Under the Red Dragon

"High above the mountains, the dragon resides, generous and forgiving,"

"The dragon promises the creatures that dwell, granting them lands flowing with milk and honey."

"The dragon's eyes are like the sun, watching over its people, who offer devotion, tending cattle and sheep for the dragon..."

A human ranger strolled through the dense forest, leisurely humming a folk tune adapted and spread by the bards in the countryside.

He sat on the branch of a tall tree, swinging his legs, while wielding a long whip to guide giant trees across a barren land.

These tall trees, with their long, thick roots intertwined into several legs, slowly walked forward under the ranger's guidance.

Birds occasionally descended from the sky, fearlessly landing around the ranger to rest and replenish their strength, and a few mischievous finches left a few moist bird droppings as a friendly greeting.

And occasionally, fierce beasts, hidden in the forest, glared with pairs of eerie green eyes from the dark corners, warily watching the moving forest.

Only after realizing that the ranger was driving the forest did they emerge from the shadows, emitting low roars to communicate and interact with the ranger in a friendly manner.

"Awoo! Awoo!…"

"Hey, folks, looks like it's another beautiful day. May the dragon protect you from those orc bastards!"

The ranger, receiving a response from the fierce, tattooed tiger that ruled this territory, happily cracked his long whip, woven from the oldest and most resilient branches of the Tree of Life.

The whip gently tapped his forehead, acknowledging the friendly gesture of this intelligent, fierce creature.

The whip in his hand, woven from the vines of the Tree of Life and inscribed with countless dense Druidic natural magic runes, allowed even a novice ranger to drive dozens of trees at once.

The ranger profession, newly emerging in the dragon territories, also grew stronger because of the war. They were chosen for their talents and learned from hunters and Elven druids how to communicate with nature and harness its power.

These rangers were incorporated into the outer legions of the dragon territories, similar to guards, but they guarded and patrolled the entire forest area.

They replaced the original dragons, sharing the dragons' responsibilities, managing the clever birds in the sky and the wise beasts on the ground, forming a dense network woven throughout the territory.

They were elite scouts, adept at tracking enemy footprints, hunting disobedient beasts and wanted fugitives in the territory, and protecting the borders of the territory.

In the ongoing war, which had lasted nearly two years, the dragon territories, due to their small population, adopted harassment and guerrilla tactics to compensate for the almost endless number of warriors in the orc kingdom.

The ranger profession arose as a result.

Replacing people with land, putting people first.

Under the guidance of the gradually growing consciousness of the World Tree Ouwo, all the Trees of Life formed a forest will covering the entire forest range, like a green wilderness.

The flourishing forest will not only protect every Golden One walking in the forest domain but also suppress all creatures hostile to the dragon territories.

Although the number of support troops from the Orc Empire had been increasing, it was difficult to confront the dragon warriors head-on in the forest. They first had to deal with the seemingly endless forest under the constant harassment of the dragon warriors.

Especially since most of the dragon warriors were races skilled in forest warfare. Even the centaur cavalry led by Chiron traversed the forest as if it were flat ground.

If the orcs weren't careful, they would die from ubiquitous arrows and firearms, appearing and disappearing unpredictably.

And once the orcs finally managed to clear the forest, they would find that the dragon warriors had long since vanished without a trace.

But when these orcs woke up the next day, they would find another forest in front of them. Even the defensive outposts built at road passes were not very resistant.

The dragon warriors, having emptied their quivers and used up all the bullets in their ammunition bags, would retreat directly from the outposts to the next line of defense.

The vast number of kobold servants in the dragon territories had made great contributions to this continuous, inexhaustible line of defense.

These kobolds, skilled at digging, only needed a small team leading a large number of auxiliary soldiers to build a line of defense and dig a deep trench overnight.

In this situation, the orcs were actually advancing arduously across this hundreds of kilometers of land, consuming enormous resources and time, barely gazing from dozens of miles away at the city of Capitole in the dragon territories, which translates to the capital of the dragon territories in the common language of the continent, the royal capital.

The rangers drove the forest to replenish the front line of defense. Relying on the suppression of the forest could reduce the losses of the dragon territory warriors and delay the advance of the orc army as much as possible.

The orcs had already invested too much; the sunk costs made it impossible for them to give up. Moreover, in the eyes of the orcs, as long as they broke through this city, the operating system of the dragon territories would be destroyed, and they would no longer be able to resist the orcs.

This war tested not only the war strength of both sides but also the comprehensive national strength of both sides.

However, the orcs did not expect that the dragon territories already had a certain foundation of industrial capacity, and, catalyzed by the war, countless factories had been established in the western rear.

