Defeating the World with the Power of One Dragon!

Dawn finally pierced through the long night.

The first rays of morning light slowly flowed over the rugged spine of the Emerald Ridge Mountains, painting the ruins of the Dragonbreaker Gate.

However, the smoke of battle had not completely dissipated, lingering in the cool morning breeze.

The Red Iron Dragon did not go to inspect the Aola army, which had already begun to fully take over the pass and round up prisoners.

He retracted his combat posture, his size shrinking, returning to his usual state of about forty meters in length.

Even so, with his still massive frame, dark red and black scales shimmering with a metallic luster, and the dragon might that naturally emanated from him, his mere silent presence was difficult to ignore.

At this moment, the Red Iron Dragon stood atop a peak on one side.

From this commanding height, the shattered gate walls looked like toppled building blocks. The Emerald Ridge Mountains wound away to either side beneath his iron-forged claws, forming a natural, immense barrier. And further beyond, past the last undulating mountain ridge, lay the vast, flat heartland of the Theo Kingdom, bathed in the morning glow.

"Unless Theo wishes for the destruction of their nation and people, willing to fight to the last drop of blood, the Twin-Ao War will come to a close."

Garoth gazed into the distance, his mind pondering.

After the battle at Norton Pass, the Theo Kingdom no longer had any formidable natural defensive lines they could rely on.

The barrier of the Emerald Ridge Mountains, upon which they had pinned their hopes, was now breached.

More fatally, the majority of Theo's legendary figures had either been killed or captured in this battle, with only a very few managing to escape by relying on special means or sheer luck.

This meant Theo had lost the sharp blade needed to launch a counterattack.

In contrast, the situation for Aola was completely different.

The Red Emperor had personally led two campaigns, personally turning Theo's toughest bones into ash and slag.

None of the legendary figures under his command had perished.

The subordinate lords and generals, thanks to the emperor's bravery and sound strategy, had suffered far fewer losses than expected. Instead, they had been tempered by the practical experience of this battle. Casualties among the rank-and-file soldiers were also kept within acceptable limits. The entire legion's skeleton remained intact, its flesh still plentiful, maintaining a vigorous fighting capacity.

Most importantly, the continuous victories, especially the emperor's nearly invincible image, had pushed the entire legion's morale to an unprecedented peak.

And such high morale could maximize the power of the military formations.

"Winning the Twin-Ao War and seizing all the territory north of the Emerald Ridge Mountains is already a sufficiently huge benefit."

Garoth silently calculated in his heart. "The wars between other kingdoms... Aola should no longer directly and massively participate."

He slightly raised his head, as if seeing the other battlefields burning across the Romanian Plains.

The contest between Lothrian and Reebos, the fierce fight between Sax and Rhen, the conflict between Matna and Cambruk...

"If Lothrian or Matna requests support in the name of an alliance, we can dispatch legendary figures or troops as the situation dictates to show our stance, but we must not get drawn in and mired in the quagmire of another war."

"Excessive military action would deplete the kingdom's potential and invite unnecessary vigilance."

This Twin-Ao War, which had lasted for some time, had already yielded Aola a sufficiently rich harvest.

North of the Emerald Ridge Mountains, including this very place, had now all been incorporated into Aola's territory.

Furthermore, if Theo wished to sue for peace and end the war, besides ceding land, they would inevitably have to pay a massive amount of war reparations and sign a series of unequal treaties that might include trade and military restrictions.

Stabilizing the situation, digesting these gains, truly transforming the new territories into Aola's strength.

This was what should be done now.

As for the tempting thoughts of pressing on in one go, taking advantage of Theo's weakness to annex their entire territory, or turning the army's spearhead to fiercely attack other kingdoms that seemed to have openings... Garoth rejected these seemingly attractive ideas.

Going too far is as bad as not going far enough.

Now was not the time.

Aola's capacity for assimilation was not infinite. The integration of old and new internally also required time. Resistance in the newly occupied areas likewise needed suppression and appeasement.

More importantly, although he was powerful, he was not truly invincible.

Those kingdoms with long histories, who among them didn't have a few trump cards hidden away?

He understood clearly that the current victories and the fervent cheers of his subjects were just a beginning, the first deep stake Aola had driven into this plain.

When the curtain fell on the second war among the nations and the dust initially settled, the real challenges would emerge.

The nations of Romania, whether the human-dominated Lothrian and Reebos, the dwarf kingdom renowned for forging, or the goblin kingdom famous for alchemical engineering, essentially all belonged to the category of "humanoid races."

Their cultures, social structures, and ethical concepts had differences, but there were basic commonalities.

