Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 434 Destiny
"Is this place really ruled by an evil dragon?"

In a tavern called "The Old Man and the Sea" in the city of Duogang, a group of outsiders dressed like wandering travelers downed the wine in their crystal glasses, smacked their lips, and seemed to want more.

Romy is an Astral Hunter, an excellent Astral Hunter, and every one of you here is gathered together with the same goal as Romy.

Romy is adept at uncovering hidden information from changes in his surroundings and conversations with others, thanks to his past as a thief.

From a thief to a well-known astral hunter, one can imagine how outstanding Romy's talent is.

"This wine is excellent, and this place is excellent too. It's far more prosperous than the lands ruled by noble kings in other planes we've seen. It's unbelievable."

Romi licked his lips, gesturing for the alluring snake-woman bartender in the tavern to bring him another drink, while they conversed in a language only his companions could understand.

At the same time, the young man's exceptionally sharp eyes unconsciously and instinctively scanned the surrounding environment, analyzing every detail, even the clothing and appearance of each guest in the tavern, which represented the guest's own strength.

Even some hidden millionaires, pretending to be simple, can't escape Romy's eyes if they occasionally reveal their hands that haven't been tempered by life and the air that comes from a life of luxury.

Moreover, Romy's ears automatically filter through a vast amount of complex information, simultaneously recording potentially useful information in his mind.

This ability to multitask is extremely difficult even for a mage, but for astral hunters, the minimum requirement is to possess a skill that is difficult for ordinary people to match.

Or, after reaching the legendary level, one gains the ability to freely travel between the star realm and the heavens.

Romy's ability to become an Astral Hunter stems not only from his near-perfect skill as a thief, but also from his legendary power.

A thief who never misses a shot sometimes also means an assassin who rarely misses.

Those who can travel between different planes using the astral plane are not weak. Regardless of their purpose, the fact that they can actively step out of the barriers of their original plane world means that they have unparalleled confidence in their abilities and power.

Only those overlords who are renowned throughout the endless planes can roam freely in the astral realm.

Like that ancient dragon kingdom that once existed, although it was not famous for its civilization, it intimidated many material planes with its powerful military force. The dragon king of that kingdom even personally suppressed a divine abomination in the astral plane.

But even that Dragon Kingdom couldn't be considered to dominate the entire cosmos; it was merely a powerful force in one region.

So although the Golden Empire has begun to gain some small reputation outside the world of Ekania, it doesn't necessarily carry much weight in the eyes of these well-informed Astral Hunters.

After all, Astral Hunters never confront a civilized organization head-on; they have the ability to move freely between them.

"It does look quite impressive, at least many times better than the territories ruled by those arrogant dragons we've seen before, and even better than many human empires,"

Love's voice rang out, mingling with the light and melodious singing in the tavern and the somewhat scattered discussions around him.

Love's gaze fell on the table of guests not far away. Their demeanor was obviously ostentatious yet illusory, and their attire and the words they spoke proved what kind of profession they were.

"You don't even know about our Barbara Opera Orchestra?"

One of the well-dressed, heavily made-up young men, his face now flushed, boasted to the beautiful snake woman beside him, "Our Barbara Opera Orchestra is one of the most popular opera troupes in the Southern Rose City."

"Even those great nobles who wanted to invite us to perform in their luxurious castles would notify us in advance, lest we couldn't find the time,"

"belch,"

The young man covered his mouth slightly and hiccuped, then boasted, "Our operas and dances are works of art that are praised by everyone in the city. They are considered popular trends, and ordinary people flock to our performances."

The beautiful snake woman swayed her captivatingly white waist, revealing a stunningly graceful figure, and chuckled softly in a hissing voice, "You are a guest, so naturally what you say makes sense."

"But if I may be so bold, only what the people of the Golden Empire like the most can be called popular, only what the people of the Golden Empire support can be called art, and only what the people of the Golden Empire welcome the most can be described as 'rushing to follow'."

Love clicked his tongue, turned to look at his companions, and then gestured with his chin, saying, "You see, the existence of civilization determines its consciousness. The culture nurtured by a civilized era reflects everything about the economy, thought, national strength, and so on at that time."

"It is clear that there is a reason why the reputation of the Golden Empire can break through the isolation of its native plane world."

Those who can transcend legends and become Astral Hunters, even if they don't possess profound knowledge, can easily discern the superiority or inferiority of a civilized nation due to their extensive experience.

"Indeed, both the people and the songs here give me a sense of prosperity and hope for the future."

The core of the team, the legendary mage Joro who was skilled in shaping magic, nodded and said, "If it weren't for the future we still have to pursue, perhaps this world would be a good place for people like us who have been tormented for so long to stay."

"I wonder what kind of creature the ancestral red dragon Kalon Gogmora, who rules this kingdom, is. To be able to withstand the divine punishment of the immortal dragon gods in the prime material plane is quite formidable. It is said that this red dragon has not yet truly stepped into the legendary realm,"

"He hasn't even reached the mature stage of the dragon race, yet he possesses the wisdom to govern a kingdom in an orderly and efficient manner, and terrifying power in the mortal realm,"

"As expected, he is one of the most dangerous creatures in the material world in this star field. Even before seeing him, I already feel that his reputation is well-deserved."

The mage Joro did not hold back his praise.

His companions around him nodded in agreement.

Not only astral hunters, but also astral merchants and astral travelers have their own channels for communication and information acquisition. Everyone who travels through the various planes of the astral plane must have a general understanding of the environment they are in.

If one were to venture into the endless planes solely relying on their own abilities, not only would they die quickly, but they would also die a gruesome death.

