Under the Red Dragon

The Northern Territory, the Southern Duchy of Lukepas.

The weather today is exceptionally fine; the early summer climate is gradually raising temperatures across the entire Northern Continent.

Located in the Duchy of Lukepas, the Grand Duke's castle in the capital city of Tyrol embodies the ancient and elegant style of the nobility, extravagant and intricate, luxurious and affectedly refined.

Perched atop Tyrol's highest point, the castle, like the nobles, stands aloof, looking down upon the mundane world.

The castle's tall, thick walls shield the prying eyes of commoners, serfs, and slaves within the city.

Iron-clad guards patrolling the castle walls also keep out adventurers and so-called 'heroes' with a spirit of daring.

This towering castle rules over all the mortals of the Duchy of Lukepas, and in the past, few have been able to set foot inside this ancient fortress.

But today, luxurious carriages stream along the avenue leading to the castle, with guard soldiers lined up from the castle gates all the way down to the foot of the mountain, maintaining strict security.

For a noble banquet and conference are taking place within the castle.

These opulent carriages heading to the Grand Duke's castle, though spacious and tall, are mostly colored in deep, somber hues, befitting the black, elegant art favored by the nobles.

Openly ruling the masses, secretly manipulating everything.

Only seasoned scholars versed in noble heraldry can discern the true origins of these esteemed guests from the subtle emblems and crests on the carriages.

Among them is the Gleaming Duchy, founded by descendants of high-ranking members of a certain god's church. The origin of this ancient duchy is no secret to most nobles in the Northern Territory.

Benefiting from their ancestors' status in a god's church, the Gleaming Duchy, though located in the southern mid-section of the Northern Territory, maintains close ties with some powerful kingdoms in the central continent.

Moreover, it is said that the Grand Duke's scepter of the Gleaming Duchy, even when the gods do not respond, still possesses powerful authority, serving as the duchy's national treasure and proof of the Grand Duke's right to succession.

Then there is the Rose Duchy, its name so simple, using the rose flower within its territory as the duchy's name and spiritual symbol, yet its strength is not to be underestimated.

Many mortals do not understand, but take the fully armed and armored cataphracts as an example.

A few hundred arranged in formation might seem small to mortals, but four squadrons of cataphracts, forty knights, occupy a wider area than several hundred ordinary soldiers.

And when a hundred cataphract warriors charge in formation, the pressure is many times greater than that of thousands of ordinary soldiers charging together.

It is said that when thousands of men gather, they connect the earth and sky, and when tens of thousands gather, they are boundless and endless.

This describes not ordinary people crowding together, but the terrifying pressure and shock of a well-organized legion arrayed and advancing.

A single cataphract warrior requires at least two commonly used warhorses and at least three auxiliary militiamen or laborers.

These auxiliary militiamen accompanying the cataphract warriors are also known as knight reserves.

Deploying a thousand cataphracts at a crucial moment on the battlefield can easily determine the outcome of a war involving tens of thousands of people.

The Rose Knights of the Rose Duchy, with two thousand knights registered, are all heavily armored knights, men and horses fully equipped.

If this knight order were to mobilize, it would require at least four thousand strong warhorses, six thousand auxiliary militiamen, and twenty thousand people to supply provisions and materials.

And this is only the most elite part of the Rose Duchy's strength, one can imagine how powerful this seemingly ordinary duchy truly is.

There is also the Duchy of Nyarlathas, another powerful grand duchy.

And the Duchy of Marino, bordering the southernmost territory of the Hobis Empire. Even though the Hobis Empire's monarch, Charal Caesar, possesses great power and ambition, he has not attempted to attack and destroy this formerly adversarial duchy.

Although doing so would provoke a united response and unrest from the entire southern noble alliance, it also proves the substantial strength of the Duchy of Marino.

Besides these powerful duchies, many representatives of small and medium-sized noble forces have also come here.

The emblem of the Mordier family, who once escorted a dragon to the Golden Empire, is also present, which does not necessarily mean that Mordier has betrayed the friendship of the Golden Empire.

Although Mordier has friendly economic and trade relations with the Golden Empire, the tradition of nobles, passed down for thousands of years, is to hedge their bets. Playing both sides is normal; they only act where their interests lie.

This banquet encompasses almost all the large and small nobles of the Northern Territory, and even Rose City, the southernmost city of the Northern Continent, has sent its own representatives and envoys with some decision-making power.

And the envoy of the Hobis Empire is also conspicuously among them.

Although in a short night, within a few hours, some special circumstances occurred in the chaotic and sudden changes in the situation of the Northern Golden Empire, the transmission of news has timeliness and limitations.

