Dragonspine Mountains, Royal Court back mountain.
The rugged rocks stand silently in the early wind.
Red Iron Dragon is entrenched in the center, his body motionless, and his whole body is filled with blazing flames that look like life.
The flame was not an ordinary fire, but a stream of flames that spontaneously ignited from the gaps in his scales and around him, twisting and swaying the air, forming a scorching and turbulent barrier.
Opposite Red Iron Dragon are two Heroic Spirit with completely different shapes.
One of them is Legendary Realm Paladin Mien.
He has a tall body, the light all over his body is condensed into substantial armor, and the huge sword in his hand is simple and heavy. The other one is Flower Knight Xia'er who was the first to follow Garos.
Xia'er has bid farewell to the once illusory and hazy soul state, and transformed into the more stable and powerful body of Heroic Spirit.
He was radiant with radiance, and his handsome face was as sharp as a sword.
"Use your blade as a shield to guard my oath!"
Paladin Mien gave a low drink, the sound was like a deep bell.
He took a step forward, and the giant sword he held in both hands suddenly burst out with a dazzling light comparable to the blazing sun.
The light extended and condensed, turning into a brilliant light blade that was tens of meters long. With the pure belief to cut off all things, it started from top to bottom and slashed at Red Iron Dragon and Flame Domain with the force of breaking mountains.
Click--!
A harsh cracking sound sounded.
On the majestic and endless Flame Domain surface, a clear crack was split open by this sword.
Wherever the light blade touched, large swaths of surging flames were extinguished, revealing the vague shadow of the dragon Garos.
However, the tenacity of the field is beyond imagination. Almost as soon as the damage appeared, more flames roared and gathered around it, quickly filling and repairing the crack.
In a few breaths, the realm returned to its original state, but the overall light dimmed by an insignificant amount.
Paladin This powerful blow is still far from the upper limit of defense in the penetration field.
Before this, he had carried out many similar attacks. Although the damage caused was considerable, it was always quickly wiped out by the domain's tenacious repair ability.
"Mien, don't worry that breaking the realm will cause harm to me, just use it to your heart's content. I need stronger pressure."
Garos shook his heavy head, and the low Dragon Language was still clear amidst the howling flames, reminding Paladin to increase the intensity of the attack.
He intends to gradually temper and strengthen his own domain power through the process of repeatedly defeating and reshaping the domain.
However, Red Iron Dragon is currently not sure whether the effect of "Adaptive Evolution" can be applied to the field, so he can only try it first.
Paladin was silent for a moment, and a trace of astonishment flashed across his face framed by light.
He whispered ashamedly, "My lord, I have established "Oath of Watchfulness". I am good at perseverance and protection. When it comes to attacking fortresses, it is really not what I am good at."
When Garos first confronted Mien, the reason why Mien was able to firmly entangle Red Iron Dragon was actually due to the summoning-type strengthening magic applied by Lucky Messenger, as well as the various spell buffs randomly given by Spellthief and Final Art.
It is indeed difficult for him to pose a real threat to Garos on his own.
Garos turned to another Heroic Spirit and said, "Xia'er, come and try."
Flower Knight's handsome face showed an eager smile.
He did not charge immediately, but walked calmly step by step in the direction of Red Iron Dragon.
What's amazing is that every time he takes a step, the light around him becomes more solid and powerful, and the aura rises steadily; at the same time, the light on Paladin Mien dims at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the momentum falls back.
When Xia'er walked in front of Red Iron Dragon Flame Domain, the energy fluctuations emanating from his body had suddenly broken through the limit and reached the Legendary Realm level! On the other hand, Mien temporarily fell back below Legendary Realm.
This is the embodiment of another powerful effect of Hall of Heroes.
It can concentrate the power of other Heroic Spirit to temporarily strengthen one of them, making it explode with combat power far beyond normal.
Of course, this energy transfer is not lossless and there are losses in the process.
The original level 22 Watchman Paladin dropped from the Legendary Realm, and the enhanced Flower Knight only reached level 21 in energy level and did not fully inherit the full strength of the former.
However, the direction that Xia'er is good at is completely different from Watchman Paladin, which focuses on defense.
"Your Majesty, please advise."
Xia'er nodded slightly, and the light flowed in his hand, quickly condensing into a slender and elegant cross sword.
The gentle smile in his eyes instantly disappeared and became as sharp as an eagle.
