Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 553 Fate Rules Over All Beings
The Golden Empire, a nation created and ruled by dragons, cannot be said to be completely united, because that would not even exist in an ideal state.

Complete unity of purpose and communication between superiors and subordinates exists only in certain special social groups, such as the Zerg ruled by Queen Liv Zeta, and in groups dominated by mechanical overlords, represented by certain races in the Machine Realm, and groups completely controlled by the Mind Flayers' overlords.

Even among the fanatical believers of the gods, there are those with differing opinions.
However, the Golden Empire also operated in a regular manner, with everyone, regardless of status or race, serving as the vanguard of this empire.

The actions of the dragon-earth spirit Shan Shan were merely those of one of the billions of races in the Golden Empire.

The court meetings within the royal court are closely related to the millions of people in the empire, and therefore their paths are also intertwined.

Many beings in the empire who were not yet qualified or temporarily unable to enter the royal court to participate in the conference of nations were eagerly awaiting the end of the royal court meeting.

The dragon emperor, perched high on his throne with his right paw supporting his cheek, seemed to be eagerly awaiting the arrival of his target.

As a result, the maid Chariz and the Naga warrior Garune frequently glanced at the fragrant wine placed in front of the Dragon Emperor. The Dragon Emperor could only sip this wine, which was originally meant to be drunk in one gulp, and it remained half full even after nearly a quarter of an hour.

The two maids probably thought that this gift, which came from the southern continent and was presented by Prince Adrian of the Orx Empire, was not to Caron Gogmora's liking.

So the two waitresses were always tempted to secretly switch the drinks.

The atmosphere in the royal court was lively, with people clinking glasses and making a great commotion.

The envoys from various countries were using this brief luncheon to get to know each other and chat. Even if neither side truly revealed their true feelings on such an occasion, such political connections are often built up through simple conversations and interactions.

In the Kingdom of Diyu, several important princes and princesses also came to the world of Ekania due to an unexpected connection with the Golden Empire, and participated in this grand event.

Although these princes and princesses longed to befriend the dragon lords and kings of the Gogmora dragonflight, their kingdom was weak and their rulers were lowly, so they couldn't speak too loudly in the Kingdom of Diyu.

Moreover, being in the same place with so many dragons, even though they knew these dragons were not wild beasts, the sheer size of these dragons, which resembled rolling hills, made them too intimidating to approach.

Therefore, these guys can only target envoys from other countries.

The legendary mage Mor followed the emerald dragon Lauro around with great interest.

Although this guy wasn't very familiar with the dragons in the Golgmora dragonflight, thanks to the naturally outgoing Emerald Dragon Lauro, the legendary mage wrote down many of the Golgmora dragons in his spellbook.

The Emerald Dragon Lauro accidentally caused a laughing stock because of his bloodline as the Dragon Emperor, but fortunately, this Emerald Dragon was naturally roguish and didn't care too much.

This emerald-green dragon mingled among the green dragons of the empire, chatting and offering drinks, trying its best to build good relationships with the great dragons of the empire, hoping to glean from them the goals it should pursue.

However, although the dragons in the Gogmora dragonflight are receptive to foreign dragons who come to surrender, the Emerald Dragon Lauro's purpose is far too obvious and blatant.

Those dragon eyes always darted around the beautiful female dragons in the dragon herd, and even the young green dragon Salera in the empire was coveted by this adult emerald dragon.

As a result, the male green dragons of the Empire did not have a good attitude towards the Emerald Dragon Lauro.

It's important to know that in the Gogmora dragon herd, not only are the male dragons highly sought after, but the female dragons are also extremely popular.

However, the number of female dragons in the Gogmora group is still relatively small compared to the number of male dragons.

Even different species of dragons can't keep each other company, let alone dragons of the same species uniting.

Ellie, a female green dragon in the Empire, chose High Lord Karl, which caused High Lord Karl to face many challenges from green dragons for a period of time, leaving Karl feeling quite helpless.

The newly joined Emerald Dragon, Lauro, wants to steal food from these male dragons, but he'll have to see if these male dragons' fists and claws are strong enough.

The green dragon Antajena sat in her main seat, slowly sipping her drink while chatting intermittently with the dark lord Salos.

Salos spoke with great interest to the green dragon Antajena about her past art of cannibalism, though of course, that was all in the past.

