Red Iron Dragon hangs high in the sky, with billowing flames burning on the surface of his body.
Hundreds of meters in diameter, shining like the scorching sun.
Circle after circle of shock waves continued to erupt with him as the center, spreading in all directions, shaking the clouds.
The accumulated clouds were torn into strands by the shock wave, and then completely dispersed by the next wave of impact.
As time goes by, the arrogance of Red Iron Dragon's body gradually condenses, and the color becomes darker, turning from blazing bright red to dark red, revealing an increasingly dangerous and manic aura.
This feeling is like a volcano about to erupt being forcibly suppressed.
The internal pressure is constantly accumulating, and the magma is roaring in the depths looking for an outlet, but it is always bound under the earth's crust. The sense of oppression is getting stronger and stronger, and even makes the surrounding air thicker.
One minute later.
Boom!
The entire sky shook violently, and countless cumulus clouds were shattered, revealing a clear blue sky. The sunlight poured down without any hindrance, shining on the huge body of Red Iron Dragon.
Under the blue sky, he was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling violently.
"Still not working."
Garos took deep breaths several times, gradually calming down the Dragon Qi surge in his body.
He could feel the out-of-control energy rushing through his body. If his dragon body hadn't been strong enough, he might have suffered serious internal injuries.
Currently, the development of Qi Burst State always ends in failure.
He has tried various methods.
I adjusted the circulation path of Dragon Qi, changed the release rhythm, and even tried to intervene forcefully at the moment of the outbreak, but all had no effect.
Regarding Dragon Jade, Garos has also taken the plunge.
The energy when Dragon Jade Shatter is cracked will also be affected, and it will no longer be gentle and cannot be absorbed directly as he wishes. Most of the violent energy will escape directly into the air, and only a very small part can be barely absorbed.
Moreover, it will cause severe backlash to him, like countless knives churning through his body.
Pain and injury are nothing, Garos enjoys it very much.
This means that his body is enduring, adapting, and getting stronger. For him, every backlash is an exercise, a running-in between body and energy.
At the same time, he also roughly understood the reason.
"My energy is too vast, which is an advantage, but it also leads to the fact that once it goes crazy, it will be difficult for even me to control it."
"This is not something that can be solved with just a few tries."
He whispered to himself, his eyes shining with thought.
Many skills can be gradually mastered through constant repetition and trial.
For example, his Dragon Qi Shaping, Dragon Emperor's Alternate Dimension and other skills are essentially developed based on Spell-Annihilating Claw, relying on experience and proficiency.
He had practiced it hundreds of times, repeating it again and again, until his body memorized every detail.
But this Qi Burst State is completely different in nature.
It's not a skill.
No matter how many times it is repeated, the result will not change.
Just like an ordinary human being, no matter how hard he tries, he cannot master the flying skills like an eagle. That is an essential gap that cannot be made up by practice.
"It's like asking a fish to learn to climb a tree. No matter how smart the fish is or how long it practices, it will never be able to really climb the tree unless it can change itself first."
Garos couldn't help but chuckle when he thought of this metaphor.
"But it's not a big problem for me."
Red Iron Dragon raised his head without any discouragement. On the contrary, after realizing the essential reason for Aura Burst's failure, he relaxed a lot.
No matter how much other creatures repeat it, it will not work.
However, Garos is different.
He can change his own nature through evolution to achieve the goal of mastering Qi Burst State. This is not the first time Garos has done something like this, and he has a familiar process for a long time.
As long as he is willing to sweat for it.
Then, his body will respond to his efforts.
This kind of positive feedback that is visible to the naked eye is one of the important reasons why Garos can endure boredom and immerse himself in exercise. Every time he evolves, he can clearly feel his changes, and the increase in power is real.
"The only problem is that this level of evolution often requires deep sleep."
"Asleep."
Garos is silent.
He is now over 240 years old and belongs to Mature Dragon.
