Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 435 The storm is coming
The thirty-fifth year of the Dragon Calendar, on the coast of Seabridge City.

Seabridge City is an important node on the Golden Sea Route, which was built under the planning of the Golden Empire after it achieved the consensus of unifying the Northern Lands and becoming a true hegemonic civilization. It stretches from the coast to the Golden City.

Seabridge City is also the first seaport where outsiders from other parts of the world of Ekania set foot on their journey from the Hobbes Empire to the Golden Empire by sea. It is also a channel node for transporting ordinary interplanetary merchant ships from the space seaport outside the world barrier.

The Golden Empire now boasts 108 majestic cities and 210 medium and small cities, among which countless villages and towns are interconnected.

This seemingly miraculous pace of development is not only due to the explosive population growth and rapidly developing magical technology civilization brought about by the stable life of the Golden Empire, but also to the feedback from the Golden Empire's past conquests of many planes.

For example, Paul Atreides, the King of the Golden Lions in the Dune plane, launched an interstellar expedition with the help of the Sorority controlled by the ogre giant Fafnir and the dragonblood angel Gabriel, conquering many planets with the Golden Lion Legion under his command.

After rebuilding civilization on these conquered planets, Paul Atreides, the King of the Golden Lion, made numerous contacts with the Imperial home base and was recognized for his achievements. He was officially granted the title of Plane Governor and legitimate authority by the Imperial Central Military Council.

After gradually integrating into the native system of the Golden Empire, the King of Dune decided to send many of the elite talents from his plane to the native territory of the Golden Empire for training, which Paul Atreides called the 'Race Evolution Project'.

The Golden Empire's homeland is now completely connected by the World Tree Owo. The area around the Tree of Life growing in every city belongs to the absolute domain that the World Tree Owo can control and influence.

The World Tree, this magical plant, may not seem to have strong combat power, but the effects it produces are enough to make many beings above the legendary level extremely envious.

The mere inclusion of the life force that affects all living beings within the territory is enough for some powerful lords to come up with countless creative ways to exploit it.

The short-lived human race of the Golden Empire has now gone through several generations, but only a small number of the elderly have died; most have simply withdrawn from the main stage of the empire's development.

However, among them are 600,000 elderly people who are over 65 years old. Most of them are elderly people who came to this wasteland to build the territory with the dragons when the dragon territory was first developed.

The proportion of elderly people is not high, simply because humans, a short-lived species, were a minority in the dragon territories. However, even so, hundreds of thousands of elderly people have become a serious burden in other noble territories.

In most cases, these elderly people would die due to various policies implemented by nobles that depleted the population, or due to unspoken wars between nobles, or due to a widespread epidemic.

Living in the Golden Empire, these elderly people, though no longer able to undertake heavy physical labor and complex work requiring vigorous mental energy, are much healthier than their peers anywhere else in the world of Ekania.

Because their genes have gradually become more vibrant under long-term influence, according to the Empire's statistics department, the average lifespan of humans in the Empire is now 120 years, and they rarely suffer from diseases.

The new generation of the empire has outstanding physical qualities, with their strength generally nearly doubled compared to the original human race. Their overall qualities, including intelligence, endurance, speed, and immunity to diseases, have also been comprehensively improved.

Of these one hundred people, nearly ten have the potential to become one of the many extraordinary individuals in the empire, including a mage apprentice.

Do not look down on such abilities because of their status as mage apprentices. In the Golden Empire, even mage apprentices, when united, are capable of doing many incredible things.

This is already an extremely terrifying population potential, which is the ultimate power that World Tree Owo has exerted by focusing on the Golden Empire's homeland.

King Paul Atreides of the Golden Lion sent the elite talents of the Dune plane to the Empire for training, hoping that the Dune world could be rebuilt more quickly by the descendants born from these elite talents.

Meanwhile, in another dimension, the Targaryen family also produced many outstanding talents and sent a large number of Valyrians to the Empire's homeland.

