The generals and senior staff standing beside him also had tense expressions, their pupils dilated, filled with an incredulous disbelief that refused to accept reality.
"Kaelos died under the claws of this wilderness giant dragon?"
"He was a Legendary tempered in the blood and fire of the Federal Civil War! In the prime of his life, the entire kingdom believed he still had great potential to be unearthed, and in the future, he could even become one of the pillars of the kingdom! Not long ago, His Majesty the King personally bestowed an honorary medal upon him."
"How could he be killed by a mortal? This is illogical!"
"Is there a possibility that our magic satellite…"
A senior staff member said with a dry voice, but his voice gradually trailed off, leaving him speechless.
The possibility of the kingdom's heavily invested and maintained magic satellite being invaded or tampered with was negligible.
Now, the brutal truth lay before their eyes, leaving them no choice but to believe.
The unfinished sword, whom they had placed great hopes on and sent to seize the initiative for the kingdom in the chaotic Serre Wilderness and re-establish control, was actually beaten to death by a so-called regional king, a giant dragon they hadn't paid much attention to before!
Moreover, the soldiers who accompanied Kaelos also became the enemy's captives.
This was an outcome the Exotic Strategy Department had never considered when formulating the cleanup plan.
They had anticipated that those regional kings might unite and resist stubbornly, might use the terrain for guerrilla harassment, or even secretly collude with other kingdoms for external aid... But no matter how much they calculated, they never expected that the King of Molten Iron, who occupied the northwest and central regions, would be able to directly kill a Kingdom Legendary.
Silence once again filled the room.
Soon after, another staff member's voice broke the silence, saying, "The Legendary Gold Dragon that appeared at the end, based on its flight trajectory, can be confirmed to have come from the Fubo Dragon Domain."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the frozen image, where two other young Gold Dragons were clearly on very good terms with the Red Iron Dragon.
"A Legendary Gold Dragon appearing in the Serre Wilderness, and seemingly getting along well with the King of Molten Iron, plus two young Gold Dragons… Does this mean that there is some kind of… connection between the King of Molten Iron and the Fubo Dragon Domain that we didn't know about before?"
His words were interrupted by a violent sound.
"Isn't this obvious enough?!"
Marquis Marcus slammed his fist onto the heavy desk made of sturdy ironwood, emitting a dull thud.
He almost roared, "We've all been deceived! We've all been fooled by this cunning Red Iron Dragon!"
"He is not some lucky fellow who rose by chance in the wilderness at all! Behind him stands the Fubo Dragon Domain! Behind him stands that group of Metallic Dragons who claim to be righteous but are actually equally greedy!"
At the same time, a grim-faced deputy director standing beside the Marquis whispered in agreement.
"The Director is right! How could a mortal creature, even if it's a giant dragon, normally challenge a Legendary expert in peak condition, and even incredibly kill him?"
"But if the Fubo Dragon Domain is backing him, providing powerful support, then everything makes sense!"
"Backed by a powerful Dragon Domain, this King of Molten Iron naturally has nothing to fear! It was probably relying on the powerful equipment provided by the Dragon Domain to kill Kaelos."
This statement made the hearts of the surrounding personnel skip a beat.
Whether it was through equipment or not, the inherent power of the King of Molten Iron was already undeniable, troublesome and headache-inducing enough.
If he also had a powerful Gold Dragon family, or even the entire Fubo Dragon Domain, supporting him… then the significance of this matter would be entirely different. This would no longer be a simple border conflict or the clearing of wilderness natives, but very likely evolve into a direct confrontation and diplomatic crisis between the Kingdom of Theos and a powerful Dragon Clan force!
To be fair, their Kingdom of Theos was not weak.
However, compared to a Dragon Domain, it was still far inferior.
Although there was a higher empire that would not sit idly by and watch the Dragon Domain run rampant, such minor matters could only be resolved by themselves.
