At night, in the powerful city of Valyria, the capital of the Freehold, lights illuminated every corner, not far from the foot of the towering Fourteen Fire Peaks.
The volcanic peaks here were different from ordinary volcanoes; while typical volcanoes alternated between eruption and calm, the Fourteen Fire Peaks were uniquely distinct.
Many parts of these fiery mountain peaks seemed eternally wreathed in unceasing flames, yet they never erupted, as if some miraculous force had altered these continuously burning mountains.
Even from several miles away at the foot of the mountains, one could still feel the heat of those volcanoes constantly gushing forth from the earth, bringing warmth and magic to the world.
Rosani, using a not-so-proficient transformation spell, turned into a handsome young man in a black robe, standing in a vast slave owner's estate, gazing up at the continuously burning peaks at the base of the mountains, with the bright lights of the estate illuminating his distinct silhouette.
Handsome and spirited, every True Dragon in the Kogmora Dragon Clan, regardless of appearance, form, or strength, was outstanding among True Dragons of the same age.
Although Rosani had some amusing quirks in his daily interactions with the True Dragon, his appearance seemed far more noble than those pretentious nobles.
The place Rosani was looking at was precisely where the spellcasters had identified the most intense magical energy emission in the vicinity of Essos and throughout the Freehold area, a crucial magic node.
Or, it would not be an exaggeration to say it was one of the magic sources of the nearby continent.
This location was also the most suitable place to establish a Plane coordinate tower and open a permanent passage connecting two Plane worlds.
The spellcasters only needed to proceed step by step, establish a Plane coordinate signal tower, and then use a magic array to draw upon the immense magical energy beneath the Fourteen Fire Peaks to open the passage.
They would then welcome the Empire's subsequent support legions and, according to the known information and plans, conquer the entire world, making this world a provider for the Golden Empire as well.
Most importantly, in Rosani's mind, the Wyverns of this world were very suitable as food for the True Dragons.
Feeding on these false Dragons could allow the True Dragons to develop more perfectly; Rosani's body, after this period of feeding, had already grown to sixteen meters long.
This size was already equivalent to the juvenile stage of many large True Dragons species in the Ekania World, and some smaller True Dragons species could only hope to reach this size after reaching adulthood.
Rosani had already conceived the idea of treating this world as a ranch for the True Dragons, raising these Wyverns so that when their numbers grew, the True Dragons could freely hunt.
"Perhaps, this was Kalon's original intention: to devour all things and strengthen the bloodline,"
Rosani occasionally entertained this thought.
"The True Dragons of the past were originally astral beings, free and powerful, preying on creatures from countless worlds. Perhaps the earliest True Dragons were so mighty for this very reason."
It must be said that the True Dragons in the Kogmora Dragon Clan, when faced with potential benefits, would always, at the first opportunity, seek to leverage the True Dragon's power to amplify these benefits and were happy to share them.
Rosani shifted his gaze to the dark sky, where even as deep night approached, Dragon Knights, riding wyverns of various appearances and scale colors, still patrolled the heavens.
Some had golden eyes and silver scales, with splendid appearances; some had red scales and copper crowns, with swift movements; others were lean, formidable, and terrifying beasts.
These enormous beasts, however, were ridden by small humans, who controlled them to patrol like hunting dogs, trying to find traces of the outsiders.
Rosani's lips curled into a sneer, "Pitiable inferior species. Since they are willing to be subservient to mortals, they might as well become food in the mouths of great True Dragons, offering their last remaining value to the noble True Dragons."
In the endless Plane, even with legendary Dragon Knights, those True Dragons merely regarded the knights on their backs as pets. Most True Dragons only partnered with other races for amusement.
Even the famous Githyanki, a race that enjoyed riding Red Dragons to plunder and rob across the stellar seas, only managed to do so because they had allied with Tiamat the Chromatic Dragon Goddess, and signed a contract with the Chromatic Dragon God, allowing them to ride Red Dragons and engage in what Red Dragons loved most.
Even so, Githyanki could generally only control Young Red Dragons, because once a Red Dragon reached adulthood, even the contract with Tiamat the Chromatic Dragon Goddess, could not restrain the arrogance of these Red Dragons.
Adult Red Dragons would often simply quit, or choose to go solo and grow stronger after accumulating enough experience. Even then, the Githyanki still had to pay a large amount of money to adult Red Dragons.
Although the Golden Empire had hundreds of Batwing Wyverns serving in its legions, ridden by human and various racial warriors, Rosani still displayed the True Dragon's characteristic double standards.
This was also related to the immense pressure brought by these Dragon Knights.
Despite Rosani being a perfect True Dragon, at least in front of these Wyverns, he could not directly confront an encirclement of thousands of True Dragon.
Even against a collective encirclement of dozens of True Dragon, Rosani had only one option: to avoid their sharp edge.
Although these Wyverns had no magical power, their formidable physical strength, derived from their tens to hundreds of meters in size, was still enough to keep the Black Dragon vigilant.
Moreover, due to the hunting during this period, twenty True Dragon had already died at Rosani's hands, not including those brought down by the powerful warriors using crossbows and armor-piercing lances.
