"Go back, Elvie," the Red Iron Dragon's deep voice echoed through the mountains. "Familiarize yourself with your new power and prepare for the arrival of the Legendary Realm."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Elvie bowed in salute.
Then, she turned around, her mane arching in the wind as her four hooves kicked off the ground. She took to the sky, and soon, her figure disappeared behind the churning sea of clouds.
Silence returned to the mountain range, with only the sound of the wind sweeping over the rocky ridges.
Just then, the air in front of the Red Iron Dragon began to distort.
Ripples spread out, as if space itself were folding.
The figure of the Amethyst Dragon Ithalamas slowly emerged, revealing an elegant and steady frame.
He first looked in the direction the Centaur had left, his gaze piercing through the clouds for a moment before withdrawing his eyes to turn toward the Red Iron Dragon beside him, who was a full two sizes larger than himself.
"Congratulations."
"That Centaur under your command with the special Bloodline will become a Legendary before long. I could feel those power fluctuations from far away."
Galos turned his head toward the Amethyst Dragon and nodded, his neck scales letting out a faint metallic clink.
"Indeed," the Red Iron Dragon paused, bringing up another matter. "When the royal capital was attacked, I was deeply concerned."
"Though there are defenses in the city, a strike at the Legendary level is always unpredictable."
"Fortunately, you acted in time. Thank you."
Hearing this, Ithalamas looked the Red Iron Dragon up and down.
His gaze lingered on Galos's faceplate for a few seconds, seemingly reading the subtle muscle twitches and the emotions leaking from the gaps in the scales.
Silence lasted for about five breaths.
The Amethyst Dragon finally spoke unhurriedly, his tone carrying a hint of understanding and helplessness.
"Concerned? I dare to guarantee in the name of the Ruby Dragon God."
"You absolutely knew that if the Crimson Flame Royal City was attacked, I wouldn't stand by. You were certain I would act—certain from the very beginning."
Galos didn't deny it, nor did he respond.
He remained expressionless, his calm gaze falling on Ithalamas, focusing on the other dragon's scales.
Embedded in the Amethyst Dragon's neck, chest, and shoulder blades were vibrant gemstones.
Spinels as deep red as blood, sapphires as blue as the sea, and emeralds of a lush green—they were meticulously polished to fit the curve of the scales and fixed between the gaps with nearly invisible psionic filaments.
The midday sun poured down, refracting dazzling halos on the cut facets of the gems.
The halos complemented the Amethyst Dragon's own deep purple scales, creating a scene of breathtaking beauty.
"It seems you are very satisfied with these gems," Galos said. "They complement your scales perfectly."
These gems on Ithalamas were personally selected by Galos from the treasury and gifted to him after he defended the royal capital, serving as a reward for his timely assistance.
Ithalamas was a Legendary Dragon, but he wasn't wealthy himself.
Although he had lived many more years than Galos, his personality made him low-key, non-competitive, and non-confrontational; he spent most of his time researching psionics and observing the social structures of various creatures.
This lifestyle allowed him to accumulate a wealth of knowledge and experience, but he never managed to amass a decent fortune.
It wasn't until Galos's generous gift that he experienced for the first time what it felt like to be a wealthy dragon.
Those sparkling gems were numerous enough to decorate his entire body.
At the time, Ithalamas had wanted to refuse.
His help for the royal capital was more out of pity for the city and the lives within it than for a reward.
However, he couldn't resist because Galos simply gave too much.
When chest after chest of gems was brought before him, refracting mesmerizing light in the sun, the Amethyst Dragon found his prepared refusal stuck in his throat.
In the end, he accepted them.
After all, gems were inherently beautiful and precious, and they held a natural attraction for the Dragon.
Hearing Galos's words now, Ithalamas's expression faltered imperceptibly, but he quickly returned to normal.
He raised his head, striking a righteous pose.
"Don't think that a mere handful of gems can completely buy me over."
"Galos, you know very well that I don't like intervening in political struggles or military conflicts between kingdoms. This time was an exception because there were too many innocent lives in the royal capital."
"Let this be the last time for such a thing!"
He spoke with absolute certainty.
However, his words would have been more convincing if one ignored the gems sparkling all over his scales.
Galos nodded seriously, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.
"Mm, I understand what you mean."
His tone was calm as usual, but Ithalamas was sharp-minded and could practically hear the unspoken second half of the sentence.
If this mere amount of gems isn't enough, then I'll just pay more next time.
As the ruler of a nation, Galos was indeed incredibly wealthy.
The Aura Kingdom's mineral income, trade taxes, and tributes from its territories—including the newly occupied lands and resources from Xio—caused the Red Iron Dragon's treasury to expand at an astonishing rate.
More importantly, Galos's resistance to treasure far exceeded that of a normal dragon.
