A crimson meteor streaked across the sky, plunging toward the mountains with a low roar.
The wind pressure flattened the trees along the way almost to the ground. As the smoke and dust cleared slightly, a dark red giant claw slowly loosened its grip, and a figure stumbled and rolled out.
Torfinn Chapman, the ruler of the Xio Kingdom, was in a miserable state.
He was dizzy and pale, his royal robe covered in dust and tears from sharp stones, the golden embroidery looking dull under the sun.
While held within the Dragon's sharp claws, the human King vaguely recalled a scene from his childhood, playing with ants in the royal garden.
At that time, he had squatted by the stone path, poking the ant colony with a branch, watching them scatter in panic.
Only this time, he was the ant.
Torifin slumped down, gasping for breath.
He tried to stand up, but his legs were weak. He could only use his trembling hands to support himself on the ground. A gust of mountain wind roared past, kicking up fine sand and stones that hit his face, making him shiver and bringing him slightly back to his senses.
"What... what do you want to do..."
The King mustered his courage, looked up at the Dragon, which was as mighty as a mountain, and stammered out the question.
Hearing this, the Red Iron Dragon merely lowered its gaze and glanced at him.
Its gaze did not linger on the human King, treating him like a stone or a dead tree.
Then, it casually withdrew its gaze and suddenly spread its two wings.
The Red Iron Dragon shot straight into the sky, disappearing in the blink of an eye, leaving only a gradually fading cloud trail.
Torifin stared blankly at the departing Dragon, his mind completely blank.
Am I dreaming? he thought, his mind still reeling.
He pinched his arm, and the pain clearly registered.
Whoosh!
Another strong gust of wind struck, blowing Torifin back to reality.
He looked around and found himself on an unknown mountaintop.
The location was extremely high, and he could see the distant, continuous mountains faintly visible within the sea of clouds.
The cold wind was biting, and the surroundings were full of jagged, steep strange rocks, with a few clumps of wild grass stubbornly growing in the crevices.
He struggled to his feet and cautiously walked to the edge to look down.
The bottomless view made him shiver, his stomach clenching, and he nearly collapsed back onto the ground. The cliff was almost vertical, the rock face smooth, with only a few protruding rocks that offered no foothold for climbing.
The Red Emperor... did this terrifying Dragon intend to leave me here to die?
He thought to himself, and a feeling of despair began to spread in his heart.
As a King, he had experienced much, but never like this, facing such an absolute disparity in power.
Before the arrogant Red Emperor, who disregarded all rules, all his political maneuvering, armies, and wealth became meaningless.
Just then, the sky darkened.
A shadow enveloped Torifin.
He subconsciously looked up and saw a Dragon circling in the air.
That was not the Red Emperor, but a black Dragon with a weighty, imposing presence.
It was an Iron Dragon. It was much smaller than the Red Emperor, but its size was still suffocatingly massive.
Its scales were glossy black, reflecting a metallic cold light in the sun. Its muscle lines were distinct, like finely forged steel, each section containing terrifying power.
Torifin's heart tightened once again.
He recognized this Dragon.
The second-highest entity of the Aura Kingdom, the Iron Prince, the Red Emperor's blood relative brother, Sorog Ignatius.
The Iron Dragon slowly descended, its broad wings stirring the airflow and kicking up dust from the ground, looking down upon the tiny King.
Torifin's heart leaped into his throat.
He tried hard to stand up and maintain the dignity of a monarch, but his weak legs only allowed him to barely kneel and look up at the behemoth before him.
This posture made him feel humiliated, yet he was unable to change it.
"Sorog... Ignatius..."
Torifin's voice was still trembling, but he forced himself to finish the sentence: "You... do you know what you have done? kidnapping a King?!"
He took a deep breath and said, "Absurd! This is utterly lawless."
"This is trampling on the bottom lines of all nations! This is a declaration of war against the Lothorn New Federation! Release me immediately, or else..."
"Or else what?"
The Iron Dragon's voice was low like thunder, making the human King almost deaf, and interrupting his bluffing threat.
Sorog asked with interest, tilting his massive head slightly to the side: "Will Lothorn start a war for you? Or can your Xio's Legendary protect you?"
