Under the Red Dragon

Sunlight streamed through layers of white clouds, scattering across the grassland.

Among the sprawling frost giant hide tents stood a massive king's tent, the frost giant's royal banner planted before its entrance, fluttering in the breeze, a blend of warmth and chill.

Nearly all the frost giants, save for the warriors and slaves of various cold-land tribes stationed around the perimeter, were gathered around this king's tent.

The frost giant king had forcibly united the various frost giant tribes into a vast horde, yet their civilization had not achieved further advancement.

Even with armaments purchased from daring, greedy merchant companies, many frost giant warriors still wielded weapons crafted from millennia-old frozen stone of the northern frost plains, along with crude blades, flails, and clubs made from the bones of powerful creatures.

Many towering frost giants, clad in animal hides, roamed the camp, tending to or butchering mammoths, ice plains drakes, musk unicorns, and other large beasts plundered and captured from the frozen wastelands.

Despite their crude weaponry, the frost giants' skin was tougher than that of war lizards or dragonkin, their natural 'thick hide' surpassing even those creatures' innate defenses, making it difficult for even well-crafted iron arrows to inflict effective damage.

This was a major reason for the frost giants' dominance in the icy plains; they possessed not only immense strength but also formidable defense, wielding both sharp spears and sturdy shields, making them a dominant race.

Although the camp housed tens of thousands of warriors, the central area was eerily quiet, almost deathly silent, broken only by the snorts of beasts and the occasional loud roar of a frost giant.

This wasn't due to the strict discipline of the tribal warriors but rather their fear of disturbing the ill-tempered frost giants.

In the mist-laden camp, the haphazardly piled bones scattered on the ground were the fate of those who had disturbed the frost giants.

Some were humanoid bones, others animal, all remnants of the frost giants' meals, creating a gruesome sight.

Several dragon skeletons lay among them, their jade-like bones gleaming with metallic grey, arranged to resemble their living forms.

The massive, grotesque skulls, with their cold, empty eye sockets, glared at any creature daring to covet the frost giant camp, a display of intimidating authority, defying challenge or resistance.

Only from within the central king's tent came the sounds of boisterous revelry, laughter, and debate, the sole place of unbridled freedom in this oppressive space.

Inside the spacious king's tent, bonfires blazed, illuminating the assembled chieftains of the frost giant tribes.

Some drank deeply from their cups of strong liquor, others tore at whole legs of beef, while still others sang the frost giants' war songs to drive away winter demons, both bold and melancholic.

The frost giant king sat enthroned in the center of the tent, the armored giant ruler appearing even more robust and formidable than the frost giant warriors surrounding the tent, even in a seated posture.

The giant king's appearance was not unusual, his skin similar to other frost giants, but with a deeper, glacial ice-blue hue.

His neatly trimmed beard resembled upright shards of frost and ice, contrasting with his firm, calm eyes, creating a unique presence.

He was a king possessing calm, rational wisdom and unwavering will.

Thus, even the frost giants could not fathom the king's thoughts.

They were unsure of how resolute the frost giant king was in his intention to cross the grasslands and advance south, for on this boundless prairie, the Golden Empire's few dragons, three thousand soldiers, and several thousand auxiliary troops could not withstand the frost giant army's onslaught.

Even the lofty outposts built by the dragons on the low hills could not hold, serving only as a minor hindrance at best.

Moreover, the frost giant army was not a traditional force, laden with supplies and dependent on rear support, but rather one that sustained itself through warfare, living off the land.

A mere few thousand soldiers and a handful of dragons could not possibly cut off the frost giant army's supply lines or implement a scorched-earth policy across this vast grassland.

Inside the king's tent, despite the seeming clamor and festivity, these former tribal leaders and powerful frost giant warriors were fraught with doubt, worried about the future of their tribes; their hesitation was depleting the frost giants' already limited patience.

A frost giant wearing a horned helmet finally lost patience, setting down his massive horn cup and slamming his double-bladed axe onto the table before him.

"I can't take it anymore! We need a decision: to fight or retreat! Chief, you said you'd lead us frost giants to a future, and I brought the Everfrost tribe to your banner without hesitation,"

The Everfrost tribe's giant leader shouted, "I wouldn't frown even if I died on the battlefield, and my warriors would never flinch, but sitting here, though more comfortable than life in the glaciers, makes me uneasy."

"Has a mere setback crushed your ambition to lead the frost giants to greatness?"

The boisterous war songs and lively conversations in the king's tent instantly ceased, these frost giants having been united by the frost giant king's absolute might, yet not necessarily sharing his vision of leading them to power.

Although the tribes held differing views, few dared to openly question the seemingly calm giant king, for he had long surpassed the legendary, possessing immense power that even the combined tribes could not withstand.

