The sun rises, and the light of dawn spreads to the earth, coating the territory of the Aura Kingdom with a shining golden edge.
The light spread from the end of the eastern horizon, first staining the clouds red, then illuminating the towering mountain peaks, and finally pouring onto the vast plains. The outline of Lain Plateau gradually became clearer in the morning light, all shrouded in a warm golden color.
However, Garos had no time to enjoy this view.
He raised his huge head and looked up at the sky.
Summit of the Dragon Court The wind howled past, passing over his scales, but could not move his solemn gaze.
His eyes swept across the distant Floating City silhouettes one after another. They were suspended high in the sky, glowing with a faint metallic luster under the morning light, like nails driven into the sky.
After a few minutes, he slowly looked back.
Red Iron Dragon narrowed his eyes slightly, building a spiritual connection between blood relatives.
"Sorog, Samantha."
His will was transmitted and reached the hearts of two blood relatives.
"Did you see it?"
he called.
Almost instantly, the two wills responded simultaneously.
Iron Dragon Sorog's voice sounded first, low and steady. "I saw it."
"Huh? What did you see? Why didn't I know?"
The voice of the red dragon Samantha came immediately, with obvious doubts.
The third one, Holden Floating City, did not really fall and did not hit the ground in the end, so there was not much movement.
The loud noise that shook the sky, the trembling of the earth, the smoke and dust in the sky... none of these. If you didn't pay attention to the sky situation, it would be normal if you didn't notice it immediately.
Garos explained, "Another Floating City fell down."
"This is the third one!"
Samantha's voice immediately brought excitement, the kind of excitement that belongs to a red dragon and is eager to fight.
"Where did it hit? I didn't feel the same tremor as before, but I can start fighting at any time. I didn't kill enough of those Demon last time, so I just want to practice my skills this time."
Garos didn't say much, and directly transmitted everything he just saw through the spiritual connection.
After digesting this information, Red Dragon's voice was filled with surprise.
"After falling halfway, you can go back up again? This is the first time."
"That's what I saw."
Garos nodded slightly, his voice paused, and he asked, "What do you think about this abnormal thing?"
Two seconds later.
"Interesting."
Sorog said thoughtfully, "This Floating City seems to have been pulled back after losing control. It fell first, then was held up by some kind of force, and then lifted off again. The whole process was very smooth."
Samantha interjected. "Could it be Holden who started to fight back?"
"Before the two Floating Citys fell, they didn't even fart. I thought they were all dead. Now there is sudden movement. Maybe they have calmed down and gained some resistance. After all, such a big empire can't just collapse, right?"
Sorog nodded. "It's possible."
Saying this, he changed the topic again. "But it may just be a flashback, like the last struggle of a drowning person. It looks like he is floating, but in fact it is just his last breath. After using it, he will still sink."
These two situations mean two completely different situations.
The former means that Holden has begun to fight back.
They found a way to fight Abyss, or at least find a way to delay the collapse. Chaos Level's upward trend will be curbed, or even downward.
Atlant Continent will have a buffering time.
The latter shows that Holden is on the verge of collapse. The rise of the third Floating City is only a temporary success, and the overall situation is still deteriorating.
A bigger fall is yet to come.
Under the overturned nest, there are no eggs left intact.
Garos knows very well that for the current Atlant Continent, if the tall man Holden disappears, all the surface kingdoms will be affected, and he is no exception.
"I think it's Holden who's become assertive again."
Samantha analyzed it carefully, with a rare seriousness in his tone.
"I have always looked down upon the human race. I feel that they are small and treacherous, with a short life span and a small structure... But I have to admit that Holden and Human Empire are indeed extraordinary."
She paused, organized her words, and then continued, "Developing Abyss is not something that normal people can do."
"That is Abyss. The most dangerous one among the many planes. It is the lair of countless Demons. It also hides Wild Gods and evil things. It is a place that even Deitys will not easily set foot on."
"They dare to touch, dig, and use. They are incredibly brave."
"Although they have paid the price now, I think that since they dared to implement this plan in the first place, they must have thought carefully about it and had some confidence to prevent it from collapse."
