Permafrost Tundra, Icewind Rift.
The ice that never melts all year round covers this vast and desolate land, and the cold wind howls, rolling up fine and sharp ice crystals, weaving repeatedly under the gray sky, forming a misty and dead veil, isolating all life outside.
The deepest part of the Rift Valley is a dead place where even the most cold-resistant moss cannot survive.
However, at this moment, the dead silence that had accumulated for many years was broken.
At the very bottom of the rift valley, inside a natural cave that was completely covered and sealed by an unknown thickness of ice, the sound of the overwhelmed ice layer groaning and breaking could be heard.
At first the sound was extremely weak, like an hallucination, but soon began to intensify and spread.
The sound was like the gradually beating heartbeat of a sleeping giant before it woke up, getting louder and faster, echoing and superimposing in the sealed ice valley.
Click--Boom!!!
The thick ice cap suddenly exploded from the inside, and countless tons of broken ice mixed with the violent airflow soared into the sky, forming a pale fountain. Then it crashed down violently like meteorite hail, hitting the rock wall with a continuous roar.
A huge pale figure rose rapidly from it, carrying a cold air from the sky.
The jagged bones are covered with pale dragon scales that are as thick as armor, with sharp edges and a metallic sheen. The head is huge and majestic, the snout protrudes forward, and the staggered sharp teeth are like ice-cast spears slightly exposed from the lips.
That's a male White Dragon, and one...Ancient White Dragon!
He slowly stretched his huge membrane wings, which were slightly stiff due to his long sleep, and the joints made a sound like ice cubes rubbing against each other.
His dragon wings are extremely wide, and the wing membranes are covered with veins like frost flowers. Every time he flaps, the surrounding air makes a freezing sound, and countless tiny ice crystals and snowflakes condense out of thin air.
"The long slumber... is finally over."
A low and hoarse voice slowly rolled out from the depths of Ancient White Dragon's throat.
"Power surges through my body like never before, and that solid Legendary Realm barrier has completely Shatter it at the end of my sleep."
He raised his head and looked up at the gray sky covered by wind and snow above the rift valley.
Legendary Realm realm!
After a long period of accumulation and slumber, countless seasons of patient waiting and tempering, finally at this moment, the final breakthrough was achieved.
A long-lost, no, unprecedented fiery ambition and desire to conquer began to burn in his frozen chest.
At the same time, there was a sophisticated and cunning light in his eyes.
"Before I fell into a deep sleep, I seized the fleeting opportunity and successfully killed the son of the leader Frost Giant in a sneak attack, and led the suspicion to Barbarians... a perfect provocation."
"New hatreds and old hatreds have accumulated layer by layer. Those two stupid races must have fought fiercely and blood has flowed into rivers, right?"
"Their strength must have been consumed and weakened in endless battles..."
"And now, it's my turn! When I clean up the mess, I will become the new Overlord of this permafrost land!"
White Dragon turned its huge head, and the cervical vertebrae joints made a slight popping sound.
"Now, I, Frost Calamity·Beskar, have stepped into the realm of the Legendary Realm. Those powers of the Legendary Realm that I once needed to look up to, now I have them myself, and I no longer need to be afraid."
"It's time for my fame and frost breath to completely cover this vast land!"
White Dragon Beskar took it for granted that Permafrost Tundra was still the same person he knew before falling asleep.
Various savage and primitive racial tribes are scattered everywhere, fighting each other endlessly, and internal friction is constant. No one force strong enough to dominate the overall situation has emerged.
And his awakening is destined to end all this unnecessary chaos and establish an era of rule that belongs to him.
Compared with other Dragonkin, White Dragon is naturally at a disadvantage compared to Qidian, but Beskar has always been known for its patience.
He lurks in the most desolate corner of the ice sheet, like the most patient hunter, day after day, year after year, silently sharpening his claws and mind, and accumulating strength.
Finally, the Hunt moment he had been waiting for arrived.
