Golden Dragon: Six Thousand Years of Empire

"We are both members of the Dragon Clan, so which dragon would want to harm the Ancestral Dragon? I am willing to swear in the name of the Dragon Mother that I have absolutely no intention of harming you."

"Is that all you have to say?"

Noah sighed.

Swearing in the name of the Dragon Mother—this old dragon sure knows how to deceive. The Mother of Evil Dragons and the Ancestor of the North Wind, the Platinum Dragon God, disappeared together.

Even if she were still around, swearing by a Dragon Mother renowned for deceit would make such an oath worthless. This old dragon was treating him like a naïve hatchling.

If the Mother of Evil Dragons saw her descendant swindling a Golden Dragon with an oath, she'd probably be so pleased she'd reward something instead of punishing her offspring for breaking the contract.

"No, Your truly merciful Majesty, I am willing to submit to you..."

"But I don't want a servant like you. Of course, I must admit, your dragon body and bloodline are quite good and hold significant value for bloodline research."

Noah extended his Dragon Claw to the old dragon, the Word Spirit·Emperor took effect, and vast Power of Faith was drawn by Noah, transforming into a large hand invisible to Ophelia and the Ancestor Blue Dragon,

"I could..."

The Ancestor Blue Dragon's plea was interrupted as his soul was violently extracted from his still-living dragon body by Noah,

"No, Noah, you cannot treat me like this, I am also a member of the Dragon Clan, I am your elder, I..."

"When you tried to assassinate me, did you think about being of the same clan?"

Noah sneered, the flood of Power of Faith compressed the Dragon Soul into a sphere, which was then collected under the slightly furrowed gaze of the angel.

"Power of Faith?"

Besides Noah as the faith's focal point, it was impossible to perceive the Power of Faith unless a Divine descended. However, as an angel, Ophelia could deduce the power Noah had used from subtle traces, especially from the extracted Dragon Soul.

"This Dragon Soul is good for forging a weapon, do you want it?"

Ignoring his partner's confusion, Noah squeezed the nearly substantial sphere-shaped Dragon Soul and asked Ophelia.

"I don't need it."

Seeing the Golden Dragon holding a deep-blue, near-black Thunder Ball, crackling with arcs of lightning, Ophelia declined.

"Then take it and help me forge a weapon!"

Noah tossed the Dragon Soul to his partner.

"What kind of weapon do you want?"

The angel furrowed her brows as she received the Dragon Soul.

"Once you find a suitable craftsman, let them play freely."

Noah said indifferently. He summoned the Tower Spirit and gave earnest instructions,

"This Ancestral Dragon Body, even though the Dragon Soul is gone, is still alive; take good care of it and keep it alive."

[Order received]

After dealing with the Blue Dragon, Noah led Ophelia out of Mage City,

"Noah, in the team that came to assassinate you earlier, there is still one person unaccounted for."

"Still?"

Noah paused.

"According to my investigation and interrogation, it was a mage skilled in infiltrating dreams for assassination, but after disappearing, she never appeared again.

The Blue Dragon thought this mage used some unknown spell to escape. Did you feel anything unusual at the time?"

"Escape? No, she didn't escape."

"How do you know?"

"Don't worry about her; she will never show up in this world again."

Noah did not elaborate further since after these words, the angel understood.

Thus, the God Hunter team was annihilated, but this was not the end, rather the beginning. The confrontation between Noah and the gods unfolded from this point on.

First, Noah conducted a round of faith cleansing in his territory.

Before Noah took over the basic framework of the Augustus family, the Augustus family accepted the faith of all gods universally. As long as it was a righteous faith, they could all preach within the Augustus's domain.

This was a policy Noah proposed initially because no secular force in today's world could refuse the entrance of the gods' faith.

Since it was impossible to block the faith of the gods, it was better to fully accept it. With many religious orders coexisting, the dominance of a single faith could be suppressed, minimizing the interference of divine faith in political authority.

The Atlas Kingdom still executes this policy wholeheartedly, embracing all righteous beliefs. As long as they gain the Monarch's approval, any Divine's church can preach.

Noah's territory is the same, but whether this policy is enforced or not is irrelevant because, in his domain, all Dragon-men who grow Dragon Scales fundamentally believe in the Holy Dragon.

They have personally experienced the blessings of the Holy Dragon, and with changes in their life form, influenced by it, their consciousness shifts, developing faith naturally.

Thus, even if Noah permitted the preaching of godly teachings, any church within Noah's territory struggled to gain ground, almost unable to develop followers. Only in some remote areas of Noah's land could they barely maintain a semblance of presence, the closer to Noah, the harder to preach, especially in Elisium City, where cases of believers withdrawing were witnessed.

Thus, within Noah's visible range, let alone a Main Temple capable of accommodating a God's avatar, even proper churches are scant, merely having a scattered few small and insignificant ones.

Because clergy sent near Noah to preach must not be too weak—if they are lacking in strength, Noah could easily assimilate them. But if they are too strong, it wouldn't be worth it because there are few to preach to.

"How pathetic, is this all these guys have?"

After the first wave of faith cleansing, Noah discovered that those gods he targeted had scarcely any followers within his domain. Thus Noah extended his reach, informing his grand-nephews and nieces for a second wave of cleansing.

"The Flame Sun Sovereign has a religious state on the Alviss Continent... The other gods have no significant church forces in the local world; their primary beliefs lie in other worlds."

After a round of investigation, Noah couldn't help but chuckle upon seeing the information collected,

"Hah~ It seems an inter-planar expedition is necessary!"

The Ancestral Golden Dragon gently tapped the tip of his Dragon Claw, as his power spread, a crystal-clear Arrowhead began to form and grow beneath his claw tip. It contained pure Earth Elemental Power but, most importantly, the power of the earth's veins.

This was a power not originally meant for a Golden Dragon, yet Noah gained the ability to interfere with earth veins and manipulate Earth Elements.

This was not something he obtained in a slumber but a power he absorbed through feeding during his sleep, and this was just one power among many.

Hoo~

Noah looked up at the slanted western sun, watching the clouds stretch under the sunlight, exhaling lightly, countless gales spontaneously generated, sweeping for thousands of miles, their ripples extending endlessly. In an instant, the sky cleared, and the sunlight shone brilliantly without a trace of clouds.

"I can even digest Divinity now!"

Feeling the authority he gained after digesting the food in his stomach—two abilities he previously didn't possess—Noah stretched his Dragon Claw, feeling the scales on his belly, his dragon eyes shining with golden light.

He was very sure that this wasn't a power an Ancestral Dragon Clan should have, an ordinary Ancestral Golden Dragon could not digest Divinity; at most, it could absorb the Divinity related to its domain and attribute, but that was merging mastery, moving toward the Path of Sealing God.

But Noah was different; he digested and absorbed. He broke down Divinity, restored it to its most elemental power, and merged it into his bloodline, transforming it into an innate power contained within the bloodline.

This is a strength and gift that can be passed down through bloodline inheritance, fundamentally different from merging with Divinity since Divinity cannot be transmitted through reproduction unless intentionally divided.