The next moment, three skills were displayed by him almost at the same instant.
Those are [Enchanted Blade] and [Weakness Insight] from Arcane Knight Pathway, and [Dimensional Pierce] from Boundary Walker Pathway!
The blade of the cross sword was instantly covered with a layer of dark Magic Energy coating.
Xia'er's eyes reflected the trajectory of Flame Domain's energy flow, locking on the weakest point.
Then, he flicked his wrist, and the sword seemed to ignore the barrier of space, and thrust straight out with a sense of dangerous silence!
Hiss--!
There was no earth-shattering noise, only a small sound as if the fabric was torn by something extremely sharp.
Flame Domain The thick wall of fire seemed to have met its nemesis in front of the tip of Xia'er's sword. It was pierced and torn silently inch by inch, revealing a deep hole that continued to extend inward.
Before the sword's power was exhausted, it actually penetrated the realm.
Finally, a blood hole that was not deep but was extremely clear was punctured in the thick dark red scales on Red Iron Dragon's shoulder.
Xia'er's attack is characterized by highly concentrated power and spatial attribute damage that is difficult to defend against.
Even with Garos's defense, he cannot be completely exempted.
However, Xia'er's attack range was too concentrated. For Garos's huge dragon body, it was like being pricked by a sharp needle, causing a brief sting.
Feeling the sting, Red Iron Dragon, instead of being angry, had a look of satisfaction on his face.
He growled, "That's it, keep going!"
Xia'er nodded, and his figure suddenly became blurry.
He no longer carried out a frontal attack, but instead turned into an erratic trace of light, bringing with it an indistinguishable afterimage all over the sky, and started a storm-like surrounding attack centered on Red Iron Dragon.
His sword light fell everywhere on Flame Domain like raindrops.
Each thrust carried the force that penetrated the space and could penetrate the defense of the field, making a dense penetrating sound.
Time passed in the fierce attack and defense.
About half an hour later, the originally majestic Red Iron Dragon Flame Domain had become riddled with holes, the flames flickering on and off, and the speed of repair could not keep up with the speed of destruction.
Finally, after a concentrated series of thrusts, the entire field let out an overwhelmed cry and collapsed.
It turned into flowing fire all over the sky and gradually extinguished in the air.
Witnessing the fields Shatter, Heroic Spirit Xia'er with my own eyes, I was relieved.
The bright light around him has dimmed a lot, and his body even looks a little transparent.
Red Iron Dragon didn't have any dodge, and the continuous high-intensity output made Xia'er feel like it was draining a lot of power.
He stopped, adjusted his breathing, and habitually adjusted his slightly dim collar, which was made of light. An elegant smile appeared on his face again, and he said, "Your Majesty, I am lucky enough to live up to my mission... eh?"
Before he finished speaking, the smile on Xia'er's face froze and his eyes widened.
I saw that the embers of the flames that had just collapsed had not completely disappeared, and the space around Red Iron Dragon began to fluctuate violently again!
Countless steel substances flashing with cold metallic light appeared out of thin air.
They are not piled up in disorder, but rapidly change and combine to form countless cold weapons such as knives, guns, swords, halberds, shields, spears, etc. These cold metal creations are densely packed and stacked on top of each other, slowly rotating around Red Iron Dragon, forming a Steel Domain that is completely different from the previous Flame Domain, full of chilling and tenacity.
Xia'er was silent, and the body made of light stiffened for a moment.
Only then did he realize that His Majesty Red Iron Dragon actually possesses two domains with different attributes.
Garos raised his eyelids, looked at Flower Knight who had a dull expression, and said calmly, "Go on, Xia'er."
The flickering light on Xia'er's body flickered violently for several times.
Although Heroic Spirit didn't need to breathe, he still took a deep breath and gritted his teeth.
Under the slightly sympathetic and understanding gaze of Paladin Mien from a distance, Xia'er raised the cross sword again, his figure flashing, and started a new round of "Gua Sha" work.
The target this time is the Steel Domain, which is more sturdy and durable than Red Iron Dragon.
After a long period of fierce attack, when the last cross sword light tore apart Steel Domain with difficulty, the entire field disintegrated and dissipated like a collapsed metal mountain.
At this moment, Heroic Spirit Xia'er is in extremely bad condition.
He almost completely turned into a blurry light and shadow, and the light around him was as weak as a candle in the wind, flickering on and off, as if a slightly stronger mountain wind could blow him away completely.
