Under the Red Dragon

Upon the boundless ocean, the Isle of the North Sea.

The sound of sea tides crashing against the island's rocky shores rises and falls in continuous waves, sounding like the desolate wilderness of life.

The weather at sea is unpredictable, as elusive as a woman's mood.

The brass dragon Hollister stood at the bow of a ship, gazing at the world before him, divided like yin and yang. One side was engulfed in a raging storm, while the isolated island in the sea was bathed in warm sunlight.

Hollister could even sense that around the isolated island, even the roaring sea wind had stilled.

This wasn't a naturally divided climate, but rather the will of a king, commanding the clouds and rain to yield.

Upon this vast sea, the outlines of mountains faded, allowing one to see all the changes happening in the surrounding environment.

Yet, even in the shadows of the surrounding mountains, one could witness that incredible scene in the sky.

Not just humans, but even Hollister, a brass dragon who had lived for centuries in the world of Akani, was shocked by this sight.

In the clear sky, dragons of various scales and postures soared.

They were massive, looming shadows hidden in the clouds, dispelling storms, chasing away rain, and imprisoning the restless sea wind.

Hollister couldn't help but recall his last visit to the Golden Empire. Back then, the Gogmora dragon clan, though rising in prominence, possessed only a small number of dragons.

Not to mention the various metallic and gem dragons in the Southern Good Dragon Alliance, even the blue dragon families in the deserts of the Central Continent far outnumbered the members of the Gogmora dragon clan.

But how many dragons did the Golden Empire possess now?

Hollister didn't know, for he couldn't count the dragons dancing in the sky at this moment.

He raised his head, displaying the same shocked expression as the various people aboard the countless sailing ships on the sea.

Dragons dancing wildly were a rare sight, and such a large number of dragons was even rarer.

Scales of various colors shimmered brilliantly in the sunlight, with the five-colored dragons being the most numerous, their red, blue, green, black, and white hues intermingling.

The figures of metallic dragons were also frequently seen, including many extremely rare dragon species in the world of Akani, such as gray dragons, amethyst dragons, and song dragons.

In the eyes of those drawn to this unprecedented grand gathering, the scene before them might just be a dragon-type spectacle.

"Heavens, it's unbelievable to see so many dragons appear at once!"

"I even saw the figures of gold dragons and silver dragons among them. Could it be that even the noblest of dragons, the gold dragons, have joined the Golden Empire?"

"Look, look! There are many little dragons playing and frolicking in the sky above the island. Could those be the descendants of the dragon lords in the Gogmora dragon clan?"

Voices of discussion came from some of the ships, the ordinary crew members excitedly arguing and discussing the races and abilities of the dragons in the sky.

Many adventurers and travelers who had come to witness this grand event even recorded this scene with magic crystals, treating it as a rare memento.

Many ships even had human and elven painters who unfolded their drawing boards and began to depict the scene before them.

But in the heart of the brass dragon Hollister, there was first a bit of envy for the light refracted by the dazzling scales in the sky, followed by an overwhelming sense of fear.

Because so many dragons soared across the sky, creating huge holes in the clouds, yet they didn't hear a single dragon roar.

Only the huge dragons shuttled through the wind in the sky, the sound of the wind whistling through the dragons' wings and scales.

That wasn't the power of magic, but a power called order, a power that kept the proud and unruly dragons as silent as soldiers in a mortal army.

Hollister swept his gaze across the densely packed sailing ships surrounding him and saw the same incomprehensible look of fear in the eyes of those standing on the bows of the ships.

"Perhaps that's the same look I had just now," the brass dragon Hollister thought silently.

On these ships, flags of various colors fluttered in the sea breeze. Even Hollister, a dragon who had lived for so long, could only recognize one or two out of every ten flags.

But the emblems of power that could be remembered by this adult brass dragon were all great powers that could be called hegemons.

Not only was the entire Northern Continent stirred by this event, secretly sending merchant groups to spy among the onlookers, but even the dwarves, who were more reclusive than elves and liked to hide in high mountain caves to excavate rare minerals, sent a flagship here.

The brass dragon Hollister even saw many outsiders belonging to the Plane Trade Alliance, merchants from other planes neighboring the world of Akani, who were also attracted here, their faces full of excitement.

A rumble came from the edge of the sky, and in the midst of the raging storm, the shadow of a behemoth was cast on the sea, occupying a corner of the distant firmament.

