Beneath the Red Dragon

The Imperial operation has begun to smoothly function within a perfected system, each with its own regulations.

In the early days of the last month of the year, near the annual rest day, the Central Military Council of the Golden Empire began the orderly repositioning and staff rotation work. Orders were signed one after another and delivered via established communication channels to major border towns.

The military skirmishes across the empire suddenly subsided, entering a state of maintaining stability and defending and consolidating the homeland.

Although the city defenses of Bay Stream City were sufficient to fend off beasts and certain monsters, they now faced the renewed threat of giant attacks.

The Red Compassion Battle Group from the First Independent Battle Group of the First Legion, originally stationed in the central region for rest and recuperation, moved south to guard Bay Stream City, maintaining stability in the situation.

The War Lizardman Corps, who had recently submitted to the empire and been temporarily restructured, were thus able to return to the center of the empire from the remote Western Frontier, bringing the entire War Lizard Tribe to settle in a designated area to rest and recuperate.

The War Lizard leader Reilly, along with eight hundred War Lizard warriors from the tribe, escorted the spoils of war from hunting various powerful beasts and monsters to the center of the empire, as a demonstration of submission and reverence to the empire.

Even though most of what the War Lizardmen offered was worthless to the empire, among them were a large amount of peculiar spider silk, produced by the Yite Monsters that breed in the forest and resemble human-shaped spiders.

This spider silk is extremely resilient, akin to thin silver threads, often used by the Yite Monsters to make various weapons and devices—lassos, nets, snare cords, etc.—demonstrating its tensile strength and powerful applications.

Fafnir, who manages the finances of the private vault of the Ancestral Red Dragon and oversees the operations of the Giant Dragon Treasure Vault along with a senior officer from the Imperial Department of Finance, was overjoyed about this.

The spider silk from the Yite Monsters can play a crucial role in supplementing some high-end application materials of the empire. Many magical experiments require a plentiful supply of similar materials, which has always been in short supply.

Even when woven into fashionable garments, the spider silk from the Yite Monsters remained in high demand. This silk can withstand ordinary blades without damage, provides excellent force resistance transmission, and is light enough to be a coveted material for many members of the nobility.

In Fafnir’s view, it is also the most suitable inner armor for the loyal and brave warriors of the empire.

Most importantly, the War Lizardmen have confirmed that near the frontier forest, there are a large number of Yite Monsters, enough to form large-scale farms for the empire.

These Yite Monsters not only produce silk themselves, but they also oversee, feed, and care for spider groups like shepherds.

From the spider groups tamed by the Yite Monsters, a large quantity of superior spider silk can also be produced, and these Yite Monsters’ strength to the empire’s warriors is akin to woolly sheep, waiting for the empire to shear them.

For the Giant Demon Fafnir, who seeks to amass wealth for the Ancestral Red Dragon, this is the second greatest joy recently, making it hard for the Giant Demon not to suppress a smile as it climbed the mountain.

As for the greatest joy, Fafnir looked up to see the towering Dragon King Court, where two giant creatures sprawled in front of the Royal Palace’s steps—one was the Ancestral Golden Dragon, sitting magnificently like a golden statue sculpted from fine gold.

The other was a creature even larger than the Ancestral Golden Dragon, with its central head lazily resting on the ground in slumber, while the remaining eight heads swing around idly, looking for an opportunity to argue with the nearby Golden Dragon Oblash to pass the time—none other than the Nine-headed Hydra.

Although the Ancestral Golden Dragon Oblash had been grievously wounded by the Ancestral Red Dragon Karon Gogomola, to the robust constitution of the Ancestral Dragon, it posed no lethal threat, requiring only a short slumber to recover.

After pretending to sleep for two months straight, the Ancestral Golden Dragon Oblash could no longer stand such self-deceptive draconic behavior and thus awoke.

However, even though the pride authority of this Ancestral Golden Dragon had been extracted by Karon, it seemed not to diminish its arrogance.

As the most beloved dragon species of the Platinum Dragon God Bahamut, the Ancestral Golden Dragon’s affinity with Cloud Giants might stem from its innate pride, claiming itself as the emperor among True Dragons. Even with a gentle demeanor, it’s merely the magnanimity of an emperor.

Seeing the Giant Demon Fafnir approaching, the Nine-headed Hydra enthusiastically flung its tail, and the central golden head opened its eyes, eagerly approaching the Giant Demon.

With saliva splattering from all nine heads, it loudly asked in unison, ”How’s it going? Is the magic ceremony ready yet? I can’t wait to become your soul companion.”

”Damn it, although it’s more comfortable here than my serpent lair, I don’t want to stay here any moment longer.”

The Ogre Giant Demon evaded the Nine-headed Hydra’s splattering saliva, wearing attire that had become increasingly conservative, seemingly shedding its original monstrous habits, adopting those akin to human customs.

Fafnir feigned to furrow her elegant brows and sighed in frustration, ”I’m just a humble servant to my master, how could I gather all the materials for the magic ceremony so quickly? It might take a while longer,”

”But, to say the least,” Fafnir raised an eyebrow, with a hint of naïve curiosity on her charming face, asked, ”Although I’ve received my master’s blessing to have you bestowed upon me as a soul guardian, I also have my own requirements,”