Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 444 Ulterior motives
"Fireball! Behold, my magic will utterly defeat you!"

An elven voice, with the distinctive accent of its race, rang out. The common language of elves always carried an elegant atmosphere, but the elf who spoke was a drow elf, a rare breed on the surface of the world of Ekania.

"You're very skillful, but unfortunately, I have a magic field that can break magic fields!"

The grey dwarves from the Underdark have now integrated into the Golden Empire, and many of the adult dwarves have given birth to numerous offspring in the past twenty years, making grey dwarves a common sight in the empire's cities.

The Grey Dwarves, in particular, have lived in the Underdark for countless centuries, but there is very little entertainment to enjoy in that dark place.

After being integrated into the Empire, the Grey Dwarves became loyal supporters of the Golden Empire's Dragon Cards and Eternal Cards, and the name of the Grey Dwarves Card Demons spread throughout the card halls of various cities in the Empire.

Because no other race is like the Grey Dwarves; once they're at the card table, they won't leave until they've lost all their cards.

Given the grey dwarves' fervent love for this form of entertainment, many dragons in the Gorgmora dragonflight who research the transformation of faith power and many mages in the Empire share a common fantasy.

If the Grey Dwarves were to multiply in the Empire for several generations and accumulate a sufficiently large population, perhaps some members of the Empire would embark on a journey to godhood for reasons that seem utterly ridiculous.

According to research on the power of faith by relevant departments of the Imperial Magic Research Department, the approximate estimate of the effects of faith-based ascension to godhood is that those of fanatical believers are at least 120 times more effective than those of general believers.

It is precisely because of this enormous effect that every fanatical believer has a very high probability of gaining the attention of their god.

Yes, these people were also being watched by Raven, the little elf of the Golden Empire who controlled the Eternal and Dragon cards.

Over the years, the little elf Raven has worked tirelessly, putting in extra hours to improve and optimize many mechanisms for the Dragon Age Card in order to cooperate with the Cultural Propaganda Department of Commander Alfred the Bronze Dragon in expanding the cultural influence of the Golden Empire. This has made the entertainment project gradually popular throughout the Northern Continent.

Its influence has gradually expanded to the Southern Continent and the Middle-earth. Even the younger generation of dragons who travel from the Southern Good Dragon Alliance often end up in the Golden Empire of the Northern Continent when they travel in the world of Ekania.

According to recent intelligence from Gross and Natalie, two bronze dragons who are still active in the Good Dragon Alliance.

The new generation of Golden and Silver Dragons in the Southern Good Dragon Alliance are increasingly influenced by the Golden Empire. In addition, the speeches and travels of Silver Dragon Chris Tiana in the South have led many of the new generation of Golden and Silver Dragons to disagree with the style of their parents.

The idea of ​​eliminating the blood feuds and grudges passed down through generations with the five-colored dragons has become a common understanding among the new generation of benevolent dragons. The legendary dragon talismans issued by the Golden Empire have also become toys and treasures that dragons compete with each other.

The dragon elders of the Benevolent Dragon Alliance are deeply concerned about this and even want to issue an order to ban the spread of the Golden Empire's culture. The debate is still ongoing within the Southern Benevolent Dragon Alliance.

There were even rumors that many giant dragons were fighting each other in the venue.

Meanwhile, the Western continent, thanks to the good relations between the vampires of the Forest Kingdom, the Dark Nest lord Salos, the Elf Kingdom, and the Golden Empire, and the people of these countries also interacted with each other through cooperation, trade, and alliances at the upper levels, making the cultural carriers of the Golden Empire very popular.

This includes not only the Dragon Age Card, but also the Dragon Bookstore that the Golden Empire had established decades ago through the Dragon Merchant Guild controlled by the goblin Glitter, and the Gladiator Tournament created by the alliance of nations today. All these elements are inextricably linked.

"Damn it, how did you get this magic card!" the drow elf cursed.

"This is the basic ability of the Dragon Mage deck, and one of the core strategies of the three Dragon decks. Bullshit, how did you draw the Dragonblood Noble Troll Commander Zuga!"

The grey dwarves and drow elves have always been at odds in the Underdark, and of course they also fight each other in the Golden Empire. Fortunately, the Empire has arenas and card rooms, allowing these former enemies to settle their old scores in a different way, without having to end in bloodshed.

Since the kings returned from the deep space, Anudael, the Dark Elf King, has regained power and established his own Drow Elf kingdom in the former territories of the southern nobles.

