Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 421 The Power of the Dragon King and the Fairy Dragon
"Expeditionary Force Flagship No. 13 requests entry into port! Expeditionary Force Flagship No. 13 requests entry into port!"

The AI ​​on Nero's flagship, the War Brain, was transmitting messages through its independent sub-brains, the voice coming from the loudspeaker mechanical and rhythmic.

"The port connection request has been received. We are verifying the eligibility to proceed. The eligibility has been verified and passage is permitted!"

"Hammer control activated. The floating harbor is about to open the nearest port gate (Number 3). Please proceed into port in an orderly manner."

"Your Highness Nero, Commander of the 13th Expeditionary Force, welcome back to the Empire. All your colleagues at the Imperial Space Port pay their respects to you. May your fellow soldiers of the 13th Expeditionary Force also be well. The Empire stands with you!"

The broadcast, carrying psionic currents, floated above the massive spaceport, just like the dragon empire's royal banners fluttering in the wind, protected by the floating city's force field.

"This is the world of Aikania, this is the headquarters of the Golden Empire?"

Iron Dragon Morton transformed into his dragon-human form and stood on the deck of a massive, alloy-made shuttle-shaped warship, where he did not stand out much.

With the warp jump now complete, the magical protective field of the entire warship has been removed, and hundreds of Imperial Legion warriors surged onto the decks open to both sides of the massive warship, gazing excitedly at the floating island that was now almost in sight.

These expeditionary soldiers removed their face shields, their eyes filled with tears as they felt this intangible atmosphere.

"I'm finally back in the Empire! Haha, this time I'm going to drink at the tavern for three days and three nights!"

A strong dwarf warrior, his large, red nose twitching pretentiously outside the barrier of the world where smells were nonexistent, then revealed a look of rapture.

"The atmosphere in Aikania's world still makes me feel the most comfortable!"

On the deck of the warship, countless legion soldiers were discussing among themselves, their eyes scanning the floating islands. These familiar scenes filled the soldiers with warmth and nostalgia.

Unlike the legionary warriors of the expeditionary force, Morton the Iron Dragon was amazed and shocked by everything he saw.

In his eyes, the Milky Way, composed of billions of starlight and solar rays, revolves around a massive floating island in the vast cosmic sky, outside the world's barrier, injecting immeasurable eternal power into this floating island called Space Harbor.

Even with the size of Morton the Iron Dragon, it was no bigger than an ant compared to this floating island.

Compared to the massive floating island and the enormous barrier of the world of Ekania that is so vast that it cannot be seen clearly, the entire floating island is like a sesame seed embedded in a boundless plain.

The visual impact of this relative disparity on Morton the Iron Dragon is unparalleled, especially the meaning behind these floating islands, which proves that the gap between the civilization of the Golden Empire and the Steel Kingdom is measured in generations.

"So, Morton, do you now think that what I said was just a scare and deception?"

The blond Behemoth weaved through the bustling crowd and stood beside the iron dragon Morton, watching the familiar buildings in the space harbor gradually fly into view. The cold and divine artistic sense gave him a feeling of returning home after a long absence.

Iron Dragon Morton was bound and imprisoned by the magic of Red Dragon Nero, so that even when the Iron Dragon transformed into a dragon-man form, its power was limited to a minimum, which was also reflected in the thinness of its dragon-man body.

Both Achilles and Nero, who had transformed into a ferocious red dragon with horns, were more than a head taller than Morton, forcing Morton to tilt his head slightly to look up at the two 'boys' surrounding him!
"what is that?"

Iron Dragon Morton did not answer the other party's question. Instead, he pointed to the floating island anchored on the barrier of the world of Ekania, seemingly eternally facing away from the sun and stars, and asked Achilles.

The enormous floating island, bounded by countless rays of starlight and sunlight, appears to these extraordinary beings as a carriage pulling the distant sun and stars to rest in this cosmic vacuum, a ship guarding the stars.

"This is a prototype of a super weapon network and transportation network composed of several ring-shaped planetary buildings, proposed by the Imperial Central Think Tank based on the development of the Empire. It is also the second floating city to rise in the Empire's sky."

