Ashen Dragon

Chapter 258: 183: Bestowal of Honors (1)

Chapter 258: Chapter 183: Bestowal of Honors (1)
 

Ashen Kingdom, Northwind Castle.

In the distance, tall chimneys emitted thick smoke, causing the sky to appear somewhat hazy, but people were long used to it. The refurbished and leveled roads were bustling with cars and people coming and going. They either worked hard in some factory, handled paperwork for the Royal Palace, or were merchants trading here.

In the fast-paced life of Northwind Castle, everyone had something to do.

But today seemed somewhat unusual; many people stopped in their tracks, standing and listening attentively.

“Big event! Big event!”

“The ennobling ceremony is about to start!”

“His Majesty Cassius will be at the central square to bestow honors in person! Both humans and retainers are welcome to attend!”

The newsboy waved the newspaper in his hand, trotting and shouting to the crowd with extra effort. After all, he would receive the official reward of three silver coins for completing this task.

On the billboard next to the road, Tiefling Guards also tore down some of the old wanted posters and posted the latest flyers announcing the important message.

Citizens gathered in front of the billboard, discussing.

“The ennobling ceremony?”

“Tsk, it’s probably another one-man show by those retainers, nothing to do with us weak humans.”

“I’d like to see it.”

“Yeah, I’ve been here for two years, I still haven’t seen the legendary His Majesty.”

“Heh, with this time, you might as well earn a few more silver coins.”

“At least we should join in the fun. Maybe if His Majesty gets happy, he might spill some gold coins from his claws for us? It’s said he has millions of gold coins.”

In the blink of an eye, the central square became extremely lively.

After years of development and the migration and gathering of people, Northwind Castle now had sixty thousand permanent residents. At this moment, nearly a third of them gathered here, close to twenty thousand people crowded the square, making the originally spacious square packed to the brim.

Regardless of occupation, merchant, worker, or sergeant, regardless of race, human, ogre, or Tiefling, these diverse residents of Northwind Castle all gathered here, like clusters of chaotic flowers, eager to witness this rare grand event.

The Tiefling Guards held spears, standing close to each other, forming neat rows and cordoning off a vast empty space in the middle of the square.

Here once stood a statue of the hero ancestor of the Rackman family, “Duke Norman”. After the Kingdom took over, the original statue was smashed to pieces and replaced with a majestic statue of the Red Dragon.

Now, the Red Dragon statue was moved in front of the city hall, and here was built a massive altar engraved with dragon wing patterns, surrounded by dozens of thick stone pillars.

Those at the forefront were naturally the ogres, great goblins, and other Dragon Vein Clans. High-ranking ones among them, like Ramp, were specially arranged with seats, enjoying a leisurely watch of the grand event, while most humans were kept at the back.

“Don’t push in front of me, go away!”

“Bastard, you want to fight?”

“When does the ceremony start?”

“It’s too stuffy here.”

With so many people attending the ceremony, jostling and disputes were unavoidable, and complaints kept coming in. Even the well-trained Tiefling Guard Squad could barely maintain order.

Suddenly, someone exclaimed.

“Look over there!”

People quickly looked up, only to see the bipedal wyverns like billowing dark clouds, pressing down from afar, almost covering the sun. The chimeras flew on the wings of the formation like welcoming honor guards.

The mighty thirty-meter-long Red Dragon in the formation slowly flapped its wings. Each flap sent scorching gusts of wind spreading thousands of meters, making the air in the city increasingly hot.

A White Dragon followed behind the Red Dragon, flying step by step like the most loyal servant. Its striking color highlighted the dragon group.

With the arrival of this magnificent formation, the previously noisy people unconsciously held their breath, and the square with over twenty thousand people fell silent.

The dragon group approached, casting a shadow over a radius of miles, covering the crowd in the square.

“Boom!”

Cassius landed thunderously on the top of the altar, stirring up gale-force winds.

The ancestral wyverns and chimeras circled down and finally landed together on top of the stone pillars, while White Dragon Tiniya undoubtedly occupied the stone pillar closest to the Red Dragon.

“Roar—”

They raised their heads in unison and let out a resonant roar.

Cassius didn’t say anything, merely stepped forward and slowly spread his enormous dragon wings, the dragon crystal on his chest pulsating with scorching light, seemingly containing endless strength.

Immediately, centered on him, a powerful wave spread.

An invisible pressure spread, causing all the mortals present to instinctively lower their heads, worshipping devoutly.

“King of Ashen!”

“King!”

“Great Red Dragon!”

The Dragon Vein retainers raised their weapons, cheering like surging waves.

With this series of crushing victories, Cassius’s accumulated prestige grew stronger, becoming a spiritual belief for the retainers. Even after years of slumber, he could still stir their passion.

But the humans had more complex feelings, mostly of awe. After all, they once existed as “The Conquered” or even “war trophies.” Though the Red Dragon had brought a better life for some, they still needed more time to adapt to such an identity change.

For those rebels hidden in the dark, their feelings were even harder to express.

Rumor had it that the Red Dragon fought a fierce battle with the Black Wizard and was severely injured, leading to his slumber. But now it seemed this was far from the truth, leaving those who harbored any hope speechless.

—For instance, the former baron, Pharaoh Trishde, hidden among the crowd.

“How is that possible, how could he be so powerful…”

“It’s only been three years…”

Pharaoh’s voice trembled, and his knees went weak.

As a former member of the Northern Nobility, he missed the past life immensely and had been living incognito in Northwind Castle for a long time. He secretly contacted the South and served as a spy for the Harpist Alliance.

If the former Cassius’s size, in his shallow understanding, was still an “able to defeat” enemy, then now, the nearly thirty-meter-long Cassius, who had developed a special form, completely exceeded his comprehension, even making him feel deeply despairing.

“This is simply…invincible.”

Pharaoh looked at the Red Dragon spreading its wings in the distance, muttering to himself uncontrollably.