"Father... is it really necessary for us to go this far?"
Outside the Radiant City, Honn Quinn, gazing at the busy workers in the distance, asked with a hint of dissatisfaction.
Before them lay a rectangular, flat plaza, roughly a thousand meters long and half that wide—ever since the Graycastle engineering team entered Dawn, the new method of measuring length had also spread among the nobles.
Unlike the plazas in the royal capital, which were piled with beautiful bricks, its surface was entirely paved with cement, appearing dull gray, unremarkable, and without any special features. If one had to point out a merit, it would be the ease of construction, taking less than a week from leveling the ground to completion.
Even so, the workers involved in the construction were all from the Quinn family's own trained team, demonstrating the importance attached to it.
"Oh?" Hordford Quinn, the current Lord of Dawn, glanced at him with interest. "What are you referring to?"
"Lord Roland's instructions are too numerous," Honn said, counting on his fingers. "Repairing bridges, building roads, and all of them are large projects spanning dozens of miles. You've gathered all the long-term workers in the family to do these things. What about the work in the territory? Several places in the castle that need repair haven't even been started yet."
Of course, his dissatisfaction was not limited to these one or two points.
His father placed too much importance on the demands of the King of Graycastle.
It could even be described as sacrificing personal interests to benefit others.
Alchemical products like cement, with such broad prospects, would surely bring substantial profits if monopolized by the family.
However, simply because Lord Roland wrote a sentence saying, "Please be sure to expand its production as soon as possible," his father summoned the great nobles into the palace and publicly announced the formula. With the power of the major merchant guilds under the nobles, several cement factories were indeed established in a short period, but the Quinn family's gains were undoubtedly reduced.
When it came to building roads, the situation was reversed.
The great nobles all made excuses, and his father simply did it himself.
From recruiting manpower to cooperating with the Graycastle Engineering Department to complete the construction, the Quinn family undertook everything. This was by no means a small expense. Although the annexation of the Moa royal family's property greatly increased the family's strength, spending it was just as swift as flowing water. Watching the coins in the treasury decrease day by day, it was impossible for Honn not to feel distressed.
The key point was that road construction was not equal to commercial investment. The gold dragons paid out in business might return more wealth, but what could the road connecting Mo Bei River to Cage Mountain earn back? It wasn't even within the territory controlled by the Quinn family! Even if it could indirectly promote commercial development, it would only benefit the lords on the border.
And judging from the current situation, Lord Roland wanted to build far more than just these one or two things. The strange, useless flat ground in front of him was proof. Squandering like this, the family would sooner or later encounter a situation where income could not cover expenses. In fact, he had already heard quite a few criticisms from the family's branches.
What made Honn most indignant was his father's attitude towards the people of Graycastle.
Not only did he personally oversee every project, but he would also frequently summon the officials of the Engineering Department into the palace, actively asking for their requirements. If the other party was a noble, that would be fine, but Honn had inquired clearly that these dispatched "officials" were all of commoner origin and had no prominent family background. For his father, as the ruler of a kingdom, to invite commoners to converse with him at the same table was simply unacceptable to him.
And today, upon hearing that someone from Graycastle was coming to Radiant City, his father had led a large team outside the city to wait early in the morning, which was simply unbelievable—as a ruler, receiving them in the castle was respect enough, how could any royal family go to this extent?
Honn suspected that his adoptive father was atoning to Andrea. After all, all these changes had started after Hordford said goodbye to his daughter.
"What can I do?" Hordford shrugged. "If others are unwilling to contribute, I can't just let them do as they please, can I? You've seen the power of Graycastle. Do you think I could have secured this position without the support of the Wimbledon family?"
"No, Father... I'm not asking you to confront Graycastle," Honn waved his hands repeatedly. "Just give a few instructions,
Let your subordinates do it, and Roland Wimbledon won't be able to find fault with it. And the required funds can be slowly negotiated with the local lords—a deal is a compromise, and the more anxious the merchant, the easier it is to suffer losses, that's the principle you once taught me."
"Unfortunately, the Divine Will Battle is not a deal."
"That's true, but..." Honn bit his lip and finally mustered the courage to say, "But the way you are now, some people think you're not the Lord of Dawn, but a subject of Lord Roland Wimbledon!"
He had expected these words to enrage his father, but the latter merely stared at him for a while, then smiled casually, "Let me ask you, why is there talk of four great kingdoms on this continent, and not five or three?"
"Uh..." Honn was caught off guard by the sudden change of topic. "Because... these four are the strongest families?"
"A more accurate statement would be—within their respective territories." Hordford replied, "The strength of a family weakens with distance. The so-called border is the critical point where the strengths of the two sides reach equilibrium. But now, this critical point no longer exists. As long as Roland Wimbledon is willing, he can completely bring all the territory of the four great kingdoms into his possession. In that case, what's wrong with me being his vassal?"
Honn subconsciously retorted, "Father! Even if the Graycastle army is strong, he can't control such a large territory! Are you exaggerating his abilities too much..."
"It's that you haven't realized the changes in Graycastle, child." Hordford sighed. "The former Roland might not have been able to, but now distance can no longer be an obstacle to his rule—of course, you haven't deeply understood everything he's done, so it's hard to imagine the extent of what he's achieved."
"How... do you know?"
Hordford smiled, "Andrea has replied to my letters."
This made Honn's heart sink.
Just as he was preparing to persuade his father further, a burst of exclamations suddenly came from afar.
Followed by a dull humming sound.
Honn looked in the direction of the sound and couldn't help but be slightly stunned. He saw a string of neat black shadows appearing in the sky, arranged in a horizontal straight line, flying towards Radiant City along the horizon.
Were those... migrating birds?
But after a moment, this thought was rejected. The volume of the black dots quickly grew to a point far exceeding any bird in the world, and continued to expand.
Honn gradually widened his eyes. They actually looked like man-made objects!
The workers who witnessed this scene couldn't help but put down the tools in their hands and shout loudly.
Even more passing caravans stopped and looked up at the sky.
"Unbelievable... he actually achieved this." Hordford raised the corner of his mouth. "The person I'm here to meet... has arrived."
Hearing these words, Honn was immediately stunned. Could these square, boxy birds be vehicles made by the people of Graycastle?
How was that possible!?