An endless expanse of withered yellow desert hills, devoid of human traces, where even living beings were extinct.
Kalon stood at the peak of a sand Dune, facing the dazzling light reflected by the sun, gazing at the rolling sand Dunes in the distance.
Red Dragon loved hot climates. In the desert at noon, the temperature felt on his body reached sixty degrees Celsius. Ordinary creatures could not survive in this scorching environment, and the yellow sand beneath his feet was hot enough to directly cook food.
Even many ferocious species in Ekania World and some extraordinary magical beasts with incompatible attributes would dehydrate and die if they lived in this environment for too long.
They would be sun-dried into mummies, and then their withered corpses would ignite, turning into dust in this desert, forever accompanying the yellow sand.
In this world, which was entirely made of desert, even the senses of an Ancestral Red Dragoncould not detect any large-scale concentrated water molecules within a hundred or even a thousand miles around.
This also meant that within this radius of hundreds of miles, there was absolutely no exposed water source on the surface.
The sand beneath the Red Dragon's claws was dry and brittle. Only hundreds of kilometers deep beneath the Red Dragon's feet would there be rock aquifers in the deep underground.
However, to reach hundreds of kilometers deep underground, even if the Blue Dragon who liked to dig holes in the desert were to move their claws, it would take at least half a day.
But judging from the structure and traces of the rock layers deep underground, this planet, which only contained sand Dunes, was once a normal green planet world in a distant era.
According to the information obtained, Arrakis was a green planet that gradually desertified, step by step, becoming what it is today, where only barren sand exists across the entire planet.
In Kalon's perception, hundreds of miles away in the vast expanse of barren sand, there were many exposed salt flats, proving that this planet once had large areas of ocean and was a watery planet.
However, even in such a harsh environment, Arrakis had an indigenous human race – the Fremen.
The harsh environment and the influence of spice made the Fremen physically strong. Although they did not have the talent to activate precognitive abilities, they were the most ferocious fighters in this world.
But in this harsh environment, the Ancestral Red Dragon only felt warm all over. The hot and dry climate brought him a feeling as comfortable as a normal person taking a warm bath.
Kalon folded his broad wings, the wings adorned with Steel Scars and Ash Scars pressed against the Red Dragon's sides, looking like runic armor attached to his flanks.
His claws pressed onto the soft, dry sand, and he began to stomp heavily on the ground. His strength resonated with the desolate sand, producing rhythmic frequencies and echoes that vibrated beneath the barren desert.
Thump, thump, thump…
The sound vibrations propagated through the yellow sand desert attracted creatures dwelling deep within the desert. The calm sand surface emitted violent reverberations, different from the Red Dragon's stomping.
Kalon stopped his movements and looked in the direction three miles away.
The desert surface there suddenly arched, as if a giant creature was emerging from deep within the desert, moving beneath the sand.
The long body of this giant creature vibrated with a special frequency, causing the desert to liquefy, allowing him to burrow through the sand, parting the sand waves, swirling sand and dust, and rushing towards the Ancestral Red Dragon at an astonishing speed.
The friction sound of the giant creature moving beneath the sand was accompanied by a huge roaring sound, which was the sound of the desert itself, and the sound of the sand and dust wind as the giant creature stirred up sand and rushed forward.
The sand beneath Kalon's claws began to sink, and the swirling sand drifted over the Ancestral Red Dragon's body.
Kalon spread his wings, leaped slightly, and hovered in the low sky.
The next moment, with a resounding thump,
A terrifying, hideous, abyss-like giant mouth suddenly shot out from beneath the sand, attempting to devour the Ancestral Red Dragon.
"Condense sand into stone, transform dust into earth!"
Magic flowed through the Steel Scars and Ash Scars on Kalon's wings. In mid-air, he gently pressed his Steel Claws down onto the giant sandworm that had burst from the ground.
The flowing magic, at Kalon's whim, transformed into a spell, while his bloodline talent, without conscious command, impatiently turned the sand into solidified stone.
The dust in the wind transformed into stacked earth walls, embedding the sandworm, whose mouth was thrust towards the sky, within the stones and earth walls, unable to advance or retreat.
The long, terrifying tail of the hideous sandworm was still sweeping beneath the sand, and a gurgling sound, a mix of dry plants sweeping across the sand, a vibration similar to small insects flapping their wings, and the sound of whales communicating in the deep sea, emanated from the giant sandworm's mouth.
But this was not a cry for help or a warning, because these sandworms had a strong possessive territorial instinct, just like dragons. Once they met in a narrow territory, these sandworms would engage in mutual combat, so usually only one sandworm would appear in each territory.
"Is this the unique resource of Arrakis, the indirect producer and source of spice?"
