Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 586 Kings Cannot Stand Against Each Other

"Although I am a dragon, I also know that to truly establish myself in this world, I either need a powerful background and strong backing, or my own abilities must grow far beyond the expectations of those potential enemies lurking in the shadows."

The mighty and arrogant King of the Iron Dragons of Mobel Wasteland, Grus, sits atop his throne.

Inside the towering six-story castle, the firelight from the bonfires burning atop the massive, azure pillars fell upon the scales of the powerful iron dragon, reflecting layers of steel gray that shimmered with both cool and warm hues.

The moment one first sees this incredibly powerful dragon, it's as if one can smell the rich, rusty odor of steel with their own eyes.

This strong, rusty smell also permeated the castle hall, emanating from the heavily armored monsters on either side.

Iron Dragon Morton lay sprawled on the guest seat, listening intently to the words of his equally talented fellow dragon lord while surveying the entire massive castle.

As the lord of the Iron Dragon race, Grus is exceptionally outstanding in terms of talent, bloodline, and other qualities, having built this empire on his own.

Even the once-mighty Iron Dragon Morton was slightly inferior to this fellow dragon who grew up and thrived in the Great World.

However, in the Detection Magic Eye of Iron Dragon Morton, the occasional energy fluctuations emanating from the lazy dragon perched on the throne were enough to rival the existence about to cross the threshold of legend.

This also means that in the evaluation system of those humanoid races, the challenge level of young Grus is already as high as level nineteen.

While such superficial detection measures are difficult to define the true extent of a creature's power, they at least indicate that the amorphous dragon Grus was no ordinary dragon.

It should be noted that the various dragon kings in the Golden Empire were able to fight against legends in their youth, and even defeat many ordinary legends.

However, according to the humanoid race's evaluation system, the energy fluctuations emitted by those dragon kings during their daily activities are only around level nineteen.

However, this was not what Morton, the Iron Dragon, cared about.

Even though Grus is a male dragon with outstanding talent and bloodline, and extremely superior overall qualities.

However, compared to the Golden Empire, which had already formed the prototype of a legitimate and orderly system of inheritance of a certain civilization, Morton can only be summarized in one sentence.

Wild geniuses and geniuses cultivated by a well-established civilization are not comparable.

Not every dragon can undergo self-transformation like the Dragon Emperor. Simple changes and evolutions in physical strength are child's play compared to complete self-transformation.

Iron Dragon Morton's attention was instead focused on the monstrous warriors—ogres, goblins, trolls, and other monsters clad in rune armor and ruled by the lord dragon, Gruus.

This means that Gross either possesses certain means of production and corresponding production infrastructure, or he has a deep connection with the humanoid civilizations in this world.

But a deep killing intent quietly spread, startling Morton, who was distracted.

The iron dragon slowly turned its head to look at Grus, who was perched on the throne, and its vertical pupils narrowed slightly.

"But what exactly is the Golden Empire?"

Grus's neck was serrated, and a pair of steel horns grew backward from his ferocious head, like steel branches. The chilling intent in his words was as cold as the gray scales on the iron dragon's armor.

"Our Iron Dragon race, at its peak in ancient times, boasted twelve distinct branches, more than the combined number of species among the five-colored dragons and metal dragons,"

But Morton noticed that the dragon's vertical pupils were full of contempt and disdain, as well as a chilling killing intent born from the inviolability of his power, but little resentment towards his mortal enemies.

"And the decline and fall of our Athelonian race is also due to the ultimate civil war of ancient times—the Iron-Blooded War, a war that predates the emergence of human civilization in the universe,"

"It was precisely because of this terrifying and bloody war that two of the twelve branches of the Iron Dragon Clan were completely wiped out."

Grus raised his ferocious head slightly, staring at the iron dragon Morton, and slowly said, "Even the ultimate civil war among the sub-iron dragons cannot compare to the deep-seated blood feud with the five-colored dragon race."

"With the addition of the five existing sub-iron dragon species to the ranks of the former dragon god overlord, the supreme sub-iron dragon god Garugsingo, the cohesion and growth of us sub-iron dragons has threatened Tiamat's position,"

"Therefore, not only was Garugsingo, the dragon god who ruled over all the sub-iron dragon races, and the powerful dragon god second only to the platinum dragon god Bahamut and the dark lady Tiamat, murdered by Tiamat's conspiracy and had his divine authority devoured, but even the other five sub-iron dragon races that originally followed Garugsingo were completely wiped out from the world because of Tiamat's conspiracy."

