Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 339: Meeting of Kings: In the Name of God
In just over half a month, the situation in the entire northern continent of the Ekania world was surging with alarming undercurrents beneath the surface calm.

Because of the conflict that broke out on the western coast of the Golden Empire, the more famous ancestor red dragon, the Dragon Emperor of the Golden Empire, Karon Gogmora, was also called the 'Emperor of Divine Punishment' by many people.

This means that even the gods in heaven brought down divine punishment because they were afraid of the dragon's thoughts and power.

However, although this brief outbreak of battle shocked many people, it had nothing to do with ordinary people who lived in the mundane world all day long.

In comparison, the dynamics caused by the Dragon Madness in the Golden Empire afterwards became the focus of the civilizational forces of the kingdoms of the entire northern continent and even other continents.

Not only the nobles and rulers who were high above were worried and frightened, but even the ordinary people were in panic all day long.

No matter how beautiful the Golden Empire’s propaganda is, war is still war, and no one likes war because it means accidents and death.

Especially in the territories ruled by the Northern and Southern Noble Alliance, rumors were spreading and the situation was turbulent, causing the lower-class people to live in constant fear.

Naturally, no other country in the world can compare to the Golden Empire in terms of how it treats its people. However, the common people in the Northern and Southern Aristocratic Alliance are not people of the Golden Empire.

In the Golden Empire, the high and mighty dragons are certainly famous, and there are many stories and legends about them in the mortal world.

However, the reputations of the vassal legions and generals in the empire who are loyal to the dragon are also spread in the market.

For example, the Imperial Berserker Legion led by the barbarian Gibb is composed of warriors who are mad at the sight of blood and have an extremely wild fighting style. They usually kill the enemy and peel off their skin to sacrifice the wild totem they carry on their bodies.

So the barbarian Gibb was also called the "Flayer" by the outside world.

Chiron, the dragon-born centaur who commanded the heavy-armored Death Knights of the Empire, was called the 'Bone Crusher' by the outside world because of the Death Knights' fighting style.

Among the orc legions that invaded the Golden Empire in the past, those orcs who died under the hooves of the Death Knights had almost no intact bones left on their bodies.

The dragon-born werewolf Saha was called the "Bloody Skull", and even Bartoli, the former leader of the Dragon Knights and a great human noble, was given the elegant name of "Bloodthirsty Rose".

Even Rayleigh, the later commander of the Lizardmen, who had not yet established any outstanding achievements in the Empire's foreign wars, was given the title of "Black Hand".

Because this lizardman leader had once fought in the central "Glory" arena of the empire, the two long swords on his surface were fierce and invincible.

But the third knife of this war lizard man is so treacherous and invisible that it is often the key to easily defeating the enemy, hence the name.

The reputation of these dragons' capable subordinates in the market is much worse than that of the dragons that rule the empire, which can be said to be enough to stop children from crying at night.

If the people in the market told their children that the dragon was going to take them away when they were crying, not only would the children not be scared, but they would instead ask questions excitedly.

But if you mention these 'infamous' dragon followers, the children will instantly become obedient.

However, from the outside world’s perspective, it is difficult to distinguish the affiliations and differences of the various legions of the Golden Empire, so the legions of the Golden Empire are collectively referred to as the “Beheader Legion.”

Because once they become enemies with the Golden Empire, those terrifying warriors will chop off all the enemy's skulls after killing them, and build a Jingguan to demonstrate the legion's military power.

Under such circumstances, there was a lot of panic and riots in the territories of many countries in the Southern Aristocratic Alliance.

Moreover, the Golden Empire also convened and invited several kings from the Northern Continent and the Western Continent to hold an alliance. When the news that the eight kings agreed to gather together for the alliance spread, it was a shocking event.

Even the two dominant empires in the central continent sent many envoys to the northern continent for observation. The farthest southern continent could not sit still. Countless delegations from kingdoms and civilizations came to the turbulent northern continent.

At first, the Southern Noble Alliance used the reason that there was no solid evidence against the Golden Empire to appease the people in its territory.

However, with the full mobilization of the Golden Empire's propaganda department, the real culprit behind the Golden Empire's "Dragon Madness Rebellion" has been pinned on the southern nobles under overwhelming public opinion.

If the southern nobles really have clean hands, they can still find ways to get rid of suspicion.

The spies and bards of the Harpist Alliance, who were remotely controlled by the green dragon Antajana with the 'Devil's Poison' potion, were stirring up trouble behind the scenes. After a few people showed up to prove their position, the culprit who started the war was completely identified.

Those nobles like to deal with others under the pretext of justice. The Golden Empire will also make these nobles taste the same and let them feel the regret that no one can stop them.

