Under the Red Dragon

In a short span of just over half a month, the entire Northern Continent of the Aikania world saw surprising undercurrents stirring beneath a surface of calm.

Because of the conflict that erupted on the western coast of the Golden Empire, the Ancestral Red Dragon, the Dragon Emperor of the Golden Empire, Kalon Gormora, became even more famously known as the 'God-Punishing Emperor'.

The meaning being that even the gods in the heavens feared the thoughts and power of this dragon and would send down divine punishment because of it.

However, although this brief burst of fighting shocked many people, it ultimately had nothing to do with ordinary people who lived their daily lives in the mundane world.

In comparison, the dynamics triggered by the Dragon Rampage within the Golden Empire became the focus of various kingdoms and civilizations throughout the Northern Continent and even other continents.

Not only were the high-ranking nobles and rulers worried and fearful, but even ordinary people lived in constant panic.

No matter how wonderful the propaganda of the Golden Empire was, war was still war, and no one liked war, because it meant accidents and death.

Especially within the territories ruled by the Southern Aristocratic Alliance of the Northern Continent, rumors were rampant, the situation was turbulent, and the people at the bottom lived in constant fear.

The Golden Empire naturally treated its citizens better than any other country in the world, but the common people in the Northern Southern Aristocratic Alliance were not citizens of the Golden Empire.

Within the Golden Empire, the high and mighty dragons naturally had a reputation, with many stories and legends in the mortal world.

However, the vassal legions and generals who were loyal to the dragons in the empire also had their names circulating among the common people.

For example, the Imperial Berserker Legion led by the barbarian Jibu, with every warrior going berserk upon seeing blood, had an extremely wild fighting style, generally skinning their enemies alive to sacrifice to the wild totems they carried on their bodies.

Thus, the barbarian Jibu was also known as 'the Skinner' by outsiders.

As for the Dragonkin Centaur Chiron, who commanded the Imperial Death Knight Heavy Armor Legion, he was known as 'the Bone Crusher' by outsiders because of the Death Knights' fighting style.

In the past, the orc legions that invaded the Golden Empire, all the orcs who died under the hooves of the Death Knights, had almost no complete bones left in their bodies.

The Dragonkin Werewolf Saha was called "Bloody Skull," and even Batori, the former human high noble who was the commander of the Dragon Knight regiment, was given the elegant name of 'Bloodthirsty Rose'.

Even the later-arriving Lizardman Legion Commander Reilly, this Lizardman who had not yet established any notable achievements in the empire's foreign wars, also received the title of 'Black Hand'.

This was because this Lizardman leader had also fought in the empire's central 'Glory' arena, his surface dual longsword attacks were fierce and could be described as unbreakable.

But this Lizardman's third blade could be described as treacherous and invisible, often being the key to easily defeating his enemies, hence the name.

The reputations of these capable subordinates of the dragons were much worse than those of the dragons ruling the empire, enough to stop children from crying at night.

When children in the market towns cried at home, saying that the dragons would catch them would not only fail to scare the children but would instead attract the children's eager questioning.

But if these 'notorious' dragon subordinates were mentioned, those children would instantly be obedient.

However, from the outside perspective, it was difficult to distinguish the affiliations and differences between the various legions of the Golden Empire, so the legions of the Golden Empire were collectively called the "Beheading Legion."

Because once they were enemies with the Golden Empire, those terrifying warriors would cut off all the skulls of the enemies after killing them and build Jingguan to show the legion's military power.

Under such circumstances, many panics and riots occurred in the territories of various countries in the Southern Aristocratic Alliance.

What's more, the Golden Empire also summoned and invited several kings from the Northern and Western Continents to hold an alliance meeting, and the news that the Eight Kings had agreed to gather for the alliance meeting was even more shocking.

Even the two overlord empires of the Central Continent sent many envoys to the Northern Continent to observe, and the most distant Southern Continent also couldn't sit still, with waves of missions from who knows how many kingdoms and civilizations coming to this turbulent place in the Northern Continent.

Initially, the Southern Aristocratic Alliance appeased the people in their territories on the grounds that the Golden Empire had no concrete evidence.

However, with the full mobilization of the Golden Empire's propaganda department, the mastermind behind the 'Dragon Rampage' suffered by the Golden Empire was placed on the heads of those Southern nobles under the overwhelming public opinion.

If the Southern nobles were truly completely clean, they could still try to get rid of the suspicion.

However, with the Harper's Alliance spies and bards remotely controlled by the Green Dragon Antagina with 'Devil's Poison' potions stirring up trouble behind the scenes, and several people appearing to testify, the culprit who instigated the war had been completely confirmed.

Those nobles liked to use justice as an excuse to deal with others, and the Golden Empire would let these nobles taste the same flavor, making them feel regret that no one could help them.

War was not something that could be started with a word; it also took great effort to mobilize military equipment and transport logistical support.

