Golden Dragon: Six Thousand Years of Empire-Chapter 713 - 404: Ascension to Dragon King: Devouring the World 2
Noah offered a hint, mainly because he had access to more information channels than this monarch did. For instance, Parvati would periodically send intelligence related to the Royal Court, allowing Noah to have considerable understanding of the internal situation among the elves.
"I know about the elves’ disagreements, but with divine forces at play, do those elves have the guts to sabotage things secretly?"
"Don’t think that the elves’ faith is all that devout; they are the Longevity Species, spared from the threat of death, so how much of their faith in the divine do you think is genuine?"
Noah sneered,
"More importantly, the interests that the Royal Court Elves hold are truly being damaged. They are in urgent need of recovering their losses to return to their former glory."
"I understand."
Alexander showed a thoughtful expression.
The next day, a major piece of news spread from the Atlas Kingdom: the current monarch, the Golden Dragon Lord, accepted the subjugation and allegiance of the Southern Nine Countries, taking them as vassals and signing a military aid contract with them.
The promise was made to provide military assistance whenever these vassal states faced external threats and were unable to defend themselves, thereby ensuring their survival.
These countries were inevitably under the threat of the alliance elves’ military might, constantly on the brink of extinction, and it was precisely due to such pressure that they agreed to become vassals. Otherwise, they would have lived unrestrainedly as kings of their own domains.
When this news came out, many small national forces that were anxious and afraid of being wiped out by the elves could finally relax. Local powers could no longer stand by and watch the wantonness of the foreign elves and decided to intervene.
However, just one day after the Atlas Kingdom received the nine countries as vassals, the Moon Spirit Alliance annihilated three nations as a response.
"Ha, how arrogant these foreign elves are. It seems that this Golden Dragon Lord wasn’t taken seriously by these wild elves!"
Upon receiving the news, Alexander was so angry that he laughed. He hadn’t regarded these wild elves highly, but they also treated him with no regard, showing total disregard.
"Deploy the troops!"
Without any hesitation, Alexander personally led the military. The Golden Dragon, whose size was in no way inferior to the Ancient Dragons, spread its wings and soared over Uther City.
Beneath these Golden Dragon Wings, there were the roars and howls of dragon beasts, the ground trembled as the Earth Dragons charged, the sky dimmed as Flying Dragons filled the heavens.
When the Dragon Knight Army of the Augustus family was deployed, whether ground or sky, all one could see were dragon beasts. Being amidst them felt like a return to the era when the Dragon Clan ruled the world.
"It’s truly a bloody spectacle!"
Beneath the Golden Tree, Noah, like a creator god, overlooked the bloody battlefield reflected by the Golden Tree Roots, with all life laid out before him, controlling the destinies of all beings.
Regrettably, this was just an illusion. Among the nebula, Noah was merely a spectator, observing the progress of the war, watching one elf after another fall beneath the blades of the Dragon Knight Army, providing some nutrients for the growth of the Blood Origin Fruit of the Golden Tree.
Roar~
The roar of the Golden Dragon echoed between the heavens and the earth. With the support of Ancestor Dragon True Blood, the dragon-shaped favored ones, who had long reached the Legendary Realm, performed on the battlefield no less than actual Ancient Golden Dragons, perhaps even surpassing them.
Standing tall on the back of the dragon, the Golden Dragon Lord wielded a spear in one hand and a sword in the other, displaying unstoppable courage. When this Dragon Rider Monarch led the legion into the elves’ military formation, nothing could stand in his way.
"Kill!"
The elves who survived and roamed in the outside world were indeed fierce. Without any words, five Legendary Elves coordinated perfectly to encircle Alexander.
Unfortunately, as a Dragon Knight, Alexander’s strength far surpassed that of his kin beneath him. He alone had received the full True Blood heritage, while his brother was merely a lucky survivor.
"Not bad, not bad!"
A thick stream of blood energy surged up, prompting Noah to express his approval upon seeing the elf hanging on Alexander’s Dragon Spear.
As this blood energy rose up through the branches of the Golden Tree to its crown, a blood-red fruit appeared rapidly, maturing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Crack~
Noah extended his Dragon Claw to pluck the fruit, consuming the whole Blood Origin Fruit like tasting a small cherry.
In his younger days, consuming such a Bloodline Fruit would have had Noah burning with uncontainable heat, with Dragon Blood boiling and even triggering bloodline ancestor evolution. For the current Noah, it only felt like consuming a flavorful fruit with a slightly warm taste.
The speed at which Noah was acquiring the fruits was increasing, but their effect on him was diminishing—not because the fruit’s efficiency waned, but because his bloodline was too strong and his foundation too deep. For the same fruit to help evolve him further would require much more in quantity.
"How many Blood Origin Fruits will I need to evolve into a Dragon King?"
Noah was quite confident in gauging his bloodline status. In the hierarchy of the Ancestor Dragon bloodline, he was certainly among the top ranks. One step further, and he might become a Dragon King.
However, the difference between a Dragon King and an Ancestor Dragon was incomparable; it’s like the gap between god and man, posing immense difficulty in crossing.
"Or have you reached your limit? You can no longer aid me in becoming a Dragon King, and I can only rely on my own efforts and struggle?"
Noah extended his Dragon Claw, gently stroking the crystalline and brilliant trunk beneath him.
Noah knew the method of advancing to a Dragon King, and he understood the prerequisites for becoming one. Because of this, he had great doubts about relying solely on consuming Golden Tree Fruits to advance his bloodline to the Dragon King Realm, finding it unreliable and unfeasible.
For the birth of a Dragon King not only signifies the high rank of bloodline but also represents the strength and prosperity of the Dragon Clan. It heralds the emergence of a new branch within the Dragon Clan.
A Dragon King can use himself as a template to create a race that can survive and proliferate in the world. This alone exemplifies the noble status of a Dragon King, entirely incomparable to an Ancestor Dragon, for the creations of a Dragon King include Ancestor Dragons.
The mightiest Ancestor Dragon remains an Ancestor, while the weakest Dragon King remains a Dragon King. There’s no basis for comparison between the two.
"Devouring the essence of a realm is necessary to become a Dragon King!"
Noah contemplated various methods of ascending to Dragon King status from the heritage in his mind,
"How is this even possible?"
One has to say, the few paths to Dragon King ascension are incredibly unreliable, giving Dragons a feeling of being played by the creator, because these tasks are not something that mortal beings can accomplish.
Even the simplest path seemed senseless to Noah, understanding from its literal meaning, it implied that devouring an entire Material Plane could lead to becoming a Dragon King.
If it were possible to consume and digest it, one would be beyond a Dragon King in absurdity; yet the question is, how could one possibly achieve such consumption?
Or does the term "world" refer to divine objects like the World Tree? If one could take a few bites to ascend to Dragon King, that would be understandable, but where could he find a World Tree?
Despite having gone through so much, Noah still couldn’t suppress the wave of emotions and frustrations, and amid this turmoil, his gaze fell irresistibly on the Golden Tree beneath him, and a peculiar impulse and idea arose in his mind.
Why not take a bite and try?
"Come to think of it, with all the fruits I’ve eaten, I’ve never tasted the branches or leaves."
The mysteries of the Golden Tree required no elaboration. While Noah believed his current achievements were mainly due to his own efforts and struggles, the Golden Tree also played an indispensable role.
"Just a bite, a little taste; it shouldn’t hurt!"
After a slight hesitation, Noah extended his sinful Dragon Claw towards the Golden Tree...
