Beneath the Red Dragon

The Multi-armed Giant Mogyes was also pondering. The Divine Forsaken Mountain Range did indeed hold vast tracts of land, yet the territories occupied by the Southern Nobles were already relatively well-developed realms of civilization; by comparison, the Divine Forsaken Mountain Range was nothing remarkable.

Not every kingdom could rise out of the wilderness like the Golden Empire; the rich southern lands possessed a powerful allure even for the Multi-armed Giants.

Even the King of Frost Giants and those other Kings who had long since established covenants with the Golden Empire turned their gaze upon Karon Gogomola; when it came to the division of spoils, no one could remain indifferent.

The Dragon Kings of the Golden Empire also had a gleam in their eyes. The hunger for land and the pursuit of wealth were the Source Desire that no Giant Dragon could easily cast off.

Karon Gogomola laughed and said, “If the Kings join the Golden Empire in sweeping away the Southern Nobles, the Golden Empire shall not take so much as a single piece of the lands occupied by the Southern Nobles, but will grant all of it to the Kings.”

In his blood-red pupils, that dark-golden radiance swept across the face of every astonished King; his words fell like iron: “Thus, may the Golden Empire become the leading power of the Alliance of Kings? Thus, may the Golden Empire become the wielder of the blade for the Alliance of Kings?”

Every King showed an expression of profound incredulity, the King of Elves included.

What a mad notion this was, indescribable in its audacity, making each King feel as though all before their eyes were but a false and fleeting dream.

Yet none of the Kings were vulgar mediocrities; such men could never have stood here.

They each felt a glimmer of understanding within their hearts: before them, this True Dragon Emperor harbored a yet more majestic ambition.

“When there is a higher mountain in a man’s heart that he longs to climb, he will no longer care about the mire beneath his feet.” The Beastman King Bossel Lane asked, enunciating each word, “I am very curious.”

“I am extremely curious—what is your true intent and purpose, you Dragon Emperor?”

“Nor do I believe you would do such a thing merely to sweep aside those Southern Nobles, merely to become the leading power of the Alliance of Kings,” the Emperor of the Hobis Empire also spoke slowly.

“Your promise is beautiful—so beautiful that it makes me feel it is somewhat unreal,” the Multi-armed Giant Mogyes said thus.

“A greater goal? Of course there is.” Karon Gogomola slowly rose from his high seat, his gaze sweeping across the assembled Kings.

“Throughout the endless epochs of the Icaria World, powers, races, and civilizations have arisen in multitudes, contending with one another in slaughter, intrigue, and resistance. I have grown weary of it.”

Karon paced among the Kings, wine cup in hand, his voice resounding within the royal tent.

“For what do they fight? For living space, for the power to command, for wealth, for strength, for status.”

“But why do they fix their petty gaze upon this patch of land beneath their feet, which is destined to be limited?”

Karon’s voice surged with passion as he laughed and said, “You Kings present here—who among you is not an Overlord dominating his own realm? Who among you is not a sagacious King? Why stoop to scramble and squabble in this muddy bog with those vulgar, short-sighted wretches?”

The gaze of the Kings grew more intense—not solely because of the meaning within the True Dragon Emperor’s words, but also because of the praise issuing from Karon Gogomola’s mouth.

What common praise could compare to the esteem of a renowned Emperor?

“Whether Elf, Beastman, Giant Dragon, or human, we have all once possessed glorious civilizations and histories resplendent with honor.”

“Are we latter-day Kings truly inferior to those Kings of the chronicles?” Karon Gogomola said in a deep voice. “I do not think so.”

“Kings, join with me in shattering these tedious Rules and shaping an Order of our own,” Karon said with a smile. “What we ought to seek is a higher mountain—the worlds beyond the Icaria World. We who come after shall far surpass those who came before!”

“Beings such as we should not be bound. The so-called pursuits of the common—longevity, strength, power—are but paltry spoils gathered along our path.”

“I will not only divide the entire Northern Continent among the Kings; I will also open the Plane Worlds developed by the Golden Empire to the Kings, that you may enter them and share in such splendor.”

One by one, the Kings rose to their feet—not only for the grand vision painted by this Dragon, but also for the unprecedented magnitude of spirit and breadth of heart of the Dragon Emperor.

“You lack the wisdom, knowledge, and techniques for cross-world development, but I possess them. You lack the resolve to unite, but I possess it. You lack the will to cast aside former enmities, but I possess it.”

Karon spread his arms wide, raising his wine cup high; his deep, resonant words echoed in the heart-lake of every King.

“Come then, Kings—together with me, let us see Heaven and Earth overturned, and perform that great deed of changing the very sky itself.”

“Let all seas and ranges, all tangled worlds, under our will henceforth share the same cold and heat!”

The covenant of the Kings lasted from noon until dusk.

The onlookers could not know what transpired within the conclave of Kings, yet still they waited for the council to end.

Not until the sunset faded at the horizon did those within the open royal tent finally appear before the eyes of the watchers.

They could not make out the words of the Kings, but they did hear thunderous reports like the roar of cannon.

Upon the lonely isle, ceremonial guns bloomed with brilliance more resplendent than the radiance of the setting sun.

Amid the thunder of the Heavy Cannons, the resounding oath-shouts of ten thousand Warriors shook the space between Heaven and Earth; every cry rang in the ear, shattering the clouds above and shaking the hearts of all the surrounding onlookers.

“By the Golden Emperor’s Decree, the Kings together declare: from this day forth, if any prove unharmonious, all the Kings shall strike him together!”

…

In the summer of the fifteenth year of the Giant Dragon Calendar, the King of the Divine Forsaken Mountain Range, the Multi-armed Giant Mogyes; the Monarch of the Beastman Kingdom, Bossel Lane; the Emperor of the Hobis Empire, Charal Cesar; the Heroic King of the Dark Elves, Anudale; and the Lord of the Dark Nest, Shalos:

The King of Frost Giants, Ragnar Heg, and the King of the Elf Kingdom, Alvin—these Kings met with the Emperor of the Golden Empire, Karon Gogomola, upon the Northern Sea Island and concluded the Council of the Eight Kings, taking the Golden Empire as suzerain state of the alliance, and jointly issued a declaration of war against the Northern Land Southern Noble Alliance.

No one concerned themselves with how the Emperor of the Golden Empire had persuaded the Elf Kingdom and the Dark Elves to lay down their disputes; all the powers of every realm upon the Northern Continent, and indeed every civilized power across the Icaria World, knew full well:

The Golden Empire of the North had opened a New Epoch—and the Golden Empire was the first Overlord Empire of this New Epoch.

—The Northern Annals, “Alliance of the Northern Sea Island—Rise of the Overlord”