These gathered noble forces are only here based on their previous plans.

The candle oil consumed by the lights lit daily in the tall castle is enough for an ordinary family of three to live comfortably for an entire year.

The exquisite carpets laid throughout the castle's corridors are consumables that ordinary people cannot afford even with years of savings.

The magnificent screens, precious furniture, and gold and silver utensils on the banquet tables are all engraved with the emblem of the Tyferly family, the Grand Dukes of Lukepas, and are of a refinement and luxury unimaginable to ordinary people.

But these things do not attract the attention of other nobles, because all nobles are similar, and a life of extravagance and dissipation is their daily routine, the only difference being the degree.

Voices have already begun to rise within the castle, and the spacious banquet hall is filled with discussion.

The impact and changes the Golden Empire is currently undergoing are within the expectations of these nobles, because they are the self-proclaimed masterminds.

These nobles are united by interests, forming what outsiders see as the Southern Noble Economic Alliance of the Northern Territory, but within this noble alliance, they call themselves the 'Anti-Dumping Economic Alliance'.

Dumping refers to the act of a country or region selling products to the markets of other countries or forces at prices lower than the normal or average prices in the domestic market, or even below cost.

The purpose is to defeat competitors, seize markets, and plunder economic benefits.

Anti-dumping, on the other hand, is the countermeasure taken by other countries against the predatory behavior of dumping countries.

Since before its founding, the Golden Empire has been vigorously developing the industrial revolution of magic and technology, replacing handicraft industries with magical and technological machine industries.

After its founding, magical technology machines have been applied to all industrial production sectors of the empire.

In the long period of rapid development, the raw material production areas opened up by the Golden Empire brought about the accumulation and transformation of a large amount of resources, making these noble countries in the southern part of the Northern Territory victims.

Especially after the steel dragon Midier took office, this clever dragon used the highly cohesive organizational power of the Golden Empire to formulate relevant economic and trade policies, turning many nobles' territories into commodity dumping markets for the Golden Empire.

This has had a huge impact on the economies of those nobles, which are almost feudal colonial and combined with traditional agriculture. Economic and trade exchanges with the Golden Empire have been in a serious deficit.

Therefore, the alliance of southern nobles, from a certain perspective, is actually a natural reaction to protect the economic interests of their territories. To some extent, these nobles can even be considered righteous.

At this moment, the nobles in this luxurious castle are discussing their plans. The success of the 'Anti-Dumping Act' and the plan to divide the benefits depends on the determination of this noble alliance.

Moreover, among the twenty-one countries, large and small, in this noble alliance, although there have been frictions with each other, they have forged closer relationships through long-term economic exchanges and political communication in order to resist the Golden Empire in the distant north.

With the wine flowing freely and toasts being exchanged, important agreements and simple covenants have already been reached in the mouths of these nobles.

Grand Duke Tyferly of Lukepas is very satisfied with the current atmosphere. The gathering of these nobles in his country's castle also means that the Tyferly family will occupy a certain dominant voice in the upcoming division of interests.

"If the rule of the Golden Empire collapses, then the Southern Noble Alliance will organize a large army to march north and reap the fruits of our wisdom," Grand Duke Tyferly said, raising his glass with a smile, "If the rule of the Golden Empire can barely maintain its facade after this incident, then our Southern Anti-Dumping Alliance will also send a large army to threaten them from afar, forcing the rulers of the Golden Empire to sign our 'Anti-Dumping Act'."

"After this incident, they will inevitably be greatly weakened and unable to resist our military might and oppression."

"Then our cake will be topped with a sufficiently delicious and rich cream!"

The other nobles laughed heartily and raised their glasses, taking a full sip.

"I would say that the rulers of the Golden Empire are truly a pity, creating such a strong country, but ultimately unable to avoid being divided up," the representative of the Gleaming Duchy said with a smile, "A dragon country that is rare to see in a thousand years, a country of order, but it was stirred up by those foolish metal dragons. If they hadn't taken the initiative to contact us, we wouldn't have had such a good opportunity."

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"Hahaha, those metal dragons are all hypocritical fools who think they are smart. Otherwise, how could they only be able to huddle in the corners of the southern continent? Facts have proven that in this world of Ikania, wisdom can control everything."

The envoy of the Duchy of Nyarlathas laughed loudly, "Those foolish lizard reptiles should only hide in dark corners, let their scales and horns become our decorations."

Some representatives of the churches of gods at the edge of the banquet also laughed, including members of the Holy Knight Order.

These churches of gods have not been granted the qualifications to preach in the Golden Empire. Without the approval of the Golden Empire's Religious Affairs Administration, no church of any god can establish temples and strongholds in the dragon country.

