The Red Emperor Capital.

This capital, nestled in the heart of the Rhen Plateau, was like a colossal beast crouching upon the earth. Having weathered over forty years of storms, it had become the most magnificent urban wonder on the Romanian Plains.

To the south of the capital stood a super-giant, obelisk-shaped structure.

It was cast from magical alloy, its entire surface engraved with intricate dragon patterns. The building stood hundreds of stories high, each floor's observation platform wide enough for a dragon to turn around.

Countless dragons soared and circled around the structure.

Young red dragons, black dragons, and blue dragons flapped their wings, causing gusts of air as they landed on the platforms or took off from them, their wings spreading to blot out small patches of the sky.

The higher one looked, the fewer the dragons, but the more massive their builds and the more intense their life auras.

Near the cloud layer, one could occasionally catch a glimpse of legendary dragons slowly gliding past.

Its highest point, however, already pierced into the clouds.

And this was the supreme symbol of authority for the entire Aola Kingdom, the Dragon Court located within the Red Emperor Capital.

Below the Dragon Court lay the glorious kingdom: farmlands spread out like a chessboard, mines operated day and night, and caravans crawled like ants along the roads. Within the Dragon Court were the mighty dragons themselves: they dwelled, fought, and bred, forming the kingdom's pillars. And above the Dragon Court was the Red Emperor who controlled everything.

Whoosh!

A fierce current of wind swept past the floating clouds, brushing against Garoth's scales with a faint friction sound.

At this moment, he stood at the highest level of the Dragon Court.

From here, a sea of clouds churned beneath his feet, occasionally parting to reveal the mottled colors of the world.

Compared to over forty years ago, the red iron dragon's body length from head to tail had reached forty-eight meters. His skeleton was more refined, the exaggerated, oppressive muscle bulk from before had receded somewhat, making his overall appearance denser and more formidable.

The once outwardly exposed ferocity and sharp edges had been tempered inward.

Yet, the majestic aura befitting a monarch was stronger than ever.

This change was achieved through a diet of nearly three days of hunger followed by nine meals, drinking black oil like water, and pushing through intense training.

Even so, Garoth's life level had still risen by one rank.

Although he controlled his eating, he hadn't held back on consuming high-energy substances like black oil, gemstones, and precious metals.

Furthermore, his respiratory and digestive systems had undergone profound strengthening.

Each of Garoth's long, drawn-out breaths could draw more ambient energy from the air. During meals, his digestive system's efficiency in converting food energy had greatly increased, with minimal waste.

"In terms of energy absorption and conversion efficiency, it currently seems to be merely an accumulation of 'quantity' and an increase in 'intensity.' There's still some distance from triggering a qualitative change."

"This level of evolution will most likely still require slumber to complete."

Garoth gathered his thoughts, assessing himself.

As he had grown over these years, his evolution talent had also strengthened.

The problem was, his current body was too powerful.

The difficulty of remodeling and reshaping a legendary physique was not on the same plane as that of a mundane body.

Given the current strength and resilience of Garoth's body, completing a significant qualitative evolutionary leap still required time to accumulate change.

However, he never lacked time.

For a normal dragon, the time he needed for evolution was merely a noteworthy ripple in the long river of life.

Immediately after, Garoth turned his gaze westward, towards the direction of the Arotala Continent.

By now, the true nature of the calamity sweeping across the Arotala Continent could no longer be concealed.

As the conflict between the elves and the orcs intensified, many pieces of information surfaced, reaching the Atlantis Continent via merchant ships, wandering spellcasters, and transnational intelligence networks.

It was an invisible plague of destruction, termed the "Frenzied Curse" by elven scholars.

It would lie dormant within a host, behaving normally when the host wasn't angry, even enhancing the host's combat instincts.

However, it possessed extremely high contagiousness and penetrating power.

An angry glare, blood splattered during combat, or even briefly sharing a confined space could become transmission routes.

Even legendary Domains could not completely block it; a moment of carelessness could lead to infection.

If it were merely the Frenzied Calamity, it might have been manageable.

