When Germott arrived, he was in a hurry, but when he left, he was exceptionally relaxed, retracting his gradually growing wings, which were covered in white frost patterns, and waddling away.
He still needed to take the unfortunate Two-Headed Chimera down the mountain and hand it over to the Gnoll, who was skilled in taming beasts, for temporary custody.
Before Kalon's laboratory was built, this Two-Headed Chimera still needed to use its severely injured body to work tirelessly for the territory.
Germott immediately thought of taking the Chimera into the forest to serve as a beast of burden for plowing; an intelligent Chimera that could communicate was more useful than domesticated wild oxen and True Dragon beasts.
Currently, all of the True Dragon's energy was focused on this aspect, so it was not surprising that the White True Dragon's subconscious thought was this.
Even the Blue Dragon Carlit, who had transformed into a human, was now swinging a heavy hoe until it smoked in a corner of the forest.
Blue Dragon Akzi, who used to be a model worker, now volunteered to switch shifts with other True Dragons, continuously patrolling the Dragon Clan Territory for half a month.
Kalon shook his head, shaking off the thought of wanting to be lazy and sleep in his magma lair.
To be honest, even in ancient times, during the era when the True Dragon race ruled the world, the Red Dragon and his True Dragons were definitely among the most diligent True Dragons in governing their territory.
Every True Dragon in the Dragon clan should be awarded a labor trophy cast in gold and adorned with various precious gems.
Green Dragon Antagena and Black Dragon Rosani controlled the birds in the sky and the beasts on the ground, and they needed to listen to news from these True Dragon's informants daily to ensure the safety of the Dragon Clan Territory.
In fact, the benefits of this point had already become apparent; the new stray Red Dragon near the territory was due to this intelligence and defense system.
The Blue Dragon Dos was originally tasked with all matters concerning cooperation with the human pioneer camp, but now the relationship between the two sides had changed, and the entire pioneer camp had become a city ruled by True Dragon, with Fafna the Ogre Giant in charge of the Golden City's affairs.
Logically, the burden on the Blue Dragon Dos should have lightened, but on the contrary, Fafna was merely an executor of the True Dragon's will, and many decisions still required the True Dragon's final approval.
Moreover, due to the Bronze Dragon Alina's suggestion, Blue Dragon Dos also needed to consider the future structure of the Dragon Kingdom and the specific organization of the kingdom's government, as the Blue Dragon was known among the Chromatic Dragons for his extensive knowledge, and Dos's steady character was also suitable for such tasks.
Blue Dragon Dos also frequently traveled between the Dragon Nest and Bay Stream City to discuss with the Bronze Dragon Alina.
Although Kalon's mind contained knowledge of various mature political systems and national structures, he never believed that the knowledge in his mind was necessarily correct.
He preferred to adapt to local conditions; the Dragon Clans Territory had its unique circumstances, and it was impossible to rigidly apply templates.
Therefore, he only gave the Blue Dragon Dos some suggestions for reference, allowing the Blue Dragon Dos to formulate a kingdom system that conformed to the True Dragon's rule based on this knowledge.
This also led to the Blue Dragon Dos not only having permanent claw marks on his forehead, but Kalon also noticed that some small scales on Dos's head had disappeared, similar to baldness in humans.
Fortunately, True Dragon scales could regenerate, preventing the Blue Dragon from becoming a bald True Dragon.
Klenaya managed all the Dragonborn, which was also because the Female Red Dragon's power could suppress those enhanced Dragonborn.
However, once everything was formalized, these Dragonborn would be absorbed into the Imperial Forbidden Army established to guard the Dragon Nest.
The strength of each Dragonborn was sufficient to serve as a captain in the Imperial Forbidden Army, and including Dragonborne Centaur Chiron and Dragonborn Wolf Saha, the Imperial Forbidden Army already had nearly twenty captains, with each captain currently having only ten warriors under his command.
Because these Dragonborn were influenced by the True Dragons, they were unwilling to recruit members who were scrawny or lacked sufficient strength.
They only recruited strong individuals over three meters tall and with outstanding strength.
If a human who had passed the test wanted to join the Forbidden Army, the minimum requirement was a height of two meters.
