Chapter 270 That's right, the King of the Borderlands is the Golden Dragon!
On the slightly rocking deck, the captain cleared his throat and said, "The changes are indeed significant... as if it happened overnight! Those infamous monsters and alien races in the border region have become... well, how should I put it, polite."
"An unprecedented collaboration began between different races."
"They took the initiative to trade with us merchants who traveled along the Estonian rivers, exchanging local minerals and furs for food and daily necessities."
"Many people don't understand, and just think that those monsters suddenly became enlightened, or that the sun rose in the west."
The captain glanced around cautiously to make sure no other crew members were too close, then lowered his voice slightly and said with a hint of mystery, "But I just happened to hear some inside information from some old buddies who have traveled all over the country..."
He leaned closer and lowered his voice: "It is said that in this chaotic land bordering the Sel Wilderness and the permafrost tundra, after countless years of bloody conflict, a... the only true 'King of the Borderlands' has finally been born."
"It was this mysterious king who brought unprecedented order to this lawless land! He established the rules and used an iron fist to restrain those lawless monster minions."
"Few people have seen his true face, but his fame and influence are everywhere. You can even see that even the most cunning, greedy, and extortionate goblins dare not ask merchants for an extra copper coin now."
"It can be said that all intelligent beings in the border region, regardless of their strength, now live under the enormous shadow of this 'King' and follow the rules he has set."
"Oh? That's amazing?"
Alberto raised an eyebrow, a playful expression on his face, and clicked his tongue in amazement, saying, "So, what exactly is this 'King of the Borderlands' you're talking about? Is he a once-in-a-millennium hero among the goblins? Is he a powerful figure among humans? Or... did the iron hooves of those centaur tribes trample the borderlands?"
The captain shook his head vigorously, his expression becoming unusually serious and earnest.
"None of those are true. There are many different opinions and a lot of mystery surrounding the identity of that 'king,' but the most widely circulated and accepted theory is..."
He took a deep breath and said, word by word, "The one who rules this dangerous land is not an ordinary race, but a noble, kind, and unimaginably powerful... metal dragon, and the leader of all metal dragons, the noblest and most powerful... golden dragon."
After a second of silence.
"Pfft... Hahaha! Golden... Golden Dragon?!"
Upon hearing this answer, Alberto felt as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, and he could no longer hold back, bursting into a hearty laugh.
Just as he burst into laughter, the captain standing beside him suddenly stiffened, as an indescribable, chilling shiver, originating from the depths of his soul, swept over him without warning.
But the feeling came quickly and went even faster; it was just a fleeting moment of disorientation before the suffocating fear receded like the tide.
It was as if everything that had just happened was just an illusion caused by my excessive tension.
(Thank goodness... I almost lost control, and the Transfiguration was starting to falter...)
Alberto's smile faded, and his handsome face regained its sunny calm. However, a fleeting, almost imperceptible glint of absurdity and cold mockery flashed quickly in the depths of his eyes.
"The king of the borderlands is the Golden Dragon... Where did you hear this interesting saying from?"
Alberto narrowed his eyes subtly, maintaining a polite smile, and asked the captain in a calm tone.
"Hey, I just overheard it when I was chatting with other captains and crew members."
The captain responded in a matter-of-fact tone, as if he thought the idea was perfectly natural.
"Many people talk about this in private. Think about it, the ability to restrain the lawless and ferocious monster minions in the border areas and to allow different races of creatures to cooperate and trade in an orderly manner is enough to explain the problem."
He stretched out his rough fingers and gestured in the air: "First of all, this king of the borderlands, he certainly isn't an evil dragon from the evil faction, is he? Evil dragons don't have the patience and kindness to maintain order."
"Secondly."
The captain lowered his voice, with a hint of sharing a secret: "I've heard a saying..."
"Most metal dragons actually prefer to maintain the existing order and are not willing to put in the effort to 'create' a completely new set of rules. Only the noblest and most responsible gold dragons will tirelessly and painstakingly build an orderly system from scratch."
Alberto's smile remained bright, but a subtle, unsettling glint flashed in the depths of his eyes, and he fell into a brief silence.