War is not something that can be started easily; it requires tremendous effort to mobilize armaments and transport and support logistics.

During this short month, the Golden Empire not only mobilized its armaments and prepared to start the war, but also allowed the Southern nobles to enjoy the pleasure of killing people and destroying their hearts.

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

There were also four countries bordering the two straits of the central continent and the northern continent coast that began to experience small-scale exodus of their subjects.

Even in Rose City, located at the southernmost tip of the northern continent and theoretically the safest place, a large number of wealthy businessmen and noble families began to flee to the central continent.

Although these fugitives and the rebellious slaves and poor people were quickly suppressed by the great nobles, this time even the great nobles who were the rulers could not help but worry about their future.

The Golden Empire alone was not in the eyes of these noble alliances. However, with so many kings united, no noble could maintain their original confidence.

These nobles even began to secretly send envoys to try to negotiate with the Golden Empire, hoping to use the dragon hunting team under their control and a large amount of wealth as compensation to dispel the Golden Empire's unprecedented idea.

It sounds simple to form alliances and make coalitions, but these nobles are not completely ignorant.

But in the history of Ekania, there has never been an empire as magnificent, bright, and powerful as the Golden Empire.

The policy of making friends far away and attacking nearby is not completely applicable to all regions. Even the rules of the universe can appear differently in different worlds, let alone strategies.

And Kalon Gogmora's strategy of making friends nearby and attacking from afar is not only to kill the heads of those southern nobles, but also to destroy their hearts.

Therefore, the Golden Empire rejected the requests for contact from the envoys secretly sent by the southern nobles.

The weak and compromising nobles received no response from the Golden Empire and could only prepare for war in anxiety.

The Principality of Marino, which had come into contact with the Hobis Empire, was the first to be hit.

The Principality of Malino joined forces with the Principality of Rosetta and the Principality of Damietta, which bordered its territory, and mobilized the civilians of the three countries to build border defenses day and night.

As time passed by day and night, a Marino Line of Defense, which was said to be impenetrable in the mortal world, gradually rose on the border of the Principality of Marino to prepare for future wars.

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

The greatest feeling that Anudale, the King of the Dark Elves, and Sharros, the Lord of the Dark Lair, who traveled around the King's Capital accompanied by the Golden Empire's Chief of Diplomacy, the Copper Dragon Alfred, was that the country was cohesive and full of vitality, and that the entire country was like the red dragon, the rising sun.

The second feeling is that in this land, magic and knowledge are no longer high and mighty, but serve everyone in the empire.

"Only in this way can magic, technology, knowledge, civilization, and wisdom have the potential and value for progress," said the copper dragon Alfred, adjusting the tortoise-shell magic glasses on his nose in a pretentious manner and smiling slightly.

The Black Dragon King Rosani wore glasses simply because the magic glasses had the power to suppress the Black Dragon's excessive dragon-eating mental state.

Alfred, the copper dragon who transformed into a young man with brown curly hair, put on glasses just for show.

Among the common people of the Golden Empire, students and ordinary people received education in the imperial academies and studied hard in order to excel with their own abilities.

As a result, many young and promising students suffered from myopia. Although these students could use magic to cure their eye diseases after they became successful, the image of wearing glasses as a sign of cultural intellectuals had already been widely circulated among the lower classes of the empire.

In order to show off his status as the head of the Empire's Cultural Propaganda Department, the copper dragon Alfred also imitated those show-offs who still wore glasses after their eyes were healed. What the superior likes, the subordinates will like even more, but in the case of Alfred, the copper dragon, it can be said that the heaven is the opposite.

However, considering the strange personality of this red copper dragon, it is not that strange.

Anudale and Sarah nodded slightly, looking at the lively scene in front of them with some emotion.

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

The newspapers published by the Golden Empire not only publish entertainment and cultural content, but also some academic research topics.

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

The Magic Alchemy Department will also publish popular science articles in newspapers about some alchemical materials and alchemical knowledge that can be encountered in the wild.

With the growing development of the empire's magic industrialization, the magic crystal screen projector has become a small magical device that almost every household in the city of the King's Capital can afford.

At the suggestion of the Steel Dragon Midil, the production organization of the Magic Crystal Screen Projector joined forces with the opera houses and cultural management departments in various cities of the empire.

Families who purchase the Magic Crystal Screen only need to buy tickets for their favorite opera house projection, and they can use the crystal screen projector to watch the real-time performances of the opera house.

You can also browse the contents of books that are publicly available for purchase in the Imperial Library on a crystal screen projector through the Cultural Management Department, but you cannot copy and reprint them at will because the copyright and tax issues of the Empire have already jumped out of the little head of the Steel Dragon Midil.

