Dragon's Rule
The residents of North Wind Fortress will never forget that morning.
The "Purgatory Calamity" Keosius stood on the centuries-old city wall, his enormous wings blocking out the sunlight.
The Red Dragon looked down upon the 30,000 citizens gathered there, announcing the establishment of the Embers of the Burned Kingdom and the destruction of the nation their ancestors had lived in for generations.
Who's in favor? Who's opposed?
The Hobgoblin ' spears gleamed with a cold light.
There was no room for negotiation; it was just a cold, indifferent notification.
Thus began the era of dragon rule.
At first, people were terrified and kept their doors tightly shut, fearing that these monsters would do something heinous, just like the "Ember Song" says, insulting and then devouring your wife and daughters, burning down your house.
But things did not develop as many feared, nor as the nobles outside North Wind Fortress had hoped.
The crimes of Duke Brad Lachmann were revealed, and the evidence in the bunker was irrefutable. During his two-hundred-year reign, tens of thousands of people were tortured to death, and countless disappearances were his doing.
"This is utter slander!"
"They want to destroy our history!"
The residents were in an uproar, their immediate reaction being to suspect that this was a slander by the Embers of the Burned Kingdom.
But as more and more evidence surfaced, the countless skeletons and blood-soaked corpses beneath Lachmann Castle came to light. Even the most stubborn and vehemently opposed to the Red Dragon had to admit that the Duke they once revered was indeed an evil and tyrannical figure.
Only the Northern Nobles remained defiant, believing that this was evidence deliberately fabricated by the Embers of the Burned Kingdom, and even that the Red Dragon had cruelly murdered these people—despite the Embers of the Burned Kingdom having only been in power in North Wind Fortress for a few days.
What followed was panic and lingering fear.
After the Embers of the Burned Kingdom took control, the law-abiding Tiefling became the main force of the North Wind Fortress City Defense Army, and many of the city's residents had Tiefling blood on their hands.
The trial did indeed take place. The Tiefling arrested all the nobles who knew the truth and were still assisting in the crime, tried them in the Parliament Square, and beheaded dozens of fresh heads.
That day, blood stained the square red.
However, for the unsuspecting ordinary residents, although some of them still harbored hatred and sought revenge, Tiefling did not take any further action.
Contrary to his public persona, Mezhuolash is not an extreme avenger; he is simply a pragmatist who desires the continuation of his people and will stop at nothing to achieve it.
Therefore, during the war years when they were stranded on the Storm Highlands, he promoted many hawks who supported revenge in order to maintain the tribe's military strength and ensure its ability to resist external forces. However, after the actual recapture of North Wind Fortress, he chose to win over the doves within the tribe who were originally unpopular and advocated peaceful coexistence with humans, in order to counterbalance the hawks.
Mezhuolash stood on the city wall, looking down at North Wind Fortress, which had resumed operation.
The streets were bustling with people, Tiefling, and even Hobgoblin. While humans and Tiefling could not live in harmony, at least they were not mortal enemies or engaged in genocide.
"Leiresa, you should have realized this sooner."
"War."
"Only war can bring peace."
Mezhuolash watched all this, muttering to himself.
Those beautiful blue, lake-like eyes seemed to reappear before him, filled with innocence and kindness.
He often felt regretful and guilty about it, but he did not regret it because it was a rational choice at the time.
Only reason can save our people.
Mezhuolash never let trivial emotions control him. He also knew very well that if he were to carry out a brutal massacre of humanity as the hawks hoped, the Tiefling tribe Lieutenant General have no place in the Embers of the Burned Kingdom.
The Red Dragon, with its absolute dictatorship, will not allow any race to disrupt his order—not even the Tiefling, who have gradually grown into an important pillar of the kingdom.
"Fresh raw meat!"
"Plus-size leather pants, specially made for the Hobgoblin!"
"For sale: a former standard-issue silver sword of the Lakman Duchy!"
The streets, long silent due to the war, have finally regained some liveliness, though it is far from what it used to be.
For the tens of thousands of residents of North Wind Fortress Keep, no matter who the rulers are, whether Vampire or Red Dragon, people always have to look forward, and their lives always have to go on.
To their surprise, they discovered that these dragon vein monsters were not as brutal and terrifying as they had imagined—at least not after they had divided up the large amounts of wine, meat, and treasure that the nobles had hoarded to satisfy their greed.
But what the future holds is hard to say.
Theft is prohibited within the city.
"Fighting is prohibited within the city."
"Anyone who commits murder within the city shall be executed."
Keosius temporarily resided in the Hall of Governance, issuing one brief "Dictatorial Law" after another.
Although he couldn't enforce the same "die-or-die" rule on ordinary people who were native inhabitants as he did on players, he could only subtly influence them to follow his rules unconsciously, but that was enough.
Under Keosius's Dictatorial Law, the dragon vein monsters within the city temporarily suppressed the cruelty and violence deeply buried in their bloodlines, refraining from making too many outrageous moves. Instead, they caused quite a few farces:
For example, a Ogre named "Da Tou" ate all the tavern's stock, ran away because he had no money to pay the bill, and was eventually caught by the Security Team and sentenced to work unpaid jobs at the tavern for three years without food or lodging.
People were even more surprised to find that, thanks to the strict searches by the "Ember Claws" Security Team and the "Nocturne" troops, the criminal forces that had existed in the power vacuum and colluded with the nobles had disappeared. Secret groups such as the "Nine Fingers Guild" and the "Devil Gang" were wiped out, and the security in North Wind Fortress had improved considerably.
The once arrogant nobles have now fallen to earth under the new system of the Embers of the Burned Kingdom, no longer having the opportunity to oppress ordinary people, and even facing trial. Those who had suffered oppression have regained their freedom, and even a Little Boy has been rescued from the basement.
Players rushed into the city, vying for a head start. The players of the [Church of the Machine God] guild built a magical steam engine and began constructing a mechanized factory. The [Magic Coin] guild used magic to provide services to the residents, earning Gold Coin and bringing spellcasters, once unattainable and rare, into the lives of the people. The [Royal Authority] guild went even further, purchasing an entire hall and declaring its acceptance of all mercenary missions.
Some believe this is all a facade by the Embers of the Burned Kingdom to win over hearts and minds, secretly plotting to contact outsiders and rebel against the empire's tyranny. Others, however, have gradually grown accustomed to this way of life, abandoning their past traditions...