Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 454 is coming.
It was late autumn in the 45th year of the Dragon Calendar.

Time flows like water, regardless of the subjective will of all things in the world.

From the perspective of the people of the Golden Empire, the disturbances from the outside world could not affect the empire's prosperity. In the generally peaceful and orderly development, another ten years passed.

During this decade, the Golden Empire strengthened its military, stabilized its economic development, expanded its trade ties with the outside world, and further expanded its cultural influence.

The shipyards of the Golden Empire have been transformed from state-owned enterprises into private enterprises, because the size of the country alone makes it difficult to invest a large amount of resources in the ocean shipping industry in order to achieve comprehensive development.

This also led to the emergence of many shipbuilding tycoons in the Empire who were famous throughout the world of Ekania, such as the goblin shimmering descendant, the goblin Thrust.

The goblin Shussot sat casually in the main seat of the Dragon Merchant Guild's local meeting room. The shipyard he controlled was just one of the subordinate industries, but it has gradually become a pillar industry of the Dragon Merchant Guild.

Despite possessing a 0.2% controlling stake granted by the Royal Court of Gog'mora, which equates to being an original shareholder, Goblin Sothor still considers himself merely a competent manager, not a leader.

As an outstanding descendant of the goblin Glitter, the goblin Soshow has gradually taken up the mantle of the goblin Glitter and become one of the representatives of the Golden Empire among the people.

No one could underestimate this tall goblin with a thick gold chain around his neck, gold rings all over his hands, and even gold teeth—a veritable nouveau riche.

Even the Nine Branches Trading Company, which specializes in astral transport across several prime material planes in the vicinity, holds this young goblin in the highest regard.

The name 'Nine Branches' is quite ordinary, but anyone who has ever observed the World Tree sapling Owo knows that a World Tree initially has only nine branches.

This also means that this astral trading company has lofty ambitions and aspirations, wanting to distribute the company across various prime material planes like the World Tree.

Therefore, the person in charge of each prime material plane must be a person who combines flexibility and wisdom.

Ouka, the head of the Nine Branches Trading Company, is such a person. Even though Ouka is a superhuman at the peak of the Saint Realm, he still has great respect for the mediocre goblin Soso.

"Your Excellency Sosso, all 350 interplanetary transport ships ordered by your Chamber of Commerce have now arrived,"

Oka sat down on the soft animal hide cushion and said happily, "This batch of astral transport ships has been built to your standards, with ample room for modification and extremely powerful power upgrade redundancy."

"In addition, as per Your Excellency's request, many of the weapon systems on these astral transfer ships have been removed, so the load of the defense systems is entirely concentrated in the energy protection system, as our tests have shown,"

"These ships have excellent defensive capabilities, sufficient for long-distance interplanetary jumps. Even storms in the interplanet cannot easily break through their defenses."

The goblin Shuttle nodded, revealing a mouthful of gold teeth.

These gold teeth were forged by the goblin Suo Suo using gold bestowed upon him by the Dragon King. They are Suo Suo's glory, so he always proudly shows his teeth to everyone in the outside world.

"Your Chamber of Commerce is renowned for its reputation and quality across several nearby planes, so I naturally have complete faith in it. However, business always requires following the proper procedures,"

The goblin chuckled, "So we still need to conduct an inspection of this batch of ships. We hope Lord Oka won't think we don't trust you!"

“That’s natural, that’s only right,” Okaha said with a forced smile.

Then the creature with a pair of small blue horns on its head and a shimmering blue beard of indistinguishable race straightened its expression and said, "We have always known that your country is powerful and adept at innovation and development."

"I suppose your country has gradually mastered the specific knowledge and technology of building astral ships by ordering them from different merchants over the past decade,"

"I wonder if your country is interested in entering this industry."

The goblin Sosso quickly waved his hand and laughed loudly, "Your Excellency Oka, as you know, a nation or civilization must master certain things. Although our Golden Empire has been interested in developing this industry in recent years, we have no intention of entering this field."

"Look, just in the world of Ekania, the trade between several continents alone requires countless resources. Even if all the power of the Northern Kings and the Golden Empire were combined, it would be difficult to digest them. Moreover, the empire's center of gravity has begun to shift towards the Star Boundary."

