Chapter 1 The Long History of Dragon

Dragon's history is long and profound, stretching back thousands of years.

This nation, named after the dragon, possesses a historical heritage as ancient as the dragon itself. It is said that long before the world was formed, and the light of civilization had not yet flourished, Dragon already stood proudly as a powerful city-state in this world divided in two, becoming the initial sanctuary and guiding beacon of civilization.

Legends always have exaggerations, but the people of the empire have always been proud of their long history, and firmly believe that at least ninety percent of those legends are verifiable. In that magnificent imperial capital built of black frost crystal stone, countless scrolls and artifacts from ancient times filled the halls of academies and institutes. The imperial territory is also scattered with ruins spanning the long river of history. These vicissitudes of life silently tell the ancient heritage of this country, and seem to corroborate the saying that "the empire originated in the age of chaos."

Therefore, when the proud imperial people mentioned the "Ancient Kingdom of Ys" on the other side of the world, they could not help but feel a sense of superiority, and even felt that the word "ancient" was a bit of an eyesore. In front of the ancient empire, which country could be called an "ancient" country?

Dragon established itself through martial prowess.

This ancient empire has stood firmly at the apex of the planet Silahran for thousands of years. It is vast in territory, ruling over vast lands and oceans on one half of the planet. Such a vast territory was not a gift from heaven, but was won by generations of imperial people with iron and blood.

In this half of the planet occupied by the empire, countless brave barbarians and tenacious countries had appeared. The empire was once just one of these standing countries, but under the leadership of the legendary immortal emperor, Dragon's Black Sword Knights defeated all enemies standing before them – including the Frost Ridge tribes, with copper skin and iron bones, ten times stronger than humans, and the magic kingdom with elemental bloodlines. Wherever the double-sword battle flag of the Black Sword Knights went, every inch of land and sea would become the territory of the empire, which was almost regarded as an iron law in Silahran.

The loyal, powerful, and united Black Sword Knights, along with these glorious achievements, became the model for all knights and warriors in the entire Rahran world – not only in the Western Hemisphere, but also in the White City Federation in the Eastern Hemisphere, which held a special respect for the Black Sword Knights.

Although every member state of the White City Federation was well aware that the reason why the powerful and ancient empire on the other side of the world rift had established a long-term peaceful relationship with the Federation was only because the terrifying abyss that tore the planet apart blocked the Black Sword Knights' steps. Once that natural barrier was lost, the warlike imperial people would sooner or later point their swords at this half of the planet, but they still held the black lion on the other side of the world in awe.

But how long can this black lion stand in the world?

…

A village in the empire, like most villages in this vast country, was unknown. It would not appear in the natural history of a learned scholar because of some well-known local product, nor would it become a chapter in a bard's poem because of the appearance of some famous hero. For hundreds of years, it had been quietly and unobtrusively lying on the plains of the southwestern border of the empire, and soon, it would be recorded in history as a turning point.

The night's fighting had ended, and after shedding enough blood, the warring parties left the battlefield that was not worth holding on to. Unextinguished flames lingered on the buildings that had been burned to ruins, and wisps of smoke rose from the jagged carbonized roof beams and trees, and floated towards the distant sky. On that blood-stained land, fragmented and abandoned weapons and equipment could occasionally be seen.

A black, wide-bladed sword with strange and complex mechanisms lay quietly in the mud. The blood on the blade had turned black and red, and a severely burnt military flag fell to the ground. The military flag had a blue background, with a depiction of black double swords crossed together.

But the pattern of one of the swords was broken...

…

In a medium-sized town in the southern part of the empire, a dusty caravan was passing through the town's proudest blue stone avenue.

This was a small caravan very common in the empire: as a vast and highly developed country, busy commercial activities and a large amount of material circulation were the basic conditions to ensure the normal operation of this country. All kinds of large and small caravans flowed between cities day and night, and even included merchants from the surrounding vassal barbarians and business groups from the other side of the world rift, which the imperial people had long been accustomed to.

Three rune wagons driven by magic-guided mechanisms drove on the road, and several armed guards sat lazily on the edge of the wagons' rails, looking at the scene on the street. The last wagon had obviously been modified, and the enlarged and sealed carriage indicated that it was the seat of the caravan's owner.

Charlemagne seemed to glance at the scene on the street outside casually for a while, then retracted his gaze and re-pulled the sunshade curtain on the carriage window.

He and Avena were disguised, using alchemical potions to dye their original gray-white hair light golden, and their faces were also cleverly disguised. In this world where fingerprint recognition and DNA tracking technology had not been invented, such disguise was enough to achieve the effect of deceiving the world.

