The Situation in the North

After Duke Brad's death, the Ember Nest quickly occupied the entire North Wind Fortress. Needless to say, important areas such as the Town Hall and Armory fell into the control of the Evil Dragon Claws.

The Lachmann Castle, shrouded in the Shadow Curse, was sealed off by the army and became a forbidden zone.

The gates of North Wind Fortress were guarded by an army of Hobgoblin armed with muskets, and the entire city was under martial law. No one dared to flee, as patrols of Dragon Vein Goblin and Kobold surrounded the city, eager to tear apart any escapees.

A suffocating atmosphere permeated North Wind Fortress.

The more than 30,000 people in the city were all filled with anxiety about their fate.

With the fall of North Wind Fortress, news of the fall of the Lakman Duchy spread throughout Anzeta.

Almost all the Northern Nobles had anticipated the fall of the Lakman Duchy, but the speed of its fall was something they had not expected.

"The Purgatory Calamity" Keosius, leading his Evil Minion, displayed terrifying war prowess, conquering the vast Lakman Duchy in less than a month, causing this four-century-old nation to vanish into the annals of history.

For a time, the entire Northern United Kingdom was filled with fear and unease, and everyone lived in constant fear.

But soon, Wyvern appeared all over Anzeta, dropping leaflets like snowflakes.

That was a formal announcement—

Brad Lachmann, ruler of the Lakman Duchy, made a pact with an evil entity, transforming himself into Vampire. For two hundred years of his reign, he slaughtered and enslaved the local people, committing horrific atrocities and leaving his hands stained with blood. At the same time, Brad Lachmann repeatedly sent people to invade the territory of the Ember Nest, even deploying troops, seriously threatening local security and disrupting the peace and order of the Anzeta Great Wasteland.

Therefore, the great Red Dragon, the Embers of the Burned King, His Keosius Claudeu Norikesius, upheld justice and righteousness, sought justice for the dead, killed Brad Lachmann, and brought the dark and corrupt Lakman Duchy under his wise rule. This also officially proclaimed the founding of the great Embers of the Burned Kingdom.

Following this announcement came a dazzling array of additional terms and conditions.

"The Nott Duchy has aided and abetted the evildoers by assisting the Lakman Duchy in attacking Storm Highlands, thus violating the sovereignty of the Embers of the Burned Kingdom. We believe that the Nott Family's actions are extremely reckless; they are incapable of taking responsibility for their people and territories and should be subject to the supervision and management of the kingdom."

"The Bosque Duchy was deceived by Duke Brad and participated in the so-called coalition, causing great losses to the kingdom. It should be compensated with 25,000 Gold Coin. Furthermore..."

"The Carter Duchy fabricated shameful rumors, and their ' Ember Song ' has had an extremely negative impact on public opinion in the kingdom."

"The Fano Duchy colluded with the Rackman Dynasty, providing them with certain economic support, which indirectly caused harm to the kingdom."

The nobles of the the North countries were in an uproar.

This greedy dragon dared to extort the entire Northern United Kingdom! He was far more greedy than those Red Dragon who only knew how to demonstrate their power by slaughtering cities! The once obscure "Flying Flame Dragon" Keosius, who only existed in the stories of Bard, had grown into such a behemoth right under their noses in just a few short years, to the point that a mere flap of his wings could make the the North tremble.

It should be noted that even the "Glacier Wing" a hundred years ago only destroyed a city, without occupying the duchy or even extorting money from the entire Northern United Kingdom.

Dragons Ruling the Earth was something that only happened in legends, dating back to the First Age when dragons and giants clashed. But now it was happening right before the eyes of the Northern Nobles.

At least in these centuries, at least since the establishment of the Northern United Kingdom, no dragon as arrogant as this has ever appeared on the Anzeta Great Wasteland! In the Lion's Hall of Governance Strasbourg, the nominal capital of the United Kingdom and also the capital of the Bosque Duchy.

Hundreds of nobles from the the North gathered together for the first time since the Lionheart Alliance thirty years ago, to discuss how to deal with the terrifying dragon.

"This is outrageous!"

"This evil dragon has gone too far!"

Duke Leo Bosk slammed the leaflet down on the long table.

His face was contorted with rage, his tall and imposing body trembled with fury, even his lion-mane beard shook, and his thunderous roar terrified the servants around him.

"Our Bosque Duchy will never accept such humiliating and detrimental terms!"

"Who does he think he is? Just a fire-breathing lizard. We Scania People have slaughtered dozens of such arrogant lizards to establish ourselves in Anzeta!"

Not far from him, Grand Duke Oliver Norton of the Norton Duchy, filled with righteous indignation, slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "Yes! We must reclaim the territory of the Lakman Duchy! Kill this arrogant Red Dragon!"

"Otherwise, we cannot quell public anger!"

Grand Duke Oliver gritted his teeth; he hated Keosius to the core.

The announcements from the Embers of the Burned Empire to other countries were mostly just extortion of money and passage rights. But what they were extorting from the Norton Duchy was a so-called "international trusteeship," with the absurd reason that "Grand Duke Oliver is incapable of governing the Norton Duchy and needs the assistance of the more civilized and orderly Embers of the Burned Empire."

This is utterly ridiculous!

This is a blatant insult to him!

An empire ruled by monsters had the audacity to issue such a shameless declaration to him. This announcement kept Grand Duke Oliver awake for several days, and in a fit of anger, he dismissed all the envoys originally intended to be sent to the Ember Nest.

"But... that Red Dragon can cast Eighth Circle Spell."

"There are very few spellcasters of this caliber in the entire the North. He is devastating to the army."

A hoarse, weary voice rang out.

"Gray Eagle" Schroeder also participated in the meeting, but at this moment his eyes were dim, filled with exhaustion and helplessness, as well as a deep-seated hatred for the Red Dragon.

The lord he served, whose country had been destroyed, had left him stranded here, where he was barely taken in by Grand Duke Leo.

"Perhaps we can seek help from outside."

"Yes, it is rumored that the ' Twilight Blade ' who traveled from the south slew a Red Dragon six years ago, but it is unknown whether it is true or not."

"Some nobles said."

Upon hearing this, Grand Duke Leo's anger subsided slightly. He asked the nobleman beside him, "Earl Tapley, didn't that ' Twilight Blade ' stay in your territory before? Can you still contact her?"

Earl Tapley shook his head helplessly. "She left in a hurry five years ago without leaving any message."

Grand Duke Leo said solemnly, "Perhaps we can look to the south and seek help from the Holy Fadlan Empire in the south."

"I'm afraid that won't work."

Trish Earl, who has been on diplomatic missions to the south for many years, said, "Recently, an unprecedented rebellion has broken out in several provinces of Fadlan. His Majesty Aragon has been leading the Sun Legion to fight for months and is probably too busy to attend to us."

Grand Duke Leo roared angrily, "Then what should we do? Are we just supposed to sit here and wait to die, surrender to that Red Dragon, and watch him swagger around in front of us?"

The nobles remained silent, with only the roar of Grand Duke Leo echoing in the hall.

At that moment, a hoarse voice suddenly rang out—it was none other than "Gray Eagle" Schroeder.

"Your Grace, I know someone who might be able to stand up to that Red Dragon and is willing to offer assistance."