The King's face froze.
After a few seconds of silence, he said, "I demand to speak with Garos Ignis, the true King of Aura."
He hoped to negotiate directly with the supreme ruler to gain a favorable turn.
Hearing this, the Iron Dragon couldn't help but raise its massive head, and its laughter echoed among the clouds.
"Haha, tiny human, who do you think you are?"
The Iron Dragon's laughter gradually subsided, but its gaze became sharper: "Are you telling a joke? If so, I must admit, I was amused by you."
Torifin's face was as white as paper.
He gritted his teeth and asked, "Dragons, what exactly do you want?"
Hearing the human's words, the Iron Dragon's laughter suddenly stopped, and its eyes turned into cold, vertical pupils.
He lowered his head slightly, and the huge shadow completely swallowed the King.
"Torfinn Chapman."
The Iron Dragon called out his name directly, its voice flat and direct: "You have violated the Norton Treaty."
"tariff barriers, military expansion, secret alliances with Lothorn... every item is a provocation against Aura's bottom line."
"That was... that was a necessary adjustment under the new situation among the nations," Torifin argued. "The war is over. It is now a time of peace; we can negotiate."
The Iron Dragon grinned, revealing sharp fangs that glinted with cold light.
"Capturing you alive from your royal court and bringing you here—that is the Dragon's way of negotiation."
Torifin's heart sank.
"You... what do you want? To kill me?"
Torifin said, "That will only anger the Xio people further and give Lothorn sufficient reason to unite all kingdoms to punish you."
The Iron Dragon leaned forward, intensifying the pressure.
"Kill you? You could say that."
"We have decided to carry out the most severe punishment for the Xio Kingdom's breach of contract."
"First, we execute the source of the breach, which is you, King Torfinn Chapman of Xio, to serve as a warning. Then, our great army will descend, flatten Xio, burn this reckless kingdom to ashes, and completely erase it from the map."
"No! You can't!"
Torifin screamed: "This will cause an all-out war! Lothorn will not stand idly by! The kingdoms across the entire plain will..."
Just then, a low growl filled with impatience came from the other side.
"insect, what are you chirping about?"
Accompanied by scorching breath, a red figure, even larger and more robust than the Iron Dragon, descended, and the surrounding temperature suddenly rose.
Torifin also recognized this Dragon.
Aura's Prince of Fire, another blood relative of the Red Emperor, the Red Dragon, Samantha Ignis.
Her form was more imposing than Sorog's; she was at least one-fifth longer than the Iron Dragon, and her shoulder height was greater.
She was clad in extremely heavy armor, which seemed to be directly embedded in her body, merging with her scales, with even her chin encased in steel. Her exposed, vibrant Red Dragon scales shone brightly in the sunlight, like burning charcoal. Her Dragon snout was slightly open, revealing interlocking fangs, and a wisp of sparks sprayed out with her breath, landing on the rocks with a sizzling sound.
The Red Dragon looked down at Torifin, her eyes gleaming with undisguised brutality and appetite.
"Sorog, why are you wasting words on this little treaty-breaking insect?"
Samantha extended a claw and pinched Torifin, who was trying to argue.
The Red Dragon lifted the human King to her eye level for inspection, her vertical pupils narrowing into a thin line: "I haven't tasted a human King before. You're pampered, so your meat should be quite tender."
Saying this, she stuck out her scarlet long tongue and licked her lower jaw.
Then she truly opened her massive, fanged maw—and tossed the human King directly toward her mouth.
"No!!!"
Torifin let out a death-screaming shriek, his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.
Shrouded by the terrifying Dragon snout and fangs, all kingly dignity and diplomatic rhetoric were crushed, leaving only primal fear.
He smelled sulfur and lava, and felt the heat wave rushing towards him.
He could even visualize the scene of himself being chewed to pieces.
Immediately after, the Dragon snout closed.
The King's figure and voice vanished along with it.
Darkness.
Burning heat.
Suffocating pressure.
Torifin thought he was dead.
"Samantha, wait a moment."
