Nothing eventful happened on that 8 days of travelling, we stopped to eat and rest but that was it, we made sure to avoid any places that looked dangerous and managed to make it to our destination without incident.
In the distance I spotted two giant mountains, next to the mountains were massive walls hundreds of meters tall stretching across the horizon, they were catastrophically enormous, stretching as far as the eye could see.
The walls were wide as well as tall, they could be mistaken for giant cliffs but the perfect symmetry told it was not the work of nature, it was built for a purpose and that purpose was to protect and show the might of the Dragon race, naturally this was the border to the Dragon Empire.
In Between the Two mountains was a large valley, it was joined by a massive wall and a colossal gate in the middle, to the side of the gate were two giant statues one was a statue of an ancient dragon, the ancient dragons were the origins of the Dragon race and were the ancestors of the current Dragon race, legend says they were one of the most mighty creatures in existence.
The Dragon had it’s wings fully spread and it covered the surrounding hundreds of meters in the sky, it’s colossal body structure gave the viewer a sense of arrogance and pride as it roared at the heavens in defiance.
The statue on the other side of the gate was one of a man who calmly looked across the landscape like a god, his eyes could see all, this gave the viewer a sense of profound wisdom and confidence in his ability to destroy all.
This was still a couple miles in the distance but I could clearly see the colossal structures, giant walls, mammoth mountains and the gargantuan statues that stood on watch at the border into the Dragon Empire.
Seeing this sight I was once again reminded of the might of the Dragon race, they were arrogant, proud and defiant, but they couldn’t help it, it was in their blood and forged into their very existence.
I descended from the sky slowly, If I went any further i’d be spotted by the border guards as a threat and that would be bad in all possible aspects.
I landed in a naturally dipped area so as to not be spotted and once on the ground I made my way to the giant valley in which the border sat, it was a couple miles ahead but I could still clearly see it as if I were right next to it, big as it was.
“There's so many people…” I unconsciously said as I entered the valley, the valley was hundreds of meters across and each side was abruptly stopped by enormous cliffs on each side that inverted slightly at the top.
It could more or less be described as a giant road into the Dragon Empire, every bit of earth on the ground was smooth and well looked after as to let merchants ride comfortably in their carts or carriages and keep their goods safe.
People were everywhere, there were big time merchants being escorted by mercenaries and lots of people of the different races, but mostly the people were made up of merchants bringing their goods to sell in the Dragon Empires cities.
I was actually rather surprised when no one even paid a glance at me, hearing the rumours about the Dragons hate for other races I thought there wouldn’t be a majority of different races but that seemed to be untrue, there were a lot of different varieties, I even saw some hybrids, the offspring of contrasting races.
Fen seemed to be curious to the different types of people and the environment in general, after all this was the first time she had left the Milan Wilderness, Fen was very quiet and unlike her usual confident self, she was too busy taking in all the environments smells and sights, it was a lot to take in, it kept her preoccupied as we walked into the valley behind some merchants.
“Hahahaha hey the kid with scruffy clothes, thats a nice lookin’ wolf pup you got there!” a merchant who was behind us shouted, he was manning a car that pulled 4 other carts, all of them were full of goods, he was a burly looking man who looked well travelled, he was of the Dragon race.
“Thank you, she’s not for sale, by the way.” I answered, trying to put a stop to the conversation straight away.
“Ahahaha! That’s a shame kid, hey why don’t you jump in next to me! I’ll give you a ride!” the enthusiastic burly man said whilst slapping the seat next to him.
“I’m sorry but I prefer to walk, thank you for the offer though” I replied again with the fleeting hope to end this conversation quickly.
But the man didn’t seem to give up and with a big smile and banging the seat harder he laughed and said, “Come, Come, sit! you kids are so shy nowadays!”
“Then If you’ll excuse me..” I said whilst hopping aboard in the seat next to him, he wasn’t giving up and it wouldn’t harm me to ride on it so I eventually gave in to his constant urging.
“So, what brings you to the Dragon Empire?” the merchant said with a grin, he was naturally very charming and I could tell he was used to getting his way with people.
“I’m travelling to the City of Kuregg, I hear the blacksmiths there are incredible.”
“Kuregg! hahaha! what a coincidence! That’s my home, our blacksmiths are legendary! Hmph! Hmph! there aren’t better blacksmiths in all of Ein!!” the merchant says whilst puffing out his chest with pride.