Countless faces on the surrounding ships turned to look, and upon seeing the terrifying creature on the horizon, they all fell into a daze.

A huge dragon spread its enormous wings, as if obscuring half the sky, and even the shadow it cast enveloped a two-masted merchant ship.

In the seemingly dazzling reflected light and dancing arcs of electricity, a gray-blue dragon cast a condescending gaze from above the sky.

Its neck was short and rough, and the gray-blue color on its scales accounted for most of the area. Its body was unusually strong among dragons.

This stoutness wasn't the aesthetic beauty of an ancestral red dragon like Karon Gogmora, but a sense of power with full destructive force, like those humans with particularly prominent muscles.

The thick, long horns and hard, ferocious bone armor looked particularly intimidating, but beneath this terrifying appearance, beneath the thick gray-blue scales, was a terrifying power and unimaginable vitality accumulated over countless years.

That was an ancient blue dragon. The brass dragon Hollister immediately realized this from the dragon's appearance and characteristic aura.

What does the appearance of an ancient dragon mean? It means a power in the mortal world of Akani that needs to be looked up to by all living beings, a creature that almost stands at the very top of the world of Akani.

As the dragon second only to the red dragon among the five-colored dragons, even the most ordinary blue dragon, even if it sleeps in its lair all day long and does nothing, does not learn, does not experience, and does not carry out additional training, can still have a body and pure physical strength to compete with legendary powerhouses at this age through its own continuous transformation.

If those legendary powerhouses of destiny are constantly exploring and searching for power like a mechanism, then the dragon's innate numerical values can compete with these mechanism monsters in natural growth.

And those most outstanding ancient dragons are existences that will not fear most gods in the mortal world. Even if they can't defeat those gods, the gods can't easily do anything to these terrifying guys.

The brass dragon Hollister didn't know if the ancient blue dragon in the sky was the most powerful of the ancient dragons, but he could be sure that the ancient blue dragon wasn't the weakest of them.

Because that ancient blue dragon was the head of the blue dragon family in the Central Continent, the leader of the blue dragon family that lived in the great desert.

But even this ancient blue dragon, which made many people tremble, only floated quietly at the end of the sky and did not step into another sensitive area.

It wasn't that this ancient blue dragon was also afraid of the dragons flying in the sky, but was considering the small figure on the distant isolated island, on the cliff of the isolated peak facing the sea, which only dragons could see clearly. He had his back to all living beings, as if he was fishing for deep-sea giant whales on the cliff.

There were several figures there, but the brass dragon Hollister locked onto the extremely obvious existence at first glance.

The sea reaches its end and becomes the shore, the mountain reaches its peak and I become the summit!

Above the vast sea, there were endless waves on all sides, and the junction of the sky and the sea was vast and distant. The towering solitary peak and the quiet figure seemed to be the end blocking the eyes of all living beings.

That mountain cliff wasn't very tall in the eyes of the dragon. It seemed that the brass dragon Hollister only needed to flap his wings lightly to fly over it.

But Hollister knew that the seemingly short distance was an unattainable majestic peak.

That would be the palace of the supreme, and only the true king could set foot on it.

In the history of Akani, countless geniuses of races and civilizations in the era were like crucian carp crossing the river, and countless rising heroes were like swimming fish in the sea.

But in front of that name, genius was just seeing his threshold, and hero was just the qualification to see him.

"Karon Gogmora!" Hollister couldn't help but mutter to himself. His name would be the last natural king of dragons and the first true dragon emperor in the countless eras and endless years of Akani.

Hollister looked at the countless dragons circling in the distant sky, as well as the young dragons soaring everywhere, and smiled.

"Akani will usher in the true Dragon Emperor today!"

"Perhaps from now on, no dragon will dare to call himself king without reaching the standard of Karon Gogmora, and no dragon will become a false king because of strength without receiving the canonization of this Dragon Emperor!"

Dragons ruling the land, sky, and sea, that only happened in legends, in the distant First Era, the ancient age when dragons fought against titans.

But the Golden Empire will herald a completely different era of dragon rule, an unshakable hegemony.

The brass dragon Hollister's heart was agitated. He revealed his true dragon form and, amid the panicked shouts of the captain of the rented ship, spread his towering wings and flew towards the island dozens of miles away in the envious, fearful, and surprised eyes of countless people around him.

