It was precisely at the striking of the midday bells when Kalon Kogmora and Ocean Dragon Nakson finished their inspection of the coastal affairs and descended upon the mountaintop, carried by the afternoon breeze.
The Ancestral Red Dragon demanded punctuality from the True Dragons, and he naturally set an example, influencing the habits and conduct of every True Dragon within the Dragon clan.
Under the orderly planning of the Empire's heavy affairs, it seemed these True Dragons were dragged down by worldly matters, consuming much time and preventing them from settling down to focus on learning and growth.
However, the inherent toxins flowing in the bloodline of the True Dragon species precisely required tempering through worldly experiences to extract the useless toxins and leave behind the useful essence.
It aimed to remove the impetuosity and impatience from the True Dragon's bloodline, allowing the True Dragons to maintain their focus and energy when needed.
"Dos and the others should be arriving soon, right? According to the communication time, if they're late, maybe I can fine each of them a few gold coins as an example, so they don't forget," Nakson said with a somewhat serious expression, flicking his winding body and looking towards the flowing clouds in the sky.
Ocean Dragon Nakson, who had been promoted to part-time Supreme Judge of the Golden Empire, was privately relaxed like the other True Dragons when facing the Ancestral Red Dragon, but he appeared exceptionally stern in all formal settings.
Nixon actually strongly disagreed with the Emperor's regulation that True Dragons of various scale colors should have kings to manage them.
Nixon believed that this would undoubtedly greatly diminish the Emperor's power, even if the kings of each scale color still needed to adhere to the Emperor's will.
Therefore, this Ocean Dragon would very strictly assert his authority as a law enforcer in many matters, subtly reminding the Ancestral Red Dragon to establish a supervisory system exclusively for the True Dragons.
However, Kalon's gaze was not limited to the remote part of the Empire before him; a True Dragon supervisory system needed to be established, but it was not an immediate priority.
So Kalon merely walked towards his royal palace hall with Nakson, smiling faintly, "There are no poor fellows among the True Dragons now; a few gold coins, even Ellie, can take out without hesitation."
Nakson was momentarily speechless.
True Dragons in the wild might fight over a few gold coins, but in the Kogmora Dragon Clan, every True Dragon accumulated wealth into their treasury every minute and every quarter-hour, calculated by time.
Nakson, this True Dragon accustomed to living peacefully in the sea, also moved to settle in the True Dragon Mountain Range due to the treasures accumulated in his treasury.
The two True Dragons were silent for a moment, but then Obirash suddenly sprang up from his proudly squatting posture, transforming into an excited hound-like lunge forward, his red chains clanging loudly.
"You thief who stole my power, Kalon Kogmora, release me! I want to have a fair contest with you and return my power to me!"
Obirash's demeanor was already frantic; on his golden scales, the thunder and fire, natural bloodline powers of the Gold Dragon, began to emerge. As soon as threads of lightning and flames appeared on the Ancestral Gold Dragon's body, they were suppressed by the Ancestral Red Dragon's innate mighty power.
The thick, long chains clanged, and a dazzling crimson light re-suppressed the Ancestral Gold Dragon's thunder and fire back into his scales, leaving no sound.
Before the Ancestral Red Dragon could speak, spitting sounds already rang out. Hydra frantically shook her nine heads, spewing her rain-like saliva directly onto Obirash's head.
The foul saliva stained the Ancestral Gold Dragon's golden scales with a layer of dirty spittle.
"Shut up, you foolish fellow! How dare you speak to the great True Dragon, Lord Kogmora, like that? You truly deserve a whipping from your master!"
Hydra roared, but the corner of her nine eyes involuntarily glanced at the Ancestral Red Dragon's face.
Kalon and Nakson stopped. The Ancestral Red Dragon smiled.
He extended his Dragon claw, and the crimson chains wrapped around Hydra's golden heads shook, drawing out inch by inch from beneath the Nine-Headed Serpent's jaw, then twisting like dancing tentacles and merging into the Ancestral Red Dragon's body.
"It seems your wildness has been tamed by yourself, and your wisdom has regained control of your mind. You have won your freedom, Hydra. Stay here and wait for your master to lead you back."
Hydra nodded repeatedly in surprise, her massive body almost lifted by her wildly thrashing tail. She coiled her winding body around the exquisitely carved stone pillars of the royal court, loudly assuring the Ancestral Red Dragon, "I will definitely stand my last shift well. Please rest assured, Lord Kalon."
Kalon smiled and turned his head, looking at Obirash, who was roaring in fury but had lost his extraordinary powers, leaving only his physical strength.
His light chuckle carried an undisguised sense of disappointment. He said, "You are merely a fledgling who gained power that doesn't belong to him, Obirash. Even without my True Dragon identity, I would still become a strong one, a great Archmage."