… Just my luck.. but I suppose I can catch a ride till we arrive, it’ll give me time to cultivate more, I have been neglecting it recently.
“The Dwarfs might say otherwise on that one, anyway, My names Zepp, good to meet you.” I said whilst extending my hand for a handshake, it was proper edicate.
“Hahaha you're right lad, good to meet you Zepp, me names Dac, I’ll give you a ride to Kuregg, make yourself at home and tell me about yourself, I’m a good listener!”
I made up a lie, I said I was an adventurer who was going to the adventuring guild in the city of Kuregg, luckily my excuse was believable because Kuregg did infact have an adventuring guild.
Also, my current appearance was one a poor person, I wore clothes that were accentually rags, in the eyes of others I looked extremely scruffy, I hadn’t washed in a while and my hair was had grew long, my shoes were makeshift sandals which I had picked up on the journey here, most people were mistaking Fen for a dog too, they musn’t of seen a wolf before...
My conversation with Dac went on for a while, he was the type of person who you couldn’t shut up, he’d bring up new topics and ask my opinion on them, he was a carefree man..
We neared the gigantic gates that could be seen for miles, the gates were made out of the strongest Iron, pure black iron, they looked durable beyond belief, on the black iron gates was an emblem of the Dragon Empire, it was an ancient dragon with red eyes, around it’s body was a circle and then flames came out from the circle, it was an emblem that displayed power and might.
As we neared the gates a guard clad in flaming red armour approached us, it was fancy armour that looked extremely heavy and the helmet only left gaps for the mouth, eyes and horns, the person wearing this armour must be a powerful warrior to wear it like it’s so light.
The guard wielded a giant halberd which was also flaming red, both the armour and the weapon had the official Dragon Empire emblem branded onto them, one would know at a glance the person was a warrior or guard of the Dragon Empire.
“Halt. Show authorisation.” the guard said with a stern, deep voice as he stood ramrod straight, his pride as a warrior guarding the Dragon Empire border was displayed fully.
Eh? Authorisation? I don’t have anything like that…
Ah, did they mean for us to show them our status window?
This was a problem, I couldn’t open my original status window anymore due to problems with my compatibility with it, ah? couldn’t I use that ring that the master gave me, I still had it after all, I could create a completely fake status window or edit my original one, last time I used it I edited my original window but this I’ll have to make a fake one, I took put my hand in my pocket and activated dimension store, it looked like I was reaching for something in my pocket but I was actually getting the ring out.
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Got it! I got the ring and deactivated my magic, I then put it on, the ring had no fancy functions like being able to talk but you could communicate telepathically to give it instructions.
‘Create Fake status window’ I said to the ring, a blank status window appeared in my mind,I made some things up like I had on my original window and then when I was satisfied I nodded happily.
Dac was currently showing the guard his window and they nodded in approval, the guard then came over to me and I showed him my window.
http%3a%2f%2foi57.tinypic.com%2f2je7orr.jpg [http://oi57.tinypic.com/2je7orr.jpg]
“Hmm.. okay..approved.” the guard said, he must of thought I was a normal citizen with stats like these, even a low grade adventurer would have higher stats.
We travelled through the giant gate and headed into the lands of the Dragon Empire, on either side of the gate those gargantuan statues were peering over the heavens like deities, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of them, they were breathtaking.
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The deeper we went into the Dragon Empires territory the more beautiful it became, plants I had never seen before were common here, the natural surroundings were lush and well looked after by locals.
Looking behind I could still see the giant statues and mountains that towered above the lower clouds, it was truly magnificent scenery.
We were riding on the carts with Dac still, Fen was sleeping on my lap and Exo was currently dematerialised.
“Dac, would you tell me a bit about the Dragon Empire?” I asked Dac who was sitting to my side, he was whistling a tune happily whilst driving the cart, as soon as I asked this his eyes lit up with happiness,
“Fufufu, of course! I’ll tell you a bit about our glorious Dragon Empire! haha!” He said with pride.
“There are 9 cities and the Capital City, altogether this makes 10 cities, it sounds small right? don’t be fooled, the size of the cities is something you’ve probably never seen before, each is grand in their own right, my city of Kuregg is ruled by King Kuregg, all the cities are named after their rulers, the Emperor made it this way as to gift power to his 10 generals, every king or Queen that rules a city is one of the Emperor’s generals, this is common knowledge known by the Dragon race but this is probably the first time you are hearing of this right?