"Then, let's start from... the nearest gathering place of life."
Beskar No more hesitation.
He suddenly flapped his wings, and his huge body suddenly rose from the ground, easily breaking through the wind, snow and ice crystals that filled the sky above the rift valley, and arrived under the open gray-white sky.
The extremely cold air automatically gathered around his pale scales, lifting him up and allowing him to glide across the sky quickly and silently.
White Dragon is hovering high in the sky, overlooking the vast white land below.
Soon, he locked his first target.
It was a gathering place located in a huge leeward slope valley. Rough but large-scale buildings were distributed in an orderly manner. There were even quite solid-looking walls and several watchtowers erected around the perimeter.
Some tall figures with blue-grey skin were moving among them.
Troll, one of the barbaric races common on the ice sheet with strong regeneration ability.
However, this clan seems to be much neater and more orderly than the messy Troll shacks Beskar remembers.
What's even more strange is that he also saw some burly Ogre wearing heavy armor.
They are well-equipped and mixed with Troll. They do not seem to be hostile.
Ogre and Troll stay together in peace?
This is a little weird.
Not only Ogre, but also at the edge of the wall and beside some fortifications, there are also some short Goblin running around?
But these brief observations and doubts were quickly overwhelmed by confidence and disappeared.
In the eyes of the Legendary Realm White Dragon, whether they are Ogre, Troll or Goblin, they are still essentially just a group of slightly stronger or more agile low-level reptiles and potential slaves.
Just right, they can be regarded as the first batch of relatives he conquered after waking up.
After arriving at the Legendary Realm, White Dragon became much less patient and more confident.
Phew--!
He stopped hovering, his wings suddenly pressed down, and carrying a violent wind that changed the color of the world, he suddenly descended directly over the Troll clan settlement. A huge shadow instantly enveloped the buildings and creatures below.
"Kneel down and offer your loyalty, or turn into ice dust and disappear completely from this land."
"From this moment on, this ice sheet and everything living on it are under the control of Frost Calamity·Beskar!"
After saying that, he had already imagined the next scene.
Those Troll and Ogre will tremble with fear in front of him, and finally kneel on the ground and swear allegiance.
But the result was completely beyond the expectations of this White Dragon.
Several of the strongest and heavily armored Ogre shook their bodies.
They looked at each other and exchanged glances, and then one of the guys who looked like the leader took a step forward and raised his head without fear.
He shouted angrily, "Hey! Great white lizard in the sky, listen up!"
"We already have a master! It belongs to the great Emperor Ignas, who is the supreme Lord of the Northern Frontier! This land is the territory of the Aura Kingdom!"
Facing Legendary Realm White Dragon, the Ogre leader not only showed no fear, but showed a mixture of pride and belligerence on his face, and waved the huge mace in his hand.
"For the supreme glory of His Majesty! To become the heroic soul of the Immortal Realm!"
"Do you want to be our enemy Aura Kingdom? Haha, stupid White Scale reptile, come on! Let me see how hard Legendary Realm White Dragon's bones are!"
As he roared, several Ogre and even some Troll nearby also roared, roaring provocatively at the white dragon in the sky.
Their eyes burned with an almost fanatical fighting spirit, completely disregarding life and death.
This incredible courage and loyalty can be largely attributed to the ideological enlightenment and loyalty education that Aura Kingdom has implemented for a long time.
Be loyal to the emperor and die fighting for the kingdom and the emperor.
Their souls will be guided, ascend to Hall of Heroes, enjoy a Eternal Realm and beautiful life, and gain endless glory.
At first, this was just a symbolic ideological indoctrination and beautiful promise made by the kingdom to unite people's hearts.
But now, Hall of Heroes really exists in the territory of the Aura Kingdom. Recently, the spread of such ideas around Hall of Heroes has intensified, and it has become a pillar of belief that many soldiers firmly believe in.
In the sky, White Dragon Beskar's eyes narrowed slightly.
He lived a long time and was not directly provoked to kill. Instead, he began to think.