"Fortunately... fortunately, it didn't disgrace... life..."
Xia'er felt that the scene in front of him was shaking and blurred, and his words were intermittent.
Red Iron Dragon slowly stood up and stretched his huge body.
At the same time, he glanced down at his scales.
The wounds as fine as pinholes caused by Xia'er through the field before were so small that they have already healed as before under the effect of his Endless Recovery characteristics.
An extremely aggressive Legendary Heroic Spirit almost exhausted himself to death, but only defeated his domain.
But his stronger body was almost unscathed.
Garos is not completely satisfied with the effect of this exercise.
He tested the possibility of strengthening the field in Shatter and reshaping, which was only one of his purposes. After training in the field, he also wanted to use space attribute attacks to sharpen his resistance to space damage.
Currently, only Xia'er under his command can shoulder this important task.
But looking at the state where Xia'er is almost running out of gas and light, it is obvious that it is overwhelmed.
"If Xia'er can break through to the Legendary Realm level, and then undergo the concentrated strengthening of Hall of Heroes, the intensity and sustainability of the attack will be greatly improved, and he will be able to better serve as my sparring partner."
Garos thought to himself.
Heroic Spirit's levels are not fixed, they can also continue to grow and become stronger.
Since its essence is a highly condensed spirit body, the key to improvement lies in whether it can obtain rare resources that nourish or increase the strength of the spirit body.
In addition, the prop Hall of Heroes itself is extraordinary and has rare growth potential!
By absorbing those treasures that match the attributes of Heroic Spirit or the spirit body, the space capacity inside Hall of Heroes, the maximum strength and quantity that can accommodate Heroic Spirit, etc., will gradually increase.
It's no wonder that Lucky Messenger was unwilling to return this treasure no matter what.
Its potential and value are extremely high, and it can be regarded as an important weapon of a kingdom.
Garos has invested Phylactery into Hall of Heroes to strengthen contact and control. At the same time, he has also invested a lot of spiritual resources and materials in the palace. He plans to concentrate resources on cultivating Xia'er first and then pile him into the Legendary Realm.
Heroic Spirit cannot shape the realm like the strong living Legendary Realm.
However, with Xia'er's talent and fighting skills during his lifetime, once he breaks through, he will definitely surpass the ordinary human Legendary Realm.
For the Aura Kingdom, which currently has abundant resources but lacks Legendary Realm, investing in Xia'er is a guaranteed profit.
The only more difficult problem is that if Heroic Spirit wants to break through to the Legendary Realm, in addition to normal nourishment, it also needs a rare core material called "Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal".
The production conditions for this kind of thing are extremely harsh.
Either an extremely large number of intelligent creatures need to die in a short period of time, and cooperate with Magic Array of the Undead series to collect and condense the soul essence that Shatter has escaped; or, it is necessary to go to Hunt Legendary Realm level undead creatures and extract them from their cores.
What's even more troublesome is that Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal is extremely difficult to save.
If it is not used immediately, the pure spiritual essence contained in it will quickly pass away, its quality will continue to decline, and eventually it will become like an ordinary soul and gradually disappear.
This makes its existence extremely rare.
Xia'er is now level 20 Heroic Spirit, only one step away from the threshold of the Legendary Realm. What is missing is a suitable Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal. Once obtained, Aura Kingdom will add a Legendary Realm, and he will be absolutely loyal.
"Okay, you guys go back to rest and recover as soon as possible."
Red Iron Dragon calmed down and said to the two Heroic Spirit who were feeling weak.
Xia'er and Mien nodded together, their figures gradually faded, and finally turned into two streams of light, and returned to Hall of Heroes to recuperate.
Next, Red Iron Dragon turned his attention to himself and began to sort out the progress and skills of his three paths.
The first is the Star-Self Path that I first set foot on.
The number of skills in this path is relatively rare, and you can basically get a new skill every three or four levels.
After the fierce battle with Lucky Messenger, Garos's Star-Self Path level broke through to level fourteen. Finally, after Star-Self Body, he mastered a brand new skill - [Star-Self Head].
Phew--!
Red Iron Dragon took a deep breath, and the already huge body suddenly shook. The thick and condensed black and red Dragon Qi surged out of the body like a volcanic eruption, wrapping around the whole body.
Immediately afterwards, these majestic Dragon Qi seemed to be pulled by invisible forces, gathering, compressing, and shaping crazily above the right shoulder!