The Nausil Empire itself possessed a highly advanced magical civilization. After the initial chaos, they had already researched barrier arrays to curb its spread, even developing some potions and purification rituals to alleviate symptoms.

However, the orcs arrived.

After the orcs of the Kantum Empire set foot on the Arotala Continent aboard their massive fleets, they immediately launched a fierce assault on the elves.

The flames of war disrupted the elves' epidemic prevention deployments, bringing disaster response efforts to a standstill.

The Frenzied Curse spread once more, even reaching the orc armies.

Helpless, the elves released detailed information about the calamity, attempting to make the orcs realize the severity of the situation and temporarily cease hostilities to jointly address the crisis.

But the orcs paid it no heed, even growing more excited.

Most of these savages were warlike; eight out of ten were employed in professions like berserker or war priest.

Many orcs actively sought infection with the Frenzied Curse to become stronger.

They discovered that in a state where frenzied flame scorched their reason, combat instincts were amplified to the extreme, and pain could instead stimulate the eruption of potential.

They quite enjoyed the sensation of their brains being seared by rage.

Thus, the Arotala Continent descended into complete chaos.

The elves wanted to control the epidemic but had to deal with war; the orcs fought while actively seeking infection; ordinary civilians struggled to survive amidst the dual disasters.

"The frenzied flame on me comes from Gorthax, and he obtained it from a fallen meteorite."

"The elves explored the stars. Subsequently, a meteor shower struck the Arotala Continent, bringing the calamity, bringing the Frenzied Curse. And this Frenzied Curse is most likely also frenzied flame."

The red iron dragon silently thought.

That the frenzied flame originated from the vast starry sky was basically confirmed.

Interestingly, in the information released by the elves, it was explicitly mentioned that infected individuals would feel a powerful instinct to spread the frenzied flame.

The method was also simple.

Infecting others through the fury of combat.

But Gorthax, suspected to be the first infected on the Atlantis Continent, did not spread it.

That mad dragon used rage radiation in combat, but primarily through "Wild Dragon" spell-like abilities combined with frenzied flame to produce mental shocks, rather than truly spreading the source of his own frenzied flame.

Garoth later adopted a similar method of use.

Thinking about it carefully, he could probably guess that mad dragon's thoughts.

"Mine! The power of the frenzied flame is all mine! It belongs only to me, Gorthax!"

It was roughly this kind of twisted possessiveness.

That fellow Gorthax, with his chaotic thinking, had forcefully suppressed the frenzied flame's instinct to spread, only failing to continue the suppression when he was finally killed, thus infecting Garoth.

And Garoth could not tolerate being influenced either.

After being infected, he immediately set aside other matters, concentrating all his mental energy to adapt to the frenzied flame until he could suppress it.

This pair of dragon father and son, for their own reasons—one due to insane possessiveness, the other due to extreme rationality—both confined the frenzied flame to themselves. If it had been other creatures, perhaps the Frenzied Curse would have swept across the Atlantis Continent first.

Now, the frenzied flame was no longer a trouble for Garoth.

Gazing in the direction of the Arotala Continent, he could feel an intangible call, as if a flame of the same origin in the distance resonated. Yet, the frenzied flame in his heart did not boil over because of it; it merely burned quietly, completely obedient to his will.

Through the isolation of the Serene Spirit Wilderness from the frenzied flame's source, Garoth had completely mastered this power.

Even when the frenzied flame burned at its most violent and intense, he would still not lose his reason.

His Wild State had also undergone a qualitative change because of this. When activating it, he no longer needed to worry too much and could let the frenzied flame burn freely, purely converting it into an amplification of combat power.

Most crucially, the frenzied flame could also cooperate with psychic skills.

Crackle!

Within the red iron dragon's eyes, faint strands of spiritual energy light shimmered.

Under his gaze, an invisible ball of frenzied flame ignited in mid-air.

It had no temperature or light, invisible to the naked eye.

But if a living being stood in that spot, they would feel rage rise from the depths of their heart for no reason, their reason scorched, combat instincts overriding all thought.

