Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 543 All Nations Pay Homage to the Emperor (Part 1)

The Golden Empire was bustling with activity today, a scene of such grandeur that none of the envoys from the various kingdoms of Ekania, who had arrived in the capital of the Golden Empire, could have imagined it.

When Prince Adrian, from the southern continent of Ekania, and his companion, Weston, the eldest son of the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke of the Oakes Empire, squeezed through the side gate of the capital city, covered in sweat.

Even Prince Adrian, who had already been promoted to a high-ranking knight, felt somewhat weak and powerless.

The capital city was incomparably vast, covering an area of ​​immense size. The city walls alone were a staggering 120 meters high. The enormous gate passageway could easily accommodate twenty luxurious sixteen-horse carriages traveling side by side.

Even so, the city gates of the entire capital were completely blocked by an endless stream of people.

Even though the carriage rented by Prince Adrian of the Auschwitz Empire and his companions bore the flags of a visiting mission, they still waited outside the capital for a full two hours before advancing twenty meters.

Even though the kobold soldiers maintaining order had shouted themselves hoarse, the long, winding crowd did not decrease in the slightest.

This finally pushed the two officials of the Ox Empire to their breaking point, forcing them to accept the services of the "city rats" who roamed outside the city gates, persuading those eager to enter the city. They paid five gold coins for their services.

Wild beasts have their paths, and rats have their trails. Even in the capital of the Golden Empire, there are some unexpected creatures.

However, the scene that unfolded before their eyes left even the prince and the son of the grand duke from the southern empire speechless.

Looking around, the first thing that caught their eyes was the towering tree that rose from the ground in the central park of the capital. It was the Tree of Life.
This Tree of Life has a massive canopy that stretches for thousands of meters, with thick branches resembling the scales of a suspended mountain ridge.

Even though this enormous Tree of Life was so striking in their eyes, it still appeared extremely small within the entire field of vision.

Because the city was filled with towering, austere buildings, yet despite their dense clusters, they gave Prince Adrian and Weston the feeling that they were all covered in a layer of frost.

But in contrast to the architectural style of the royal capital, there was an extremely noisy atmosphere.

Not only were the vast, interconnected streets teeming with people, but trolls, goblins, kobolds, gnolls, and people of all races also roamed freely.

Even on the many suspended sky bridges in the distance above the city, countless people come and go.

Prince Adrian and Weston noticed several dragons among the crowd, their wings folded, being carefully carried forward by the throng, looking utterly furtive and timid.

This must be a dragon that hasn't mastered dragon shapeshifting, as for why Prince Adrian and Weston were able to know so clearly.

It wasn't because these two guys had exceptional insight, but because they had witnessed two giant dragons use magic to transform into humanoid forms right before their eyes, and then disappear instantly into the crowded throng.

If Prince Adrian and Weston hadn't been standing on the steps of the clothing store, they probably would have been separated by the surging crowd.

"Is this the first magnificent city in the world of Aikania, boasting three million permanent residents?"

Prince Adrian opened his mouth and shouted at Weston beside him, but even so, Prince Adrian subconsciously doubted whether his voice had fully reached Weston's ears.

"Damn it, I seriously doubt if everyone in Aikania has come here?" Prince Adrian said, uttering a vulgar curse without any manners.

Prince Adrian was no ignorant fellow. As the origin of humanoid life in the world of Ekania, the southern continent was the birthplace of many human civilizations in the central and even northern continents.

The Kingdom of Koria in the north originated from the central continent, but the ancestors of the Farn Empire in the central continent came from the southern continent and fought their way to create their own hegemony on another continent.

In contrast, the two dominant empires, the Farn Empire and the Luman Empire, have formed a bipolar relationship of checks and balances, causing many countries, large and small, to become extensions of the will of the two dominant empires and to varying degrees to maintain their complete independence.

In the southern continent, the strength of the various civilizations is relatively balanced, and they are generally stronger and have a deeper foundation than the civilizations in the central continent.

