dognovel Chapter 220 Summit (1)
Chapter 220 Summit (1)
The "Saint" believed he had seen enough, from the elven kingdoms embroiled in civil war to the rainforests scattered across the islands at the edge of the continent; he had seen it all and spoken with all sorts of people.
But when he first arrived in Brittany, a complex country with all sorts of people, he was still shocked. He had originally thought that under the rule of the demons, Brittany was like a living hell.
But the various statistics and the destinations of smuggling led him, a saint, to gradually become suspicious. A few years ago, based on the accounts of his subordinates, he began to suspect that the church was concealing information about Brittany.
After all, within the church, Brittany was described as "another city of the devil's fall, where blasphemous demons and half-breeds are everywhere, and blasphemous words against the goddess are heard all around."
"There, hell stretches out, lava flows across the land, blood splatters, and demons kill each other for pleasure."
But as he sailed on the church's first ironclad warship, which "used demonic technology," and spoke with the shipwrights who had built the ship and had studied in Brittany or the demonic kingdom, he became increasingly skeptical of this claim.
The sun was high in the sky. In addition to the holy flags displayed by the church, the ship also had red and black flags as a signal. After the navigator told him that they had entered the demon's territory, he stood by the ship and carefully observed everything.
At first, two ships billowing black smoke spotted them. The church's only ironclad warship sounded its battle alarm, the sound of the holy bells. He picked up his binoculars, a device supposedly invented by the demons, and looked at the black smoke. The ship was billowing black smoke, but it had no sails. He knew that the ship beneath his feet also had no sails.
As the two sides drew closer, he began to see the ship more clearly—the tricolor flag of the Demon Navy! The ship was long and slender, reflecting the sunlight with a metallic sheen. The cannons on board were long and beautiful, and a technician told him that the Demons' cannons were the best.
However, at the same time, a new type of cannon appeared within the church. This new weapon did not use magic crystal gunpowder but was powered directly by magic crystals. It is said that the principle came from magic.
"How beautiful, a demon ship."
"Or you could say they're very mediocre. In the past, the demon warships would at least have some metal decorations, but now, their ships are either all gray or all black."
The two ships communicated using flag signals, a method of communication that had only emerged in recent years and, needless to say, originated from the demon race. The saint watched curiously as the flag bearer waved the flag, and soon, the two sides reached an agreement, and the demon ships stopped pointing their cannons at them.
"Captain, they said they would escort us there; all we need to do is follow them."
"Alright, disengage from combat and let the lads rest."
The saints didn't see the city until the sun began to set from its highest point, slowly emerging from the horizon, until the port of Caro in Brittany came into view as they sailed closer and closer.
Unlike the planned Amelancy, Porto Caro, the only major city in the capitalist Republic of Brittany, rose rapidly after the Amelancy Industrial Revolution and the Southern Industrial Plan. Wealthy business tycoons and capitalists bought up large amounts of land in this independent country of Amelancy, and the real estate industry in Porto Caro became increasingly popular. This was accompanied by the rapid development of the building materials and architectural design industries in Amelancy.
The first modern building in Port Carroll was completed even faster than the first building in Amerlane. In Port Carroll, where land is extremely valuable, high-rise office buildings rose overnight and became the object of everyone's pursuit.
When the first 12-story Le Meridien West Continental Hotel was completed here and local celebrities were invited to the opening ceremony, almost every guest was captivated by the feeling of looking down from the top floor. The feeling of overlooking the masses was particularly illuminating. Moreover, land prices in Porto Caro were rising steadily, and the taller the building, the smaller the usable land area. For rapidly expanding companies, they needed more office space to accommodate their employees.
Moreover, Brittany is a country with a long history of commerce, and the port of Caro is known as an important information and commercial hub in the southwest of the continent. Local competition is particularly fierce, and a small detail can determine the future.
Therefore, newer, more modern equipment and taller, more modern buildings have become essential needs in Porto Carlo. In 1965, 35 percent of the orders for the Emeralds National Construction Group came from Brittany, and almost all of these orders were for headquarters buildings of local business groups.
Therefore, when Alice announced the convening of an international conference, Brittany became the host country, which, unexpectedly yet logically, made land in Porto Caro even more expensive.
The low-rise buildings in the city center were quickly replaced by construction sites, and the city center, centered on the municipal government square, was almost surrounded by high-rise buildings. The rising skyline was the first sight the saints saw from the demon territory.
"Those are... towers? Why are there so many?"
"My Lord Saint, Brittany has indeed changed a lot. As a commercial city, land here is becoming increasingly expensive, and the demons have brought new construction techniques, which has led to more and more high-rise buildings... which has resulted in the current state of Brittany."
Anyone who comes here will be amazed by the sight, not only the saints, but also the church's smugglers and official trading guilds.
"Just as we said, Your Holiness, the technology of the demons is changing all of this. If you venture deep into the lands of the demons, you will find that their great cities are being replaced by skyscrapers."
"The demons we used to think were ignorant have long since changed. They've built structures using modern cement and steel that were unimaginable before. Don't think those structures are just for aesthetics. In my opinion, sooner or later, humans will live in these huge towers just like them."
What makes you think that way?
Next to the saint was a representative of the church's trade guild. As one of the very few officially supported chambers of commerce within the church's territory, he had only a slight understanding of it before drawing this conclusion.
"It is obvious that the most important change brought about by the new technology of the demon race is the rapid development of commerce, and the rise of land transactions is one of them. As you know, the factories we have introduced require a large number of workers, and the demon race's industry is undoubtedly stronger than ours. The larger the scale of industry, the more people are needed, and the more people there are, the more housing is needed."
"Do you know that land in the Holy City is more expensive than outside? You should know, especially the land around the cathedral, which cannot be bought with money."
"If buildings can't extend on the ground, they'll grow into the sky."