Therefore, although many dependents were eager to sign up for the Forbidden Army, Green Goblins and Kobolds, two types of dependents, had already been blacklisted by these Dragonborn.
They could only select members from the Centaur and Gnoll Barbarians who had not yet joined the cavalry corps.
However, the Forbidden Army not only required qualified strength but also tested loyalty to the Dragon clan, so they had recruited very few members to date and could only lead some more outstanding warriors to fill the ranks for now.
According to the plan, the first batch of Imperial Forbidden Army would eventually be expanded to three thousand members through continuous replenishment.
Each current Forbidden Army captain would then be promoted to Forbidden Army Centurion, leading a hundred Forbidden Army members to become the Forbidden Army Wall guarding the True Dragons.
Blue Dragon Akez's duties remained the same, but Kalon still added some burdens to him.
This rare model True Dragon among the True Dragons was now responsible for registering the household registrations of all the residents in the territory and compiling records.
This was an indispensable step in governing a region, and the workload was enormous, which conveniently allowed Blue Dragon Akzi, who had volunteered to patrol the territory, to supervise the completion of this task.
Only Germott, in Kalon's view, had changed his way of thinking, becoming more organized and comprehensive than the other Chromatic Dragon.
He planned to send Germot out, like Bronze Dragon Alina, to open up new cities and develop the surrounding territories.
This was a trial that every True Dragon in the Dragon clan would need to experience in the future; only by personal experience would they understand how to truly govern a kingdom, rather than being aloof and proposing unrealistic demands and policies.
The purpose of Germott's training would not be too far from the Dragon Nest, but in the land opened up at the foot of the True Dragon's Lair.
Although the best and most prosperous place in the Dragon Clan Territory was currently the Golden Coast City, the foot of the True Dragon's Lair would eventually become the central city of the Dragon Clan Territory in the future.
This would be the future political power center, and perhaps also the economic center of the Dragon Kingdom, as it would eventually be the largest and tallest city, with convenient land and water transportation, and a superior geographical location.
This was not subject to the True Dragon's will; unless the True Dragon changed its lair, the vast land at the foot of the True Dragons would eventually evolve into a central city.
Rather than letting this city grow wildly and develop freely, it was better to incorporate it into the planning from the beginning and guide its establishment and development.
The Red Copper Dragon Alfred's future work would also be a priority, but since the Dragon Clan Territory currently lacked talent in this area, Alfred had to start from scratch.
Kalon also had a series of plans waiting for Alfred to carry out for him.
The Red Dragon looked towards another mountain peak, where Ogre slaves and Troll slaves, captured by the continuous raids of the Gnoll, were working day and night to add bricks and tiles to the True Dragon's castle.
Those massive True Dragon beasts slowly ascended the mountain, carrying stones quarried from the quarry.
With the help of these large creatures capable of transporting stone, the construction speed of the castle had greatly increased.
Perhaps by the end of winter, this castle, which had been under continuous construction for a long time, would be completed and welcome its owner.
"The foundation is still too weak, which means that as the leader of the True Dragon, I don't even have a good place to receive others.
I can't always receive people on this bare, flat mountaintop, that's too crude.
Once the Dragon Fortress is completed, there won't be such an awkward and simple situation," the Red Dragon turned and flew towards his lair.
Kalon did not immerse himself in his favorite warm magma bath but instead entered his treasury cave.
Now, a dense circle of plants had grown around the edge of Kalon's lair's volcanic crater and the edge of his treasure cave.
These were all magical plants, similar to True Dragon's saliva grass and True Dragon's blood scarlet flame grass, born under the influence of the Red Dragon's field radiation and bloodline power.
These magical plants thrived around the volcanic lair, and occasionally, beneath the stems and leaves of these plants, Kalon would find a type of beetle-like animal with a black carapace, only as thick as a normal person's little finger.
This animal fed on the sap of these plants and the tiny worms mixed in the volcanic ash, and its excreted feces further promoted the growth of these magical plants.
Under the long-term influence of the Red Dragon, the Red Dragon's lair was transforming into a super-small ecosystem.
Even the Red Dragon himself would not be clear about the future environmental evolution.
This was a natural change of the world, full of many unknowns and wonders, but Kalon felt that observing these changes might also give him some insight into a true corner of the world.