In an instant, the outline of a thick and ferocious neck emerged, followed by a head covered with thick energy scales, rugged dragon horns, vertical pupils shining with indifferent light, and a huge mouth full of sharp teeth...
The second dragon head composed entirely of Dragon Qi suddenly appeared above the right shoulder of Garos!
It is not directly connected with flesh and blood on the shoulder. There is a slight floating gap between the bottom and the shoulder. This is similar to the structural principle of the previous Star-Self Arm.
Therefore, this "Star-Self Head" can rotate flexibly, and the viewing angle covers almost 360 degrees.
At the same time, Garos felt that there was an independent clear vision in his consciousness, and the range of perception became unprecedentedly comprehensive and sharp.
This is one of the basic effects of [Star-Self Head].
Moreover, in addition to not having independent consciousness, this head of Dragon Qi basically has all the functions that Red Iron Dragon's head has.
It can spit Dragon Breath, and can strike and bite ferociously.
Its hardness is closely related to the Dragon Qi that makes it up. Although it is not as good as the real scale skeleton of Garos that has been strengthened countless times, it is definitely not something that can be destroyed by ordinary attacks.
Buzz--!
Dragon Qi surged again, and formed two thick and powerful Dragon Arm at the position above and behind the shoulders of Garos.
The solid Dragon Qi outlines clear muscle texture, covered with hard scales and sharp claw tips, and its arms are burning with endless black-red flames.
At this moment, Garos has completely broken away from the regular Dragonkin form.
The terrifying giant beast with two heads and four arms stood quietly among the mountains. The black-red flames rolling around it distorted the light and steamed the air, making the space of hundreds of meters in radius seem to have turned into a Hell scroll filled with hot, oppressive and destructive atmosphere.
Multiple fields of view bring about blind-angle perception.
This body is strong enough to deal with attacks from all directions at the same time and launch a crushing counterattack.
A pure and terrifying overbearing thought naturally emanates from the giant dragon.
It was as if he himself was a Calamity, a moving Jedi.
Any enemy who dares to get close will be torn into the most primitive dust in the realm of death intertwined by his dragon head, giant arms, dragon wings and tail blades.
"Very good... compared to Star-Self Body, this Star-Self Head, which is partially strengthened and adds attack and perception dimensions, is now more suitable for my fighting style."
The head of Red Iron Dragon and the head of Dragon Qi shook at the same time. The four Dragon Arm clenched their fists slightly, making a slight muffled sound like the air was being squeezed.
There was obvious satisfaction in his eyes.
Star-Self Body's skill is not weak. In the fierce duel with Bronze Dragon, it was with the extra protection it provided that Garos was able to withstand a lot of direct pressure and energy impact from the Legendary Realm.
However, since he himself was promoted to the Legendary Realm and successfully created Dual Domains.
Star-Self Body partially overlaps with the effects of the field, and its importance has declined.
Star-Self Head is different.
It can further expand his attack dimension, perception and continuous output limit on the solid foundation of Garos's existing Dual Domains and twelve powerful characteristics, achieving the effect of one plus one being greater than two.
It took some time for Double-Headed Four-Armed Form and Garos to maintain their strength and become familiar with and coordinate their actions and perceptions.
Then, he turned his attention to the second Eternal Death Pathway.
The number of skills of Eternal Death Pathway is similar to that of Star-Self Path, which are equally rare, but each one has unique effects and is quite powerful.
After fighting Lucky Messenger, Garos's Eternal Death Pathway also made a breakthrough, reaching level six, and subsequently gained a new skill.
[Life Reaping]!
--Lock a specific target and deprive it of the opponent's life to restore its own losses or strengthen its own status.
This is a powerful single-target skill, and the key to its effectiveness lies in the resistance test of physical attributes.
In other words, as long as Garos's physical strength is higher than that of the target, he can directly rob the opponent's life.
Considering that Garos has evolved many times and has abnormal physical attributes... this skill can almost be considered to be effective when facing most enemies.
The current environment is not suitable for finding living targets for testing.
Garos temporarily suppresses the idea of trying Life Reaping's skills.
He set his sights on the last one, Wild Path.
Different from other ways to steadily acquire various skills, the core of this way always revolves around Wild Form, who "the angrier the stronger he is".
Thanks to the existence of Frenzied Flame, Garos's wild level increases very quickly.
Today, his wild level has surpassed Eternal Death Pathway and reached level 10.