Grus bared his fangs and slowly chuckled coldly, "So, you're telling me you want to accept the rule and support of a red dragon, to unify the entire Mobel Wasteland under the command of that arrogant red dragon who calls himself the emperor of all dragons in the world?"

"Ridiculous, what a ridiculous statement,"

The Dragon King rose from his throne, his powerful body standing tall, his wings, strong enough to block out the light of day, slightly outstretched, and a fierce dragon's might emanated from his body, enveloping the entire dragon castle.

Even the sixteen young dragons—white, red, and even metal—that had been conquered and ruled by this male dragon and were standing on either side of Grus, rose up at the same time, baring their fangs and letting out muffled roars.

This Atheros, who rules the northwestern region of the Mobel Wilderness, also possesses his own sizable dragon herd.

One by one, the monster warriors placed their claws on the heavy hilts of their weapons, glaring ahead.

The deep-seated hostility emanating from the Grus dragons made the atmosphere of the entire fortress extremely heavy.

The two iron dragon warriors who had followed Morton to the castle instinctively lowered their bodies, their four claws stomping on the ground, their backs arched, their wings folded and their teeth bared, assuming a wary stance.

Only Morton the Iron Dragon remained unfazed, though the iron scales on his forehead couldn't help but furrow deeply.

"What Dragon Emperor, what Dragon King, they're all laughable. If they could accomplish such great feats, why can't I?"

Grus stretched out his right wing, pointed at the solemnly standing young red dragon beside him, and said with a sneer, "Look, has the red dragon, the leader of the five dragons, also been subdued and brought under my rule?"

Grus tapped his right wing again and continued, "You see, my way of ruling as kings still manages to attract the silver dragons among the metal dragons to submit."

The male dragon slowly raised its ferocious claws, grinning maliciously as it said, "I can conquer the entire Mobel Wilderness with my own abilities, extending my order to the ends of the earth and establishing my own kingdom."

"Why should I submit to a red dragon, just for some so-called support, or because of the so-called imperial authority you speak of?"

"As for what you said about the fusion and rise of all dragon races in the world, why can't I be the one to lead it?"

A strong aura emanated from the dragon's mouth, nose, and fangs. The temperature in the entire dragon fortress became somewhat dry due to the increased body temperature of the iron dragon king, and a rich, rusty iron smell filled the space.

"What that red dragon can do, the Dragon Lord can also do,"

The young red dragon, filled with hostility, had vertical pupils like lava and bared his teeth, saying, "Since you say that the Dragon Lord can shine brightly in the Golden Empire's system with his own abilities, and has a great chance of even taking control of the Golden Empire in the future," then why not let the Golden Empire come under the Dragon Lord's rule, thus avoiding trouble.

The young red dragon's taunts elicited sneers from more than ten other young dragons around him, their voices filled with disdain and hostility.

Iron Dragon Morton shook his head in disappointment. At this moment, he finally understood what the Dragon Emperor had said in a private conversation.

The Dragon Emperor once said that even though he possessed power that was almost unmatched in the mortal world, there were still some things that he could not do.

One possibility is that when the Dragon Emperor comprehended the logic of the law of cause and effect, he discovered that the logic of cause and effect was unchangeable.

Every action of every living being is contained within the causal logic of the universe, and one must bear the consequences of the choices one makes.

This is also the source of the Dragon Emperor's warning to the ancient iron dragon Werner that there are things that can be done and things that cannot be done, so as not to go down the wrong path and have to bear the corresponding consequences.

Secondly, it is the most fundamental wisdom and nature of living beings, which even the Dragon Emperor cannot bestow or directly change; it must be shaped by oneself.

Even now, as the Dragon Emperor is about to unlock the Seven Great Secrets of the True Dragon, which contain the key to the ultimate wisdom in the world, the understanding and experience of living beings themselves are still essential.

Living beings cannot comprehend this on their own, and without undergoing their own transformation, even the power bestowed by the Dragon Emperor is nothing more than duckweed floating on water.

Thirdly, when the Dragon Emperor was comprehending the laws of destiny, he discovered that among all living beings in the world, without the coincidence of destiny, even gods could not easily change a being's cognitive scope and understanding.