Most of the residents had also migrated from their original villages and towns to the western rear because of the war, leaving behind pieces of land and vacant towns, waiting for new populations to fill them after the war.

Dozens of trees stepped into the shallow water area of the Golden River, crossing the wide river of more than a hundred meters to reach the other side. The ranger sitting on the tree branch could now see the majestic royal capital in the distance.

This city had been expanded towards the western rear, and the original Golden River served as the city's wide moat, a difficult defense to break through.

The twenty-five-meter-high city walls were built from solid granite. The city walls, entirely constructed of giant stones, consumed a lot of manpower. Fortunately, after research and improvement by scholars, the first generation of steam and magic hybrid-powered engine cores had officially begun to be used.

Excavating mountains and transporting crushed stones was no longer dependent on pure manpower, saving the territory a lot of construction time and costs.

Moreover, to ensure the solidity of the defense, the workers who built this city wall had to write their names on each stone brick to guarantee the quality of the building.

Then, a large number of spellcasters gradually graduating from the Dragon Academy carved magic rune stone bricks, covering the entire solid city wall with a hidden large-scale magic defense barrier.

Once the defense barrier was activated, it was enough to withstand the bombardment of magic-powered heavy artillery. And the heavy cannons and giant crossbows mounted beside the crenellations of the city wall were enough to strike the invading enemies head-on. These were one of the sources of confidence and security for the more than 200,000 people living in this city.

The ranger, close to nature, with his eyesight enhanced to be as sharp as an eagle's, could even see many merchants driving horse-drawn carriages, leading their caravans through the small paths in the forest, and heading towards the royal capital after passing through the territory's defense checkpoints.

These were the merchants who smelled the scent of money in the long war and continued to travel between the human countries and the Golden Coast.

Initially, they traded with the orcs. These orcs not only bought military equipment, supplies, and food from the merchants, but the largest item of trade was actually lumber axes for felling trees.

During the truce between the orcs and the dragon territories, both sides tacitly did not attack these daring merchants. Although some merchants died on the way as the orcs marched to attack the dragon army, a large number of merchants were still making war profits.

"It's a pity, these are all excellent farmlands that have been opened up. I wonder how long they will be abandoned," the ranger drove the forest ashore. The original lush farmland was already desolate. Without the maintenance of farmers, weeds grew back in the fields, densely packed.

"These damn orc bastards, bah," the ranger spat. But then he became happy again.

According to news from his companions on vacation in the royal capital, the dragons sleeping in the dragon territories had begun to wake up one after another. According to the plans of those brains in the staff department, the dragon warriors were too few and could not withstand blind consumption, so the plan to delay until the dragons woke up had succeeded for the most part.

"It seems that the final decisive moment is coming," the ranger looked at the majestic city standing tall, this city would be the foundation for the dragon's resolute non-retreat.

"It's a pity that the great lord is still asleep. Otherwise, with the great lord's wisdom and power, these orcs would be burned to death, and their ashes would be buried in the soil as fertilizer,"

The ranger thought to himself. Almost every resident of the dragon territories knew that the sleeping time of a dragon was closely related to the strength of its innate talent. The more talented a dragon, the longer it would sleep.

According to the Red Monarch's outstanding talent, it was estimated that he would not wake up from his slumber even if they fought for another two years. But the awakening of other dragons also injected infinite confidence and courage into the residents of the territory.

After all, the facts had already proven that these dragon lords always possessed powerful abilities. The dragons who were still active had already gained their own fame through the word-of-mouth of bards and merchants during the long war.

The Blue Dragon Akxz, who controlled the war, the Bronze Dragon Alina, who controlled wisdom, the Copper Dragon Alfred, who controlled the spread of civilization, and the Crimson Roar Cadilos, who had awakened and was active behind the battlefield, destroying countless orc ships.

And the two female dragons, the Blue Dragon Kalite and the Green Dragon Ellie, also had some fame, although these dragons had not yet obtained their own titles, they showed their potential.

Only a few white dragons, who often sneaked into the seabed to secretly drill ships, were rarely mentioned, and their behavior seemed to be deliberately ignored.

The discussion about these dragons was far less than that of the Red Dragon, who was still sleeping in his volcanic lair and had not shown his face for more than two years, the monarch of the wasteland and forest, the master of the tribes of the Golden Land, and the true supreme ruler of the Dragon Kingdom.

Even today, many human scholars could not believe that in a country where the supreme ruler never showed his face, those subjects and warriors could still be closely united to resist the orc army's attacks.

This situation was neither five-colored dragon nor dragon!

Even in a country ruled by gold dragons, after the dragon lord disappeared, his warriors and dependents would engage in infighting, causing the rule to collapse.

Moreover, there were a large number of five-colored evil dragons in the Golden Land, and they had not even beaten their brains out, which was simply a miracle.