Furthermore, by using the life-giving water from the Tree of Life of the Golden Empire as a magical medium, they nearly completely washed away the negative effects of drow elves not being able to live on the surface for long.

Therefore, the Drow Elves became another emerging race on the surface of Ekania, and also the race with the closest ties to the Golden Empire.

After all, although the Drow Elves inherited the legacy of the Southern Nobles, they still needed the Golden Empire as a reference and source of assistance for the various resources and cultural influences required to establish their kingdom.

Unlike the Hobbes Empire, whose territory expanded southward across an entire duchy, Emperor Zarathusa of the Hobbes Empire regained power after returning to the empire.

However, it also attempted to learn from the Golden Empire and began to promote the construction of an independent system within the Hobbes Empire.

The Orcish Kingdom also possesses a fairly mature national civilization system, and therefore does not rely as heavily on the Golden Empire as the Drow Elves.

Only the Frost Giants relinquished direct rule over the southern kingdoms.

Ragnar Hagrid, the Frost Giant King, believed that it was uncertain whether Frost Giants who left the Frozen Wasteland could still be called Frost Giants.

However, to ensure the continued reproduction of the Frost Giant race in the south, it is necessary to modify the environment of the southern kingdoms to make them suitable for the Frost Giant race.

Such actions would only turn the southern territory into another Frost Plain.

Therefore, the Golden Empire negotiated with the Frost Giants and ceded a large portion of the grasslands, allowing the Frost Giants to have more opportunities for development and more territory.

Instead, the Kingdom of Koria, which had been reduced to ruins in World War I, officially became the Golden Empire's enclave and transit hub in the south.

However, these major events were merely topics of pride and daily entertainment for the people of the empire.

In the eyes of the people of the empire, the strength of the empire is closely related to every individual. This is the result of Alfred the Bronze Dragon uniting the social and cultural consciousness of the Golden Empire, with a sense of belonging and honor being of paramount importance.

"The Dragon series cards are about to receive a real buff, because Her Majesty Raven has decided to create all the Imperial Dragon cards as well,"

Someone in the crowd said something, which immediately sparked a heated discussion among those around them.

"I've even heard that Her Majesty Raven consulted His Majesty the Emperor, intending to create cards featuring His Majesty the Emperor as well, to be included as unique cards in the Legendary Collection. There would be several cards, each corresponding to a different form of His Majesty the Emperor,"

These lively discussions immediately drowned out the voices of the two angry-looking drow elves and grey dwarves.

"What kind of powerful abilities must His Majesty's cards possess to be worthy of His Majesty's status!"

"Damn it, I wonder which lucky ones will be able to get His Majesty the Emperor's cards..."

……

As the mage Joro and his companions walked through the streets and alleys of the Golden Empire's capital, they felt the bustling yet orderly atmosphere of every tavern and card room they passed, which made these astral hunters eager to get started.

Especially since these Astral Hunters were all quite well-off. As legends who had traveled to many planes, even the poorest Astral Hunter could afford a luxurious residence in the now incredibly expensive capital city. However, for these Astral Hunters, there were so many things to experience in the Golden Empire that they were almost overwhelmed by the choices.

Operas, gladiatorial arenas, horse races, card rooms, libraries—these seemingly superficial things, what impressed the Star Hunters, especially the mage Joro, most was the perfection of the Golden Empire.

Perhaps the Golden Empire cannot compare with many civilizations in other planes in many aspects, but among them, the Golden Empire is the one with the highest level of civilization perfection.

"Pineapple, the sweetest pineapple on the plains, the sweetest pineapple in the empire, the sweetest pineapple in the Northern Lands, and even the sweetest pineapple in the world of Aikania,"

"Ten copper coins for a pound of pineapple, you won't lose out, even dragons say it's delicious!"

A pineapple sprite with a yellow pineapple head was standing on the street with his hands on his hips, calling out to customers. Although a long queue had already formed in front of his shop, this pineapple sprite, who was only one meter tall, was still tirelessly trying to attract customers.

The person in charge of taking in and collecting payments for the Pineapple Elf is none other than Mentet, the most popular extraordinary profession in the Golden Empire right now.

It's easy to imagine how lucrative this pineapple elf's profits were from selling his own kind.

The astral hunters passed by the strange shop with somewhat distorted expressions. At this moment, the impression that the Golden Empire had given these astral hunters seemed a little too diverse and inclusive.