Legendary powerhouses have emerged in various southern kingdoms due to the inheritance of history. However, due to the long-standing and complex political and military power relations between the kingdoms, many important national affairs are resolved through negotiation and compromise.

Therefore, even if some countries did not have legendary powerful figures guarding them in history, they will not decline too much due to the lack of strength.

This has led to the situation where, although there are no two superpowers like the two dominant nations of the Central Plains, the Southern Continent has several powerful nations standing in a tripartite balance.

These nations, when facing the Southern Good Dragon Alliance alone, could not withstand the power of hundreds of dragons, but when these nations united together...

Whether through political, military, or individual strength, the combined forces of these forces can easily suppress the hundreds of metal dragons in the Southern Good Dragon Alliance, keeping them within the sphere of human civilization and preventing them from making any rash moves.

The Southern Good Dragon Alliance contains many gold and silver dragons attempting to expand within human civilizations, hoping to use their long lifespans to create a small breach in their encirclement.

Even the title and territory that Count Mogsa Rabik, the Golden King of the Golden Empire and father of the ancestral Golden Dragon Obirash, once purchased with a huge amount of wealth, only occupied an insignificant ecological niche on the outer edge of the human civilization's sphere of influence.

At its peak, the Orc Empire, from which Prince Adrian was born, stretched from the Nargan Basin and the Eternal River Plain in the east to the Kurlo Peninsula, encircled by the Phosphorescent Sea in the west, spanning the entire southern continent, much like the current Golden Empire in the northern continent.

Even now, the Oaks Empire remains one of the superpowers in the south.

Even Prince Adrian could not find any city in the southern continent that could rival the grandeur of the royal capital.

Weston swallowed hard and replied in a booming voice, "It's said that this city has thirty-six main roads connecting all directions, seventy-two side roads linking all sides, and the city layout is divided into one hundred and eight districts of varying sizes, with as many as three hundred and sixty alleyways of all sizes."

"There are so many people in the area right in front of us. It's hard to imagine how many people have gathered in this city in the past few days."

“We should have come earlier, like the envoys from other countries,” Weston said with a bitter face.

Not only did the Auschwitz Empire send an envoy from tens of thousands of miles away to the Golden Empire, but almost all the independent civilized nations in the Southern Continent also sent envoys of similar size.

Fifty nations, large and small, have all come to celebrate the founding of the Golden Empire.

The Kingdom of Shania, the Kingdom of Modova, the Grand Duchy of Latvia, the Kingdom of Castile, the Kingdom of Navarre, the Kingdom of Burgundy, the Empire of Volinia, and so on, all sent delegations regardless of whether they received an invitation from the Golden Empire. The Ox Empire was just one of these fifty countries.

Not only in the southern continent, but also in many civilized nations in the central and western continents, such as the vampires in the west, there are also grand dukes leading delegations to come, while only the hidden lands in the east rarely reveal any news.

“I would have liked to come sooner, but my status as heir hadn’t been established yet,” Prince Adrian rolled his eyes and shrugged nonchalantly. “Even I can’t understand why I became the heir to the empire.”

The two young men talked as they walked along the thresholds of the shops on both sides of the street, hopping and skipping along.

Fortunately, thanks to notices posted by the city guards of the capital, shops near the city gates were not allowed to have customers queuing up in order to maintain smooth traffic, which saved the two young people from being swept away by the huge crowds.

However, when the two young men walked until their legs gave way and they still hadn't stepped out of the area, they suddenly showed expressions of despair.

The capital city has expanded several times, and its territory now far exceeds Prince Adrian's estimates.

It should be noted that the mages in the Golden Empire who are skilled in 'civil engineering' have gradually developed a set of magic to move and relocate an entire section of the city wall and foundation in order to save resources and avoid having to demolish the city wall every time the capital expands.

