"Woo——"
Accompanied by the roar of the whistle, the steam train slowly drove into the platform. This train was beautifully decorated and had luxurious compartments inside. It was also located in the upper town of Istalia.
However, this "special vehicle" has already arrived at the core area, the area named after the former location of the Ember Nest - the New Storm Slope.
Around the station, there are various buildings with various styles, including simple and hideous caves, rough and bold tents, and tall and magnificent reinforced concrete buildings.
The people who live here are all well-known "big figures" in the Burning Ember Empire, and the minimum standard for admission is the Dragon Blood Earl.
"We have arrived at Xinfenggaopo Station, please get off the train in an orderly manner.
Thank you for your contribution to the Empire, long live Cassius! ”
Accompanied by the impassioned voice of the flight attendant, humans, hobgoblins, tieflings, and ogre nobles with distinctive dragon-like characteristics got out of the car one after another.
In the distance, a human nobleman wearing military uniform and carrying a leather bag walked quickly and hurriedly boarded the train. He also had dragon scales and golden vertical pupils that represented noble blood.
But at this moment, the dragon-blooded noble looked a little tired. There were black bags under his golden vertical pupils, and there was no hint of the strong energy of being a red dragon's retinue.
——He is George. At the investiture ceremony a few days ago, he was promoted to the title of Earl of Dragon Blood.
As a special train of the empire, the interior of the box can be described as extremely luxurious. There are gold-framed red dragon oil paintings hanging on both sides, soft carpets on the floor, and leather sofas.
George sat on the sofa, took a sip of the tea that had been prepared on the table, looked down at the silver watch on his wrist, and frowned slightly.
"It's an emergency meeting again. Is there so much going on in the Ministry of Military Affairs recently?"
No wonder George felt strange. In just a few days, the Imperial Military Department had held more than a dozen meetings.
However, he had just been promoted to the division commander of the Third Army Division and was busy with the integration and handover of the troops, so he had not yet been able to spare time.
Only this time, Marshal Doro personally ordered that all senior generals should be present, and no one was allowed to be absent. George had to take time out of his busy schedule to rush to the meeting site.
The empire's special trains are exceptionally stable and extremely fast. It is said that they also have high-level magical protection and can even withstand six-ring spells.
After a while, the train left the city of Isdalia and sped through the vast wasteland on the outskirts of the city.
The scenery outside the window changes rapidly, and is often obscured by the steam emitted by the train, but George still turns his head and looks out the window, looking quietly at the south.
In the distance is endless farmland. In the golden rice fields, the wheat undulates like waves, and there are steel giants roaring and operating in the rice fields.
But George's eyes were fixed on the cloudless blue sky, as if he saw the rich and vast land of Fianso - which would become the battlefield for his future battles.
Suddenly, George seemed to have remembered something. His eyes lit up and he murmured to himself: "Yes, no wonder the Military Department has to hold so many meetings.
Perhaps, the empire's large-scale expansion is about to begin, and our expeditionary force will go south to conquer the vast continent of Fianso. ”
Expansion, conquest, and achievements, aren't these what he dreams of?
He had imagined this scene countless times in his dreams: he raised his sword, with trumpets blaring and artillery fire roaring behind him, and he led the army to capture the majestic cities in the south.
Finally, he will stand in front of His Majesty Cassius, stand at the pinnacle of power in the Ember Empire, and become a real "big shot."
Now, he is already the Dragon Blood Earl, and he may not be far away from this seemingly unreachable goal, but he just lacks an opportunity.
Thinking of this, George's expression became more and more excited, and his golden, reptile-like vertical pupils flickered slightly.
The previous tiredness and impatience in his eyes were all gone, and the Dragon-Blooded Earl became energetic again, his face full of ambition.
"Give me some water."
George drank all the tea on the table and called the waiter. He even began to look forward to the meeting soon.
"Woo——"
"The Empire's First Military Training Base has arrived. All distinguished passengers, please get off the bus in an orderly manner and remember His Majesty's kindness."
