Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 449 The War of the Gods
The Northern Lands Abandoned Mountains are a series of towering peaks and overlapping ridges, so high that even many powerful and ferocious species on land hesitate to venture there.

But this natural barrier has now been forged by the artisans of the Golden Empire using magic and furnace fire, step by step, into the most magnificent city wall of the Golden Empire in the south.

This city, which combines a fortress and a castle, will become the end of the Golden Empire's ambitions, stopping at the edge of the northern continent of Ekania, and will also become the Golden Empire's Great Wall reaching to the south.

Under the Dragon Emperor's will, the Empire's think tanks have begun to curb the Empire's expansionist desires within the native world of Ekania, transforming them into a desire to explore beyond the world of Ekania.

This move by the Golden Empire actually brought a sigh of relief to many other civilized nations and powers in the world of Ekania.

In the eyes of the other nations, the long-dormant Golden Empire possessed the strength to reunite with the kings and continue its southward expansion to conquer other continents.

Dragons have always been synonymous with ambition, and even though Emperor Gogmora was renowned, the real dragon emperor never made any promises regarding such matters.

Therefore, the relationship between the Golden Empire and other national powers became more harmonious on the surface, and trade between the Empire and other countries of Ekania experienced an unexpected surge.

Many people may find it hard to understand why the Golden Empire, with its vast territory and less than 50% developed to date, would invest so much in building this magnificent city that is destined to endure through the ages.

Moreover, the Golden Empire and its southern neighbor, the Hobbes Empire, currently enjoy a very harmonious relationship. Not only are trade and economic exchanges quite frequent, but cooperation in the mortal realm and politics is also increasing day by day. There is no need to build a terrifying city defense system on the natural barrier mountain range.

But Morton knew that a true kingdom acts with purpose, unlike ordinary people who only care about what they need and want in the moment.

Morton was now in the form of a dragonborn, standing on the edge of the Forsaken Mountains, atop the highest peak in this mountain range.

The clouds in the sky were all a head lower than Morton the Iron Dragon, giving Morton the feeling of living in the dragon's nest in the territory of the Silver Dragon and the Cloud Dragon.

In fact, every mountain here is just as high as the Golden Empire is in the heart of Iron Dragon Morton.

"Establishing a pan-Ekania civilization cultural sphere with the Golden Empire Dragon Civilization as its core is a necessary measure,"

Morton stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the thousands upon thousands of laborers, slaves, and craftsmen climbing the towering mountains. Many cities had already undertaken massive projects, hollowing out more than ten mountain peaks to build their walls, but the Golden Empire intended to connect all the majestic mountains along the southern edge of the Forsaken Mountains into one unified whole.

This requires a massive amount of manpower, but it can also allow many people in the empire to find their own jobs.

Just like the giant human hybrids who are now at the height of their power and have become a major pillar of the Golden Empire.

Many of them are descendants of former giant slaves who were freed and born in the Empire, as well as bloodlines of the Storm Giants who spread throughout the Empire.

However, giant-human hybrids are born with insufficient intelligence. Many giant-human hybrids are born with intelligence and comprehension abilities that are not as good as ordinary humans. Therefore, the jobs that giant-human hybrids undertake within the Empire are relatively basic.

Although these people were engaged in extremely dangerous and important work, their movements were extremely relaxed and comfortable. They were not oppressed by the imperial overseers because this was a massive project that was destined to take countless hours to complete.

Moreover, each artisan, slave, and laborer was responsible for a specific area, and even a single brick cast in a furnace was marked with their name, work number, and the specific time and place.

Just like the swords, spears, halberds, bows, crossbows, and cannons used by the legionary warriors in the Golden Empire, each craftsman was assigned a number to ensure the meticulousness and strictness of the work.

Morton was also a slave, but his status was special.

Morton's special nature does not stem from his dragon identity. After being demoted to slavery by the Emperor, his true form as an Iron Dragon was bound by magic, and he could only roam the Imperial territory in the form of a Dragonborn.

Morton's special ability comes from Iron Dragon's talent: the ability to sense and manipulate metal ore veins.

Based on Morton's talents, the Empire's Department of Magic Research created a magical construct that could amplify the Iron Dragon Morton's ability to sense metal.