This has made many church leaders deeply dissatisfied.

Of course, this is not because these church personnel are so devout and faithful to their gods.

But because of interests, almost all churches' exploitation and plundering of believers are given a sacred surface meaning, but they are no more benevolent than those vampire nobles.

"It's a pity that the dragon country in the north belongs to order, otherwise we can use the reason of justice to overthrow evil and tyranny, which would get the help of many 'righteous' people."

"They actually let the noble nobles and those lowly commoners sit on an equal footing, which is a destruction and destruction of just order."

This was a representative of a church speaking.

In the midst of the enthusiastic condemnation, a servant wearing a well-fitting suit walked quickly from outside the banquet hall to Grand Duke Tyferly's side and said in a low voice, "Your Excellency, there is important news from the Golden Empire."

The originally noisy hall instantly quieted down, and the nobles all stared.

News about the Golden Empire is now the focus of attention.

Grand Duke Tyferly nodded and listened attentively.

The servants beside him were all old men who had served him for many years and knew the rules of etiquette. If it were not very important news, the servant would not rashly disturb the nobles' gathering.

With a crisp clang, "What?"

Grand Duke Tyferly's face was incredibly shocked, and he instantly lost his composure.

The good news that the other nobles were expecting turned into bad news at this time, making the originally warm atmosphere in the hall cold.

The dragon emperor of the Northern Empire showed incredible power that night, not only killing and capturing several legendary gold dragons and titans, but also facing two supreme gods in one night.

The consciousness projection of the platinum dragon god Bahamut was shattered by the roar of that terrifying dragon emperor, and even the divine punishment descended by the immortal Tiamat could not do anything to that progenitor red dragon, which these nobles could never understand.

Many interested people have successively received the news, just like these nobles who gathered according to plan.

Many powerful creatures have also observed that shocking battle by various means. The power shown by the progenitor red dragon Kalon Goggmora in this sudden change is enough for others to never forget.

The impact of this unique and unique red dragon is gradually spreading.

But these nobles all know that in the history of Ikania, there will inevitably be a bright and shining page, preserving the story and legend of that red dragon.

Perhaps not only in the world of Ikania, these nobles thought.

The failure of the plan made these nobles regret, and the Golden Empire's declaration of revenge made these nobles start to worry.

"What justification does the Golden Empire have to start a war with us?" the envoy of the Duchy of Marino said, "Even the dragon hunters don't know our specific faces. The personnel who contacted the dragon hunters are very well hidden, and besides, the Golden Empire has not caught those dragon hunters so far."

These nobles forgot that the excuses they had previously clamored for to attack the Golden Empire were not correct justifications. The 'anti-dumping war' was just a gimmick that could barely be used.

"In any case, we should be prepared for both eventualities," the envoy of the Rose Duchy said, "If those dragon hunters can escape back, we need to control them as soon as possible, no matter what means we use."

"If these dragon hunters can dispel the anger of the Golden Empire, then let these dragon hunters die."

The words spoken by the envoy of the Rose Duchy were immediately approved by all the nobles.

Although those dragon hunter teams included legendary warriors and other kinds of powerhouses, and not all of these nobles themselves were extraordinary individuals,

the mentality of those in power, their false arrogance, and the backdrop of controlling a nation led these nobles to regard the dragon hunters as tools they could readily dispose of.

After all, in the eyes of these nobles, even a legendary warrior could not withstand the onslaught of a well-organized legion.

“Moreover, the Golden Empire is in a state of being besieged on all sides,” the envoy of the Rose Duchy said in a deep voice. “Whether it's the obstruction of the Forsaken Mountains, the threat from the rear of the Frost Giants, or the restraint of the Orc Kingdom in the east, all of these prevent the Golden Empire from easily mobilizing a large army.”

“Are we, a coalition of so many nations, afraid of the Dragon Kingdom's small-scale wars? Ridiculous! No matter how terrifying the power of that Red Dragon is, can it defeat us with its own strength? If they dare to come, we will completely annihilate the Golden Empire's army.”

Thus, the atmosphere in the vast banquet hall became heated once again.

These nobles all agreed with the words of the Rose Duchy's envoy. Even if the Golden Empire's army could launch a war relying on their giant sea vessels, it would be impossible to bring a large army to bear. The carrying capacity of the ships was very limited, and the Golden Empire's navy, developed in just a few years, did not have the ability to deploy on a large scale.

“Then let them come!” one noble said resolutely, attracting the attention of several baronesses.

The sounds of revelry rose again, and intoxicating music filled the air.

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