Therefore, he had no intention of harvesting these magical plants, which were considered priceless in the outside world, but rather let them grow and evolve freely.
The treasury was now richly stocked with various gold and gems, magic crystals and elemental crystals, as well as many magical ores and products brought up by magma and molten flows from tens of thousands of miles deep underground.
Some of these things even lacked relevant knowledge in the True Dragon's inheritance.
But the True Dragon's treasure appraisal talent let Kalon know that these were all good things, so the Red Dragon collected them all in his treasury.
In the Red Dragon's treasury, gold was almost the lowest value collectible, serving as the basic unit of value estimation.
Sometimes Kalon looked at his treasury and even felt that he should divide it into several areas, as 'low-value' collectibles like gold should not be mixed with other high-value treasures.
He felt he was a True Dragon of considerable taste.
Two huge snake eggs, nearly half a person tall, with shells as deep and dark as the most profound night, were spit out by Kalon from his storage stomach and placed in a corner, alongside the old scales shed by the Red Dragon himself.
These were the two snake eggs Kalon had brought back from the Titanoboa's lair.
In this magic-rich treasury, he believed these two snake eggs would not suffer from malnutrition.
The Red Dragon's shed old scales carried the Red Dragon's scent and aura, which not only allowed the life yet to hatch from the snake eggs to familiarize themselves with their master's aura in advance but also provided protection for these two snake eggs.
After all, the field pressure covering the entire Red Dragon's lair was becoming increasingly terrifying.
Now even the little Female True Dragon Klenaya was not very willing to come here for magma baths.
Without the protection of the Red Dragon's aura, the two snake eggs might have become dead eggs.
Kalon then spat out the treasures confiscated from the Chimera's cave and the Titanoboa's cave, casually piling them in a corner.
The True Dragon's storage stomach space was not large; now Kalon's storage stomach only contained some high-grade mithril and some refined divine iron excavated from deep within the earth's core.
Kalon intended to keep these items for future crafting of exclusive magic weapons or secret treasures, so he had kept them in his storage stomach, constantly nourishing these precious materials with his power and bloodline.
True Dragon could use magic weapons and magic secret treasures, but usually, unlike other races, True Dragon only needed to swallow these magic weapons and secret treasures to possess a portion of their abilities and characteristics.
Because they could not fully exert the effects of magic weapons and secret treasures, only gaining some ability and characteristic enhancements, and there were restrictions, True Dragon could only choose one magic secret treasure for enhancement; any additional ones would conflict or even become ineffective, so most True Dragon did not care about these things.
Even the ability and characteristic enhancements of Legendary weapons and secret treasures were considered negligible by the True Dragon race in their later stages of growth, and divine artifacts were not something ordinary True Dragon could even glimpse.
Therefore, many True Dragon, even if they acquired some suitable magic weapons, would only place them in their treasury as collectibles.
But Kalon wanted to try something different.
He didn't know if it was a natural limitation or because True Dragon didn't use mental power to control magic weapons and secret treasures.
These were worth exploring, and even if it failed, it would only be a loss of some materials.
If successful, it could not only indirectly increase his understanding of the world's rules but also provide Kalon with more means.
"It seems that on the vast path of transcendence, there are still many things to explore.
Fortunately, although knowledge is boundless, my life can also be boundless, until the end of time!" Kalon stood at the top of his lair, overlooking the boundless green fields, and let out his sigh.
Then he spread his wings and swept down!
This land had already welcomed autumn; although the climate remained warm, the desolate autumn wind still yellowed the endless grasslands and parts of the forest.
Kalon saw from the air that the crops in the cultivated fields in the distance, bent low, were already laden with plump fruits.
Many farmers, bare-chested, were vigorously harvesting the crops with scythes, occasionally looking up and chatting happily.
By the fields, many young children were playfully chasing each other, or staying behind with women to pick up forgotten grains and bundle the crops on the ground.
On the other side of the river, the Dragon clan's dependents were much more unrefined, burying their heads and sticking out their butts, swinging scythes in a wild frenzy, often ignoring many scattered and leftover crops.
This angered the Pixie following behind to supervise the harvest, making their small wings spark with fire as they grumbled and flew about, scolding the careless Kobold and Gnoll.
