Dragon Court On the high platform, the cold wind never ceases all year round, whistling past the steel-hard scales of the giant beast, making a low whimper.
Iron Dragon Gordon falls here.
He raised his head and looked at the increasingly majestic figure in front of him. There was no sense of distance in his eyes, but rather a sense of closeness and joy. He stepped forward and approached, his tail wagging happily behind him.
"Oh, my dear brother."
"You actually made a Destiny Rank willingly loyal to you."
He shook his head and spoke, his voice full of unconcealable excitement. "I originally thought you were going to kill him. Although it would solve some problems, it would be a pity after all. Now this result is much better. For us now, it couldn't be better."
As he spoke, he moved closer, and the dragon's body seemed particularly relaxed in front of Garos.
Iron Dragon knows in his heart that Aura Kingdom has always been hiding a big hidden danger.
This hidden danger is simple to say, it is the growth speed of the dragons.
Under the guidance of some policies of the emperor himself and the kingdom, Dragons of Aura has grown much faster than the ordinary Dragonkin, but even so, it still takes hundreds of years for a giant dragon to step into the Legendary Realm realm.
As for the Crown Rank and even Destiny Rank above, they are still far away.
Among the entire Aura Kingdom, Garos, this Red Emperor is the only existence. His power is broken, and there is an insurmountable gap between him and all other dragons.
This situation has advantages and disadvantages.
The benefits are obvious.
The reputation of Garos is extremely high. In the heart of Aura's People, it is almost equal to Deity in this world. Like a living scorching sun hanging high above the kingdom, Dragon Might shines brightly in all directions.
Countless people worship him enthusiastically, from the bottom of their hearts, and do not need any coercive means to maintain it.
Moreover, Garos's original intention in establishing the kingdom was not to cultivate a group of helpers for him to fight side by side. He had his own considerations.
The disadvantages are equally clear.
If Garos is pinned down in a certain battle and unable to escape, then Aura Kingdom will be exposed to its lack of trump cards when facing a truly powerful enemy. Apart from the emperor himself, the kingdom will not have another top-level combat force that can stand alone.
But now, with the existence of Destiny Rank who was personally impressed by Garos, this situation has been broken.
Without compromising the original advantages of Aura, Reinhart's allegiance has greatly made up for the kingdom's shortcomings.
"During the days when you were sleeping, I was really on tenterhooks, and I couldn't really feel at ease one day."
Gordon continued, with a hint of seriousness in his voice.
"Every time I hear the news that White Calamity is causing trouble in Coldwater Ocean, I pray in my heart. I pray that she will not suddenly log in to cause trouble for us on a whim."
"Otherwise, although our kingdom has a vast territory and strong troops, no one can stand in front of her and hold up the debate."
"It's different now."
His tone became much more relaxed and he said, "With one more Destiny Rank in charge, at least we don't have to worry as much as before. Even if White Calamity does come, we still have someone who can fight her."
Ten-Thousand-Laws White Dragon is a loner and has always been alone in the area of Coldwater Ocean.
She has no dragons under her command, and she has no friendship with any kingdom.
If one day she suddenly gets interested and raids Aura, and Garos happens to be away, the situation will be really ugly.
But it's different with Reinhart.
With him here, and in conjunction with other Crown Rank and Legendary Realm, it is possible to effectively resist. Destiny Rank restrains each other, and the remaining Crown Rank and Legendary Realm are at least capable of fighting, and even have a small chance to repel them.
After all, Destiny Rank Legendary is still Legendary Realm.
At the same level as Legendary Realm, quantity can determine the outcome.
Garos looked at the sea of clouds in the distance and said calmly, "A living Destiny Rank is more valuable than a dead one."
Iron Dragon Gordon nodded with deep understanding and agreed, "Yes, if Reinhart was killed, the best result would be to make him Heroic Spirit and force him to be loyal to Aura. But in that case, the price would be too high."
The key to the problem is that most of the power of human Destiny Rank is supported by the domain.
Domain is a power that only the living Legendary Realm can exert, but Heroic Spirit does not have a domain.
If Reinhart becomes Heroic Spirit, it will immediately fall to the weakest level among Destiny Rank. Standing next to other Destiny Rank, it is simply incomparable.
Moreover, his future promotion can only rely on resources such as Soul-Matter Crystal.
The top talents that allowed him to reach this height in a short period of time will all disappear with the transformation of Heroic Spirit, and will never be found again.
