dragon, and Riven named it the Eternal-Life Card.

There is no other meaning. It is simply that the Pik elf saw the spell that the ancestral red dragon once demonstrated - A Dream of Floating Life. The elf thought the name of the ancestral red dragon's spell was very nice, so he named it the Floating Life Card.

Thanks to the promotion foundation and previous publicity experience of the Wanshi brand, the Fusheng brand was widely sought after as soon as it was released, and it ushered in a huge sales growth trend just after its release. At one point, the empire's cultural transformation income accounted for nearly 0.5 percentage points of the empire's fiscal revenue for that month.

Moreover, after being baptized by the Wanshi Card, the Fusheng Card's more standardized and simple rule settings also have a larger basic audience than the Wanshi Card. To the surprise of the empire, the spontaneous propaganda of these imperial merchant groups was much faster than the empire's own propaganda.

Moreover, the Empire priced a deck of thirty Floating Life cards at only ten copper coins, which was an extremely cheap price. Even ordinary people could afford it, not to mention the members of the merchant groups and traders on the sea.

Nidru himself also bought many sets of cards to deal with different battles. Now that the fleet was about to enter the offshore waters, he, as the captain, no longer needed to worry too much, so he began to look for his opponent.

"Damn it, you actually have the legendary card Garcia, the Storm Giant. This is not fair at all. You defeated me with money, not with your skills."

A blood-sucking creature roared at the dwarf in front of him: "You stinky dwarf, just wait, I will fight with you again when I get to the Golden Empire!"

"Hahaha," the dwarf laughed, then he took the rare card from the vampire deck and placed it in front of him. The dwarf's beard twitched, and he said with great joy, "I spent fifty gold to draw this legendary card, so I'm lucky. But it is said that there is a lucky guy in the empire who only spent one gold to draw the only card above the legendary."

Among the Floating Life cards released by Empire, there are four levels of cards: common, rare, legendary, and unique. This is an adaptation from the Pixie Elf Riven, and it has only one purpose, which is to drive up the prices of subsequent expansion packs and collector's packs of Floating Life cards.

Cards of other levels can be opened in regular packs, legendary cards can only be opened in expansion packs, but unique cards can only be opened in collector's packs.

Unique cards not only have unique appearances and magic effects, but also unique abilities. Even two cards with the same character have different abilities. And it is said that these unique cards can also have some unique magical abilities like magic treasures.

Just like the only card that has appeared for the first time so far - Pixie Elf Riven, it is said that the magical ability of this card is the fairy dust that confuses others.

The vampire's face was livid. He was heartbroken that the core rare card in his deck was taken away by the dwarf. He made up his mind that after arriving at the Golden Empire, he would spend a lot of money to build his own deck and then seek revenge on the dwarf.

Nidru shook his head and said with a smile, "It's not dirty to play with a priest, so how do you play? Your nobility should not be used at the card table, your noble vampire."

As one of the first players to accept the gameplay, Nidru had already figured out many different ways of playing. In his eyes, the card skills of this vampire were still very immature.

Under Riven's arrangement, the Floating Life cards have changed a lot according to the situation. Currently, there are only seven professions launched: Warrior, Mage, Stealth Rogue, Paladin, Priest, Druid, and Warlock.

The card deck collected by Nidru included all the common and rare cards of the priest class. Nidru felt a little distressed for the whole morning because sixty gold coins he earned by traveling through the sea had fallen into the dragon's treasury.

"What future is there in being a pirate? Wouldn't it be quicker to make money this way?" Nidru once thought indignantly.

But now Nidru has become indifferent.

The game between the vampire and the dwarf has ended. The vampire began to organize his cards, while the dwarf gulped down a mouthful of beer and began to shout if anyone wanted to challenge him.

Nidru looked at the elves and a black-haired beauty who were also gathered across the table, and asked with a smile, "Sir Ajani, are you also interested in a fight?"

Yes, Nidru has his own additional purpose. He is not only a red-top merchant of the Golden Empire, but also has the responsibility of gathering intelligence, which is the basic responsibility of every merchant group loyal to the Golden Empire.

The beautiful elf shook her head gently, her movements were elegant and dignified. The crown decorated with leaves of life and agate on her head exuded a breath of vitality, and her long and curved eyelashes were like morning dewdrops, dotted with bits of starlight.

The long golden hair is like the soft sunset glow, giving this beautiful elf princess an extra charm.

As we all know, elves, like dwarves, have many variants. Isabelle Adjani is a member of the noble golden elf clan among the elves, possessing a charm and appearance that cannot be matched by mortal creatures.

Ajani had two shallow dimples on her cheeks. She smiled softly and said, "Captain Nidru, I don't have any decks for Floating Life Cards, although I also like this game."

Nidru smiled. "That's totally fine, Lord Ajani. I can give you a set of cards. You can try to fight me. After all, this is your intention to leave the elves' fleet and board my fleet. This is a kind of culture of the Golden Empire. You can learn something from it."