Achilles chuckled softly, his face filled with pride, “Although we are still a long way from the stage of the central think tank concept, we have already taken the first step.”

Iron Dragon Morton suddenly sighed softly. Even though he hadn't actually entered the Golden Empire's headquarters yet, what he had seen and heard along the way still made this proud dragon feel an indescribable sense of inferiority.

Achilles once mocked him, saying he was just a minor country nobleman trying to rival the king. In Morton's current view, perhaps Achilles was being too tactful.

In terms of overall strength and the generational gap in civilization, Morton's Steel Kingdom appears incredibly small, resembling merely a powerful tribal alliance forming a hegemonic organization.

Just as Morton had doubted Achilles' words before, if the Golden Empire was so powerful in Behemoth's description, why didn't it crush the resistance of the Middle Plane with overwhelming force?

But now Morton understands that this is just a very simple truth.

A mature civilized empire must strive for a balance between input and output in most of its actions and goals, ensuring that at the very least, input and output maintain a positive return.

In a mature imperial system, think tanks composed of elites can play their due role, and the optimal solutions can be proposed for the goals to be achieved.

As for Nero and his companions, they only need to choose the optimal solution within the scope of their own abilities and their own wishes.

Morton's spirits only lifted slightly as the entire starship passed through the floating island and was about to step through the barrier gate of the Ekania world opened by the floating island.

Even though he is now a prisoner and has to wait for an unknown tomorrow, it does not diminish the curiosity of a dragon.

"Hey, what is that?"

Morton looked curiously at an astral merchant ship next to the expeditionary force's flagship. As they approached the world of Ekania, these astral ships opened their steel domes, revealing a transparent protective layer that was as strong as an alloy.

On this small merchant ship, shaped like a watermelon, hangs a flag bearing a giant dragon.

Iron Dragon Morton was puzzled not only by the merchant ship's independent auditing qualifications, but also by the giant dragon painted on its sail.

The dragon on the magic banner had a peculiar but not strange appearance; compared to most dragons, this dragon had very few distinctive features.

This dragon-like creature didn't even have horns on its skull, only pointed ears on both sides like those of an elf.

Unlike most dragons, this dragon's back and cheeks are not covered with thorns that are more intimidating than functional. Its body is an exceptionally smooth, streamlined shape, covered with shimmering, beautiful scales. Moreover, the color of these shimmering, beautiful scales changes slowly over time, and its eyes are also different from those of other dragons, more like those of elves, with the deepest black.

The most distinctive feature is the shimmering mist trailing behind this seemingly slender dragon, much like the mischievous fairy dust of the Pixie elves.

“That’s a Fairy Dragon, but beautiful female dragons are also called Fairy Dragons. It seems there’s a beautiful dragon on that merchant ship,” Behemoth Achilles replied.

Achilles not only had a good basic education, but the emperor's private library, hidden in the imperial palace, was always unguarded. Therefore, although Achilles was not a dragon, he possessed far more knowledge in this area than Nero, who was a red dragon.

Morton nodded, but still asked, "Didn't you mean this passage?"

"That's the Dragon's Deed Tax,"

The dragon-born boy, Nero the Red Dragon, turned his head and glanced at the Iron Dragon, interrupting the Iron Dragon's question.

He said calmly, "Ever since the Empire's Dragon Emperor disappeared from the starry sky, the Empire's Dragon Kings and countless commanders have begun to step out of the gates of the world of Aikania."

"On their journey to find the Imperial Dragon Emperor, the Dragon Kings discovered that even though the universe is full of infinite planes, the worlds where dragons exist, or rather, where dragons still occupy a place in the ecological ecosystem of a plane, only account for about one-tenth of the hundreds of small and medium-sized planes that the Dragon Kings have visited."

"Of course, this now also includes the Middle Plane world you occupy. In most worlds, dragons have completely fallen. Even those metal dragons that claim to be on the side of justice are no longer heavyweights influencing the world's power,"

"The five-colored dragons and some rare dragon species live like wild beasts, hiding in remote corners, not to mention the large material planes, which are almost entirely dominated by humanoid intelligent races,"

The red dragon Nero slightly revealed his fangs, and sparks actually flew as the fangs clashed together.

