Beneath the Red Dragon

These vampire species and wolfmen species dare not defy the Imperial law forbidding open personal combat; thus, they could only bring this deep-seated enmity to the Gladiatorial Arena, which has led to an especially thriving business at the Imperial Colosseum during this period.

Moreover, these vampire species and wolfmen possess formidable physiques. Even if their brains are splattered, they can be revived. The defeated ones would then return with even greater fury to challenge the victors. This has become the daily news that the citizens of the empire relish nowadays.

However, it is precisely this rapid and fierce development that some chaotic situations within the imperial realm have been exposed in the eyes of scholars of Baal and Green’s caliber, revealing the fundamental essence of the issues behind them without doubt.

"In the end, it’s all about power and interest,"

Baal agreed with his old friend’s view as he adjusted the olive hat on his head and softly said: "In economics, the value of an item is granted by all who recognize its value, even if that item is nothing more than a worthless stone."

"Thus, a person’s power is also granted by all who recognize it,"

Baal pointed to the garrison army, armed with elite weapons, patrolling in the city and said: "But in this world, the essence of power is ultimate force, and here, the most powerful is neither you nor I, but them,"

"And those tolerant lords, along with the Emperor of the Imperial."

Green smiled slightly and said with tacit understanding: "But the Emperor of the Imperial is distributing his power, wanting to shape the civilization of the Golden Empire into a widely recognized imagined community, thereby guaranteeing the game rules created are voluntarily followed and obeyed by all living beings, rather than relying on violence in hand."

Baal lightly clapped his hands, agreeing: "Through observing the histories of various kingdoms and empires within Aikania, yet never has anyone gleaned experience and lessons from these histories, the wheels of history roll on relentlessly, repeating over and over."

"The inability to transcend history is not due to any other reason but because of that universal thing existing in all living beings in this world called ’human nature.’

Green said faintly: "Therefore, many scholars go mad, as they see through patterns, wanting to change these patterns, only to find such change actually violates them, ultimately driving them completely insane."

"Even my teacher, haha, once the youngest great scholar in Icaria World, also turned into a madman due to such endless pondering."

"Because he discovered that those countries that revered the Faith God actually possess the power to alter such circumstances and patterns. But the Divine Spirits they worshiped are hardly different from those mortals who eventually turned from dragon slayers into evil dragons, even more vile and dark."

Baal looked at his old friend’s slightly moist eyes and solemnly said: "That’s why we are here, it doesn’t matter whom you believe in. What is important is whether faith can allow a nation to progress, allow civilization to develop, rather than being trapped for a lifetime by a mere morsel."

"Ordinary people ascending to power might become even more severe, someone else could replace them, but as long as always under the Emperor of the Imperial’s radiance, the empire will crush these obstructions with continuously advancing reforms."

"The wheels of the empire will roll forward, unstoppable!" Baal smiled.

"Do you believe the Golden Empire can break this pattern?" After a long silence, Green asked.

"It certainly can," Baal’s wrinkles seemed to be stretched out by the firm expression on his face at this moment, making him appear a decade or so younger, full of youthful vigor.

"His Majesty is like the sun suspended in the imperial sky, should the empire fall into darkness, it would also be incinerated by the sun’s rays above."

Baal smiled and said: "Though the empire is a nation jointly founded by His Majesty and the dragon group, should it fail to grow into the vision His Majesty wishes to see, it would be destroyed by him personally."

"How do you know?" Green was taken aback upon hearing this, even spilling the precious tea from his insulated cup.

Baal turned around, pointing to the majestic mountain range behind Dagonia, on that immense Fire Peak, the will of the Ancestral Red Dragon soared high like a sun wheel.

"His Majesty told me."

Green looked at his old friend with eyes of surprise and sighed: "What a pity, perhaps we won’t get to see that moment, sometimes I even wonder, why His Majesty hasn’t directly summoned the imperial legion to burn away those rotten, stinking nobles and systems."

This time, it was Baal’s turn to show a surprised expression, Baal asked in astonishment: "Weren’t you always the conservative one?"

"I only wish to maintain stability in the internal affairs of the Imperial, but externally, I just feel that His Majesty and the dragon group might be somewhat conservative." Green laughed heartily.

Resignedly shaking his head, Baal smiled: "His Majesty is different from other giant dragons, from rumors of his infancy, it was known that His Majesty is not like those reckless, brainless kin,"

"He did not extort cities, plunder innocents, conquer civilized lands, even sinking the former Hobis was merely out of hatred."

"That’s why the Dragon Land established in the Wilderness did not overly alarm other civilizational forces."

"But now it’s different, the rise of the empire has made them begin to fear, begin to dread. Thus, spawning a multitude of tendrils reaching into the empire from various civilizations amid turmoil on other continents has caused complex chaos, exactly because of this."