Beneath the Red Dragon

Eagles soar in the sky, fish swim in the shallow depths, myriad creatures bask in the frost of freedom.

This is the first impression the Golden Empire gives to all outsiders.

Although the Gogomola Dragon Group stands at the pinnacle of civilization, under the guidance of those dragons’ wisdom, a unique authoritarian rule has been formed, a system of open growth decided by the absolute power of the high ranks.

This proves that the combination of heroic historiography and people’s historiography is the most correct path for the Golden Empire.

All beings possess power, but need to be organized. Shortsightedness is the enemy of all beings, thus a clear ideological leadership and advanced thought guidance are needed.

This is what the Civilization Observation Council of the Golden Empire upholds, under the ideological will of the Emperor of the Imperial, initially defining criteria for selecting other civilizations.

Under the lofty dome, the great scholars of the council for the Empire’s future are gathered, the intense discussions around the thick, long round table nearing their end.

As an extension of the will of the Ancestral Red Dragon, every institution and department of the Imperial possesses specific duties.

The purpose of the Civilization Observation Council is self-explanatory.

Theoretically speaking, among the myriad races and civilizations of the world, there exists the probability to give birth to miracles.

However, in the scholars’ view within the Empire’s council, if a civilization does not meet the Empire’s audit standards, its probability of birthing miracles approaches zero.

The Emperor of the Imperial and the Dragon Group’s goal is precisely those miracles created by the wisdom of all beings.

"The progress of all civilizations, the source of all wisdom birthing miracles, begins with the progress of ideas," said Rajek, the Empire’s mortal great scholar.

This white-haired scholar exudes youthful passion and vigor, a result of spiritual exhilaration.

Rajek knocked on the heavy mahogany table and said loudly, "The Elf Race of the Western Continent, although they possess similar blemishes as all beings, they love magic and nature, love art and craftsmanship, love all beautiful things in this world."

"This will indeed cause these elves to indulge in their gentle homeland, causing the current social structure of those elves in the Western Continent to be nearly primitive tribal family forms, resisting communication with the outside world,"

"Yet their pursuit of beauty will inspire them enough on the path to perfection, remembering that ancient Elf Kingdoms also possessed brilliant civilizations."

"Once these elves have enough time to undergo conceptual transformation, under external pressure and factors, they will quickly revive their ancient glory."

"So I believe the Elf Kingdom on the Western Continent can be considered a neighbor target of choice for the Empire, rather than integrating into the Empire, as they may have sufficient growth potential."

Rajek raised his hand and said loudly, "So, your opinions?"

"Aye (agree)!"

The scholars behind the round table, all wearing crowns of knowledge, with scholar robes front decorated with insignia composed of a skull and sparks representing knowledge, raised their hands in agreement to the great scholar’s words.

A middle-aged great scholar knocked on the table, suppressing the voice of discussion that was beginning.

"These elves harmonize with nature. Even those dragons untransformed by the Empire can extend under such harmony, the Elf Kingdom having treaties with the mighty Green Dragons and other dragon races,"

"Green Dragons and other dragon races bestow these elves special magic abilities with Giant Dragon magic. Even though the elves dislike those evil untamed Colorful Dragons, they still maintain the treaties until those making the treaties pass away, until today."

The middle-aged great scholar concluded, "This aspect needs to be presented in the documents submitted to the Dragon Lords, and I agree with Great Scholar Rajek’s viewpoint, which will conclude today’s meeting."

"As for the Naga Tribe of the Deep Sea Realm, as previously discussed, these Nagas with no developmental potential, in alliance with the Empire, must be dominated, assimilated, transformed, and fully subordinated! Today’s discussion concludes, dismissed!"

When the council’s articles are submitted to the Dragon Lords, some Giant Dragon Lords can no longer hide in their nests.

The majority of affairs are spontaneously solved by the Empire’s officials under the prevalent shirking technique within the Gogomola Dragon Group, but diplomatic intercourse between such civilized realms must bring the Giant Dragon Lords to the forefront.

Yet the Nagas of the deep sea are not very pleased.

Having arrived at the Capital City of the Golden Empire for several days, they have not seen any invitation and welcome from any Giant Dragon Lord. Now a minister led them up the mountains, where only a giant greeted them.

A Storm Giant like iron, holding a dark steel fork resembling meteorite gold struck from the Star Realm, fine metal fragments entwined around the massive weapon as though it were lightning from the sky.

"Friends from the deep sea, I am commanded by the Emperor to escort you to an audience!"

The giant’s eyes have fine lightning-like textures as he spoke.

The massive steel fork lightly tapped the hard stone slab, producing an iron’s wail, causing these Nagas to feel a tingling sensation on their skin exposed to the air.

