Golden Dragon: Six Thousand Years of Empire

"Then come back, I have a suitable place for you here. Stop following your brother and causing trouble for him, it's not easy for him either."

Noah was well aware of everything that happened after the reunion of the dragon brothers. After all, it was his eldest son who was managing a country, how could he not pay any attention to it?

"Alright!"

To bring his painstakingly assembled Shadow Legion back to life, Terramus hesitated for only a moment before deciding to return to his father's side for research. He couldn't let the fruits of his eleven years of hard work go to waste.

Both Iliad and Angelis, as well as Orsya, were surprised at Terramus's sudden farewell request.

"Terra, why go back? Did someone here treat you unfairly?"

"I need to go to my father for a critical research project."

Terramus chose to be honest.

"You want to go back to Noah? Did he urge you? Ignore him, just stay with your grandmother. If he comes to hold you accountable, let him come to me."

Orsya felt sorry for her little grandson.

"No, this research influences my future. I would like to conduct it here, but the conditions are inadequate. Only by my father can I have enough resources to squander."

Terramus explained.

"Sorry."

Upon hearing his brother's reason, Iliad immediately looked ashamed because in his governed country, hardly any spellcasters were willing to stay due to its extreme poverty.

"Brother, why are you apologizing? I don't blame you; it's just that this place is really unsuitable. Trust me, I will definitely come back to help you after I finish my research."

Terramus stepped forward, extended his dragon claw, and grasped his brother's hand with firm conviction and a powerful tone,

"By then, I will bring back an invincible legion to help you conquer the surrounding Six Countries!"

"Okay, I await you."

Although the Golden Dragon never lies, Iliad didn't take his younger brother's boastful words seriously, considering them as naive bragging from someone too young to comprehend the world's vastness.

After saying goodbye to his brother and reluctantly parting with his grandparents, Terramus stepped onto the transmission array to return to the Dragon Palace.

At the moment the light of the transmission array faded, his father's majestic and holy, mountain-like figure appeared before him. Even though he had seen it before, each time Iliad couldn't help but marvel in his heart and feel a sense of pride.

This was his father, and despite being somewhat harsh, the nobility of his lineage still commanded awe and admiration in his descendant.

"Father, I have returned."

"Hmm, I have two places here suitable for your research. The two environments are entirely different, and therefore, they will yield different paths and results."

Noah summoned a Dragon Fairy,

"She will take you for a tour of both places, and you may choose one."

"Two places? Besides Mage City, where else?"

Upon hearing his father's introduction, Terramus felt puzzled but refrained from further questioning since he was about to find out; the mystery would soon unravel.

The first research site the Dragon Fairy led him to was naturally Mage City, the place within the Holy Dragon Land with the most intense academic atmosphere. It gathered the most ambitious spellcasters from the Eastern Continent.

This wasn't surprising; although Terramus was not entirely familiar with Mage City, he wasn't a stranger to it either.

The academic atmosphere here was extraordinarily rich, making it an excellent place for research, but the range of studies here was overly vast, limited only by imagination.

If he were to choose this place, it might be challenging to yield results in the short term, as the research categories and projects here were overwhelmingly numerous.

"I've seen enough already, so where is the second suitable research venue for me?"

After exploring Mage City from top to bottom, Terramus glanced at the guiding Dragon Fairy, curiously inquiring.

"It is a newly established experimental venue for innovative weapons located underground, and the researchers there are somewhat peculiar..."

Seeing the inquiry from the noble Your Highness before her, the Dragon Fairy hesitated but proceeded with the introduction.

Personally, she hoped His Highness would choose Mage City and avoid the shadowy place filled with green skins and explosions. Unfortunately, Terramus did not fulfill her wish,

"Lead on!"

Although he noticed the Dragon Fairy's strange attitude, Terramus paid it no mind; it's only underground. Having spent eleven years in the Great Graveyard surrounded by undead, what underground environment could be harsher than the Undead City?

"Please prepare your defensive measures, and it would be best to stack multiple defense spells on yourself in advance."

The Dragon Fairy reminded him as she drew a Secret Silver Wand, her expression filled with a sense of bitterness and resentment, stacking shields one after another onto His Highness. The brilliant radiance of spell effects rendered Terramus's expression temporarily quite splendid.

"Is this necessary?"

Looking at the array of more than thirty layers of various mage shields on himself, Terramus looked puzzled at the Dragon Fairy stacking shields on him with a frenetic demeanor.

"Sigh, Your Highness, perhaps you feel my defensive measures are somewhat exaggerated now, but you'll realize once you arrive that no amount of protection is ever sufficient."

"Just what is this place?"

Terramus's curiosity grew wild in his heart, and as the Dragon Fairy opened a transmission gate, the Holy Dragon's Son found himself back among the mountains. Looking up, he could see the palace his father had built on the highest peak, while looking down, he could see an unfathomable gorge.

"This is the entrance; once you go down, be ready to brace for impact!"

"Alright."

Driven by a burning curiosity, Terramus descended into the abyss within the mountains, and as he continued deeper, he detected slight rumbles and vibrations emanating from deep underground.

"Is this a weapon experiment? Shouldn't a weapon that causes damage through vibration and impact be researched on the surface? Why is it located underground?"

The passing stone walls on either side made Terramus aware of the anomaly.

"Your Highness, this isn't research on weapons that create damage through explosions. The explosions here are merely unintended byproducts of the research!"

"Then what exactly is being researched to cause explosions?"

Just as he asked the question, Terramus, free-falling, suddenly felt his body lurch as an invisible ripple passed through. Subsequently, a heavy steel door flashed before his eyes.

Before Terramus could reflect on the tactile experience he just had, the Holy Dragon's Son was shocked by the scene before him,

"Is this merely a weapon research site?"

His gaze was filled with cold metal constructs; a world forged of metal lay hidden deep underground, directly beneath his father's palace.

"Yes, all research here centers around it!"

The Dragon Fairy pointed toward the center of the metal world, a hundred-meter-tall steel giant, although its body was incomplete.

Countless iron structures surrounded the steel giant like a cage and chains, with green figures bustling on top, loudly discussing something.

Amidst the occasional explosions and rumblings, these beings, the humblest existences in the wilderness, shone with unprecedented brilliance at this moment.

"Are those goblins?"

Terramus's tone couldn't hide his astonishment.

"Indeed, if you choose to stay here, you must address these goblins as teachers."