Beneath the Red Dragon

Chapter 861: Chapter 150: Face Me or Not

“Expectations are a subtle violence that, when they become obsessions, will only constrain oneself,”

Karon Gogomola said: “Do not have high expectations for the future of the Golden Empire; if you wish, you can pursue what you desire, then move forward and walk alongside us.”

“You see, those who pride themselves on controlling destiny, whether they be rulers or divine spirits, ultimately perish within their own foresight of the future. I can also see a little of that confusing future, but I never let it bother me.”

Karon showed a faint smile on his fierce face and said: “In this world, waves do not only rise; they also fall. Thus, for every rise, there will be a fall, and that’s why I never consider what my future holds.”

“The path is beneath our feet; break through everything and just keep moving forward.”

Brass Dragon Holister quietly sank into contemplation as he sat beside Karon Gogomola, while King Anudale of the Dark Elves and Dark Nest Lord Shalos were seated to the right of the Dragon Emperor.

Even these seemingly high and mighty rulers do appear to have moments of complete boredom.

As they awaited the arrival of other rulers who had yet to arrive, Karon Gogomola proposed fishing atop this towering cliff a thousand meters high.

The victor would be the one whose catch, after being appraised in the marketplace, proved to be the most valuable.

To this, the two rulers happily agreed.

But there were no fishing lines long enough in this world, so a few bored individuals decided to use a strand of magic power within their self-imposed unit as fishing lines.

In the hands of an ordinary mage, a strand of magic power might only be enough to perform a simple trick, but in the hands of these individuals, it might bear the weight of a thousand pounds.

This not only requires testing these few strong individuals on their subtle control of magic power, but also tests their luck.

The Red Dragon Karon Gogomola was enthusiastically swinging his long magic power line back and forth in front of the singing Sea Demons perched on the rocks above the sea, attempting to entice one to bite.

Sea Demons are also known as Merfolk by those who sail the seas.

However, these Sea Demon Merfolk are much better than the Shahua Fishman.

The Shahua Fishman are not only exceedingly hideous and vicious in appearance, but their intelligence is barely sufficient to count them among the intelligent races.

Whereas Merfolk, considered quite mysterious even by Brass Dragon Holister, possess intelligence far superior to that of the Shahua Fishman, each being a naturally extraordinary species.

It is said that Merfolk are born with the ability to capture the souls of other creatures through their song, compelling other beings to serve them, or treating them as dinner.

But the Dragons know that the rumor of Merfolk eating people is merely hearsay, spread by pirates and merchant fleets sailing the seas who suffered calamities at the hands of the Shahua Fishman.

These enchantingly graceful Fishmen do not prefer eating human beings, such filthy food; their song sometimes merely possesses an innate ability to seduce the souls of other creatures.

The ancestors of the Ogre Giantess Fafnir, the Ancient Demigod Sea Demon, are a mutated kin among the Sea Demons, possessing only a distant and ancient bloodline connection, and does not truly belong to Merfolk.

These beautiful, captivating maidens with human bodies and fish tails slightly furrowed their dainty brows with shimmering scales and gazed helplessly at the three long magic silk threads swinging back and forth before them, even their joyful song inadvertently slowed down.

Holister could perceive from the Red Dragon’s words and actions beside him subtle changes, namely the original aggressiveness and hostility hidden within had begun to emerge.

Everyone changes gradually over the grind of time, whether quickly or slowly, but certainly not reverting to the past.

Holister did not know whether Karon Gogomola’s changes were good or bad, but as long as some things that shouldn’t change remained, that was enough.

“I came here representing the Southern Good Dragon Alliance; they currently do not desire continued antagonism with you, and regarding your current war, they won’t dispatch any Metal Dragon to intervene,”

Holister shifted his gaze to look at the serene-faced Karon Gogomola.

This matter did not surprise Karon; although most of the active dragons in the Southern Good Dragon Alliance are currently young, those holding decisive power are still the ancient dragons hidden deep within the world.

Most dragons, upon evolving to the Ancient Dragon stage, can somewhat control their Source Desire, granting these ancient dragons a wisdom and restraint that young dragons lack.

These ancient dragons wouldn’t easily initiate the bloody wars among dragons merely over trivial benefits or face; only when their ancient lives are tangibly threatened might they act recklessly.

“But passing through the territory of the Southern Noble Alliance, I was commissioned by them to attempt to make peace with the Golden Empire at any acceptable cost.”

So said the Brass Dragon.

This did not surprise nor betray Karon, as uniting as many as possible before crushing everything—as long as one lacks such overwhelming strength—is the correct strategy.

Even the powerful divine spirits need alliances among themselves, let alone between Karon and the Golden Empire.

Brass Dragon Holister and his affiliates within the moderate faction are one of Karon’s potential allies, and perhaps right now, only this Brass Dragon could truly relay words to the Golden Empire.

“At any acceptable cost? Including the execution of those nobles?” Karon said, smiling faintly. “Holister, do you see the raised Royal Banners?”