Golden Dragon: Six Thousand Years of Empire

"Yes, they are all loyal warriors serving the Holy Dragon Emperor."

Compared to the Forbidden Army, who at this moment didn't even want to move and had lost the ability to communicate, the magicians who came to take charge were noticeably much more amiable.

"Then the Holy Dragon is..."

Rand hesitated for a moment and ultimately chose not to continue asking. Given his current status and power, knowing too much was evidently not a good thing.

"Sir Paladin, no matter what you saw today, please keep it confidential and do not disclose anything casually."

"Of course, I won't say anything."

Rand assured, knowing how shocking the scene he had witnessed was. Compared to the slain Great Demon, seeing the decapitated Legend before him was even more outrageous. It did not merely challenge human common sense; it shattered one's worldview.

"Besides, even if I did speak out, probably no one would believe it anyway."

"Whether others believe it or not is one thing, but some matters must be kept confidential until the Holy Dragon Emperor is ready to announce them."

"I understand."

Rand nodded, observing the magicians from Holy Dragon City as they painstakingly carried back the Forbidden Army members who had lost basic mobility.

"They actually don't want this Legend's corpse?"

When the spatial passage closed again, the mage and army from Holy Dragon Land, fierce enough to even kill a Legend, had vanished, leaving behind a ravaged land and the corpse of a Legend lying in the wilderness.

Rand exchanged a look with his student, both having equally remarkable expressions. He had not expected the mages from Holy City to be so arrogant as to disregard even the remains of a Legend, merely taking the storage equipment of this Legendary Duke.

"Since they don't want it, does that mean everything left is ownerless, and we could take them as well?"

The experienced Paladin didn't take any action, but his student Iliad, not yet truly recognized by the Holy Light, showed an eager expression.

Traveling with a Paladin certainly broadened his horizons and enriched his experiences, yet the hardships endured alongside it were undeniable.

The noble Holy Dragon's Son had, over nearly a decade, deeply understood the meaning of poverty and had learned to be frugal.

"Probably."

Rand hesitantly nodded. With the Paladin's moral standards being exceedingly high, Rand felt slightly embarrassed. As soon as he finished speaking, Iliad was already cheering and running to loot the corpse.

Leaving aside these two joyful looters for the moment, the atmosphere in Elisium City's mage detection center was somber, with mages hurrying about and clouds of worry shrouding their faces. Some, with worse tempers, were even shouting angrily on the spot.

"This is a soul issue; how are we supposed to deal with it?"

"In their current state, they're no different from walking corpses!"

"We haven't even figured out our own souls; how could we possibly heal theirs?"

"Who did this, turning them into such a state?"

"They are warriors, not consumables, and certainly not cannon fodder!"

Facing the increasingly agitated group of mages, the project's principal calmed all the chaos with a single sentence,

"They carried out a difficult mission under the Holy Dragon Emperor's order! They successfully surrounded and killed a Legend!"

Compared to the spoils of hunting a Legend, a mere Balrog Demon was insignificant, not even worth mentioning.

"The reason for your examination is not for identifying their current soul issues. Others will handle that. You need to assess their bodily changes. Let me remind you, the vast majority of them have resurrected five times."

Revived by the mention of the Holy Dragon, the detection center began to buzz again as the magicians eagerly examined what changes had occurred in these repeatedly resurrected Forbidden Army soldiers.

At the top of Mage City, Noah asked his foster mother, a renowned expert in soul matters,

"Aunt, can you tell what problems my warriors have?"

If there's any power in the world that understands souls the most and uses them to the fullest, it's the Abyss and Hell. A Legendary Mage capable of frequenting Hell at will was evidently the best soul field advisor.

"How did they become like this? Don't you have any idea? And you still ask me?"

Selena rolled her eyes at Noah.

"Can they recover?"

Noah asked his most pressing question. The Power of Faith was nearly omnipotent, but only nearly so, and there were still things it couldn't do, perhaps due to his insufficient understanding and utilization of it.

"Their souls are basically fine. Mostly, you made them bear too much power, which is far beyond what they should have at this stage, leading them to lose their emotions.

Time should heal them, though they might become something completely different from what they were before."

"What form?"

"Naturally, your Saints!"

Selena stared at Noah and articulated firmly.

"What Saints? Aunt, don't make wild guesses; I have no plans for any Divine Enthronement."

"You're not lying, but your claims starkly contrast with what you're actually doing."

"It's merely a misunderstanding. I just happened to find a way to utilize the Power of Faith."

Noah explained helplessly.

"Then, might I inquire, esteemed Holy Dragon, can you teach me this method?"

"I can't."

Noah still hadn't figured out the essence of Word Spirit because it was directly inscribed on the Dragon Soul. It was known that Word Spirit could be inherited.

The Favored, those who received the True Blood Inheritance, had a chance to inherit at least one Word Spirit, while his descendants would inevitably inherit more Word Spirits, though Noah was unsure about the exact number.

"Heh, so why are you still hiding it? Wouldn't being open about it be better?"

"I don't want to become the Dragon God."

"Mm-hmm, I know."

Selena absentmindedly responded, assuming the dragon was being stubborn.

From her secret observations, some of his actions had already become more outrageous than those of Demigods and Ascenders, and it was little wonder a True God would come looking for him.

"..."

Seeing that even his foster mother, who raised him, didn't trust him anymore, Noah fell silent and began to reflect. Did his actions really resemble those of a Sealing God Dragon?

However, such trivial musings were quickly tossed aside by Noah as, just like his foster mother said, those Forbidden Army soldiers gradually regained their awareness of the world as time passed, and the emotions that had been blocked began to return.

During this process, the unscrupulous magicians performed further modifications on these Forbidden Army members, discovering that, under some peculiar influence, their bodies generally strengthened, allowing for more vigorous plans.

While the magicians started modifying the Forbidden Army's bodies, the mages responsible for their gear began adjusting their weapons.

"Holy Dragon Emperor, in the western continent, there's a Mechanical City built by goblins, filled with many fascinating magic-guided mechanical creations, allowing those weak green-skinned beings to generate astonishing destructive power."

Finally, after rejecting several ideas, one mage proposed a highly constructive suggestion to Noah,

"Those short, ugly green skins have flights of fancy that might bring you some surprises, Your Majesty, and I am willing to recruit them for you."