Kalon spread his wings horizontally. From low altitude, he could see the full appearance of this ugly and terrifying creature.
The sandworm's body structure was extremely simple in his eyes, very similar to a segmented earthworm, but much larger. The sandworm in front of him was about twenty-five meters long and had twenty-five segments.
But unlike the earthworm's soft body surface, the sandworm's exterior was covered with rough, hard, rock-like scales, which were orange-red.
In Kalon's perception, the skin beneath these sandworms' scales was much softer and could be harmed by ordinary people's swords.
But what impressed Kalon the most was the sandworm's head. The creature's head was entirely a giant mouth. When its three or four valve opened, Kalon could clearly see the long, abyssal esophagus and the numerous slender, sharp teeth, like a shredder, growing all around the mouth. It was so ugly that it made a giant dragon shiver!
But what was interesting was that the smell of this ugly sandworm was not as worthless as its appearance; instead, it had a faint fragrance mixed with flint and cinnamon, which made Kalon's appetite stir, and he really wanted to taste this strange creature.
This was not only the giant dragon's hunting instinct, but also the bloodline talent within Kalon's body stirring.
Because sandworms, these magical creatures, share a similar characteristic with the magical dragons in the world of Ice and Fire: that is, their potential for growth.
The twenty-five-meter-long sandworm in front of him was, in their species, only in its juvenile stage, much like a young dragon.
Adult sandworms typically average four hundred meters in length and one hundred meters in width. Even smaller female worms can grow up to one hundred meters long and twenty meters wide.
And according to information obtained from Warrior Rabban, the largest sandworm seen by the local indigenous Fremen was four hundred and fifty meters long.
However, this is not the maximum size limit. According to Fremen legends, in the poles of this planet, there live sandworms up to a thousand meters long, with lifespans of several millennia.
It is precisely because of the magical characteristics and powerful bodies of these sandworms that they are regarded by the Fremen as the gods and makers of the earth. In the Fremen language, sandworms are also called—Shai-Hulud, meaning Eternal Father!
The Ancestral Red Dragon also appeared small in front of this sandworm. Even an ordinary whale in the ocean, over thirty meters long, would be nothing more than a slightly larger insect in front of a sandworm of this caliber, and would be completely devoured by the sandworm in one bite.
However, in Kalon's perception, there was no supernatural power within this sandworm, meaning that the sandworm's magical characteristics did not grant them any additional magical power, at least not for dragons.
"Truly, without experiencing the world, it is difficult to know the vastness of the universe and one's own insignificance,"
Kalon sighed, carefully observing the trapped sandworm.
However, the Red Dragon still found it difficult to perceive what other characteristics this creature, capable of desertifying an entire world and producing the miraculous material of spice, possessed besides its massive body.
After half a day of study, thoroughly examining the sandworm from head to tail, Kalon finally abandoned the idea of researching it himself. He decided to hand this temporarily incomprehensible subject over to the mages for study.
The civilization and empire built over more than a decade of the giant dragons' time were now almost entirely nurturing these giant dragons.
As the emperor of the empire, whatever Kalon wanted, the empire's legion warriors would find a way to retrieve it for the Red Dragon. Whatever goal he wanted to achieve, the Scholars and Mages would also risk losing their hair to come up with a practical method.
These research tasks, which required a lot of time, no longer needed the Red Dragon to waste his time. He now only needed to focus on the things he enjoyed doing and the things he had to do.
So Kalon raised his claw, and the metal powder and minerals in the sand, under his will's control and the swirling of his magic, were separated and reassembled. Then, as if being struck by an invisible heavy hammer, in a short moment, a sharp dagger capable of piercing a body was formed.
The dagger vibrated in the air, piercing through the gaps in the giant, rock-like scales, penetrating the skin of the sandworm, which was making strange noises, and directly piercing the sandworm's brain, causing the struggling creature's body to completely collapse.
Thud.
With the magic and spell power withdrawn by the Red Dragon, the walls and barriers that had trapped the sandworm also shattered under Kalon's will, re-mixing with the desert.
The Ancestral Red Dragon walked up and began to taste the flesh and blood of a creature from another world.
The dead sandworm's scales could no longer cling to its soft skin, and were easily torn away by the Red Dragon. Avoiding the sandworm's ugly head and mouth, Kalon began to feast.
To Kalon's surprise, beneath the sandworm's hard scales, its flesh was exceptionally tender and delicious, at least to a giant dragon capable of chewing metal. Moreover, there was a faint aroma of cinnamon mixed with flint.
As the flesh was ground and digested in the giant dragon's stomach, warm currents and nutrients were absorbed by the Red Dragon, making him unable to stop. He only ceased eating after consuming an entire half of the sandworm's flesh.