But the Aola Kingdom... from the emperor down to the common people, it was filled with a large number of dragon-blooded, gnolls, ogre elites, ogres, and even fiercer monstrous races.

In the eyes of the mainstream humanoid races, its composition was an outright alien, a terrifying monster nation.

Those not of our kind must have different hearts.

This saying, in many cases, does not stem merely from prejudice, but also from wariness of the unknown and different ways of life.

Aola's rise had been so rapid, so violent, it was destined to make the various kingdoms uneasy.

Sitting on pins and needles, feeling thorns in one's back, having a bone stuck in one's throat!

This unease, in the future, would not only come from the consistently hostile Reebos side, but might also gradually spread to the current ally Lothrian, and even to all countries cooperating with Aola.

Between nations, there are only eternal interests, no eternal friends or enemies.

Garoth's identity allowed him to understand this more thoroughly than any human monarch.

Taking a step back, assuming the current king of Lothrian, O'Brien, this ruler held sincere goodwill towards Aola, was genuinely trusting and cooperative from the heart, harboring not the slightest trace of resentment due to racial differences.

But, how long could this last?

The next generation?

The generation after that?

Human lifespans are as brief as morning dew, while a dragon's life is as long as mountains and rivers.

Barring accidents, the Red Emperor would personally witness generation after generation of human monarchs being born, growing, aging, and passing away.

With the change of monarchs and the shift of policies, who could guarantee that the future Lothrian would still be today's Lothrian? Who could guarantee that other generations of Lothrian rulers could continue this fragile trust?

What Garoth needed to do now was to take advantage of the Twin-Ao War being settled and the other kingdoms still entangled with each other's grudges, to let the Aola Kingdom develop as quickly as possible.

What he needed was steady progress, solidifying the foundation, digesting the newly occupied areas, not making enemies everywhere and inviting excessive vigilance and joint targeting.

At present, he had not yet reached the point where he could do as he pleased.

Take the just-concluded battle at Dragonbreaker Gate. For Garoth, it actually contained not insignificant risks.

Now, standing in the victor's position looking back, he could better dissect its dangers.

"If the enemy legendary figures could truly be united in purpose, setting aside personal interests and suspicions, completely united, they might truly have been able to pose a fatal threat to me."

Garoth narrowed his eyes slightly. Scenes from last night's fierce battle replayed and analyzed rapidly in his mind.

Theo's Life-Hunter, Bosival, his arrows could inflict substantial damage on Garoth. However, he was too eager to personally end the life of a dragon emperor, too desirous of claiming this glory and fame for himself alone.

Therefore, during the most critical early stage of the encirclement.

He chose to stand by and watch coldly, not joining forces with the other legendary figures immediately.

Yet, what the encirclement of Garoth lacked was precisely an attacker capable of continuously dealing high damage, forcing Garoth to divert his attention to respond.

That female dwarf legendary wielding the giant axe counted as a threat.

But she was a melee fighter, having to constantly guard against Garoth's counterattacks, not daring to press too close. Her offensive was inevitably constrained, with limited attack frequency.

But Bosival was different.

As a powerful high-level legendary archer, if he had decisively joined the encirclement from the start, he could have stood at a relatively safe distance, continuously firing those deadly arrows.

This would have caused Garoth immense trouble. With attention divided, the possibility of defensive loopholes appearing would have greatly increased.

In that case, the attitude of that Reebos shapeshifter, who in Garoth's intuition still had many trump cards and methods hidden, might have been completely different.

Seeing the encirclement was indeed effective, seeing the Red Iron Dragon beginning to show signs of fatigue or flaws under multiple assaults.

The hesitation and doubt in the heart of the high-level spellcaster would likely have been suppressed.

He would have more firmly brought out his true skills to participate in this dragon-slaying battle that held promise of success, hoping to secure more benefits for Reebos after the war, or simply to eliminate Aola as a potential major threat.

"If a situation like that had formed..."

Garoth pondered coolly, "I might have been pushed to a desperate situation, perhaps even had one life ground away, then forced to use Born from Death, erupting in the dire straits to break through."

"But, even so, the battle after the eruption would still have been a bitter fight."

"Unless I cast all caution aside, pushing the Wild State to an extremely high, even mindless level, it would have been difficult to win victory as overwhelmingly as now."

Garoth's gaze flickered, not shying away from acknowledging the difficulty.

However, running the simulation to the end, he was still confident that the ultimate victor would have been himself.

The reason was simple.

He was not a lone dragon fighting to the death here.

No matter how the Theo legendary figures coordinated, they had no possibility of killing him, or even defeating him, in a short time.