Heroic Spirit transformation is always the last choice, not the first choice.
For example, the former Flower Knight is now Heroic Spirit Xia'er.
He died in the battle with Gorsas and was transformed into Heroic Spirit.
From then on, whether he can become stronger depends entirely on how much Soul-Matter Crystal Aura is willing to feed him. This is essentially a huge consumption of resources.
Xia'er's talent is not as good as Reinhart, this is a fact.
But if he is still alive, with his foundation, he has a good chance of impacting Crown Rank, and with his spatial talent, he is definitely a strong presence in Crown Rank, and will not be worse than anyone else.
As for Reinhart.
After cutting off the entanglements of the past, this human being, with his years of experience and his own talent, may even be able to impact that higher realm in the future, impacting Immortal Realm.
"The Soul-Matter Crystal I condensed from the soul of Three-Aspect Crown Rank, how is the effect?"
Garos retracted his gaze from the distance and turned to look at him.
"Not bad."
"Following your previous instructions, I gave it to Sanctum, mainly to strengthen Xia'er."
"After absorbing it during this period, Xia'er's spiritual quality strength has reached the Crown Rank level, and it is still going up. According to the current trend, it should be around level 32."
Gordon replied.
Garos nodded, this result was within his expectation.
At the same time, as soon as Sanctum was mentioned, Gordon's thoughts became more active, and the conversation also changed.
"Brother, there are still a few Crown Ranks imprisoned in Sanctum."
He opened his paws and started counting, and said, "Crown of Magic of Southern Domain, Crown Ranger, Guardian Crown, and War Crown of the Eastern Alliance. These four alone are enough, and there are even more Legendary Realm locked up in the prison of the royal city."
"
He leaned forward, his tail swishing back and forth behind him.
"Should we take this opportunity to have a serious talk with the other kingdoms?"
"Just like Romanian States did back then, let them sign Integration Treaty with us, respect Aura, publicly recognize Aura's status as suzerain, accept our garrison, pay tribute on time every year, and do everything in accordance with our rules."
He was a little excited and spoke a little faster, "What is the situation in those kingdoms now? The Crown Ranks who stand on the opposite side of us are dying and being arrested. Now they can hardly even get a single Crown Rank together. What can they do to challenge us?"
"We are just one step away from Atlant's position as the number one overlord on the surface!"
After he finished speaking, he looked at Garos eagerly, waiting for his brother's approval.
Garos was silent for a moment.
"No rush."
He said, "Wait until those kingdoms send their own people."
Gordon was stunned for a moment, then rolled his eyes and figured out the meaning of Red Iron Dragon's words.
"That's right."
He thought as he said, "Those kingdoms must be in chaos now, and people are in panic. No one knows what will happen next. They are much more anxious than us. It should be them bringing gifts and smiling faces to beg us to give them a chance, rather than us taking the initiative to find them."
Garos didn't speak, just nodded slightly.
Gordon rubbed his paws and moved forward again.
"Can we take a bigger step?"
"In these years, Aura has always focused on stability. He will not move if he can, and he will not take action if he can. Now that you are awake, those Crown Rank who dare to take action have also been cleaned up. Shouldn't we - be more aggressive?"
Garos looked at him and asked, "What do you want to do?"
Gordon's eyes lit up, obviously he had been thinking about this issue for a long time.
"For example, Farrell."
He immediately said, "They have a piece of Black Oilfield over there. It's not small in size and in a good location. It's not far from our border, just across a ridge. Just climb over."
After he finished speaking, he stared at Garos with burning eyes, waiting for his brother's response.
Hearing Black Oil, Garos nodded slightly.
"The Non-Aggression Pact of that year should be torn up."
He said, "Don't worry about their reaction, just do it as you see fit."
Gordon nodded heavily, already thinking about a specific action plan in his mind.
But he didn't leave in a hurry. The excitement on his face slowly faded away, as if he suddenly thought of something important.
"Reinhart over there----"
He lowered his voice and said cautiously, "Although he has pledged his allegiance, there is nothing here that can completely control the contract of a Destiny Rank."
"So I want to ask, are you sure he is controllable?"
This is an unavoidable problem. The weight of Destiny Rank is too heavy. It is so heavy that no dragon except Garos can catch the entire Aura.
Hearing this, Garos turned to look at him.
There was no emotion in his eyes. He looked at his brother for a few seconds, then spoke and asked, "With a contract, can he control it?"