"I can ignore the weakening of magical domains and directly ignite frenzied flame within a target's heart, scorching their reason. This move can deal well with those mages who rely on calm spellcasting."

A moment later, the light in his eyes faded.

Garoth had taken up the Mind Sorcerer path as a secondary cultivation. His current level was not high, nor had he mastered many powerful psychic spells.

But with the cooperation of his True Eye and the frenzied flame, he could already achieve excellent results.

However, Garoth's primary purpose in cultivating this secondary path was not combat.

Things that could affect the mind, like frenzied flame, emotion fruits... were not few in number.

Even with his "Heart Like Iron" trait, Garoth could not completely immunize himself against all influences; he would be disturbed to some extent.

Cultivating the psychic path allowed him to better control his own thoughts, minimizing such influences to the lowest degree.

And this, in essence, was still to better harness his own power.

Using reason to harness power remained one of the tenets Garoth steadfastly adhered to.

It was dawn.

On the distant horizon, the colossal sun was slowly rising, pouring out the light and heat accumulated throughout the night unreservedly onto the boundless sea of clouds.

In an instant, the world was set ablaze.

Cloud waves rolled, like liquid fire and gold boiling and colliding. Shadows and dazzling patches of light chased and played across the cloud sea, composing a magnificent, grand painting.

"A path to heaven paved by fiery clouds, only the red crown rides the morning star."

The dragon murmured softly.

Then, he lowered his massive head, his gaze piercing through the gaps in the cloud sea.

From here, he could look down upon the entire Red Emperor Capital without obstruction. His vision extended further; the undulating mountain silhouettes of the Rhen Plateau rose and fell like a dragon's spine. Even farther, the blurred outlines of other nations at the edge of the plains flickered on the horizon.

Almost all dragons favored this feeling of being at the highest point, looking down upon everything.

The status of Aola's dragons was, in fact, also reflected in their height position within the Dragon Court.

Ordinary dragonkind resided on the lower levels, elite dragonkind in the middle, and legends and high-ranking members on the upper levels.

And the highest point of the Dragon Court belonged to the Red Emperor.

He was above all other dragons.

However, when this dragon monarch looked down upon the earth, although he felt his mind broaden, he did not feel pride because of it.

Because he knew he, too, was among those being "looked down upon."

Garoth raised his head again, gazing into the far distance.

In the higher, more distant airspace, above the sky of the central continent, he could see some faint, hazy outlines of giant cities.

Those were Halden's Sky Cities.

Just as Garoth looked down upon the Romanian Plains, the people of Halden seemed to look down upon the entire Atlantis Continent.

"This behemoth has grown even stronger in recent years."

Garoth's dragon pupils contracted slightly, adjusting focus to see more detailed things clearly.

"The Abyssal development project... has brought Halden nearly limitless resources. They've even grown disdainful of contending with other empires, focusing solely on their own development."

Over these decades, the Aola Kingdom had achieved tremendous development.

Behind this, besides the dividends of war, the development of the Serene Spirit Wilderness also contributed greatly.

Therefore, he clearly understood what benefits Halden could reap from the Abyss.

The Abyss was indeed dangerous.

Demons, evil gods, dangerous rules, sanity-eroding auras... each was enough to collapse a mortal nation.

But great risks often meant enormous returns.

Halden had already benefited immeasurably, now completely adopting an aloof, transcendent stance.

They no longer intervened in continental hegemony, no longer paid attention to other nations, as if the entire Material Plane was beneath their notice.

As if sensing something, the red iron dragon suddenly narrowed his eyes.

Immediately after, he retrieved a communication device flickering with lightning from his spatial storage.

This was a communication device given to him by the Helmod Dragonflight—no, now it should be said, by the blue dragons of the Breckton Thunder Kingdom.

"Your Majesty Ignas, good day."

A familiar draconic tongue came through after the device activated.

Garoth recognized this voice.

