Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 549 The World Dances Under Wings
"He is the sun, then what are you?"

A gentle and alluring voice echoed in the sacred hall. A mysterious goddess stood beneath the sacred emblem of the sun and spoke softly to the white-robed, white-haired elder.

"It's just something mortal beings from countless planes of existence playing around; there's no need to make such a fuss."

The white-bearded elder, leaning on a golden scepter, sat quietly on his bench, slightly opening his eyes to look at the mysterious goddess before him.

"In countless planes of existence, even if a god wanted to see and control them all, it would be a futile endeavor."

"Should we extinguish the ideal of a mere mortal just because he wanted to touch the sun?"

"Just because a dragon wants to tear through the chaos and illuminate the world like the sun, should its wings be broken?"

The white-bearded elder said softly, "This is unnecessary. Besides, the world you speak of has long been abandoned by the gods and is no longer worth my attention."

"The reason why those dragon gods can move freely in those abandoned worlds is because those dragons do not rely on the power of faith like we do. Even if they suffer setbacks in this regard in the mortal world, it does not damage their fundamental nature."

"Moreover, in the infinite material planes, if the symbolism and radiance of the sun can bring beauty and inspiration to all living beings in the mortal world, that would also be my aspiration."

The white-bearded elder's eyes held boundless light and warmth, but they appeared somewhat dazzling in the eyes of the mysterious goddess.

So the goddess, whose face was shrouded in divine light, narrowed her eyes slightly.

The goddess knew that what the deity before her said was true, just like in the world of Ekania, which had been abandoned by the gods, no deity had ever willingly lowered its gaze upon her for hundreds of years.

Even in the churches that once worshipped the gods, the devout believers prayed day and night, but could not bring back the gods' favor or miracles.

There are many reasons for this. Although the world of Ekania is somewhat special among the infinite planes, it is not the most special.

When this world became a potential source of danger for those who believed in gods, it was only natural that this unremarkable material plane was forgotten by the gods.

However, the goddess remained noncommittal about the old man's last statement.

All the gods know that this old man likes to use anger to scare away darkness and evil, likes to encourage and help those who do good, and likes to use the light of the sun to bring strength and health to the weak and the wounded.

But as the sun and moon have changed and time has passed, the old man now advocates using the sun to destroy darkness and evil, and encourages his followers to challenge those evil and sinful forces.

Excessive ruthlessness towards negative factors can cloud the mind, preventing it from seeing the most beautiful things in life, such as compassion, mercy, and tolerance.

Of course, even God is not perfect; God's mind is not without flaws.

Moreover, the goddess also knew that the old man and another 'deity' had formed a shadow guard legion, which was specifically responsible for doing things that could not be seen in the light of day.

Not everything is suitable for being resolved in the open, and for things that cannot be resolved openly, this Shadow Guard Legion is responsible for delivering the blows in the shadows.

In fact, this kind of thing happens not only to this old man, but also to many other deities, both in themselves and in the churches under their command.

This is also why Fan, a powerful human knight who rose from the First Legion in the former Golden Empire, resolutely broke away from his original church.

No matter how bright, majestic, and upright a deity may appear in public, the darkness that exists behind the scenes will be a hundred or a thousand times more rebellious.

It is precisely because of the comparison.

"You must understand, even those mortal empires that rule an entire star field, those rulers who claim to possess power and authority in the mortal realm surpassing that of the gods, must still establish temples within their kingdoms that revere light and the sun,"

The goddess smiled and said, "Even the ancient god-emperors who ruled countless worlds had to allow the gods' followers to spread their faith within their own lands."

"But the dragons in that world actually resisted all the believers of the gods, and even the sun's radiance in that kingdom could not compare to the emperor's brilliance..."

"Moreover, in the face of such a gifted being, no one knows whether he might one day usurp the authority of the gods, since the people of an entire kingdom regard their king as a god,"

"Exercising divine authority through royal decree carries sufficient weight to lay the foundation for them..."