A Wyvern Knight from the Imperial Wyvern Knight Regiment, tempered by war, these elite Wyvern Knights were capable of hunting a True Dragon alone.
The speed of Wyverns was not only much slower than that of True Dragons; once Wyverns unleashed their full speed, the True Dragon couldn't even catch the exhaust of the Wyvern Knight.
Bartoli, the commander of the Wyvern Knight Regiment alone, had already personally beheaded more than five True Dragon. According to incomplete statistics by Scholars, nearly sixty of these Batwing Wyverns had already been lost to the Imperial Legion warriors.
Even though the Forty Dragon King Family possessed a vast wyvern legion, they had also increased their vigilance during this time.
This was because not only was the number of Wyverns changing, but the clansmen with True Dragon King blood who were qualified to control Wyvern and the Dragon Knights were also continuously disappearing in secret.
Throughout the city of Valyria, the defense level was constantly being raised. The Dragon Road leading to Valyria had been blockaded by a large number of mercenary warriors and Unsullied, who conducted strict inspections.
The slave owners, estate owners, and nobles guarded their residences and estates impenetrably, protected by layers of guards.
However, these defenses, in the eyes of the Empire's legionary warriors, were merely obstacles that could be easily swept aside. What they truly feared was only the vast Wyvern legion.
And these rulers of Valyria dispatched hundreds of Wyverns daily to search for traces of outsiders on the Valyria Peninsula, hoping to root them out.
Another hundred Wyverns were searching for traces in the Long Summer Land outside the Valyria Peninsula, but perhaps those nobles could not imagine that the true enemy had already arrived by their side, and the magic of the Ekania World was far superior to the level of this world.
"But, the best defense in the world is offense," Rosani looked at the bright moon in the sky, stood with his hands behind his back, imitating a certain Red Dragon, and sighed.
"My choice to be in this city precisely avoids the advantage of those Wyverns. Here, we are not the ones to be wary of, but those rulers. Those wyverns might see clearly in the dark, but those knights are just blind men."
Valyria, ablaze with lights, was already a surging undercurrent.
In front of the once luxurious Valyrian Grand Lord's Fortress, the human Dragon King maintaining order today sat on his throne, quietly awaiting the outcome.
Warriors and attendants surrounded the front of the fortress impenetrably, and the Dragon Knights in the sky circled above the Grand Lord's Fortress.
During this period, the Dragon King Family, who had previously engaged in infighting and power struggles, finally temporarily set aside their disputes and united, taking turns governing and integrating the entire Freehold's power.
Red Priestesses who believed in the Red God and Red Priestess Nalia gathered around a blazing torch, performing a ritual of devotion to the god.
One slave after another was bound by their hands and tied to wooden stakes. These were offerings to Rhllor, the Red God, to pray for the descent of the Red God's power.
However, Nalia had previously attempted a lone sacrifice, but the power was insufficient to locate the outsiders, as if the outsiders' mysterious magic had shielded their existence.
Therefore, to borrow the power of Rhllor, the Lord of light, a grander sacrifice must be held to obtain greater power, allowing the True God to bestow a more powerful miracle.
Blood and fire share the same origin; life's blood is exchanged for the fire of power. Thus, there were a total of one hundred and sixty-six slaves here to be used as sacrifices.
Red Priestess Nalia, the Red Priestess, nodded to the human Dragon King seated on the throne, then walked around the huge torch, while the other Red Priests chanted mysterious prayers, blessing the light and goodness of the great True God Rhllor.
Red Priestess Nalia, the Red Witch, sprinkled potions and powders from her wide sleeves, and an orange flame lit up at her fingertips. The orange flame ignited the powder, turning into a crimson blood-flame that fell into the woodpile on the altar.
The crimson blood-flame suddenly surged, and the screams and cries of terror from the slaves within the fire erupted simultaneously.
The beautiful Priestess, her red robe unfastened between her fair fingers, slipped from top to bottom to the ground, revealing her fair, lamb-like body.
The naked Witch's eyes now glowed brightly like shallow red burning candles.
At this moment, the Witch's aura became obscure and solemn, beauty and danger intertwined, complex and abrupt.
"Shadows are servants of light, children of flame..."
The Priestess, radiating a dazzling white halo, exposed her beautiful figure. She stepped with delicate feet, chanting ancient words before the torch, and began a ritual dance—agile, beautiful, and sacred.
"People burning fiercely with fire..."
"By your life's fire, create..."
The ruby necklace on the beautiful Witch's neck glowed brilliantly at this final moment, as if replenished, its luster becoming even more translucent and rich.
Even the Witch's face and skin became smoother.
The human Dragon King and the warrior attendants held their breath. One after another, blurred yet clear shadows struggled, letting out silent howls, squeezing out from the beautiful Witch's body.
It was as if the legendary Gates of Hell had opened on the beautiful Witch, and countless terrifying specters crawled out from her body, born into the world.
The human Dragon King and the warrior attendants could no longer distinguish the faces of the shadows or recognize the individuals they reflected, but they all knew those were the slaves who had just been burned in the flames, becoming sacrifices to the Red God Rhllor.