Ajani turned to look at the black-haired beauty beside her who was very interested, and whispered, "Celia, I see you are very interested, do you want to fight Captain Nidru?"

The black-haired beauty named Celia showed a happy expression, pulled out a chair and sat down, giggling: "Actually, I'm not interested in this kind of game. It's mainly because Captain Nidru said that he could give me a set of cards, so I became very interested."

Nidru sat down opposite Celia, took out two treasured card boxes from his sleeve pocket, pushed one of the boxes towards Celia, and asked casually, "Sir Celia, this should be a noble dragon, right?"

Celia laughed heartily and said, "You saw through me so easily. It seems that the people of the Golden Empire are all talented people with special abilities."

Nidru shook his head, took out his deck, and said with a smile: "If Lady Celia is willing to become a partner with Lady Ajani, then I don't need to say anything more. If it is not voluntary, Lady Celia can ask the Empire for asylum and cancel your contract with Lady Ajani."

This is not because Nidru's ability is strong enough to sense the contract between Celia and Ajani, but the elven princess was once spotted by the fleet's observer while riding a female black dragon on the elven fleet to investigate the situation.

The elves' dragon riders were once famous in the Western Continent, so Nidru said this.

Ajani's delicate eyebrows slightly wrinkled, and she asked with some concern: "Captain Nidru, Celia signed the contract with me voluntarily, but will this affect the Golden Empire's dragon lords' bad views on elves?"

Before Nidru could answer, Celia laughed and said, "Don't worry, Ajani, I signed a partnership contract with you voluntarily. In fact, in the eyes of the dragon, I regard you as a pet."

"The Elf Dragon Rider may seem particularly majestic to outsiders, but in the eyes of the dragon race, it's just a dragon putting its pet cat on top of its head to fight. Don't worry!"

Nidru also laughed loudly. As he started to fight with Celia's transformed dragon, he explained, "The dragon lords of the Golden Empire are not like other ordinary dragons. They are wise rulers with wisdom and rationality. Your Excellency Ajani does not need to worry. With Your Excellency Celia's guarantee, you will not be affected by other opinions."

Ajani nodded slightly, the dimples on her cheeks showing again. She said softly, "It is precisely because of this that the elves went to the Golden Empire to seek help from the many dragon kings and emperors of the empire and establish friendly relations."

Nidru played a card and asked softly, "I wonder if you can tell me why the elves sought help from the Golden Empire. Of course, if it is difficult to answer, you don't have to answer, Ms. Ajani. After all, I am just curious."

Nidru was certainly not out of curiosity. If the Golden Empire knew the elves' thoughts and did not want to deal with them head-on, then the elves would definitely not see any dragon lords after arriving at the empire, but only ordinary reception officials.

“It’s those deep dragon drow, the seducers from the Underdark,” Celia said carelessly.

Ajani nodded. "The deep dragon drow in the Underdark, driven by the deep dragons, actually launched an attack on the elves. Those drow were also affected by magic and forcibly contaminated and enslaved the giant dragons that were friendly with the elves. Among them, Celia's people were even killed by those drow and used as materials for evil spells."

"And the Dragon Emperor of the northern continent is the king who rules over all dragons, so the elves hope to get help from the empire."

In fact, the impact of the 'Algae River Alliance' between the Golden Empire and the Frost Giants is much greater than imagined.

In the "Algae River Alliance", the restraint and rationality shown by the Golden Empire made almost all civilized countries recognize the order of this empire.

Even the Elf Kingdom extended a friendly olive branch to the Golden Empire.

Especially after the ancestral red dragon defeated the legendary golden dragon and the legendary Titan, its wisdom and strength aroused the respect of other forces.

It is worth mentioning that among the giant dragons, most of them do not recognize the title of Dragon Emperor of the Ancestral Red Dragon, but in the eyes of other races and civilizations, the Ancestral Red Dragon Kalon Gogmora is already the Dragon Emperor.

Nidru laughed and said, "Those deep dragon drow really don't know what they are talking about. If the many dragon lords of the empire knew about this, they would suffer the consequences."

Ajani nodded and sighed.

In fact, Ajani did not tell the whole truth. Although elves are not as cunning and treacherous as humans, they are not a naive race either.

The more important reason for coming to the Golden Empire is that the Sky Life Tree among the elves has been infected in some way.

As the Sky Life Tree that has the qualifications to evolve into the World Tree, it is one of the most important treasures among the elves and has influenced almost all the elves living in that kingdom.

The elves knew that there were many trees of life in the Golden Empire, so they decided to send their most beautiful princess to lead an envoy to visit the empire, investigate the situation, and seek help from the empire.

"The Skyrim Life Tree is transforming into a Golden Tree. I wonder if the Life Tree in the Golden Empire has been affected." Ajani's eyes were filled with confusion. "Can the future of the elves be reversed with the help of the Empire?"

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(End of this chapter)