Dragon took another sip of tea, his expression seeming somewhat flicted.

  Cudius noticed Dragon's hesitation and stayed silent. The atmosphere betweewo grew heavy as her spoke for a while.

  After a long pause, Dragon finally asked, "So, what exactly are you pnning to do in Abasta?"

  Cudius g Dragon with a somewhat amused expression, saying nothing, whily made Dragon feel a little awkward.

  After a moment, Cudius spoke. "Is it really appropriate to ask?"

  Dragon shook his head with a faint smile. "No, it's not. I guess it's as inappropriate as y into how our Revolutionary Army has affairs."

  "Hahahaha! At least you uand that much, Dragon. Tell me, do you have any personal e to the ari royal family?" Cudius asked with a chuckle.

  Dragon shook his head. "Not really. Back when I was with the Marines, I met them once or twice, but we didn't have mutera."

  "Exactly. Sihere's no personal e, why are you so ied in involving yourself in this muddy water?" Cudius asked casually, lifting his teacup to take a sip.

  "It's not really about them. It's more… regret, I suppose. There aren't many royal families like the ari left in the world. You know that as well as I do," Dragon replied after some thought.

  Cudius nodded slowly, aowledging the point. From an outsider's perspective, the ari family truly was an exceptional royal family. They ruled Abasta with fairness and maintaiheir kingdom's prestige. If they hadn't governed so well, they likely would've beehrown long ago.

  But from Cudius' perspective, their excellence recisely the problem. In this world, "a piece of unblemished jade irouble." If the ari family had been an ordinary royal family from a small and insignifit kingdom, Cudius might have even protected them.

  However, as rulers of the powerful kingdom of Abasta, with signifit military strength at their disposal, they became a strategic target. For Cudius, building his power meant he couldn't afford to let such a potential threat stand.

  "I uand where you're ing from, Dragon, but I have my own burdens to carry," Cudius said softly. "You don't tell me the Revolutionary Army doesn't shed blood for its cause, do you?"

  Dragon fell silent, not responding to Cudius' rhetorical question.

  "Whether it's your bottom-up revolution or my top-doroach, blood will be spilled. If you flinch today, you'll end up paying the priorrow. Don't uimate this world, Dragon," Cudius said seriously.

  Dragon suddenly smiled. "Are you lecturing me now?"

  "Of course," Cudius replied with a ugh.

  Dragohere was no ging Cudius' mind. He alshat he was unnecessarily meddling in something uo him. Deep down, he uood Cudius was right—this wasn't his fight, so why wade into it?

  After some quiet refle, Dragon decided to back off. As Cudius had said, there was no point in stirring up unnecessary trouble.

  "You've made your point. What else I say? If I keep pushing, I'll just look unreasonable," Dragon said, shrugging his shoulders.

  "Good, good. Let's not dwell on unpleasant topics. Besides meeting me, do you have any other pns while you're in Abasta?" Cudius asked.

  Dragon shook his head. "I'm just passing through. My stop is East Blue."

  "East Blue? Ah, right, that's your homend, isn't it?" Cudius remarked with a grin.

  "Yeah. The Goa Kingdom. It's said to be the most beautiful try i Blue, though… well…" Dragon's tone softened for a moment, as if reminisg, but a flicker of disgust soon crossed his face.

  Cudius knew about the Goa Kingdom. It was indeed renowned as the most beautiful try i Blue, with its polished image of wealth and prosperity. However, it achieved this reputation by ruthlessly discarding anything deemed undesirable. The nobles lived in luxury, while the poor barely survived in the squalor of the kingdom's infamous Gray Terminal.

  "It sounds like East Blue is in for some trouble," Cudius said with a chuckle.

  Dragon waved his hand dismissively. "You're reading too muto it. Nothing major. I'm just visiting a friend and taking care of some business while I'm there."

  "Care to share the details?" Cudius asked curiously.

  "Tequi Wolf," Dragon replied nontly. "I think it's a pce with fertile ground for sowing the seeds of revolution."

  The Tequi Wolf try eculiar pce. Teically, it wasn't even a proper nation si had no king or tralized gover. But its history spanned more than 700 years, making it one of the most unique regions i Blue.

  Over seveuries ago, the Celestial Dragons had ceived an ambitious pn to ect the world's isnds through aework es. While it sounded grandiose at the time, the sheer scale of the project made it utterly unrealistic. From a modern perspective, it was nothing short of absurd.

  However, viewed through the lens of history, the idea wasirely without merit. It was a colossal uaki to be future geions, even if it was impractical in its own time.

  When the Celestial Dragons proposed the project, the Wover had taken it seriously. But the bor requirements were astronomical, so vast that not even the wealth of the Wover could sustain it. To address this, they came up with a "brilliant" solution: instead of hiring workers, they would use sves.

  At first, the sves were primarily pirates and criminals captured by the Wover. But as time went on and the gover's morality eroded, they began ensving i people as well. Geions of sves and their desdants toiled on these bridges, and over turies, their numbers grew into what could be described as a nation in itself, a nation built on suffering.

  The Tequi Wolf try's reseoward the Wover had festered for turies. A, despite their hardships, they had mao achieve remarkable feats. Over 700 years, they successfully ected many of East Blue's isnds through their bridges. This had signifitly boosted the region's prosperity, as the bridges became vital trade routes linking various tries.

  Cudius had oudied the history of the Tequi Wolf try and its cultural significe. He eveed that its existence might expin why East Blue had ears reputation as the "weakest sea."

  The bridges not only enhahe Wover's trol over the region but also improved the standard of living for the people. Pirates who ventured i Blue often found themselves captured ao the Tequi Wolf try as borers. Over time, the harsh sequences deterred many would-be pirates from even attempting a career in piracy, givi Blue its reputation as the most peaceful sea.

  Perhaps this was why the Wover promoted East Blue as a shining example of stability—a sea untouched by chaos, serving as a symbol of their governance.

  And now, Dragon inteo use the Tequi Wolf try as a foothold to pnt the seeds of revolution. In a few decades, this region, which had tributed so much to East Blue's prosperity, would likely see drastic ges. By then, the bridges might no longer serve their inal purpose.

  But history always marched forward. Even if the bridges were abandoned, perhaps eologies like the sea train would emerge to take their pce. The world was ever-ging, after all.

  ***

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