Golden Dragon: Six Thousand Years of Empire-Chapter 466 - 281: The Birth of the Second Generation, Terramus
"Ten years, still underestimated."
Noah looked down at the Dragon Egg in front of him. It was a very standard oval-shaped Golden Dragon Egg, with golden scale patterns adorning its shell surface. Occasionally, red-gold flames would rise, making it slightly unusual for its size.
The Dragon Egg, nearly four meters tall, stood in a base constructed of gemstones and Elemental Crystal. Compared to the usual Golden Dragon Egg, which is a little over a meter, this one was an ultra-giant alien Dragon Egg. However, considering its father’s identity, it seemed quite normal.
"The incubation period is estimated to be no less than ten years."
The regular incubation period for a Dragon Egg is about two to three years. However, as a descendant of the Ancestor Dragon, its incubation period is naturally extraordinary.
Even if it takes twenty years to hatch, compared to its elder brother, this time is relatively fast.
Because it took Iliad twenty-four years from conception to delivery, this pure-blood Dragon Descendant is expected to be born in twenty years, which is still considered fast.
But at this time, being fast is not necessarily a good thing. It indicates that this Dragon Descendant’s innate origin might be somewhat weaker than its elder brother’s.
Of course, this doesn’t matter much either. Being slightly weaker at birth doesn’t mean one will always lag behind; they can still surpass and catch up.
Speaking of starting points, Noah, who was born as an ordinary Golden Dragon, couldn’t even compare with any of his descendants, and yet he is now about to become a progenitor.
"Twenty years, huh!" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
For the Short-lived Species in Noah Territory, it’s enough time for them to grow from birth, establish their own family, secure a decent job, and if they act quickly, even have their own children.
For the young Noah of those days, it was an extremely long period, but for an Ancestor Dragon already in its youth, ten years could pass in the blink of an eye, and waiting another ten years didn’t seem unbearable.
Ten years is nothing to the Ancestor Dragon, but for the mortals settled in the economic special zone designated by the Holy Dragon, they have witnessed the changes of the times in just a decade.
On what was once a pristine coastline with no traces of civilization, a harbor has expanded from being just a simple outpost to assert territorial sovereignty into a harbor city flourishing with marine trade.
In just ten years, the population rose to as many as 500,000. Using the Voyager Harbor City as the core, expansion along both sides of the coast continued, establishing port after port, bringing the light of civilization and order to the East Coast.
The primary reason for the East Coast’s incredible development in ten years is the lure of cross-sea maritime trade.
Merchants continuously injected capital into this barren land with no commercial foundation, exploring and developing safe routes to the Alviss Continent.
Of course, there’s also the allure of the economic zone’s policies, where merchants can obtain lower labor costs and more diligent workers.
However, due to lengthy transportation costs and rising annual labor costs, the policy allure of the special zone is only a secondary factor in the harbor city’s prosperity.
The main reason is the opening of the route to Alviss Continent, a cross-sea route that can travel back and forth between the two continents with low risk, which has created the current Voyager Harbor.
Now, aside from the Harbor Governor and their civil official staff and Personal Guard, the residents of Voyager Harbor are mostly composed of overseas immigrants.
Among these immigrants, the majority are followers of the Lord of Radiance, though this proportion is decreasing annually.
Initially, more than 99% of the settlers in Voyager Harbor were Radiance believers. But once the cross-sea route opened, more refugees from the Alviss Continent fled to this city on returning cargo ships.
No, it wasn’t just refugees fleeing from war. There were also dreamers who, upon hearing from merchants about how commoners could strive for a better life on the far continent, willingly bought tickets to come here.
Now, due to special zone policies, the average income in Voyager Harbor is still unable to match the per capita income of ordinary people in the Holy Dragon Land.
But the minimum income guaranteed by the rulers remains a huge attraction for overseas immigrants. The fact that lower-class people have their minimum monthly income enshrined into law is unimaginable under feudal nobility rule.
Yet on this land, it is not something inconceivable. In fact, it is quite ordinary. What surprises the new immigrants the most is that those enjoying such good treatment still complain.
They are not satisfied with their current lives; they want to enter the Golden Land truly governed and managed by the Holy Dragon because that is the earthly paradise akin to a Human Divine Country.
A physically strong adult needs to work only eight hours a day to make enough to support a family of five.
Here, supporting means not just obtaining the bare essentials like food, but having clothes to wear, a house to live in, and occasionally enjoying a decent life at eateries or restaurants.
They may not be able to eat meat every meal, but on weekends or major holidays, it is no problem to invite neighbors for a decent banquet.
