A Dragon against the Whole World-Chapter 201 - 190: Iron Dragon Gordon: Princess, Run Away With Me!
Time flies, and the stars shift in the sky.
Eight years have howled by in the monsoon winds of the Sel Wilderness. Trade routes are repeatedly washed clean by the rainy season, then cracked under the scorching sun. The Border Area has been assaulted several times by cold waves from the south, with frost slicing through the land like knives, making the permafrost even harder.
Meanwhile, the Lotheren Kingdom in the south is undergoing a major upheaval, with undercurrents surging.
As the core of the Southern Nations Federation, the royal court of the Lotheren Kingdom is resplendent. Marble columns are entwined with gilded vine patterns, and crystal chandeliers refract gemstone-like brilliance.
Amid this luxurious hall, the young Dragon Gordon enjoys a life far more privileged than ordinary princes and nobles.
He is firstly the princess’s playmate and also a top-tier magical creature, a powerful member of the Dragon Race. Yet his personality isn’t fierce and brutal like other Evil Dragons, making him very popular in the royal court.
Many nobles vie to invite Gordon to banquets, taking pride in dining with him.
When the Lotheren Kingdom holds regular beast gladiator matches, Gordon frequently attends as a special guest, sometimes even participating in the matches himself, offering spectacular bouts and basking in the cheers and applause of countless onlookers.
At this moment.
Gordon has just ended his adolescent Dragon Sleep and awoken from his comfortable bed.
Gordon’s bed is not the traditional treasure pile of a Dragon’s Nest but a massive dragon bed carved from ancient thousand-year-old wood by Elf Craftsmen, filled with velvet and Magic Feathers, ensuring a comfortable sleep.
Moreover, his entire sleeping quarters, including his own dragon body, are cleaned daily by dedicated staff.
So even after years of slumber, he remains spotless.
Additionally, the extended Dragon Sleep allowed Gordon to burn off accumulated fat energy, returning his body to a normal Iron Dragon form. In fact, he is several sizes larger than typical adolescent dragons.
His growth environment has truly been excellent.
Gordon stretches, the scales on his body clinking as they rub together.
Looking down.
Oh, my, he can rarely see his hind feet, instead of having his entire view filled by his belly.
"I swear by my Dragon Scale, from now on, I will control my appetite, diet, and lose weight, to become a majestic Iron Dragon, not a fat one."
Gordon resolutely thought to himself.
Gurgle gurgle.
A thunderous noise suddenly emanates from his stomach.
Gordon’s dragon face wrinkled; his empty belly made him uncomfortable.
"Being just awake, I need nutrition and energy. Besides, I’m not fat yet, not at the point of dieting. Let’s eat first."
Iron Dragon curled its tail around a small exquisite bell and shook it gently.
The clear sound rippled out.
Soon after, a row of attendants pushed in carts brimming with a variety of foods, entering Iron Dragon Gordon’s exclusive sleeping quarters.
Laid out before Gordon were main courses such as roast whole beef, cheese molten beast steak, and deep-sea giant squid tentacles.
There were also desserts and drinks like honey crystal tower, Frostberry Jelly, and volcano molten wine (a blend of lava essence and dwarf spirits).
The Frostberry Jelly, transported from the Northern Icefield, was imbued with preservation magic, ensuring every bite tasted fresh as if just prepared.
Upon the first bite of food, Gordon could no longer control his appetite.
Starved for ages, he devoured the food voraciously, sweeping through it like a whirlwind, until his belly was round and full, nearly bursting, before stopping, yet still craving more.
"Where is my favorite Moonlight Dew?"
Gordon called to a waiter, saying, "Bring me a barrel of Moonlight Dew."
Moonlight Dew, a magical nectar brewed by elves through a special process, is costly and known as liquid gold. It contains abundant energy and, most importantly, tastes incredibly wonderful, being Gordon’s favorite beverage.
Before the waiter could respond, the sleeping quarters were opened again.
With crystal hairpins entwined in her hair and clad in a fine gauze dress, Princess Alina walked in.
"You’re awake,"
she said.
Gordon had been asleep for nearly seven years.
Princess Alina looked not much changed from seven years ago. Her complexion remained flawless, her skin as delicate as milk, without a trace of wrinkles, and her voice still light as a nightingale.
However.
Her eyes, her expression, her demeanor.
Had grown slightly mature and sorrowful, not like the innocent young girl she once was.
"Alina, look at me now. I’ve become mighty and fierce again. Look at my scales, my claws, and my tail,"
the Iron Dragon excitedly said.
Slow in reaction, he hadn’t noticed the changes in the princess.
Seeing the Iron Dragon posing with a bulging belly in different stances, Alina chuckled, like flowers blossoming, as if returning to those carefree days of the past.
She sat beside the Iron Dragon, snuggling against him.
The Iron Dragon closed his scales tightly to prevent their sharp edges from cutting Alina, while curling his tail gently around her waist, tightening slightly subconsciously.
In the actions of the Dragon Race, this signified possession.
Unbeknownst to him, the Iron Dragon’s feelings for Alina had evolved, from the initial playmate to an indescribable possessiveness.
"I want to drink Moonlight Dew."
