Beneath the Red Dragon

Thanks to the effect of dispersion and clustering, the former Dragon Group engaged in trade with the many nobles of the Northern Territory in their youth, serving as the tentacles connecting the north-south trade network for the Dragon Group Territory.

The ensuing slave trade opened the doors of trade for both parties. Although the majority of nobles who once cooperated with the Dragon Group have now fallen, annexed and expelled by the Hobis Empire, Karon remains very grateful to those greedy nobles of the past.

If it weren’t for the Dragon Group’s cooperation with those nobles back then, it would have been very difficult for the Golden Empire to open the sea trade route to the south on its own.

Especially considering the Dragon Empire, deeply feared and resisted by other civilizations.

Fortunately, as trade deepened, many southern nobles have formed economic relations with the Golden Empire that cannot be severed in a short period of time.

Thus, the current situation is one of open cooperation between the Golden Empire and the Southern Countries, with hidden confrontation and mutual tripping behind the scenes.

"Those nobles have been rooted in their territories for thousands of years," Karon said with a smile, "Do not think the empire, having opened several world planes and amassed vast wealth and resources, can compare to the treasure troves of those old great nobles, even I as the Emperor might not match up to them in terms of gold and treasures."

Gomot shook his head and said, "Compared to the Vampire Species on the Western Continent, these nobles are more deserving of the name Vampires. Moreover, Karon, even though you are the empire’s Emperor, I have never seen any ruler or dragon like you willing to push out an ocean of treasures just to build a nation."

In fact, not just in the Icaria World, it’s hard to find an emperor and dragon like Karon in any world.

It’s not only contrary to the nature of dragons, but also to some extent contrary to general human nature.

Karon smiled and said, "Gomot, when did you learn that kind of flattery from humans? I’m not ungreedy, not treating money like dirt, I just know what things are more important."

White Dragon Gomot smiled slightly, revealing his dragon-man sharp teeth, and said nothing further.

Karon inspected his territory, but it was not solely for leisure and idling.

He believed that while the framework for a city’s rise doesn’t need to be overly elaborate, a mature nation must possess three things.

The first is a sound administrative system, which has been sufficiently perfected in the town. The empire’s tax system has already established the Imperial Tax Office under the guidance of the Ancestral Golden Dragon Oblash, thanks to Karon’s patriotic iron-fisted education over the years on this golden dragon.

Secondly, it’s the education system. Unifying and consolidating a common cultural will is a foundational aspect that must be emphasized within the empire’s multicultural and multi-racial civilization.

The town is also constructing the Imperial National Institute’s Primary Education Office, which greatly gratifies Karon.

However, there’s another point, the medical system, which most nobles overlook. Although it’s emphasized by the empire, it hasn’t developed quickly.

The reason is that in the Icaria World, those with healing ability are mostly priests. Some casters only specialize in healing magic ability development when there’s no other path to follow.

While priests aren’t necessarily required to believe in the gods to obtain healing abilities from divine art bestowed by the gods, those who independently master divine art often need a particularly firm belief, seeing their revered philosophy as the grantor of divine power.

This also results in the high threshold for the priest profession. Compared to the population of those civilized nations, priests who believe in the gods are almost negligible.

Among the ordinary healer mortals, most are humans without spellcasting ability, those who can master rudimentary magic abilities are already considered exceptional talents.

Although the empire aspires to vigorously cultivate spellcasting healers, inviting many with healing magic talents to impart knowledge to the empire, few are willing to pursue this path.

Only after leaving the town did Karon express these concerns, as Gomot hadn’t noticed this issue yet.

It’s not that Karon harbored much consideration for the empire’s populace, but a sound medical system is an indispensable element of a mature civilized realm.

Perhaps its importance isn’t prominent in times of peace, but in war, those medical professionals serve as one of the empire’s backbones, and many warriors otherwise fated to perish would see those healers as savior angels.

"It seems imperial policy needs to pivot towards this aspect," White Dragon Gomot said, "I’ll communicate with Doss after returning, after all, you might have told me about this to make me a runner."

Karon laughed, revealing his white teeth; it’s not entirely out of laziness, but there’s a peculiar pleasure in shifting blame that he can’t resist indulging.

The day was still early, Karon and Gomot did not intend to stay longer in this small town. Having grown accustomed to the splendor of the Royal Capital and Golden City, this Sea of Fury Harbor Town by the seaside seemed like a rundown countryside in comparison.

Moreover, the entertainment venues of other big cities, such as the Gladiatorial Arena, Giant Dragon Opera House, Giant Dragon Library, and Giant Dragon Card Hall, haven’t yet been built in this town.

So Karon had to bring White Dragon Gomot to a platform under the cliffs by the sea, picking up his childhood hobby of being an angler fishing for sea fish, quietly waiting for the arrival of the legendary Dark Lord.

In fact, Karon’s childhood hobby of fishing was not only to temper his impatient nature as the Red Dragon but also out of necessity, as there weren’t many entertainment options in the wild.

However, with more fishing experiences, Karon grew to enjoy this quiet activity.

In the Dragon Group, although all Giant Dragons regarded Karon as a model, few took to the boring project of fishing.

Dragons are impatient creatures; if Black Dragon Rosani were here, this black dragon would presumably just dive into the sea excitedly, catch a few big fish, hang them on Karon’s hook, and encourage him to wrap up early.

Now, within the Gogomola Dragon Group, only Blue Dragon Doss, White Dragon Gomot, and White Dragon Camid can calm their hearts and accompany Karon in fishing.

Blue Dragon Doss and White Dragon Gomot, due to their control over dragon nature, have reached the strongest level within the Dragon Group besides Karon.

As for White Dragon Camid, he probably would accompany Karon fishing while dozing off.

However, Karon and Gomot spent an entire afternoon on the seaside platform, without resorting to any Extraordinary Power, simply relying on skill, they ended up empty-handed.

Of course, if you count the giant deep-sea crab that crawled into the fish basket of its own accord, using Karon’s basket as its shore-based nest, the Ancestral Red Dragon might not count as an air force member after all.

This indicates that if two dragons intended to become fishermen and anglers, they might not even satisfy their hunger.

Bang,

Even White Dragon Gomot’s calm demeanor couldn’t endure any longer. He kicked over the fish basket beside him, exclaiming indignantly, "Karon, we’ve been deceived by that self-proclaimed fishing master angler. This place is devoid of fish. When we return, we should implement policies to punish these deceitful individuals."

"Hmm," Karon glanced at the shimmering schools of fish beneath the sea surface, solemnly nodding, "You’re right, Gomot, I fully support your idea!"

Caw,

The sound of a mighty eagle arose, but it was the signal of the Imperial Legion’s scouting sentinels.

Karon raised his head, watching the ships appearing on the horizon, flocks of Ravens circling above the vessels. The flag of the Dark Nest fluttered, depicting an Eye of Darkness ensnared in a spider web.

The Dark Nest Lord, Queen of Poison, Sarice, had arrived.