The Martial Unity

Chapter 3403: There You Are

In the depths of the Continent of Kiriket, within a cave amidst a large array of mountains, lay a mighty dragon.

His body was covered in blood-red dragon scales, glowing with a burning red power to them, comprising an unstable, yet even more indestructible isotope of invintium. It was highly radioactive, to the point that it would undoubtedly kill anything unworthy of its presence.

His growth had come to depend on the radiation to fuel his genetic evolution. His cells contained genes that allowed them to absorb radiation and convert it into chemical energy, making him extremely resistant, if not immune, to radiation on a cellular level.

In order to fuel his genetic evolution, he consume the most indestructible isotope of the most indestructible element, and integrated it into his scales to constantly subject his cells to a tsunami of radiation, almost all of which was absorbed by his cells, while the remaining bit that wasn’t altered his DNA, allowing him to trigger greater mutations with each cycle of cell division.

With his exquisite control over his body, he could choose which mutations to preserve and which not to, allowing him to control his own evolution trajectory in a way that very few beasts could.

It was a significantly lesser version of what Supreme Commander Anthea had done on the verge of death. It was exponentially slower and weaker since most radiation got absorbed by his cells and was converted into energy.

He also didn’t want to end up like the evosapien, unwilling to burn all his life force just to pass on a legacy to his clan. It wouldn’t even work since they wouldn’t be genetically compatible with a pure dragon. Therianthropes mated with other therianthropes, rather than their beasts.

The red scales burned with a fiery bright red, making it seem like he was forged from molten iron. The light illuminated the dark cave he was in, infesting it with his toxic radiation that killed all life in his vicinity.

It was why the Dragon Emperor secluded himself from civilization most of the time.

He couldn’t afford to be near his people, lest they all die on the spot from radiation poisoning. Only those pathwalkers who had cultivated the Beast Path to a high enough degree were allowed to be near him.

Today, one such visitor, a female dragon therianthrope, arrived at his cave, bowing before him subserviently.

”Your Excellency.” Her voice was low. ”There has been an incident.”

The burning red dragon opened its eyes, gazing at the female therianthrope with its yellow reptilian eyes.

”Speak.”

His voice was that of a rumbling snarl shaped into a word, devoid of any humanity in it.

”...The group of dragon traders of our nest responsible for trading with the Hlakaschken Trade Empire is dead.”

The burning red dragon simply stared at her with eyes that sent chills down her spine.

Her fear was all but transparent to the mighty creature.

Yet, he wasn’t interested in her emotions.

”We have already conducted an investigation into the matter and have verified the events that led to their death,” she continued, trying to keep her voice neutral but respectful at all times. ”Evidence shows that they provoked a fight and were the aggressors, and went on to annihilate an entire market and would have gone on to annihilate an entire city and more if not for the intervention of the elves. They went out on a maddened frenzy and rampage, unwilling to yield even when the forces of the Hlakaschken Trade Empire had overpowered them and eventually succumbed to the pressure.”

The dragon’s reptilian eyes sharpened ever so slightly.

And yet, it wasn’t the death of his underlings that he was bothered by.

”The elves managed to hold back their flames?”

The rumbling roar of his voice was laced with displeasure.

”To fail to overpower the elves outside of Genora is... disgraceful.”

His tone was one of disappointment and disgust.

”The Hlakaschken Trade Empire has just announced the prohibition of any member of the Ryu Clan from setting foot in the trade empire,” she informed him, breaking into a cold sweat. ”Empress Schlieffen has declared fifty percent tariffs on all goods coming from Kiriket Continent to the trade empire until the Hlakaschken Trade Empire is compensated for its losses by the Ryu Clan.”

RUMBLE...

The world tremored as a flash of wrath washed over the powerful dragon.

”Compensated for its losses, is it?”

The female dragon therianthrope gulped as the dragon moved.

Each motion the mighty creature made sent tremors across the entire continent. The sheer gravitational field of the mighty creature, a result of its mass and density, proved to be extraordinary, warping the very structure of the land around it.

RUMBLE!

Rocks uprooted from the ground, floating midair, mountains fragmented, causing the lava within them to spew into the air while land itself shook free from Earth’s gravity. Such was the sheer amount of raw power contained within the giant beast’s body.

With a single motion, it ravaged land for a thousand kilometers.

”That little Empress dares to pressure me?”

RUMBLE!!!

His eyes sharpened with a fearsome bloodlust.

With a single flap of its wings, the giant dragon emerged from within its cave, sending destructive shockwaves across the land that cradled it, before surging high into the skies in a split second with a ferocious speed despite the astronomical mass in its body.

RUMBLE!!!!!

His eyes shifted in the direction of the Hlakaschken Trade Empire many thousands and thousands of kilometers away.

His eyes converged upon the Capital City of Schleme, where the Empress held her press conference, taking questions from reporters who grilled her on the incident and the Hlakaschken Trade Empire’s handling of it.

”There you are.”

WHOOSH!!!

With a single flap of his wings, he was gone so fast that one would conclude he had teleported away, disappearing in the blink of an eye, leaving a gust of tornadoes and hurricanes in his wake.

And yet, his wings did not push against heaven and earth.

No.

They pushed against the fabric of space and time itself, generating tremendous gravitational waves to propel themselves forward using reaction force.

WHOOSH!!!