"The True Dragons, high above the mountains, is generous and tolerant."
"The Dragon clan promises a dwelling place for all living beings, bestowing upon them a land flowing with milk and honey."
"The True Dragon's eyes are like the sun, watching over its people, who offer devotion and herd cattle and sheep for the True Dragons …"
A human Forest Ranger, walking through a dense forest, leisurely hummed a folk tune, a slang ballad adapted by bards and spread through the countryside.
He sat on a tall tree branch, swinging his legs, while in his hand he wielded a long whip, driving giant trees to move across a barren land.
These tall trees, with their long, thick roots twisted into several legs, slowly walked forward under the Forest Ranger's urging.
Occasionally, birds descended from the sky, fearlessly landing around the Forest Ranger to rest and replenish their energy, and a few mischievous chirping birds even presented the Forest Ranger with a few wet, sticky droppings as a friendly greeting.
Hidden in the forest were also occasional ferocious beasts, their pairs of eerie green beast eyes staring from dark corners, vigilantly watching the moving forest.
Only when they realized it was the Forest Ranger driving the forest did they emerge from the shadows, emitting low roars, and engaging in friendly communication and exchange with the Forest Ranger.
"Owooh! Owooh!…"
"Hey, guys, it looks like another beautiful day today. May the True Dragon protect you from those Orc brats!"
The Forest Ranger received a response from a ferocious Demonic Striped Tiger, a beast in charge of this territory, and happily swung the long whip in his hand, woven from the oldest and toughest branches of the Tree of Life.
The long whip lightly tapped his forehead, acknowledging the intelligent ferocious beast's friendly gesture.
The long whip in his hand, woven from Life Tree vines, was engraved with countless intricate Druid natural magic runes. With the help of this whip, even a rookie Forest Ranger could drive dozens of trees at once.
The Forest Ranger, a newly emerging profession in the Dragon Clans Territory, also grew and prospered due to the war.
They were selected because of their talents, learning from hunters and Elf Druid how to communicate with nature and utilize its abilities.
These Forest Ranger were incorporated into the outer legions of the Dragon Clans Territory, similar to the guard army, but they guarded and patrolled the entire forest area.
They replaced the original True Dragons, sharing the True Dragon's responsibilities, managing the intelligent birds in the sky and the wise beasts on the ground, forming a dense web woven across all areas of the territory.
They were elite scouts, skilled at tracking enemy footprints, and also hunted disobedient beasts and fugitives wanted by the territory, protecting the territory's borders.
In the long war, which had lasted nearly two years, due to the inherent weakness of the Dragon clan Territory's small population, and to compensate for the almost endless number of warriors in the Orc Kingdom, the Dragon Clan Territory adopted guerrilla tactics.
The Forest Ranger emerged because of this.
Trading land for people, with people as the foundation.
Under the conscious guidance of the gradually growing World Tree Ovo, all Tree of Life, like the Green Field Forest, formed a forest will that covered the entire forest area.
The vigorously growing forest will could not only protect every Golden People walking in the forest domain but also suppress all creatures hostile to the Dragon Clans Territory.
Although the number of supporting armies from the Beastman Empire continued to increase, it was difficult for them to confront the Dragon clan's warriors directly in the forest.
Because they first had to deal with the always difficult-to-eradicate forest under the endless harassment of the True Dragon's warriors.
Especially the Dragon clan's warriors, most of whom were races skilled in mountain warfare.
Even the Centaur cavalry led by Chiron treated the forest as flat ground.
If the Orc were not careful, they would die from ubiquitous arrows and firearms, appearing and disappearing unpredictably.
And once the Orc finally managed to deal with the forest, they would find that the Dragon clan's warriors had already vanished without a trace.
But when these Orc woke up the next day, they would find another forest before them.
Even the defensive outposts established at road passes could not resist resolutely.
When the True Dragon clan's warriors ran out of arrows in their quivers and bullets in their pouches, they would directly retreat from the outpost to the next line of defense.
The vast number of Kobold dependents within the Dragon Clans Territory made significant contributions to these continuous, indestructible defense lines.
These digging-savvy Kobold, with just a small team leading numerous auxiliary troops, could establish a defensive line and dig a deep trench overnight.
Under these circumstances, the Orc struggled to advance across this hundreds-of-kilometer stretch of land, consuming vast material resources and time, only barely managing to glimpse the city of Capito, the capital of the Dragon Clans Territory, known in the common language of the continent as the Kings Capital, from dozens of miles away.
The Forest Ranger drove the forest to reinforce the front-line defense, relying on the forest's suppression to reduce losses for the Dragon Clans Territory's warriors and delay the Orc Army's advance as much as possible.
The Orc had already invested too much; the sunk cost prevented them from giving up, and in the Orc's eyes, as long as this city was breached, the Dragon Clans Territory's operational system would be destroyed, and then it would be unable to contend with the Orc.
This war tested not only the military strength of both sides but also their comprehensive national power.