And this short month was not only the Golden Empire's time to mobilize military equipment and prepare for war but also the time for the Golden Empire to let the Southern nobles enjoy the feeling of killing people and punishing their hearts.

In such an atmosphere, in the twenty-one countries of the Southern Aristocratic Alliance, slave uprisings and rebellions occurred in six small and medium-sized noble countries amid the panic.

And in four countries bordering the Central Continent and the Northern Continent's coast, small-scale emigration of people began to occur.

Even Rose City, which was located at the southernmost tip of the Northern Continent and was theoretically the safest, began to experience a large number of wealthy merchants and noble families fleeing to the Central Continent.

Although these fleeing personnel and rebellious slaves and poor people were quickly suppressed by the great nobles, this time even the great nobles who were the rulers couldn't help but worry and panic about their future.

The Golden Empire alone was not in the eyes of these aristocratic alliances. However, with the union of so many kings, no great noble maintained their original confidence.

These nobles even began to secretly send missions to try to negotiate with the Golden Empire, wanting to use the dragon hunter teams they controlled as a price, plus a large amount of wealth compensation, to dispel the Golden Empire's unprecedented idea.

Joining forces and forming alliances sounded simple, and these nobles were not completely ignorant.

However, the history of Aikania had never seen anything as grand, bright, and overwhelming as the Golden Empire.

Distant friendship and close attack were not fully applicable to all regions; even the rules in the universe could present various different appearances in different worlds, let alone just strategies.

And Kalon Gormora's move of close friendship and distant attack was not only to kill the heads of those Southern nobles but also to punish the hearts of those Southern nobles.

Therefore, the Golden Empire rejected the secret mission requests sent by those Southern nobles.

The weak and compromising nobles could not get a response from the Golden Empire and could only prepare for war in worry.

The Principality of Marino, which was in contact with the Hobbes Empire, bore the brunt.

The Principality of Marino, united with the Principality of Rosetta and the Principality of Dumyat, which bordered its territory, mobilized the people of the three countries to build day and night on the border defense line.

In the passage of time, the Marino defense line, which was said to be unbreakable in the mortal world, gradually rose on the border of the Principality of Marino, in order to cope with the future war.

However, compared to the chaotic situation in the various countries of the Southern Aristocratic Alliance, the interior of the Golden Empire was not actually significantly affected by the upcoming war.

The Dark Elf King Anudalia and the Lord of the Shadow Nest, Salos, felt most strongly during their tour of the capital under the escort of Alfred, the Red Copper Dragon, the Golden Empire's Minister of Foreign Affairs, that the country was united and full of vigor, just like the rising sun.

The second feeling was that in this land, magic and knowledge were no longer high above but served everyone in the empire.

"Only in this way can magic, technology, knowledge, civilization, and wisdom have the potential and value for progress," said the Red Copper Dragon Alfred, pretentiously adjusting the tortoiseshell magic glasses on his nose, revealing a slight smile.

The Black Dragon King Rosani wore glasses entirely because the magic glasses possessed the spiritual suppressing power of the Black Dragon's excessive Dragon Eating phase.

As for the Red Copper Dragon Alfred, who had transformed into a brown-haired youth, wearing glasses was purely for show.

In the folk of the Golden Empire, those scholars and mortals of ordinary origin, after experiencing the education of the Imperial Academy, studied hard in order to make a name for themselves with their abilities.

As a result, many promising scholars developed myopia. Although they could use magic to treat their eye diseases after becoming successful, the image of wearing glasses as a cultural intellectual had become widespread in the lower levels of the empire.

And Alfred, the Red Copper Dragon, in order to show his identity as the head of the Empire's Cultural Propaganda Department, also learned from those ostentatious people who still habitually wore glasses after curing their eyes and swaggered around all day.

When the superiors have a preference, those below will follow it even more, but in the case of this Red Copper Dragon, it can be described as upside down.

However, considering this Red Copper Dragon's strange personality, it was not surprising.

Anudalia and Salos nodded slightly, looking at the lively scene in front of them, feeling a little emotional.

These two lords not only had several newspapers in their hands but also a small crystal screen magic projector.

The Golden Empire's version of the newspaper not only published entertainment and cultural content but also some academic research topics.

For example, the Empire's Magic Research Department would publish some of the latest achievable results in the newspaper and teach some basic magic tricks.

The Magic Alchemy Department would also popularize some common alchemy materials and alchemy knowledge that could be encountered in the wild in the newspaper, and so on.

With the increasing development of the empire's magic industrialization, the magic crystal screen projector had become a small magic instrument that almost every household in the capital city of Wangxia could afford.

Under the suggestion of the Steel Dragon Midir, the production organization of the magic crystal screen projector jointly established a system with the opera houses and cultural management departments in various cities of the empire.

Families who purchased magic crystal screens only needed to purchase projection tickets for their favorite opera houses to use the crystal screen projector to watch live performances of the opera house.

They could also browse the books in the Imperial Library that could be publicly purchased on the crystal screen projector, but they could not copy or reprint them at will, because the empire's copyright tax issues had jumped out of the Steel Dragon Midir's little head.