In addition to the basic Rage, violent, and wild, he has also mastered skills such as Reckless Strike, Fury's Might, and Battle Frenzy Charge.
However, these skills have one common characteristic.
They can only be used instinctively and exert their maximum power when Wild Dragon completely loses his mind. The more conscious he is, the worse the effect will be when used.
In the death duel with Bronze Dragon, Garos was convinced that he used these wild skills.
But when he woke up from the madness, his memory of how to use these skills was very vague.
What Garos really values is a key skill that Wild Path can obtain at about level 14.
Fury Defies Death!
--Extreme anger will refuse death!
When the master of Wild Path dies due to combat, this skill will be triggered, giving it the terrible status of saving death for the next three minutes.
As long as the battle can be completely ended and the powerful enemy eliminated within the duration of Fury Defies Death.
Wild Dragon can seize a glimmer of life in the midst of extreme anger and turn from death to near-death.
"When I, Wild Path, continue to improve and master Fury Defies Death, I will be able to add another powerful trump card that can reverse life and death at critical moments."
Red Iron Dragon was calculating silently in his heart, with light flashing in his eyes.
"It's a pity that my Dragon Jade was triggered when it was infinitely close to death, rather than truly completely dead."
"I'm afraid the trigger of Dragon Jade cannot activate the effect of Fury Defies Death at the same time... Otherwise, if I had two chances to refuse death, I could almost walk sideways."
A slightly regretful thought flashed through his mind and was quickly suppressed.
The road to strength is long and every step must be solid.
Time passed by slowly, Garos gathered his thoughts and continued to become familiar with his newly mastered path skills.
When the sun gradually sets in the west and the night becomes darker.
Suddenly, Garos's movements paused slightly.
He paused.
At the same time, Iron Dragon Sorog's deep voice passed through Mind Link and sounded directly in his consciousness.
"The official reply from the Lothern side has just arrived. They stated that the Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal in the Kingdom's inventory has indeed been exhausted and is currently unable to provide it. We are deeply sorry for this."
Hearing these words, a look of surprise flashed across Garos's eyes.
Aura Kingdom himself does not have reserves of such rare things, which is what he expected.
But he originally thought that Lothern Kingdom, who had gone through countless large-scale battles and witnessed countless lives lost during the civil war that lasted for many years, would have a high probability of having some inventory, so he asked Sorog to go and negotiate.
After all, although Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal is extremely precious, its practical applications are very narrow.
Lothern expressed his exhaustion so simply. This result was indeed somewhat beyond his expectation.
Garos did not immediately delve into the other party's true situation, but instead asked, "Where are the other allies? Contact their envoys stationed here?"
Through the alliance with Lothern, Aura Kingdom has indirectly established contact with several other kingdoms that stand in the same camp.
In order to obtain the Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal that Hall of Heroes needed, he also instructed Sorog to make contact with these countries.
The deep voice of Iron Dragon came from Mind Link again.
This time, the content surprised and puzzled Garos even more.
"All means out of stock."
Sorog paused for a moment, then continued:
"According to information revealed privately or tactfully hinted by those ambassadors, Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal originally existed in their countries."
"However, before and after the First Civil War outbreak, almost all of them were acquired by the Lothern Kingdom at high prices or exchanged for other strategic resources."
This created a rather strange situation.
Lothern Kingdom has searched and gathered this specific material on a large scale from allied countries and possibly wider channels at all costs.
But now, Aura Kingdom claims to have exhausted the honeymoon period.
Then here comes the problem.
There are a lot of Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystals with narrow uses. Where are they used?
Garos's thinking instantly burst out with countless sparks, running rapidly, connecting existing fragments of information.
In the blink of an eye, a guess was almost coming out, violently impacting his thoughts.
Saint King!
There is a high probability that it is related to Lothern Saint-King, who reappeared at the critical moment and turned the world around in one fell swoop!
Those collected Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal are probably the price and cornerstone that support him to complete his reappearance or maintain his certain special state.
Garos is not 100% sure that his guess is the truth.
However, based on the available clues, this probability is definitely not small, or even very high.
"Sorog, what do you think about this matter?"
Garos inquired through Mind Link and wanted to hear his judgment.
Iron Dragon Sorog was silent for two seconds, and then he clearly uttered five words: "Lothern Saint-King."
He has a keen mind and has the same guess as Garos.
"Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal..." Garos mused in his heart, "This thing does not receive extensive supervision and attention like some taboo weapons or strategic resources, and countries are relatively less vigilant about its flow."
"However, the reappearance of Saint King caused a huge stir."
"In addition to those superficial tests, secretly, there must be countless pairs of eyes and countless intelligence networks carefully examining abnormal changes in all aspects."
"Since I can make such an association based on limited information, it is very likely that those old kingdoms have realized this earlier and have even obtained more conclusive evidence."
If that's the case...
Garos The string of war in my heart became even tighter.
The second war between nations may break out sooner than he expected.
Finally, he said in a deep voice to Iron Dragon Sorog on the other side of his mind, "Let all channels continue to explore the news of Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal, and at the same time pay close attention to the movements of the Theo Kingdom."
"We must be prepared to face Second War of the Nations, especially the war with the Theo Kingdom."
Once the war resumes, due to their geographical proximity and belonging to two opposing camps, there is almost no buffer room between the Theo Kingdom and Aura Kingdom, and they will inevitably become each other's primary and most direct opponents, falling into a life-and-death struggle.
On the contrary, if Aura Kingdom wants to go further, he must also cross the hurdle of Theo.
"Understood!"
Iron Dragon Sorog's response was concise and without any sloppiness.
After the two briefly communicated for a while, they ended their spiritual communication.
Garos stands at the Dragonspine Mountains.
He raised his head and looked towards the vast and distant south. His eyes seemed to have seen the sky that was about to be dyed red by the smoke and war, and he heard the faint echo of the clanging of gold and iron and the faint echo of war horns.
After a few seconds, he slowly withdrew his gaze.
While his heart was filled with the solemnity and heaviness of war, another emotion was quietly growing in Red Iron Dragon's heart.
It was a burning excitement, a faint expectation of chaos and challenge.
Once upon a time, he was just an unknown person who struggled to survive in the wilderness and Borderlands, growing up silently.
Thanks to the quagmire of civil war and lack of time for other countries to care about, he was able to grab chestnuts from the cracks and seize the opportunity to develop rapidly, and finally established a magnificent country of his own in this neglected wilderness.
Today is different from the past.
A new war is about to rekindle, and this time, he no longer needs to hide in the shadows or struggle to find hope in the cracks between giants.
Red Iron Dragon Emperor, as well as the emerging Aura Kingdom under his command, will be on the grand stage where countries compete for hegemony, with a brand-new attitude that cannot be ignored by anyone, to participate, to game, to grab their own share, and continue to develop and grow in the process.
"Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal... Since there is no ready storage now, then go and make it yourself."
Garos's eyes flashed with a sharp edge.
The upcoming large-scale war will undoubtedly be its most fertile birthplace. The souls of the fallen and the fall of the Legendary Realm strong men are all excellent raw materials for Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal.
Red Iron Dragon slowly exhaled a hot breath.
Later, under the increasingly dense darkness of night, he converged on all the complicated thoughts and once again immersed himself in the exercise and control of his own power.
Being satisfied with the status quo has never been his style.
Time passes quietly, and a few days pass by in the blink of an eye.
It was midsummer, and the wilderness was extremely hot, carrying dust and dry heat. In this hot wind, there came a visitor who was unexpected by Garos.
After some brief thinking and weighing, Red Iron Dragon Emperor decided to accept the visitor's request.
Crimson Flame Royal City, Dragon Court Palace.
This building is not so much the human concept of the Palace as it is a magnificent dome tailor-made for giant beasts.
Aaron Levi Berg, the diplomatic ambassador of the Rybos Kingdom.
He was currently following two silent and heavily armored Dragonkin guards, walking in a grand corridor wide enough for several war elephants to walk side by side.
He remained calm on the surface, but his eyes could not help but quietly observe his surroundings.
The walls of the corridor are not ordinary exquisite stone carvings or gorgeous murals, but are made entirely of some kind of dense dark metal, with an indestructible matte texture.
There was an invisible but tangible pressure permeating the air. It was not directed at him personally, but seemed to settle in every inch of space, causing his breathing to become lighter involuntarily and his steps to restrain subconsciously.
At the end of the corridor is a giant door dozens of meters high, polished from a single piece of deep obsidian.
The door was closed tightly, and its surface was as smooth as a mirror, clearly reflecting his small figure.
"Your Majesty is waiting for you."
The Dragonkin guard leading the way stopped, his voice without any emotion.