Although the appearance of a pair of reclusive royal siblings was very distant information for ordinary people, for some people who planned the pirate attack, all the information of these siblings must have been in their hands long ago, and disguise was also a last resort.

"This is a very prosperous place." Hao Ren had also been looking at the scene outside before. The prosperity of this town left a very deep impression on him. The bustling market and various means of transportation and public facilities driven by magical power were eye-opening. Although the technical routes were different, this planet, which used magical power to light up aircraft technology, had apparently allowed its people to live a life close to the level of a medium-sized country in the contemporary era of Earth.

"Although we love our homeland very much, we have to admit that the Dragon Empire has gone farther in magic-guided technology than any country in the Eastern Hemisphere, including the ancient kingdom of Ys," Avena said in a soft voice, her tone gentle, "Ys has very deep magical attainments, but our classic magical system and the widely used magic-guided technology are not fully compatible. In Ys, many traditional mages scoff at the increasingly popular magic-guided technology. They believe that this cheap and unprofound thing is a symbol of nouveau riche, but few people think about what the rapid development of magic-guided technology in the Dragon Empire means."

"This ancient empire is not only still strong, but is becoming even stronger," Charlemagne sighed softly, "The oldest country, but always has the youngest mentality. How did this country do it?"

Vivian raised her eyebrows: "Because they have an immortal and eternally wise Dragon Soul Emperor?"

Lily took over the conversation: "But aren't those kinds of settings usually super difficult old stubborns – after all, they've lived for so many years."

Vivian and Leah's eyebrows twitched slightly at the same time.

Charlemagne and Avena laughed and didn't take the topic seriously, but Avena still reminded them later: "Don't be so outspoken in front of the imperial people, they won't allow anyone to joke about their emperor."

As Hao Ren listened, he looked at this "magic-guided vehicle" that was empty on the outside but actually relied on sub-dimensional energy to drive, while recalling what had happened before.

After reaching a consensus with Charlemagne and his sister, the group quickly finalized a plan to change their appearance and act within the empire. In order to divert the attention of enemies who might be hiding within the empire, and to ensure the confidentiality of the operation, Hao Ren first had the Giant Tortoise Rock Terrace head to the border city of the Dragon Empire closest to the world rift, and directly dumped most of the "hitchhikers" on the road near the city suburbs. Then the ship took off and left while these people were still confused, and ran for another thousand kilometers before landing near this town in the southern part of the empire.

Then Charlemagne and his sister, Hao Ren and his party, plus several bodyguards that Charlemagne had carefully selected and could trust one hundred percent, used the "disguise props" produced in the Giant Tortoise Rock Terrace's factory to dress up as a small caravan that could be seen everywhere in the empire.

The "disguise props" produced by the factory included new clothes for everyone, cheap knives and swords for the bodyguards (the original fine equipment was too conspicuous and was left on the ship), several "magic-guided wagons" produced according to Avena's description, and two full cars of various goods.

It can be said that the act was complete.

Those "hitchhikers" who were thrown in the border city would seek help from the Ys embassy under the organization of Captain Boken. Although it would delay them for some time, they could eventually return to their old homes safely, and the news of the White Pearl's attack and the safe return of the survivors would also be spread – among those conspirators, this would cause enough confusion and bewilderment, and they would probably find it hard to imagine that while the chaotic refugees were flocking to the embassy, Charlemagne and Avena and several bodyguards had already started their journey on the other end of the country.

To Hao Ren's surprise, it was surprisingly easy for such a caravan to operate in this vast empire. He originally thought that the empire would have strict laws, and that entering and leaving any city pass would require strict identity verification and security checks, but in fact, apart from some routine inquiries and inspection of goods, they did not encounter similar troubles – the forged passes and identity information were hardly used.

"Only in the imperial capital and a few big cities will it be like what you said. The management of the Dragon Empire in other places is actually relatively relaxed," Avena introduced the situation of this country to Hao Ren. She now basically believed the statement of "the World Tree Temple isolated from the world", and the ignorance of Hao Ren and his party on the details of the world situation naturally became a matter of course, "Rules and order rely on the emperor's own prestige and the Black Sword Knights to maintain, and the law is secondary. In this country, the emperor and the Knights are two sharp swords hanging in everyone's heart. The sharp swords can protect themselves in front of foreign enemies, and can also eliminate crimes within the empire. In this case, few people will do things that violate imperial laws."

Lily curled her lips: "But we are disguised as a caravan and swaggering through this country, doesn't this prove that this management method has many loopholes?"

"The reason for swaggering is that everything we do is completely in line with what a caravan should do," Avena smiled sweetly, "Whether it is the configuration of vehicles and personnel, or the content of the goods, and the route of action, all are legal and can pass the inspection – except for our identity."

A wonderful country – Hao Ren couldn't help thinking.