The Empire's operations were running smoothly within its increasingly refined system, each part following its own regulations.
In the first ten days of the final month of the year, nearing the Day of the Annual Rest, the Golden Empire's Central Military Council began its orderly rotation of duties. Order after order was issued, traveling through the Empire's established communication channels to reach every border town.
Military friction across the Empire's four frontiers ceased instantly, entering a state of stability maintenance and defensive consolidation of the territory.
While the city defenses of Bay Stream City were sufficient to repel beasts and some monsters, it now faced the renewed threat of giant incursions.
The Crimson Mercy Warband—the first independent warband of the First Legion, originally stationed in the central region for rest and recuperation—marched south to garrison Bay Stream City and maintain stability.
Meanwhile, the Lizardman Legion, a temporary unit that had surrendered to the Empire, was finally able to return from the remote western frontier with their entire tribe. They were settled in a designated area within the heart of the Empire to recuperate.
Rayleigh, the Lizardman leader, led eight hundred Lizardman warriors to escort trophies taken from various powerful beasts and monsters hunted by the tribe to the heart of the Empire, demonstrating their submission and reverence.
Although most of the items sent by the Lizardmans were of little value to the Empire, they included a large quantity of unique spider silk produced by Ettercaps—humanoid spider-like monsters that thrived in the forests.
This silk was exceptionally tough, like fine silver cords. The Ettercaps frequently used it to craft various weapons and devices—lassos, nets, garrotes, and more—which spoke to the silk's load-bearing capacity and versatility.
Fafna, the personal financial officer in charge of the Ancestor Red Dragon's private treasury and the management of the Dragon clans Treasury's flow, as well as a senior official in the Imperial Ministry of Finance, was ecstatic at this news.
Ettercap silk could serve as a vital supplement to the Empire's current high-end applied materials. Many magical experiments required large quantities of similar materials, which had always been in short supply.
Even when woven into fashionable clothing, Ettercap silk was in high demand. This silk was strong enough to withstand slashes from ordinary swords without a scratch, yet it possessed excellent force-distribution properties and was light enough to be a material coveted by many nobles.
In Fafna's eyes, it was also the most suitable material for the under-armor lining of the Empire's loyal and brave warriors.
Most importantly, these Lizardmans had confirmed that a large number of Ettercaps lived near the newly opened forest, enough for the Empire to establish large-scale breeding farms.
Not only could these Ettercaps produce silk themselves, but they also tended to, fed, and cared for spider swarms like shepherds.
These spider swarms raised by Ettercaps could also produce large quantities of high-quality silk. To the Empire's warriors, the strength of these Ettercaps was comparable to that of long-haired sheep, simply waiting to be harvested.
For the Giant ogre who was dedicated to harvesting wealth for the Ancestor Red Dragon, this was the second great piece of news recently, bringing a smile to Giant ogre Fafna's face as she climbed the mountain.
As for the greatest piece of news, Fafna looked up to see two massive creatures perched before the steps of the towering Dragon Court. One was the Ancestral Golden Dragon, sitting upright like a statue carved from gold.
The other was the Hydra, whose body appeared even larger than that of the Ancestral Golden Dragon. Its central head lay lazily on the ground, dozing, while the other eight heads swayed and looked around aimlessly, seeking an opportunity to bicker with the nearby Gold Dragon Obirash to pass the time.
Although Obirasch had been heavily injured by Ancestor Red Dragon KalonKogmora, such injuries were not fatal to the constitution of an Ancestor True Dragon; he only needed a period of slumber to recover.
After pretending to sleep for two consecutive months, Obirasch could no longer bear the self-deception and finally woke up.
However, even though Kalon had already extracted the Authority of Arrogance from this Ancestral Gold Dragon, it didn't seem to affect the gold Dragon's pride.
As the most favored dragon species of the Platinum Dragon God Bahamut, the Ancestral Golden Dragon's affinity with Cloud Giants was perhaps due to the innate arrogance in his bloodline. He considered himself the emperor among True Dragons; even when his attitude was mild, it was merely an emperor's condescension.
Seeing Giant ogre Fafna approaching, Hydra wagged its tail. The golden head in the center opened its eyes and excitedly leaned toward the Giant ogre.
The nine heads spoke in unison, saliva flying as they asked loudly, "How is it, how is it? Is the magic ritual ready? I can't wait to become your Soul Partner!"