However, the aura emanating from this pineapple elf was what truly caught the attention of the Astral Hunters—it was the aura of the True Dragon Emperor Charon Goggmora, whom they had once encountered.

Although it was incredibly small, it always carried a unique aura.

Joe shook his head, then turned and followed his companions into an alleyway, and then through the gate of a spacious mansion.

Based on the relevant policies and regulations issued by Midil, the steel dragon in the Golden Empire, outsiders are no longer allowed to directly purchase residences in the imperial cities.

No matter how much wealth one possesses, one must meet one of two conditions.

The first condition is that the person must have lived in the Golden Empire for more than three years and have a good record of paying taxes, and must not have a record of illegal tax evasion.

The second condition is that if one invests a certain proportion of their wealth and industry in the Golden Empire, they will be eligible to purchase residential properties in the Golden Empire city.

Furthermore, private land ownership cannot be transferred or sold at will; it must be reviewed and approved by the relevant government departments of the empire.

Therefore, these astral hunters could only find the steel dragon Midil and rent a mansion from this money-grubbing steel dragon who owned a rental property business to settle down in the Empire.

Midil the Steel Dragon once aspired to be a wealthy dragon like her fellow Steel Dragons, known as the Thousand-Spell Dragons of Waterdeep, who collected rent and became incredibly rich. But now, Midil has gradually caught up with the pace of her ancestors.

Steel Dragon Midil's mansion is frequented by many wealthy people because of the hidden protective magic array it has set up.

When the mage Joro stepped into the mansion's private magical experiment room, he saw the legendary knight Gauto soaking in a pool.

Sheila and Romi were waiting beside Goto.

"How is Gao Tuo?"

The mage Joro looked at Gaotuo, who was soaking in the magical liquid. This enhanced liquid, made of precious materials, was enough to drain the entire fortune of a high-level mage with just one tube.

The legendary knight, Goto, was now completely submerged in the pool, except for his head.

The difference between legendary and non-legendary figures lies not only in power, but also in wealth.

Romi shook his head and said, "Not very good. In theory, Gao Tuo's ability to absorb the essence of the ancestral dragons should be able to, but the blood of Gao Gmora is not comparable to that of the ancestral dragons."

"Although Gogmora's strength and excellence have been proven, perhaps the opponent has exceeded our imagination."

Qiao Luo looked at the legendary knight Gao Tuo, whose consciousness was in a semi-comatose state, even though the knight's body had been strengthened layer by layer and his absorption and transformation ability had been enhanced by his own rudimentary will of rules.

However, at this moment, the boiling dragon blood still dominated his body, and even his skin began to grow dense scales.

However, once Knight Gotor's body is completely transformed into a descendant of dragon blood, it proves that Knight Gotor's path has been completely influenced by Gogmora.

"This is the result of Gao Tuo only using half a drop of his blood,"

Sheila said worriedly, "Gogmora didn't hold back, but Goto underestimated his own strength. That contained the core power of Emperor Gogmora, which he couldn't withstand."

"It can only be said that the gap between legends is so vast that it drives Gao Tuo to despair!"

"How's your business going? Have you finished it?"

The mage, Joro, shook his head, then nodded. "In fact, Goggmora has not yet undergone a legendary transformation."

“We have notified all the channels and contacts we have made, and many of the merchant guilds and information-selling organizations in the astral realm may themselves have been shaken by this news.”

The mage Joro sighed and said, "I can already imagine the chaos that will erupt in the Astral Plane because of Emperor Goggmora's casual act."

"To be able to manipulate the winds and clouds with a mere wave of the hand is truly terrifying."

"What terrifies me even more is that the treasure left behind by the dragon god Aio—even if mortals obtain this secret, knowing they are incapable of acquiring it, they will still greedily monopolize it."

Romi said quietly, "But the dragon's greed did not affect Emperor Gogmora. I suspect he had ulterior motives."

"Emperor Gogmora may not have only wanted to rescue his lover through such means, although I greatly admire his decision to abandon such a treasure that could shake the gods just to save his beloved,"

"But I always felt that there must be something we couldn't have imagined that was what that emperor wanted to achieve."

"It doesn't matter, our goal has already been set."

Sheila sighed, "Our wisdom, if not superior to that of mortals, is still incomparable to such beings. There's no use in thinking about it anymore. Let's wait for the right opportunity and fulfill Emperor Gogmora's request!"

(End of this chapter)