"Not an evil dragon? Then why do I already smell a strong evil aura on the wind before I've even set foot on the border?"
"Besides... only a golden dragon would be willing to go to such lengths to create order?"
"What a naive understanding."
"Have you ever been a Golden Dragon? Do you understand the true thoughts and ideas of a Golden Dragon? Apart from me... I have never heard of any other Golden Dragon who would enjoy the troublesome task of creating order."
An imperceptible golden light flowed subtly deep within the adventurer's pupils.
Alberto's heart was calm on the surface, but within it surged a storm of calm and sharp thoughts.
Without a doubt, his identity as an "adventurer" was merely a carefully constructed disguise; his true identity was none other than a dragon! Moreover, the most noble one the captain spoke of—the head of the metal dragons, the Golden Dragon!
Indeed, the Golden Dragon Clan is inherently devoted to order and justice.
However, the vast majority of adult golden dragons have already developed deeply ingrained behavioral norms and thought patterns.
They generally believe that:
Acts of justice must be carefully considered, weighing all potential consequences to ensure that the means of “curing” do not cause more harm than the “disease” itself.
There are countless injustices in the world, and no one can correct every single mistake.
Instead of doing everything ourselves and overstepping our bounds, we should encourage intelligent beings to rely on their own strength to solve problems within their capabilities.
Only those truly immense and complex "trials" that only the Golden Dragon's own strength and wisdom can overcome are worth their full effort.
However, compared to those of the same golden dragon clan.
Alberto Aurelius, however, was an outlier.
From the time he hatched as a fledgling dragon, his parents regarded him as a stubborn and incurable "stubborn fool."
He possessed a strong sense of autonomy far exceeding that of his peers and his own kind, as well as an almost obsessive level of cognition.
Justice and order are not gifts that can be bestowed from heaven by waiting; rather, they are ultimate goals that must be "created" and "shaped" by one's own hands with absolute power and supreme wisdom!
Other races, and even the vast majority of dragons, do not possess his noble bloodline and insightful wisdom.
Rather than letting them err in their ignorance and chaos, it is better to "control" them within a perfectly designed framework of order, so as to prevent them from doing something irreparable foolish.
Based on the above ideas, he had a grand and radical ultimate dream.
Through ruthless conquest and absolute rule, unify all the divided nations, races, and forces across the entire continent and even the multiverse into a supreme, centralized regime! In this way, eradicate the breeding ground for "evil" and establish an eternal, perfect golden order.
Now, it seems that the right time, the right place, and the right people are all on his side.
The powerful metal dragons who had reached adulthood were almost all urgently summoned to their respective dragon domains, busy dealing with some higher-level crisis, and had no time to pay attention to this "unorthodox" young dragon. In the Lorthen Federation, composed of the southern human kingdoms, the seeds of internal strife had already taken root and sprouted, and a storm was brewing.
The perfect opportunity to punish evil and launch his great conquest is at hand.
After meticulous intelligence gathering and strategic planning, the young Alberto, the Golden Dragon, identified his first strategic target—a strategic location situated between the Sel Wilderness and the permafrost, guarding the vital passage of the Estonian River.
The complex terrain here connects the wilderness with civilization, and can serve as an excellent lever and forward base to influence the situation across the entire continent.
However... plans can never keep up with changes.
He never expected that this virgin land he had carefully chosen had already been claimed by a mysterious "king"! Even more absurdly, the rumored identity of this "king" was said to be... a golden dragon of the same origin as him?
"interesting……"
(I want to see for myself what kind of 'kind' they are, and in what way, have managed to take control of this chaotic border region before I have.)
Alberto was filled with a desire to explore and compete, but on the surface he maintained the harmless and friendly demeanor of an adventurer, calmly continuing his casual conversation with the captain about local customs and trade goods.
Time flows by at a leisurely pace, like the Estonian River flowing beneath our feet.
The merchant ship sailed smoothly, the landscape on both banks subtly changed, the traces of human excavation gradually increased, and the aura in the air, a mixture of sulfur, metal, and powerful dragon might, became increasingly clear.
The border is already very close.
(End of this chapter)
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