Golden Dragon: Six Thousand Years of Empire

"I can hand over the gift you brought to Grom."

"That's even more out of order; as a visitor, it's natural for me to give the gift to the injured person directly. That counts as a visit. If I let you pass it along, what would that be?"

"Let him come over; I would like to see what gifts this Golden Dragon has prepared for me, hmph!"

Just as the old beastman wanted to continue to refuse, a voice filled with anger and strength came to his ears. The old beastman sighed helplessly,

"In that case, Lord Noah, please come this way!"

"Oh."

Noah faintly caught some of the aftershocks and looked toward the source of the voice, which was also the endpoint of his journey.

With no more hindrance from the old beastman, Noah continued westward. Even on this seemingly barren land, the flower of life bloomed brilliantly. The beastmen's women and children, along with their not-yet-grown young, herded the domesticated beast herds, scattered or gathered across the hills.

But Noah only glanced over the old, weak, sick, and disabled among the beastmen before his gaze landed on a large golden tent standing among many hide tents.

Before this golden tent, a burly beastman, draped in a snowy cloak, braved the biting cold wind from the snowy mountains, staring at the Golden Dragon rolling up the clouds.

"You look quite spirited!"

Seeing this intact and vibrant beastman in front of him, Noah marveled. If it weren't for the message from his foster mother, he would never suspect this demigod was severely injured.

"I heard you came specially to visit me? And brought me a gift?"

"Yes."

Noah showed a pained expression.

"So where's the gift you brought?"

"It's right here!"

Noah displayed the Dragon Crystal he pried from the Dragon Couch before setting off.

This crystal is formed from the life essence dissipated from the Ancestor Dragon's body. For any dragon vein creature, it's an unparalleled treasure that can refine or enhance their bloodline.

However, it's limited to creatures without a complete Dragon Clan bloodline. For pure-blood Dragon Species, this Dragon Crystal has little effect, at most adding a bit of strength.

In other words, lesser dragon beasts with thin Dragon Descendant bloodlines treat Dragon Crystals as treasures, while powerful beings can't even be bothered to glance at them, let alone demigods, for whom even looking is a waste of time.

"This is your gift?"

"Yes, this is the grand gift I painstakingly chose and prepared for a long time. If I'd known your injury was a ruse, I wouldn't have brought it. What a waste."

Feeling pained, Noah tossed down the Dragon Crystal, which he had to periodically clear from his Dragon Couch.

"A dignified Golden Dragon brings such a gift to visit someone? Even my Beast Dragon sneers at such a thing!"

Grom glanced at the Dragon Crystal, taller than himself, that fell beside him, speaking with a mocking tone.

"Oh, I didn't know the Beast King was so extravagant. The value of this crystal, if converted to food, could feed two hundred thousand beastmen through an entire winter. I didn't expect your pets to be so picky; I'll be sure to remember this next time."

The Golden Dragon's voice echoed like rolling thunder, spreading across the expansive tidal flats beneath the golden tent. Many shepherding beastmen looked up at the clouds rolling above.

"Noah!"

The Beast King Grom, already struggling to hold back his anger, could no longer contain it and shouted.

Although he was not an Ascender and had no desire or wish for Divine Enthronement, he was a king revered by all beastmen. He cared about his reputation and prestige. Though this wouldn't affect his status, it would surely attract much criticism.

"What's the matter?"

"Do you want to fight me?"

"Initially, I had no such thought; after all, you were injured, and I, a noble Golden Dragon, wouldn't take advantage of someone in such a way.

But now it seems your injury was a false rumor. In that case, why don't we take this opportunity to have a good spar?"

Noah's Dragon Wings unfolded, and the cloud vapor swirling between his scales spread across the sky with a visible mist, causing the sky to darken rapidly.

"No."

The figure of the Beastman Priest Saka appeared beside the golden tent, immediately speaking to stop them. He was well aware of the Beast King's condition.

He knew exactly what Grom had sacrificed to maintain this seemingly undamaged state. If he fought this dragon, it would undoubtedly worsen his injuries and make some irreversible.

"Just a juvenile dragon; if it wants to fight, I'll fight it. There's nothing wrong with that!"

"Worthy of the Northwest Hammer King!"

Noah praised loudly, but as soon as he spoke, the faces of the two strongest beastmen turned grim.

Because, before Noah, only a human mage had mysteriously called Grom the Northwest Hammer King. Not only that, but that Legendary Mage was also the very culprit responsible for the Beast King's injury.

"So it's you!"

The beastman holy artifact, encased in thunder, roared like a meteor in reverse, heading for Noah, with thunder and lightning crisscrossing like a doomsday judgement.

"What do you mean it's me? Old Beast King, don't falsely accuse an innocent dragon!"

Noah clapped his wings, rolling cloud fire across the sky. Thunder and lightning collided, shaking the heavens, but Noah deftly flicked his tail to send the charging Thunder Hammer spinning back.

"Indeed, the power is significantly weaker!"

From just one collision, Noah confirmed his foster mother's information that this demigod was indeed injured, and not lightly. His forceful attack this time was noticeably weaker.

"What's your relationship with that human mage?"

Grom, holding the holy artifact, manifested his semi-divine form once again, rivaling the stature of the Ancestor Golden Dragon, towering and majestic, gazing over the mountains, showing no sign of weakness.

Sadly, while appearances can be deceiving, true power cannot be hidden. Once sure that this guy was weakened, Noah's heart beat faster, like a divine drum echoing.

Flame Brilliance Form

Black flames ignited on the Golden Dragon, covering his body with black dragon scales adorned with solar gold patterns, like a set of dragon-shaped armor.

"What human woman? I know so many human females!"

Seeming like a destructive demon dragon descending, Noah now showed far more explosive power than before. He almost teleported and crashed into Grom's chest.

Boom—

Like a celestial collision, the impact materialized, forming a devastating storm sweeping the northwest of the continent. If the beastman priest below hadn't guarded it, invoking the earth's power to neutralize the force, many of the young and old, shepherding families below would have died.

"Hmph!"

In this primal clash, Grom staggered backward in mid-air with each step causing the earth to shudder and mountains to rumble.

"That woman who summoned the Hell Lord, don't tell me she has nothing to do with you."

Despite suffering a minor setback, Beast King Grom was more troubled by the attack he endured.

"Somewhat familiar, but if your description isn't detailed enough, what did the Hell Lord do to you after being summoned? I heard it severely injured you, but I can't quite feel it."

As he spoke, Noah employed the Dragon Clan's signature attack.

Dragon Car

Noah rarely used such brute-force attacks, but being certain of his advantage, this attack maximized that advantage.