Ember Dragon

Chapter 774 The Awakening Emperor

A few months later.

The Burning Empire, Anzeta Administrative Region, North and South Provinces, Dragon Blood Mountain.

This place is surrounded by scorching steam and sulfur clouds. From afar, the mountains are tall and straight, extremely steep, like a giant dragon with its head raised and roaring to the sky.

At the same time, this is also a restricted area within the empire.

It is said that the Burning Emperor Cassius is sleeping here. At the same time, endless gold and jewels are buried here, storing all the wealth of the emperor.

Many reckless adventurers had tried to enter this restricted area, but no one had ever been able to get out.

Even a notorious legendary thief from the Shadow Guild disappeared without a trace after visiting this restricted area, causing many nobles and wealthy people who had been patronized by him to be very excited.

If you want to enter Dragon Blood Mountain, you must first cross the outermost patrol area.

There are hundreds of outposts in the patrol area equipped with advanced magical devices such as energy sensors, anti-aircraft guns, and magic tracking guns. Knights riding on wyverns patrol the area endlessly, ruthlessly eliminating all reckless intruders.

Even if they were lucky enough to break through the patrol area, what awaited the invaders would be scorching heat thousands of meters wide, with magma gushing out of the cracks in the ground. The surging steam clouds and sulfur mist were enough to roast mortals, and the power was comparable to that of mid- to high-level spells above the fourth ring.

Further in is the so-called "element disorder zone", which is also the core area of ​​Dragon Blood Mountain.

The ancestral dragon bodies of Carix and Cassius violently influenced and changed the surrounding magic net, causing the elemental reactions here to become extremely violent, as if entering a sea of ​​chaos.

Flames, lightning, strong winds, and light intertwined on this land and collided with each other, causing countless terrifying magical reactions and releasing tremendous energy like a tsunami, like a violent storm, wantonly displaying their power.

The power of some of these elemental reactions can even reach the level of high-level spells above the seventh ring, and can easily destroy a small town where mortals gather. It can be called a natural disaster on earth.

And at the center of this natural disaster is an enormous figure - he is curled up on the peak of Dragon Blood Mountain, shaped like a ferocious dragon head, surrounded by dazzling fire and lightning, and sulfur clouds are spreading around him.

Suddenly, the figure in the turbulence seemed to move.

For a moment, accompanied by the spread of extremely terrifying pressure, smoke and clouds rolled up within a radius of thousands of meters, sand and rocks flew, thunder and lightning roared, and flames flew.

The deep red magma gushed out from the cracks in the rocks, like the blood spurting out from Dragon Blood Mountain, splashing to a height of dozens of meters. The boiling magma poured down, burning messy pits on the ground.

But the figure was bathed in magma, slowly raised its head, and let out a majestic roar. The head with large swept-back horns looked particularly majestic.

"Roar--"

The roar resounded through the sky, and the figure used its strong limbs to support its body and climbed up from the ground. In the light of the fire, the outline of a strong and ferocious dragon was outlined.

Boiling magma dripped from his chin, abdomen, and limbs. Golden light patterns appeared on the surface of his golden-red scales, surging with his breathing. His body seemed to contain a terrifying power that could destroy everything.

He is the Burning Emperor, the dragon that controls the natural disaster, the tyrant of the north, the co-lord of Anzeta and Thrace - Cassius Claubeu Norikius.

After many days and another round of sleep, after absorbing a lot of power from Dragon Blood Mountain, Cassius's body finally woke up from sleep.

During the time when his main body was asleep, Cassius had been active in various parts of Fianso under the identity of Titus, trying to win over cooperative allies and strengthen the power of the "Dawn" alliance.

At the same time, he also went to the Seleucid region many times to investigate the movements of the Cult of the Dragon and the Dragon Worshiper, and fought many small-scale battles with them.

Cassius opened his eyes, and a thrilling light shone from his lava-ball-like vertical pupils.

"Yes, after this deep sleep, the concentration of my ancestral blood has increased a lot, and my physical strength has also been improved."

He used the Heavenly Tribulation Dragon Eye to look at his body after he woke up.

