Defeating the World with the Power of One Dragon!

Gradually, three dragon silhouettes of different colors tore across the brightening sky and finally hovered in the air a hundred zhang from Alberto, forming a triangular formation.

Iron dragon Sorog occupied the center, his dark, iron-like scales reflecting the cold morning light; red dragon Samantha crouched on the right wing, every crimson scale seeming to flow with molten lava; the pale white dragon Trixie took the left, her ice-crystal scales flashing a dangerous chill.

"Iron dragon, red dragon, and... white scales."

Alberto’s golden pupils narrowed slightly, his whiskers trembling.

Although he had mentally prepared, witnessing with his own eyes three high-ranking evil dragons of such different temperaments forming an alliance still made the dragon heart in his chest skip a beat.

Evil dragons outside the blue dragons usually kept to themselves.

For these arrogant evil dragons to set aside their ingrained suspicion and competitive instincts, there must be one very powerful leader among them.

Alberto’s golden vertical pupils reflected the figure of iron dragon Sorog.

The young gold dragon’s mind raced, making precise judgments.

The iron dragon before him had a stern, resolute face and deep, abyssal eyes, calmly occupying the central position of the three. The aura he emitted and his natural bearing were clearly different from the other two dragons, faintly revealing the dignity and command befitting a leader.

Iron dragon Sorog spoke first, confirming Alberto’s observation.

"Good day, honored gold dragon from afar."

His voice was exceptionally deep, like two ancient, heavy iron ores grinding together deep within a mine—coarse and weighty. Yet beneath that primitive roughness lay a subtle power that stirred deep emotional ripples in the soul.

He observed the basic courtesy and then, in a tone that allowed no doubt, cut to the core:

"You have set foot in this convergence land. To what purpose?"

A mind-dragon?

Rare in this material world.

Alberto’s thoughts flashed like lightning.

When facing intelligent creatures, gold dragons often used the tactic of intimidation or "civilized" communication through keen observation before truly acting, seizing the moral and momentum advantage. At this moment, he clearly sensed a concentrated and active spiritual energy fluctuation from Sorog, sharply aware that the iron dragon had notable talent in the mental domain.

"Because—"

The young gold dragon Alberto’s dragon lips curled into an arc of implied aggression.

"I smell a—" He inhaled deeply; his voice dropped. Simultaneously, his golden vertical pupils erupted with a piercing light as if it could burn through souls. His expression instantly became tremendously majestic and untouchable, like an avenging judge descending.

"—the stench of pure evil!!!"

The final words tore through the sky like a thunderous roar: "You dare to enslave those innocent beings, turning a land that should be fertile into a hunting ground for your wanton predation!"

More oppressive than his words was the surging, tangible dragon might that washed over them like a tidal force.

One of the gold dragon’s usual tactics: seize the initiative with intimidation!

If any ordinary creatures were present here, they would already be reduced to blank minds and quivering guts by this terrifying dragon might. Even other dragons of far lower age or life level than Alberto should instinctively feel fear and be shaken.

However.

What happened next caused the first subtle ripple in Alberto’s inner emotions.

None of the three dragons before him—the adolescent red and iron dragons, nor the white dragon that seemed to have reached maturity—showed any sign of scales rising, bodies trembling uncontrollably, or reflexive threatening snarls.

They were unnervingly calm.

As if they had long since endured such intense dragon-might ordeals; that calm born of experience was as solid as a rock.

"Evil?"

Iron dragon Sorog raised his heavy, scaly head and met the gold dragon’s overwhelming gaze without yielding an inch.

"We made cunning goblins drop their thieving ways, made arrogant centaurs abandon their roadside robbery habits, forced dull-witted ogres to trade with ore instead of smashing the heads of passing merchants with brute force."

He said, "Would such order be, in your noble gold dragon eyes... evil?"

Alberto snorted, his dragon head tilting in contempt. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Iron dragon, save your hypocritical sophistry. Playing with words is meaningless before me. You are merely using a thin veil of 'order' to clumsily hide the cold truth of oppressive rule."