According to his estimate, if there are no accidents, his sleep will probably come when he is about three hundred years old. By then, depending on his situation, the sleep time may be close to a hundred years, or even longer.
In addition, the Dragon's Slumber period does not change linearly.
Before reaching adulthood, each age group and sleeping period of Dragonkin gradually become longer.
Hatchling Stage only sleeps for a few years, and when he reaches his prime, it lasts for decades.
However, from adulthood to the Primordial Dragon stage, the age group changes every two hundred years. For example, four hundred years old enters Old Dragon Stage, six hundred years old Extremely Old Dragon Stage, eight hundred years old Ancient Dragon, and a thousand years old Elder Dragon
At the same time, the sleep time will also become stable and will not fluctuate too much.
The amount of time spent sleeping in the prime of life is about the same after that.
It will not be until the end of the ancient times that Dragon's Slumber time will become unstable again, which may take as short as a few decades or as long as hundreds of years.
Those who cannot hold on will pass away silently in their deep sleep, eternal death.
If you can hold on, you can break the limit again and again until you achieve the body of the Immortal Realm.
"My sleeping time has always been longer than other dragons."
Garos recalled each of his past slumbers, "The key is that I have never been able to evolve the trait that can shorten my slumber. Well, it's probably because my evolution takes time to accumulate and cannot be achieved overnight."
"It would be such a waste of time if it takes a hundred years to fall asleep every time in the future."
Thinking of this, the figure of Seroel appeared in Red Iron Dragon's mind.
If this Greenwild Queen can really shorten the sleeping time, or even make the sleeping period come earlier to some extent, as she said, her value to Dragonkin can even be higher than that of a complete kingdom.
The problem now is that it is impossible to determine whether her words are true or false.
Thinking of this, Garos had a flash of inspiration, and then called his heir through blood connection.
"Laria."
Garos said, "Collect information about Greenwild Queen, especially the information about the dragons under her command, focusing on two points: age and Life Level. The more detailed the better."
If Greenwild Kingdom followed the dragons of Seroel in their early years, Life Level will generally be much higher than the average line of the current age.
Well, this can explain a lot of things.
"Yes, father, I understand."
Laria responded.
Garos didn't say much else. After gathering his mind, he continued to do his own thing.
He is mainly training his adaptability to the Aura Burst state.
Although he couldn't completely master it, he could try to let his body gradually get used to that violent state. Even if he persisted for just one second, it was progress, and at the same time, he was paving the way for evolution.
During his breaks, he would eat some substances without much nutritional energy and take deep breaths, not forgetting to adapt to energy conversion.
In this way, time gradually passed by.
From late spring to winter, from the time when the smoke from the Central Continent cleared to the four forces taking their respective positions, a year passed.
This year, a lot of things happened.
Aura Kingdom did not slack off because of the victory. He mainly did three things during this period.
The first thing is to send people.
A quarter of the land on the north side of the Central Continent is several times wider than the entire Romanian Plains.
There are fertile river valleys where food can be grown; there are continuous mineral veins where metals can be mined; there are dense forests that can provide timber; there are flat pastures where livestock can be grazed.
They are all good things, but they also require people to develop, station and operate them.
Aura Kingdom has a large population, but this is for a Northern Frontier kingdom.
Facing a quarter of the continent, the population of Aura is not enough. Those vast lands can only be wilderness if no one develops them.
So there was a second thing.
Share the cake.
Garos ordered that the land of Northern Frontier of Middle-earth be distributed to other kingdoms of Romanian Plains.
Theo, Ribos, Lothern, Matena, Cambrook. These kingdoms that had signed Integration Treaty and chose to vassal Aura were all assigned a sizeable territory.
This is not free.
However, the cost is also simple.
Thirty percent of the annual output of each country, whether it is ore, timber, grain or anything else, is handed over to Aura, and the remaining 70% is kept for its own development.