Iron Dragon Gordon opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but for a moment he didn't know how to answer this sentence. He wanted to say, "It's better than nothing", but when the words came to his mouth, he felt that this reason was too pale.
Garos looked into the distance again.
The sea of clouds surged under the high platform, a vast expanse of white, boundless. The sun shone down from a higher place, spreading a golden blanket of light on the clouds.
"Destiny Rank has all kinds of strange characteristics, and its fields are even more diverse. It has everything."
He spoke unhurriedly and said, "Some people can distort space, some can travel through gaps in time, and some can come and go freely in dreams - what kind of contract do you think can lock up a Destiny Rank who is bent on betrayal?"
He paused and said, "For Destiny Rank, the so-called absolute control is just a joke. Nothing in this world is truly absolute."
"Reinhart's realm is light and dark."
Garos continued, "He can hide all auras in the darkness and purify negative states in the light. If he is determined to tear up a certain contract, do you think he can't find a way?"
Iron Dragon's tail stopped wagging.
The expression on his face became serious, a few fine lines appeared on the scales on his forehead, and the entire dragon became quiet.
"What should we do?"
Gordon said, "Destiny Rank is too dangerous. If he suddenly rebels one day, no one of us can stop him except you. He alone can turn Red Emperor Royal City upside down."
"This is a double-edged sword, and it's terrifyingly sharp."
"We can't place our hopes on his loyalty. It's too unreliable. Loyalty may be there today, but it may be gone tomorrow. Human beings are fickle. He may be sincere when he is loyal, but who can guarantee how long this sincerity will last?"
He poured out all the worries in his heart.
Garos did not answer immediately.
Compared with Sorog, Gordon is still a lot more immature. If Sorog were here, he wouldn't ask him this question. Sorog knows what to do.
However, Gordon is still growing and has made a lot of progress over the years, so we can't be too harsh----
Garos thought silently in his heart.
He looked at Iron Dragon, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Do you still remember what you were responsible for before you were responsible for running the kingdom?"
Gordon was stunned for a moment, not expecting his brother to ask this suddenly.
He tilted his head and thought about it carefully.
"Responsible for reshaping the minds of other kingdoms."
He answered honestly, with a bit of nostalgia in his tone, "Theo, Ribos, Lothern, Matena, Cambrook - I have basically dealt with those kingdoms that later became our vassals. Their people did not have a good impression of Aura at the beginning. It is not an exaggeration to say that they hate Aura."
"After all, we just finished a war. People died and blood was shed. Hatred cannot be put down just yet."
Red Iron Dragon asked, "How did you do it?"
Gordon's eyes lit up and he raised his chin slightly.
This is one of his most proud jobs, and he can't help but get excited every time he mentions it. Although Sorog was there to guide and give guidance in the first few years, he basically completed all the specific things later on.
He worked for many years and achieved remarkable results. The transformation of those vassal kingdoms Theo is the best proof.
"There are many ways."
He opened his paws and started to list.
"Various methods can be used depending on the situation."
"Education is a long-term goal, cultural penetration is faster, and the exchange of interests is the most direct. Give them benefits, let them taste the sweetness, and let them know that following Aura is more cost-effective than following others."
"However, in the final analysis, it is to change their ideas and make them feel from the bottom of their hearts that by following Aura, they can get a better life and realize their own value."
"Theo is the best example."
There was a hint of pride in his tone, "If you ask anyone on the streets of Theo today, not many people remember Two-Ao War back then. They only know that Red Emperor is their protector, a great being who re-establishes their pride and glory. They are proud to be part of Aura. This kind of transformation cannot be obtained by swords and contracts."
Iron Dragon talks eloquently, and the more he talks, the smoother he becomes.
Hearing these words, Garos nodded slowly.
"Then why do you think a contract or other coercive means should be used against Destiny Rank?"
He asked, his tone calm, "The essence of these two things is the same."
Iron Dragon Gordon was slightly startled, thoughtful, as if he had grasped something vaguely, but he hadn't fully understood it yet.
Garos looked at him with calm and deep eyes.
"Reinhart is Destiny Rank, that's correct."
He continued, "But he is first and foremost a human being."
"He has desires, emotions, and people and things he cares about. He has thoughts, can weigh the pros and cons, and make judgments between different options. Like ordinary people, he has things that he can't let go of, and he also feels pain and fear like ordinary people."