Surrounded by waiters, George slowly walked down from the special train. He immediately saw Grace waving to him not far away.
"Good day, Earl George."
"Earl George, I have long admired your name. I admire your heroic deeds on the battlefield."
"Do you remember me? I was stationed in the same war zone with you."
"So you are the Earl George, whom I heard about in the Empire Daily News."
Seeing George get out of the car, the lower-status dragon-blood nobles around him came to greet him one after another, hoping to leave a good impression in front of this "upstart".
George was a little impatient, but still managed to smile, dealt with them one by one, and came to Baron Grace.
Grace took off her hat, bowed to him respectfully, and said with a smile: "Good day, Lord George."
George waved his hand and said helplessly: "Okay, Grace, we've known each other for a long time, don't act pretentious here."
Immediately, the surrounding dragon-blooded nobles looked sideways at Baron Grace and started talking in low voices.
A mere baron could actually be on an equal footing with a count? This Baron Grace is also a worthy candidate.
George knew what impact his actions would have, but for friends who knew him well, this little help was just a matter of convenience.
You must know that George does not like to socialize, and after his status has increased, there are not many people he can still call "friends".
Grace put on her military cap again and said: "This is not pretentious, but a necessary etiquette between superiors and subordinates in the army.
After all, you are already a noble earl, and you are qualified to ride on the imperial train, while I am still just an insignificant dragon-blooded baron. ”
George looked at the tall military base in the distance and said casually: "Isn't this exactly what you want?
A safe and stable job, living in the bustling city of Istalia, no need to worry about going to the battlefield"
Grace nodded: "You are right."
George asked again: "You are better informed than me. Is the Imperial Military Department going to make any big moves recently?"
Grace was a little surprised: "As a count, don't you even pay attention to this? Troops from all parts of the empire and even the colonies have begun to mobilize.
According to everyone's speculation, this time the empire is probably going to take advantage of the momentum of its victory in the Abyss War to start a full-scale war against the Kingdom of Thracia. ”
George nodded slightly and agreed: "Is that really the case? It's pretty much what I guessed."
"Shua——"
There was a sound like cracking silk, followed by the sound of flames bursting. The officers present, including George, all turned their heads and looked at the source of the sound.
Ripples were seen in the space, and a vortex of flames appeared in mid-air not far away, making the surrounding air hot and distorted.
Immediately afterwards, the flame dragon flapped its wings of flames and flew out roaring, and on its back was a majestic half-dragon knight wearing armor. Suddenly, all the dragon blood nobles started talking and looked at the figure in mid-air.
"Who is that?"
"This is an officer of the Fire Elemental Plane Expeditionary Force?"
"Wait a minute, I recognize that lord. He is the governor of the colony on the elemental plane of fire, the newly promoted Marquis of Dragon Blood - Lord Serkan."
"What? The Governor of the Fire Elemental Plane also came to attend the meeting in person!"
The onlookers were shocked and quickly saluted the Marquis in mid-air. Even George took off his military cap, put his fist on his chest, and gave him a standard "loyalty salute".
However, this was not the end. The space in the distance was rippled again, and a dark portal slowly opened.
Accompanied by the crisp sound of bones, a skeletal dragon snake crawled out from it. On his back was a man with pale skin and a black robe.
"It's Lord Hart from the Underdark! He's here too"
Around the military base, more portals opened out of thin air, and expeditionary officers from various imperial colonies appeared one by one.
"Fire Elemental Plane, Underdark Realm, Air Elemental Plane, Feywild."
George looked at the gradually crowded base and said to Grace: "It seems that the empire is really going to make big moves this time."
Grace nodded seriously: "Who says it's not?"
But he smiled and continued: "But this probably has little to do with a defender like me who stays behind in the empire and has no ambition.
Lord George, I wish you victory in the south, and I will pray for you in the Empire to His Majesty Cassius. ”
Soon, everyone arrived inside the military base. The spacious hall was completely transformed into a podium, enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people.