In particular, after Rhaegar Targaryen, the patriarch of House Targaryen, came to the Empire, he referred to this action as the "Ascended Project".

The dragons bred by these Valyrians gradually adapted to the world of Arcaneia and became sentient. Among them, the twelve most powerful dragons, led by the 'Black Death,' became the imperial emperor's mounts and steeds.

Although Emperor Caron Gogmora of the Empire never used his own vehicle, Valyrians throughout the Empire have always been proud of their abilities.

"This guy is definitely a heteromorphic dragon,"

Redo squinted at an elderly Valyrian man standing guard in the harbor pavilion, boasting to the resting guards about his superior dragon-breeding skills, claiming they surpassed even those of the naturalist druids in the Empire.

The person on duty at the Haiqiao City port was also an elderly man with graying temples. He was furtively glancing at the cards in the other person's hand while giving perfunctory replies.

He'd heard those words countless times; his ears were practically calloused from hearing them.

The same was true of the old werewolf sitting next to the old man; the dog furtively glanced at the elderly but still somewhat handsome Valyrian.

The Golden Empire is now making the most of its resources, and even these elderly people can find suitable jobs if they wish.

Many elderly people participate in the work of guarding various demilitarized ports and the gates of various places and cities.

In other parts of the world of Ekania, the garrison duties are mostly handled by young soldiers or mercenaries to prevent trouble.

But in the Golden Empire, the elderly are perfectly capable of performing such routine tasks of verifying qualifications.

There was no other reason than the nation's peak power.

As long as these elderly people blow their whistles, or if any unexpected event occurs that goes unanswered, those who intend to do something bad will find themselves with nowhere to run.

Because of their enormous size, the magical dragons that were bred required almost the same amount of food and had to move around as ordinary dragons. Therefore, the new generation of magical dragons was placed on an island near the sea.

The birth rate of these demonic dragons is far higher than that of giant dragons, because the superior ones become the empire's mounts and weapons of war, while the inferior ones become sparring partners for the empire's young giant dragons, or even food for the giant dragons.

Decades of cultivation have allowed the Golden Empire to form a surveillance ring of the first island chain in the near seas. With these magical dragon species as its tentacles, along with the active Naga race breeding in the sea and the increasing number of giant ships, the empire has almost completely gained absolute hegemony over the near seas in the sky and sea.

Redo withdrew his gaze and looked at his companion, saying, "The rumors in the world of Ekania are not unfounded. Based on our investigation and analysis, the red dragon Karon Gogmora is indeed a hybrid dragon."

"The dragon race is full of diverse personalities, so it's not surprising that someone like Charon Goggmora would appear. We've seen plenty of red dragon paladins before, and Charon Goggmora's actions alone cannot be used as evidence,"

"But judging from his various policies in governing the Golden Empire, Karon Gogmora's vision has far exceeded the limitations of the Ekania world," "This evidence, coupled with Karon Gogmora's many unusual behaviors, is powerful proof."

Redo and his companions gathered in Seabridge City from all corners of the world of Ekania, having endured countless hardships. Two of his companions even traveled from the farthest corner of the Eastern Continent, a journey that took several months just by boat, not to mention the time spent traveling by carriage.

The journey took nearly a year in total before they finally arrived at the southern border city of the Golden Empire.

But the hardships along the way could not mask the group's anxiety.

"He's not just a hybrid dragon; he's probably the most determined and has the greatest potential of all the hybrid dragons we've ever seen."

"Give him enough time, and he will surely become a miracle of this era, gaining the power to traverse the stars and stand against the gods!"

The one who responded to Redo was a dragonborn, who looked very strong and had dragonborn claws, but always wielded a dark longsword.

His name was Les, and he was the strongest warrior in the group, as well as a half-dragon.

"The existence of dragonhood is like an instinct for hunger, ever-present and omnipresent, and even I, who am a half-dragon in this life, am not immune to its influence,"

Les said slowly, "Even those alien dragons that roamed the astral planes have, over the long years, fully become dragons, their dragon nature overriding their former soul and will."