"But what about you? What do you have left if you cast aside your innate bloodline?"
"Does a True Dragon who cannot even control his own bloodline deserve to be called a True Dragon?"
The Ancestral Red Dragon's massive and majestic head moved closer to Obirash's face, looking down at Obirash's golden vertical pupils. The cold disappointment in them deeply stung Obirash's proud heart.
"Seeing that Gold Dragon are so easily swayed by superficial vanity and arrogance, I am both pleased and disappointed," the Ancestral Red Dragon said faintly. "I am a True Dragon, and naturally, I wish to be proud of my True Dragon identity, but your performance makes me very embarrassed."
"Perhaps, in the future, True Dragon s like you should be demoted from the True Dragon species. Future True Dragon should be distinguished by their minds and wisdom, not by shallow bloodlines and scale colors."
"In the future, there will only be one kind of True Dragon in the world, not ten kinds of True Dragons."
"How dare you, how dare you do this, how dare you so despise the Dragon God's favored ones, so despise the noble Gold Dragon clan!"
Obirash's vertical pupils suddenly widened, as if struck by a mental storm. Arrogant as Obirash was, the arrogance brought by his innate Gold Dragon blood and the arrogance of the authority he once possessed combined were still not as arrogant as what was displayed in the Red Dragon's calm words before him.
Obirash suddenly understood in that instant why the authority of arrogance, which he thought had merged into his bloodline, could be so easily extracted by this Ancestral Red Dragon.
Obirash shook his magnificent True Dragon head as if insane, screaming in alarm, "You will be punished, Kalon Kogmora! You will also pay the price for the deepest arrogance within your heart!"
"You confine me here, but my father and mother will not let this rest, and the Southern Good Dragon Alliance will not easily forgive you! Your Empire and you will also be destroyed because of your actions!"
"Southern Good Dragon Alliance? Heh heh, I even know who they sent, when they departed, and where they are," the Ancestral Red Dragon stepped into the royal palace, leaving his words echoing in the ears of the mentally distraught Ancestral Gold Dragon.
"Limited by the era and environment, I can understand the narrowness of your thinking, but to destroy my Empire, the power you speak of is not enough!"
As soon as he stepped into the main hall of the royal court, the roars of Obirash from outside were already cut off. The maids waiting in the hall had already served exquisite desserts to their master and the Empire's judge.
Precious metals and a large cup of wine, but these wines were not brewed by ordinary people. Instead, they were elemental potions formulated by the research department according to each True Dragon's physical development and growth, extracted and condensed from small elemental plane cores into pure elemental energy.
A small cup of elemental water in front of a True Dragon was enough to supply a low-level mage for several months of cultivation and use, and in the market, it could sell for at least dozens of pure gold coins.
But for the Dragon Lord, this was merely a side dish in their six daily meals.
The two True Dragons enjoyed their desserts while chatting casually.
Within the Empire's intelligence network, news from other regions had recently arrived.
Among them, the most noteworthy for many Dragon Lord was that Charal Caesar, the former Emperor of the Catha Empire, who had his entire empire carved up by his nobles in the name of the True Dragon, seemed to have received some kind of secret support.
Now, he dared to actively raise an army and start a war, even though he was surrounded by enemies on all sides.
The restoration army, once again personally led by Grand Duke Charal Caesar, exhausted all able-bodied soldiers in his territory, expanding into five legions, a total of eighty thousand troops. They swept north to south, conquering everything in their path, invincible.
Within just half a month, he had already broken through two ducal territories, eight earldoms, and twelve viscounties, and directly executed these nobles on the spot, causing panic among many nobles in the North.
Various nobles, both great and small, had already begun to put aside their own conflicts, intending to unite again to repel this ambitious former Emperor, fearing that their own families would also be destroyed by this returning Emperor.
"This Grand Duke Charal is truly an extraordinary human," Nakson sighed. "Even after the Empire's fall, he can make a comeback. It seems that for a short time, those scattered nobles will not be able to withstand his military might."
"However, this also means that those nobles who united against the Empire will not be able to focus their energy on us, which is also a good thing."
Kalon sat on the throne, took a sip of the rich elemental water, and said faintly, "A heroic ruler capable of establishing a powerful nation naturally has outstanding qualities."
"Sometimes I also wonder, perhaps that Charal Caesar was also indulging the actions of his nobles for some of his own purposes, but human hearts often cannot be controlled, not even by an Emperor."
"That's why he messed up!"
Nakson nodded. According to the information returned by the Empire's intelligence system, this Grand Duke Charal indeed seemed to have his own prepared plans.