It was so strange... the reactions of these low-level reptiles were completely different from what he expected.
Instead of panicking and breaking down, he did not kneel down and beg for mercy. Instead, he fought and called himself "Emperor" and "Kingdom".
This is definitely not how an ordinary barbarian tribe should behave.
"Aura Kingdom? Ignas Emperor?" Beskar quickly weighed in his mind, "While I was sleeping, an unexpected force seemed to be born on this land... We cannot kill rashly, maybe we should understand the situation first."
His huge head was lowered, and his eyes scanned the gathering place waiting for him below.
"First find out what is going on with the Aura Kingdom and the so-called Emperor Ignas they are talking about."
White Dragon Beskar's thoughts changed and he temporarily restrained his intention of direct destruction, but Dragon Might remained unabated.
He flapped his wings and slowly lowered his altitude, preparing to interrogate the situation.
And just at the edge of this unobtrusive gathering place, a short Goblin Warlock blinked his eyes.
A delicate Alchemical Prosthetic Eye is now meticulously recording the complete scene of White Dragon coming in the sky, as well as the reactions of the soldiers gathered below, and transmitting it to the distant Dragonfang Fortress in real time through the built-in secret Magic Array.
On the other side, Ser Wilderness.
Crimson Flame Royal City, in a seemingly ordinary hotel room.
Aaron Levi Berg, a senior diplomat from the Rybos Kingdom, did not wait for the agreed three-day period after relaying Red Iron Dragon Emperor's request back to China. Almost only one day later, he received an urgent subpoena from the Rybos Kingdom.
As a result, his heart sank.
"After emergency consultations, the kingdom's top leaders finally decided that we cannot agree to the request made by the Aura Kingdom."
"Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal, I can't give you even one."
In front of Aaron, the familiar and serious voice of domestic colleagues came from the slightly suspended communication magic prop.
This result was unexpected by Aaron, and even felt a bit ridiculous.
"Why?" Aaron couldn't help but ask, even though he knew that diplomats should not question their superiors' decisions too much.
"Although Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal is indeed a rare material, as far as I know, its application scope is quite narrow and it is not an irreplaceable strategic resource."
"Why can't it be used in exchange for the Aura Kingdom, or Red Iron Dragon Emperor's goodwill and support?"
"I think this price is completely worth it."
He paused and his tone became more serious. "After I personally faced Red Iron Dragon Emperor, I felt the depth and power of this dragon more deeply."
"His own existence is even more unfathomable than the rumors and stories about him."
"Aura Kingdom itself has a shallow background, a short establishment time, and its organizational structure may be rough, but as long as Red Iron Dragon Emperor is in charge, the situation will be completely different. With the development potential and threat level of this kingdom, it is definitely worth investing resources to win over it, at least not pushing it into the opposite direction."
Before arriving at the Aura Kingdom, Aaron didn't pay much attention to this emerging kingdom ruled by monsters.
But after that meeting, his mind completely changed.
This is by no means a barbaric country that can be ignored casually.
"Aaron, I understand your judgment and concerns."
The voice in Communication Artifact interrupted his thoughts, "The orders from the top management are very firm and there is no room for negotiation."
Aaron was silent.
He knew that this reply not only meant that Rybos Kingdom would no longer strive for the Aura Kingdom as an ally or neutral, it could even be said that the kingdom's decision-makers had prepared to clearly list Aura Kingdom, or Red Iron Dragon Emperor, as a potential hostile camp, completely giving up the opportunity to ease and win over relations.
But, why is this?
Aaron fell into deep confusion.
On the surface, Aura Kingdom and Lothern are indeed very close. Both parties have cooperated on many levels and are in some kind of honeymoon period.
But!
For a monster kingdom ruled by a giant dragon, Aaron thinks that the possibility of that dragon emperor trusting Lothern's human nobles is extremely low.
Vice versa.
Lothern Kingdom It is impossible to trust without reservation a monster country based on the will of a giant dragon.