"Or perhaps we could wait for the delegation here,"

Weston and Prince Adrian looked at each other, and without a word, they understood the compromise in each other's eyes, for their thoughts were now in perfect unison.

The city was flooded with countless people, making the temperature and atmosphere in the royal capital uniform. Even with the soothing influence of the Tree of Life, the two still felt hot.

Adrian and Weston even saw the tall trees rooted in the flowerbeds along the avenue occasionally come to life, vigorously waving their thick branches at the air, stirring up the magic of nature to dispel the restlessness in the air.

These tree-people races, who live and thrive in the Golden Empire, are not common in the world of Ekania. A prosperous tree-people tribe once existed in the southern continent where Prince Adrian lived.

However, due to the flourishing of human civilization, the tree-people race in the southern continent was almost completely wiped out. Many powerful magical artifacts and staffs that have been passed down in various civilizations were forged from the countless corpses of those tree-people.

This also made Prince Adrian and Weston greatly appreciate the unique scenery of the royal capital. However, from a human perspective, these tree-people were particularly suited to making magical items and staves.

The treants in the Golden Empire are extremely intelligent and spiritual, especially those living around the Tree of Life, which even high-level mages would envy.

The two young people admired the scenery, so different from their own country, while searching for a place to stay.

Fortunately, as they ventured deeper into the capital, the shops and taverns on both sides began to allow guests to enter. Although many taverns and shops were already crowded, Prince Adrian and Weston managed to find a place to stay in a luxurious tavern with a sign that read "Dragon Tavern" thanks to the overwhelming amount of gold coins they had.

Although the tavern bore the name of a dragon, Prince Adrian had to ask the swaying bartender before he learned that it did not belong to any dragon.

It was simply that the tavern owner preemptively registered the name when the relevant laws were being discussed. However, because of this, the tavern is subject to the new policy introduced by the Golden Empire's Wealth Master—the Steel Dragon Midil—and needs to pay a little more dragon reputation usage tax.

"I've heard that the evil dragon, the Colorful Prince, has eyes as big and bright as the sun, and when he opens his mouth, his fangs are so large that even a dozen Golden Guards couldn't encircle them."

"With just a single breath, he could swallow dozens of cows, dozens of sheep, and dozens of horses,"

Prince Adrian felt awkward listening to the common language of the continent, which was spoken with various racial accents.

Because the common language of the mainland, to be precise, originated from human civilization in the southern continent.

But when Prince Adrian saw that the one holding the wine glass and boasting incoherently was a minotaur from the Underdark, he suddenly found it no longer strange.

"Wow, if that's the case, the Colorful Prince's eyes are as big and bright as the sun, and even the Golden Empire couldn't contain them, so how could His Majesty the Emperor have caught and imprisoned them?"

A golden ogre retorted, "Besides, what kind of 'Colored Prince' is this evil dragon? Only the descendants of His Majesty the Holy Emperor Goggmora can be called that." Many citizens of the Golden Empire, regardless of race, began to echo this, shouting in unison, "Right? Right?"

"Only the offspring of His Majesty the Holy Emperor Gogmora can be called true dragon princes, not only princes of colorful dragons, but also princes of metal dragons and other giant dragons!"

Then the ogre with light golden fur pretended to lower its voice and said in a low voice, "I'll tell you, it's only because you've all been so enthusiastic today that I'm sharing some gossip I overheard with you."

“Tell me quickly, stop being so secretive,” a dwarf shouted. “Don’t be like that minotaur, all you do is brag.”

"Bullshit!" the ogre yelled, his neck stiff. "Don't you understand? I am a descendant of Lady Fafnir's former tribe!"

"That's why I obtained this 'secret' information from many female ogres,"

The cannibalistic demon glanced furtively around and, noticing that the patrons were all captivated by the reputation of the troll Fafnir, revealed a smug smile.

While Fafnir cannot compare to the beauty of the fairy dragon Monica, it is only because Monica is a dragon, while Fafnir is merely a troll with ancient raven blood.