Among the various organizations comprised of people who frequently roam across different planes of the astral plane, many possess intelligence gathered from their travels. This intelligence serves as one of the means by which these organizations profit. The mage Joro and his group purchased this intelligence about the world of Ekania from an astral trading guild within this star system.

Among them, the information about the dominant empire of the Northern Continent—the Golden Empire—and its supreme ruler, Kalon Goggmora, is of paramount importance.

Karon Gogmora is hailed as the greatest emperor and monarch in the world of Ekania, and also the most reputable king.

Its hegemony was established on the strength and reputation of its ancestral red dragon. It could bring together many powerful monsters in the North with just words, forming a Pan-Aekania Northern Alliance, advancing and retreating together. Now it is an indisputable continental hegemonic civilization.

Although the astral hunters present had all hunted many powerful dragons, even the most formidable ancient dragons in the material world had fallen to the swords and magic of this group.

They have also cooperated with many powerful and evil dragons. For those who roam the astral plane, stance is a dispensable thing; only their own interests are the primary driving force.

People who act solely based on their stance are either utterly naive, utterly prejudiced, or perhaps utterly foolish.

Legendary mage Joro and others also knew that the fact that dragons were born powerful only meant that the lower limit of this race was much higher than that of most other creatures.

However, the upper limit of a dragon depends on the development of each individual dragon, but the mage Joro and his companions have faced far too many dragons.

For them, who had traveled through many planes, most dragons were nothing more than lambs to the slaughter, or targets with value for exploitation and cooperation.

Even the ancient dragons that still exist in the world of Ekania are nothing more than this in the eyes of these legends.

Only the ancestral red dragon, Charon Gogmora, could give these people the feeling of being highly valued even before they met, because it was the influence passed down by word of mouth among the wandering astral planes.

"pity,"

A knight clad in white hunter armor said with some regret, "Even if Charon Goggmora, whose ancestral red dragon is a colossal creature rarely seen in the mortal realm for hundreds of years, possessing the potential to grow into an ultimate being of the astral plane, he is still no match for this guy, Lipnos."

"Silver Dragon Chris Tiana has placed her hopes on Karon Gogmora, but that beautiful dragon may be disappointed."

"Although I've seen golden dragons mate with succubi from hell, and silver dragons with demons, to be honest, the union of a red dragon and a silver dragon is quite in line with my fantasies,"

The knight named Gao Tuo grinned and said, "One is born as fiery as fire, and the other is born as cold as ice. A five-colored dragon and a metal dragon, just thinking about it is exciting."

Sheila, the only woman in the team, finally spoke up. She frowned and said, "The silver dragon Chris places her hopes on her lover and spouse. From the intelligence we've gathered, Charon Gogmora isn't some heartless dragon after all."

"This red dragon will definitely take action, but I'm actually a little worried about it. It would be a real shame if such a dragon died or became a slave of Lyponos."

At this moment, Sheila's sympathy for the silver dragon Chris had spread to Kalon Gogmora. Especially after coming here and personally experiencing the civilization of the Golden Empire, Sheila naturally had a bias towards law-abiding rulers like Kalon.

This is one of the benefits of a lawful civilization, even if it's just a vague sense of goodwill.

"There's nothing we can do about it. Lipunos is a top-tier powerhouse who truly controls an entire large material plane world on his own."

The mage, Joro, shrugged and sighed softly, "If the reward offered by Karon Goggmora is truly as generous as Silver Dragon Chris claims, then we can only try our best to persuade this Dragon Emperor of the world of Ekania to be more patient."

"Only when you grow strong enough to fight Lyponos can you go to that world and rescue your lover who is being hunted by Lyponos."

The true race and origin of the Lipnos are unknown; what is presented to the astral merchants and travelers is always only their superficial humanoid form.

But there is no doubt that Lipnos is a truly powerful being comparable to the legendary Destiny.

The gap between legends is sometimes as large as, or even greater than, the gap between ordinary dragons and their ancestral dragons.

The difference between legendary figures and legendary destinies can no longer be simply measured by power level or energy level.

As beings destined to ascend to legendary status, many legendary beings possess their own methods and means in pursuit of greater power.

Many legendary beings use the legendary power born from the world system they have built to create their own demiplanes. These demiplanes are not only reserves of legendary power, but also miniature worlds of legend.

The legendary destiny takes one's own heart as the heart of heaven, gradually nurturing the demiplane he created into a real world. He uses the law system he built to gradually expand it, and it is not impossible that the plane he created will grow to the point of becoming an entire universe.

Other legendary beings who lack the necessary conditions will seek out material worlds that possess the potential to give birth to dimensional consciousness, and replace the fundamental laws that invade these material worlds with their own fundamental laws of power, thus substituting their own will for the will of Heaven.

By drawing upon the rules of the dimensional world to nourish their own laws of power, the power of the legendary destiny will also increase as the material world grows.

These two methods are just one of countless ways that the legendary destiny has developed in order to find a path to the future.

The belief in deities is anchored in the faith of believers and is protected by the innate power and rules of the gods. Therefore, the existence of deities is almost free from the drawback of being assimilated by the rules. The only negative effect is that the mind will gradually become rigid over a long period of time.

The existence of legendary destinies relies on bearing the rules they create, so once their mental strength and abilities reach their limits, they are easily assimilated by the rules.

For most living beings, strength is not about being as strong as possible, but rather about being as well-suited to their own needs.

These two methods are how the legendary destiny avoids being assimilated by the rules and utilizes the burden of development within an entire world.

Lipnos is such a being.

(End of this chapter)