Originally, these mages wanted to create unique Dragon King Armor and Emperor Armor for the empire's Dragon King and Dragon Emperor. Iron Dragon Morton happened to be the test subject, and the mages conducted various experiments on Morton, which led to the development of magical constructs that fit the dragon's bloodline and talents.

The helmet Morton is currently wearing is the main sensory center of this magical construct.

With the amplification provided by this magical construct, the Iron Dragon Morton can easily detect all types and properties of metals within a radius of dozens of miles. Even minerals buried deep underground and some special minerals that the Iron Dragon could not sense before can be easily detected by Morton.

"Lord Morton, traces of mineral essence have been discovered nearby, but the fluctuations are far too weak for me to be certain. I need you to investigate personally."

One of the kobold overseers was also wearing a small helmet, which was one of the magical constructs of Iron Dragon Morton, allowing twelve people to connect to Iron Dragon Morton simultaneously and borrow his innate abilities.

Although the borrowed ability is almost half the strength of Morton the Iron Dragon's own ability, it is still a very effective means of detection.

"The essence of the mineral vein?"

Iron Dragon Morton's face lit up with obvious joy as he looked at the kobold, who was also looking excited. He patted the kobold's shoulder, who was almost as big as an adult.

"Take me to see it. If you really find the essence of the mineral vein, whether it's iron marrow or some other kind of essence, I will report it and recommend you for credit!"

The essence of a mineral vein, in the words of the imperial mages, is the essential substance formed by the fundamental properties of minerals.

A single drop of mineral essence, nurtured within the earth's veins for many years, can give rise to a mineral vein.

In terms of status and ability, mineral vein essence cannot compare to rare treasures like the Heart of the Earth, but even in the entire northern continent of Ekania, it would be difficult to find a sufficient amount of mineral vein essence.

Most importantly, the essence of the mineral vein is the perfect adhesive and bonding material used by Emperor Caron Gogmoir and many dragon kings to create their exclusive weapons.

This essence can perfectly unleash the extensibility of power without being hindered by the influence of matter. Furthermore, its characteristics allow even a massive dragon to be fully covered, and it can gradually grow as the dragon grows.

That's why Morton was pleasantly surprised. Morton is probably no longer simply happy that he has done something good and can have his sentence reduced.

At that moment, he had no idea of ​​this at all; he simply followed behind the kobold, disappearing into the white clouds and deep fog, becoming one of the countless beings.

……

In the world of Pleco, it is now April. But the mild weather has no effect on this magnificent and ancient castle. Even the huge candles burning inside and the thick carpets covering the castle still make the dragon feel a chill under its scales.

Duke Dracula sat in the main seat of the castle's main drawing room. The handsome and elegant middle-aged duke appeared extremely graceful at this moment. He gently pinched the magical parchment in his hand between his index finger and thumb, which was adorned with a huge ruby, and carefully read it.

As an ancient vampire species, its power is beyond the comprehension of even the green dragon Salera and the red dragon Nero.

However, among the vampire race, as long as the bloodline is pure, even a vampire with mediocre strength can live for thousands of years. In this respect, the vampire race is even more special than the dragons.

At the very least, dragons need to overcome the life-or-death challenges of the oldest and most ancient dragons before they can possibly leap into becoming true immortal beings.

Furthermore, vampires are somewhat similar to dragons. While it's not necessarily true that the older a vampire is, the more powerful they are, the harder they are to kill.

However, Nero the Red Dragon and Salera the Green Dragon estimated that the Vampire King in front of them was at least among the most powerful in the Legendary realm.

Perhaps Dracula was well hidden and could not be detected by the two young dragons and the fairy dragon, but the other vampire species were not so seamless in the eyes of the two young dragons.

Moreover, it seems that Grand Duke Dracula had no intention of deliberately hiding himself from the two young dragons.

The fairy dragon Monica scanned the silent, plate-armored knights standing in the ancient castle with a hint of trepidation. These plate-armored knights could not compare with the elite legions of the Golden Empire, but they all exuded an aura that made the living wary.

Those are vampires, forever craving the lives they have lost, and using the blood of the living to fill their insatiable desires.