"Your Excellency Oka, please rest assured, there will be many more collaborations between the Empire and your esteemed firm in the future,"

The goblin Sosso said knowingly, "You should know that His Majesty the Dragon King Midil of the Empire once said that if you want others to follow you or not oppose you, you have to make most people able to make money."

"Hahaha, as expected of the Dragon King who controls wealth,"

Oka chuckled, then his expression suddenly turned serious, and he asked solemnly, "If that's the case, then your country has ordered so many astral ships, and this last batch is the largest in number."

"Does this mean that your country will soon be making a big move? As far as I know, your country's Dragon Kings are still asleep. Perhaps these Dragon Kings are about to awaken?"

“Well, let’s talk business. National affairs are beyond the reach of a goblin merchant like me,” the goblin Sosso waved his hand and said, “Don’t let my respectable appearance fool you. In the empire, I’m nothing special.”

Oka's eyes flickered; he absolutely did not believe what the goblin Sosso had said, but he couldn't ask any further questions.

The movements of the Golden Empire were of great concern to the other civilizations in the world of Ekania, as well as to many forces in the surrounding material planes and even to the many powerful beings in the world of Lipunos.

During this decade, the Golden Empire also faced many troubles on its homeland.

Currently, the key to the treasure of the primordial dragon god Aio is known only to the silver dragon Chris Tiana, who is still trapped in the plane of Lyphons, and Charon Gogmora, the ruler of the Golden Empire.

As the news spread, the legendary chosen ones residing in this star field finally couldn't resist taking action and went to the world of Lypunos to compete for the treasure left behind by the dragon god Io.

Not only did the Zerg Queen, who had once suffered a loss at the hands of Lipunos, lead her Zerg army into the arena, but several other legendary Chosen Ones also descended upon Lipunos's material plane.

Although Lipnos was in his own material plane and had the strongest blessing from the laws of destiny, the repeated battles left him exhausted.

Lipnos's overly assertive stance has already provoked public outrage.

Although Lipnos repelled the Zerg Queen and her army with his overwhelming power, the embodiment of Lipnos' power was also slain by another legendary chosen one, Broshu.

When Lipnos's avatars of power were repeatedly defeated by powerful beings from other prime material planes, a critical point was finally reached.

Dozens of legendary powerhouses joined forces to besiege and kill the power avatars that had split off from Lyponus's true form, leaving Lyponus with no more power to split off. In the end, Lyponus's true form was forced to appear in the world, interrupting his destiny-driven journey of ascension.

Lipunos was enraged and led his forces and legions in a months-long battle against dozens of legendary warriors.

In this battle, a total of eighteen legendary high-ranking powerhouses died at the hands of Lipunos. The remaining legendary powerhouses fled in panic. Even an ancient dragon from the Southern Good Dragon Alliance was killed by Lipunos, and its skull and corpse still hang in the broken mountains.

This battle was so fierce that the land was turned upside down, the rivers and seas boiled, and countless cities were destroyed. In the end, only a few legendary and destined powerhouses were able to contend with Lipnos for a long time.

Moreover, to prevent the silver dragon Chris Tiana from escaping, the entire material plane has been sealed off, turning it into a meat grinder where entry is permitted but exit is not.

Even if those legendary beings and those destined for greatness could break through the limits set by Lipunos, those powerful beings would not allow any living being to leave this world.

Meanwhile, the dragons and warriors who infiltrated the Golden Empire continuously fed back information from the detection of the Lypunos world, prompting the Empire's magicians to develop several biological viruses specifically targeting the races of the Lypunos world.

The Empire's Dark Raven's Eye and the Assassin's Court dispatched a large number of people to release biological viruses developed by mages into the world of Lypunos, in order to reduce the number of ruling races under Lypunos and weaken Lypunos's power and influence.

The more powerful the material world they control, the stronger the power of the legendary chosen ones.

The world's power is related to the life and matter that exist within it. The races and beings in the Lipnos plane are, to some extent, one of the sources of Lipnos' power, even if their influence is not significant.

However, any effort to weaken the enemy is worthwhile for the Golden Empire.

Although Lipnos's power could quickly eliminate the effects of these viruses, the races he ruled suffered heavy casualties.

Later, the magicians of the Golden Empire even used the Empire's research in the spiritual realm to develop a spiritual virus targeting the races and creatures of the Lyponos world, combining the dragon's bloodline desires with the negative effects of spirituality.

