Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 419 Dominating the World
Upon hearing the red dragon's arrogant words, all the altosaurs and sub-dragons' indifferent faces suddenly changed color.

All dragons possess an intense desire and confidence that are unmatched by mortal creatures, a result of the influence of their bloodline innate abilities.

Even though Morton the Iron Dragon was somewhat wary of the hidden strength behind the Golden Empire, he couldn't help but feel intense anger.

"I don't deserve it?"

The massive, steel-colored, pointed head of the Iron Dragon Morton snaked forward like a lizard, its pupils displaying a cruelty and savagery akin to that of a dragon. In the Iron Dragon Morton's pupils, the malice overcame any fear of the Golden Empire.

"I am not worthy?" The roar of the dragon echoed through the city.

There are countless kinds of living beings in the world, and countless kinds of thoughts and ideas.

Not every dragon is like the great dragons of Gorgmora, who shirk power because of the mountain of responsibilities they bear.

Because the other dragons ruled their kingdoms with power but no responsibility.

But it is precisely because of this that other dragons truly enjoy the unbridled abuse of power, even regarding it as a delicacy surpassing all others in the world.

Even among mortals, there are countless people who, even when facing death, refuse to relinquish the supreme power they hold. How much more so for dragons, who possess desires a hundred times stronger than those of mortals?

Enraged, Morton the Iron Dragon slammed his massive steel claws against the metal castle beneath him, causing the entire colossal castle to vibrate and hum with magical energy.

The castle, the core of the city's magical defense system, finally released the magical energy it had accumulated over the years, and a massive magic circle, large enough to cover the entire city, unfolded in the sky.

Amidst ancient magical chants, the massive magic circle scattered specks of metallic steel ash, like ashes falling from the sky, onto the legionary warriors guarding the city walls.

The armor and weapons of these legionary warriors were enhanced by the magic circle, resulting in a collective buff that made their weapons sharper and their armor more durable.

In an instant, blades flashed and sword shadows loomed. Tens of thousands of legion warriors raised their swords high amidst the roar of the 'Steel King'. Countless serpent monsters and lizard monsters roared, and giant iron dragons and sub-dragons spread their wings, revealing their sharp teeth and howling.

"I possess the power of the entire world, my legion warriors are fearless, my dragon family has twelve young great dragons united under my rule, and thirty-six powerful young lesser dragons who respect me as their leader. Am I not worthy?"

Morton the Iron Dragon roared, "I am the King of Midr, I am the Steel King who controls metal, I am Garugsingo, the future Iron Dragon, I am the destined Supreme Dragon of the Iron Dragon race!"

"You mongrels of the Golden Empire, five-colored dragons, dare to defy the power and glory of us, the Iron Dragons!"

Morton the Iron Dragon slammed his massive steel claws onto the castle and roared, "Then come on! Before my stronghold, even if your so-called True Dragon Emperor of the Golden Empire comes in person, I will see if he has the ability to breach my dragon's lair."

"And you will all die before my dragon's lair, your heads will be hung on the city walls to dry for millions of years, becoming stepping stones for me to revive the glory of the Iron Dragon race!"

Iron Dragon Morton's words were not empty boasting.

The dragon indeed held an unparalleled advantage in its own dragon nest, which it had cultivated for a long time. Moreover, this iron dragon had the entire main city as the guardian of its dragon nest, making it an impregnable fortress in Morton's eyes.

Although Nero the Red Dragon was able to hold his own against Morton the Iron Dragon, Morton still held an absolute advantage, only unable to deal with the agile and fierce Red Dragon.

After all, it is extremely rare for dragons to become masters of elemental control through their own abilities. Generally speaking, only those magic-loving dragons who diligently study magic can possess such abilities.

The golden behemoth suddenly smiled faintly. As the emperor's adopted son, Achilles's status in the Golden Empire was inherently noble and sacred, and even a red dragon like Nero had to give way to him.

Moreover, the six Titan Golem armors that Nero requested his companions to borrow were originally Behemoth's private property.

The Golden Empire's current system is quite different from the original one. The central council of the empire has always upheld the will of the True Dragon Emperor, allowing the empire's civilized system to be continuously optimized and reformed as the empire progresses.

Civilizations that exist within the world have their own established systems, but civilizations that step outside the world's plane of existence need to implement a different, more suitable system.