Charon Gogmora had no authority over the kings who had allied with him, nor did he believe he should interfere in the lives of other kings, but he had spoken with them before.

Salos still remembers many of the words the red dragon said, but the most important of them were about fate and kings.

The concept of fate is a secret, but Salos still remembered the saying about kings.

"To gain fear and dread from others, to become a king feared by all, is too easy; all you need to do is be ruthless enough."

"But to gain genuine respect and recognition from others, and to have your subordinates truly obey you, is an extremely challenging thing..."

So the Dark Lord Salos decided to challenge herself and see if she could transform that fearful and terrifying power into another kind of power.

Therefore, Salos rarely eats people anymore; she only eats her enemies during battle.

However, to Salos's dismay, the green dragon Antajena seemed uninterested in her past art.

This surprised Salos, since the Dark Lord knew that green dragons liked to eat elves and fairies, and the more beautiful and holy the elf, the more delicious it was in the eyes of the green dragons.

The cuter and more lively the fairy, the more delicious it is in the eyes of the green dragons.

While occasionally giving perfunctory responses to Salos, the green dragon Antajena's gaze would involuntarily drift towards Chris Tiana, the silver dragon surrounded by silver dragons and treated with respect by many great dragons.

Although Antajena wouldn't do anything disrespectful out of jealousy, taking in Opes, the green dragon of the Empire known as the 'Piercing Male of Death,' as her adopted son was the most powerful protest this female dragon could make against the Dragon Emperor.

However, Karon Gogmora's actions undoubtedly hurt the feelings of the green dragon and the red dragon Klenaya.

However, Antajena always complained that she was not up to par, and every time she went to Karon to protest in private, the Dragon Emperor would easily dispel her anger with a few words.

In addition, there are other things such as, "As the eldest son of the emperor, not only does the eldest son face immense attention and pressure, but even his birth mother faces immense pressure."

"At that time, Antajina, you won't be able to take advantage of the situation as leisurely as you are now. Every move you make will be scrutinized by the people of the Empire,"

"But if it were their offspring born later, they would not face such enormous attention and pressure."

“Think about your hobbies and experiments. You won’t have time to develop your interests, nor will you have a peaceful private space and time. You’ll have to devote most of your energy to teaching your offspring…” The green dragon Antajena recalled the words Kalon had said earlier, and her gaze swept over the Dragon Emperor sitting on the throne. She couldn’t help but spit inwardly: “Pah, the mouth of a male dragon, a devil who deceives dragons!”

However, to some extent, the green dragon Antajena still quite agreed with Karon's reasoning, as the silver dragon Chris Tiana was indeed more suitable to be placed in the spotlight as a target to be magnified and focused on.

As for what Karon and Antajena said before, that they would both be regarded as empresses of the empire, and that in the future, a system could be established for the empire to have multiple empresses coexisting.

The green dragon Antajena further countered that such a system does not exist in the world of Ekania, and almost does not exist in countless worlds either; it is unreasonable and violates many common practices.

So the Dragon Emperor, displaying his rogue nature, declared, "The system of the Golden Empire never existed before. I am the Emperor of the Dragons, and I can do whatever I want!"

Although the Dragon Emperor behaves differently in public and in private, Antajana prefers the private side of Karon Gogmora to the Green Dragon.

As for the red dragon Kleinaya, she simply kept drinking in silence.

This hot-tempered female dragon may bite the dragon emperor at will in private, but at least in these public occasions, Kleinaya knows the importance of maintaining the emperor's dignity.

Moreover, Kleinaya wasn't actually keen on having children; she simply wanted to give birth to a bloodline for Charon.

This female dragon's attitude toward her offspring was very similar to that of Kalon.

They don't care what kind of things their descendants will grow up to be.

If their offspring grow up to their satisfaction, they will naturally dote on them; if they grow up to be ugly and deformed, they will "release" them.

However, in the eyes of these two, the growth of their offspring is not based solely on strength, but rather on a combination of factors, including self-cultivation and education.

However, no one would believe that the Dragon Emperor's offspring would be a weak and powerless being.

Within the royal court, all sorts of people, along with the billions of beings in the empire, went about their own business, and even the kings of the Northern Lands were chatting with each other.

Only the Dragon Emperor, who remained silent, wore a smile on his face, occasionally raising the golden cup in front of him to invite everyone to drink together.