These Pixie, both male and female, all wore hats and wreaths woven from wheat ears or chestnut stalks, which represented their identity as agricultural overseers.
These were all their kin, persuaded by the Pixie Raven.
Pixie Raven was even more ruthless than Kalon, the Red Dragon, when it came to being 'inhumane'; she even suggested not paying these Pixie, as long as Kalon promised to eternally protect the Pixie race, and, well, also provide food.
Although the True Dragon's innate greed made Kalon very tempted to agree, Kalon needed to establish a kingdom with normal order, and such behavior was not good.
Moreover, it could easily make those Pixie lazy, so Kalon rejected the proposal.
However, the Red Dragon felt that the Pixie's wages were still up for debate; after all, the Pixie Raven would be the one to take the blame.
In Kalon's opinion, good friends were meant to take the fall, and a small black pot wouldn't bend Pixie Raven's slender waist.
Kalon landed in front of the orchard that the True Dragon had opened in their youth; now, this orchard was already laden with fruit, and countless varieties of fruits emitted various fragrances, making Kalon, who smelled volcanic magma and sulfur all day, feel refreshed.
Kalon's massive body gradually transformed under the surging magic power within him, changing from a Red Dragon nearly sixteen meters long with a thirty-two-meter wingspan, into a humanoid monster six and a half meters tall, with red horns pointing skyward, and a body covered in fine red scales.
His broad wings also transformed and contracted, becoming a Red Dragon-style pair proportionate to his body, resting naturally and relaxed against the back of the Red Dragon's tall physique.
The entire massive head proportionately shrunk, becoming more streamlined, with long, thick spines growing from both cheeks, and broad, thick shoulders from which spines rose skyward like shoulder armor.
Sharp spines also grew from the elbows of his arms, and his hands presented five flexible claws, similar to those of a Dragonborn.
The scales and spines on his body could freely harden or soften under Kalon's subjective will, and the claws on his hands could also extend and retract freely.
When not needed, he could hide his claws like a large cat, but when required, they would instantly pop out, turning into sharp tools for harvesting life.
This was the humanoid form Kalon transformed into using the shapeshifting spell he learned from his inheritance; in Kalon's current aesthetic, this was the humanoid form that suited his sense of beauty.
As for the human appearance, he found it too delicate and not in line with the majesty of a True Dragon.
Only those effeminate Green Dragons and Silver Dragons particularly loved to appear in the guise of humans and elves.
Although Kalon now preferred his true True Dragon form, this humanoid form was also one Kalon adopted for convenience in certain activities, as the Red Dragon's body was growing larger day by day, making it inconvenient to go anywhere.
Moreover, in the future, many humanoid races, including humans, would become citizens of his kingdom, and a humanoid form would make it easier to gain acceptance at certain times.
After all, when an enormous Red Dragon stares at you with cold vertical pupils, no one can help but feel some terrifying thoughts.
This was also Kalon's ultimate concession for his kingdom.
The trees in the True Dragon's orchard were all very tall, two or three times taller than their wild counterparts of the same species, and it was unknown how many strange things Green DragonAnta Jiena and Gnoll You Ge had buried underground in the orchard during this time.
Kalon's tall body stepped into the orchard, and he frowned slightly; even in his current humanoid form, his six-and-a-half-meter tall body felt quite restricted.
And a six-and-a-half-meter humanoid form was the minimum limit for the Red Dragon to transform into a human shape; in this form, Kalon could exert most of his power.
Although Kalon's original true form did not appear as clumsy as other True Dragon, a smaller body also meant increased relative flexibility.
It could be said that Kalon's strength was not significantly limited now.
This was also Kalon's minimum limit for using shapeshifting; he was unwilling to reduce his strength just to transform into a humanoid form, as he considered it a counterproductive act.
With a thought, the newly born Psyche Energy within him surged through his flesh and blood, and his body gradually shortened further, the entire form proportionately shrinking slightly until it reached about three and a half meters, at which point Kalon realized his body had reached the limit of his control.
Crack, Kalon's claws clenched, feeling the strength of this form; it was slightly reduced compared to before, but not significantly diminished.
Within the True Dragon's inheritance, there were two types of knowledge: shapeshifting and body alteration.