The white-haired old man held the golden scepter throughout, listening quietly to the goddess's words, his serene face showing no emotion.

Only when the goddess finally stopped persuading did this god, like the setting sun, simply pause with his scepter and say softly, "Let these mortals be. Even if a demigod is born, it is insignificant in our eyes."

"Even the birth of a new god cannot shake our divine authority. A dragon is always a dragon, and I don't need to take action."

After a long while, the mysterious goddess slowly walked out of the sacred palace.

Looking down from the divine realm of the gods, the astral planes are vast and boundless. Even the stars within the astral planes, capable of supporting billions of living beings, are so small beneath this vast divine realm that they are almost invisible, let alone the billions of star planes in the sky below the astral planes.

The goddess looked down for a long time before finally sighing.

"I should have come here when he was in his prime, not when he was old, but even I can't know which day he was in his prime and which day he was old!"

……

"Leaving aside all other factors, from the perspective of identity and position alone, only a dragon in the mortal world can do this, while the dragon god who sits high above the mortal world cannot and should not do it."

With great interest, Bayhart picked up a pot of hot tea and began to handle it as if he were being taught by the waiters in some of the high-end teahouses in the Golden Empire, while talking to Chris.

The hot tea flowed gently, and the smoky aroma of tea and herbs made both Bayuhart and Chris feel very comfortable.

This flavor gave Bayuhart the same feeling he had when he was with the fledgling dragons growing up in the Dragon Academy—a feeling of endless vitality.

“You see, if I were to do something like Gogmora, not only would Tiamat disagree, but I'm afraid even you would disagree, and guys like Farazur and Kuronips wouldn’t agree either.”

“Asterina, Estellabo, Landis, Tamara and those guys will probably come looking for trouble with me too.”

"And I'm 100% sure that even that guy Karex will happen to escape through his own dog hole," Barry Hart said with a grin.

"Then some righteous gods will come to my divine kingdom, pretending to be shocked and saying to me," "Ah, sorry, who knew that the seal of Karex would have an accident, allowing that mad dragon that only knows destruction to escape. Now that mad dragon knows your ambition and is coming to cause you trouble."

Chris took a sip from the teacup with the pattern of a kitten chasing a butterfly, and immediately frowned.

Chris's reaction wasn't just because she liked sweets; it was also quite unexpected that the tea, despite smelling very fragrant, tasted somewhat bitter.

She couldn't understand why this kind of thing was becoming increasingly popular in the high-end places of the Golden Empire. She could only attribute it to the tea garden produced by the Green Dragon Antajena. This kind of thing was promoted by the Green Dragon, thus leading to its popularity in the market.

After all, the dragon's influence in this country was so great that even these dragon gods had to marvel at it.

However, what Chris didn't know was that the plants and fruit trees grown in Antajena's plantation were only things that the dragon emperor, Karon Gogmora, liked.

It's just that the Green Dragon's advantage in planting is somewhat excessive, and the plantation masters in the Golden Empire, led by the Pik Elf race, are simply too powerful.

As a result, there was a surplus of products in the Antajena Plantation, and since the Green Dragon Antajena did not want to waste these products, she simply pushed them onto the Imperial market.

"Then you get bogged down by guys like Karex and can't get anything done,"

Chris put down her teacup, thought for a moment, and then said, "I probably won't openly cause you trouble. After all, compared to ancient beings like you, I really don't have much confidence."

Bayhart slowly shook his head and said with a smile, "Wrong, it's not that I'm so bothered by these guys that I can't get anything done."

"Given my personality, I would join forces with the gods of justice to gradually divide these guys and deal with them one by one."

"and then?"

Barry Hart slowly raised his hands, a meaningful smile on his face. "Karex is the easiest to deal with. I'll leave this brainless guy for last."

"At that time, a group of unfamiliar gods will definitely appear suddenly and join my war with Karex,"

"Those gods raised the banner of justice, but they made a serious mistake, accidentally mistaking me for Karex."