The body of the dragon, which was far larger than that of an ordinary dragon, expanded several more times. It was estimated to be nearly eighty meters from head to tail, as huge and magnificent as a hill, and was striving to reach the hundred-meter level.

What is the concept of eighty meters?
Even if it was an ancient dragon, it would take three dragons connected head to tail to barely match its body length, and the difference in total volume and weight was a terrifying dozens of times.

In the eyes of mortals, it is difficult to describe a dragon of this size as a "creature". It is more appropriate to call it a "mountain beast" or a "mobile disaster".

Humans, elves, dwarves and other medium-sized humanoid creatures are as small as grains of wheat or even dust in front of him. Even a tall and majestic church is like a stone building block in front of this red dragon and can be easily knocked over.

Even without any magical abilities, relying only on pure physical strength, this red dragon can easily destroy a city or even a medium-sized kingdom.

"This is."

Cassius lowered his head and looked at his forelimbs. He saw that his thick arms and huge claws were covered with a layer of scarlet translucent crystals. It was quite thick and contained a high concentration of energy.

Not only on the forelimbs, but also on the red dragon's back, tail and even chin, there are many such crystals growing, which will fall off with a slight break.

If all the crystals on his body were scraped off, they would probably form a crystal mountain weighing dozens of tons.

"This should be a crystal condensed from the waste energy discharged when absorbing the blood of Karix. Let's call it Dragon Crystal."

"It is too turbid for my current bloodline level and can only be regarded as an impurity. But for other dragons and dragon descendants, it is a rare treasure that can enhance the power of their bloodline."

"Well, I can just put these dragon crystals up in the faction store and sell them to the players in bulk. As for the price, I'll set it at thirty gold coins and eight thousand faction contributions per kilogram. With such a low price, they should be eager to grab them."

Just by sleeping for a while, Cassius can earn millions of gold coins from the players and make them work hard.

As the biggest "entrepreneur" in the Burning Empire, and as a major shareholder holding major shares in dozens of imperial royal companies ranging from daily necessities, clothing, food, to military industry and construction, Cassius's annual dividends are astronomical.

But unlike those dragons who like to store gold coins in their own treasuries, Cassius invested most of his money in the empire's industrial production and the advancement of magical technology.

The rumor circulating on the continent of Feanso that "Emperor Burning Ashes is as rich as a country" is not just a rumor, because his wealth is the wealth of the empire, and even Cassius himself finds it difficult to calculate how much money he has.

Of course, there is a saying: The richer you are, the more you will not relax, and the more you will not relax, the richer you will be. Cassius will not give up any opportunity to make money, and will feel very happy for every gold coin that flows into his pocket, as if he heard the crisp "jingle" sound.

Well, this is the natural nature of dragons, and even if Io comes, it will be difficult to cure it.

In addition to the dragon crystals growing on his body surface, Cassius's body also underwent many changes in shape.

The large horns on its forehead began to extend outward and fork, the edges of its frilled ears had a metallic luster, and a cluster of blade-like scales appeared under its chin.

His overall appearance is also becoming increasingly different from that of an ordinary red dragon. In front of that strong, powerful yet beautiful body, an ordinary red dragon appears quite slender.

Cassius whistled softly and looked up at his panel.

Ancestral Dragon Bloodline: 21%
Strength: 39→40
Constitution: 37→38
After this short slumber, the concentration of his ancestral dragon blood increased significantly, and his strength has exceeded the forty mark, reaching an extremely terrifying level.

With his huge size advantage, Cassius's strength will become even more prominent, and even the incarnation of gods will find it difficult to compete with him in hand-to-hand combat.

Cassius picked up a huge rock from the ground, held it in his palm and squeezed it gently. With a crisp "crack" sound, the rock was crushed in an instant and turned into powder all over the sky.

He swung his sharp claws violently, debris flew everywhere, and deep scars appeared on the rock in front of him, and then it cracked and collapsed.

"not bad."

Cassius was quite satisfied with his current strength performance. He could easily crush an army with physical strength alone.

"Also, the free adventurers should have been refreshed as well."

Cassius calmed his mind and used the power of the empire to monitor the periphery of Dragon Blood Mountain. He saw hundreds of corpses appearing in the scorching heat outside Dragon Blood Mountain.