Of course, Lord Alfred, the head of the Empire's Cultural Propaganda Department, had already fooled the two big fat sheep in front of him into purchasing the projection rights for all the opera houses in the empire's cities.

The Dark Elf King Anudalia and the Underdark Lord Salos did not care about these small expenses. Although their wealth was somewhat incomparable to that of the Golden Empire, it far exceeded the wealth accumulated by an ancient dragon.

During this half-month, after these two lords and kings had close discussions with the Dragon Kings of the Golden Empire, they successively used the fleet of the Empire's Steel Giant Ship—'Imperial Glory' to transport the Dark Elves' most elite four legions to garrison around the periphery of the Golden Empire.

These Dark Elf legions had undergone the transformation of magical rituals to avoid the inability to adapt to the environment and climate of the surface world after living in the Underdark for a long time.

More Underdark Elves were stationed in the territory of Salos, the Lord of the Underdark Nest, waiting for subsequent magical ritual transformations.

Salos proposed that she hoped that the Golden Empire would provide casting legions to establish long-term large-scale magic teleportation channel facilities between the two places to facilitate the subsequent transfer of troops, and all resource consumption would be borne by the Dark Elves and the Underdark Nest.

Salos also sent two alchemy legions to garrison with the Underdark Elf legions.

It was because they had settled these complicated and troublesome affairs that these two lords were able to take the time to leisurely tour the capital of the Golden Empire today.

However, this tour brought many surprises to the two lords.

"What are they doing there?" Anudalia took a deep breath, enjoying the atmosphere of the city, and pointed to the magnificent temple in front of him.

Salos's eyes also flickered as she looked forward.

There, countless white, gray, and brown feathered birds landed, and many children cheered and laughed, holding bunches of flowers and tearing off petals to sprinkle everywhere.

Even the air was filled with bursts of floral fragrance and the taste of joy.

And pairs of young people wearing wedding dresses and imperial military officer uniforms, encouraged by the crowd, stepped into that towering temple under the wings of the Imperial Dragons statue.

Alfred smiled and said, "That is the wedding of young people. They will be married in the sacred cathedral, witnessed by the Imperial Dragons, to be together for a lifetime."

In the eyes of these people, the dragon's temple is a sacred church and a holy temple witnessing the love of those young people.

"I'm a little curious," Salos's eyes flickered, and she looked at Alfred and said, "Can we enter the dragons' holy temple and watch the weddings of mortals?"

"Of course, everyone can. Although you are guests, you still enjoy independent freedom," Alfred politely bowed and invited, "Two distinguished guests, let us witness their love together."

The dragons' sacred hall is now filled with people.

Those are the family members of those young people, and there are also many guests watching the excitement, and many elders sending good wishes.

The lively children were hushed by the adults, so they had to pick up their magic crystal screens to record this beautiful moment.

The sacred church was the main stage for dozens of young couples holding their weddings simultaneously.

Unlike weddings in other regions, here, it was the men in military uniforms who stood before the swearing statues, receiving flowers from the beautiful young women.

These men in military uniforms smiled as they accepted the girls' flowers, then knelt down on one knee in unison.

And the quiet cathedral echoed with the orderly and clear self-declarations of the beautiful young women.

"The Imperial newspapers once said that people secrete various hormones when in love,"

"These hormones play an important role in the generation, maintenance, and development of love, but love with 100% purity can only survive for eighteen months at most."

The onlookers listened quietly to the girls' voices, and even Anudalia and Sharos were frozen in this sacred moment.

On the cathedral's translucent dome, countless colorful birds paused for this moment, looking down into the church.

The gentle light shone through the dome, enveloping the faces of these young people, warm and sacred.

"So people don't actually have love later on; it's more like a family relationship that accompanies them throughout their lives."

The young girls suddenly laughed together, their voices beginning to soar.

"Humans are not creatures of constancy; unwavering love goes against nature."

"Instead of saying 'I will not leave you whether rich or poor' at this moment, I would rather swear under the witness of the dragon,"

"In the name of God, I will defy my instincts, disobey my nature, and love you forever!"

The young men laughed and jumped up, picking up their brides, shaking the brides' swaying white dresses like blooming flowers.

The church bells also rang at this moment, and the audience's applause and cheers were sent to these young people.

Countless birds on the dome also flapped their wings and flew up, scattering reflected colorful sunlight.

Anudalia looked at this scene and curled up the corners of her mouth, clapping her hands involuntarily.

The charming Dark Lord's face seemed to be transformed by the sacred light at this moment, appearing particularly dignified and elegant.

Alfred straightened his back, cheering loudly, sending warm blessings to the newlyweds.

"Like king, like people,"

"Where there is a king who rebels against his nature, there are people who disobey their instincts,"

"What an enviable country, Calonne Kogmorah, you are really amazing!" Anudalia looked up at the dome of the sacred church, sighing with a smile.

Thank you all for your votes!