Imperial soldiers from across the Empire and even the multiverse gathered together.
Humans, tieflings, hobgoblins, ogres, and the expelled Starfallen. All races are present here, and many of the officers who can reach the scene are dragon-blooded nobles.
As the Dragon-Blooded Earl, George deserved a front-row seat. He looked at the spacious podium with an expression of great anticipation.
Inside the venue, the officers were talking a lot.
"The war against the Abyss hasn't been long, has it? Is it really going to go to war with the Kingdom of Thracia?"
"Huh, cowards, we conquerors have long wanted to declare war on them! These Fadlanders don't deserve such rich land!"
"As imperial soldiers, are you still afraid of war? We are the dependents of His Majesty Cassius——"
Suddenly, a majestic and powerful voice echoed in the hall.
"Everyone——"
People looked towards the podium and saw a tall figure appearing there. He had a ferocious face, big red skin, broad dragon wings on his back, and smoke swirling around him.
"This aura is so powerful, do you feel it? It's the pressure of blood!"
"This is."
"Great Red Dragon, have you seen his figure? He is indeed the Dragon-Blooded Duke of the Empire!"
"This is Cassius, it's Marshal Doro! He actually gave a speech for us in person."
This is none other than one of the three special Dukes of the Empire and the Generalissimo of the Ministry of Military Affairs - the dragon-veined Great Goblin Doro, who is honored as the "Dragon Wrath War Madness"!
Doro opened his mouth full of fangs, folded the wings on his back, and blew out a burst of gunpowder smoke from his nostrils.
"Quiet."
Suddenly, the officers present fell silent, and the venue that accommodated tens of thousands of people became audible.
The empire's military training is far more rigorous than that of the "noble army" of the North, and what they pay most attention to is not personal bravery - but obedience.
Any soldier found at random can recite the various articles of the "Imperial Military Drill Code". After hearing the orders from their superiors, they will act accordingly like a conditioned reflex.
At this moment, the imperial officers in the venue all held their heads high and stood straight, like standing flagpoles.
Doluo then nodded with satisfaction and continued: "I believe you should also know the reason why I gathered you here."
The dragon-veined hobgoblin suddenly clenched his fist, and a huge magical image instantly appeared behind him - it was a map of the Fianso Continent.
Doro pointed at the color block marked "Kingdom of Thracia" on the upper part of the map with his paw, and said in a deep voice:
"Conquer."
Doro turned around and paced back and forth on the spacious podium. His deep voice echoed in the venue, creating waves of echoes.
The scene behind him also changed. The land in the south was riddled with holes and craters, and the displaced people were crying in sorrow.
"Everyone, look at those Fadlanders. They are so greedy. They have such rich and fertile land, but they waste it so much.
Anzeta has been silent for too long. This remote area has been regarded as a wilderness by southerners until more than ten years ago.
The great and supreme Majesty Cassius rose like the sun and completely changed everything!
Doro's voice became more passionate and powerful, colliding with the four walls of the hall.
Nowadays, the time when other countries divided the continents and oceans, and the Anzeta people were content with the wilderness is over - we, too, demand our land under the sun. ”
"Conquer!"
He raised the bloody battle ax in his hand, spread out the broad wings behind his back, spread his arms and shouted.
"Conquer! Conquer!"
"For His Majesty Cassius, for the Ember Empire!"
The venue immediately became excited, and the officers who were obsessed with war followed Doluo's call and raised their arms and shouted.
The conquerors, who had long been impatient for the coming of war, sang songs and even roared deafeningly.
Among the fanatical crowd, George also raised his arms high and shouted at the top of his lungs, his heart filled with dragon blood beating loudly.
Yes, conquer.
What a wonderful term. He became a dragon-blood noble during the conquest of the North.
He will lead his army to conquer the south in the name of the Empire and in the name of Cassius until he reaches the pinnacle of power in the Empire.
The former Northland serf and now the Dragonblood Earl thought so. (End of chapter)