Their bodies were charred black, but they were still struggling, with distorted faces, and it was obvious that they had suffered great pain before their death.

Moreover, these corpses were all wearing infiltration equipment such as invisibility cloaks, breath-hiding cloaks, and invisible light armor, which were emitting tiny bits of magical light - they were adventurers who coveted the treasure of the Burning Emperor.

Adventurers who can avoid strict patrols and enter the outer layer of Dragon Blood Mountain must be at least extraordinary level and have special equipment.

Unfortunately, faced with the extremely high temperature steam and thick smoke, they often cannot bear it and suffocate to death, ending their lives under the scorching heat.

In the "Element Chaos Zone", the number of corpses was even rarer, and their deaths were even more tragic, either being struck by lightning, burned by fire, or engulfed by magma.
Cassius even found the remains of a legendary trickster. It was wearing a shadow cloak and its body was highly elementalized, but it was turned into charcoal by lightning that fell from the sky.

This guy probably wanted to escape into the shadow plane, but found that the surrounding space had already been blocked by Cassius. There was no possibility of escape at all, and he could only die in despair.

These adventurers probably would never have thought that even if they passed through numerous obstacles and reached the interior of Dragon Blood Mountain, they would not find even a single gold coin, jewelry, or magical item.

The only wealth here is Dragon Blood Mountain itself - that is, the body of Karix, which is something even gods would covet.

“It’s so sad.”

Cassius waved his claws, and the corpses were instantly wrapped in the scorching dragon flames, instantly turning into debris and melting into the rocks.

And the many equipment, spell scrolls and gold coins on them also flew up, gathered into a ball, and were thrown into his treasure space by Cassius.

Suddenly, a familiar magical fluctuation appeared beside Cassius, and an ugly face appeared in front of him. It was Trump.

"Master, I just received intelligence from the Imperial Guard and learned that you have awakened. Only you can cause such a huge commotion."

Cassius nodded slightly and asked, "How are the things I gave you before I fell asleep? Are the results of the analysis out?"

"You mean the spider remains?"

Seeing that Cassius did not deny it, Rump quickly replied: "The Empire's Divine and Divine Arts Research Institute has conducted a comprehensive analysis of it. Those things contain a high concentration of divine power, which has exceeded the limit we originally tested."

"According to the institute, the barrier between the material world and the outer world is decaying at a speed visible to the naked eye."

"According to this trend, within twenty years, no, within fifteen years, gods will probably walk on the earth, recreating the catastrophe of the gods in the Second Age. Even now, gods with weak or lower powers will descend into the world in advance through some secret methods."

Cassius narrowed his eyes slightly: "Are you talking about the five-colored dragon queen?"

Lump nodded hurriedly and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, the Dragon Cult has almost taken control of the entire Seleucid Kingdom and has performed many sacrificial ceremonies. Even the king has become a fanatical believer of the Dragon Queen."

"Only one old force called the 'River Valley Resistance' is fighting desperately. Empire, it's time to take a clear stand."

Trump paused, bowed his head deeply, and said respectfully: "Of course, this requires you to make the decision."

Cassius had been active on the continent of Feanso for several months as Titus, and was of course aware of the Dragon Cult's various acts of looting towns, plundering treasure houses, and kidnapping mortals.

Thinking of this, he smiled and asked, "Lump, do you think I will submit to Him and become the so-called Five-Colored Dragon Duke as He promised?"

"I naturally dare not speculate on the master's thoughts."

Trump knelt on the ground and raised his head. His narrow vertical pupils, similar to those of dragons, flashed with light. He said in a deep voice, "But from what I know about you, you will not yield to anyone, even the so-called Mother of Evil Dragons."

Hearing Lump's answer, Cassius laughed and said, "Well said. Now it is different from the past. The empire is fully grown and will not be afraid of any god."

"Since Tiamat wants me to surrender and become her slave, I will fight her to the end." The red dragon said in a firm tone, with ambition revealed in his golden vertical pupils.

Rump quickly agreed: "Master, all citizens of the Burning Empire will follow your footsteps, follow your guidance, and pursue that glorious and great blueprint."

(End of this chapter)