This was not because the Red Dragon had reached the limit of his appetite. The Red Dragon's stomach could now hold several times his own volume of food; a mere sandworm was not enough to fill his stomach.
Rustle, rustle, rustle,
As the sound of footsteps approaching across the desert grew louder, the Red Dragon erased all traces of his meal before turning around.
Two warriors in magical power armor were retracting their devil-like wings behind them and walking towards the Red Dragon, stopping at the foot of the barren hill where the Red Dragonstood.
Each of these reserve warriors from the Burning Hoof Legion had undergone enhancement with dragon blood or the blood of devils and demons, possessing these ancient bloodline abilities, allowing them to survive even in the Abyss and Hell, let alone this ordinary harsh environment.
Even the dry heat baking their armor could not affect these warriors.
To conserve strength, these warriors were too lazy to use psionic energy to activate the magic shield devices on their armor even when walking in the desert, relying solely on their physical bodies to move the armor. This was also a method for them to temper themselves.
"Your Majesty!"
The two warriors bowed slightly, saluting their Emperor.
"The Mages and warriors dispatched by Sacro have infiltrated the Harkonnen Family's spicemining area with Rabban, a warrior from the Harkonnen Family, and have stolen, oh, brought back a large amount of spice. After research by the Mages, the experimental results have been obtained!"
"Oh,"
The Ancestral Red Dragon nodded, smiling softly, "That's great news. Let's go back and see the Mages' results."
Rumble,
The Ancestral Red Dragon spread his wings, soared into the air, stirring up a gale, and flew towards the sky thousands of meters away.
There was a huge magical shadow, isolating it from mortal sight and shielding it from scrying and detection. That was the Empire's current base camp—the Floating Island.
The two warriors also spread their huge, devil-like wings, bent their legs slightly, and shot straight into the sky, following behind the Ancestral Dragon.
When Kalon passed through the magic barrier and landed on the Floating Island, there were far fewer people, and even among the Dragons, only two White Dragons on night watch were lying in the center of the island, their vertical pupils half-closed, resting peacefully.
However, the temporary laboratories built by the Mages on the island were already crowded with noisy and excited Mages. Upon seeing the Ancestral Red Dragon, these Mages quieted down.
"Your Majesty, our experiment has yielded results,"
Sacro, the leader among the High-level Mages, had already come forward. Saint Realm Great Mage Lapers, having obtained the results, was already impatient to steal, oh, to bring back some more spice. He was currently leading clever Mages to wander around the Harkonnen Family's spice base. Therefore, all affairs on the Floating Island were presided over by this young High-level Mage.
Kalon entered the experimental camp, transforming into the appearance of a human Emperor, as the temporary laboratory was not large enough for the Ancestral Red Dragon's body to pass through.
In some precious magical instruments in the laboratory camp, there was powder the color of sunlight on sand, looking like gilded gold dust.
During the volatilization experiment in the instruments, these spices appeared as light orange clouds, labeled as having a bitter cinnamon scent.
And the spice stored in silver vessels, under the influence of the silver light, would appear blue, and so on, for other experimental conditions.
In a very short time, these Mages had performed most of the condition experiments on this substance, spice, to ensure its efficacy and properties.
There were also two Low-level Mages and dragon blood warriors who volunteered as test subjects in the camp. At this moment, they were maintaining a safe distance under the subsequent observation and scrutiny of the spellcasters, staying within a small magic barrier. As the Emperor walked in, a faint blue light faintly flickered from the pupils of these two test subjects.
"Your Majesty, after Low-level spellcasters used the spice, our measurements showed that the breadth and intensity of their mental power increased to varying degrees,"
"Due to it being the first experiment, based on a conservative dosage, the improvement effect is equivalent to what a Mage would achieve after at least two years of meditation,"
Sacro pointed to the test subjects and said, "Even warriors enhanced by bathing in the glory of dragon blood received some subtle improvements. Further tests proved that this substance is not only harmless to dragon blood creatures but also effective."
"However, given the physical quality and bloodline strength of Dragons, for the spice to exert its maximum intended effect, the amount used is approximately twenty times that for a Low-level spellcaster!"
"Very good, you have done an excellent job, truly worthy of being the Empire's elites,"
Kalon nodded and walked to the remaining spice sealed in the magical instruments. It had already been separated and labeled by the Mages. This was the exclusive spice for the Dragons, stored by the spellcasters in crystal jars carved from crystal.
Sacro, the Mage who had been smiling happily, was startled when he saw the Emperor's actions and stammered, "Your Majesty, although our tests have shown this spice to be harmless to Dragons, it was, after all, only tested on dragon blood warriors."
"Would you, perhaps, let the other Dragon Majesties try it first!"