"You don't need to panic. I, the brass dragon Hollister, am a friend personally acknowledged by Karon Gogmora, the Dragon Emperor of the Golden Empire!"

Hollister instantly abandoned his identity as an envoy of the Southern Good Dragon Alliance, not only because the identity of a friend of the Golden Empire was more useful in this place.

Also because this adult brass dragon was also a true dragon.

On this isolated island in the sea, countless powerful warriors loyally stood guard around the entire island, filling the wasteland, beaches, and other high points.

The forest of spears and halberds spread like a tide across the island, occupying all of Hollister's vision.

These warriors wore armor shining with magical light, and their long swords, sabers, and spears were sharp and bright. Each warrior appeared radiant.

It is said that in the rewards offered by the southern nobles, the head of each dragon lord of the Golden Empire could be compared to ten of the most prosperous cities.

And the head of Karon Gogmora, this dragon, was worth an entire small kingdom.

However, no one believed that the Golden Empire spent infinite resources and wasted immeasurable wealth to put on such a display because it feared that its emperor and dragon king would be assassinated.

The Gogmora dragon clan was no longer a small dragon without the protection of a strong parent when they were young. They were an existence that shocked and terrified the entire Northern Continent.

The guarding warrior retracted his weapon at the signal of the Black Dragon King Rosani, and the brass dragon Hollister walked up to this huge dragon king's dark pupils that could not be dissolved.

"Good day, Your Majesty, the noble Black Dragon King Rosani. Perhaps you still remember me. I am..." The brass dragon Hollister sincerely paid his respects to the Dragon King of the Golden Empire.

Rosani sat on a huge rock pillar and gave a friendly response to this brass dragon who had repeatedly tipped off the Golden Empire.

"Go ahead, Hollister, my friend, the empire's friend, and Karon's friend," the black dragon Rosani said gently. "I still have to personally welcome a king here, so I can't accompany you."

A cheerful smile appeared on Hollister's indifferent face. He responded to the black dragon, then wagged his tail and slowly strode towards the isolated cliff facing the sea in the distance.

The terrain on the island was crisscrossed with ravines, which seemed to have been simply tidied up by the warriors of the Golden Empire, opening up a flat avenue leading directly to the isolated peak on the northern coast of the island.

He faced the burly ogres, the indifferent dragon people, the proud centaurs, the clumsy ogres, the elegant elves, the bloodthirsty gnolls, the wild barbarians, the graceful nagas, the solemn humans, and the cold orcs. These warriors, of which the dragon could not even count how many races there were, climbed that isolated peak.

In the sky, there were still discussions and laughter from those young dragons.

"That's a brass dragon, right?"

"It looks like it, but it can't be ruled out that other dragons have similar appearances after mutations. Don't look at an uncertain factor with first impressions and stereotypes. This is the principle that the teacher taught."

"Hehe, you're so smart,"

"Tch, you green dragons just like to be sarcastic,"

"Hahaha, I remember that there doesn't seem to be a brass dragon in the family."

"Yes, yes, ask that stupid guy Achilles who can't fly. He should know more about the family than we do!"

The brass dragon Hollister didn't think these young voices were noisy in the quiet environment, but only felt an unprecedented vitality unfolding before his eyes.

He stepped onto the peak platform opened up by the dragons. Many terrifying claw marks of the dragons still remained on these extremely solid mountains that had been blown by the sea breeze and eroded by the sun and rain.

He passed the wide venue laid out by the dragon-blooded maids and elf maids, and saw the three figures sitting on the outermost platform.

Here, the brass dragon Holliston could already hear the faint singing coming from the sea in front of the cliff. He knew it was the song of the sirens.

It seemed that even those mysterious and rarely seen sirens were attracted by this grand event, offering their beautiful songs on the sea to the quietly seated emperor.

Gazing into the distance, a sentence suddenly arose in the brass dragon's mind: 'How can one appreciate the panoramic view of all the mountains if one does not ascend the cliff?'

He shook his head, throwing these distracting thoughts out of his mind. He did not belong here, only ascending by virtue of his friendship, so he should not linger.

"Dragon Emperor, Your Majesty Karon Goggomora," the brass dragon Holliston said softly.

Then the Dragon Emperor turned around, revealing a set of shining fangs and smiling gently, "Oh, my friend, welcome!"

Thanks for the ticket!