"Damn it, although this place is more comfortable than my snake nest, I don't want to stay here for another moment."
Fafna the Ogre Giant dodged Hydra's flying spit. The Giant ogre's attire had become increasingly conservative, as she seemed to be gradually moving away from the habits of her original monster species and adopting human-like customs.
Fafna feigned a frown and sighed in distress, "I am but a lowly maid of the Master. How could I gather the materials for the magic ritual so quickly? You'll probably have to wait a while longer."
"But then again," Fafna raised an eyebrow, her beautiful face showing a hint of innocent confusion as she asked, "Although the Master has bestowed you upon me as a soul guardian, I do have my own requirements."
Fafna looked at the somewhat dejected Hydra and said, "You don't look majestic enough right now. I still prefer how you looked when you were wild and untamed!"
"Pah, pah, pah!"
Upon hearing this, Hydra's nine heads simultaneously spat colorless, non-toxic saliva toward the Giant ogre. However, it was completely blocked by a Mental Barrier that surfaced on Fafna's body, unable to touch her.
"I'm not like some fools," Hydra said irritably. "Clearly a prisoner and a watchdog, yet he insists on putting on an arrogant front to disgust others. In terms of bloodline origin, how are we Hydras any inferior to that fool covered in gold scales?"
"Pfft."
Obirasch, standing proudly, cast a sidelong glance, his disdain evident. Even an ordinary human could discern the contempt on the True Dragon's scale-covered face.
"Do you know why your future master keeps putting you off, you multi-headed, brainless mongrel?"
The Ancestral Golden Dragon sat perfectly still, displaying the flawless posture of a gold True Dragon to its fullest.
Just like the rhythmic and elegant True Dragon cadence of his speech, he held his head high, his golden whiskers swaying slightly like gold cords. The gold Dragon sneered, "It's because your master is infatuated with my elegance."
"She only puts you off and keeps you here so she has a legitimate excuse to get close to me," Obirasch said boastfully.
"Ah, he's absolutely right," Giant ogre Fafna said with a beaming smile. Looking at the thick scales on the Ancestral Golden Dragon's body, which looked like they were carved from gold, she couldn't help but rub her long, fair thumb and index finger together.
This was a habit the Ogre Giant had developed while reviewing financial records.
"Tch."
Hydra's nine heads expressed disdain simultaneously. "Only you males would think of things from this perspective at every moment."
"Oh," Hydra quickly turned to look at the open hall and added, "Except for the great True Dragon, Lord Kogmora."
Fafna's eyes curved like two crescent moons. Hydra's behavior reminded the Ogre Giant of her former self—equally arrogant, leading the Ogre Tribe with the intent to conquer the True Dragons and make the Master her soul slave.
"As for now..." The Ogre Giant shook her head. She could hardly remember many things from her time in the Ogre Tribe; her mind was now completely filled with vast financial records.
"It seems you'll be regaining your freedom soon, based on your excellent performance." Giant ogre Fafna patted Hydra's golden head comfortingly, then turned and walked toward the depths of the corridor.
Only Hydra's mournful sighs remained, echoing through the deep corridor.
The covered bridge deep in the corridor led directly to the Ancestor Red Dragon's back garden, sealed by two doors.
One door led to a space opened by the Empire's mage corps next to the Red Dragon's back garden, serving as a sort of front courtyard. Besides flowerbeds growing various magical plants and herbs, there were several fixed teleportation portals.
These portals led to various secondary elemental planes and small Material Worlds opened by the Empire, including the world gate to the Green Field Forest, and were exclusive to the True Dragons.
As long as the True Dragon opened those doors, they could enter the true back garden world of the True Dragons.
The portal gate to the world where Dragon Lord Rosani was lost was now tightly closed. In the world of ice and fire, the region where the original planar coordinates existed had become a mana desert, causing the world gate's beacon to fail.
Now, many mages and scholars specializing in planar magic were inside, maintaining the planar passages.
Fafna walked through the other door, which led to the Ancestor Red Dragon's exclusive back garden.
People rarely came here; tranquility was the theme of this garden.
Those Blood-Sucking Flowers that liked to bark at the wind would not make a sound when creatures other than the Ancestral Red Dragon arrived. Instead, they would spread their sharp tentacles, remaining highly alert.