However, Fafnir's beauty did not overshadow the Dragon Emperor's reputation as his private treasurer. It is said that whenever the Dragon Emperor wanted to know how much wealth was in his treasury, he needed the help of the giant Fafnir.

"That is, His Majesty the Holy Emperor Gogmora, whose own blood is already conceived and will soon be born in the royal court."

The entire tavern erupted in a cacophony of noise, but Prince Adrian paid no attention to this so-called secret news, treating it merely as a folk tale.

In fact, Prince Adrian did not think that the people of these golden empires were exaggerating.

Since its founding, the Golden Empire has experienced no fewer than a hundred wars, large and small, some of which were so large that they shook the world of Ekania.

Apart from the defensive counterattack war against the Orc Kingdom in the early days of the nation's founding, all other wars, regardless of size, were wars of external expansion, accumulating the elimination of dozens of powerful wasteland tribes and dozens of noble kingdoms, and even venturing into the starry world.

They successively incorporated the entire area north of the Northern Lands' Forsaken Mountains into the empire's territory, from west to east, starting with the boundless ocean and ending with the boundless ocean.

The Golden Empire's foreign wars established its unparalleled hegemonic status, making the Golden Civilization the most influential civilization in the world of Ekania at that time.

In particular, the establishment of the Golden Empire constructed the basic framework and unified form of the Golden Race, a system of governance that many confederate and federal kingdoms and empires could hardly achieve.

When the Golden Empire returned from its expedition to the stars, no other nation in the world of Aikania dared to directly confront the might of this dragon kingdom.

The legendary powerhouses in the southern continent, because of their many connections with the outside world, were actually more profoundly affected.

The radiant gold, bestowed by Heaven upon all nations, is a sign of the Golden Empire now manifesting in the world of Ekania.

To Prince Adrian's surprise, there were still beggars in the royal capital.

Although the beggar was dressed neatly and his demeanor did not appear impoverished, he placed his tools on his lap and sat quietly on the threshold, gazing ahead.

However, after observing the beggar discreetly for a while, Prince Adrian noticed a very subtle characteristic.

That is, this beggar does not accept alms from outsiders. Only when citizens of the Golden Empire pass by and drop a few copper or silver coins will the beggar smile and express his gratitude.

The beggar politely refused any alms from other outsiders, but would not accept any money.

"What's going on?"

Prince Adrian quietly pulled the alluring bartender who was refilling his drink, and accidentally touched the snake-woman's soft, boneless waist, feeling as if his hand had brushed against soft velvet.

As for the wine with ice floating on it, it wouldn't surprise Prince Adrian. Although this was something that only nobles and wealthy merchants could enjoy in the southern countries, Adrian wouldn't find anything too outrageous in the Golden Empire.

After all, the influence of the Golden Empire has now spread far overseas, reaching as far as the southern continent.

Whenever the merchant ships and fleets of the Golden Empire arrived at the ports of major southern cities from the sea, they always brought many novel goods and news.

Even the long ballets and plays popular in the Golden Empire were extremely popular in the South. Prince Adrian had once seen a play by a master of drama from the Golden Empire, titled "How the Empire Was Built!"

Many well-known commanders in the Golden Empire, such as the barbarian Gibb, the dragonborn werewolf Sahar, and the gnoll Yugu, became familiar to many southerners through this work.

It is said that this master of drama was once a fisherman in the Western Sea region of the Golden Empire. Inspired by the Dragon Emperor, he ventured into the industry and eventually achieved enviable success.

"Oh, those guys, some are unlucky, some are crazy,"

The snake-woman swayed her hips, slipped the gold coin tip from Prince Adrian into her pocket, and said softly with a warm smile, "You know, distinguished and handsome guest,"

"The empire values ​​adventure, so many merchants and factory owners are keen on taking risks. However, in business, a single bad day can lead to a chain reaction, and many end up with broken cash flow and have to file for bankruptcy."

