Under the Red Dragon

The mountains in the early morning are always shrouded in a thick mist, making the Dragon King's Fortress, built on a flattened mountaintop, seem hidden in the clouds.

Only the melodious and deep chimes from the Royal Capital at the foot of the mountains and the Dragon Temple nestled between the two adjacent peaks remind those deep within the mist that they are still in the mortal realm.

The military advisors and relevant officials summoned by the Dragon Lord, along with the military leaders of various battle groups, stood quietly before the towering fortress, which was erected in the depths of the clouds, awaiting orders.

Although some talented and fortunate individuals had been summoned to the fortress by the Red Dragon Grand Lord of the Golden Land, they would still feel a sense of awe and admiration upon seeing this massive castle again.

Especially Bartoli, the commander of the Flying Dragon Legion, who had patrolled the skies on a flying dragon countless times, had never set foot inside this fortress.

The three-story fortress was taller and wider on each level than the meticulously built palaces of the great nobles in the secular kingdoms.

The protruding watchtowers on each level of the castle, specifically designed for dragons to take off and land, appeared to the crowd like a dome shielding the sky.

The closed gate, carved from a whole piece of hard, white marble with countless exquisite dragon reliefs, made everyone feel as if they were standing before the palace of a giant god.

As the lingering sound of the melodious chimes faded away, the gate slowly opened, revealing the true appearance of the castle, like a palace where gods reside in the mortal world.

Rows of white marble pillars, carved and painted with countless patterns, were regularly arranged, supporting the high dome. Murals of dragons, with their teeth and claws bared, adorned the dome, as if they could burst out at any moment and pounce from the sky.

Some scholars with strained eyes could not even make out the huge murals on the dome.

As for the throne located deep in the center of the hall on the first floor of the fortress, even an elven archer skilled in archery would find that the arrow shot from the castle gate would lose its power and fall from the sky before reaching the towering throne.

On either side, guarding the central throne, two rows of black stone thrones were already occupied by four majestic dragons, who were now using their scrutinizing gazes to look down upon the assembled subjects and dependents.

"Good morning, esteemed four Dragon Lords,"

"We offer our highest greetings, four Dragon Lords. The Dragon's loyal warriors have come at your call!"

The staff and officials of the Military Affairs Department saluted the two Dragon Lords with noble etiquette, while the Gnoll Yogg, the Barbarian Gibb, and the Centaur Chiron showed even more respect, bowing with a hand on their chest even while wearing their everyday armor.

The Dragon Lords nodded in response to the etiquette of their subjects, but the Bronze Dragon Alina closed her mouth after responding, giving the Blue Dragon Akz the lead in the meeting.

The same was true for the White Dragon Naxen and the Copper Dragon Alfred. Although they might possess some military talent, Akz was the ultimate decision-maker in military affairs.

The Blue Dragon Akz was not in a hurry to speak. Although he felt a little anxious, he still exercised his rare patience, allowing the maids to spread exquisite patterned fabrics on the long tables prepared for the subjects who had rushed to the fortress early in the morning.

Then, cups of steaming black tea, plates of raspberry shortbread, diced almonds, sturgeon strips, and soft white bread were served to the seated guests.

However, most of these people knew some news, especially the heads of the intelligence departments, so they did not have much appetite for eating and drinking. They only ate a little food, drank the refreshing black tea, and waited for the Dragon Lord to speak.

"Tell me the situation," the Blue Dragon Akz said, his patience finally running out, as he turned to the intelligence officer in charge of intelligence.

"According to the information gathered from the investigation of the merchant groups and the secret agents distributed in the Orc Kingdom, the Orc Kingdom has almost exhausted all its naval power in this war, mobilizing all the warships and vessels that can be requisitioned, and dispatching no less than 80,000 warriors,"

"The Sahuagin, who are allied with the Orc Kingdom, are completely untraceable. Our secret agents do not include any aquatic intelligent races."

The chief intelligence officer stood up from his chair. He did not take out any recorded documents, but rather knew this information by heart.

"The Orc Kingdom's naval force consists of ten capital ships and hundreds of sailing battleships, as well as several mast-sail gunboats as escorts. According to the estimated troop strength, there are at least two hundred and fifty ships or more,"

"The ten capital ships purchased and modified from the Greif Duchy of humans use magic furnaces similar to technology as their power core. They are built with 150-year-old oak trees, and the hulls have magical rune protection, carrying thirty heavy cannons and twenty enchanted dragon-hunting crossbows,"

The chief intelligence officer's face was serious. He knew the terrible nature of this fleet. If these ships were docked on the sea and fired together, they would be enough to destroy a city wall entirely built of solid stone, and the walls of the Golden City were mostly built of wood.

The atmosphere in the hall fell silent for a moment, and the faces of every official became serious, even the expressions of those powerful battle group leaders became solemn.

Even though they had established civilization in this wilderness and had long expected many dangers, they did not expect that since the territory had gradually grown stronger, they would be met not by the impact of surrounding monsters and tribes, but by the covetousness of the distant Orc Kingdom.

Especially during the period when most of the dragons were in slumber, the throne of the Red King, who existed like a sea-stabilizing needle, was vacant, making it difficult for these officials to believe that the remaining evil dragons would cooperate sincerely with each other and unite all the power within the territory.

The Bronze Dragon Alina saw the silent atmosphere and the somewhat silent Blue Dragon, and smiled lightly. Her voice was clear, but it had the unique overlapping echo of dragons.

"The Grand Lord said before entering slumber that even though dragons are naturally intelligent, sometimes mortals will have wisdom no less than that of dragons, and you are all talents appreciated by the Grand Lord. Are you at a loss for words when you encounter this situation?"

The Bronze Dragon's ridicule worked, and several battle group leaders quickly jumped out.

The Centaur Chiron pounded his chest armor and said in a deep voice: "Let those Orc bastards come. The Dragon's warriors will bring them fear and death."

The Barbarian leader Gibb also shouted: "Just tens of thousands of Orc pups, my... my great axe is already hungry and thirsty. I'll chop one for every one that comes. It just takes a few more chops."

Bartoli, the commander of the Flying Dragon Legion, pursed her moist lips and did not speak, but her eyes swept over the two warlike battle group leaders and those officials who were about to speak.