Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 584 Origin of the Conflict
Morton, the Iron Dragon King of the Golden Empire, has grown to twenty-five meters tall, a size that is extremely surprising for an adult Iron Dragon.

Even Morton's grandfather, the ancient Iron Dragon Werner, had high hopes for this outstanding offspring.

Garugsingo, the ancient dragon god who ruled over all the iron dragon races, was once the target of the iron dragon Morton.

But the current Morton has far greater ambitions than he ever imagined.

Although Garugsingo once ruled over all the sub-iron dragon races in the world, he was not able to rule over other dragon races.

Even though a mature dragon in the mortal realm could be crushed to death by a dragon like Garugsingo with a single claw, few of the five-colored dragons would truly hold the ancient overlord of the Athene Dragon God in their hearts.

But becoming the Dragon King of the Golden Empire is different.

Iron Dragon Morton raised its head slightly, gazing at the distant Mobel Wilderness. Its iron scales rang out in the howling wind, like the sound of wind passing through a weathered, riddled valley.

"If I can forcibly unite and govern all the remaining sub-dragon race in the world, incorporating them into the order of the Golden Empire, I will also have a place in the empire's homeland in the future,"

Iron Dragon Morton turned his massive head to look at his grandfather, another powerful ancient iron dragon, Werner, and said, "At that time, as the Dragon King of the Empire, I will not only be able to rule the sub-iron dragon race, but also enjoy the power and authority to rule other dragons, just like the Dragon Kings of other empires."

"The narrow distinctions between dragon races of the past are insignificant in the face of this truly great undertaking. Grandfather, the revival and renewed greatness of the Iron Dragons requires the rise of the entire dragon race. This is a requirement of the times!"

"If the dragon race cannot rely on the collective rise of the entire race, it will be completely annihilated in the mainstream order of the universe sooner or later!"

Mobel Wasteland is an unclaimed wilderness located on the northern continent within the large material world plane Kars.

This world has a land area several times larger than that of the world of Ekania, and its civilization is flourishing, with the power of humanoid races reaching almost its peak.

Because the world is rich in resources and its civilization has never been interrupted, the humanoid civilizations in this world have developed a fairly mature and advanced magical culture, much like the ancient magical empires.

However, due to the confrontation and competition between various humanoid civilizations, many countries in this large material plane world, even with the ability to traverse the star realm and explore the resources and civilizations of other planets in the vast universe, have still failed to produce a powerful hegemonic civilization that can truly unify the entire world.

Competition can sometimes bring vitality, and sometimes it can be a constraint.

The reason why Iron Dragon Morton and his grandfather, Ancient Iron Dragon Werner, appeared in this world is naturally because another powerful offshoot of the Iron Dragon race still exists in this world.

"This world isn't easy to conquer, Morton,"

The fine scales on Werner's aged head were like rusty iron plates, marks left by the passage of time on this ancient iron dragon. Even the dragon's pupils were as dark as brown rust.

"In this world, those powerful legendary arcanists who wield arcane fortresses once gathered the strength of the entire nation to forcibly kill several ancient dragons,"

"Even if the Golden Empire were to personally enter this world, it would be difficult to say who would win against these nations whose magical civilizations have reached their peak."

"Unless the emperor of the Golden Empire is willing to directly intervene in such a war, a stable advantage in victory cannot be guaranteed."

Werner blinked his dark, vertical pupils, recalling the enormous floating mage towers that followed the trajectories of the sky and the space harbors embedded outside the barrier of the Ekania world he had once set foot in the Golden Empire.

The ancient dragon unconsciously compared the advantages that the Golden Empire, a kingdom created by dragons, could possess.

In Werner's mind, even the dragon kings of the Golden Empire did not have an individual advantage when facing the legendary arcane mages who controlled the arcane fortresses.

Fortunately, the Golden Empire also possesses such terrifying weapons of war, which can offset the advantages of the arcane fortresses in this world.