With many years of diplomatic experience, Aaron can see that Red Iron Dragon Emperor is essentially an extremely calm, practical pragmatist and interest pursuer.
As long as Rybos Kingdom is willing to pay real benefits and consistently show sincerity, it will definitely achieve results.
Even if Aura Kingdom cannot be completely pulled towards its own camp, at least there is a high probability that it can remain neutral and will not completely fall to the side of Lothern in the potential future conflict between Lothern and Ribos.
This should have been Ribos's most reasonable diplomatic strategy towards Northern Frontier's emerging kingdom.
However, the decision of superiors completely rejected this direction.
However, Aaron is an experienced diplomat after all, and he quickly suppressed his personal emotions and doubts.
He knows that the information he has access to is limited, and it is not necessarily stupid for his superiors to reject his ideas.
"Perhaps the superiors made such a decision because they had deeper considerations, so they resolutely gave up fighting for the Aura Kingdom."
He thought to himself.
"Could it be that... the request "Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal" put forward by Red Iron Dragon Emperor itself touched a sensitive nerve in the kingdom?"
"Prior to this, the overall attitude of the Kingdom's Ministry of Foreign Affairs towards the Aura Kingdom has been to win over and ease relations, hoping to use this to check and balance the influence of the Lothern Kingdom on Northern Frontier."
"But a piece of Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal... it's not a strategic material related to the country. It's really strange."
Aaron shook his head slightly, no longer guessing in vain about the mysteries beyond his authority.
Right now, he had a more practical problem to deal with.
Immediately afterwards, with full of trepidation and uneasiness, he conveyed Rybos Kingdom's formal reply to the Aura Kingdom's Foreign Affairs Department through official channels.
Previously, he vowed to Red Iron Dragon Emperor that Ribos would try its best to meet the requirements to show sincerity.
However, when the other party really made a specific request, we directly rejected it with such a tough attitude.
This is tantamount to a diplomatic slight or even a provocation.
Aaron could only pray silently in his heart that he could still leave this land alive.
However, his subsequent worries seemed to be unnecessary.
After the Aura Kingdom official received the reply, there was no violent reaction.
Red Iron Dragon Emperor did not express his anger at such a small player who was coerced in the general trend of the countries. Aaron was just a chess piece to be manipulated, and the chess players behind the scenes were the targets worthy of attention.
"Request denied."
Royal Court In the mountain behind, Garos looked away in the direction of Crimson Flame Royal City, understanding in his heart.
"It seems that Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystal is really related to Saint King, and the senior management of the Rybos Kingdom has noticed it, and may even have mastered some key information, so they are so sensitive and flatly refuse."
Garos thought in his heart.
Not far across from him, Gold Dragon Nasha, who was much smaller than him but still majestic and beautiful, was launching a fierce attack on him without sparing any effort.
Claw strikes, tail sweeps, and elemental attacks are endless.
Garos was a little absent-minded. He only used one claw to block and parry Nasha's offensive at will. Most of his mind was immersed in analyzing the intelligence of various countries.
He had consciously developed his own intelligence network a long time ago.
After the founding of Aura, it invested a lot of resources and placed more spies and spies in other kingdoms, especially neighboring countries such as Theo, through various channels such as caravans, mercenary groups, and underground intelligence dealers.
Although the information is fragmented, when put together, a general outline can be drawn.
"Rybos Kingdom and Lothern Kingdom, these two powerful countries, Legendary Realm is indeed far ahead in terms of number of powerful people. It is estimated that they are over fifty, or even more."
"This is the cornerstone of their power."
"As for the other kingdoms that were independent from the original Lothern Federation, the levels are uneven."
"None of these kingdoms are new. They have developed peacefully for hundreds of years under the framework of Lothern Federation, and have accumulated considerable foundations."
"Therefore, among them, there is no weak kingdom with only a few Legendary Realm."
