"Your Majesty, what are you doing?"

Shalin's eyes were full of confusion, and his bronze face was filled with disbelief.

The fire dwarf noble hesitated for a long time before making up his mind to refuse. He had already prepared himself to face the wrath of the Red Dragon Emperor, but he never thought that there would be a turn for the better.

Cassius just nodded slightly.

"Yes, an ally."

“Allies of equal cooperation and mutually beneficial relations.”

"Don't worry, Lord Sharin. The Empire will never go back on its word like the Fire Giants. I can even sign a contract with you."

"Can you be more specific?"

Shalin asked tentatively, his face full of surprise.

Allies of equal relations.

Mutually beneficial cooperation.

He couldn't even believe it - this was a condition that a proud dragon and an emperor could propose.

Cassius responded calmly: "The Empire will send troops to help you resist the invasion of the fire giants."

"At the same time, we will also sell you advanced weapons and a variety of imperial goods, exempting you from various taxes."

"But as a basic condition for cooperation, you need to allow the Empire's troops to enter the Brass Fortress and pay a certain amount of military expenses."

"You also need to allow the Empire's merchants to summon and hire fire dwarves to forge items, but don't worry, they will pay enough gold nar."

"We need to have a Burning Empire concession in the Brass Fortress and set up an Imperial Embassy to handle all matters between the Empire and the Brass Fortress."

Cassius waved his hand gently, and flames gathered in the air, forming a magic contract. The terms on it were extremely clear and almost exactly the same as what he had said before.

"This"

"Your Majesty, are these the only conditions?"

Shalin asked doubtfully, he still couldn't believe it.

the reason is simple--

In his opinion, this is a completely equal treaty! Even the fire dwarves will benefit more!
Open up trade in goods, pay for protection, allow imperial employment, set up concessions and embassies
Although these seemed novel to him, they were all very normal things.

The fire dwarves were not forced to work, and more importantly, the authority of the fire dwarf nobles was not violated, and his rule was not interfered with at all.

Could it be that this seemingly ferocious Dragon Emperor is really a peace-loving monarch?
At least from his current point of view, there is absolutely no problem with this treaty, and it will only benefit the fire dwarves.

Thinking of this, Shalin lowered his head and said with a grateful and slightly guilty tone:

"Sorry, Your Majesty."

"I misunderstood you just now. I actually thought you wanted to enslave us! Thank you for your magnanimity."

"I have to say, you are truly the most tolerant and merciful monarch I have ever seen."

Sharin picked up the scepter, motioned the fire dwarves to come behind him, and then said solemnly:
"Your Majesty Cassius, if that is the case, the fire dwarves of the Brass Fortress are willing to become loyal allies of the Empire."

"We will wield our copper hammers and use the unique craftsmanship of the Fire Dwarves to create the finest items for you and your people."

"Dang, Dang, Dang!"

The fire dwarves behind him all struck their shields with copper hammers, making crisp sounds.

They cheered loudly, and the flames above their heads burned fiercely, making the air in the hall even hotter.

After this conversation, the banquet continued until the early morning of the next day. The excited fire dwarves drank wine until they were drunk, and played finger-guessing games and boasted with the imperial soldiers.

The cooperation between the Burning Empire and the Fire Dwarves began. The Elemental Plane of Fire, Burning Wilds.

Cassius transformed into a gigantic dragon, lying on a hill made of dark brown basalt, gazing at the orange-red sky.

The fire element energy in his body continued to gather, and the dragon crystal on his chest flickered slightly.

The half-red dragon Serkan came to the side of the red dragon and half-knelt down.

"Your Majesty, I'm here."

Cassius nodded slightly and praised: "You did a great job. There was no trace of acting at all."

This was his plan.

One played the good cop and the other played the bad cop, so as to make the fire dwarves accept their treaty.

But Serkan hesitated for a moment, and couldn't help but say:

"But, Your Majesty, I still don't understand. The conditions you offer to those fire dwarves are too good."

"They only have a population of a few thousand and occupy a small fortress. Why should they become equal allies of the Empire?"

Cassius just smiled and asked, "Have you read the book "Colonial Theory" officially published by the Empire?"

Serkan's face flushed slightly, but he responded truthfully: "I'm sorry, Your Majesty."

"I haven't had time to look yet."

Cassius continued: "If we are equal to the Brass Fortress, then this is indeed an equal treaty, with mutual military exchanges and tariff exemptions."

He paused, grinned, and exhaled a puff of sulfur-smelling smoke.

"But when the power gap between the two parties to the treaty is too great, the so-called equal treaty is just a joke."

"Give the Empire the right to station troops, and they will lose their own territory; give the Empire the right to trade, and they will lose control of their economic lifeline; give the Empire the right to employ fire dwarves, and the fire dwarves will become slaves of the Empire's capital."

"And these fire dwarf nobles will also become loyal puppets of the empire."

"This thing, called 'neo-colonialism' by the Empire's scholars, is much more sophisticated than direct slavery. The Brass Fortress will become the Empire's first stronghold in the Elemental Plane of Fire."

"This"

Serkan bowed his head in thought, savoring the emperor's words.

On the surface, the treaty provides for equal rights between the two parties, but in reality, due to the underdevelopment of the Fire Dwarves, they are simply unable to exercise the rights stipulated in it on an equal footing with the Empire. However, through the treaty, the entire Brass Fortress will be open to the Empire.

Cassius stretched his body, slowly stood up from the basalt hill, and spread his broad wings.

"Go ahead, Serkan. If you want to become the empire's governor in the Elemental Plane of Fire, learn more about this."

Serkan was immediately inspired when he heard what Cassius said, and he immediately knelt down and bowed his head.

"Yes! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Colonial Governor, this is another rather unfamiliar term.

Because the Burning Empire adopts a vertical management system in the Anzeta Wasteland, local officials do not have particularly much autonomy.

But at this moment, Serkan has a new goal - to manage the Fire Elemental Plane for His Majesty Cassius!

The red dragon nodded slightly, then flapped its wings vigorously, raising a hurricane full of ashes and sparks on the burning wasteland, and the huge dragon body also soared into the air.

To him, taming a few thousand fire dwarves was just a small task that could be done with ease. However, the kingdom of fire giants that spanned across the dimensions was what truly worthy of his attention.

——Seeking monthly ticket——(End of this chapter)