The day King Theo received the news, he sent three large pioneering teams with a large number of craftsmen and warriors to march toward Middle-earth.
It's similar in other countries.
They rushed to the Central Continent immediately to enjoy the fruits of victory after the war.
If we say that all the countries had to surrender to Aura because of their power and strength before, but now.
The situation is different.
Real benefits come into your mouth.
For example, when Lothern was at its most glorious, he did not expect to gain territory in the Central Continent. After receiving the news, their king summoned ministers to discuss it overnight and sent people out the next day.
In comparison, the previous disputes between the countries were like wild dogs fighting for food, fighting to death for a few pieces of wasteland.
Now, they have a broader world.
Aura gave them the opportunity to break away from the vassal, and they would not take it. Today's Romanian States can't wait to hug Aura's lap, because they know very well that only by following Aura can they have a broader future.
In the entire Romania, Red Emperor is the most great existence that cannot be desecrated.
Lothern Saint-King?
It's already a thing of the past.
This name that once made the entire Romanian Plains feel in awe is now just a footnote in history. It is mentioned occasionally and only serves as the background for the rise of the Aura Kingdom.
The third thing is "birth".
Aura Kingdom has always had strict control over fertility.
This is a long-standing national policy and a necessary means to maintain social stability.
Races such as Kobold and Gnoll are too fertile; monsters such as Ogre and Troll have extremely strong reproductive capabilities and can grow rapidly when resources are sufficient.
If you are not careful, the kingdom's population will explode and exceed the kingdom's capacity.
At that time, various problems will arise. Therefore, strict control is necessary.
And now, Aura has relaxed birth restrictions.
It is foreseeable that before long, the population of Aura will surge exponentially, the long-suppressed desire to have children will be released all of a sudden, new lives will be born continuously, and the entire kingdom will be full of vitality and vitality.
This is the intention of Garos.
As the territory expands, the population will have to keep up. Relying on immigration from other kingdoms? After all, it is just a temporary measure. Only when your own population grows can you truly stabilize this land.
"...Lothern's progress is the fastest among the countries, and three settlements have been built in Azure River Valley; Ribos is slower, and in the land they divided There are many strong Archdemon monsters, so I cleared them first; Goblin of Matena is the best at picking places, and has already started mining and pumping Black Oil."
Opposite, Iron Dragon Sorog gave a general report on the current situation.
"Our people have also occupied various key locations."
"The main passes, ferries, and resource points are all under our control."
Garos nodded slightly, these developments were expected.
"However." Sorog changed the subject slightly and said, "Our army is a little small now."
"It is dispersed over a vast territory, so that the garrison specifications in each important place are somewhat weak."
"The number of Aura warriors must at least increase several times in order to truly control the current territory and develop resources and development more efficiently."
Garos pondered for a moment and said, "There is no need to rush these things, just carry them out step by step."
"The expansion of the army takes time. Ensure the defense of key locations first, and do the rest slowly."
Iron Dragon Sorog nodded, and then said, "There is one more thing."
"Say."
"I'm thinking about whether it's time to move the capital again."
"Move the capital?"
Garos raised his head and looked at him.
"Yes." Iron Dragon Sorog organized his language and explained, "Now the center of gravity of the kingdom is shifting to Middle-earth. Although the location of Red Emperor Royal City is not bad, it is too far north after all. If it is moved to the Central Continent, it will be much more convenient to coordinate the overall situation."
"Moreover, Middle-earth has more abundant resources and greater development potential."
Garos looked thoughtful, then shook his head.
"Not moving, at least not now."
He raised his dragon claw and pointed upward.
Floating City of Holden.
Those behemoths are still hanging over the Middle-earth continent, silently looking down at the earth. One of them fell, but the remaining ones are still hanging there steadily, casting huge shadows day after day.
"Who can guarantee they won't fall?"
