Under the Red Dragon

The underground prison of the Golden Empire's Hall of Justice was a hell for all those with ill intentions.

But within this hell, contrary to the imagined gore and darkness, the dismembered limbs, it was exceptionally neat and quiet, so quiet that even the slightest heavy breathing of a prisoner could shatter the silence.

The humanoid form of the Green Dragon Antajena was also exceptionally tall.

Judged by the standards of the Progenitor Red Dragon, Kalon Gorgomora, this green dragon's humanoid form had a large frame, standing at a full one meter and ninety centimeters tall, with a voluptuous figure.

Standing before these spellcasters and warriors, whose limbs were bound to steel frames with magic-suppressing chains and shackles, she appeared particularly tall.

Antajena looked down at the humans before her, her crystalline, emerald-like pupils revealing a chilling, bone-deep coldness.

A kobold prison guard grinned as he took a syringe from a tray, drawing the ice-blue liquid from a test tube.

This ice-blue liquid, the Devil's Delight potion, was an arcane material purified to the extreme; its cold, pure color seemed to offer the power of reason and calm.

But the spellcasters bound to the steel frames showed fear on their faces, trembling all over, wailing weakly: "Spare me, spare me, noble dragon! I am willing to serve you, I am willing to tell you all the information I know, I am willing to do whatever you ask."

In the adjacent and opposite cells, those who were similarly driven by a single purpose and will began to laugh.

These subordinates sent by the Harpers' League and the Southern Aristocratic Economic Alliance began to anticipate that their companions would, like themselves, experience the pleasure of depravity, the embrace of darkness.

Only then could their hearts, fallen into darkness, find some comforting relief, and the satisfaction of not suffering from scarcity but from inequality.

It was the devil's poison, eroding these people who had originally held hearts of justice, both physically and mentally.

No matter how frantically the mage struggled before her, no matter how ear-piercing his wails and pleas were, the kobold guard steadfastly injected this cold devil's poison into the mage's veins.

The ice-blue arcane potion began to spread, and the veins on the mage's forehead and neck, like bulging blue tendons, were filled with the cold blue substance.

One could even see, through the flesh and blood of the veins, the cold potion flowing little by little towards the mage's heart and limbs.

"Hoh, hoh,"

As the increased dose of the Devil's Delight fully diffused and took effect, the fearfully twisted expression on the struggling and wailing mage's face began to calm down, his rapid heartbeat also became exceptionally smooth, and an indescribable sense of detachment and transcendence even appeared on his face.

It was like the sage moment of every archmage, the satisfaction of obtaining the truth of the universe.

And from the other prison cells, there came a chorus of sighs, a mixture of satisfaction and disappointment.

A faint smile appeared on the beautiful face of the Green Dragon Antajena.

Originally, these spies from the Harpers' League and the Southern Aristocracy should have been interrogated separately and controlled independently, to avoid the possibility of her plans being easily recognized by others, because in the world of magic, there was a high probability of miracles occurring.

A miracle that could resist her will of corruption.

But Antajena liked doing this.

She wanted everyone to watch their companions slip from light into darkness, to feel fear.

She wanted everyone who dared to harbor malice towards the Golden Empire to see their companions fall, and then feel their own involuntary depravity, to maximize the distortion of their hearts, and to let their self-righteous justice and light be covered by darkness.

Antajena could reap from this behavior a sense of control over others' pleasure and emotions, far beyond what power could bring; undoubtedly, this was the nature of a green dragon.

To this end, Antajena even increased the dosage of the potion, ensuring that these people with strong wills would be invigorated, experience unprecedented pleasure, become addicted at once, and rapidly expand their threshold of pleasure, thereby manipulating the twisted minds of these people.

However, this Devil's Delight was not without its advantages; in addition to invigorating the mind and refreshing the brain, for a period of time after taking or injecting the Devil's Delight, all creatures' mental focus would be greatly enhanced.

In spellcasting professions, it could be considered a rare auxiliary spellcasting material; this effect could allow some spellcasters who had difficulty controlling their chaotic spirits to release higher-level spells.

Even during the period when the Devil's Delight took effect, these spellcasters' comprehension and meditation abilities in cultivation could also be greatly improved.