This virus allows the beings of that world to maximize their primal desires, amplifying their evil, leaving them with almost no other thoughts or ideas, only the desire to kill and reproduce, and the instinctive craving to eat.

Except for a very small number of intelligent infected individuals who are able to suppress some of their desires, almost all other races and beings are in this pathological state.

Lipunos had to intervene again, using the rules of the legendary Chosen One to expel and eliminate this spiritual poison.

As a result, Lipnos's power also diminished, and he no longer possessed the absolute overwhelming power to defeat the other legendary chosen ones, which made the battles in that world everlasting.

Many warriors of the Golden Empire and several great dragons perished in this world.

Initially, the Golden Empire was unwilling to back down and took the initiative to seek peace and cooperation with the legendary Chosen One, Lipunos. However, Lipunos always maintained a superior attitude and did not take the Golden Empire seriously.

However, as things progressed, various changes and disputes made it difficult for both sides to stop.

In particular, the dragons of the Southern Good Dragon Alliance of Ekania once used the pattern discovered by the silver dragon Chris to trigger the treasure of the dragon god Io to appear in the world three times, but they were still unable to keep this mysterious country.

This makes the question of who Silver Dragon Chris belongs even more crucial.

Although the war between the legendary destinies became the most captivating stage play in the Lipunos plane, the catalyst between the Golden Empire and Lipunos was also witnessed by many.

Many other legendary figures who came after her saw no way to claim ownership of the Silver Dragon Chris Tiana in that world. After all, besides the dragons and warriors sent by the Golden Empire providing cover and the Astral Hunters tipping her off, there was also an ancient silver dragon standing behind Chris as her support.

So those legends set their sights on the Golden Empire, which was far away in the world of Ekania.

Unfortunately, these legends were not lucky. After the emperor and many dragon kings of the empire went into slumber, the military system of the Golden Empire was on standby at any time.

As a land-based superpower civilization, the Golden Empire's satellites and weapons consist of its aerospace defense system that spans the skies and its space ports located outside the barrier of the Ekania world.

Moreover, the Golden Empire was completely different from the races under the rule of Lipunos; it was the stronghold of a land-based dominant civilization with extremely tight organization and cohesion.

Those legendary figures who had arrived in the Golden Empire with great momentum were locked onto by the Empire's aerospace defenses before they even reached the capital.

For the first time, the floating islands and floating mage towers that roamed the skies above the empire showcased the fruits of the empire's decades of dedicated development to the entire world of Ekania.

Each time, dozens of dragons from the Golden Empire would simultaneously launch an attack to besiege several legendary figures who had entered the empire, using magic arrays to temporarily restrain them.

Ultimately, the Golden Empire, at the cost of turning an entire region into desert, unleashed a destructive light that wiped out everything, killing four legends of relatively ordinary wealth and strength, and injuring six of the strongest among the legends.

Among them were even two Hell Titans from a subsidiary plane of Hell. Because these two female Titans were unusually to the liking of the multi-armed giant Mogyes, they were captured by the multi-armed giant king shortly after arriving in the Empire and made into slaves for the giant king's venting.

Several mature dragons from other planes also defied the power of the Golden Empire, but these dragons ended up in the territory of the Frost Giants.

Before these dragons even reached the Golden Empire, they were beheaded by Ragnar Hagrid, the Frost Giant King, and sent to the Empire.

Because this was a request from the Golden Empire, in these extraordinary times, everything must be dealt with ruthlessly.

For the past decade, the Golden Empire has been deploying and reorganizing its legions in preparation for war, with a very clear objective. This is why Europa suspects that the Golden Empire is about to launch a major operation.

After seeing off Oka, the head of the Astral Merchant Guild stationed in the Empire, the goblin Sosso summoned his subordinates.

"Sending this batch of astral ships to the Imperial Military's logistics factory requires the personal signature of His Majesty, Minister of Defense, Mist Dragon De Niro,"

The kobold nodded in agreement and hurried to the space port to make the handover.

The goblin Sosholt raised his head and looked towards the distant dragon's nest.

The strange phenomena of thunder, lightning, dark clouds, frost, poisonous clouds, and poisonous fire that haunted the sleeping dragon kings' lairs of the empire have begun to subside and show signs of dissipating.

(End of this chapter)