The red dragon appreciates the bravery the Fearless.
Regarding Holden's behavior of developing Abyss, some people would call it stupid, and it is indeed stupid, because the consequences are already in front of you.
But it is undeniable that this is indeed bold.
He's so bold that he's almost crazy, so crazy that even dragons have to look at him sideways.
"What you say makes sense."
Sorog agreed with Red Dragon's statement, and then said, "However, we have too little information to determine the specifics."
"It's possible that Holden was accumulating strength before and is now starting to fight back."
"But it's also possible that this is just a struggle before death. It looks like he is alive, but in fact it is just a flashback."
Immediately afterwards, Red Iron Dragon spoke.
"If Holden curbs the decline, then we will have more time to develop. Northern Frontier of Middle-earth's investment will not be in vain, and Aura can continue to grow in a short period of time."
"If it's just a return to the past... we'll have to start retreating."
"Fey Wilds's retreat has been paved. Although we will still suffer heavy losses, as long as we are still there, nothing will be a problem. What we lost can be regained, and what is dead can be reproduced. As long as the foundation is not destroyed, Aura will not die."
Samantha asked, "What about now? What should we do now?"
Garos thought for a while.
"Be patient and wait."
He said, "Waiting for more information, since Floating City has been pulled back, Holden will most likely make other moves no matter what. They cannot just watch their cities fall one after another, they must do something."
"That's right, they won't pretend to be deaf and dumb all the time."
Samantha said.
Sorog then said, "I continue to monitor the movements of all parties. In addition to Holden, the countries on the surface of Atlant should also know what happened just now."
Garos nodded.
"Go ahead."
The two wills faded away at the same time, and the spiritual connection returned to calm.
The wind howled.
Red Iron Dragon stands alone high in the sky.
He overlooked the kingdom at his feet, and the sun shone on him, casting his shadow on the clouds, stretching it very long.
"Today, I am on the world stage."
"But I still drift with the crowd and can't help myself."
From the wanderer of Ser Wilderness, to the ruler of Romania, and then to the king of Northern Frontier... He has come step by step to where he is today, stepping on the edge of a knife every step of the way.
But he found that no matter how high he went, he still couldn't really control his destiny.
All he can do now is to make the best choice after all this happens and when greater forces collide.
"I'm still not strong enough, otherwise I wouldn't have all these worries in front of me."
He raised his head and looked at the sky.
The outlines of those Floating City were floating quietly, like stars that lit up during the day, but he knew that they would fall down, one after another.
"What level do you need to reach before you can truly do whatever you want? No taboos?"
he asked himself in a low voice.
The wind howls, but there is no answer.
Three days later.
Garos's whole body was filled with arrogance, and Dragon Qi was still condensing. He had just completed a set of Qi Burst State's adaptive training and was adjusting his breathing to prepare for the next round.
Suddenly, Iron Dragon's spiritual whisper came.
"A messenger came to visit."
"Who?"
Garos Stop moving.
His exercise time is very regular, Sorog knows that, and generally won't disturb him at such times, unless things are more important.
If Sorog can be summoned at this time, the identity of this messenger may not be simple.
Sure enough, Iron Dragon's tone became solemn and he said, "It is the messenger of Holden, coming from a certain Floating City. I have verified his identity and it is true."
Red Iron Dragon's eyes narrowed.
Holden.
Since abandoning the surface, this behemoth has almost severed all ties with other kingdoms.
Their Floating City hangs high in the sky, separated from the earth by thick clouds. Their messengers no longer set foot on the earth, and their voices no longer reach any court.
Holden has become a legend, an existence that only exists from a distance.
Now, the messenger has arrived.
Three days ago, Garos speculated that after the mutation of the third Floating City, Holden might take action.
But he didn't expect that Holden messenger would come to the Aura Kingdom.
"----Interesting."
His voice was low and he said, "I want to see what Holden wants to do."
Red Emperor Royal City, Council Hall.
Red Iron Dragon When he came to the spacious hall, a figure was waiting here.
It was a human being, a young human being.