Even in the present-day Gogmora dragonflight and the Golden Empire, not every great dragon can deeply comprehend the spirit and path of a true dragon.

The Dragon Emperor merely created a civilized environment, shaping a correct era and atmosphere that, like a torrent, swept up the dragons who needed to change, allowing them to slowly shape themselves under the long-term influence of this civilized environment.

Iron Dragon Morton then realized that with the Dragon Emperor's current power, he could easily accomplish many things, but why didn't that great red dragon choose to forcibly reverse and change things?

That's because the Dragon Emperor Caron Gogmora was unwilling.

What's the difference between this outcome, which is entirely changed by individual power, and the puppet of the Dragon Emperor?

Iron Dragon Morton slightly raised his head, not even glancing at the majestic Iron Dragon King, but instead looking at the dome of the castle.

He seemed to see the figure of the Dragon Emperor, who hoped to use his influence to change dragons like Iron Dragon Morton, and then let dragons like Iron Dragon Morton change other dragons.

It was precisely because he sensed the source of this influence that Iron Dragon Morton was momentarily perplexed.

Iron Dragon Morton had originally planned that if he discovered during his contact with Grus that there was no possibility of this sub-iron dragon lord changing his mind in the slightest.

Morton would then leave Gruth's territory and incite his iron dragon warriors to create covert conflicts among the powerful lords of this vast wilderness, thereby igniting a war between the various lords.

In this way, the appearance of new iron dragons in this wasteland, forming a race, would not seem so alarming or conspicuous.

Once Iron Dragon Morton and his warriors have firmly established themselves in the Mobel Wasteland, they can sweep away the other lords with lightning speed and gradually bring the entire wasteland under their control.

These wars between the various lords also provided the best opportunity for Iron Dragon Morton to observe the ecology of this world. He could also use this opportunity to glean whether these wasteland lords had deep connections with the powerful humanoid civilizations in this world, so as to avoid unnecessary impacts and accidents on his plans.

But Morton now feels that his kin does not necessarily have to die. Simply using killing and suppression to rule and unite the Iron Dragon race seems to go against the Dragon Emperor's original intention of changing order through ideological transformation.

Unfortunately, Morton the Iron Dragon did not experience the same conflicts with his fellow dragons as the metal dragons of the Golden Empire.

Otherwise, this iron dragon wouldn't have presented such a problem.

"Forget it, I'll go back and discuss it with my grandfather again, and try to get to know Grus more often to see if I can find a chance to change things."

No one can be perfect forever, and Morton the Iron Dragon is no exception.

So Morton immediately stopped his two dragon warriors, softened his stance, and grinned, saying, "Since Lord Grus is unwilling, then I will not force him."

"But in the future, we can maintain friendly relations and rely on each other."

"I won't disturb Lord Grus any longer."

Morton never regarded this fellow dragon as a ruler of a region, because this iron dragon had long recognized the principle that in the Golden Empire, a king must bear responsibilities.

But this attitude seemed to have angered Gross.

"Wait a minute,"

The male dragon moved forward, baring its teeth, and slowly said, "Now that you've come to my territory, it would be impolite not to entertain your fellow dragons."

"Besides, I also want to see if the dragon that came out of that so-called golden empire has enough strength to measure your arrogant attitude."

……

"What is Grus trying to do?"

The young legendary mage stood before the magical projection, watching the scene unfolding inside the dragon castle, his brow furrowing slightly.

This young mage was none other than the genius mage who had once followed his teacher into the world of Ekania, seeking an opportunity to ascend to legendary status.

It was there that the young mage encountered the former Dragon Emperor and the Frost Giant King Ragnar Hagrid, who forged the "Alliance of the Green River," and witnessed the countless extraordinary geniuses in the world.

"That guy, Gross, started out by imitating and learning everything from the Golden Empire's old system. Does he really think he can resist that even more powerful civilization now?"

The young legendary mage muttered in dissatisfaction, "They started by imitating the Golden Empire, and now that they've encountered the Golden Empire's spying, they want to keep the envoy here to temporarily cut off the Golden Empire's spying?"

"Tsk tsk, he's already flipping the table after he's had his fill. No wonder he's the cooperation target I've set my sights on; he's ruthless enough. But this guy still doesn't understand or recognize his own strength."

"I just hope I don't have to clean up his mess later!"

(End of this chapter)