Only Som, the Everfrost tribe's leader, one of the earliest to submit to the frost giant king, possessed such confidence and courage.

A faint smile appeared on the frost giant king's placid face; the composed ruler spoke, his deep voice resonant and full of convincing power.

"Finally lost your patience, Som?"

The giant king's gaze swept over all the watching eyes, and he laughed, "Do you know why I didn't kill the Icewind tribe's leader after defeating him, to avenge my tribe and redress the wrongs done to my kin?"

"It was your great tolerance and mercy," the Icewind tribe's frost giant leader boomed, pounding his massive fist on his chest.

"Wrong, Nule," the frost giant said calmly, "How could I be so forgiving when you slaughtered my tribe and murdered my kin?"

"When I initially fled alone into the depths of the icy plains, barely surviving on the bones of dead creatures, I thought that when I became strong enough, I would tear off your head and use it as my chamber pot, killing every member of your tribe and hanging them above the icy plains as a warning to future generations."

The frost giant named Nule immediately stopped his hearty chest-thumping, his neck stiffening, not daring to move.

"But as I grew stronger, the trials of the frost plains also awakened my wisdom,"

The frost giant king's smile returned, and he murmured, "I have been pondering whether the generations-old animosity between the frost giant tribes caused such tragedy? Yes and no."

"Did the frost giants' shortsightedness and ignorance lead to all these wars? Yes and no."

"The ultimate root cause lies in the harsh and barren environment of the extreme ice frost plains,"

The frost giant king's voice compelled all the tribal leaders to listen intently, as if the king were born with the power to convince, a charm and aura of wisdom and strength combined.

"The entire frost wasteland is dozens of times larger than the territory occupied by that Golden Empire, but after integrating all the frost giant tribes, I discovered that there are only three thousand frost giants,"

A peculiar light shone in the frost giant king's eyes, and he said sternly, "Such a vast area can only sustain a few thousand frost giants; such a harsh and barren environment is the cruel root cause of the generations of infighting between our frost giant tribes."

"I understood the underlying cause, and from then on, I vowed to eradicate the millennia-old cycle of mutual slaughter among the frost giant tribes, to prevent tragedies like mine from happening day and night."

"I also vowed to lead the frost giants away from the impoverished frost plains, to guide our race to a better future, to obtain fertile lands for us to thrive in, and to make the frost giants even stronger."

At that moment, all the frost giant warriors and leaders revealed respect for the king's wisdom and admiration for his ambition on their cold faces, cheering and roaring, feeling elated to have submitted to such a ruler.

The frost giant king's voice rang out, sonorous and powerful: "So I marched towards my goal, I united all the frost giants, I defeated all the tribes on the frost plains, I defeated those arrogant white dragon tribes, and I ascended above the legendary."

"This is my vow, my goal, my path, so how could I be afraid?"

"Then why remain here, my king? We await only your command to unleash the storm from the frost plains and march forward."

Som, the frost giant who had first voiced his doubts, raised his battle axe and roared, "The frost giant warriors will crush everything you point to."

"Frost giants never fear war, only the absence of it!"

"Southward! Southward!"

The atmosphere in the king's tent was fervent and inspiring, the cold blood of all the frost giants growing hot, their cold eyes blazing with fiery light.

The frost giant king gently shook his head, and said slowly and deliberately, "Those few dragons are nothing in my eyes, and those thousands of soldiers cannot stop our advance."

"But haven't you noticed that the strength of the frost giants and the Dragon Kingdom is unequal? Numerical superiority cannot bridge other gaps."

"Even the light infantry of the auxiliary legions are uniformly armored and wield sharp blades; the strength of our armies is simply not on the same level, and that's not even considering their other means."

"Moreover, the Dragon Kingdom's true power is only the tip of the iceberg that we see."

"We are not afraid, King! Frost giants will also give everything to follow in your footsteps!" a frost giant shaman said, leaning on his staff, ice runes covering his pale blue skin.

The tribal leaders all pounded their chests, roaring and expressing their eagerness for battle.

But the frost giant king simply raised his arm and gently pressed his palm downwards, silencing the increasingly fervent king's tent.

"If the frost giants suffer heavy casualties in the war, then what is the meaning of my conquest?" the king said.

"I have already sent messengers to invite the Emperor of the Dragon Kingdom to meet with me."

"I want to personally assess whether the dragons have the power to resist me; if they cannot resist me, then even if we pay a heavy price, it will be worth it; if the dragons are strong enough to resist me, then we will only suffer losses in vain."

The Icewind tribe's leader, Nule, laughed loudly, "How dare those dragons come to meet with the King in person? Even if that red dragon is rumored to be on par with you, how could he not fear your might? He is just a clown before you."