However, the Orc did not anticipate that the Dragon Clans Territory already had a certain basic industrial capacity, and catalyzed by the war, countless factories had been established in the western rear.
Most residents had also migrated from their original villages and towns to the western rear due to the war, leaving behind tracts of land and vacant towns, awaiting new population to fill them after the war ended.
Dozens of trees entered the shallow waters of the Golden River, preparing to cross the wide river, over a hundred meters across, to reach the opposite bank.
Sitting on the tree branches, the Forest Ranger could now gaze upon the distant, majestic Kings Capital.
This city had expanded towards the western rear, with the original Golden River serving as the city's wide moat, an impenetrable defense.
The city walls, twenty-five meters high, were built from solid granite blocks; constructing walls entirely from massive stones required immense manpower, but fortunately, after research and improvements by Scholars, the first generation of steam and magic hybrid-powered engine cores had officially begun to be used.
Quarrying mountains and transporting crushed stone no longer relied solely on human labor, saving the territory a large amount of construction time and cost.
Moreover, to ensure robust defense, workers constructing this city wall were required to engrave their names on each stone brick to guarantee the quality of the construction.
Then, a large number of spellcasters, gradually graduating from the Dragon clans Academy, carved magic rune stones onto the entire solid city wall, cloaking it in a hidden, large-scale magical defense barrier.
Once the defense barrier was activated, it was sufficient to withstand the bombardment of magic-powered heavy cannons.
And the heavy cannons and giant crossbows mounted near the battlements were enough to deliver a devastating blow to invading enemies; these were one of the sources of confidence and security for the more than two hundred thousand people living in this city.
The Forest Ranger, being close to nature, had vision sharpened like an eagle's eye, even able to see many merchants driving carriages, leading their convoys through small paths in the forest, and after inspection at the territory's defensive checkpoints, driving towards the Kings Capital.
This was during the long war, where merchants, smelling money, still traveled between the human kingdoms and the Golden Coast.
Initially, they traded with the Orcs; these Orcs not only bought military supplies and food from the merchants, but the largest volume of goods traded was actually felling axes used to cut down trees.
During the truce and rest period between the Orcs and the Dragon Clan Territory, both sides tacitly refrained from attacking these bold merchants, and although some merchants died while accompanying the Orcs in their attacks on the Dragon clan's army, a large number of merchants were still profiting from the war.
"What a pity, these are all good, cultivated lands, who knows how long they will be left fallow," the Forest Ranger drove the forest ashore; the once flourishing farmland was now desolate, without the farmers' maintenance, weeds had regrown densely across the fields.
"These damned Orc brats, tsk," the Forest Ranger spat, but then he cheered up again.
According to news from companions vacationing in the Kings Capital, the sleeping True Dragons in the Dragon Clans Territory have begun to awaken one after another.
According to the plan of those brainy guys in the General Staff, the Dragon clan have too few warriors to withstand blind consumption, so the plan to delay until the True Dragons awaken has been largely successful.
"It seems the time for the final decisive battle is approaching," the Forest Ranger looked at the majestic, towering great city, which would be the Dragon Clan Territory's unyielding foundation.
"It's a pity the Great Lord is still in slumber, otherwise, with the Great Lord's wisdom and strength, these Orc would all be burned to death by him, and their ashes buried in the ground as fertilizer,"
The Forest Ranger thought to himself that almost every resident of the Dragon Clan Territory knew that the True Dragon's slumber time was closely related to the strength of its innate talent; the stronger the True Dragon's talent, the longer its slumber.
According to the Red Monarch's excellent talent, even if the war continued for another two years, he probably wouldn't awaken from his slumber.
However, the awakening of the other True Dragons also instilled endless confidence and courage in the residents of the territory.
After all, it has been proven that these Dragon Lord always possess powerful abilities.
TheTrue Dragons who are still active have already gained their own fame through the widespread tales of bards and merchants during the long war.
There is the Blue True Dragon Akzi, who controls war, Alina, who controls wisdom, Alfred, who controls the spread of civilization, and Kadilos, the Crimson Roar, who has awakened and is active behind the battlefield, destroying countless Orc ships.
And the two female True Dragons, Carlit and Ellie, also have some fame.
Although these Giant True Dragon have not yet acquired their own titles, they have demonstrated their potential.
Only a few White True Dragon who frequently sneak around at the bottom of the sea to secretly scuttle ships are rarely mentioned by the public; it seems their actions have been intentionally overlooked.
However, discussions about these True Dragons are far less common than those about the Red Dragon who is still slumbering in his volcanic Dragon Nest and hasn't shown himself for more than two years—the Monarch of the Wasteland and Forest, the Master of the Golden Land's various races, and the true Supreme Ruler of the Dragon Kingdom.
Even today, many human Scholar cannot believe that in a kingdom where the supreme ruler never shows himself, the subjects and warriors can still unite tightly and resist the attacks of the Orc Army.
This situation is neither Chromatic Dragon nor True Dragon!