The horror of this meditation efficiency was that the meditation efficiency of a low-level spellcaster could rival that of a mid-level spellcaster, and could even allow creatures like goblins and kobolds to temporarily gain a level of understanding and meditation efficiency comparable to that of a low-level mage.

Therefore, it was not without reason that Antajena named this potion Devil's Delight; during the period when the drug took effect, even devils would need to praise this potion!

Of course, after the effects of the potion wore off, these people would face incomparably terrifying torment; the sense of emptiness in life was only the starting point, and the inability to perceive pleasant emotions and the crazy increase in threshold were the first wave of torment.

What followed was the chaos of being unable to control one's emotions; in short, the will needed to undergo a test of judgment.

If the will was difficult to maintain its own autonomous consciousness, and the potion was not replenished, these people would be reduced to crazy beasts, losing their minds and consciousness, just like dragons affected by dragon frenzy.

"Great Queen of Evil Poison, Lord of Desire," the spellcaster showed a calm, fanatical expression on his face, not only feeling the benefits of the potion, but also the greatly enhanced wisdom and mental power allowed this spellcaster to easily glimpse his future position.

If he did not obey the orders and will of the green dragon before him, then his fate would be the same as those companions who were dragged out, flowing with snot and bloody tears, immersed in endless pain and wailing, reduced to beasts.

The kobold guard unlocked the spellcaster's shackles, allowing the spellcaster to move freely.

Antajena looked down arrogantly at the noble spellcaster, who almost fanatically kissed the tip of her shoe, and smiled.

"What is your name?" Antajena chuckled; in fact, these spellcasters' names had already been exposed by the companions who had arrived here first, but Antajena enjoyed this feeling.

"Great master, your loyal servant's original name was Natcha; if your will requires me to change my name, I will resolutely comply!"

Antajena looked at the humans and half-elves in the surrounding cells, their faces somewhat dull and numb; those people had become somewhat excited and agitated because they smelled the residual scent of the Devil's Delight.

Many spellcasters even squeezed their faces into the gaps of the huge bars, their eyes filled with intense desire as they looked at the Green Dragon Antajena.

Even Natcha shuddered when he saw the eyes of these companions.

"No need," Antajena turned and walked out of the cell, her gradually receding back disappearing, leaving only the green dragon's giggling laughter, "You stay here, I will find a chance to let you go,"

"I need to think of a reasonable reason; tsk, after all, I am a noble ruler, not some kind of devil, how can I keep you noble people trapped in this dark dungeon!"

...

Any alliance between national forces cannot be achieved with just a few verbal agreements; it requires constant consultation and discussion to reach a consistent alliance and final agreement.

The same was true for the agreement between the Golden Empire and the Elven Kingdom.

Although the ultimate goal of the Golden Empire had been determined, and the Elven Kingdom's delegation was anxious, the agreement of an elven princess in the treaty between the two countries still needed to be approved by the Elven Kingdom's council and the Elven King.

Even if the agreement of the Elven Princess Isabel Adjani took effect immediately, subsequent consultations were unavoidable.

For example, in what form should the Golden Empire assist the Elven Kingdom, and how many legions should be sent without causing panic in the Elven Kingdom.

The purge of internal forces within the empire was also a preparatory work done by the Golden Empire for the subsequent war.

Although the initial reinforcements sent to the Elven Kingdom would definitely not be too many, in order to prevent other forces from taking the opportunity to make irrational moves, the rulers of the empire decided to thoroughly clean up the interior.

And war was not something that could be accomplished overnight; war materials, grain, and logistics were of utmost importance.

In the ten years before and after the establishment of the empire, the Golden Empire, under the will of the dragons, dug a grand canal across the territory, connecting the north and south territories.

As the empire's ruling territory expanded to the west, the empire's canal needed to be dug from east to west again, to connect the east and west seas, and form a transportation and logistics system between the ports and the empire's interior.

In addition to the canal, the empire also built cities on a large scale, and giant cities rose from the ground one after another, which required a huge amount of money and materials.

There were also industries such as education, medical care, people's livelihood, magic technology revival and research, and military industry manufacturing, which were also huge expenses for the empire.

The empire's established system of provinces, cities, townships, and villages also spent a lot of wealth on the empire's various department operating expenses, welfare subsidies, and various miscellaneous expenses.