He stood in the center of the hall, tall and straight, looking at the surrounding furnishings.
After feeling Dragon Might, he raised his head.
A young face with regular features and clear eyes.
His eyes are light brown, with a faint luster in the sunlight that penetrates through the window lattice. He is wearing a Holden-style messenger dress, a white robe, golden piping, and the emblem of the Holden Empire embroidered on his chest, a city suspended in the clouds.
His eyes fell on Red Iron Dragon, showing awe.
Then, the messenger bowed slightly and performed a Holden manner. He put his right hand on his chest, stepped forward with his right knee and slightly bent it, put his left hand behind his back, and leaned forward fifteen degrees. His movements were impeccable.
"Your Majesty Ignas."
"Holden Empire, send special envoy Aura, Daniels, to greet you."
Red Iron Dragon sat down on the high platform and looked down at him.
"Your envoy has not set foot on the earth for a long time."
Daniels nodded.
"Yes, Your Majesty, this is a discourtesy on our part." He paused and continued, "But my trip is precisely to make up for this discourtesy."
Garos did not speak, but continued to look down at him, waiting for the next sentence.
Daniels bowed again, this time deeper, expressing respect and respect. Then he straightened up and smiled slightly.
"Your Majesty, before we speak formally, please allow me to say a few more personal words."
"Say."
Daniels's eyes flickered slightly, as if he was recalling something.
"My father, named Glenn, was once the observer of Holden responsible for monitoring the turmoil of Romanian Plains."
"My father noticed you when Your Majesty first established the country. At that time, you first showed your talents and had just established a foothold in Romania, but you were surrounded by powerful enemies and could be annexed at any time."
"Then, as you grew up, he became more aware of your potential and strength."
"He has witnessed your unification of Romania, and has witnessed you step by step becoming Overlord of Northern Frontier. He will update the report on you every year to record your changes."
Observer----
Is there such a person who is silently observing and recording me?
For such a thing, Garos is not too surprised.
He nodded slightly and signaled Daniels to continue.
"He has written many reports to Imperial Core, recording your rise in detail."
"He predicted that you would unify Romania. This prediction was correct. He predicted that you would become Overlord of Northern Frontier. This prediction was also correct. He also suggested that the Empire take the initiative to contact you and establish friendly relations, or----"
Daniels hesitated for a moment.
Then he continued, "Kill you in advance."
As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly condensed.
Red Iron Dragon's face armor is thick and his expression cannot be seen, and his deep eyes have not changed at all.
But under his gaze, Daniels suddenly felt chilled all over.
It was an indescribable feeling, as if countless sharp knives were pressed against the body. Each knife was pressed against the most vulnerable part. If it moved even slightly, it would be cut into pieces by a thousand knives.
His back instantly tensed up, and fine cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me."
"This is my father's duty," he explained.
"He is an observer. His job is to assess threats, predict risks, and make suggestions. Killing threats is his responsibility. It is based on risk considerations. It is not a personal grudge or directed at you."
"I'm telling you now because I don't want to hide anything from you."
The dragon's expression remained unchanged.
However, the oppressive feeling that almost suffocated Daniels slowly faded away.
"I didn't feel friendly from Holden."
Red Iron Dragon said calmly, "We haven't encountered any attacks from Holden either."
Daniels breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yes, the empire at that time was busy developing Abyss and had little interest in Material Plane affairs."
"Our self-light is all in Abyss. We are happy for the energy extracted and proud of the construction of Floating City. The kingdoms on the ground, whether they are humans or dragons, or even other empires, are no longer the focus of our attention."
"So the report was suppressed and the recommendations were shelved."
"My father's analyses, predictions, and warnings...
... all were left to gather dust in the archives."
"Until recently."
His eyes became serious. "After you defeated Abyssal Rift twice in a row and turned the tide, you were noticed by Imperial Core. They dug out the reports that had been accumulated for many years and my father's analysis, and then found that many of what he said back then came true."
"And I, on his behalf, received the order to visit Aura Kingdom."
Red Iron Dragon changed to a more comfortable lying position.