"Those Metallic Dragons! Usually they act so sanctimonious and uphold order! But behind the scenes, they are hypocritical and treacherous!"
Marquis Marcus's veins bulged on his forehead as he angrily accused them.
"They must be coveting the resources of the Serre Wilderness, yet unwilling to get involved themselves and tarnish their so-called 'goodness' and 'order' reputation, so they chose to secretly support an Evil Dragon as a proxy! What a cunning plan!"
"What Metallic Dragon and Five-Color Dragons are irreconcilable?"
"What good dragons and Evil Dragons are sworn enemies?"
"It's all a hypocritical show to deceive other races!"
"In the face of true interests, they are all cut from the same cloth! They are a group of arrogant, proud, greedy, and shameless giant lizards! They are potential enemies of all human kingdoms!"
Marquis Marcus grew angrier as he spoke.
Clearing the Serre Wilderness and re-establishing the kingdom's authority there was a strategic plan he had spearheaded.
If successful, in this tumultuous period of unstable national structures, he would undoubtedly render great service to the kingdom, gain many benefits, and further trust from the King.
However, now, the cruel reality was like a resounding slap, hitting him hard in the face.
A Legendary with a promising future had died in battle, and many compatriots were captured.
It was foreseeable that his days in Iron Crown City would not be easy.
Accountability from the King, attacks from political enemies, pressure from the military… all would follow one after another.
Marquis Marcus secretly wished to mobilize a large army at any cost, to skin and dismember that Red Iron Dragon, and to completely erase the entire Molten Iron Tribe from the map of the Serre Wilderness, to vent his hatred!
However, his remaining rationality told him that the situation's development had now exceeded his control.
How to maximize the recovery of losses and minimize the negative impact of this incident on the kingdom was the most urgent problem he needed to consider and solve now.
"Issue orders immediately!"
Marquis Marcus forcibly suppressed the surging anger and humiliation, forcing himself to calm down, and issued the command in a hoarse voice.
"All military operation plans surrounding the Serre Wilderness are to be completely suspended from this moment on! Without my direct order, no troops are to enter the wilderness again, and no conflicts of any form are to occur with the Molten Iron Tribe, to avoid further escalation of the situation."
"Then… what about the captured soldiers? How should we handle them…?"
A staff member hesitated, but still bit the bullet and asked.
Marquis Marcus closed his eyes, and with difficulty squeezed out the words through gritted teeth.
"Send people… to make contact with the Molten Iron Tribe in a gentle manner, to discuss the matter of ransoming the captives."
"The conditions… can be appropriately relaxed. As long as the other party's demands are not too excessive, they can all be considered."
Humiliation!
What a great humiliation this was!
A Legendary had fallen, the kingdom's foundation and prestige were damaged, many compatriots were taken captive, and now they, the proud Theosians, had to humble themselves and negotiate with a group of wilderness barbarians and monster leaders.
Marquis Marcus felt a burning fire in his chest.
It was the pain born from a mixture of extreme anger and humiliation.
However, given the current complex and dangerous situation, no matter how much anger and unwillingness he felt, he could only forcibly suppress it, swallowing his teeth with blood.
Although the Kingdom of Theos was powerful, its domestic political situation was newly settled, and externally, there were neighboring countries eyeing them greedily and many urgent problems to solve.
To go to war with a powerful Evil Dragon lord and the Legendary Gold Dragon behind him, and even the potentially existing Fubo Dragon Domain.
The risks and costs were simply too great.
However, this matter would certainly not end here.
Marquis Marcus secretly vowed in his heart that once the kingdom's other troubles gradually subsided and the domestic situation stabilized, the Kingdom of Theos would never forget the great humiliation and losses suffered in the Serre Wilderness.
That rich and vast land would never be given away for free.
At the same time.
Lothorn, Valdo Royal City, Stargazing Tower.
Crystal Princess Elena, and the Iron Dragon Gordon, who had a close relationship with her, were in a spacious and huge hall.