"The most common kingdoms usually have about ten Legendary Realms, and slightly stronger ones can reach fifteen to twenty. And the second-tier powerful countries after Riboss and Lotherns are estimated to have around thirty Legendary Realms."
Snap!
Red Iron Dragon swung his claws almost instinctively, parrying a tricky side claw attack from Nasha, and grabbed her wrist. A huge burst of power swept her entire dragon body around in several circles, and then she was easily thrown high into the sky like a hammer throw.
"As for the Theo Kingdom, who is currently in tit-for-tat with me and has constant friction... it probably belongs to the average to upper grade."
Garos turned his attention to his current most direct opponent.
"According to the intelligence summary, there are now a total of eleven Theo Kingdom Legendary Realm strong men on the surface. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that there are hidden powers that have not been recorded."
"As for the Legendary Realm's specific grades, professional composition, and areas of expertise, they are somewhat difficult to reach, and little is known about them."
"This is very unfavorable, but it can be inferred that most of their levels are concentrated between level 21 and level 24. The number of high-level Legendary Realm at level 25 and above will never be large, and only one or two, or even only one, can survive."
"Level 25 is an important watershed, not so easy to cross."
At this time, Nasha, which was thrown into the sky, adjusted its attitude and dived down from high altitude again.
She cleverly combined the force of her fall with her own rotation, and her body rotated at high speed with her spine as the axis, like a drill bit shining with golden light. She was also surrounded by the surging Four Symbols Elemental Energy, which was impressive.
The moment she was about to enter the attack range, Red Iron Dragon's tail flicked as fast as lightning, hitting her body and sending her flying like a top.
At the same time, Garos carefully recalled the content of the inheritance and continued to sort out his own thoughts.
After reaching the Legendary Realm realm, the growth in strength is not a simple linear superposition, but there are several key watersheds.
For example, when Legendary Realm's life breaks through to level 25, he will have the opportunity to reshape or strengthen his own characteristics, while also greatly deepening and expanding his field, and various attributes will experience a substantial increase.
The gap between level 24 and level 25 is not as high as the qualitative change when a mortal being is promoted to the Legendary Realm, but it is definitely a huge gap.
Those who can be promoted to the Legendary Realm are all elites among the elites of all races.
They each have their own unique skills, trump cards and unique paths, so the level-up battles after the Legendary Realm are much more difficult than the mortal phase.
The situation of Garos is completely a special case among special cases and cannot be treated by common sense.
His combat performance after the Legendary Realm was even more ferocious and unreasonable than when he was still in the mortal stage and challenged by overcoming levels.
But even so, he was not absolutely sure that he could kill a level 25 human Legendary Realm.
The opponent's field strength, characteristic effects, and life-saving means may all exceed expectations.
"My level is still too low. The growth rate of Life Level is my flaw, and it is also the flaw of most immortal species."
Garos thought silently in his heart.
"Even though I enjoy the entire Aura Kingdom resource tilt, the highest quality food, and the most suitable environment, the rate of level improvement is still too slow compared to those of the chosen ones among humans."
Legendary Realm has been achieved for a century, and its growth rate is incredible among Dragon Race.
However, compared with some Legendary Realms among humans who can rise like comets in just one to twenty years or even a few years, Garos sometimes feels a little envious.
In addition, compared with a kingdom like Theo Kingdom, the number of the Legendary Realm currently available under his command is still too small.
Amethyst Dragon Although Iseramathus lives in Crimson Flame Royal City, it is more out of interest and is a guest. Currently, he will not directly participate in the head-on battle between the Aura Kingdom and other kingdoms.
Apart from this, there is only one Legendary Heroic Spirit.
As for the other Dragonkin, monster generals, and lords, the strongest ones are only level 20, and their role in the Legendary Realm is limited.
"In the final analysis, the background of this emerging Dragon Kingdom under my command is still too shallow. The accumulation of strong Legendary Realm requires time and opportunities."
Garos examines its own fundamentals.
"No more fight! No more fight!"
