Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 443 The Emperor!

The night was deep, and the crescent moon slowly disappeared into the dark clouds.

"The Farn Empire, located in the Middle-earth of the world of Aikania, has sent me a note?"

"It's really strange. The world of Aikania is also a large material plane on the same level as our world, but the relative distance between the coordinates of our two worlds is quite far. Even the fleets of those astral merchants need to travel for nearly half a month using astral channels."

From within the tall yet eerily cold ancient castle, a hoarse voice emanated, like a forced sound forced out after the throat had been burned by flames, dry and terrifying to hear.

"The Farn Empire, a once-renowned hegemonic nation in the world of Ekania, has declined in recent years. However, thousands of years ago, it broke through the barriers of its original world, extending its civilization beyond the world's planes. It can be considered a truly powerful nation,"

"It is said that several legendary Chosen Ones still exist in the Astral Realm and maintain close ties with the Farn Empire,"

His voice was dry and hoarse, and he spoke slowly, as if he was squeezing out his words.

"Although the Farn Empire is far away in the world of Ekania, no matter how powerful it is, it can hardly affect us. But we can't refuse this favor. In case we encounter difficulties in the astral plane one day, we might be able to rely on the Farn Empire's connections to ask those legendary chosen ones for help,"

"Ha, the vision of those empires in our Praco plane is not as far-sighted as that of the Farn Empire thousands of years ago. They are merely kings and rulers in their native material planes, without any thought of escaping this quagmire. They can only be considered bones in a dry grave, destined to be annihilated by time sooner or later."

Gray lay prone on the ground, his head slightly turned forward, not daring to look up at Duke Dracula's face.

Even though Gray is a viscount under Duke Dracula, holding the title of viscount bestowed by the King of the Human Empire, in the ancient vampire clan, Gray is merely a baron.

Although Duke Dracula nominally holds the title of Duke, within the vampire hierarchy, he is a highly respected vampire prince, ranking below the vampire progenitor.

Most importantly, Duke Dracula was extremely ruthless in his methods of governing.

This branch of vampires in the Planeco plane originated from the thirteen vampire clans in the world of Ekania.

The progenitor of the thirteen vampire clans, Gaibo, was born a demigod, and all vampires are descendants of Gaibo.

For some secret reasons, the thirteen vampire clans split after the disappearance of the demigod progenitor. Many of these clans migrated to the Planeco plane and settled there, where they lived in seclusion and multiplied.

In order to strengthen the vampire race after losing its demigod progenitor and prevent its complete extinction, seven of the thirteen vampire clans formed an alliance to become the Camarilla, and Duke Dracula is the leader of the Camarilla and the current leader of the vampires in the Planeco dimension.

Duke Dracula, leader of the Vampire Clan's Secret Society, presented six commandments to the vampires, advocating a policy based on the six commandments of "worldliness, power, offspring, responsibility, guest respect, and killing relatives."

"Living in the world" refers to living in a civilized human society where one not only needs to hide one's identity and avoid revealing oneself, but also needs to closely monitor the movements of the rulers of the human civilization in one's area.

They should cater to the needs of the local rulers, and ideally, gain territory and power in human society by pleasing the rulers.

With the nominal grant from the rulers of human civilization, the vampire race can live better in the mortal world without being discovered.

If any vampire casually and voluntarily reveals their whereabouts, they will violate the commandments, be ostracized by all the clans, and be subject to the most severe punishment.

The concept of "Dominion" refers to the fact that vampires secretly divide up their respective territories and establish a strict dark order, with the vampire elders being the highest decision-makers.

Descendants, on the other hand, must be approved and recognized by the family before they can be granted the power of Embrace and become a new member of the family.

The family elders have the right to monitor their descendants, and can take action at any time if they discover that a descendant has violated the precepts.

The responsibility refers to the fact that vampire families have the duty to take care of their newly born descendants and juniors, and also need to actively recommend them to the elders who hold power in order to obtain power and positions for the descendants and juniors.

This also includes many humans who want to have a long lifespan and become vampires. Before they are converted and recognized, and when they first become vampires, they are often taken care of by a person in charge, or their master.

The term "guest" refers to the fact that vampire families gradually spread to all parts of the world as the world becomes more chaotic, and vampires often travel to the territories of other vampire species.