"Well, let's get down to business now."
"You are here on behalf of Holden, why?"
Hearing this, Daniels's expression became serious.
He stood up straight, his hands hanging naturally by his sides, and he raised his head and looked at Red Iron Dragon. There was respect in his eyes, but more importantly, he was serious and solemn.
"Your Majesty, Atlant is in danger."
"You have seen three Floating Citys fall. You should have guessed that behind this is the erosion of Abyss. It is not accidental or accidental. It is Abyss that is actively attacking us."
He sighed and his tone became complicated.
"Bernardo The Three Kingdoms stand in harmony, and there is not much room for improvement."
"In order to seek new development, we chose to take risks and develop Abyss. At first, we were very cautious and walked slowly on thin ice every step of the way. Abyss is too dangerous. We know it. We have always known it."
"But as time went by and the harvest increased, we relaxed."
As he spoke, there was a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"No one expected that the power of Abyss was quietly mixed into the resources we brought back."
"Those ores, those crystals, those energies... we think they are just pure resources, but there is something hidden in them, hidden in the deepest and most subtle places, undetectable and undetectable."
"In particular, the Floating City engine used to extract Abyssal Energy."
"Abyss penetrated our engines. They penetrated, corroded, and transformed silently. By the time we found out, it was already too late. Those engines, the creations we are proud of, have become the minions of Abyss."
"In fact, Abyss is still quietly corrupting our strong men."
Garos's pupils shrank slightly, revealing a thoughtful look.
Engine, corruption, infiltration...
Although he didn't have a very specific explanation, he vaguely understood the general outline of the matter.
In the process of developing Abyss, Holden created an engine that could extract Abyssal Energy.
Before that, Holden was proud of several Floating Citys.
However, the cost of having a city hanging high in the sky was too heavy. At that time, only the most important cities were located above the clouds.
Therefore, after those engines were manufactured, they were installed under other cities, drawing power from Abyss day and night, thus obtaining nearly unlimited energy.
With this energy, they transformed all the cities into Floating City, and the whole country flew into the clouds, completely separated from the earth.
But they didn't expect that.
Abyss is not only a source of energy, but also a living existence.
It has its own will and purpose. While those engines are extracting energy, they are also being penetrated, eroded, and corrupted by Abyss. It takes a long, long time to turn them into their own things little by little.
Until Holden is installed in all cities, Levitating City Engine will no longer be able to leave these engines.
Abyss, showing its fangs.
"In this case, you should abandon the engine immediately and return to the surface."
Garos said.
This is the most direct solution.
Since the engines are corrupted, don't use them, abandon them, return to the ground, and start over. Although the losses will be heavy, it is better than the entire empire being swallowed up by Abyss.
Hearing these words, Daniels showed a deeper bitter smile.
"It's not that we don't want to, it's that we can't."
He shook his head and said helplessly, "Your Majesty, do you know how the rift is formed? A rift cannot be opened just anywhere. The rift needs to use the earth as a medium. Only through the earth can the power of Abyss penetrate into Material Plane stably."
"In the sky, we can still resist."
"Above the clouds, Abyss's power will be weakened, and the closer to the surface, the more serious the corruption will be."
"Once returned to the surface, all Floating City will collapse, all engines will lose control, and all cities will turn into large cracks one after another."
"That's why we completely gave up on the surface, gave up on Middle-earth, gave up on all surface industries."
"That's why----we can't land."
Hearing these words, Garos was thoughtful.
The formation of Abyssal Rift does require a medium, and he knows this.
The difficulty of opening a rift in the sky is completely different from that of relying on the earth to crack.
The cracks in the sky need to be continuously injected with power to maintain, and once the cracks on the earth are formed, they will expand on their own.
It stabilizes itself and reproduces itself.
No wonder Holden would rather hang in the sky than dare to fall to the ground.
The former can still resist for a while, but the latter simply ceases to exist.
"Even in the sky, the corruption of Abyss continues."
Daniels said, "Those Floating City that fell hit the ground because their engines were corrupted beyond control, and then turned into Planar Rift."