"I hate this kind of one-sided battle where you get beaten up! There is no sense of accomplishment at all!"
Gold Dragon Nasha crawled out of the collapsed rock pile in some embarrassment, shook his body vigorously, shook off the gravel and dust all over his body, and shook his head a few times, which was still dizzy.
Although she is belligerent, she is not a masochist.
She looked at Red Iron Dragon who seemed to be deep in thought, flicked her tail, and shouted dissatisfied.
"Hey, Garos, you are a little absent-minded. That slap with your tail was quite accurate... Wait a minute, what are you thinking about? Theo Kingdom? Or those messy things about humans in the south?"
Red Iron Dragon came back from his thoughts and glanced at Nasha.
"I suddenly feel envious of those short-lived species, such as humans."
"Although their lives are short and their bodies are weak, the real geniuses among them can often explode at an astonishing rate of growth in a very short period of time and quickly reach the peak of power."
"It's no wonder that giant immortal species like our dragon, although powerful individually, have gradually withdrawn from the center of the world stage."
"Our growth takes too long."
He said with a little emotion.
Nasha rolled his eyes hugely at him and blew out two sparks of breath from his nose.
She said angrily, "Come on! How many humans and other races are jealous of our dragon's long life and naturally powerful body?"
"If you were given a chance to live over again and freely choose your race, would you give up being Dragon Race and become a human being who might not live for a hundred years and would die if you're not careful?"
Garos said without much hesitation, "I will probably continue to choose to be Dragon Race."
If you think about it carefully, what he envies is actually just the single advantage of human beings' rapid growth.
As for other aspects... the upper limit of the human body is too low, and it is far from being comparable to dragons in many aspects. Moreover, human beings actually rely very much on individual talents and opportunities, and mediocrity will eventually make up the majority.
As for the giant dragon, as long as it doesn't die midway and grows step by step, Legendary Realm is almost a sure thing.
"As expected, you are still a proud dragon at heart."
Nasha muttered, not surprised by this answer.
At this moment, she suddenly remembered something and changed the subject and asked, "By the way, have you been to the territory of that boy Alberto recently? It's the place he named Law City."
Garos shook his head slightly.
"I focus on my own training and rarely visit the territories of various lords."
He said frankly.
"If you have time, you should really go and see it for yourself."
"That kid... he seems to be really trying to build his ideal country, a land that operates completely and completely based on legal provisions and pursues so-called complete justice."
Gold Dragon said with a strange look in his eyes.
"To operate entirely on the letter of the law? Pursue a territory that is absolutely fair?"
Garos took his mind away from the trade-offs in the game between nations and revealed his eyes with great interest.
Aura Kingdom does generally value order and the rule of law, and Garos also knows that a stable kingdom needs rules to maintain it.
But he knows better that the construction of the so-called "rule of law" is a dynamic process that requires constant adjustment, improvement, updating and change.
Any society that wants to operate entirely relying on legal provisions is only a theoretical ideal state.
As for "absolute justice", it is an even more difficult goal to define and achieve. Individuals with different positions and interests often have very different understandings of "justice".
He was indeed a little curious.
Alberto What did he do to his territory?
Perhaps, it's time to take the time to inspect it.
At this moment, a calm spiritual message came.
"Permafrost Tundra There is an urgent military situation from the front line."
"A Ancient Dragon occupied one of our outposts in the tundra."
Ancient Dragon?!
Garos was suddenly shocked.
Could it be that the invisible curse of Lucky Messenger has begun to take effect? Will it really cause this level of trouble?
"What dragon?"
Garos asked in a deep voice.
Iron Dragon's voice was unhurried and he continued, "White Dragon, the body size barely reached thirty meters. He should have just broken through the Legendary Realm."
Hearing this, Garos's heart that was lifted up just now slowly put it back down.
Oh, it's White Dragon, then it's okay. Garos was no longer surprised. After thinking about it, he was even a little happy.
The child has a fever and it takes too much time to go to the hospital, so it's too late