"But Charon Gogmora perfectly blended dragonhood with his nature. Just as this red dragon defined the dragon race in this world, Charon Gogmora also defined what a perfect dragon is."

"Our path to redemption may lie in the true dragon path of Caron Gogmora."

Les's words drew the attention of his companions.

Pairs of eyes, some bright and some dim, were fixed on Les and Redo. Finally, someone spoke up in the dark cabin: "Do we have to make a decision before we've even seen Caron Gogmora?"

“Our time is running out. It’s been over a year since we were gradually awakened. We’ve been away on our own for too long, and it’s easy for us to be exposed. Do you want to continue being their tools, reaping everything from the world of Aikania for them, and then returning to that land of darkness?”

"Or perhaps they fail in the process of harvesting the world, returning directly to the land of darkness, unable to even enjoy a moment of worldly prosperity?"

Another person spoke up from the shadows, seemingly reaffirming their companion's resolve.

Each member of this group possessed the same divine vision as the Mosuo giant Baal, but their divine magical abilities were far more powerful than Baal's, because their souls were much stronger and older than Baal's.

Among them, Les and Redo have already experienced several long epochs in the world, and are the two oldest souls among this group.

Unlike Baal, the giant of Moss, who could not remember his past or his original appearance, these people possessed the means to rediscover their true selves and past.

In any era, this group of people would be considered exceptionally talented.

But a person's path can be right or wrong. If you take the wrong path, you must bear the corresponding consequences. This group of people became tools whose souls and natures were bound because of their initial mistakes.

"No, since we have seen a glimmer of hope in this era, even if it is death after a struggle, it is still a thousand times better than staying in that forever desolate, lightless land!"

The person who had spoken earlier revealed his face in the darkness, and it turned out to be the face of a dwarf.

Redo broke the silence and said, "This is already a consensus between us, and there's no need to discuss it further. The only thing we need to discuss is whether the red dragon Caron Gogmora truly possesses this ability, and whether it's worth placing our hopes on!"

“If he is just a pure dragon, his character is naturally not trustworthy. If he is just a hybrid dragon that has been completely transformed into a dragon, his will is not trustworthy either.”

"But he is an exceptionally special alien dragon, so special that the whole world acknowledges that his potential, character, and will provide a basis for our trust."

One of them emerged from the darkness, revealing a rare Eastern face.

Another person emerged from the darkness; it was a dragon, but not a different kind of dragon. It was a dragon that had been born as a dragon for generations and possessed a pure dragon soul.

"From the intelligence I gathered along the way, I learned that in the northern continent of the world of Ekania, there are almost no dragons left in the wild."

"Those dragons that originally lived in the wild, whether they were willing to submit to Kalon Gogmora's clutches or not, all gathered around the Golden Empire."

"Even many dragons in the central and western continents have gradually disappeared, migrating from distant places to the periphery of the Golden Empire. Dragons are almost extinct on other continents, and the Golden Empire has gradually become the last dragon holy land in the world of Ekania, except for the Metal Alliance in the southern continent."

"On the other hand, the Golden Empire is using various means to spread the influence of dragons beyond the world of Ekania, which shows how ambitious the Golden Empire's goals are!"

The dragon slowly said, "Whether it's Charon Gogmora or the Golden Empire, they both now possess the potential to rival the gods in the mortal realm. I vote in favor!"

Les glanced at the increasingly resolute gazes of his many companions, and the most powerful warrior finally spoke: "Very well, we have reached a consensus here, at this time."

“We should trust each other and cooperate. In order to gain Caron Gogmora’s trust and protection as the basis for our cooperation, I propose that we exchange those two secrets. What do you say?”

What kind of secret could make the emperor of an empire so easily trust these people?

Everyone in this group already knew it in their hearts.

Deep within the memories of these ancient souls, which have endured countless ages, lies a secret that even the gods who control the nature of their souls cannot know.

One of them is about the legacy of the primordial dragon god Aio.

(End of this chapter)