And on the periphery, the defensive line formed by the Unyielding Bulwark would inevitably be the first to break under the Aola legion's all-out attack.

Once the defensive line collapsed, the legendary figures on Aola's side would rush to support immediately.

By then, the Theo legendary figures would either be trapped in a desperate situation, caught between attacks from inside and out, awaiting defeat and death, or they would have to decisively abandon the fight and scatter in escape, completely burying the Dragonbreaker Gate and Theo's national fate.

Only, if things had really developed that way, Garoth's victory would not have been as resplendent as it was now.

Even if Theo surrendered, they would have had more bargaining chips.

However, history has no ifs, time does not rewind. Bosival's arrogance and greed for merit, combined with the shapeshifter's hesitation, together created last night's disastrous defeat for Theo.

"I need to be more cautious in the future, or quickly obtain brand new skills and methods."

"My second life has been completely exposed. The enemy doesn't know the true situation. If they still want to target me, to ensure absolute success, to ensure I don't revive a third, or even more times, they will inevitably bring out a truly terrifying lineup."

Garoth took a deep breath.

In this battle, he had exposed one of his major trump cards. In the future, he couldn't rely too heavily on the Dragon Pearl. Otherwise, if he overly depended on an already exposed skill, he might encounter major trouble.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The heavy sound of wingbeats interrupted his thoughts.

The iron dragon Sorog and the red dragon Samantha, one on the left, one on the right, flapping their broad dragon wings, slowly landed on the rocks not far from the Red Iron Dragon's side, folding their wings.

"Hey, next should be making those Theo humans formally bow their heads and submit, right?"

Samantha still carried the strong scent of smoke and blood. Her voice was excited. "With the few legendary figures they have left, they can't stop our army's advance at all. Theo's Silverglow City is like a ripe fruit, waiting for us to pick."

Since the Twin-Ao War began until now, a total of nine legendary figures from Theo had participated.

Aside from Balor, who was captured by the Gluttonous Ogre on the Ashen Plain earlier, the remaining eight had all appeared last night in the Emerald Ridge Mountains.

It's worth mentioning that Balor, after wavering and hesitating, ultimately did not reveal any crucial information.

However, Garoth didn't mind this.

His true reliance had always been himself. Everything else was just icing on the cake.

And last night's battle had a bleak outcome for the eight Theo legendary figures who fought.

Bosival and Hossand were directly killed, their bodies and bones utterly destroyed. One, while guarding the Unyielding Bulwark, was seized upon by the Gluttonous Ogre Karu and killed on the spot.

And when the pass completely collapsed, and the remaining Theo legendary figures began desperately fleeing in different directions.

Garoth, in pursuit, captured three alive.

Two other legendary figures, either possessing unique life-preserving secret arts or utilizing precious curiosities, took advantage of the brief gap while their companions were being pursued and successfully escaped this death-filled battlefield.

The number of legendary figures the Theo Kingdom publicly possessed was twelve.

After this battle, three were killed in action, three were captured, two escaped back, and one had exhausted his life, turning into a stone statue.

Counting the previously captured Balor, Theo publicly had only four legendary figures left.

Even if there were some hidden legendary figures within the country, it would be difficult to reverse the disadvantage.

Moreover, not much time had passed since the end of the first civil war. The legendary forces of the various nations were almost all out in the open, with few hidden forces remaining.

"Theo truly can no longer stop the advance of our troops, both militarily and psychologically."

The iron dragon Sorog took over the conversation.

He first glanced in the direction of Theo's heartland, then turned his head to look at his blood brother, whose majesty grew daily.

"But our goal, for now, should be to force Theo to cede the land north of the Emerald Ridge Mountains, pay massive war reparations, and sign a series of treaties restricting their armaments and opening trade and passage rights."

"As for further ideas..."

"At the very least, we need to wait until after you, Garoth, undergo your next slumber and your strength stabilizes at the high-level legendary tier. Only then will we have sufficient confidence and strength to plan and implement them."

Garoth gave a slight nod, the scales on his dragon neck rubbing together with a faint metallic clink.

He agreed with the iron dragon's analysis.

"By the way, there's one more thing I need to report to you."

The iron dragon said, as if remembering something.

"Speak."

"That human supreme commander, the one Theo people call the 'Shield of Theo,' Commander Rodrigo, committed suicide after leading the last remnants of his army to surrender to us."

"He wasn't a legendary figure; his soul strength was limited. After his physical death, he wasn't immediately and forcibly drawn away by other planes."

"I used the Hall of Heroic Spirits you previously entrusted to my care to promptly capture his soul.