And the giant’s gaze on the Nagas was akin to looking at prey, stirring dissatisfaction in their hearts.

Yet these Nagas do not know, under the evaluation of the Empire’s Civilization Observation Council, the Empire believes that before beings like Naga, the Empire should showcase bare strength and hegemony, rather than the gentle civilization toward the Elf Kingdom’s envoy.

This is why, although Storm Giant Garcia is neither humble nor arrogant, he still harbors immense pride within.

Yet the Naga Queen’s face did not display the same anger as the other four-armed Naga warriors; she merely observed the huge giant.

On this giant’s body, she could sense a latent, destructive power and the scent of overcoming her weaknesses and fears.

Among these beloved of the dragons, one could see the shadow of the empire rulers.

These were predators viewing all dissenters as prey.

Thus, the Naga Queen calmed her personal warriors and led her people to follow the giant to the golden empire’s King’s Castle.

In front of this majestic castle stood an Elf Delegation led by human maidens. Despite the hidden power within these elves giving the Nagas a sense of danger, their gazes were nonetheless drawn to the enormous structure before them.

It was an enormous edifice that mortal beings could not imagine—an immense castle perched atop the precipice of a high mountain, occupying all visible space.

Innumerable marble and cyan gang stone structures rose from the ground, their tops reaching the clouds as if celestial palaces growing from the sky.

An immeasurable mountain steel gate stood at the front, with the courtyard’s giant terraces peeking out behind it like rolling hills.

Each level of the giant castle had expansive platforms extending outward, capable of allowing an Ancient Dragon to move freely.

The load-bearing pillars supporting the castle surged with unimaginable power within them, appearing as grand as energy towers from other dimensions.

"Is this still a castle? It’s already like a city!" exclaimed a four-armed Naga Guard, looking up in awe.

Divine Favored Princess Jaluun snapped out of her reverie and curiously looked at the Elf Delegation. While dozens of elf envoys also gazed up at the massive structure, the golden-haired elf at the forefront had her eyes set beyond the Royal Court.

Jaluun turned her head, but the hill-like structures blocked her view. The distant Royal Court was shrouded in a supernatural mist, preventing even the Divine Favored Naga’s powers from seeing the elf’s target.

As long-lived creatures, elves do not naturally gain ancient and powerful abilities over time like the Dragon Race, but they possess high magic affinity and exceptional physical qualities.

Through acquired learning, they can more easily reach peaks of strength than other races.

An ordinary elf naturally has a lifespan of seven to nine hundred years, but under the influence of the Tree of Life, their lifespan can extend beyond a millennium.

Such a long lifespan, far exceeding short-lived races like the Naga, allows them to accumulate immense power through practice over the years.

That golden-haired elf, though she appeared as youthful and pure as a noble maiden, was also seen as a formidable powerhouse by the Divine Favored Naga.

"For a race like elves that doesn’t consciously seek power, reaching the peak of the Holy Sanctuary at the age of two hundred is an exceptional talent,"

Keep in mind, the Legendary Tier isn’t something commonplace.

Other than those who knew their potential was exhausted and couldn’t ascend any further, no being would easily attempt to surpass legendary power in pursuit of strength.

Especially in their own plane of existence, each being receives a transformative decision from destiny upon reaching the legendary tier.

Much like dragons born on their home plane, no matter which world they travel to, they eventually fall into slumber on their native land, facilitating their trials of time and aiding their transformation.

Thus, the concept of "Heaven and Earth as the parents of all beings" is popular among legendary powerhouses.

Some strong beings, after gradually perfecting their ideas and world rule systems, can spontaneously acquire the abilities they desire during destiny’s decision-making process based on their conditions and abilities.

Thus, some powerful beings conduct targeted training and learning to increase their odds of acquiring desired abilities.

This is the kind of power that wisdom can acquire, as, in the eyes of the strong, wisdom is the source of all strength.

Just like the King of Frost Giants’ choice to rise above legendary status, it has been deeply tied to the Frost Giant race.

The stronger the Frost Giant race, the more King of Frost Giants, Ragnar Heg, would ascend.

This is an extremely bold decision, although the decline of the Frost Giants wouldn’t lead to his downfall, the future of the Frost Giants deeply influences Ragnar’s achievements.

And the Elf Maiden in the Divine Favored Naga’s eyes possesses such potential, undeniably counted among future powerhouses.

Jaluun sought among the Elf Delegation, also curious about the purpose of their visit to the Dragon Empire.

But that powerful elf maiden, noble as a princess figure, unexpectedly took a step back slowly.

All of the elf envoys and the mighty elf guards quietly retreated.

The Divine Favored Naga turned her head, her eyes widening in the color of the deep sea.