The Iron Dragon's voice sounded just in time, seemingly coming from a distant place.
The Red Dragon paused her movement and glanced at the Iron Dragon with dissatisfaction, but ultimately, she opened her Dragon snout and spat the human King out.
Torifin collapsed onto the ground, shaking all over.
He was covered in viscous saliva, which carried a pungent smell of sulfur, corroding his royal robe and leaving a burning sting on his skin.
He coughed violently, every breath accompanied by searing pain.
In that instant just now, he thought he had been eaten, and several scenes flashed quickly through his mind.
His father's serious expression while teaching him the art of governance; the glory of his coronation ceremony; the negotiations with Lothorn envoys; the dream of reviving Xio; and a certain ordinary afternoon, looking out over the capital from the royal palace balcony... these common memories became extraordinarily clear in the moment of near-death.
The Iron Dragon looked at the unrecognizable King on the ground and slowly said, "Torifin, you were brought here today. Haven't you understood yet?"
He paused, waiting for the King to regain some consciousness, then continued.
"We, Aura, have decided to personally start a war and let all nations burn."
"You, and Xio, are the first sacrifice."
Torifin's mind went blank.
War... sacrifice... these words buzzed in his mind, hammering his consciousness.
He recalled the past, how Xio struggled to rebuild under the shadow of defeat, and he recalled his oath upon ascending the throne: to make Xio rise again and no longer be manipulated by any power.
And now... "A King deserves a slightly more dignified death, rather than being eaten alive."
The Iron Dragon's massive head lowered slightly, approaching the collapsed King.
Torifin could almost see his own reflection in the Iron Dragon's pupils.
Miserable, terrified, tiny.
"We will erect a sufficiently tall gallows in the Crimson Flame Royal City square, and hang you with ropes soaked in Vicious Beast oil."
Sorog described calmly: "Your physique is much stronger than an ordinary person's, so you won't be immediately hanged."
"The ropes will slowly tighten. You can struggle for a bit longer, but you won't last too long. emissaries from various kingdoms might gather in the square, and they will personally witness the fate of the treaty breaker."
"After you die, we will attack Xio."
"We will kill the resistors and use their heads to build steles; we will ignite your kingdom with Dragon Breath, reducing it to dust; your Family, your ministers, and everyone loyal to you will be purged."
"Ultimately, the name Xio will be erased from history."
The Iron Dragon spoke, as if describing a future that was destined to happen.
And silently, a glimmer of Psionic Power lit up in his eyes, giving his words a power that penetrated the heart, making the listener involuntarily imagine the scene he described.
"No... don't..."
Thorfin's pupils were somewhat unfocused, and he murmured softly.
He could see the picture, feel the pain of the rope tightening around his neck, hear the clamor of the crowd, and imagine his corpse swaying in the wind... followed by Xio, the burning capital, the fleeing populace, and mountains of piled heads... The Iron Dragon's description felt terrifyingly real.
Just as his spirit was on the verge of collapse, the Iron Dragon's voice sounded again.
"However, Your Majesty is kind-hearted and dislikes meaningless slaughter."
"Xio... there is another choice."
As if the Darkness, blood, and fire in his eyes suddenly receded, streaks of light appeared, and Thorfin abruptly raised his head.
He hurriedly asked, "What?"
The Iron Dragon's voice was low, and he spoke word by word: "Turn a rumor into reality, and become Xio of Aura."
Pausing, he continued: "Abolish all alliances with Lothorn and pledge allegiance to Aura."
"At that time, Xio will become a vassal state of Aura, and you, Torfinn Chapman, will live and continue to govern Xio—naturally, under the will of Aura. Your Family can be retained, and your throne can be passed down as a Legacy, but from now on, every major decision made by Xio must be approved by the Crimson Flame Royal City."
"Too much trouble!"
Red Dragon Samantha impatiently lashed her tail beside them, scattering gravel. "Just eat this bug and flatten Xio! How simple is that? Let Galos lead us, and we'll burn everything along the way!"
She leaned close to Thorfin, breathing on his face: "Human, do you know what I like most? Watching everything turn to ash in the flames."
"That sight... is beautiful."