The rulers are all top level S rank combatants, they are war veterans and extremely gifted on the battlefield, they are titled as the 10 heavenly generals!
That Human you all call ‘The Master’ wouldn’t stand a chance against our heavenly generals! hmph! foolish peasants call him the strongest? hahaha! bullshit!” As Dac spoke about the heavenly generals who were also rulers of the cities his chest swelled with pride and confidence, I can tell that these Heavenly generals hold enormous power in the Dragon Empire, they were looked up to as idols!
Dac carried on after calming down somewhat.
“The Strongest of the 10 generals is the ruler of the capital city, Supreme General Dracul! he is the leader of the generals, you can imagine how strong Lord Dracul is!
Others outside of the Dragon Empire think that the Emperor rules the capital city but this is in fact untrue! The Emperor does live in the capital city in the Dragon palace but he does not rule the city, he gave this privilege to his most trusted friend and general, Lord Dracul!
The Emperor is mysterious as most of us have never seen him! he lives in the Dragon palace but never comes out, however, if he orders something then that order is the highest priority, his 10 heavenly generals will stop at nothing to complete their masters will!
There are many rumours about The Emperor, some say he’s the Dragon god himself! others believe he is a powerful ancient dragon!
These rumours are mostly just bored citizens making things up but I believe that The Emperor is a supremely powerful person!”
The internal structure of the Dragon Empire is much more complicated than I thought, it is also much more powerful than expected, especially the 10 heavenly generals and The Emperor himself, they are probably the base for the extreme confidence that the race has in itself.
Dac talked forever about the might of the heavenly generals and how amazingly the military might of the Dragon Empire was, he also explained about the Cities and the Rulers,
The 10 Cities as told by Dac are:
Kuregg, ruled by the General King Kuregg, this city is known for it’s blacksmithing and has forged some of the best pieces of equipment in the land.
Denune, ruled by the General Queen Denune, the city of Denune boasts extreme wealth and is the city for merchants.
Lalias, ruled by the General King Lalias is a city known for it’s Warriors, it holds some of the finest Warrior training facilities in all of Ein.
Wux, ruled by the General King Wux is the city prided with it’s Magical talents, King Wux, being an extremely powerful Mage has made this city into a great producer of Mages who serve the Dragon Empire.
Olagg is ruled by the General King Olagg, the city is the city of crafting within the Dragon Empire, It produces many 1st grade goods and is considered a haven for Crafters.
Unea, ruled by the General Queen Unea specialises in light types of magic, the city is tranquil and home to many who study the ways of Light magic.
Dracoun Is ruled by General King Dracoun, he is a Master strategist and warrior, the cities defences are believed to be impenetrable.
Temilia, the City Ruled by Queen Temilia, Queen Temilia is a Master Archer and mage, together she can destroy an army with her magic arrows, the city is known for it’s Archery.
Yeam is ruled by General King Yeam, King Yeam is a Master of Dark Magic, he is mysterious and known to be ruthless, the city is known for it’s dark arts.
Dracul, the capital city of the Dragon Empire and the most famous of all, Ruled by Supreme General King Dracul, the Capital is a place where no one dares cause a ruckus, Dracul is an extremely powerful warrior and mage, Some believe he has reached the absolute peak of the S rank.
Then Finally the Emperor who has authority over everything within his Empire, with the snap of his fingers he could dethrone the rulers, he has that much authority, some believe the Emperor has even transcended the S rank!
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We had been on the cart for days when finally Dac turned to me with a giant smile on his face and said, “We’re here.”
It was dark but I could clearly see, lifting my head up from the cart I peered at the city that the road led into, it was a giant dome of stone, the stone looked to be extremely sturdy, the city was a giant dome! it looked enormous, at the end of the road were two giant torches with flames burning out of them, they lit the gates to the city which were guarded by Dragon warriors, there were hundreds of guards stationed just at the gate, this was absolute security at it’s max!
The structure of the city itself was something that defied the imagination, who expected the city to be a giant dome?
The only entrance looked to be the massive gate guarded by hundreds of guards on the outside,
The dome walls and gate looked grand as they were lit up by the giant torches, the flickers of the flame seemed to dance on the ancient stone creating a unique feeling when viewing the spectacle.
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Thank you for reading, this chapter is a bit longer than usual. Hope you enjoy :)