He valued the resources and influence that wealth brought rather than the pleasure of hoarding it; therefore, using a portion of his treasure to win over a Legendary Amethyst Dragon was, in his view, a very worthwhile investment.
Ithalamas was speechless.
Even without using Spells to probe thoughts, this Psion dragon could roughly guess the other's ideas from Galos's eyes and micro-expressions.
Damn Dragon Emperor!
He condemned him silently in his heart, while simultaneously having to admit that there was a tiny sliver of envy hidden deep down.
Most Evil Dragons would take the path of a lord, occupying a territory, driving servants, and enjoying offerings.
But those dragons at best engaged in things like looting, kidnapping, extortion, or collecting protection fees; even working themselves to the bone, they couldn't accumulate much wealth.
Those who could develop to Galos's level, establishing a true kingdom and enjoying almost infinite wealth, were few and far between.
This was not an achievement that could be realized by strength alone.
It required vision, patience, political maneuvering, and the wisdom to rule over intelligent beings.
Ithalamas had lived for many years and seen many powerful Evil Dragons who ultimately were just like beasts occupying a corner, but Galos was clearly not one of them.
The Amethyst Dragon took a few deep breaths, his chest rising and falling slightly.
He decided not to argue with Galos on this topic; continuing would only make him seem more concerned about those gems.
"Galos, prepare some Materials for me."
Ithalamas changed the subject, his voice turning calm.
The Red Iron Dragon didn't ask why and simply said, "Sure. What specifically do you need?"
"Activated Roots—oak roots at least three hundred years old, without any damage; Resonance Crystals with a purity of over ninety percent, preferably purple; Quicksilver refined three times; Psionic Gems at least the size of a dragon egg, any type but ideally amethyst or moonstone; and..."
The Amethyst Dragon listed a series of Materials, seventeen in total, most of which were Caster Materials and some ritual supplies.
Some were common, while others were quite rare.
Galos listened quietly, nodded slightly, and his tone remained nonchalant: "Mm, I'll have someone prepare them."
Some of these things might not be in his treasury's current stock.
But with a single command, as the entire System of the Aura Kingdom began to operate, his Dependents and subjects would scramble to get them.
Merchant caravans would go to neighboring countries to purchase them, miners would delve deep into the mines, and Casters would search through their laboratory reserves.
Unless it was something of extremely high value or extreme rarity, whatever he wanted would inevitably be placed before him within three days.
Such was the efficiency of a kingdom's machinery.
It was something those lone-wolf dragons could never imagine.
"Aren't you going to ask what I want these for?"
Damn Dragon Emperor!
Ithalamas looked at Galos's straightforward reaction, as if those Materials were cheap, and condemned him once more in his heart.
"For your hobbies? Or to better integrate into certain biological groups?"
Galos teased.
The Amethyst Dragon's face darkened. He knew what Galos was referring to.
"Enough."
Ithalamas gave a light huff and spoke seriously.
"These Materials are for setting up an Amethyst Dragon Bloodline Purification Ritual. I plan to purify Ennus's Bloodline so he can reach the level of continuous growth through slumber, just like a normal dragon."
Hearing this, the scales on Galos's forehead relaxed slightly.
This was a subtle draconic movement expressing pleasure, usually only detectable by those familiar with the Dragon.
The Red Iron Dragon's mood indeed improved.
The Amethyst Dragon Lion, Ennus, was the first lord he had subdued during his days of fighting in the wilderness.
That great lion with a mane and purple dragon scales—after Galos defeated him, he didn't choose to kill or exile him, but instead granted him a significant degree of autonomy and incorporated him into the Aura Kingdom's System.
It had proven to be a wise decision.
Among the non-dragon lords under Galos's command, the Amethyst Dragon Lion's natural potential was second only to the Phoenix Anqia.
Ennus already possessed the potential for the Legendary Realm; once his Bloodline was purified and he underwent a deep slumber, breaking through to Legendary would be almost certain.
As for the Phoenix Anqia, she had returned to her own territory after the decisive battle in the Cui Luan Mountain Range ended.
She had transformed into a giant flaming egg.
According to a Phoenix's life cycle and her previous energy accumulation, she should be able to step into the Legendary Realm even before Ennus.
Elvie, Ennus, Anqia.
Once all three of them broke through, the number of Legendaries in the Aura Kingdom would approach ten.
This number might not seem like much for a kingdom on the Romanian Plain, but the Legendaries of the Aura Kingdom were not the same concept as those human Legendaries.
Galos's thoughts continued to extend.
The Holy Spirit Deer, Golden-Feathered Griffin, and Eight-Headed Serpent Leopard were a bit behind.
Though their talent was also good, they were still some distance away from the threshold of the Legendary Realm.
The Red Iron Dragon was considering whether to perform Dragon Vein Transformation on them as well to raise their potential limits.