Although he had come with the intention of ruling the convergence land, in the young gold dragon’s understanding, his notion of "rule" and the iron dragon’s "rule" were worlds apart.

Gold dragon rule signified light, justice, and prosperity.

Iron dragon rule, to his mind, amounted to naked enslavement—an evil that had to be eradicated.

"Cut the act!"

Red dragon Samantha snorted sulfurous smoke laced with sparks from her nostrils, her eyes burning with naked impatience and fierce combative intent.

In the understanding of most mortals and many other beings, red dragons were often seen as evil opposites to silver dragons. Yet the pride at the core of the red dragon drives them to firmly believe they are far stronger than those gilded golds who only appear noble on the surface!

Before a gold dragon, red dragons never show weakness. Their only thought is to trample the opponent under blazing claws.

On the other side, white dragon Trixie had a very clear understanding of her ecological niche within dragon society.

Facing a powerful young gold dragon far beyond her life level, she cautiously opened her dragon lips and exhaled breaths heavy with frost as a show of support, wisely refraining from initiating provocation.

"Hah, can’t stir out the ferocious bloodthirsty nature of you evil dragons anymore?"

The brilliant light covering Alberto’s golden scales intensified with his words, flowing like liquid gold; the aura of sanctity and authority climbed steadily.

"Then prepare to receive the ultimate judgment of justice!"

There were more evil dragons in number, but he felt no fear.

He was a young dragon of fifty-five years, and among gold dragons he was an outstanding individual—having that rebellious confidence. His life level had reached fifteen, above average.

The three dragons before him—the red and iron dragons were adolescents. Using appraisal, he could tell at a glance both were level twelve. Though above average, they lagged significantly behind him.

As for the mature white dragon, her life level was thirteen, but she was less dangerous than the red and iron dragons.

In short.

In a one-versus-many, the advantage lay with him.

"Before I bring down the so-called 'judgment', take a look at this."

Iron dragon Sorog’s voice remained steady. He opened his mouth and spat out an seemingly ordinary obsidian-like magical device carved with runes.

When the device activated, a clear magical projection immediately unfolded in the cold morning air.

The projection showed gold dragon Alberto at the Molten Iron Tribe’s riverside strongholds, concocting pretexts to extort money and bully merchants. His greedy demands and a posture that contradicted his rumored noble image were faithfully recorded.

"Honored Gold Dragon," Sorog said, "surely you don’t want these deeds, indistinguishable from the extortion of the Chromatic Evil Dragons, exposed before the world?"

Alberto’s foreclaws tightened unconsciously, then slowly relaxed.

"To expose your true face, I had to... temporarily pose as an ally to the evil dragons."

"Foolish worldly prejudice is meaningless. Only true sages can see the noble intentions and sacrifices behind my actions."

"Now, in the holy name of Bahamut, Platinum Dragon God and guardian of order, I give you one last chance!"

"Immediately and unconditionally release all the suffering races you have enslaved, and hand over without condition all the ill-gotten gains you have stolen through evil means!"

Accompanying this solemn proclamation, a dazzling light flared from beneath the scales covering Alberto’s muscular right arm, as if burning outward from within.

That light was not a mere glow—it appeared like a living tattoo, clearly taking shape upon his golden arm. Looking closely, three lines of ancient draconic runes formed a binding oath.

Crush hope! Iron-fisted rule! Might above all!

The oath was concise, but its meaning was self-evident when observed.

Crush hope: It is not enough to defeat an enemy in battle; your victory must be decisive enough to utterly shatter their will to fight. Blades can end life; terror can end nations.

Iron-fisted rule: Once you conquer, tolerate no dissent. Your words are law; those who comply are favored, those who refuse are punished—an example must be made.

Might above all: You will rule until a stronger force rises; when that happens, you must grow stronger and face the challenge—or face your own destruction.

"These are conquering oaths—this fellow has sworn them, and he’s chosen the Paladin-turned-Saint-Dragon path."

Sorog’s heart stirred.