The frost giant king's calm, cold eyes swept towards the frost giant, cutting off his laughter, and he said calmly, "If he dares not come, then that proves he lacks the confidence and strength to oppose me, but that red dragon is, after all, an ambitious king, I will not allow you to speak ill of him."

Silence fell within the king's tent.

The distant sound of drums and horns faintly carried over, and a frost giant guard entered from outside the tent, bowing to the frost giant leaders and the frost giant king: "King, the Emperor of the Golden Empire has not come, but the blue dragon Akhez, known outside as the 'King of Azure Lightning,' and another female dragon have arrived."

The frost giant king frowned slightly, remained silent for a long while, and then spoke: "Then let Sakres go meet this so-called 'King of Azure Lightning.'"

...

In the Golden Empire's legion encampment, accompanied by the sounding of deep horns and the beating of giant cowhide drums.

The blue dragon Akhez and the blue dragon Kalit descended from the clouds, standing on the lofty outpost, looking down at the Empire's legions.

The white dragon Sloka and the white dragon Roni flew over, greeting the two blue dragons, Kalit began chatting with the two white dragons, leaving the blue dragon Akhez to observe alone.

The Golden Empire's legion warriors, though uniformly armored and equipped with elite weaponry, their faces concealed by helmets.

But with the blue dragon Akhez's arrival, all the warriors lifted their helmets, raised their weapons, and saluted the King of Azure Lightning who controlled thunder.

Each dragon's name largely corresponded to its personality, such as the blue dragon Dos, known as the 'Thunder Lord,' and Akhez, the 'King of Azure Lightning.'

Due to his fierce and brave character, he was revered and worshipped by the Empire's warriors.

This vanguard legion had a full complement of five hundred war lizardmen, and the rest were mixed legions.

Among them were dragonkin warriors covered in dragon scales, troll warriors with fangs and tall statures, and ogre warriors, all powerful races mixed together.

Just like the various races living in the Golden Empire, most of the Empire's newly established legions were mixed, based on ability and adaptability, not race.

Dragons had once asked the ancestral red dragon why these powerful warriors were not all transformed into dragonkin warriors, since the Empire now had the ability to establish a pure and loyal dragon blood legion.

But the answer received was that a single race, no matter how progressive and enterprising, could not compare to the evolutionary and creative capabilities of multiple races.

"So, Karon is also using these frost giants as his experimental targets?" Aketz looked at the frost giant camp dozens of miles away, but the powerful aura emanating from it did not cause this blue dragon any concern.

However, the blue dragon frowned at the adventurers and wild dragons watching from afar around the frost giants and the Golden Empire, who had come to observe after hearing the news.

The blue dragon shook his head and ordered the lizardman leader Raleigh, who commanded the legion, "Lead a thousand warriors and follow me into battle to meet the king of the frost giants."

Lizardman leader Raleigh quickly drew out the lizardman legion of his unit, along with a hundred golem legions, three hundred centaur light cavalry legions known as 'Death Knights,' and a hundred magical construct creature legions modified by bio-alchemy.

These magical construct legions looked like swift and agile wolf beasts from the grasslands, but goblins had installed dual-barreled cannon-like devices on their backs, capable of firing powerful Vulcan cannons.

Even the golem legions, in addition to their inherent magical beam functions, had thick cannons installed on their shoulders and backs, like mechs, possessing two different means of attack.

But these golems were much more powerful than mechs, not only because they didn't require living people to control them, thus saving more space for storing energy and ammunition, but also because they could be equipped with thicker armor.

Unlike the completely solid, charge-and-break-through type golems, this type of golem was more fragile, but possessed a bursting power far stronger than solid golems.

This type of golem was somewhat similar in function to the tanks of the previous life, but even more powerful and agile than tanks.

As for weapons like tanks in Karon's memory, Karon never thought about replicating them, even though with his current abilities, he could easily calculate and master the method of casting such weapons through his past memories.

Because Karon never felt that the technology of another world was superior and more powerful than the magic of this world; building things like tanks was a boring thing to do in his eyes.

And in the comparison of the two weapons, the steel consumed on tanks was obviously better used to create golems.

The changes brought by the Ancestral Red Dragon to this world were more about the influence on culture and ideological systems.

Only blindly moving things without adapting them to local conditions is not only carrying the arrogance of another civilization but also a manifestation of a lack of wisdom.

Even if he could climb technology and build fighter planes, how could he compare to his meticulously researching magic and raising floating mage towers and floating cities?

But the blue dragon Aketz quite liked this kind of golem. His huge body landed on two golems, his dragon claws each stepping on the shoulders of the golems.

Without an order, the legion had already slowly started moving under his wings.

Several dragons landed at the same time. Although it was only a thousand-man legion, it was like a wall of steel, moving forward step by step.