Under the Red Dragon.

"What you choose yourself is your true faith; the only things you are born to obey are the law and the collective moral inclinations of civilization. Everything else is a shackle and a bondage!"

The dragon-blooded angel slowly descended from the top of the World Tree, which reached the dome, and stepped on the massive steel head. Terrifying power rippled within the layers of halo behind the dragon-blooded angel's head.

As the layers of halos rippled, Phyllis could hear layers of praise and chanting resounding within, the fervor of which even stirred the surging of her dragon blood.

"This applies to both believers and the gods themselves."

"And these are the choices made spontaneously by those who have been designated as core members of the Gogmora dragonflight, for the sake of this kingdom, for this civilization, and for the dragon race,"

“Phyllis, now it’s time for you to make a choice,”

Gabriel's voice was deep and resonant, like a muffled roar from the fangs of an ancient dragon, yet it carried a sacred majesty, as if he were a divine messenger wielding divine power and authority, someone not to be looked at directly.

The colossal steel skull beneath the dragon-blooded angel's feet seemed to echo the divine decree issued by the messenger, surging forth with rolling psionic sound waves.

Sizzle,

Sizzle,

"……emperor……"

The overwhelming and pure power of faith turned the eyes of the Dragonblood Angel and the Steel Giant Skull into an intense white, as if they could look directly into the light and darkness in the hearts of any living being. Even Phyllis Tiamat, the demigod, felt that her thoughts were completely exposed in front of the Dragonblood Angel.

Phyllis Tiamat even sensed that the power possessed by this former commander of the Imperial Guard, who had long disappeared from the public stage of the Empire, and the emperor's adopted son, was not being unleashed, but rather a natural instinct, like the powerful magic inherent in the blood and bones of dragons.

However, the colossal steel skull, unrestrained by the Dragonblood Angel, was brazenly attempting to invade his mind, trying to uncover all his secrets and thoughts through his divine protection.

This feeling of having one's soul completely exposed made Phyllis growl softly as she slowly shuffled backward on all fours.

The intense pressure emanating from this space slowed down the magic within Phyllis's bloodline, allowing her to barely raise a thin barrier of divine power on her body to prevent this indiscriminately invading mind-scanning force.

"What the hell is this thing? It's trying to invade my mind and my consciousness!"

Phyllis raised her head, baring her fangs, and said in a threatening voice, "Make it stop, or I won't be able to resist destroying it completely!"

The demigod's dragon majesty suddenly rose, and even in this oppressive environment, the five-colored dragon queen still did not change her arrogant nature.

Glug,

A round ball of liquid metal suddenly fell from the sky and smashed into the steel head, instantly extinguishing the head's sweeping power.

"It's just a smart but stupid machine without any independent thought. You don't need to be nervous, Phyllis,"

A spherical life form, resembling molten metal, hopped and skipped around the Dragonblood Angel's feet, its round eyes fixed on the disgruntled demigod female dragon with a friendly expression.

"My name is Little Moss, that's the name Emperor Gogmora gave me, and this big guy is a toy and subordinate that the emperor assigned to me,"

The little moss conjured a large little face on its round face and murmured, "It was once the ultimate creation of a powerful civilization in another universe, known as the Mind Machine."

"Almost all the war masterminds in the Empire, and the masterminds atop the floating mage towers and floating fortresses, are centered around it,"

"So it is simply faithfully fulfilling the duty entrusted to it by the emperor, examining every living being that enters its field of vision, and it is not targeting you, Phyllis."

"Its original, remaining self-awareness was completely crushed by Emperor Gogmora, leaving only the instincts of a mechanical life form."

Phyllis slightly shifted her gaze to the Dragonblood Angel.

She had never seen Little Moss before; the little creature never appeared in the public eye of the Empire, so Phyllis was instinctively suspicious.