"Therefore, the supreme kings of the empire convened a council under the auspices of Her Majesty the Bronze Dragon Queen Alina, and specifically established the Dragon Deed Tax, which was then enshrined in the fundamental laws of the Golden Empire."

Red Dragon Nero turned his crimson eyes to look at Iron Dragon Morton, who was slightly taken aback, and grinned, "One of them is that any merchant ship that flies a dragon flag and is a dragon in the process of trading will enjoy the Empire's preferential tariff policies and customs clearance privileges."

"Why do you think this is for, Morton!"

"For what purpose?" Morton paused. Although Iron Dragon harbored prejudice against the five-colored dragons, he was not a complete fool. Of course, he knew the purpose behind the Golden Empire's actions.

However, Morton still found it hard to believe that something so miraculous could be born from the five-colored dragons.

Nero's expression remained arrogant as ever, filled with disdain for Morton, but this disdainful look made it difficult for Morton to feel any anger.

“That’s why I’ve always looked down on those dragons who call themselves Dragon Kings or Emperors,” Nero’s chilling words came out from his fangs.

"An empire does not become king by strength, but by bearing burdens; this is the true king of the dragon."

Nero averted his gaze, a cold smile spreading across his狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) face. "Therefore, I will not allow any dragon to usurp the title of Dragon King. If one does, I will take it down!"

Iron Dragon Morton fell silent. He felt an intense sense of pride and belonging from the red dragon before him. Rather than saying that this young red dragon was arrogant and unruly, it would be more accurate to say that this red dragon would not allow any outsider to tarnish the sanctity and nobility of the Golden Empire.

At this moment, Iron Dragon Morton felt an intense curiosity; he longed to see what the real dragon kings of the Golden Empire looked like.

And then there was the Emperor Goggmora, who created a vast empire and infused these stubborn, fanatical five-colored dragons with an extremely terrifying spirit, and was hailed by the warriors as the pinnacle that could be born in this era of the world of Ekania.

Dragons never submit easily, not even in the face of death, but Morton the Iron Dragon felt he was about to face a true legendary emperor among the dragons.

Because the words and actions of the people around him and the dragon revealed a unique charm.

Morton had begun to feel a deep respect for the Dragon Emperor he had yet to meet, and his words were unconsciously filled with reverence.

"So, the method you used to defeat me before must have come not only from His Majesty Gagmora's magic, but also from the power of the Imperial Dragon King's authority, right?"

Morton looked at the indifferent-looking young red dragon and asked somewhat belatedly.

Morton could still vividly recall every detail of the young Red Dragon's words and actions, allowing him to easily perceive details that he could only notice in a calm state.

Nero shook his head and said calmly, "That doesn't quite qualify as the power of a Dragon King, after all, I haven't become a true Dragon King yet."

"The true power of the Dragon King can not only unify dragon species with the same affinity and bloodline, increasing one's spiritual will by several times, but if it were in the hands of Her Majesty the Crimson King Klenaya, the innate power of her red dragon blood could also be increased by several times,"

“You know how terrible this is,”

Nero said slowly, "No living being can stand in the sky from the beginning. Even dragons need to wait for their wings to become strong, and even gods need to rely on their authority."

"The reason why the Dragon Kings of the Golden Empire became Dragon Kings and gained the power of the Dragon King lies not only in their own nature and magnanimity, but also in the support of all living beings and the dragon race,"

"Morton, your expectations of Garugsingo, the Iron Dragon, and the Supreme Dragon are merely a limitation of your vision. Emperor Goggmora has returned, and the throne in the sky will be graced by the support of the Empire, welcoming a true king!"

As Nero spoke, the entire warship crashed into the barrier gate of the world of Arcadia.

It was dusk, and Morton looked out and saw the setting sun casting a golden glow on the distant horizon.

Light bursts forth like golden threads from the clouds, a giant dragon appears and disappears in the scattered clouds, a lion walks across the grassland, and a tiger roams the barren hills.

The coats of the large herd of horses seemed to burn together under the fiery clouds as they swept across the land.

A magnificent city stretching as far as the eye can see, towering majestically in all directions.

(End of this chapter)