Once you step into the territory ruled by another vampire species, you must respect the order and laws of the local vampire rulers, even if they are the elders of the family, in addition to the supreme Six Paths of Discipline.

Killing relatives refers to issuing a kill order without mercy to any vampire who violates the family's rule. This order is usually carried out by the superior bloodline of the vampire who violated the rule, but outsiders are also allowed to hunt them down. If the hunt is successful, it will enhance the vampire's reputation.

The six commandments were formulated by the vampires under special circumstances, mainly to protect the survival of the vampire race. As it turns out, Duke Dracula's commandments were very correct.

Today, vampires in the world of Pleco have countless territories and descendants, and have become the rulers of human civilization.

Besides the Camarilla, there were other vampire clans that split the world of Arcaneia, including the Demon Clan and the Neutral Clan.

The Secret Society advocates living in seclusion, concealing one's identity within civilized human society, and coexisting with humans to obtain the environment and conditions for survival.

However, the Camarilla believed that humans were inferior beings to vampires and that violence and war were necessary to overthrow human dominance, and they disregarded the Camarilla's commandments.

Today, whether in the world of Ekania or the plane of Pleco, the vampires in the Demon Party have been almost completely wiped out. This is the deserved fate of those stubborn people who cannot see the trend of the times.

The other neutral party neither agrees with the Secret Party's six commandments nor with the Demon Party's advocacy of absolute violence.

Therefore, under the leadership of its leader, the vampire prince Hegula, the Neutral Party established a forest kingdom in the remote, dense mountainous region of the western continent of the world of Ekania, attempting to rule the western continent and avoid the human-dominated Middle-earth, southern, and eastern continents.

It is for this reason that the vampire families under the rule of Grand Duke Dracula have maintained a long-term focus on the world of Ekania, and Gray is the vampire assistant in charge of this matter.

"Your Highness, the note from the Farn Empire claims to be an introduction to the Golden Empire, the true dragon kingdom located on the northern continent of Ekania!"

Gray raised his somewhat pale face. Vampires are born with skin colors that are different from ordinary people. Even though this vampire family has secret methods to hide themselves, their physical characteristics are still somewhat different from ordinary people.

Sitting on a dark chair in the center of the castle, the vampire prince Dracula appeared to be an extremely elegant and classical nobleman with well-defined features and gentle facial features.

But Gray knew all too well how terrifying the true form of this vampire prince was.

Vampires are naturally stronger than dragons, and even werewolves cannot compare. Even the physical strength of many troll species is much stronger than that of many vampires.

However, Grand Duke Dracula revealed his true form as a vampire, possessing the physical strength of an adult dragon and a speed and agility far surpassing that of a dragon.

This is one of the oldest vampire species in existence, possessing a power from birth.

"The Golden Empire?"

Dracula's eyes held a captivating gaze, like a vortex drawing people in. Vampires are born with the power to manipulate minds, and in the vampire prince, this power was irresistible even to Gray. "That newly risen kingdom in the north of Ekania, that kingdom created by dragons? When did they become connected with the Farn Empire? What are they doing here? This is unlike the style of dragons!"

Even if Gray kept a close eye on the world of Ekania, it was impossible for him to know every detail of what was happening in another distant world.

Gray said softly, "I don't quite understand why these two countries, which should be rivals, are linked together."

"But judging from the recent messages I've been following from the Astral Merchant Guilds, the Golden Empire of the northern continent of Aikania has already gained momentum, becoming a dominant empire in the north, on par with the Farn Empire and the Luman Empire of the Middle-earth,"

"The tentacles of the Golden Empire have also begun to extend beyond the world of Aikania, pursuing higher-level development with a truly long-term vision, rather than blindly expanding and conquering within the world of Aikania in vain."

"Although the Golden Empire does not yet possess the foundation of the two ancient hegemonic empires, the Farn Empire and the Luman Empire, Emperor Kalon Gogmora, who commands the Golden Empire, is an ancestral red dragon,"

"Those astral merchants all say that this red dragon possesses both wisdom and immense power, making it the greatest emperor in the mortal realm of Aikania's era, and the pinnacle of power."

"The Gogmora Dragonflight also possesses many exceptionally talented dragons with tremendous potential!"

"They only need time to grow before they possess the power to decide a world. Under the protection of the great dragons of the dragon horde, the second generation of dragons of the Golden Empire has begun to emerge, and based on my understanding of this dragon horde, their doctrines are very similar to those of our family."