"Emperor Gogmora, my father, my lord, does not like to pry into the minds of others,"

Gabriel paused slightly, then said softly, "But sometimes it's necessary to use such abilities to achieve the desired results, so both the mind machine and I were granted this power by the Emperor."

"However, I don't like this behavior either, so I haven't restricted the capabilities of the mind machine."

If the Cyclops Assis were present, perhaps the giant would have doubted the words of the dragon-blooded angel.

Because of this guy's reputation with the Cyclops, he couldn't borrow even a single copper coin.

"So, what choice do I need to make?"

Phyllis raised her head, and the five beautiful, long dragon tails behind her swayed gently, causing her imposing demigod aura to vanish without a trace.

Although this female dragon initially came to the Golden Empire and joined the Goggmora dragon pack with ulterior motives—to seize control of the entire empire and supreme power, and to overthrow the rule of the Goggmora dragon pack—she did not intend to do so.

But she had been mingling in this empire, this dragon clan, for quite some time, so long that she sometimes subconsciously forgot the purpose of her coming here.

The atmosphere and environment of this empire and this dragon horde influenced the five-colored dragon to begin to let go of its inner barriers and turn to trust in its companions.

This trust comes from the trust and entrustment of this dragon race.

The idea of ​​being supported by an entire empire and clan to elevate her to godhood was a feeling she had never experienced in her hundred years of life.

Heavy, yet glorious.

Such a thing has never existed in the dictionary of the five-colored dragon bloodline, but the Gogmora dragonflight has rewritten it and engraved it in the heart of every great dragon.

Phyllis Tiamat had no doubt that all of this naturally flowed in the blood of the descendants of this dragon race and empire.

Besides psychic powers and mental magic, the spirit is also capable of altering one's nature.

The transformation of the spirit is a hundred times, a thousand times more powerful than any psychic or mental magic.

What is faith?

Gabriel did not answer Phyllis's question, but instead asked a new one.

What is faith?

The enormous steel head, the machine that creates thought, repeated the question, its voice echoing Phyllis's.

The female dragon frowned, revealing beautiful scales between her brows, and after a brief moment of thought, replied, "Faith is a systematized set of beliefs, rituals, and normative ideologies."

"It is the profound belief of an individual in a concept or value, the source and foundation of a religion!" The Dragonblood Angel smiled slightly, and the layers of halos behind him swayed, scattering spiritual light.

"Then what do you think the Empire's faith is?" Gabriel asked again.

Although the dragon-blooded angel looked down at Phyllis, the demigod dragon, Phyllis did not feel any aversion at this moment, because she knew that this angel was not representing herself, but had been given another kind of power.

"It's difficult to summarize. Even though I've been in the Empire for quite some time, I still can't accurately describe it. The spiritual path of the True Dragon seems difficult to encompass entirely within it."

After thinking for a while, Phyllis finally gave her answer.

“I will give you the answer, Phyllis,”

Gabriel declared, his voice growing ever more authoritative, its tone resonating throughout the entire space: "The faith of the Empire is the cornerstone upon which its people stand in the world, and which enables them to solve the ultimate problems."

"It is the courage that enables the people and all living beings of the empire to face all difficulties, hardships, and trials."

"The faith of the Empire is not a narrow religion; religion is merely the most superficial expression of faith."

"The faith of the empire is the great righteousness of the nation's civilization and race, the continuation of civilization for thousands of years, the breath of progress and struggle that never dies from generation to generation, and the pursuit of moving forward, towards the future, and towards a better future!"

"The beliefs of other civilized nations and races are not the beliefs defined by our empire, and their frameworks are not the frameworks of our empire,"

The Dragonblood Angel lowered its head, looking directly at the pensive demigod dragon, and said, "I am the divine son bestowed by my father and lord. I not only bear a portion of the faith of the empire's people in place of the emperor, but also possess the 'divine authority' granted to me by Emperor Gogmora."