Although the resources consumed by this terrifying war machine, once fully activated, are a black hole that ordinary nations and races can hardly bear, the Golden Empire still has some reserves.

At least Gutilong Werner refused to believe that the Golden Empire's finances would now face any negative problems.

Because Werner was an ancient dragon, he knew that beings as powerful as the Dragon Emperor Kalon Goggmora had countless ordinary channels for acquiring resources and wealth.

Thinking of this, Werner couldn't help but reach out his claw and touch his forehead, where a faint claw mark still remained.

That was an indelible warning mark left on the ancient iron dragon after the Dragon Emperor knocked him away with a single claw.

When Werner stood before the Dragon Emperor at full power, he didn't even have the courage to make a move.

Just because his noise bothered the other party, he was swatted out of the Dragon King's court with a single claw.

Werner only received a perfunctory warning from the Dragon Emperor.
"Everything has its limits, and everything is possible, but not possible. Werner, you are also a member of the dragon race. You should think things through carefully to avoid going down the wrong path and having to bear the consequences."

"Make a choice, and you must bear the consequences!"

If Werner hadn't witnessed the power of that great red dragon that made even ancient dragons tremble with fear, he wouldn't have so easily accepted his descendant Morton, a method of using absolute power to restore order to the entire sub-iron dragon race.

Since we cannot resist the Dragon Emperor's authority, why bother with futile struggles and covert resistance?

It's better to go with the flow and follow the trend; perhaps in the future, I too will be able to occupy a place in that dragon kingdom.

The older the dragon, the more it cherishes life, unless it falls into a state of paranoia.

Werner is a dragon that is not obsessive.

Morton understood his grandfather, especially after he had made considerable progress on the path to the Dragon's Proof, and Morton had developed his own understanding of how the minds of living beings worked.

Morton grinned, revealing his fangs, and said, "It is precisely because the civilizations of those humanoid races in the universe are too powerful that the Dragon Emperor uses some kind of benefit as a whip to drive other humanoid civilizations out of their original world in the world of Ekania."

"Wars between human-like civilizations, where one race rules another, are unlikely to arouse deep vigilance from other civilizations of the same kind, but they can attract many prying eyes to the Golden Empire's operations,"

"And during these wars between humanoid civilizations, the dragon race can avoid many eyes and achieve the great feat of truly unifying the dragon races across various material planes, connecting them together, and bringing them under the rule of the Golden Empire!" Although on the day of the Golden Empire's grand ceremony, Kalon gave the participating civilizations several years to prepare.

In reality, the Golden Empire's own plans never stopped operating, and the conquest and consolidation of the Southern Good Dragon Alliance was only a small part of the Empire's vast plan.

"Besides, we're not fighting against the humanoid civilizations in this world, but simply trying to gather all the dragons in this world and establish a branch of the Golden Empire as our base of operations!"

"We just need to be careful, and it shouldn't be difficult to attract the interference of those humanoid civilizations. After all, in the eyes of those humanoid races, dragons have always been the same, and battles over territory are endless."

As Morton finished speaking, he suddenly closed his mouth. Secrets can lead to success, but they can also lead to failure. This was a habit he had developed over decades of experience in the Golden Empire.

Just as the Dragon Emperor knew many things but did not inform other dragons or other civilizations.

This is why some people, creatures, and even dragons can only be controlled and commanded, but not fully entrusted with a plan.

Werner also stepped on the barren hill beneath his feet, slightly lowering his ancient and enormous body, and retreated behind the iron dragon Morton to demonstrate the true dominance of his bloodline. Only then did he raise his head to look at the two giant dragons flying in from afar.

boom,
Two heavy thuds echoed as two male sub-iron dragons landed on either side of the iron dragon Morton, bowing their heads slightly.
"Your Majesty, our reconnaissance has yielded fairly comprehensive information regarding the specifics of the Mobel Wilderness,"

"Gur, along with ten other loyal Athena dragon warriors, used magic to control many ferocious creatures in this wasteland as our eyes and ears, and spent nearly two months infiltrating the territories of various powerful lords in the wasteland,"

"The other ten warriors personally went into the fray, joining the tribes ruled by the Iron Dragons to gather information, which was eventually compiled and submitted to me,"

A ferocious male dragon, nearing the end of its youth and about to enter adulthood, slightly raised its head and said, "In the Great Mobel Wilderness, the seven most powerful lords are called the Seven Kings by those ignorant creatures."