"And in the empire, some people have been corrupted one after another and turned to Abyss."
"Our most trusted colleagues, our closest comrades-in-arms, our most respected mentors... some of them have been corrupted and become Abyss's minions."
"We had to kill them with our own hands"
"However, we did not give up."
He continued, "Over the years, we have been fighting against Abyss in places invisible to the surface nations."
"We purify our corrupted colleagues, repair damaged engines, and try to find a solution to the corruption—but the progress is slow, and the rate of corruption is accelerating. Every day brings new bad news and new losses."
The voice paused slightly, Daniels looked up at Red Iron Dragon.
"Until you take action."
he said in awe.
"Me?"
Red Iron Dragon remained calm and asked, "What does this have to do with me?"
Daniels said, "Evil unions are Abyss's minions. The two complement each other. The more evil unions there are, the stronger Abyss's power is. The stronger the evil unions are, the deeper Abyss's penetration is. They nourish and support each other."
"You defeated Abyssal Rift twice and killed a large number of villains twice, including even a big one."
"Those evil creatures would have flocked to Material Plane, spreading corruption and expanding the rifts, but they didn't, because they were blocked by you. Those rifts would have gotten bigger and deeper, but they didn't, because they were directly smoothed away by you."
There was a hint of admiration in his eyes.
"Evil Union concentrated a lot of power to corrupt the first two Floating City. Ji County bypassed our defenses and opened up the situation. They succeeded, but what they didn't expect was your presence in Futlan."
"You greatly consumed Abyss's power and interrupted Demon's plan."
He said respectfully, "You may not know it, but every victory you win reduces the pressure on Holden in the sky. Those corrupted engines will temporarily calm down when they are in trouble and are frustrated. Those colleagues who are on the verge of losing control will regain some clarity when Abyss's breath weakens."
Is there still such a thing?
I, Evil Dragon, in the eyes of the world, unintentionally acted as the savior of Atlant?
Garos felt a little surprised.
However, my heart is as clear as a mirror.
Destiny Rank and Immortal Realm of Holden may be entangled by Abyss. Those strong men standing at the top of the world are probably confronting something in the deepest part of Abyss.
They couldn't spare their hands.
However, if they are willing to pay some heavy sacrifices, it will not mean that they are completely unable to take action, but they are just unable to use their full strength.
It is true that his smoothing of the cracks may have relieved Holden's pressure to a certain extent, making them feel unexpectedly happy, just like... a person struggling in a tsunami grabbed a piece of driftwood, and there must be a lot of flattery in Daniels's words.
"Your Majesty, the entire Futland has blocked the erosion of Abyss."
The recipient of the cake bowed again, this time bowing deeper and bending completely.
"On behalf of Holden, and on behalf of Futlan, I would like to extend my highest respect to you. If it weren't for you, this continent might have fallen."
If Samantha heard these words, his tail would be raised to the sky now.
But Garos is not Samantha.
He stared at Daniels, unmoved.
"No need to say too many words of praise, just tell me your purpose of coming."
Daniels straightened up and said seriously, "We hope to cooperate with you to jointly defend Futlan and resist Abyss."
"Next, there will be Floating City out of control."
"Those corrupted engines cannot always be repaired. When they completely lose control, they will crash again."
"We will notify you in advance when this is about to happen."
"Tell you which city is going to fall and what time of day it will happen in Dazu, and then----please take action and destroy it directly. Don't give it a chance to crash to the ground."
"Please let me destroy your Floating City?"
Garos's eyes flickered slightly.
Daniels nodded.
"Yes, instead of letting it fall completely and smashing out large Abyssal Rift and Chaos Level on the ground, it is better to destroy the bow in mid-air."
"Currently, it is difficult for our Destiny Rank and Immortal One to escape."
"Besides them, you are the only one in Atlanta who can completely destroy the out-of-control suspended city without giving the cracks a chance."
The cake maker looked earnestly and said, "This is the only way we have thought of to temporarily curb the spread of Abyss."
"Although it is only a temporary delay, as long as we can buy more time, we may find a real solution."