Before them, the astrolabe was projecting a three-dimensional image that was even clearer than the one in the Kingdom of Theos, and even gave people a sense of being there.
The image displayed was also the battle on the Silent Plain.
When he saw the King of Molten Iron crush the Legendary Sword Saint with one claw, Iron Dragon Gordon felt his blood surge, filled with envy, and also began to ponder.
At the same time, a thought involuntarily arose in his mind.
"Why is it always Galos who draws everyone's attention? And not me."
He fell into deep thought, his dragon face showing a mixture of confusion and contemplation.
"Did I think wrong before? Is he truly the Dragon of Destiny? And I, merely because I am one of his blood relatives, can only be protected by him, sharing a portion of the destiny's weight, and thus repeatedly encounter smooth sailing and turn dangers into safety?"
Gordon pondered thoughtfully.
Meanwhile, Crystal Princess Elena, standing beside the Iron Dragon, also showed deep contemplation in her eyes.
Regarding this battle between the King of Molten Iron and the Legendary Sword Saint, her original expectations were not optimistic. She had even mentally prepared herself, believing that Gordon, her blood brother who had operated in the wilderness for a long time, might suffer a devastating blow and be defeated under the kingdom's strong intervention this time.
However, the final outcome far exceeded her expectations.
The power of the King of Molten Iron was truly incredible, and he also seemed to be connected to the Fubo Dragon Domain, with a dragon backing him.
Individual power strong enough to defeat a Legendary, coupled with a deep Dragon Domain background… Elena quickly realized that she needed to further adjust her strategy towards the Molten Iron Tribe.
It is also worth mentioning that.
Since the reappearance of the Holy King and the end of the civil war, the Kingdom of Lothorn, while gaining unprecedented prestige and stability, also faced many long-standing internal affairs that needed to be addressed.
The vast Serre Wilderness was naturally an indispensable part of the kingdom's future strategy.
Elena had long requested her brother, King OBrien, stating that she had been closely following the changing situation in the Serre Wilderness for a long time and hoped to be primarily responsible for diplomacy and affairs related to the wilderness.
And King OBrien, after consideration, granted her request.
Therefore, Elena was aware of the news that Kaelos, the Legendary Sword Saint of the Kingdom of Theos, had led his army into the Serre Wilderness.
This was also why she was able to quickly relay critical intelligence about the "unfinished sword" to the Molten Iron Tribe through Gordon.
This was both a gesture of goodwill and a test of the Molten Iron Tribe.
Originally, her subsequent plan was to wait for Kaelos to swiftly clear out those so-called regional kings, then dispatch pre-prepared individuals to intervene as mediators or representatives of the Kingdom of Lothorn, to reap the fruits of victory and bring the Serre Wilderness into Lothorn's sphere of influence, at least in certain areas.
But now, the situation had completely deviated from her expected script.
Kaelos not only failed to clear the wilderness but also left his life there forever; the unfinished sword was broken.
The King of Molten Iron, on the other hand, displayed formidable power and background.
"Eliminate the Molten Iron Tribe?"
This thought flashed through Elena's mind, but she immediately shook her head slightly, rejecting it instantly.
To forcibly push a powerful entity that could be a friend or ally to the hostile side would undoubtedly be the most foolish decision in the world.
The Crystal Princess pondered for a moment, and a decision was already made in her heart.
She planned to transform the previous limited cooperative relationship with the Molten Iron Tribe into a deeper alliance, establishing a more solid and profound binding of interests.
The growth rate of the King of Molten Iron, the potential he displayed, and the background he now implicated.
All these made it worthwhile for the Kingdom of Lothorn to continue increasing its investment.
"Gordon, ask your brother for me."
The Crystal Princess smiled slightly and said, "Does he have any interest in becoming the true, undisputed—king of the wilderness—who rules the entire Serre Wilderness?"