Even in a kingdom ruled by a Gold Dragon, after the Dragon Lord disappeared, his warriors and dependents would fall into infighting, causing the rule to collapse.
What's more, there are numerous Chromatic Dragons in the Golden Land, and they haven't even beaten each other's brains out; it's practically a miracle.
This also made numerous human Scholar increasingly interested in the kingdom ruled by the True Dragons, wanting to study this incredible fact.
As Scholar researched the kingdom ruled by the True Dragons, they discovered that the Chromatic Dragon, who have always been known for their greed and cruelty, were surprisingly good to their subjects.
Many nobles also denounced the Dragon Kingdom as heretical, saying that these True Dragons not only gave those lackey commoners land, but also fed those dirt-poor farmers, and occasionally allowed them to eat meat twice; if this isn't heresy, what is?
Thinking of the nobles' remarks, the Forest Ranger, who prided himself as one of the Golden People, couldn't help but let out a sneer and disdain.
How could short-sighted nobles be worthy of mentioning the sacred and noble Dragon Lord?
The Forest Ranger, whose mind was experiencing a thought storm born of boredom, suddenly stopped his restless legs, and with a flick of the long whip in his hand, it exploded with a loud crack.
He saw several people sneaking around, peeking and prying, dressed in strange, peculiar clothes, and even their hair was unique; some looked like a chicken coop, while others had strange, individual small braids.
Most importantly, the Forest Ranger sensed the aura of outsiders from the will of the forest, which proved that these people were outsiders who had not been checked and registered at the territory's checkpoints.
"Hey, you guys, what are you doing sneaking around there, outsiders, state your purpose!" the Forest Ranger demanded loudly.
In the forest, he feared no enemy.
Even if he couldn't defeat the opponent, with the Forest Ranger's unique talent, he could easily escape with the help of the forest, which is why he was so bold.
On the other hand, it was also out of his own confidence and sense of superiority; every Forest Ranger chosen by the territory was an excellent talent.
They had the entire territory as their backing, so they were fearless, after all, this was his home.
"What do you say, Boss, should we just kill him directly, or capture him and ask about the local situation?
He looks like a pretty capable native."
A yellow-haired girl chewed gum, acting boorishly, but her clothes adorned with spiritual light and the subtly revealed aura showed her exceptional strength.
A composed middle-aged man shook his head.
Among the five people around, he was the most normal: normal attire, normal appearance, and a proper posture.
"Didn't you notice the subtle hostility of the surrounding forest towards us?
Don't mess around; this mission cost us a lot to get, so let's be cautious."
The middle-aged man warned his team, then forced a stiff smile onto his face and shouted in a strange-accented common tongue: "Excuse me, we are adventurers from the far east, and we're lost here!"
The Forest Ranger looked at the strange attire of the few people, but ultimately nodded.
These people indeed looked very much like those from the Far Eastern Continent—black hair and black eyes; even if dyed various colors, he could still distinguish them.
"Go, walk about sixty li to the left; there's a checkpoint there.
You can only move freely within the territory after passing inspection and registration, otherwise, my companions won't be as kind as I am; they'll capture you as enemies and send you to the mines for labor reform!"
The Forest Ranger waved his long whip, pointing the way for the strange fellows, and then urged the forest to continue on its journey.
However, the birds that landed near the Forest Ranger quietly flapped their wings and disappeared among the treetops.
"Thank you, thank you!" The middle-aged man thanked the Forest Ranger.
After the Forest Ranger had gone far, he glanced at the dense canopy again before switching to another language.
"Let's go; the less trouble, the better.
Once we complete this mission, we can exchange for advanced abilities.
The reward this time isn't bad; we just need to deal with a juvenile Red Dragon to get five thousand reward points and two C-rank side quests.
Easy peasy!"
"But Boss, aren't we considering the Orc side?
Killing Prince Garn of the Orc would yield even richer rewards—that's two B-rank side quests plus twenty thousand reward points.
Shouldn't we go for something big?
This world doesn't seem that strong; the Orc we encountered before were too weak."
A young man with dyed blonde hair exhaled his cigarette, trying to entice his captain.
"No need; assassinating the Orc Prince amidst the army is too dangerous.
Besides, we have Shadow Stealth Talismans, which allow us to quietly sneak into the Dragon Nest and deal with that Red Dragon—simple and easy, and we won't be discovered or stopped by the True Dragon's subordinates."
The middle-aged man shook his head, rejecting the suggestion, and then smiled, saying, "I have learned some information about this world.
If it follows certain rules, even an adult Red Dragon would have to grunt twice to lift a van.
I wonder what the actual situation is like."
"Hehehe, if they're that weak, maybe we can even establish a base here and scavenge a bit.
There should be some good stuff, right?!"
Another high school-aged boy with white-dyed hair laughed.
But before they could finish celebrating, a heavy notification sound rang in their ears.
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The group exchanged glances, and a heavy atmosphere suddenly arose.
"An Overlord-level creature, what the hell is that?!"
A wail echoed through the forest.