Countless shadows intertwined and condensed at this moment, like many wrongfully deceased ghosts howling, fighting, and devouring each other, terrifying the surrounding attendants, making their legs tremble, their faces pale, and their teeth chatter.
Finally, the countless shadows transformed into a huge, twisted ghostly face, roaring as it floated in mid-air, then, like the ghost of a hunting dog, it sniffed around in the air before drifting off in one direction.
"Follow it! Quick! Send all elite warriors to wipe out those outsiders!" The human Dragon King, seated on his throne, looked warily at the Priestess, who was lying on the ground, somewhat weak, and had re-donned her red robe, then quickly ordered his warriors to lead the charge.
As soon as the human Dragon King gave his command, he caught a glimpse in his peripheral vision of a brilliant rainbow flashing from a distance in the night sky. Up in the sky, his family's Dragon Knight and wyverns let out cries of terror at that moment.
The human Dragon King couldn't help but look up at the sky. In that instant, his eyes widened abruptly, his mouth agape, as shock and fear completely paralyzed his limbs, making it difficult for him to move.
The Wyverns in the sky was decapitated by that dazzling stream of light. The huge wyverns head let out only a brief wail before detaching from its massive body.
A thirty-meter-long True Dragon, bleeding, plummeted from the sky, carrying the Knight on its back, and its severed head.
A dozen unlucky attendants didn't even have time to react before they were crushed into pulp by the Wyverns corpse falling from the sky. Gurgling dragon blood splattered across the plaza in front of the warlord's fortress, eliciting screams from countless attendants.
Many female attendants and slaves fled in terror, while some warriors who hadn't gotten far were also startled by the huge commotion and hastily returned.
Bang, bang, bang,
One after another, warriors wearing huge and strange armor seemed to descend from the sky, blocking the path of these warriors.
Each of these armored warriors was over three meters tall. To these Valyria slave warriors and mercenaries, the opponents were like giants, making them somewhat hesitant to advance.
"Stop! Live, advance, die!"
The Burning Hoof Legion warrior centurion plunged his massive greatsword deep into the stone slab in front of him. A cold voice emerged from beneath his faceplate, its chilling murderous intent making even the Unsullied, trained with savagery and bloodshed, hesitant to attack easily.
Sahar flapped his flaming wings, descending from the sky and landing in front of the human Dragon King, who was guarded by warriors.
Hot dragon blood was still dripping from the Wolf's sharp claws, one drop after another splashing onto the floor, corroding tiny holes in the stone slabs.
He watched the human Dragon King, who was continuously retreating, trying to escape into the warlord's fortress, and chuckled softly, "You don't need to look for us; we are already here."
The wings on the Wolf's back flapped, and his figure vanished at that moment. The intense commotion caused the surrounding torches and candlelight to flicker and dim.
The next instant, the lights came back on, and on the ground, heads rolled, and blood began to spread.
The screams from inside startled the slave warriors and Unsullied outside. These warriors exchanged glances, then raised their long spears, roaring as they lunged at the blocking warriors, "Kill!"
A red glow flickered in the eyes carved from magic crystal on the Burning Hoof centurion's faceplate. He drew the heavy sword in front of him.
The heavy greatsword in the centurion's hand seemed to lose its proper weight, at this moment unleashing a sharpness that even the night could not conceal.
The eyes of the slave warrior who first attacked couldn't even track the movement of the greatsword; he only saw a cold light rise, and his entire body was split in half from head to toe. Even his iron armor was neatly bisected.
The process was so fast that the warrior's left and right halves still held their spears and took two steps forward before crashing down, their internal organs only then realizing they had lost the body's embrace and restraint, scattering and splattering red and white across the ground.
The remaining slave warriors and Unsullied were stunned by this fierce blow, actually halting their advance.
"Truly foolish, damned people."
The centurion's tall figure stood like a demon god, a red glow suddenly rising from his faceplate, his cold voice like a pronouncement of death.
"Even with my Lord's merciful virtue, your foolishness cannot be forgiven," the centurion said softly, leaning on his sword. "Kill them all, leave no one behind."
Thump, thump, thump,
A dozen warriors passed the centurion and walked towards the wary slave warriors.
Although the Burning Hoof had only dispatched two squads, a total of twenty men, here, if it weren't to prevent the human Dragon King from escaping, these warriors believed that one of them would be enough to deal with these weak opponents.
The centurion stood in place, leaning on his sword, eyes closed, listening to the sound of steel cutting through the enemy's iron armor, weapons, and bodies. The boiling battle blood within him gradually subsided as he guided it.
These worthless scoundrels didn't require his intervention. How to control one's will and conserve stamina in battle was a mandatory lesson for every Legion warrior.
The centurion was powerful precisely because he treated every moment as his training time.
The clashing of steel, the flow of blood within his body, and the chaotic clamor from the city—everything was captured by the centurion's mind, ultimately forming an image in his heart: a unique True Dragon.
"The Emperor's glory,"
The centurion murmured, opening his eyes. The scene before him was already calm, with only the Empire's warriors, blood, and severed limbs; there were no enemies left.