The souls of legendary lives are powerful and rare, extremely attractive resources for many outer planes.

Typically, the moment a legendary being's body dies, planar rules spontaneously activate, generating a powerful pull.

Unless a legendary soul has extremely strong obsessions resisting or special protective measures, it's difficult for it to linger. It's quickly guided to the corresponding plane, its memories and past washed away, transformed into various new planar lives.

For souls below the legendary tier, those planes have much less interest; the pull isn't as timely or fierce.

Although the Hall of Heroic Spirits finds it difficult to forcibly seize souls from planes, it has two ways to collect souls.

First, preemptive collection.

Seizing the newly dead soul before other planes notice and the pull fully takes effect.

Second, pre-agreement.

While the target is still alive, guiding them to voluntarily leave a spiritual imprint in the Hall of Heroic Spirits, equivalent to signing a soul-level contract. After signing, when that life dies, its soul can linger in the Material Plane for a longer period. Furthermore, its existence is partially concealed by the Hall's power, significantly reducing the probability of being instantly pulled away by outer planes, creating a window for the Hall to collect.

Rodrigo's soul was collected via the first method.

Additionally, currently, about one-fifth of Aola Kingdom's leaders, war commanders, and some individuals particularly outstanding in skill, courage, or loyalty have signed Heroic Spirit Agreements.

After the Twin-Ao War, the number of Heroic Spirits is expected to see a significant increase.

The spirit-essence space for housing and nurturing Heroic Spirits is not infinite; it's already starting to feel somewhat crowded.

However, the good news is that the Hall of Heroic Spirits itself possesses growth potential.

Over the past period, the Aola Kingdom has collected some High Spirit Essence Crystals.

After the Hall of Heroic Spirits absorbs these High Spirit Essence Crystals and is upgraded with the aid of certain specific materials, it can not only expand its internal space to accommodate more legendary and mundane Heroic Spirits, but also support signing Heroic Spirit Agreements with more lives.

"Hmm, you specifically mentioned Rodrigo's soul. It seems it's not just to report on the collection?"

Garoth looked at the iron dragon Sorog.

He understood this brother of his. Sorog was very purposeful in his actions; he wouldn't mention minor details without reason.

Sorog nodded, admitting, "Yes."

"The tactic Theo used early in the war, deploying elites via magical satellite for surprise attacks, gave me some inspiration."

"I am conceptualizing, wanting to build a lightning-fast strike force belonging to Aola. And this envisioned force would need an experienced commander."

Garoth did not immediately state his position, only nodding again, signaling the iron dragon to continue elaborating his complete idea.

Sorog slightly pondered his phrasing, then began to explain in detail.

"One current shortcoming of the Hall of Heroic Spirits is that it cannot guarantee the immediate collection of souls, especially on chaotic, intense battlefields where there are too many variables. And we have personally witnessed the deployment and teleportation abilities of the magical satellite."

"So, what if we could combine the magical satellite and the Hall of Heroic Spirits?"

"Imagine this: if our warriors who have signed Heroic Spirit Agreements die, their souls could be immediately guided by the satellite's teleportation beam, brought back to the Hall of Heroic Spirits in high orbit, thereby avoiding most risks."

"And our Heroic Spirits could also be deployed via the satellite platform from space to any corner of the battlefield."

"They themselves are spirits, consuming far less teleportation energy than physical units. Moreover, they fear no death and can be revived multiple times. They are simply the ideal strike team."

The iron dragon spoke, his train of thought becoming more fluid.

"Not only that, if Aola's subjects and ordinary soldiers could witness with their own eyes their heroes' souls returning to the Hall of Heroic Spirits after death, and then at critical moments witness Heroic Spirits descending from the heavens to aid in battle, the boost to morale and loyalty to the kingdom would be immeasurable."

"Therefore, I want to prepare an important alchemical engineering project, codename—'Sanctuary'."

"Aimed at creating a space platform integrating soul guidance, Heroic Spirit storage, and rapid projection."

Garoth listened quietly, a look of keen interest appearing in his eyes.

"The idea of mounting the Hall of Heroic Spirits on a satellite is feasible, but it's still just theory for now."

"Whether this Sanctuary Project is truly viable, what difficulties will be encountered in implementation, needs to be verified step by step. However... truth comes from practice. Go ahead and do it."

He approved the iron dragon's idea.

Although the magical satellite was powerful, it was a technology mastered by multiple kingdoms, not a unique advantage.

But something like the Gun-Fortress of the Matna Kingdom was a true strategic superweapon, unique and powerful. The Sanctuary Project was undoubtedly moving in that direction.