However, the Ogre Giant's aura was clearly familiar to these Blood-Sucking Vines. As a slave of the Ancestral Red Dragon, Fafna, like the maids, could walk freely in this garden.
Passing by the garden filled with many precious magical plants, Giant ogre Fafna arrived at the center of the garden, before the World Tree standing atop the mountain peak.
Watered by the miraculous spring water from the Green Field Forest, the World Tree Ovo was full of vitality and growing rapidly. It was now over forty meters tall and thirty meters thick, its dense canopy covering nearly half the garden.
Fafna's footsteps stopped before the quiet World Tree. As a Giant ogre who had reached maturity, her mental strength was formidable. Perhaps in the entire Golden Empire, aside from the Ancestral Red Dragon, even the Archmages of the Sanctuary were only on par with her.
Once the Giant ogre fully pushed her bloodline, the sheer volume of her mental strength would even surpass those Archmages. Talent was more important than effort.
"Lord Ouwo, I am ready," Giant ogre Fafna's mental strength rippled, communicating with World Tree Ovo's consciousness.
"Fafna, your mental strength is indeed pure enough. Even I took three days to master that knowledge back then. I didn't expect you to master it in just two months."
The World Tree Ovo's boastful voice rang in Fafna's ears. After the two Titanoboas left, Fafna was the second being capable of communicating with the tree's consciousness.
Only Raven, the Pixie who frequently visited the garden and took the initiative to become a diligent gardener, could make the World Tree Ovo proactively want to communicate.
As for the maids who often cleared weeds for the World Tree Ovo, they were treated as if they didn't exist.
"I naturally cannot compare to such a noble existence as Lord Ovo," Fafna bowed slightly.
"Haha, don't be humble. Old Man said humility is a virtue, but too much humility only makes others think you are weak."
Ovo said nonchalantly, "Fafna, are you really ready? I must emphasize this to you again."
"This time is just an attempt. Using your mental strength as the spearhead, we will cooperate so I can save more effort."
"But if you have any second thoughts or regrets midway, or if your will isn't firm enough, your mental strength will fluctuate. In that case, the best outcome is that you'll turn into a thoughtless idiot!"
Giant ogre Fafna was silent for a moment, then whispered, "Doing my best for the Master is my duty."
Kalon and Nakson watched the Super-Dreadnought starting up on the sea. Driven by the Mana-Powered Furnace as its engine core, the massive ship slowly turned on the calm water.
However, the swaying hull was like it was being tossed by a storm at sea, unable to maintain a stable posture, as if it might lose control at any moment.
"It seems the current group of people will find it difficult to complete the assembly of the Mana-Powered Furnace's energy transmission pipes and the subsequent optimization and improvement work."
Kalon shook his head. "Even starting it up is an issue. How can it sail on the rough seas, let alone handle intense warfare?"
"In that case, let's follow precedent. There must be brave men under great rewards. No matter how remote the Empire is, countless talents will bow to wealth in the face of significant sums of money."
Kalon turned his head and spoke softly to the official in charge of the Shipyard Workshop, "Post a bounty notice in the Golden City and use the Empire's external communication channels to spread the news."
"Recruit relevant talents and ideas from within the Golden Empire and other regions, offering a large bounty. Those who can design a feasible plan in the direction provided by the Empire will be awarded ten thousand gold."
"If someone can complete the design of the ship's power system and perfect and improve the Empire's vessels, they will be awarded fifty thousand gold. The Empire's promise shall not be altered!"
Hiss.
The eyes of the many officials present immediately glowed red. Nakson felt a chill uncontrollably rushing through his fangs.
A reward of ten thousand gold was a vast fortune even to a True Dragon, hard to earn or plunder. Two thousand gold was enough to hire a Silver Dragon as a personal bodyguard; ten thousand gold could hire five adult Silver Dragons.
In Kings Capital, the Empire's de facto capital, even Steel Dragon Midir, who had begun inflating shop prices, had sold his most expensive shop for no more than a thousand gold.
And Steel Dragon Midir's lifelong dream was to follow in his predecessor's footsteps, buying many shops and renting them out to make money while lying down. This single reward would be enough to fulfill Midir's dream.
Not to mention the final reward was as high as fifty thousand gold. Even the wealthiest Dragon Lords would find their private treasuries significantly depleted if they had to produce such a sum.
The many officials and Nakson could already imagine the sensation this news would cause in the outside world.
Because Kogmora's promises were never broken!