Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 160 - 159: Dominant Thought

Chapter 160: Chapter 159: Dominant Thought

Leon didn’t actually care much about Watchtower Port; had it not been for Cecilia’s vocal ambitions, he wouldn’t have felt the need to do anything at all and would probably still be sleeping soundly in the Dome Castle by the Molten Lava Lake.

There were plenty of things to do on Volcanic Island and at Watchtower Port, but what Leon cared about the most was creating a set of equippable gear for his Dragon Form.

He always prioritized increasing his own power, seeking the strength to be an army of one.

Of course, having spent so much time locating Watchtower Port and exerting so much effort to "help the old and support the young" to come here from Molten Lava Lake, Leon couldn’t really ignore Watchtower Port.

Leon’s idea was to prepare a development plan, then hand it over to Cecilia... Cecilia was so capable, he must give her more responsibilities.

Leon had never been a civil servant and, naturally, lacked grassroots experience or the high-level leadership to make top-down decisions, but thanks to his time spent commenting on the internet, his skills in armchair strategizing were quite solid, and he was also quite experienced in making PPTs.

So, Leon ended up spending three days at an inn in Watchtower Port, sitting at a desk and writing away, quickly transcribing all of his thoughts.

Leon believed that as long as he handed his meticulously prepared development plan to Cecilia, she would certainly understand his ruling philosophy and help him conquer Watchtower Port, rule over it, while he could remain detached, occasionally chiming in with insight.

"Tassera, take a look at this for me, see if there are any gaps or mistakes." Having finally completed the development plan, Leon was in no hurry to hand it to Cecilia.

As the Storage Dragon and a Mage, Tassera was quite a homebody... Despite her reclusive nature, never leaving the house, she always dressed beautifully every day. It must be said that she dressed to please herself more than others. Hearing Leon’s words, Tassera extended her fair arms and said, "Let me see."

Leon handed the development plan to Tassera and then lay down, not wanting to move at all.

His body didn’t tire easily now; even after a whole day’s toil, it was fine, but his mind could still get tired.

Tassera took the development plan, glanced at it quickly, and then became serious.

"Slavery provides a large concentrated labor force, which can aid in large-scale production under certain conditions, but it also hinders development and stability. Economic inequality, political inequality, lack of trust, and other factors all negatively impact long-term growth; freeing the slaves would promote a more complex economic division of labor and specialization..."

"Newspapers are a channel for information dissemination; they help people gain news, events, and knowledge. Through reporting and investigation, we can directly and indirectly control and shape public opinion, affecting people’s views and attitudes toward certain issues..."

"To ’cherry-pick’ means to quote only the parts of someone else’s article or speech that align with one’s own views. With cherry-picking, we can completely distort the good and bad of a person or an event without lying..."

"Conquering a city and winning the recognition of its inhabitants is a complex process. Dignity is found only at the blade’s edge, truth only within cannon range; displaying power is unavoidable, but in addition to that, cultural integration, political strategy, economic benefits, and communication propaganda are also avenues to explore..."

"Practical operation methods include hiring people to promote in taverns, convincing them it’s better to serve the powerful giant dragon than the gluttonous nobles, as the giant dragon can protect the city while the nobles only hide and indulge in extravagance, including concocting stories of the benevolent Red Dragon..."

"Potentially useful schemes, like the story of ’killing three warriors with two peaches,’ suggest..."

Leon came from Earth, a civilization several notches more advanced than this world; just about anything from Earth represented a paradigm shift here. Needless to say, Tassera was astonished as she said, "Did you write all this?"

"Aren’t you watching me write it?" Leon looked at the ceiling.

"You thought of this?" Tassera looked at Leon in shock, as if seeing him for the first time.

Tassera believed in Leon; after all, she wouldn’t care for an uneducated Red Dragon, no matter how powerful. Without common ground, there was no way to cohabit, but she didn’t think he was that impressive, almost like a politician.

"I can’t remember from which book I read that," Leon didn’t take credit, "Do you think if I hand this over to Cecilia, she could understand my governance philosophy, and then act according to it, so I don’t have to keep an eye on her every day... I don’t have that much spare time."