"In the end, Karix will not escape the gods' seal. Perhaps I will also be injured by the gods and fall into a deep sleep, and then be locked in Karix's dog hole."

Chris asked with some doubt, "That can't be right. The Lord of Good Dragons and the God of the North Wind can move freely in the Heavenly Mountains, and you can even freely come and go from the stronghold of the Gods of Justice. Why would they do that?"

“That’s why you’re not strong enough, Kress,”

Bayuhat said righteously, "Putting aside the reasons and factors related to the identity and position of the dragon race's god and the gods of other races, even if it were simply for power, those gods could and would be willing to do so."

"Moreover, no god wants to see the dragon race grow stronger. Although the dragon god does not particularly rely on the power of faith, if he had the power of faith, it would be as if the dragon had gained another pair of wings and claws!"

"If we eat more, others will eat less!"

……

The leaders and founders of some of the major merchant guilds in the Zygmunt and Lipnos Star Alliance stood among the delegations of the Dragon King's Kingdom, some of them watching the Dragon Emperor, who sat on the throne, with excitement.

As for the royal court, the terrifying majesty displayed by the Dragon Emperor did not instill fear in them. They had already witnessed the power of this red dragon, but now the red dragon was on their side.

Zygmunt was also unconcerned that Dragon Emperor Caron Gogmora used economic and political means to bind the Lipunos Grand Alliance in the starry sky and the nations of the world of Ekania to the chariot of the Golden Empire.

They are capitalists, they are businessmen, and profit-seeking is their nature.

As the saying goes, small matters are discussed in large meetings, and big matters in small meetings. What was destined to happen in the Dragon Court was already within the will of Emperor Gogmora and the Eight Kings of the Northland, and was also within the understanding of Sigmund and others.

"The starry sky is vast and boundless, containing planes and regions hundreds or thousands of times richer and more expansive than the world of Ekania,"

Beneath the Dragon Emperor's throne, the Seven Kings of the Northern Lands bowed their heads.

This was a joint decision by the eight kings of the Northern Lands, but in the Golden Empire's home turf, the other seven kings would not steal the spotlight from the Dragon Emperor.

Even when Charon went to the other seven kingdoms, the same principle applied; treating guests with respect was the basic principle for the eight kings to interact.

Kalon's gaze swept over the myriad beings in the royal court, his deep, resonant dragon voice clearly echoing in the ears of every visitor.

"Instead of focusing our attention on the infighting within the world of Ekania, we should look beyond it."

"Many countries don't have the financial resources, that's fine; many countries don't have the capability, that's fine too."

Caron nodded slightly, drawing the attention of the crowd to the members of the Lipunos Grand Alliance and other merchant guilds led by Zygmunt, and said, "These powerful merchant guilds and conglomerates are partners between the Golden Empire and the kings of the Northern Continent."

“Countries can apply for assistance from these large conglomerates and chambers of commerce, whether it be money or knowledge.”

"This is why I am advocating that all the nations that have come here abandon their disputes. Of course, the Civilization Observation Council of the Golden Empire will also provide you with some necessary assistance!"

In the royal court, whether it was the ancient silver dragon Illusion Fuller, the middle-aged blue dragon Gaeria, or Prince Adrian and Prince Hezhe, or even Phyllis Tiamat who was in the imperial camp, they all held their breath slightly at this moment.

The Dragon Emperor of the Golden Empire had no ambition to conquer Ekania, but he aspired to make the whole world dance to his will.

The envoys from various countries breathed heavily as they fired shots at each other in the crowd, creating a constant rustling sound.

They all saw the surprise, excitement, anticipation, and panic on each other's faces, and they had a hunch that the world of Aikania would be turned upside down after this day.

……

Historians who later revised the history used only a brief sentence to describe this period of history.

"In the fifty-fifth year of the Dragon Calendar, the Dragon Codex was elevated, and the eight kings of the Northern Continent joined forces once more, wielding their whips to drive the world into motion under their will!"

(End of this chapter)