This also made a large number of human scholars begin to take an interest in the countries ruled by dragons, wanting to study this incredible fact.

With the study of the kingdoms ruled by dragons, scholars found that the five-colored dragons, known for their greed and brutality, were surprisingly good to their subjects.

Many nobles also refuted the dragon kingdom as heretical. These dragons not only gave those lackey commoners land and land but also fed those muddy legs, and occasionally they could eat two meals of meat. What was this if not heresy?

Thinking of the remarks of those nobles, the ranger, who considered himself a Golden One, could not help but let out a sneer and disdain. How could short-sighted nobles be worthy of mentioning the sacred and noble Dragon Lord?

The ranger, whose mind was filled with thought storms born out of boredom, suddenly stopped swinging his legs. With a flick of the whip in his hand, a loud cracking sound exploded.

He saw a few sneaky, probing people, dressed in strangely shaped clothes, and even their hair was unique, some like chicken coops at home, and some tied with strange small braids.

Most importantly, the ranger felt the aura of outsiders from the will of the forest, which proved that these people were outsiders who had not been checked and registered at the territory's checkpoints.

"Hey, you guys, what are you doing there sneakily, outsiders, state your purpose!" the ranger questioned loudly. In the forest, he was not afraid of any enemy.

Even if he couldn't beat the opponent, with the ranger's unique talent, he could easily escape with the help of the forest, so he was so bold.

On the other hand, it was also out of his own confidence and sense of superiority. Every ranger selected by the territory was an outstanding talent. They had the entire territory as their backing, so they were not afraid. After all, this was his home.

"What do you say, boss, should we just kill him directly, or grab him and ask about the surrounding situation? Looks like a pretty strong native."

A girl with dyed yellow hair chewed gum, acting like a hoodlum, but her clothes decorated with spiritual light and the faintly revealed aura showed the girl's outstanding strength.

A middle-aged man with a calm face shook his head. Among the five people around, he was the most normal, normal attire, normal appearance, and upright posture.

"Didn't you notice the subtle hostility of the surrounding forest towards us? Don't mess around. This mission cost a lot to exchange for. Let's be more cautious."

The middle-aged man warned his team, then squeezed out a stiff smile on his face and shouted loudly in the common language with a strange accent: "Sorry, we are adventurers from far away in the East, and we are lost here!"

The ranger looked at the strange attire of the group, but ultimately nodded. These people did indeed resemble those from the Far East Continent, with their black hair and dark eyes. Even with the various dyes, he could still tell.

"Go on, head about sixty miles to the left. There's a checkpoint there. You'll only be able to move freely within the territory after you've been checked and registered. Otherwise, my companions aren't as kind as I am; they'll arrest you as enemies and send you to the mines for labor reform!"

The ranger waved his long whip, pointed the way for the strange fellows, and urged the forest to continue on its way. However, the bird that had landed beside the ranger quietly flapped its wings and disappeared into the canopy.

"Thank you, thank you!" The middle-aged man thanked the ranger. Once the ranger was far away, he glanced at the dense canopy before switching to another language.

"Let's go. Better safe than sorry. Once we complete this mission, we can exchange for advanced abilities. The reward this time is pretty good. We just need to take care of a juvenile red dragon to get five thousand reward points and two C-grade side quests. Easy peasy!"

"But, boss, shouldn't we consider the orcs? Killing the orc prince Gahn would get us a much richer reward—two B-grade side quests and twenty thousand reward points. Shouldn't we go for something big? This world doesn't seem that strong. The orcs we encountered before were too weak."

A young man with dyed blond hair spat out his cigarette and tried to tempt his captain.

"No need. Assassinating the orc prince in the midst of the army is too dangerous. Besides, we have shadow stealth runes that allow us to sneak into the dragon's nest silently, take care of the red dragon easily, and avoid being discovered and stopped by the dragon's minions."

The middle-aged man shook his head, rejecting the suggestion. Then, he smiled and said, "I've learned some information about this world. If it follows certain rules, even an adult red dragon would have to think twice before lifting a van. I wonder what the actual situation is like."

"Hehehe, if they're that weak, maybe we can set up a base here and loot the place. There should be some good stuff!"

Another boy, resembling a high school student with dyed white hair, laughed.

But before they could finish celebrating, a heavy notification sounded in everyone's ears.

"Mission has been changed: Obtain the ancestral blood of the Overlord-class creature, Juvenile Red Dragon Calon Gogelmora. Reward: 50,000 points, A-grade side quest twice!"

The group exchanged glances, and a heavy atmosphere suddenly descended.

"Overlord-class creature? What the heck is that!"

A wail echoed through the forest.