Moreover, the cold water droplets seeped from the armor and greatswords of these plate-armored knights, radiating a chilling aura that even Monica could not escape.

After a long while, Grand Duke Dracula slowly raised his head. At this moment, he appeared no different from a normal person, except that his eyes were as deep as a still spring, which even the dragon's gaze could not see through.

"So, your Emperor, Caron Gogmora, is now in a deep sleep?"

Grand Duke Dracula said calmly, "However, Gogmora has placed his full trust in you little dragons, entrusting you with the authority to handle this peace negotiation note."

"I was initially a little angry that the Golden Empire only sent two small dragons, but considering that your emperor personally wrote the letter, I'll let it go!"

The green dragon Salera nodded slightly, paying homage to Grand Duke Dracula, before speaking: "Your Excellency, our Emperor has indeed entered a deep slumber recently, about to enter the most important stage of a dragon's life—youth."

"Of course, the power granted to us by the Empire allows us the honor of sitting at the same table as the Grand Duke; it is our privilege!"

Red Dragon Nero is not good at diplomacy, but he is not afraid of battle and strategy. Therefore, Green Dragon Salera, the socialite among the second generation of dragons of the Empire, was also forcibly brought by Nero.

Nero paid the price of a promise he made to the green dragon Salera.

Grand Duke Dracula smiled slightly and accepted the deliberate respect from the green dragon Salera. After all, for such a proud race as dragons to utter such humble words proved the other party's sincerity.

Grand Duke Dracula then turned his gaze to the envoy from the Farn Empire, who had remained smiling and silent.

The envoy from the Farn Empire was a clever man; he immediately rose and bowed slightly to Grand Duke Dracula.

Then, with a smile, he said, "Now that I have successfully introduced you both as equally distinguished guests, it is time for your meeting."

"However, I hope that Grand Duke Dracula will grant me one request: even if the talks between the two sides do not achieve good results, please do not make things difficult for the envoys of the Golden Empire!"

“Of course,” Dracula nodded slightly, watching as his maid led the envoys of the Farn Empire to the back of the castle before turning around.

“Monica the Fairy Dragon, do you know why I’m making things difficult for you?” Dracula looked at the impeccably beautiful female Fairy Dragon.

"I am not lusting after the fairy dragon's beauty, nor am I lusting after its wealth or body,"

"Instead, you need to use the purest dragon blood of your Celestial Dragon Clan to cleanse me of the tainted power infected by the Other God,"

Grand Duke Dracula stated bluntly, "If you want to get your parents back, the Golden Empire must find a way to resolve the problems I am facing."

The pupils of several dragons, now in dragon-human form, dilated almost simultaneously, and they looked at Grand Duke Dracula with solemn expressions.

"Infected by the power of the alien gods?"

Red Dragon Nero slightly bared his fangs and took the initiative to ask, "Even a high-ranking powerhouse like the Grand Duke can be easily infected by power?"

In the material world, there are many powerful figures like Grand Duke Dracula, but they are among the top-ranking beings. Even if the incarnations of the gods descend, they can escape if they cannot defeat them, and they do not need to fear the gods.

But the fact that Grand Duke Dracula could be so easily infected by the power of the Other God is far more unbelievable than the fact that Grand Duke Dracula was killed by the Other God's incarnation.

"You are newcomers to the world of Aikania, so of course you don't know how many dangers exist in your native world,"

Grand Duke Dracula smiled wryly and said, "Moreover, the northern continent where your Golden Empire is located has always been a sparsely populated wasteland, so it is not valued by all forces."

“I am the son of Gaeber, the demigod who was the progenitor of the vampire race, and I was influenced by my father.”

"The existence of the original god of Ekania, which is hidden underground, was discovered by my father in the past. However, when he explored this situation, he discovered that many other gods were already hidden in the world of Ekania."

"The original god of Aikania was hunted and imprisoned by many alien gods who wanted to devour him, but they were locked in a stalemate. The vampire progenitor Gaibo was also beaten to the brink of death by the alien gods and was forced to flee Aikania!"

"The gods of the astral plane have once again won the war against the gods of the wilderness, but in Aikania, they have lost the war before the other gods!"

(End of this chapter)