Coronation (IV)

"Move it to the top of the altar!"

"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"

With heavy breathing, eight strong Ogre appeared at the end of the road, struggling to carry a huge, heavy metal box.

They climbed the steps one by one to the top of the altar, opened the box together, and then knelt down.

Suddenly, golden light shone from the box, causing the onlookers to gasp in amazement—a crown made entirely of fine gold lay there quietly, inlaid with various precious gems, gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.

That is the Supreme True Dragon Crown.

Suddenly, a question arose in the minds of the onlookers: according to tradition, emperors need to be crowned by others. Even Aragon I, the "Sun King" of the Holy Fadlan Empire, was crowned by the Archbishop of the Amanata Church at the time.

Who among those present was qualified to crown this "Embers of the Burned Emperor," Keosius? The thought of the ruler's nickname, "Dragon Prince," immediately brought to mind a familiar name, yet none dared to utter it aloud.

At that moment, a huge shadow appeared over Istaria, and an unimaginable pressure filled everyone's hearts, instilling in them an instinctive fear.

"O gods!"

That is...

People looked up into the deep space, only to find that a nightmarish aggregate was enveloping the earth.

It was a monstrous dragon body with Dragon Wing like dark clouds. Five necks and five heads writhed and twisted on its body, and those terrifying vertical pupils were focused on Keosius.

This was merely a projection of Him on the Prime Material Plane, yet it sent shivers down the spines of everyone present.

It is Him!

Tiamat.

Someone called out that name in fear.

The crowd erupted in commotion once again. They hadn't expected Tiamat to favor the Red Dragon to such an extent that she would personally descend her projection.

"Her Dragon Queen Your Majesty! She has come in person!"

Christina looked up at the sky, her expression one of intense excitement.

"So they really have arrived."

Without hesitation, Keosius raised his head and met their gaze directly, thinking to himself.

He had anticipated this situation.

Given Tiamat's personality, once she is crowned, she will definitely appear immediately, seemingly to bestow "Divine Favor" upon Keosius, but in reality, to completely bind the empire to the chariot of the Five-Colored Dragon.

If he were to allow Tiamat to crown him, it would be tantamount to him taking sides and declaring war on the benevolent forces such as the Metallic Dragon.

Thinking of this, Keosius bowed slightly and folded his wings to show his respect for the gods.

"Good day, Your Dragon Queen Your Majesty."

"Keosius, you did a great job."

The Dragon Queen's five heads all grinned, revealing a chilling and ferocious smile.

"Excellent enough to warrant my personal congratulations."

"If there were more children as outstanding as you, why would we worry about the Five-Colored Dragon not being able to revive, or about the Dragon's Rule not being able to reappear on the earth?"

"You flatter me."

Keosius answered neither humbly nor arrogantly.

He sighed inwardly, realizing that in just a few words, Tiamat had once again turned the Embers of the Burned Kingdom, or rather the Empire, into the common property of the Five-Colored Dragon.

He then politely replied, "My country cannot compare with your great achievements."

In his speech, Keosius once again separated the two concepts.

The phantom of Tiamat high in the sky showed no emotion, only slightly narrowing its eyes. "Keosius, you need a formal and grand coronation ceremony."

"For example, being crowned by a god himself."

Keosius did not respond immediately to this seemingly tempting offer, but simply nodded slightly and lowered his head in thought.

In fact, he was waiting, waiting for a special guest to arrive.

A cold north wind suddenly began to howl.

Tiamat's expression changed drastically.

When everyone looked up again, they saw a shimmering azure light, like the midsummer sky, on the horizon, and the long, winding phantom of Golden Dragon appeared in the sky.

"This is."

"Is it His Bahamut Your Majesty?"

Olivia Kruzeray, the Silver Dragon in the venue, exclaimed in surprise, their excitement rising.

Olivia was particularly excited; she even imagined what Keosius would look like after he reformed and became a follower of Bahamut.

The Blue Dragon ' expressions became particularly interesting.

The onlookers were stunned, even numb. They never expected that the legendary "Five-Colored Dragon Queen" and "Platinum Dragon King" would appear at the same time in this ceremony.

But people from all over Fei An Suo also deeply felt the importance of this dragon.

Good day, Your Bahamut Your Majesty.

Even evil dragons often show respect for Bahamut's wisdom and power, and Keosius is no exception.

Tiamat roared and cursed, "Bahamut! Your Chosen One has been defeated by my offspring, how dare you show your face here!"

Bahamut said calmly, "I would be happy for any dragon with potential, as long as they are willing to repent and return to the right path."

"You're talking nonsense!"

Two magnificent divine forces Contend Against in the air, generating violent fluctuations that caused the sky to churn with wind and clouds.

Keosius gazed at the chaos in the sky, his expression remaining calm.

Months ago, as he was cleaning the Bahamut aura from the gem, he also sent it a message—an invitation.

The other party understood and arrived as promised. Perhaps this Platinum Dragon King didn't really want to recruit Keosius, but just wanted to take the opportunity to annoy Tiamat —but that was enough.

The older and more powerful the dragon, the more it can perceive the true nature of these dragon gods, and the oldest dragons rarely obey them.

Keosius did not want to become Tiamat's pawn, nor did he want to be completely controlled by the Dragon Queen. He preferred to oscillate between the various factions, extracting the greatest benefit for his empire in each.

However, due to Keosius's past experience of defeating the Silver Dragon, and Tiamat's deliberate guidance, more and more people on the continent regard him as Tiamat's Chosen One, or even her biological son.

He didn't want to see that happen.

In the past, when his strength was insufficient, Keosius might have used Tiamat's tiger skin to intimidate his enemies.

Now that he has enough power, this identity will only bring him more enemies and trouble.

Not to mention stingy deities like Tiamat, who rarely bestows gifts and instead uses believers to achieve her own ends.

Clouds churned in the sky, and lightning roared. The mere projections of the two deities brought unimaginable pressure.

The Blue Dragon and Silver Dragon in the arena were also on edge, their muscles taut, ready to fight at any moment.

In the midst of this tense and chaotic atmosphere, Keosius spoke first, finally breaking the deadlock.

"To be crowned in the presence of both His Majesties—"

He paused slightly.

Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of thousands of people, the Red Dragon strode to the metal box, and without hesitation stretched out its claws, quickly placing the crown on its head.

"It is truly my greatest honor."

At this moment, Keosius's voice was exceptionally calm.

The hype created by the two deities was enough to bring the Embers of the Burned Empire's prestige to its peak.

In fact, before this coronation ceremony, Keosius had already made up his mind: as the emperor of the newly born Embers of the Burned Empire, the supreme ruler, he did not need anyone to crown him—not even a god.