"Some things will not disappear just because he becomes Destiny Rank."
Iron Dragon nodded thoughtfully, as if he understood something.
"Just because Destiny Rank has a high level, don't add too many filters to them and think of them as too special."
Garos said slowly, "Do you think there is any essential difference between Destiny Rank and ordinary people? No, it's just that they are more powerful, live longer, and can see further."
"Destiny Rank does not represent omnipotence. Their wisdom, judgment, and emotions can all be traced."
"Even Deity is not omnipotent."
He withdrew his gaze and looked again at the boundless sea of clouds in the distance.
"As for the double-edged sword you're worried about----"
"Whether a sword has an edge depends on who is holding it, not the sword itself. No matter how sharp the sword is, if the person holding the sword cannot use it, then it is more likely to hurt himself than the enemy. On the other hand, if the person holding the sword knows how to use it, then it is the most convenient weapon."
Gordon looked thoughtful and was silent for a long time.
After a few seconds, he suddenly grinned, and the feeling of sudden enlightenment almost overflowed from his face.
"Brother, I understand."
Iron Dragon Gordon said.
He adjusted his thoughts slightly and continued, "Reinhart, after he recovered from his injuries, he went back to Theo. It can be seen from him that he still has feelings for this country. Otherwise, it would not have been so long and he would have to go back and have a look."
Garos asked, "So, what are you going to do?"
Iron Dragon smiled and started planning.
"First, I have to re-create an identity for him."
He said, neither too fast nor too slow, "The loyalty of a Destiny Rank is not trivial. It cannot be passed casually. It must be carefully arranged so that everyone knows what it means."
"Don't let people think that he is a lost dog who surrendered after being defeated. That would be bad for everyone."
"Theo Patron Saint, how about this name?"
He turned his head and looked at Garos, as if asking for his brother's opinion, but he already had the answer in his eyes.
"Not a lackey of the conqueror, not a defeated person, but a hero who protects his homeland."
"I will let all Theo people know that their Light of Theo did not die or escape, nor was he enslaved. He just had the idea of guarding Theo, traveled and took risks, sharpened his sword, and now he has returned with success to continue to protect the land he loves so much."
His speaking speed became faster and faster, and his tail also waggled.
"I will make Reinhart into the hero of Theo, a hero that people can admire."
"As for the previous disputes, the blood shed was due to problems that occurred in different eras and different environments. Times have changed, the environment has changed, and people have also changed. The return and awakening of a hero is more valuable than the death of a hero."
"Light of Theo has returned from his lost ways, is loyal to the great Red Emperor, and jointly protects the peace and prosperity of Atlant"
"This incident itself can be regarded as a beautiful story."
"Being famous at a young age, frustrated and running away, he came back in the Destiny Rank Realm, fought with Red Emperor, suddenly realized it, and chose to be loyal... I will arrange some people to spread this story and let Bard compile his experiences into songs and biographies.
"This is a huge encouragement to Theo's public sentiment."
"A living Destiny Rank patron saint is more effective than anything else. For Reinhart himself, this is also a kind of binding."
He considered his words and continued, "When everyone regards him as the patron saint, he himself will be more willing to play this role."
"When all these things are done, Reinhart will be one of our own. He will stand on our side and sincerely defend our rule, because he will find that to defend us is to defend himself.
"
Garos looked at him and nodded slowly.
"Just go ahead and do it, I'll wait and see."
He stretched out his paw and patted Iron Dragon on the shoulder. The paw was larger than Iron Dragon's entire head, but the force was very light, as if he was patting a child on the shoulder.
"Leave this matter to me, don't worry.
Iron Dragon Gordon chuckled, eagerness to try was written on Long's face, "I feel like I'm terrifyingly smart now."
He opened his mouth, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth, and smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed into slits.
After the main things were said, it didn't take long before Iron Dragon resigned. He stretched his wings and jumped. His huge body spread steadily in the wind and soon disappeared into the clouds, leaving only the sound of wind echoing among the high platforms.
Garos stood here alone, looking through the sea of clouds to the direction of another continent in the distance.
Orotara.
"There is a Destiny Rank in charge. After a while, I can go to Orotara with more confidence. By the way, I can meet Seroel in real life."
He thought silently in his heart.
Before he fell asleep, he had this idea. He wanted to go to the Orotara Continent to explore the reality there, but he couldn't get away. Now, with Reinhart in charge, he could put this long-shelved plan into action.