"Samantha, be patient."
The Iron Dragon looked at his blood relatives, his tone steady: "Galos prefers conquest over destruction. Dead land cannot yield grain, and cities turned to ash cannot provide tax revenue. Give the human king some time to... think clearly."
After speaking, he looked back at Thorfin, whose expression kept shifting.
"Think carefully here."
Sorog pointed with a claw at the steep cliffs around them: "You have enough time to think. The nights here will be cold, and you will feel hunger and thirst, but this is all part of the thinking process."
"In three days, I will return here, and then you will give me your answer."
"Will you end your life on the gallows as a sacrifice, your kingdom turning to ash with you; or will you be a vassal, allowing your Bloodline and throne to continue?"
Beside him, the Red Dragon tilted her head, scrutinizing the king.
"Hey, human, I hope you bravely choose death."
Samantha said, "If you do, you will earn my admiration, even respect. Although that won't change your fate of being eaten, I will get what I desire: a great meal."
"A wonderful ending, isn't it?"
After the two Dragons finished speaking, they flapped their wings one after another, gradually ascended, and disappeared into the high, distant sky.
On the mountaintop, only the ceaseless howling cold wind remained, along with the human king whose eyes showed signs of struggle.
Thorfin slumped onto the rock, remaining motionless for a long time.
The cold began to erode his body, but he barely felt it.
He struggled to crawl to the edge and looked down the cliff; the bottomless abyss appeared even darker in the twilight.
Jump down... and everything ends.
No more struggle, no more humiliation, no more difficult choices.
At that time, Xio would have a new king.
He would resist Aura, seek aid from Lothorn, and there would be a war... or perhaps, he would surrender immediately.
On the other side, among the mountains.
The two Dragons folded their wings one after another and landed beside another blood relatives.
At this moment, the Red Iron Dragon was holding a large piece of rock in one claw and putting it into his mouth.
A large section of the mountain not far in front of him was now empty, leaving a clear indentation on the rock face, suggesting he had clearly eaten it.
"Galos, what are you doing?"
Red Dragon Samantha tasted the rock Galos was chewing, immediately spat several times, and disgustedly ejected it.
"It's just dirt! Not some treasure that looks like dirt."
"It's so dry and unpleasant to eat, it reminds me of some bad memories."
She stared at the Red Iron Dragon, puzzled: "Drinking black oil is one thing—I know you get energy from it—but why are you chewing dirt now?"
"If outsiders knew, they'd think we Dragons of Aura are too poor to afford normal food, and that even the Emperor has to chew dirt."
The Red Iron Dragon paused his meal.
"This is one of my new training methods."
He said, "I'm trying to stimulate my stomach and intestines, to improve... Never mind, I can't explain it clearly to you. How is the King of Xio doing?"
The Red Dragon immediately shook her head and tail, showing a smug expression.
She even stood up on her hind legs, gesticulating with her front claws, mimicking the human king's terrified look.
"You didn't see the way that human looked when I scared him, it was hilarious."
"When I grabbed him, he was shaking all over, like a startled rabbit. That look..."
She laughed heartily, her tail slapping the ground and stirring up dust.
"Haha, my performance was flawless. He probably thought I was just a brainless, crazy, and violent ordinary Red Dragon who was going to eat him immediately. Tsk, he didn't even consider that his tiny bit of flesh wouldn't be enough to stick between my teeth. What a foolish human."
"Don't you agree, Sorog? If this human submits, this Dragon deserves major credit."
Under the Red Dragon's gaze, Iron Dragon Sorog slowly nodded.
He had returned to his usual calm posture, his wings neatly folded behind him, resembling two massive shields.
"Hmm, that was practically playing yourself. Even I couldn't tell if it was real or fake."
He said, a hint of teasing in his voice.
Samantha froze for a second, then widened her eyes: "Wait, what do you mean? What do you mean 'playing myself'? Are you saying I'm naturally..."
"Enough."
Galos interrupted the potential argument.
The Red Iron Dragon turned to Sorog, his gaze becoming serious: "What was the King of Xio's reaction?"