Of course, the head of the Imperial Culture and Propaganda Department, Sir Alfred, has already tricked the two big fat sheep in front of him into purchasing the projection qualifications for all opera houses in the imperial cities.

The Dark Elves King Anudale and the Dark Lord Sharros did not care about these small expenses. Although their wealth was somewhat incomparable to that of the Golden Empire, it was far greater than the wealth accumulated by an ancient dragon.

During this period of more than half a month, after careful consultation with the Dragon Kings of the Golden Empire, the two lords and kings successively used the Empire's giant steel ship, the fleet of the 'Imperial Glory', to transport the four most elite legions of the Dark Elves to the outskirts of the Golden Empire for stationing.

These legions of dark elves have undergone a transformation through magical rituals, avoiding long-term residence in the Underdark and being unable to adapt to the environmental climate of the surface world.

More dark elves are stationed in the territory of the Dark Nest Lord, Sharos, waiting for the subsequent magic ritual transformation.

Sarah proposed that the Golden Empire provide the spellcasting corps with a permanent large-scale magic transmission channel facility between the two places to facilitate the subsequent movement of troops. All resource consumption would be borne by the Dark Elves and the Dark Nest.

Therefore, Sarah sent out two alchemy legions to station along with the dark elf legion.

It is precisely because these complicated and troublesome matters have been settled that the two lords were able to take time out today to leisurely travel around the capital of the Golden Empire.

But this trip obviously brought many surprises to the two lords.

"What's going on over there?" Anudale took a deep breath, enjoying the atmosphere of the city, and pointed to the bustling and majestic temple in front of him.

Sarah's eyes also flickered as she looked forward.

There were countless white, gray and brown birds with colorful feathers landing there, and many children were laughing and playing, holding flowers in their hands, tearing off the petals and scattering them everywhere.

Even the air is filled with the fragrance of flowers and the taste of joy.

Young people in wedding dresses and imperial officer uniforms, encouraged by the crowd and under the wings of the imperial dragon statues, stepped into the majestic temple one after another.

Alfred smiled and said, "That is a wedding for young people. They will be married in the sacred cathedral, witnessed by the dragons of the empire, and stay together for the rest of their lives."

In the eyes of these people, the dragon's temple is a sacred church and a temple that witnesses the love of young people.

"I'm a little curious," Sarah said to Alfred with a twinkling look in her eyes, "Can we enter the temple of dragons and watch the wedding of mortals?"

"Of course, everyone can. Although you are guests, you still have the right to independence and freedom." Alfred bowed like a gentleman and invited: "Two distinguished guests, let us witness their love together."

The sacred temple of the dragon is now filled with people.

There were family members of those young people, many guests who came to watch the fun, and many elders who gave their best wishes.

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

The sacred church is home to dozens of young couples holding their weddings at the same time.

Different from weddings in other areas, the young men here were wearing military uniforms and standing in front of the oath statue, accepting flowers from beautiful young girls.

The men in military uniforms accepted the flowers from the girls with a smile, then knelt down on one knee in unison.

And in the quiet cathedral, the beautiful girls' neat and clear self-pledges rang out.

"It was said in the Empire's newspapers that when people are in love, they secrete a variety of hormones,"

"These hormones play an important role in the generation, maintenance and development of love, but 100% pure love can only survive for 18 months at most."

The spectators listened quietly to the girls' voices, and even Anudale and Shalos were frozen in sacred time at this moment.

On the translucent dome of the church, countless colorful birds stopped for this moment and looked down into the church.

The gentle light from the dome enveloped the faces of these young people, making them warm and sacred.

"So in the end, people don't actually have love in their lives. It's more like a kind of family relationship that accompanies each other throughout their lives."

The young girls suddenly laughed at the same time, and their voices began to float.

"Humans are not creatures of long-lasting affection. Love that lasts until death is against nature."

"Rather than saying at this moment, 'I will never leave you whether you are rich or poor,' I would rather swear this in front of the dragon as a witness."

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

The young boys jumped up and laughed, picked up their brides, and swayed their swaying white dresses like a blooming flower.

The church bells rang at this moment, and the audience applauded and cheered for these young people.

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

Anudalie looked at this scene, curled up the corners of his mouth, and clapped his hands involuntarily.

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

Alfred straightened his back, cheered loudly, and gave warm blessings to the newcomers.

"As the emperor is, so are his subjects."

"Where there is a king who rebels against nature, there will be a people who rebel against instinct."

"What a country I envy, Kalon Gogmora, you are really amazing!" Anudale looked up at the dome of the Holy Church, smiled and sighed.

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(End of this chapter)