It wasn't until the drinking was in full swing and the banquet was coming to an end that Caron showed a slight look of disappointment.

As he looked at the envoys from various countries and the dragons of all kinds who were beginning to behave in a somewhat unrestrained manner, just as he was about to announce the end of the banquet, the entire Dragon Royal Court suddenly went dark.

The fear emanating from the very depths of all beings enveloped the entire Dragon King's court. The terrifying majesty of the gods and dragons pressed down on the heads of all beings in the court like a heavy, ancient mountain, threatening to collapse at any moment.

The myriad beings in the royal court are like eggs under a giant mountain, ready to be crushed at any moment.

But Caron Gogmora's disappointed expression suddenly transformed into a meaningful joy.

“Oh, my most outstanding descendant, my most powerful offspring, my most arrogant child in the world of Ekania,”

“You killed my most loyal and fearless warrior, you seized one of the great powers that once ruled Hell, and you abducted my most beloved and outstanding daughter, but you didn’t even inform me?”

The monstrous, malevolent voice of the dragon echoed throughout the Dragon King's court. It was the voice of the dragon, and also the voice of the god, accompanied by terrifying divine and dragon might, which silenced the entire Dragon King's court.

Countless humans and dragons looked toward Tiamat, the immortal dragon god who had suddenly descended from the void into the Dragon King's court. The enormous red dragon's head bared its fangs, while the other four colored dragon heads stretched forward, exuding immense pressure that almost sucked the air out of the court.

Even the ancient crystal dragon Tesaya showed some obvious fear. After all, although ancient dragons possessed great power in the mortal world, the dragon god who reigned above the mortal world was already at the top of the dragon race.

Unless there are certain necessary circumstances, no dragon would ever directly defy the majesty of the dragon god.

But this immense fear and pressure soon became ineffective against the myriad beings in the royal court, for the Dragon Emperor, seated on the throne, slowly rose to his feet.

The Dragon King's court seemed to be responding to its master's actions, and suddenly trembled. Only then did all creatures and beings in the court realize that it was not the Dragon Emperor who was getting up, but the real dragon raising its head.

It was an incomparably majestic red dragon that slowly raised its head, facing directly at the immortal dragon god who occupied the dome of the royal court and blocked the sunlight from the painted ukiyo-e skylight of the dome, their positions equal and locked in a standoff.

The close confrontation between the two first-generation dragons caused the young dragons in the Dragon Royal Court to nervously clench their little claws and tuck their tails under their wings.

But as the Dragon Emperor spoke, the tense atmosphere suddenly disappeared, and the young dragons bared their fangs at the immortal dragon god on the dome, their growling sounds filling the air.

"You've finally arrived. I've been waiting for you for so long,"

Karon Goggmora raised his head slightly, the thorns on his cheeks swaying gently with the great red dragon's voice, gleaming with an awe-inspiring cold light.

"You knew I was coming?"

Tiamat's five-colored dragon head simultaneously revealed expressions of surprise and doubt, and all five pairs of vertical pupils flashed with surprise and doubt as they looked at the great red dragon in front of them. They found that this dragon emperor who had grown up in the mortal world was becoming somewhat difficult for them to understand.

Kalon chuckled softly, his deep, resonant dragon voice echoing through the royal court.

"So-called destiny is the reaction and behavior you can make when you face a situation, based on your innate disposition, past personality, and logic of doing things. That is fate."

"When something happens and your actions don't align with your nature, personality, and behavioral logic, resulting in many deviations, that's fate."

"Fate is predetermined, fortune is changeable."

Kalon Gogmora extended his forepaw and made a slight clenching motion in the air. He said in a deep voice, "I comprehend the rules, understand the rules, and master the rules. The rules of fate are also among the mysteries I have comprehended."

"Fate rules over all living beings, and it also rules over the gods. Even the gods who claim to control fate cannot escape its grasp."

All living beings in the royal court looked up and saw the Dragon Emperor, who also covered the sky above the dome, saying, "In this world, who can truly escape the control of fate?"

Beneath the royal court, the white dragon Gemott's eyes flashed upon hearing this. He looked at his brother Kamid and said softly, "So, the Dragon's Proof can self-shape itself, modifying itself into whatever it wants to become. In another sense, can it also change one's destiny?"

"You're asking me?" Camid looked completely bewildered, both his minds going blank at the same time.

(End of this chapter)