The Iron Dragon dropped his smile and answered seriously: "Fear, struggle, but not yet broken. He is still weighing his options—this is good. It means he will at least seriously consider the choice we gave him. If he had submitted immediately, he would be untrustworthy."
He paused, then continued: "However, the King of Xio might not necessarily agree to the choice I offered."
"If he is sufficiently resolute, he might jump straight off the mountaintop, or simply choose to kill himself. Some humans value dignity more than life, especially rulers."
Galos's expression remained unchanged.
"No matter."
He said, "There are many people in the Xio Royal Family. Even if they know they would be a Puppet king, there are those who are desperate to take the position."
Sorog nodded: "Conquering Xio is actually not difficult for us, or rather, it's very simple."
"Under the impact of our public opinion and the influence of our mouthpieces over the years, there are already many people within Xio who are close to us."
He grinned, showing his sharp teeth.
"Sometimes, we don't even need our mouthpieces to fan the flames; Xio people naturally speak up for us."
"It's as if by aligning with us, they can wash away the shame of being a defeated nation, making them feel a sense of superiority in front of their compatriots, allowing them to stand tall and proud."
"Furthermore, our scouts reported that after the king was captured alive, some Xio people even held celebratory parades in the capital."
"They angrily cursed their own king and warriors for being too weak, praised the greatness and valor of the Aura Emperor, and couldn't wait to join us. Truly... too foolish."
The Iron Dragon gave a clear assessment of such people.
They certainly make Aura's rule easier, but this does not mean they will be respected by Aura.
On the contrary, Citizens of Aura who take pride in their own kingdom will only despise such people deep down. Those who betray their own race will eventually be scorned by everyone, enemies and allies alike.
Galos listened in silence, and only spoke slowly after Sorog finished.
"Xio is not important; it is merely a catalyst."
"The other kingdoms, especially Lothorn, are our true obstacle. Do not take them lightly."
Before the dust settled, he was not in a hurry to occupy Xio.
On the surface, Xio is just a piece of meat, but if they truly occupy it... the fate of the Lain Kingdom is right before their eyes. Although Aura would not completely repeat its mistakes, they would inevitably be implicated and affected.
Sorog nodded in deep agreement.
"Lothorn alone, while difficult to deal with, is not too great a threat."
Speaking, his tone grew serious: "But we are the greatest anomaly among all the nations. Human kingdoms can wage war against each other, form alliances, and betray one another, but when facing us..."
"I fear Lothorn might truly unite the nations to launch a concerted punitive expedition against us."
"If that happens... we would have no choice but to abandon this place, which would mean suffering enormous losses."
Galos slowly nodded: "You are right. Lothorn has its New Federation, ostensibly for peace and development."
He paused, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes: "And Aura will also have its own allies. Power attracts power, and fear drives unity. Not all kingdoms are willing to grovel beneath Lothorn."
Red Dragon Samantha's eyes lit up, and she excitedly flapped her wings.
"Rippos! That kingdom narrowly lost to Lothorn twice by just one move. It can never be willing to grovel beneath Lothorn!"
The Red Iron Dragon glanced at her approvingly, then chuckled.
"How interesting."
"Once upon a time, Rippos was our enemy, and Lothorn was our ally."
At this point, the Red Iron Dragon's vertical pupils narrowed slightly, as if recalling those Years of War, before he spoke again.
"However, times have changed."
"Now Lothorn views us as the greatest hidden danger, and we view Lothorn as an obstacle."
"Rippos, conversely, has become a potential ally. Heh, the boundary between enemy and friend is so fragile in the tide of interests and power. There are no eternal enemies, no eternal friends, only eternal interests."
Having said this, the Red Iron Dragon looked toward the sky.
By this time, night had fully fallen, and the stars began to twinkle. That Elf Moon belonging to the Nauxier Empire was dazzling, and it had been like this almost every night in recent years.
"But regardless..."
"This time, we lit the flames ourselves, and we will also end the Conflict of Nations ourselves."
He spread his wings and looked toward the Iron Dragon and the Red Dragon.
"Get ready, my brothers," he said. "The fire has been lit, and we shall harness it, making the whole world tremble beneath our Dragon Wings."