Kalon smiled gently and said, "No matter. Even among poisons, very few can kill a Dragon. I am confident!"
Sacro immediately stopped speaking, his expression only showing some worry. Even with confidence in the Emperor, for these warriors and Mages, the pillar of the Empire could not suffer any mishaps.
Kalon took out the sealed spice crystal jar from the magical instrument, then walked out of the experimental camp, looking around. The layout of the vast Floating Island was almost entirely occupied by buildings.
So he transformed into his true Dragon form, leaped down from the Floating Island again, and landed in the desert below.
In this desert, even if he caused some commotion by using the spice, it would not harm the Floating Island. And the Floating Island's control of the high-altitude view was sufficient to help the Red Dragon warn of any approaching dangers.
Moreover, the ground was also the Red Dragon's home turf.
Kalon lay prostrate, resting on the scorching sand, his fangs slightly exposed.
The crystal jar in his claw was directly crushed by immense force, but the precious spice did not scatter with the wind. Instead, it was entirely absorbed by the Ancestral Red Dragon's claws, slowly seeping into the fine scales and skin between the Red Dragon's claws.
It was like a subtle warm current flowing through, buzzing all of the Ancestral Red Dragon's nerves, causing a ringing in the Ancestral Red Dragon's ears, and the clear world in his dark golden vertical pupils became blurred, as if he were in a dream.
The Red Dragon's brain and sub-brain were clearer than ever before, yet they were obstructed by the dream like a layer of mist, hindering everything, causing the Ancestral Red Dragon to involuntarily fall into a dream.
No, that was not a dream. That was the Ancestral Red Dragon's past, rooted in his bloodline and mind. It was memories, it was the past.
All past memories could be clearly replayed as images in the Ancestral Red Dragon's mind. Even the dark years spent in the eggshell, every moment could be recalled by him.
He could see the moment he broke out of the shell and saw Carlit, every subtle expression on the Blue Dragon's face, including the joyful wagging of her tail.
He could see every detail of his early childhood, hunting with his companions in the forest, playing and wrestling in the nest.
He could see the posture of Anna, the beautiful big cat on the grassland, the first time he met her: her leopard tail gently swishing, her four limbs pacing, her beast eyes languid.
He could even recall details that were automatically ignored by his biological instincts in the past, through the replaying of memories.
Just like when Kalon met Anna the leopard: the humidity of the air on the grassland, the specific temperature, the smell of the soil, and the fragrance of wild grass and flowers.
Kalon could even see his memories from when he was human: scenes he had seen at certain times, knowledge he had learned, people he had met, a page or image he had inadvertently glimpsed at some point, all becoming clearer than ever before, as if he were flipping through them right before his eyes.
But that period of memory could not be compared to his dragon memories. He could not perceive the temperature, humidity, and other concrete details of the scenes through the replayed images.
Memory retrieval, up to the present.
As layers of the dream peeled away, Kalon's memories flickered, and suddenly, as if by telepathy, the figure of Rabban, the Harkonnen Family warrior, appeared.
Like a jumping movie, scene after scene flickered in Kalon's dark golden pupils: Rabban coming under the Empire's control, becoming a pawn of the Empire.
Rabban being killed by the Empire, and eventually the entire base being destroyed by the Empire, leading to retaliation from the Harkonnen Family, and a fierce battle between the Empire and the Harkonnen Family.
These were scenes, one after another, the consequences of Kalon making corresponding choices, all appearing in Kalon's mind at this moment, like a revolving lantern, with light and shadow intertwining.
But this was not a prophetic ability. Instead, the Red Dragon's brain and sub-brain were spontaneously observing and calculating the potential future direction of events based on all known past information.
It was like an elucidative thought deduction, integrating various known pieces of information.
Every action, every word of the Ancestral Dragon, could become a lever influencing subsequent results, and the multitude of changes in these subsequent results were like countless diverging lines, fanning out from the Ancestral Dragon as the central point.
"I know, hahaha, I know,"
Kalon closed his eyes, his mind already awakened. The spice had unlocked the potential of his powerful mind and will, providing an opportunity for both his brain and sub-brain to evolve.
Confused thoughts flickered and vanished from Kalon's mind, unordered yet clear.
"The cause of one thing is the result of another's development."
"The result of one thing's development is also the cause of another. Cause and effect constantly cycle, never ending!"
"Everything in the future is determined by events that happened in the past. As long as there is enough information and enough computational power, the future can be accurately predicted!"
"The current state of the universe is the effect of the past and the cause of the future."
Kalon opened his eyes, dark golden pupils flowing with overflowing light, like a prophet, with light in his eyes that saw through everything.
"Perhaps this is the direction of my brain's evolution—the mystical Laplace's Demon!"