As soon as he finished speaking, the heavy obsidian door slowly slid inward.
In an instant, a raging heat wave hit his face, mixed with an indescribable majestic breath of life and royal majesty, making Ambassador Aaron narrow his eyes subconsciously.
He stabilized his somewhat accelerated heartbeat, took a deep breath, and stepped into the giant dragon Royal Court.
The sight before him made him, a well-informed Ribos envoy, unable to help but hold his breath and his heart beat rapidly.
This is a vast space that cannot be described as a hall, and its sense of scale completely transcends the scope of human architecture.
The dizzyingly tall dome seems to be a sky of its own, surrounded by magnificent pillars.
However, Aaron has no time to pay attention to any architectural details at this moment.
Because all his attention was firmly captured by the huge existence in Royal Court.
The hot breath he felt outside the door just now turned out to be just the residual warmth that naturally escapes when the being breathes calmly.
Red Iron Dragon Emperor, Garos·Ignas, are entrenched there in their main form.
Aaron's eyes were filled with shock, and he deeply felt the insignificance of human beings.
What a scene that is!
He just lay down quietly, his huge body covered with thick black and red scales, like a sleeping mountain, and the undulating back lines were full of the beauty of power.
His eyes were half open and half closed.
Under bright light, Aaron can also see that it is not a simple vertical pupil. It is deep and seems to contain stars.
At this time, the dragon's eyes seemed to turn slightly, focusing on the human beings who were as small as dust.
The feeling of oppression is like real mercury, coming from all directions.
Aaron felt that his knees were a little weak and his throat was dry.
He knew that Red Iron Dragon Emperor had not released Dragon Might, otherwise he would have fainted or even died. That was the aura composed of the level of life, the level of power, the size of a giant beast, and the majesty of a king as a ruler.
As a diplomatic ambassador, Aaron has never seen a giant dragon.
However, the psychological impact of such a huge and oppressive dragon, especially one sitting in his Royal Court as a monarch, was completely different from that of ordinary dragons.
Aaron Forcibly suppressed the throbbing in his heart.
He took a deep breath of hot air, tried to keep his pace steady, and walked forward. The slight sound of the soles of his boots on the ground was particularly clear in this empty space.
Finally, Aaron stood at a suitable distance.
He needed to raise his head slightly to see the huge body of the dragon Shen Xiong.
"Rybos Kingdom's special envoy, Aaron Levi Borg, has an audience with the Lord of the Aura Kingdom, the great Emperor Ignas."
The diplomat's voice rang out in the hall, keeping calm and respectful, putting his right hand on his chest and bowing deeply.
He could feel that those dragon eyes that looked like stars were falling on him without emotion, as if they could look directly into every thought in his heart.
A few seconds of silence seemed as long as centuries, with only the deep breathing of the dragon echoing.
Then, a voice sounded.
It was not a deafening roar, but a low, powerful one, with a texture like the friction of gold and stone, and every syllable carried a heavy weight.
"The special envoy has come all the way, covered in dust, and brought Ribos's friendship, or some other message?"
Red Iron Dragon Emperor did not even change his prone posture, but raised his head slightly at an insignificant angle, and his eyes fell on the messenger casually.
Aaron felt a chill in his heart.
He knew that in the face of this dragon emperor, any pretentious politeness and lengthy opening would be unnecessary and might even arouse resentment.
The diplomat adjusted his breathing, raised his head, and said, "Your Majesty clearly understands this."
"I came here this time with the sincere goodwill of our country on my shoulders."
He took a slight step forward and his tone became more sincere. "This continent is in turmoil, and its landscape is changing day by day."
"Our country is well aware that it is very important to deepen mutual understanding and build a stable and mutually trusting relationship with an emerging and dynamic country like Aura Kingdom."
"We are willing to open up preferential trade rights for key minerals, share the advanced technology of magic constructs, and give Aura Kingdom more space for discourse and support in the affairs of various countries."
"All this is just to establish a sincere and mutually beneficial friendship and exchange for long-term peace and development for the two countries."
Aaron carefully observed Red Iron Dragon's reaction.
However, the huge dragon head remained motionless, showing no emotion.
After a short silence, the deep voice of Red Iron Dragon Emperor sounded again.
"Rybos King's beauty, I have felt it."
"When Aura Kingdom was first established, it is indeed necessary to establish useful connections with all parties to absorb nutrients for development."