The Dragon King of the Empire, along with the generals of the Empire and the leaders of various races, led their armies to explore other planes. The power they gained and the resources they controlled were highly autonomous and proactive.

In the newly introduced imperial policies of the Central Council of the Golden Empire, the leaders of the legions that conquer and manage other dimensional worlds are generally appointed as governors of those dimensional worlds, wielding all military and political power over them.

The dragon kings do not need the power to hold positions such as planar governors. The high dragons at the core of the Gorgmora dragonflight often appoint their trusted confidants to rule the planar worlds they conquer.

Aside from paying taxes to the Empire and supplementing the Imperial military's expenses each year according to the local economic development and policy support of these conquered worlds, the Imperial headquarters almost never actively requests additional resources.

These conquered planes possess relatively free autonomy, and can be governed by a plane governor based on the local conditions and with reference to the policies of the Imperial Headquarters.

However, this does not mean that the relationship between other worlds and the Imperial headquarters has become loose; on the contrary, it has become exceptionally close under such a system.

The Imperial Central Military Headquarters nominally has the power to appoint and dismiss all positions in all planes of existence, but as long as the governors of other planes of existence maintain their exchanges of interests with the Imperial Headquarters, the Central Military Headquarters almost never interferes with the power transitions in other planes of existence.

However, there is a prerequisite: all officials in the different worlds, and all members of the bureaucratic system, must undergo a six-month long-term training at the Imperial headquarters before taking office, and then obtain the approval of the Central Council in order to truly integrate into the Imperial system.

Furthermore, the Imperial Central Council, through a collective resolution of the Dragon Kings, granted those plane governors a crucial power—the exchange of resources.

The Imperial Headquarters, which possesses the highest power and the most advanced magical technology, allows governors of other planes to develop the military power of their respective planes through the exchange of resources.

Taking the creation of the Golem Legion as an example, the resources Behemoth Achilles acquired in the early stages of his small-scale dimensional expansion were approximately 200,000 gold coins in the Empire.

If Achilles is willing to transfer this resource, estimated at 200,000 gold coins, back to the Imperial headquarters, then one-third of the resource will be collected into the Imperial Treasury as part of the Dragon Kings' wealth accumulation.

One-third of the resources are allocated by the Imperial Central Council as funds for the operation and development of the empire.

The remaining third of the resources were given to Achilles by the Imperial Headquarters as a reward, allowing him, within the Empire's capabilities, to designate powerful war machines and legions for him to use advanced magical technology.

The six Titan-level golem armors are one of the assets Achilles has gradually accumulated over the years. Nero's two Titan golem armors are also powerful weapons he has acquired over the years.

It's not that Nero, the red dragon, is more selfish than Achilles, but rather that the growth of a dragon itself consumes more resources compared to Behemoth.

The introduction of this policy was of great importance. It not only gave many outstanding talents in the Empire a strong driving force to move forward, but also made those Imperial talents who stepped out of the Empire and out of the world of Ekania willing to contribute benefits to the Empire.

According to the analysis of the think tanks in the central parliament, limitations in power or status ultimately cannot sustain a single, unwavering human devotion in the long run.

Even the most powerful civilizations have many ambitious individuals. Only through the binding of interests and effective exchange can an empire function more efficiently.

The imperial headquarters, which possesses supreme power and the highest level of violence, has never been afraid of any hidden agendas that might arise in other dimensions in the future.

Therefore, although Achilles is still only the young Behemoth, he has already developed the demeanor of a mature general after several years of training.

His voice boomed like the rumble of the earth, "Your achievements are perhaps already remarkable even in this small world, Morton, you are also one of the best among the iron dragons."

Achilles' golden pupils shot out two beams of light indifferently, sharp as swords, and he coldly sneered, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth: "But compared to the civilization of the Empire, you are nothing more than a small country nobleman daring to compare yourself to the king of the kingdom."

"Under the rule of Emperor Goggmora, the dragon horde consists of hundreds of great dragons, and the lesser dragons and giant dragons are all unified under the will of the true dragons. Including the young dragons and fledglings, the entire horde comprises over a thousand giant dragons, and hundreds of thousands of dragon beasts, demon dragons, and flying dragons."