"The safety of the Central Continent is only superficial. Holden and Floating City are equivalent to giant bombs. They may explode again at any time. The last time it fell, it brought the invasion of Abyssal Rift and Demon."
"Oh, if Archdemon or even Demon King comes, Central Continent will bear the brunt."
"We are here at Romania. As long as we keep a close watch, we still have some preparation time. At that time, we can choose to fight or retreat according to the situation. If we move the capital there, the distance is too close. If something goes wrong, it will be too late to evacuate the capital."
Sorog nodded. "I understand, I didn't think carefully."
"You are right in your thinking." Garos said, "In the long run, relocation is inevitable, but not now. At least we have to wait until Floating City's problem is solved."
After a brief conversation, Iron Dragon turned and left.
Immediately afterwards, Garos walked out of the Palace inside and reached the highest point of Dragon Court standing above the cloud.
When he has nothing to do, he often comes here to take a look.
Dragons like to be in high places, and Garos is no exception.
At this height and position, when he looked up and looked into the distance, he could see through thousands of mountains and rivers, take in the vast territory, and overlook the earth, just like Deity.
As usual.
Red Iron Dragon slowly exhaled a hot breath, raised his head, and stared at the wave-like sea of clouds.
Under the clouds, winter snowflakes are flying, covering the earth with silver. Those Mountain Range, forests, and rivers are all covered with white snow, shining with crystal light in the sun.
Above the clouds, the sun's rays poured down, coating the floating clouds with layers of brilliant brilliance. It was brilliant and beautiful.
It's like two worlds.
Red Iron Dragon Appreciated the beautiful scenery, and his mind broadened.
He took a deep breath and prepared to start today's exercise later.
But at this moment, his eyes suddenly focused and he looked in the direction of the Central Continent.
High in the sky, a Floating City began to lose control without warning and fell towards the earth.
It is located on the north side of the Central Continent, closer than last time.
Garos and True Eye can also see more clearly.
He saw that countless buildings on Floating City were falling apart. Stones, wood, and metal fragments were scattered one after another. There was a looming purple energy flow, surrounding the entire giant city, forcing it to fall.
Garos remembered the last time Floating City fell.
At that time, he also saw the existence of purple energy, but not as clearly as now. At that time, he thought that there was something wrong with Floating City itself, but now it seems that things are not that simple.
Only a few figures left the city and flew away desperately.
The vast majority of Holden people fell to the earth with it.
Boom!
The earth trembled, and even in Lain Plateau and Garos, one could feel a slight tremor. The sound was dull and distant, like the earth was groaning. It was also like the wailing of a huge creature before its death.
"This location. It falls on my land."
He looked far into the distance and saw where Floating City fell. In addition to the dust and flames in the sky, there was also a purple aura representing evil and chaos flowing.
Those auras filled the air from the fallen ruins, spreading around like living creatures.
The vegetation has withered, the land has cracked, and the air has become polluted.
And this often means that Abyssal Rift will be born accordingly.
"Same as last time, Abyssal Rift appeared with the fall of Floating City."
Garos raised his head and looked at the giant cities hanging high in the sky, his eyes sinking slightly.
This means that each Floating City may form a large Abyssal Rift. If one day, more Floating City fall at the same time
It is unimaginable how many Demon will appear on the land of Atlant.
That would be a disaster that would sweep the entire world.
Red Iron Dragon's eyes sharpened, flashing with a hint of thought.
The last time Abyss was defeated, whoever left the biggest impression on Demon must be him, Lord of Aura. Moreover, there is a high probability that these Demons have spies in the Atlant Continent.
Is it a coincidence that Floating City hit Atlan Northern Frontier?
Or are you just here for me?
"Material Plane is not easy to invade, otherwise it would have fallen long ago, and the scale of this Abyssal Rift will not be too big."
"Hopefully it's just a minor problem."
He whispered to himself.
But deep down, Garos had a strong hunch that this matter might not be that simple.