Chapter 984 - 207: Dividing the Land and Proclaiming Kingship
"Is this Demon Dragon the one from Texas?"
Receiving the electrical message from the Tsarist Russian captain, Petrov’s face grew even more somber: "Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?"
"I’m sure!"
The captain’s reply was extremely certain: "The British newspapers have detailed descriptions of the dragon’s appearance—crown-like horns, red and black scale armor, and lava-like fine lines. It definitely matches up without mistake."
The adjutant beside him also reminded, "Major General Nevsky once served as the envoy to Texas. He should not be mistaken."
Petrov’s heart suddenly sank heavily, muttering to himself: "The European conflict is still undecided, would that shrewd Juliano from Texas choose to join the Anglo-German Alliance at this time?"
The adjutant spoke in a grave tone: "Perhaps, it’s precisely because the war is undecided that the benefits they could seize by participating would be the greatest."
The Republic of Texas Rio Grande is widely recognized as the only secondary power in America with autonomy.
But in fact, even with the investments from European great powers like Debang and France, as well as secret support over the years from many Wolf Race families from the Apennines, a mere ten-odd years is still not enough for Texas to establish a complete industrial system and rank among secondary powers from nothing.
At the very least, if Texas and the Knight Order Country were to swap places, even with much vaster lands and deeper strategic depth, they would have long been crushed to dust by the Tsarist Russian steamroller of Europe.
The real reason that Texas is viewed with higher regard by the historically arrogant European great powers is still due to their victory in the nation-establishing battle against Great Britain over a decade ago.
That was a recognized top power in the world suffering a disgraceful defeat in its own backyard of North America.
Since then, Texas has leveraged the dragon, which European media dubbed the "Dragon of Destruction," "Demon Dragon of Ruin," or "Deathwing," to continuously swallow Mexican territories, develop industries, and bring in immigrants.
By the third year of the Continental War, they took advantage of the "civilian capacity," "military industrial orders," and "war refugees" transferred from the warring countries, exporting vast amounts of magic stones, white crystals, iron ore, copper ore, and agricultural products like cotton, wheat, corn, beef, and lamb.
Texas seems to have boarded a golden chariot of rapid development, and now its strength completely surpasses traditional American strongholds like Brazil and Argentina. Colonial territories of the Anglo-French great powers, without support from their homelands, are no match for them.
After the major warring countries have bled extensively from the war, such a secondary power entering the war would impact no less than the Ottomans holding the Black Sea Strait.
Petrov said without hesitation: "Regardless of whether it’s true or false, we must immediately relay this information back to the base camp in Mogilev for His Majesty the Tsar to contemplate the authenticity and pros and cons."
The participation of Texans has limited influence on the Eastern Front but is vastly different for the Allies on the Western Front.
Since the Texas battle humiliated the British, the Fasci Federation has been continuously expanding in Latin America, seeking to restore the influence of the Kingdom of Spain.
Although France can extract vast resources from North and West Africa, French America is still their largest investment and most lucrative raw material source. If the Texans seize it, the French Atlantic Fleet will completely lose its foothold and no longer pose such a significant threat to the Allies’ Atlantic routes.
Moreover, all transactions between France and the American countries will be severed and replaced by the Anglo-German Alliance.
This reduction in strength and increase in strength will undeniably tip the scales of war significantly toward the Allies, and losing France as an ally would make Tsarist Russia, self-confident as it may be, doubt its ability to win the war alone.
"Fellow colleagues, whether the enemy is the Texas Demon Dragon, the Brits’ dragon, or the Germans’ dragon, it matters not to us—For the survival of the First Fleet, and the trust of His Majesty the Tsar, we must turn it into a dead dragon."
Petrov took a deep breath and shouted: "Telegraph all ships, kill the Dragon King, and all ship members, including the firemen, will be promoted by three ranks! Everyone, the dragon-slaying feat is right in front of us!"
The fleet’s morale quickly recovered, even without the forbidden weapon, the Tesla Coil, the pride of the Boye nobility remained.
...
The Red-Black Dragon King slowly flapped its wings as the "Lord of All Armies" infused one-third of Losa’s True Dragon Transformation’s all attributes into Lavinia, and her decree support returned the favor.
At this moment, Losa’s body had surpassed the three-hundred-meter threshold, possessing power far beyond a legendary giant dragon, seemingly touching the pinnacle of this world.
The losses of the giant dragon legion were severe, but not unexpected for him.
The Tsarist Russia is one of the top four global great powers, having waged wars eastward, destroying countless small nations and chiefdoms, with divine artifacts in Uspensky Cathedral numbering by the dozen.
A usual extraordinary, relying on personal power, is as fragile as an insect before such a power-level national machine.
Even a legendary mage, once locked on by royal mages, would be turned to ash under a salvo from the floating airship’s cannons.
He didn’t underestimate the great powers of this world, even if he once defeated the British.
However, no matter how powerful a weapon is, it is still controlled by humans.
Losa was bound to test what kind of storm this great power’s war machine could stir before him.
The Red-Black Dragon King let out a low roar.
The whole world under heaven is sovereign’s land!
An invisible domain quickly enveloped the sky, and within that hundred-mile radius territory, its jurisdiction had been transferred to Losa, converting it into "the Overseas Empire’s legal territory in the Otherworld."
No proclamation, yet it was real and tangible.
Just a mere hundred kilometers, a square with only a ten-kilometer side length.
At the speed of a floating airship, it could easily cross in just a few minutes.
But the issue is Losa wouldn’t allow these giant airships to leave his domain!
"Emperor’s Decree: Binding!"
The Red-Black Demon Dragon spoke slowly, issuing a low dragon roar.
Driven by the resonant sound waves was an effect on the entire fleet, something even a legendary mage could not achieve—a large-scale group binding technique.
For a moment, all the fast-moving airships seemed to play in slow motion, caught in a standstill.
Yet, they themselves were entirely unaware of their speed reduction because their thought processes were also simultaneously affected.
This is the power of "The whole world under heaven is sovereign’s land," even at its minimum "usable" level, under Losa’s full prowess, he could immobilize the entire floating fleet for a full three breaths.
If Losa could govern the Overseas Empire well enough, just pressing down a domain would easily destroy this fleet.