However, Dragon Vein Transformation was not without risk.
One of the requirements was that the recipient's loyalty must reach an extremely high level, with no hesitation or resistance in their heart; otherwise, at a critical stage of the ritual, even a tiny bit of wavering could lead to an energy backlash, ranging from a failed transformation and damaged potential to instant death.
The result of a forced transformation was often not worth the loss.
The current loyalty of these lords had not yet reached the level of core Dependents like Karu or Elvie.
They obeyed Galos more out of awe for his power and a combination of interests rather than true life-and-death loyalty.
The method of using Dragon Vein Transformation to increase their potential could only be postponed to a later time, depending on the situation.
Besides them, Iron Dragon Sorog, Red Dragon Samantha, Zoraya, and Gold Dragon Alberto would basically all reach the Rank 20 limit after another round of slumber—the Peak that mortal beings could touch.
Their situation was somewhat similar to Galos's state before his last slumber.
Having accumulated enough experience, energy, and insight, they could have broken through directly if the Legendary threshold weren't so solid, rather than being stuck at the Rank 20 limit.
However, they only needed a good opportunity now.
Or, with the assistance of a wonder like the "Ancient Tide," they would have a great chance to break through to Legendary without waiting for another long round of slumber.
It was foreseeable.
By the time Galos reached his prime.
The number of Legendaries in the Aura Kingdom would see a massive surge.
The key figures among them could generally achieve Legendary status, and without the need to worry about things like short lifespans or brief Peak periods.
A dragon's lifespan was measured in millennia; once they became Legendary, their Peak period could be maintained for a very, very long time, with no need to worry about death from old age.
As for those below Legendary.
Blue Dragon Heliam, Red Dragon Kahir, Green Dragon Ludwig, Black Dragon Seraphina... the Ranks of these dragons would also increase significantly over time, becoming the backbone of the Aura Kingdom.
Their growth rate far exceeded that of wild dragons because they underwent cultivation and education, and had an ample supply of resources.
"I still have one chance to use the Ancient Tide in the Fubo Dragon Domain."
Galos suddenly remembered this.
"This is of no use to me now that I am already Legendary."
"When the time is right, I can prioritize letting Sorog become a Legendary, and then find a way to exchange for more slots from the Dragon Domain."
He was lost in thought.
Iron Dragon Sorog was his right-hand man and a major pillar of the Aura Kingdom.
Letting Sorog break through first was the highest priority, whether from an emotional or practical standpoint.
At the same time, a grander blueprint emerged in Galos's mind.
It was not just the prosperity of a kingdom, but the revival of a race.
He looked at the Amethyst Dragon and asked seriously, "Ithalamas, tell me, if my Aura Kingdom can last for thousands of years, and the number of dragons under my command continues to grow with only a few dying young, what stage will it reach in the future?"
The Amethyst Dragon was slightly taken aback.
He carefully chewed over Galos's words, quietly understanding their meaning.
Thousands of years... the number of dragons only increasing and never decreasing... it sounded simple, but in reality, it was an almost impossible vision to achieve.
A dragon's growth was full of risks.
The Young Dragon stage was fragile, the young adult stage was bellicose, and the adult stage faced various challenges and conflicts.
Even Metallic Dragons couldn't guarantee that every dragon under their command would grow up safely.
But the Aura Kingdom was different.
Young Dragons here had dedicated breeding bases, the upbringing of the entire kingdom, and systematic education and training.
As long as this kingdom existed, what Galos called "only increasing and never decreasing" might truly be possible; at the very least, the mortality rate of dragons would drop to its lowest in history.
If it succeeded... Ithalamas suddenly felt a slight shiver, an emotion mixed with shock and a certain premonition.
He was silent for a few seconds, organizing his words, before finally saying slowly, "Then, Galos... you will become one of the greatest monarchs in the history of the Dragon Clan—no, perhaps 'one of' won't be necessary. By then, what you create will not be a nation, but an era—an era that allows the Dragon Clan to reclaim the glory of the First Era in the Material Plane."
The Red Iron Dragon nodded slightly, his gaze cast toward the vast, boundless sky.
Clouds piled up in the distance in the shape of mountain ranges, and sunlight pierced through the gaps, tinting the edges of the clouds a golden red.
The wind blew across the mountain ridges, bringing the scent of distant places.
Ithalamas looked at him, his gaze sweeping over that majestic and powerful body.
From the thick neck to the broad shoulders, from the dragon wings tucked at his sides to the back covered in heavy scales.
This Red Emperor was in his prime—vigorous, ambitious, and more importantly, he had the ability and patience to put his ambitions into practice.
A ridiculous yet strong feeling suddenly rose within the Amethyst Dragon.
It was as if some deep intuition were telling him that the Red Iron Dragon before his eyes really might turn those words into reality.