“Make your choice, Phyllis Tiamat,”

Suddenly, Gabriel spoke in the language of dragons, a language bestowed upon him by the blood flowing through his veins. He was also the first inheritor and 'descendant' of Emperor Goggmora in the world of Ekania.

"The Empire reveres the rules of the world, and honors the ancestors of its race. It will regard you as the god of its former kings and ancestors."

"And you will be the first ancestral god born within the Gogmora dragon horde of the Golden Empire!"

With a series of clicks, the colossal steel head, a thousand meters tall, and the ultimate creation of another universe, emitted a powerful psionic sound.

"Make your choice, Phyllis Tiamat: become the Empire's first Ancestral God, or give up!"

The enormous steel head slowly opened its upper jaw, revealing a deep, black hole-like interior space.

Those teeth, cast entirely of steel, stood side by side, their chilling sharpness making Phyllis Tiamat wonder if even her own body could be bitten off by this enormous head, this machine of thought.

Phyllis remained silent for an unknown period of time—perhaps a quarter of an hour, half a day, or even a whole day.

Neither the dragon-blooded angel Gabriel nor the little moss drifting in the ocean of faith deliberately urged this demigod.

Gabriel knew that this powerful dragon had never truly connected with the Gorgorra dragons deep down, and that suspicion was part of the nature of the five-colored dragons, so he did not urge him.

He didn't care about the little moss.

“Go in, Phyllis. This may be the core secret of Caron Gogmora. Go in quickly.”

Phyllis's mind was filled with the urging shouts of the evil dragon god, but they were intermittent and could not be sustained.

"Once you find the core secrets of that red dragon, you will have the opportunity to defeat him, seize the highest power in this empire, and bring this empire into your grasp."

At a certain moment, Phyllis Tiamat suddenly sighed softly and resolutely stepped into the open maw.

With a loud bang, the enormous mind machine slammed its upper jaw shut.

In that instant, even the voice of the Immortal Dragon God was completely cut off from Phyllis's mind, and no more words could be heard.

Tick, tick, tick.

Streams of five-colored dragon blood, imbued with powerful divine might, began to flow from between the teeth of this enormous head, dripping into the depths of the ocean of faith.

In the vast depths of the ocean, things began to gradually boil.

These streams of five-colored dragon blood gathered and took shape in the depths of the ocean. Threads of dragon blood mixed with the power of faith gradually intertwined to form a neural network, veins and patterns.

A gigantic dragon egg began to take shape deep in the ocean. This egg was so large that it was several times larger than the dragon egg that Phyllis Tiamat had seen before, even in its early stages.

Beside this newly formed, enormous egg, several even larger eggs have settled.

These enormous eggs are tightly bound and secured by the roots of the World Tree, which are continuously infusing them with life force drawn from various planes by the roots.

At the very bottom of the World Tree's roots lies an enormous egg, its surface covered with countless intricate and regular patterns.

The face that emerged was none other than the Dragon Emperor of the Empire, Karon Gogmora!

One after another, the eggs of the Dragon King surrounded the eggs of the Dragon Emperor, settling deep in this ocean, where the seeds of godhood were sown.

"The authority of the empire, the vision of the empire, the legal net of the empire, the faith of the empire."

"They're all in there,"

The Dragonblood Angel sat perched atop the massive head of the mind machine, speaking softly as if he knew his voice could reach the ears of the demigod dragon.

"To become the ancestral god of the future empire, wherever the empire's territory and order extend, that will be your domain and divine kingdom."

"The area within the sight of the people of the Empire is the area under your gaze, the area where your divine power and authority can reach,"

“Tell it, Phyllis Tiamat, whatever kind of god you choose to become, guide yourself and tread the path to divinity that you choose!”

What kind of god do I want to become?

Phyllis Tiamat's five senses were shut off, and her body was as if she were in another world, different from the present, enveloped by endless spirituality, and isolated from all external perception.

Even the urging voice of the Immortal Dragon God had long since vanished without a trace.

"I choose to become..." (End of Chapter)