The Iron Dragon’s appetite surpassed all other desires; his thoughts lingered on the Moonlight Dew.
He had assumed that once he expressed his wish, he would receive the Moonlight Dew. However, to his surprise, Alina showed a troubled expression: "Sorry, Gordon, the Moonlight Dew is too expensive; I can’t afford it right now."
The Iron Dragon was slightly taken aback.
Expensive? In his mind, such words shouldn’t exist in Alina’s vocabulary.
Across from him, Alina gently explained: "The royal family is leading the way in cutting expenditures, and even princes and princesses like us are no exception. Our monthly supplies are gradually being reduced."
"Cutting expenditures? Why?"
The Iron Dragon asked unexpectedly.
The Lotheren Kingdom is the core of the Federation, enjoying countless tributes and vast resources, being the most powerful and affluent kingdom within the Federation.
The royal family always lived in luxury, with treasures seemingly endless.
Cutting expenditures?
It didn’t make sense.
Alina sighed, unable to resist the urge to confide.
She lowered her voice and gently said: "Just recently, the Saint King’s breakthrough failed, leading to his demise. Although the royal family immediately sealed the information, the phenomena at the time of Saint King’s fall could not escape the notice of some powerful individuals and will eventually be known by all."
Gordon widened his eyes, startled within.
The Saint King, fully named Lothern Saint King.
He also had a more widely recognized identity.
He rose to power eight hundred years ago, leading the Lotheren Kingdom to sweep across the Southern Countries, forming the Federation’s Lord of the Federation.
The Lothern Saint King was a prodigious talent, adept in both magic and martial arts, considered a top genius among humans. By the age of under thirty, he embarked on the legendary path and continued to journey further into it.
However, this did not change his essence as a short-lived species.
Unless he abandoned his human identity and used methods like immortality transformation or element life transformation to extend his life, the limit of human legends seldom surpassed a thousand years, and after the peak period, they gradually weakened.
Transforming into other lifeforms would affect one’s way of thinking.
The Lothern Saint King always maintained his human identity, contemplating how to achieve eternal life while retaining his human identity and intellect.
To this end, he began secluding himself at five hundred years old, delving into Eternal Life Technique, no longer appearing and gradually withdrawing to the background.
Though all nations knew of the Lothern Saint King’s power.
Despite his retreat to the background for hundreds of years, his renown remained like a sword hanging over them, deterring any reckless advances from other countries and sustaining the superficial peace and prosperity of the Federation.
However.
Supported by this pillar of strength, the Lotheren Kingdom, once a towering tree, slowly decayed.
The current royal family had long since lost its former glory.
The reigning king indulges in pleasure without having set foot in the legendary domain despite having amassed resources nationwide, and he is now elderly; none of the princes and princesses can take on great responsibilities, and the inherent talents in the royal bloodline seem to dissipate over time; eight hundred years of peace have made the entire kingdom’s mechanisms bloated and sluggish, with vested interest groups firmly controlling resource allocation, lacking true talent’s rise paths.
Currently.
With the fallen Saint King.
Nations remain submissive, yet beneath the surface peace and calm lies a dormant surge capable of ripping apart the Federation.
The Lotheren Kingdom feels threatened and begins channeling resources to the military, even the royal family is cutting expenditures.
But no one can determine when war will break out.
By then, the vast Lothern Federation might fall apart.
Alina’s account was like a key, clinking open Gordon’s long-dormant Iron Dragon instincts.
Details about border frictions, fiscal deficits, and noble struggles reorganized themselves into a strategic map of war fires within the Iron Dragon’s specific military mind.
The light spots refracted by the Royal Court’s crystal chandelier all morphed into forthcoming war flames in his view.
He smelled the approaching storm, the scent of a tottering edifice, his scales slightly bristling, a cold, metallic gleam akin to weaponry surfacing on his scales.
Even a once powerful Magic Empire couldn’t eternally endure, and the once world-dominating Dragon Race has now dwindled to ’monsters’... some glorious names have now faded into the dust of history.
It’s now his turn to witness how Lotheren, this massive ship, sinks.
The theory of inevitable decline following peak seems to be an intractable rule.
The Lotheren Kingdom has passed its zenith and is on a downward slope, possibly soon to be dismantled and divided by other kingdoms, unless another figure like the Saint King miraculously emerges, this progression is hard to avert.
After realizing this, the splendor of the palace appeared instead as a crisis-filled cage in the eyes of the Iron Dragon.
Instead, it was the Sel Wilderness where he was born.
Eventually, when the Southern Countries stir up storms, losing their former order, being unable to attend to the wilderness, Dragons residing in the wilderness might find tranquility amidst chaos, using the Federation’s internal turmoil or even division as an opportunity to rise.
Thoughtfully considering.
The Iron Dragon Gordon extended his neck, bringing his head near the human Princess.
"Alina."
His vertical pupils constricted into fine lines, gazing at the seemingly tranquil clouds outside, speaking with unprecedented seriousness: "The crown will become a noose, the gown will turn into a shroud."
"Today, Lotheren is like a castle in the sky, poised to topple at any moment."
The voice paused, and he solemnly said, "Come with me; let’s leave the Royal Court and venture into the wilderness."