"Some of these guys are temporarily unemployed because their factories have closed down, and some are those crazy factory owners, but guests don't need to pity them,"

"This is a temporary job for them, but also a 'career' to raise funds to start over."

Prince Adrian and Weston were somewhat confused, feeling a kind of discomfort in their brains that were working at high speed but could not reach a conclusion.

"How can this be called a career, beautiful lady? Forgive my ignorance,"

When faced with a beautiful woman, Prince Adrian was impeccably charming and displayed impeccable aristocratic manners.

The snake-woman bartender smiled charmingly and said softly, "Actually, I don't know much about these things either. I just often read the Dragon Daily, so I can only give you two distinguished guests a brief overview."

"The empire has been established for a long time, and in the past few decades, not only has its territory expanded rapidly, but its magic and industry have also developed at an incredible pace."

"This also led to the rapid transformation of villages and towns in the empire into cities, resulting in a large number of workers."

"But the work of workers is different from that of farmers. In order to maintain the stable development of industry and protect the rights and interests of workers, the empire has successively introduced many laws, such as the disease insurance law, the work injury insurance law, the old age and disability insurance law, and so on."

The snake-man laughed and said, "Every year there is a fixed window period that allows those who have lost their jobs to apply for the disbursement of their insurance premiums to cover their living expenses. Workers who have paid the relevant taxes for more than three years do not need to worry about their families being unable to make ends meet due to some accident."

"To be honest, if my job weren't so stable, I would also choose to pay unemployment insurance for the relevant departments of the Imperial Government. After all, no one knows what might happen."

In fact, the Golden Empire's rapid development was due to the unfolding of the magical industrial revolution.

The reason why the negative impact of the magical industrial revolution on the Golden Empire has been rarely mentioned over the decades is that the cost of this development has been transferred and compensated by the Empire.

For example, many waste materials, wastewater, pollution, and garbage were used by the Empire's mages to build sewage channels leading to smaller elemental planes, turning those barren and undevelopable smaller elemental planes into garbage dumps.

Prince Adrian and Weston exchanged a glance, their expressions extremely solemn.

They only knew that the Golden Empire was militarily powerful, had a huge influence on civilization, and was economically prosperous, but they did not expect that this country had become so well-organized.

But even though the two young men knew many of the superficial advantages that had made the Golden Empire so powerful, these were things they couldn't learn, or rather, couldn't learn.

After a brief silence, Adrian asked, "Not all outsiders will pry into the matter. Don't the rulers of the empire care about these beggars, hmm, idlers, affecting the empire's image?"

The snake-man smiled slowly and said, "Cities are the illusion of a nation; villages and towns are the true essence of a nation. That's what the Dragon Daily says."

“Every country has its strengths and weaknesses. Does that prove that an empire is not powerful enough?”

"We don't care!"

Prince Adrian and Weston fell silent at the same time, and it wasn't until long after the snake-woman had left that the two young men came to their senses from the snake woman's words.

"No wonder that beggar refused to accept alms from the outsider."

Weston said with a bitter face, "So these people think that outsiders are not worthy of giving them charity."

Prince Adrian, his face expressionless, slowly said, "An era will eventually end, but every era will leave its mark on history and an enduring spirit."

"I don't know how future history will record this once-prosperous civilization, but I think the word 'pride' will never leave the historical record."

"The people of this country are as arrogant as its king,"

"Their king dared to defy divine punishment, saying that what belongs to the gods belongs to the gods, and what belongs to the mortals belongs to the mortals. So it's not surprising that their people also possess the confidence and arrogance to look down on the various kingdoms of Aikania."

Prince Adrian stood up and stepped out of the tavern.

"Let's go, I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I want to meet the emperor whom all dragons in the world must pay homage to, and the dragon kings who run the empire and stand high above!"

(End of this chapter)