Page 237

The wind and snow of Anzeta howled each year, covering the land with a layer of white. The resilient people living in this "land without spring" had long grown accustomed to the harsh winters, despite having migrated from the warm south, purely for survival.

Likewise, for the sake of basic survival, they would gradually adapt to the rule of the Ember Kingdom and embrace this new order.

Snow repeatedly covered the ground, only to melt away again and again.

In the blink of an eye, three years passed just like that.

To a dragon, this was not long at all—it could even be considered an ordinary deep sleep, as dragons often slumbered for decades or even centuries.

But this time, the slumber held great significance for Cassius; he was about to undergo the greatest leap of his existence.

With soft snores, the red dragon's body rose and fell. The energy that had spilled out of his body was being greedily reabsorbed, while the ancestral dragon blood within him continued to release more powerful and primal strength through the basal vessels—the original great power bestowed by the ancient Nine-Faced Dragon God, Io.

During these three years, wrapped within the massive egg, the red dragon's form was visibly reshaped by this power. Once fully awakened, he would be closer to the ancient progenitor dragons of myth and legend, rather than the ordinary chromatic dragons weakened by the trials of this age.

The red dragon's draconic aura grew day by day. Even his occasional murmurs and low growls would send the birds and beasts fleeing in panic for miles around.

Even the battle-hardened tiefling guards often found themselves struggling to breathe under the pressure of this unintentional aura, with some even experiencing mental distress, necessitating rotational shifts.

The wyverns roosting atop stone pillars also frequently shivered, lying flat against the rock surfaces, curling up like frightened chicks, their former majestic demeanor before outsiders nowhere to be seen. After all, these creatures, possessing diluted dragon blood, felt an instinctive suppression from deep within their veins.

During his slumber, Cassius often dreamed—dreams that were, in fact, inheritances from his ancestral dragon bloodline. In his mind, he frequently saw scenes of ancestral dragons battling with those divine abominations and ancient behemoths. At these times, he would roll, growl, and roar as if truly on the battlefield, unconsciously releasing his power.

The true dragon's influence on the environment also continued unabated.

But unlike before, as his ancestral dragon bloodline transformed him, the range and intensity of his influence grew day by day.

Initially, hot magma would often burst from the palace floors, effortlessly melting the tough steel into molten iron. The entire main hall felt like a sweltering furnace, with even the thick iron doors glowing red from the heat, causing the guards at the entrance great suffering.

Yet this was merely during the first year of the red dragon's slumber.

By the second year, the slumbering Ember King's influence further expanded, engulfing the entire palace in extreme heat. In what was supposed to be a winter of cold winds, the ground outside the main hall suddenly erupted with searing magma, as if from a volcanic explosion. The ground turned into deep black lava, and ash nearly covered the entire palace.

The incident caused the deaths of twelve tieflings—some were burned to death, others suffocated in the ash.

And this was all merely the result of power accidentally leaked by the red dragon.

Following that incident, Medrolash abandoned the task of guarding the area around the main hall, instead stationing the tieflings at the palace's outermost perimeter and regularly dispatching spellcasters to monitor the magical wards around the palace to prevent further incidents and unnecessary casualties.

Fortunately, such tragedies did not recur. From the third year onward, the red dragon's influence over the environment no longer manifested in catastrophic forms but shifted to more profound effects on the broader climate system.

Under Cassius's influence, not only the area around the palace but even Northwind Fortress, miles away, became warmer. It gradually turned into a sanctuary against Anzeta's harsh winters, even earning the nickname "Neverwinter City" from ignorant northerners.

Many impoverished individuals with nowhere to go would flock to Northwind Fortress in the winter, gathering outside the city even when barred by guards, just to enjoy the rare warmth.

Whether in terms of vitality or individual strength, the slumbering Cassius had completely surpassed his prime as a red dragon—and this was merely after ten years, the equivalent of a short nap for a dragon.

Meanwhile, across the vast territory of the Ember Kingdom, what changes had occurred over these few years?

On the surface, not much was apparent.

During the years of the red dragon's slumber, the Ember Kingdom shifted from its previous aggressive stance. Though unavoidable skirmishes still occurred, the kingdom refrained from engaging in wars with neighboring nations, developing steadily over the years. Some northern nobles even began writing political essays.

They believed the red dragon was content with the current situation and would sleep for decades, perhaps even centuries, allowing the North to return to long-lasting order and peace, with no need for concern among the nations.

Duke Leo scoffed at such claims. He never believed that the greedy dragon would simply stop here. Over the years, though he hadn't disturbed the Ember Kingdom, he had secretly reached out to northern nations, hoping to form a cohesive "Anti-Red Dragon Alliance."

But despite his caution, the kingdom's intelligence network inevitably discovered his maneuvers. Medrolash swiftly deployed the "Nocturne" to counteract, sabotage, and disrupt, and this so-called alliance never took form in any substantial way, remaining merely a verbal agreement.

In reality, the Ember Kingdom's dormancy had already led many duchies to grow complacent. Until the final moment of crisis, their short-sighted rulers had no desire to be bound to Bosk's war chariot and provoke this fearsome behemoth.

Internally, the lives of the kingdom's people had undergone tremendous changes.

The promulgation of the "Kingdom Code" brought all aspects of life under legal constraints, narrowing the gaps of power. Forces operating in the gray areas of society found no place to hide. People were unsure if this was better or worse, but they had no choice but to adapt to this restrained way of life.

Land reforms led to the complete abolishment of the old serfdom system. The former northern nobles and landowners conspired to take advantage of the red dragon's slumber and rise in rebellion—perhaps their last opportunity.

However, they did not encounter compromise from the kingdom but instead faced a meticulously planned brutal suppression. Under Dolo's command, the lead bullets of the hobgoblin line infantry ruthlessly tore apart the private armies the nobles had raised for years, with noble heads rolling, leaving only a singular voice across the kingdom.

The so-called "rebellion" ended in silence. Although criticized and condemned by northern nobles, sparking a public outcry, with scholars calling it a "bloody massacre" and a "brutal slaughter,"

in truth, the rebellion had little impact internally. The so-called resistance was almost laughable, snuffed out the moment it appeared.