"If you were to witness the glorious arrival of the Imperial Emperor, you would see that the entire Midr Plane—sky, land, sea, mountains, swamps, and deserts—would be completely dominated by the forms of dragons,"

Achilles, as Charon's adopted son, was often teased by Charon in his childhood, but his respect and trust for Charon was no less than that of any other dragon, and even far exceeded that of the new generation of dragons in the Empire due to the closeness of their relationship.

Moreover, living in a more advanced dragon civilization and a more advanced empire, the new generation of these empires naturally possesses the superiority of looking down on those corrupt and backward systems.

As a new order with advanced guiding ideologies, the Golden Empire naturally needed to trample on these backward old orders.

They didn't despise the dragons, but rather they despised the dragons for being brainless.

Therefore, the usually honest Achilles was quite disdainful of Morton's words, a sentiment that was evident in his words.

"Don't even mention facing the Emperor of the Empire. Even if any one of the dragon kings from the Gogmora dragonflight were to descend upon you, you would only face two paths: death or submission. There would be no exceptions."

The golden behemoth stomped on the earth, and amidst the violent tremors and rumbling, countless cracks in the earth rose up, and jagged mountain pillars transformed into weapons in its hands, standing tall on the surface.

Achilles is the natural lord of the mountains, and his power to command them has now awakened, far surpassing that of his former, mindless, beast-like kin in the orc kingdom.

Within the cracked earth, countless millipedes with iron-claw-like limbs spread densely beneath the ground. Controlled by Achilles through the imperial domain, they simultaneously raised their heads, their indifferent compound eyes gazing in unison at the iron dragons in the city.

"Digging up ground beetles?"

Iron Dragon Morton was slightly taken aback; he knew of this extraordinary magical beast that only lived underground.

Although these extraordinary magical beasts are born extraordinary creatures, their combat abilities are quite weak. They feed on minerals, microorganisms, and carrion in the soil, but their talent for digging is unmatched even by kobolds and dwarves who are skilled at mining.

The main city was built on the earth, but no matter how solid the foundation was, the densely packed, thousands-strong earth-digging earthworms could dig a barrier through the entire city in a few days, exposing the foundation beneath the surface that supported the city.

By then, the city will no longer be impregnable.

"The Empire possesses a comprehensiveness beyond your imagination,"

Achilles gripped the jagged mountain pillar with one hand, pointing it at the Iron Dragon Morton, "The Empire's legions have engineer-beast legions capable of handling any situation, as well as naval fleets, air legions, and land legions to deal with all kinds of conditions."

"And we are just an insignificant vanguard legion in the Empire. Morton, you'd better think carefully before letting your barren, dog-like brain lead you to your death."

Achilles' words were filled with a blatant threat. He concluded calmly, "If our vanguard legions fail to break through this time, the next force to arrive in the Middle Plane will be the combined forces of the Blue Dragon Caesar and the Cloud Dragon Derrick, along with their entire vanguard legions."

"Of course, if you can withstand this and the next blow, then you may see the Dragon King of the Empire descend in person."

"The Dragon King of the Golden Empire is worlds apart from the 'Dragon King' you call yourself!"

"The Dragon King of the Empire not only possesses the title of Dragon King, but also the true authority of a Dragon King. You would not want to see them."

All the sub-iron dragons, including Morton the Iron Dragon, were not only in a state of threatened rage, but also overwhelmed by a sense of disbelief.

After all, such a strange dragon civilization as the Golden Empire is almost impossible to find in the dragon heritage.

A kingdom ruled by five-colored dragons yet possessing the mannerisms of metal dragons, where selfish, chaotic, and violent five-colored dragons can unite—it's hard for anyone to believe this without witnessing it firsthand.

But the sight of these young dragons and what they displayed made Iron Dragon Morton begin to doubt his own judgment.

Nero, the red dragon, watched as the amalgamite dragons, initially angered but now hesitant under Achilles' intimidation, finally spoke: "The Emperor possesses tolerance for all dragons, provided you do not defy his will."

"Morton, and all the sub-dragons, demigods, and legion warriors under your rule, your past mistakes can be forgiven; after all, ignorance is bliss."

"But you must go to the Imperial headquarters to present the returned Emperor with your forgiveness and accept the punishment you deserve,"

"Otherwise, with the imperial army pressing in, the Middle Plane will be annihilated! Your heads will become spoils of war, used to display the emperor's power!"

"The ancient dragon behind you cannot save you from the emperor's wrath!"

(End of this chapter)