Tassera started to speak, then stopped, not knowing what expression to show, and said, "Seriously, it’s just Watchtower Port, not a big town nor a small one. Are you really that concerned? Anyone uninformed would think you’re plotting to subvert a kingdom, to govern an empire."

"The lion exerts its full strength even when hunting a rabbit," Leon smiled.

"I have never ruled any city, I can’t offer you advice," Tassera said hesitantly, "All I can say is that it looks pretty impressive... Cecilia is quite smart, she should be able to understand your governance philosophy. But understanding it doesn’t mean she’ll follow it."

"If she understands but refuses to follow, acting recklessly, then she can’t blame me for giving her trouble," Leon said with a cold laugh.

"There is another set of blueprints here, concerning my castle and villa; do you understand them? I’m planning to hand these blueprints over to the Efreeti for construction," Leon reminded.

"You can even draw blueprints..." Tassera found the blueprints.

Leon couldn’t help but laugh, "If I say I’m omnipotent, would you think I’m bragging?"

"Yes," Tassera replied without hesitation, glancing over the blueprints, "Your drawings are quite comprehensible, there should be no problems... I’m just curious about why you’re preparing all these things, are you planning to leave Watchtower Port?"

"I just don’t want to waste all my time governing Watchtower Port... there will definitely be more places needing governance in the future, so I want to train Cecilia... The Green Dragon is naturally crafty and meticulous, likes to manipulate others, and is good at governing." Leon looked at Tassera, "Of course, if you are willing, I would definitely choose you."

"I’m not willing," Tassera quickly waved her hands, "I’m not interested in governing anyplace, I don’t like scheming, I just want to quietly study spells, do research, read all sorts of books..."

"I also like to lie around, go on adventures occasionally, and I don’t like trivial matters... and although I’m not socially anxious, I really don’t like interacting with people." Leon sighed, "Yes, I don’t mind building an empire, but establishing an empire is not the end goal, it’s a process. Through building an empire, I can acquire a wealth of resources, faith, and so on, to help me gain more power."

"When there’s nothing to do, I don’t mind expanding my influence, but when there is something to do..." Leon twisted his neck, making a cracking sound, "Now, compared to conquering Watchtower Port and then governing it, I’d rather work on a set of Dragon Form equipment."

"What are you thinking now?" Tassera asked.

"I’m thinking of going to the Lost Plateau to ask the Cloud Giant if there’s a way to get a set of equipment, it will definitely cost a lot of money," Leon said, "I have a bunch of random things on me, perhaps I can go to the Talia Alliance, sell those things... along the way, an alliance’s resources are definitely more abundant than those of Crossroads City, I should be able to buy refined gold and Mithril."

"The Talia Alliance, then we’ll go to the Talia Alliance," Tassera suddenly got excited, almost jumping up, "I heard there’s an Underground City hidden within a mountain owned by the Talia Alliance."

"What Underground City?" Leon asked with interest.

"Rumors say a Mage hid all his collected treasures in an Underground City, and any adventurer who enters the city and passes a series of tests can obtain that Mage’s treasures and his legacy," Tassera said.

"Really?" Leon said skeptically.

"I don’t know if it’s true or not," Tassera replied, "I also read it from a book."

Leon nodded noncommittally.

Tassera, who was originally lazily reading and indifferent to everything, now perked up and said, "You better hurry up and arrange your affairs, and then we can head to the Talia Alliance... if there really is an Underground City, it must be full of treasures, then you can use those treasures to make your equipment."

Under Tassera’s persistent urging, Leon found Cecilia, handed over the development plan, elaborated on his governance ideas, and explained the parts she didn’t understand. Then he spoke with the Efreeti and Fiora for a bit, and took the opportunity to go to the Lost Plateau to discuss cooperation with the Cloud Giant.

About a week later, Leon finally got all his work done, everything that needed arranging or instruction had been taken care of, and he was ready to proceed to the Talia Alliance with Tassera.