Hearing this, Aaron felt a glimmer of hope in his heart and felt that there was a way. However, Red Iron Dragon Emperor immediately changed the topic and said, "But true friendship is more than just a list or temporary convenience."
"Aura Kingdom and Lothern currently maintain friendly exchanges and trade. The stability of this relationship has also brought tangible benefits to my kingdom."
Aaron Answer the call immediately.
He lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty is very worried, but please forgive me for being frank, Lothern has long been powerful on the outside and powerful on the inside."
Red Iron Dragon Emperor didn't say anything, just stared at the messenger quietly.
Seeing this, Aaron continued to whisper, "The Saint King that Lothern relies on... is not in a stable condition."
"The so-called deterrence is nothing more than a fierce look but a soft heart."
"Once the situation changes and the war really begins, Lothern, this seemingly towering tree, will be vulnerable internally. At that time, the countries tied to it will inevitably suffer disaster."
These words were quite direct, without any disguise.
Red Iron Dragon Emperor finally made a slightly more obvious move.
He slowly adjusted the position of the dragon's head so that he could face the messenger directly below.
This movement was subtle, but the invisible pressure it brought suddenly increased.
"Lothern Saint-King's reputation is based on solid achievements in the past."
"As for today... speculations and rumors always spread faster and are more confusing than facts."
The grass on the wall swayed when the wind came, but when the storm really came, it was the first to be uprooted and crushed into the soil.
Rybos Kingdom's wooing at this time is most likely due to checks and balances on Lothern.
Red Iron Dragon Emperor It's hard to trust them.
"I am aware of your good intentions and suggestions."
"True friendship and a solid alliance take time to cultivate and experience to test."
"Our door is always open to friends who come with sincerity, and we are willing to explore ways of mutual benefit and win-win with all countries that respect Aura's independence and development."
After the words fell, Red Iron Dragon seemed to have lost interest in continuing the conversation, and the huge head slowly turned back to its original position.
Ribos Special Envoy knows it is time to resign.
But!
No agreement, no commitment, no rejection. Red Iron Dragon Emperor's words were vague and did not give him any results at all.
"His Majesty's wisdom and foresight are deeply inspiring."
Aaron bowed deeply again and said, "Our country sincerely hopes to establish a sincere friendship with His Majesty and Aura Kingdom, rather than just talking in vain. If Your Majesty still has doubts about the conditions proposed by our country, or has other needs, I am willing to convey them to you."
"Ribos For the sake of this friendship, I am willing to show greater sincerity and try my best to meet His Majesty's requirements."
Hearing this, Red Iron Dragon Emperor raised his eyelids and took a careful look at the special envoy.
"In that case, bring me three Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal first."
"On this basis, I will seriously consider cooperation with the Rybos Kingdom."
After saying that, the giant beast slowly closed its eyes.
"I will forward your message to you and will give you a reply within three days."
The envoy maintained courtesy, stepped back step by step, and slowly exited the hot and oppressive dragon palace.
The much cooler air outside the hall rushed into his lungs, and Aaron felt a strong dryness in his mouth, and the robe on his back was soaked with cold sweat at some point.
That Red Iron Dragon Emperor... doesn't need to glare or roar, but is already extremely majestic and unfathomable.
The messenger thought silently in his heart.
Rybos Kingdom is a powerful country, but the envoy himself is not a very advanced being. After facing Red Iron Dragon, he still couldn't help feeling a little scared and thankful.
At the same time, within Dragon Court.
Red Iron Dragon Emperor, who was as majestic and unpredictable as the abyss in the mind of the envoy, opened his eyes after confirming that the outsider had left, and then turned over casually, changing from lying down to standing, stretching his huge body.
"It's quite tiring to maintain the image of the emperor, but the effect should be very good."
Garos was thinking casually while pressing down his forelimbs, stretching his spine and making the joints make a series of crisp clicking sounds.
While he was stretching his spine, he also clearly realized that the war was probably around the corner.
The arrival of the Ribos messenger was a signal, and the messenger's words were very direct, almost exposing their intention to start another war with Lothern in front of Garos, giving him a choice.
Garos doesn't like passive choices.
So, he gave Rybos Kingdom the choice.
Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal
If Rybos Kingdom is ready to be taken out, the first thing to consider is the possibility of Red Iron Dragon turning around and giving it to the Lothern Kingdom.
This is also the key to detecting whether they come with sincerity or whether it is just a false promise.