In the re-conquered territories, he had already abandoned the noble confederation system, adjusting it to an imperial rule structure similar to that of the Golden Empire. Moreover, compared to the Golden Empire's special system, the system implemented by Charal was more detailed and clear, not at all like a temporary imitation of the Golden Empire's system.
As the two True Dragons chatted, several other True Dragons arrived at the True Dragon's royal court hall one after another. They were the closest ones: Alfred, the Empire's Minister of Propaganda, and Alina, the Administrative Governor.
There were also two White Dragon, Sloka and Loni, who patrolled the imperial waters all day long.
Under prolonged exposure, White Dragon Sloka, who had initially stumbled over Dragon Language, could now express himself fluently.
This White Dragon was still working to improve his status, so during a pause in the other True Dragon's casual conversation, he boldly interjected, "I hear that the merchants and the Empire's overseas merchant groups and envoys are all talking about the rampant piracy."
Seeing that the attention of the several True Dragons was drawn to his topic, especially the direct gaze of the Ancestral Red Dragon's dark golden pupils, White Dragon Sloka swallowed and then said, "Originally, our Empire's territory was remote, and even if there were merchants coming and going, it wouldn't be very frequent. Therefore, we only needed to guard against some sea monsters."
"But now the Empire is prosperous enough, and even the previously distant trade routes cannot hinder those merchants' eager pursuit of wealth. As the Empire's commercial trade flourishes, those pirates have also set their sights on this golden sea route."
"I have already heard of more than a dozen pirate robberies. Those pirates specifically plunder passing merchant ships in areas far from the Empire's sea route defenses. Even the Empire's scattered merchant ships have been extorted by those reckless pirates."
Several Dragon Lord all frowned, their scales furrowing between their brows. The actions of these pirates were tantamount to openly plucking True Dragon scales.
Even a Gold Dragon, upon learning that these pirates dared to infringe upon their wealth, would roar and sink them all into the sea.
However, the Empire's current naval power was very weak. Even the land area of the vast Empire was difficult to fully control, let alone the even vaster ocean.
As for the sea territory, even with several True Dragon patrolling day and night, they could only cover the nearshore areas.
And those pirates, whose lives were always on the line, would not fear these True Dragon who couldn't reach them. It seemed that before the Empire's navy grew stronger, the Empire had no better way to deal with such matters.
"These troublesome bugs are also agile enough,"the White Dragon Loni said fiercely. "Sloka and I have also followed merchant fleets to areas where pirates frequent, but those pirates hide as soon as they see a True Dragon's trace."
"They even pretend to be merchant ships beforehand, flying merchant flags. Sloka and I didn't catch their loopholes, and it wasn't good to directly intervene!"
"Deniro, how are your contacts with the Naga in the deep sea?" Alina turned to ask the arriving Wu Long.
Deniro, the Mist Dragon shook his head, "The Naga of the deep sea have not replied. I even suspect that my communication cannot reach their territory. A certain power is obstructing my messages, and even now, I cannot confirm whether the Naga have received my message."
The Dragons in the royal court were discussing important imperial matters while waiting, and outside the royal court, Christiana also landed on the mountaintop.
The information gathered by the True Dragon had already been fully conveyed, even to The Silver Dragon Christiana and the two temporary Bronze Dragon. Therefore, The Silver Dragon Christiana, who had been waiting for a long time, quietly appeared when she saw several True Dragon already gathered in the royal court.
The Silver Dragon Christiana walked somewhat nervously towards the open hall, just like a teenager stepping out of their parents' nest for the first time to travel.
But Hydra, coiled around the stone pillar, stopped this Silver Dragon whose heart had begun to beat abnormally.
"Stop, Silver Dragon, you are not yet an official member of the True Dragon."
The Nine-Headed Serpent, borrowing True Dragon might, unleashed her feminine power, raising her head and contemptuously saying, "Without the Dragon clan's approval, one cannot step into the True Dragon's council."
The Silver Dragon Christiana's beating heart immediately grew cold. Her presence already showed this Silver Dragon's attitude and inclination. Silver Dragon, never lacking in courage, had to muster an hour's worth of courage to decide to walk to the True Dragon's royal court, but a single threshold was like an insurmountable chasm.
The Silver Dragon Christiana immediately turned and left, feeling utterly lost. Even the roaring 'bitch' from Ancient Gold Dragon Obirash nearby was ignored by this Silver Dragon.
The Ancestral Red Dragon, seated on the throne, his dark golden pupils subtly revealing an intensely concentrated light of the mind, clearly perceived the departing back of the Silver Dragon Valkyrie.
This caused the Ancestral Red Dragon's fangs to subtly show. Kalon chuckled inwardly, "To be an important chess piece, how can mere smooth progress compare to the steadfastness brought by arduous tempering!"