"They value family and responsibility! They are distinctly different from other dragons."

Gray neither liked nor disliked the dragon; he was simply stating his opinion from an objective analytical perspective.

It was precisely because of Grey's style and characteristics that the Duke of Dracula took the baron's opinions very seriously.

"Oh?"

Duke Dracula's neck seemed to move stiffly as he looked at Gray and said, "Get up. From what you've said, it seems the Golden Empire is also a power our family can associate with."

"Did they say what the purpose of their note to us was?"

Gray then slowly stood up and said softly, "Fairy Dragon!"

"Fairyland Dragon?"

The vortex in the vampire prince's eyes solidified, and a dark, decaying color flashed in his eyes, causing the vampire prince's body to tremble slightly.

"Yes, Fairy Dragon,"

Gray lowered his head again, unable to bear seeing that hint of dark decay, and said softly, "That young fairy dragon escaped the world of Pleco through some astral merchant guild's channels and went to the world of Ekania."

"She successfully made contact with the Golden Empire and gained the help of the Golden Empire's True Dragon Emperor, Charon Gogmora,"

"Therefore, this diplomatic note was held by the Golden Empire to redeem the parents of that young fairy dragon. The envoy of the Golden Empire said that they could give a lot in exchange for us."

"To redeem the Fairy Dragon, huh?"

The vampire prince muttered to himself, "The pure blood of the Celestial Dragon can wash away some of the alien infection in my body. The Golden Empire has no idea that the Celestial Dragon is a matter of life and death for me, and what price they are willing to pay, heh heh!"

"Hmm, Your Highness,"

Gray suddenly spoke up: "The Golden Empire has also prepared a gift as a courtesy for our meeting. It is the spine of a legendary Titan, a perfectly intact spine, simply as a gift for the meeting!"

Grand Duke Dracula's eyes finally showed a hint of emotion. Although for an existence of his level, the spine of a legendary Titan was not an irreplaceable treasure, it was still a very powerful material.

As the spine of humanoid organisms, it holds a crucial position in both mysticism and biology, serving as the key to the metamorphosis and leap in the evolution of living beings.

The spine often contains a vital essence and power of a being, and the spine of a legendary Titan, whether used as a weapon or a staff, becomes a powerful treasure.

Most importantly, the attitude of the Golden Empire.

"In that case, let's agree to the request for a note from the Golden Empire. Although the Golden Empire is currently far away from us and not much of a threat, I really like their style."

Grand Duke Dracula smiled. "I am now very interested in the Golden Empire. You need to pay more attention to the Golden Empire in the future!"

Gray nodded silently, then said something startling: "Your Majesty, there is another crucial matter that also concerns the Golden Empire!"

"Currently, a message is circulating in almost all merchant guilds and intermediary information channels in the Astral Realm, and this message has been personally verified by those Astral Hunters; it is indeed true."

"That is, the Golden Empire discovered a mysterious kingdom in a world left behind by Aio, the founder of the ancient dragon race, a kingdom containing the treasures left by Aio,"

"The Golden Empire, on the other hand, has mastered the patterns of this kingdom's activities and the methods to open it. They claim that if the silver dragon Chris Tiana, who is trapped in that world, can be rescued intact, the Golden Empire will help open the kingdom left behind by the dragon god Aion!"

"The true dragon emperor of the Golden Empire promised that they would only take the knowledge contained within, and would not take a single penny of the treasure!"

"That world is the large material plane ruled by the legendary Destiny Liponus!"

A long silence followed, broken only by the gradual breathing of Grand Duke Dracula on the throne.

Even Grand Duke Dracula, a vampire, could not resist the greed and desire for the treasure left behind by the dragon god Aio.

Let alone Grand Duke Dracula, even the gods would be tempted if they took notice of this matter!
After several quarters of an hour of silence during Gray's detailed account, Grand Duke Dracula finally regained his composure.

The hoarse voice became even more dry and strained.

"The Emperor of the True Dragon? The Emperor!"

"He's stalling for time, allowing himself to grow! He's also creating chaos in that world so he can seize an opportunity. Heh, Lipnos is a legendary figure, but how many beings of the same level can he withstand?"

"How many legends can it withstand?"

(End of this chapter)