In dragon tradition, the path adapted from the paladin profession was called Saint-Dragon. Whether normal paladin or Saint-Dragon, those who take a Conquest Vow inevitably seek glory and domination in battle. For them, merely establishing order is insufficient; chaotic forces must be crushed. The most extreme radicals within order-loving factions are those who swear Conquest Oaths.

"I came, I saw, I conquered!"

"Count your sins and face my Alberto’s righteous judgment and great conquest!"

Holy Oath Spell: Conquest’s Pressure!

Gold dragon Alberto roared, and an even mightier aura surged from him, passing over the surroundings. It caused Sorog, Samantha, and Trixie all to experience involuntary trembling and a natural reluctance to oppose him.

Steadfast spirit! Mechanical thought! Cold heart!

They drew on their racial or path-associated skills and spell-like abilities to bolster their mental attributes and dispel the trembling fear, but in a mere instant—

Alberto was already upon them, dangerously close.

The iron dragon sensed the peril. The young gold dragon was far too powerful for them to handle alone, so he used his ultimate ability—the Summoning of the King of Molten Iron!

"Gold dragon is strong—come quickly!"

Sorog knew the red iron dragon was nearby and immediately requested aid through familial bloodlink.

At the same time, Alberto’s massive body blotted out the sky. The right claw bearing the oath-like glowing tattoo rose first and struck toward white dragon Trixie.

The key to one-against-many is to break them one by one; never divide focus equally.

In the blink of an eye, Alberto had decided his battle plan: crush the mature white dragon first, then the iron dragon, and finally the physically strongest red dragon.

"So he attacked me first after all!"

The white dragon understood.

If a fight started, as the ecology’s lowest-ranking dragon present, she guessed correctly that the gold dragon would likely strike at her first; she was prepared.

Ice Fog!

Thick, frigid mist spread with the flap of the white dragon’s wings, attempting to swallow the young gold dragon.

At that moment, Alberto’s pupils suddenly contracted, his expression showing caution. He beat his wings violently and darted backward at incredible speed, evading the ice fog’s sweep, the lava fireball spat by the red dragon, and the iron dragon’s sweeping claws.

"Huh? Scared off by me?"

Trixie first thought that, but then shook her head in understanding: "Impossible, unless a higher ecological presence appeared—oh, it must be Garoth."

She turned to look.

Sure enough, a crimson meteor tore across the sky, slicing the dawn, and reached the battlefield at an incredible speed.

In an instant, the red-iron dragon cut off Alberto’s escape direction.

That absurdly powerful body collided into Alberto’s vision, making his golden pupils contract to slits—the first time he showed a look of caution.

"Miscalculation."

"This red-iron hybrid dragon is their leader," he thought.

Now there was an added level-fourteen hybrid dragon, and judging by that imposing, savage body that pressed down with an oppressive force, its true strength might not be judged by life level alone—especially with three evil dragon henchmen supporting it.

The situation reversed; Alberto felt his advantage vanish.

"Gold dragon, since you seek battle rather than civilized discussion, then come."

Garoth said.

"It seems you are the lord of this land."

Alberto’s light swept across the dragons and finally fixed on the red-iron dragon, revealing a challenging look: "Using numbers against one? Truly despicable evil dragons."

He was employing provocation.

If he could stir the red-iron dragon into a knightly one-on-one duel and defeat it, he would still have a chance to crush all the evil dragons here.

"Do you think I need numbers to win?"

The red-iron dragon flared with rage and said in a deep voice, "As you wish. I will defeat you alone and leave you speechless!"

After speaking, before Alberto could rejoice at his provocation taking effect, the red-iron dragon’s expression instantly calmed, as if the earlier anger had never existed.

Red-iron dragon: "You wanted to hear those words just now, didn’t you?"

Alberto’s slight confirmation erased the smile from his dragon face.

"But, as you said, we evil dragons are treacherous—we do not play by rules of morality."

Garoth raised his claw and swept decisively in Alberto’s direction.

"Charge!"

The next second, led by the red-iron dragon, the dragons of the Ignas family group struck—surrounding and hunting the gold dragon.