It belonged to the Ancient Blue Dragon Kaelzorg. When Breckton established its kingdom, he had contacted Garoth, expressing congratulations on the Aola Kingdom's dominance of the Romanian Plains. Garoth had also offered ceremonial congratulations on their kingdom's founding.

"Kaelzorg,"

The red iron dragon responded calmly, "The Thunder Kingdom was established not long ago. How have you been faring recently?"

"Quite well."

The other side paused briefly; faint thunder and the sound of surging waves could be heard in the background, as if he was by the sea. "Though there are some minor troubles, they are all under control."

This was another voice.

Deep as rolling thunder, more profound and dangerous than Kaelzorg's, like a thunderstorm churning over the sea, making one immediately imagine dark clouds pressing down, lightning tearing the sky.

Garoth's expression grew a touch more serious.

"How should I address you?"

"That name is Lamorein."

The voice said, "Nowadays, more call me the Lord of Thunder." After a pause, the voice continued, "Red Emperor, from now on, I shall speak with you directly."

"Kaelzorg, you may withdraw."

"Yes, Father." The blue dragon's voice faded into the distance.

Lamorein Helmod, Lord of Thunder.

He was the eldest of the three Helmod brothers, an Ancient Blue Dragon.

After the simple introduction, Lamorein got straight to the point: "The coastal nations have formed an Anti-Evil Dragon Alliance, attempting to destroy my kingdom. You should already know this."

A month ago, several western coastal kingdoms jointly announced the formation of an allied army.

They assembled a large number of legends and legions, using the slogan "Purge the evil dragons, restore peace to the coast." This matter had caused quite a stir across the Atlantis Continent; Aola's intelligence department naturally had detailed reports.

"This is a challenge the Breckton Kingdom must inevitably face."

Garoth stated.

On the other side, the Lord of Thunder seemed to grin, a thunder-like reverberation coming through.

"I have never feared challenges, much less those self-proclaimed righteous alliances."

"Heh, they came with the glory of the crown-level and vows of dragon-slaying. And I, just moments ago, together with my kin, delivered them destruction."

"Anti-Evil Dragon Alliance?"

"When the last crown-level's body was crushed beneath me, its banner burning in the torrential rain, it had already fallen apart."

"The routed army is fleeing back to their respective nations. My forces are in pursuit, but not to slaughter—to drive them, to let them carry the news of defeat back."

"Fear shall arrive at their walls ahead of my wings."

Garoth listened quietly.

This event must have just occurred; Aola's intelligence network hadn't received the news yet.

However, regarding this outcome, there wasn't much ripple in his eyes.

The fact that the Helmod Dragonflight could previously stir up trouble under the pursuit of dragon domains and various nations already proved their strength and capabilities.

Moreover, they had entertained the idea of founding a kingdom a century ago but always restrained themselves, only taking formal action recently. Since they dared to establish a kingdom, they must have made thorough preparations or gained corresponding confidence.

The only thing that puzzled Garoth somewhat was: the Raging Tides Dragon Domain seemed not to have intervened.

The Purification Faction dragons, led by the Bronze Dragon Lord, hated evil and loathed evil dragons. They absolutely would not sit idly by while their hostile Helmod Dragonflight established a kingdom.

If the Metal Dragons had joined the battle, the Breckton Kingdom's current situation would be hard to predict.

Had something happened within the dragon domains? Or had these blue dragons long anticipated this, knowing the Metal Dragons would remain silent?

Find time to ask Ovis; he might know something.

Garoth silently thought to himself.

"Congratulations, Lord of Thunder."

The red iron dragon collected his thoughts and said, "Using the bones of enemies as foundation stones is the best way to solidify a kingdom. However, you specifically contacted me; it shouldn't be merely to share the joy of victory."

"Of course not."

Lamorein's voice regained its steadiness, but the sharpness of an apex predator did not fade.

"Having cleared the weeds before my doorstep, it's time to look at the scenery farther afield."

"Red Emperor, Garoth Ignas, your Aola Kingdom is now the undisputed uncrowned king of the Romanian Plains, the ruler of the vast northern lands. And my Breckton Kingdom, having swept aside the obstacles before us, will not take long to truly control the long western coastline and the fertile river valleys, becoming the hegemon of the western region."