Shapeshifting allowed a True Dragon to transform into any creature they understood, while body alteration allowed a True Dragon to freely enlarge and shrink their body.
However, body alteration was much more difficult than shapeshifting, and not every True Dragon possessed the knowledge of body alteration.
However, Kalon was not using the True Dragon's body alteration to achieve this transformation, but rather using his Psyche Energy to control his own flesh and blood.
This power, born between Kalon's flesh and blood and highly unified with Kalon's mind, spirit, and will, was extremely miraculous.
Based on Kalon's experiences, he found that Psyche Energy reacted even faster than the Bronze Seal on the former noble William Clarence.
The Bronze Seal, as a source of power, could achieve instantaneous thought-to-action, which was already a superb first-class reaction speed.
It was countless times faster than a Magician inciting magic power to outline a spell model and then releasing magic, which was one of the reasons why some warriors could face Magician.
But the Psyche Energy that Kalon possessed was almost spontaneous, moving as soon as he thought it, requiring no reaction time.
Its release was even swifter than the Red Dragon's bloodline innate spells, perhaps because this power was born between the mind and spirit.
"Tsk, it seems I've unearthed an incredible ability," Kalon wandered through the orchard, experiencing a different visual perspective.
He had grown accustomed to viewing the world through the Red Dragon's vision, and now it felt somewhat unfamiliar.
He followed the tree-lined path into the depths of the orchard; these paths were trodden by the Young Dragon in the past, and for the current Kalon, they were still quite wide.
In the depths of the orchard sat a tall stone pavilion, which was once a resting place for Young Dragon.
For the current True Dragon, the pavilion's purpose was probably just for rubbing their scales and scratching an itch.
Kalon's gaze fell upon the stone pavilion; on the crude stone table sat two people: a young Squinty-eyed Mage Hiusir, and a beautiful, short-haired, black-red-haired Countess Bartoli with sparkling blue eyes.
A male Pixie was flitting about beside them, and two cups of sweet-smelling honey mead were placed before them.
"Oh, it's Lord Kalon," the Pixie discovered Kalon's figure and quickly came forward.
This magical creature did not rely on outward appearance to identify others but rather on unique auras, thus easily discerning Kalon's true identity.
"Go, get me a cup of honey mead too, a super-sized one!" Kalon waved away the Pixie.
Squinty-eyed Mage Hiusir and short-haired Countess Bartoli also stood up.
Hiusir looked at Kalon's humanoid form, and his squinting eyes finally opened a tiny bit, exclaiming in surprise, "Kalon, you truly are a magical genius!
It's rare for a Red Dragon to master shapeshifting during its youth!"
Countess Bartoli, meanwhile, performed a noble's bow towards Kalon and said, "Good day, noble Lord of the True Dragon!"
Kalon nodded calmly; he had no particular fondness for the Squinty-eyed mage.
Even though they had cooperated before, having suffered from the Magician's schemes, until he could get even with the Magician, he held no special warmth towards this Magician.
"It's truly rare, even after all this time, Hiusir, you still haven't learned to open your eyes when you speak; that's disrespectful to others!"
Towards Countess Bartoli, he was slightly more amiable, responding, "Good day, beautiful lady."
The Squinty-eyed mage's calm face instantly showed a constipated expression, and his neck swelled a bit.
Countess Bartoli beside him immediately burst into laughter, watching with interest the rare sight of her clever younger brother being put in an awkward position.
"Sit down, don't be shy," Kalon gestured for the two to sit, as if he hadn't been the one who had just uttered the sarcastic remark.
"Hiusir, I heard from Germott that the terms you proposed this time are unusually generous."
Kalon looked at the Squinty-eyed mage's now calm eyes, his red claws gently tapping the cold stone table as he asked, "You said you could open a magic academy in my territory, and that it could be incorporated into the True Dragon Academy, teaching magical knowledge for a fee."
"You will also donate your Magician's small inventions from experiments, like the improved papermaking and printing techniques, to the True Dragon for free.
I don't believe you would pay such a price just to trade with me and earn some gold coins.
Tell me, what is your true purpose? Or are you here to claim the return on your past investment?!"