Compared with these expenses, the dividends distributed to the Gorgomora dragon group were like a stream compared to the sea.

Moreover, with the development of the empire, the expansion brought about by the mature military and political system also consumed a lot of wealth.

The mature military system brought about fully detached elite warriors, and the generous benefits and food consumed by these elite warriors were also an unimaginable wealth.

If the Golden Empire had not opened up several worlds and continuously detected and mined the small dimensional planes attached to the Aikania world to accumulate primitive capital, even if the empire had such a rich and unique land, it would not be able to cope with such a gold-swallowing consumption.

It should be known that not all plane worlds can have a mature civilization system and stable resource acquisition like the worlds opened up by the Golden Empire.

In many planes and worlds explored by legendary mages, many are even worlds that mortal beings cannot set foot in, and there is no formed civilization.

Some worlds are completely composed of the sea, and can only be explored by aquatic creatures; not to mention the low efficiency, the output obtained is completely disproportionate to the input.

That is, Kalon has some incomparable conditions to accurately obtain these resources, so that the empire can grow wildly at an unprecedented speed.

But even if the Golden Empire sits on the resources of several planes, it will not exempt the resources that the Elven Kingdom should pay.

"That's how it is between countries; you can't make concessions on direct interests because of some friendly relations, and it's better to lean on policies, such as tariff policies for customs trade; this kind of win-win situation is the correct development relationship,"

Kalon Gorgomora explained.

God-Favored Naga Garun did not need to stay in the sea for a long time like other nagas; she had the magical protection of the Progenitor Red Dragon, and was able to follow the Progenitor Red Dragon for a long time.

Compared to combat, this naga's understanding of politics was far from being comparable to that of the head maid, Charlize.

However, God-Favored Naga Garun was willing to take the initiative to understand, which was a good thing for Kalon; after all, this also meant that if Garun had potential, then the burden on the Progenitor Red Dragon would be much lighter in the future.

The head maid, Charlize, who was reading the empire's military and political report, raised a subtle arc at the corner of her mouth; God-Favored Naga Garun held up eight arms, and for the first time put down her weapon and learned to serve others.

The slightly heavy fist, which was slightly heavy for other creatures, hit Kalon's body, and it seemed just right.

However, the Progenitor Red Dragon's body was huge, and had already grown to thirty meters; even if it was lying down, it was an out-and-out behemoth, and God-Favored Naga's tall body and coiled snake tail could not reach the back of this red dragon.

God-Favored Naga quietly glanced at the two-headed white dragon Kamide lying opposite; at the time point when dinner was about to arrive, the aroma of those delicious foods had already made one of this white dragon's heads look around involuntarily, appearing particularly detached.

Eating at Kalon's castle was one of the White Dragon Kamide's habits; of course, coveting the Naga Queen was also the purpose of this white dragon.

In front of the Progenitor Red Dragon, the White Dragon Kamide always maintained its original nature, which was an incomparable preference.

However, the White Dragon Kamide's request to take in the Naga Queen as a spouse was still firmly rejected by Kalon.

God-Favored Naga's eyes flickered; she knew that in front of the Progenitor Red Dragon, she did not need to pretend to be affected in any way.

So she whispered: "Your Majesty, then, will Your Majesty personally go to the Elven Kingdom? I have also heard about the ancient civilization of the elves in the depths of the sea, and I would like to see the Elven Kingdom with my own eyes."

Kalon showed his fangs and chuckled: "Of course I will go; there is a new hunting ground for the empire there."

"But I won't go there immediately; the empire exists because of us dragons, it is our hunting tentacles and hounds; those warriors are also the scythes for the dragons to reap the results, and they will help us sweep away the troubles."

"Of course, after the empire's warriors leave, the empire will publicly declare to the outside world that the emperor of the Golden Empire is touring the west to achieve friendship with the Elven Kingdom."

Garun smiled: "I know, Your Majesty is a deep-sea angler who likes to fish for giant whales in the deep sea!"

"Smart," the tail claw of the ancestral red dragon lifted slightly as it chuckled, "Actually, I also want to see how many enemies are still hidden in the shadows of the empire. After all, the information that Antagina extracted didn't reveal any 'big shots'. This little harvest isn't enough to satisfy a dragon's appetite."

Patched it up, thanks for the votes everyone!