"Among these seven kings were giants, dwarves, snake-men, and rat-men, who all based their tribal rule on the vast wilderness they occupied and took pride in their kingship."

"Among them, the iron dragon Grus is known as the Dragon King, ruling over several different wasteland tribes, and is the most powerful."

"It is said that he once led his tribe to completely destroy and slaughter another powerful lord's force, and single-handedly defeated a powerful war lord, thus gaining fame."

"These kings are vying for control of this vast wilderness, and wars frequently break out. Battles involving thousands of people have almost never ceased, and the flames of war reignite every half month..."

Iron Dragon Morton sat atop the barren hill, looking down at the giant dragon below, and couldn't help but reveal a ferocious smile.

"Now, anyone can easily become king,"

"Even the Dragon Kings within the Golden Empire were only given royal titles after the empire was established and a fixed system and order were formed, due to their contributions and responsibilities to the dragon races of the world,"

Morton couldn't help but turn back to his grandfather and sneer, "For such a piece of trash to be king is a disgrace to my Iron Dragon race!"

"Such a person is worthy of being called a lord, but he dares to call himself a king before he has even established a real system of governance. It makes me laugh."

"In times without heroes, even a mere upstart can rise to fame. Daring to usurp the throne without contributing anything, it seems he needs a lesson in the iron fist of the empire."

Morton the Iron Dragon's ideology is actually quite similar to that of Nero the Red Dragon and Caesar the Blue Dragon.

Even dragons like Caesar (blue dragon) and Nero (red dragon), when they go to other worlds and see other red or blue dragons ruling and dominating, will subconsciously look down on those dragon lords who rule a region.

This stems from the natural influence of the mature civilization system of the Golden Empire, as well as the supreme position that thought occupies due to the era's environment.

Because within the Golden Empire, the established order and conclusion that one cannot become king without merit had already been set.

This is why beings like the demigod female dragon Phyllis Tiamat are still controlled by several dragon kings who are much weaker than demigods.

"Well,"

Iron Dragon Morton spoke again: "Mass, send the data you've collected back to Middle Base, and have the Imperial Vanguard Legion soldiers stationed there send it back to the Imperial homeland."

"This part of the data information,"

"The geomantic map of the myriad realms, currently under construction within the empire, will play a role. This information must be promptly relayed back, and a necessary request for support must be submitted to the Imperial Central Military Headquarters."

"So that when we launch our operation in the future, we can receive timely support if we encounter interference from humanoid civilizations in this world."

"Furthermore, right here, establish a magical portal spanning the Midr continent and this world, and build a base based on the portal's landing point,"

Morton raised his head slightly and said, "As for the next plan, I need to personally go to the territory of that iron dragon's kin to take a look."

"If his thoughts cannot be changed, then the head that contains those thoughts must be changed."

"And me?"

The ancient iron dragon Werner asked somewhat dejectedly, "Why don't you let me take action directly and capture that dragon? That would be much more efficient."

Morton turned around and said slowly, "Grandfather, the dragon lord isn't the key. The most crucial thing is whether we can establish ourselves in this world."

"Therefore, the importance of the base far exceeds that of the lord dragon of the same kind, so you naturally need to guard the most important base."

"Besides, I don't believe that dragon can escape from my grasp,"

Morton smiled meaningfully, "You know, I spent decades in the Golden Empire; I didn't just go there to serve and undergo labor reform."

"I gained the emperor's trust because I have the ability!"

(End of this chapter)