Here, his tone shifted.

"But we both know the true stage has never been limited to the regions beneath our feet."

"In Atlantis, the central continent is the land of abundance, strewn with gems and gold, with the most fertile plains, the richest mineral veins, the greatest wealth."

"That is where dragons should have their hunting grounds."

Garoth fell silent for a second.

He asked, "What are you trying to convey?"

Lamorein spoke slowly, his pace deliberate, each word enunciated heavily: "We should turn our gaze towards places that can let us advance further. For example, letting the central continent fall under the shadow of our wings."

Hearing this, Garoth suddenly offered congratulations:

"Then, first, I must congratulate you, Lord of Thunder Lamorein. Congratulations on officially stepping into the Immortal realm."

The other side was clearly taken aback.

Lamorein said, "Hmm? Immortality is one of my pursuits, but I am still far from the Immortal realm..." As his words fell, he also discerned the red iron dragon's subtext.

[You haven't become Immortal, yet dare to provoke Halden? How many lives do you have?]

After a brief silence, a low chuckle came from the communication device, devoid of anger.

"Heh, you worry about Halden."

"All their cities have detached from the earth, residing high in the sea of clouds, like palaces of deities looking down upon mortals. But this also means..."

"The surface? Red Emperor, you should know they no longer value the central continent at all."

"All Halden outposts located on the surface have been abandoned: mines sealed, farms deserted, even the cores removed from magic towers. Those lands await our occupation." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Garoth revealed a contemplative expression.

Within Aola's intelligence network, collecting information on Halden was of paramount importance.

He did indeed know Halden's current state.

Since the last ground-based city ascended into the sky twenty years ago, they had abandoned all surface industries.

It seemed the resources obtained from the Abyss could fully meet their needs, and in a more convenient manner than acquiring them in the Material Plane.

The central continent now appeared to be ownerless land.

Former Halden mines were overgrown with weeds, their former pastures occupied by beasts, their former fortresses reduced to empty walls.

But who could guarantee Halden truly didn't care?

Other nations, especially those bordering the central continent, though somewhat covetous, hadn't truly extended their claws.

Everyone was watching and waiting, afraid this might be some sort of test by Halden.

From the Lord of Thunder's meaning, he seemed to want to be the first to try.

And pulling him in was most likely to share the risk.

"I know what you're concerned about."

The Ancient Blue Dragon's tone carried a hint of amusement. "However, I can assure you, Halden will not care about gains and losses on the surface."

"At present, they have more pressing matters to deal with."

Lamorein's voice lowered slightly as he said with a chuckle, "Transcendent and aloof? Heh, merely a temporary brilliance."

Was this fellow truly privy to some secret, or was he being deliberately mysterious?

Garoth pondered thoughtfully.

If it were true, it was indeed an opportunity.

The resources of the central continent were enough to elevate the Aola Kingdom another step.

But if it were false, or if Lamorein's intelligence was mistaken, then the nation first setting foot on the central continent would inevitably bear Halden's wrath.

However, as the saying goes, kings should not meet.

Regardless, while the Halden Empire still existed, he would not rashly set foot on the central continent.

The Aola Kingdom's development momentum was excellent; steady and solid progress was the correct path.

Garoth prepared to flatly refuse.

But at that moment, his pupils suddenly contracted.

The Lord of Thunder on the other end of the communication device also fell silent, as if noticing something, holding his breath temporarily.

"This?!"

The red iron dragon raised his head, staring intently at the sky.

In the high, distant airspace, among the outlines of those Sky Cities, a small black dot began to sway.

It wasn't a star, nor a bird, but something detaching from a Sky City. It tilted and fell, its speed increasing under gravity's pull, its originally tiny outline growing clearer and larger.

It was a tower.

A spire falling from the edge of a Sky City.

And this was only the beginning. This Sky City shook violently. Then, accompanied by the collapse of more structures, the entire Sky City began to tilt, began to plummet towards the earth.