Kalon's gaze suddenly became stern, staring directly into Hiusir's eyes, and he said solemnly, "Don't try to fob me off with other excuses, unless you think all True Dragon are fools!"
"Of course not, Kalon," Hiusir's expression also became serious.
"Our investment in you is simply because we are optimistic about your future; the profits from those gold coins are not something we Magician care about.
This investment is merely to enhance our relationship!"
Magician Hiusier stood up, took a deep breath, and then said, "Kalon, I can tell you something, which is also the root of us Scholar Magician.
This is our attitude and sincerity."
Kalon's expression softened, and he nodded.
"In a distant era, after the True Dragon ruled the world, just like the era when elves and dwarves ruled the world, there was an era created by many great Magician."
"In that great era, which all Magician yearned for, magical civilization was extremely prosperous.
Those Magician of Legendary stature created a great empire, the Magic Empire, and the ruler of the empire was called the Magic Emperor, and there was also a Magic High Council that only Legendary Mage could ascend to!"
Squinty-eyed Mage Hiusir's tone was filled with a hint of fanaticism, and he waved his arms as if giving a speech on a stage.
"In that great Magic Empire, there were hundreds of Legendary Mages, and not a few Magician who had even stepped into the demigod realm."
"As exploration and civilization developed, the Magic Empire conquered one plane world after another.
These Magician were no longer satisfied with building Mage Tower on the ground."
"So they used their great knowledge to build countless sky tower clusters, and endless floating cities soared above countless worlds, ruling over all living beings.
Their great power was even comparable to the divine radiance of gods."
The Squinty-eyed mage's eyes widened, and his face showed endless longing and envy.
"At their peak, these Magician even piloted the sky tower clusters and endless floating cities into the chaotic void to explore endless knowledge and mysteries."
"They even dared to reach out to the gods, blocking the faith and divine power of the human gods, attempting to cut off the gods' divine kingdoms for study, and some crazy Magician even planned to capture gods alive and slice them for research!"
When the Magician said this, his expression suddenly became somewhat fearful.
"However, at some point, this extremely powerful Magic Empire suddenly collapsed overnight.
The Magic Emperor was also personally killed by the gods, the supreme Magic Council fell apart, and endless sky tower clusters fell like rain, plunging into the earth and oceans.
Innumerable floating cities also sank into the endless abyss."
"The entire magical civilization was instantly wiped out, and its history was covered by time.
This memory only exists in the memories of some Ancient Dragon and ancient beings; no records can remain in the world."
Magician Hiusier swallowed his saliva, stopped speaking, and looked dryly at Kalon, who was listening to the story.
"What a pity, a great civilization," Kalon came back to his senses, but in his opinion, although this magical civilization was courageous, its brains were clearly burned out from studying magic.
Even a powerful race like the True Dragons, which is found across all worlds, would not easily attack the gods.
Although the True Dragon race is now in decline, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse; even if there is only one Ancient Dragon in each plane, the countless planes combined would definitely exceed the strength of this Magic Empire.
Although the strength of a Legendary Mage is unattainable in Kalon's current eyes, it probably wouldn't be taken seriously by the gods.
After all, a Legendary Mage merely touches upon and masters rules, while a god themselves is almost equivalent to the very source of laws.
"So, you Scholar Magician are the descendants of the Magic Empire, the remnants of its civilization?" Kalon asked.
"More or less," the Magician nodded.
"We learned from summarizing history that a purely Magician civilization is insane.
Magical civilization can be the pillar of civilization, but it cannot be too pure."
"So, what is your purpose in seeking me out?" Kalon seemed to understand something.
"That's part of the reason.
Another part is that through historical remnants of memories, we have discovered much lost knowledge and civilization of the Magic Empire, submerged in various other planes."
Magician Hiusier spoke eloquently, "But the situation in each plane is different.
Only True Dragons, creatures that have existed since the creation of heaven and earth, are not severely suppressed and affected by various planes like other creatures.
In this regard, even Legendary Mages are not as good as you True Dragon!"
Kalon nodded; this was why True Dragons were called perfect beings.
Not only could they survive in all environments, but their presence was also found in almost all planes, something even some creatures stronger than True Dragon couldn't achieve.
For example, the Legendary creature that views True Dragon as prey, the spiny-tailed lynx.