The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

The dragon Martha led part of the empire's fleet back to the continent of Mu.

Not long after Martha returned with the group of imperial merchants, they were immediately escorted back to the capital.

At first, Martha didn't have any particular feelings about the railway. After all, compared to the dragons that could fly on their own, Martha hadn't yet felt the advantages of the railway.

It wasn't until Martha saw another train loaded with goods on a different railway line that she vaguely understood where the enormous wealth in Regus's photograph came from.

"Welcome to the capital of the Empire, the dragon of Sauron."

Considering that the other party was Sauron's dragon, Lind ultimately decided to have Sean greet the returning merchants and Margaret greet Martha.

"My brother didn't cause you any trouble, did he?"

It was only then that Martha realized that Margaret was the dragon sleeping on the gold coin in the photograph.

"No, no, it was Lord Regus who sent me. He's both witty and calm; he's a very interesting dragon."

Margaret frowned slightly, looked Martha up and down, and finally, with a suspicious look in her eyes, led Martha on a stroll through the capital city, which was under expansion, while introducing the situation on the continent.

Are humans and dragons really allies?

Seeing the scene in the capital, Martha still found it somewhat unbelievable. Along the way, Martha had seen many cities on the continent of Solon that could be called earthly kingdoms, but upon arriving at the capital, Martha realized that even dragons could have their limitations.

While Martha was already mentally prepared for the other precious items and functions, the various runes that were considered runemaster secrets on the continent of Solon were also readily available on the streets, as if they were not a secret at all.

Martha could tell that the capital was still under construction, with renovated high-rises and construction sites everywhere. There were even some trees planted on both sides of the main road, and the elves were talking to the construction team about what to pay attention to when planting these trees.

As for the obelisk and other wonders, to be honest, they weren't that attractive to Martha, because she had seen far more extravagant sights in the manors of nobles on the continent of Solon. Although the capital was magnificent, when it came to extravagance, the nobles of the continent of Solon knew how to have it better.

However, this also made Martha ponder deeply. No matter how you look at it, the productivity of the Mu Continent is much stronger. So how did the nobles of the Soren Continent, with their much lower productivity, manage to build a spectacle that was even more magnificent than the capital of the Mu Continent?

Of course, when it comes to wonders, Martha found the strangest thing to be the attitude of the passersby in the capital. It was an expression rarely seen on the faces of ordinary people on the Soren Continent—pride, extreme pride.

All the pedestrians and passersby seemed proud of this city and this country. This feeling was not so obvious in other cities along the way, but in this capital, even the beggars wore pride on their faces—if there were beggars in this city at all.

Margaret did not continue to take Martha around the city, but instead took a train out of the city to an experimental site.

A deafening whooshing sound filled the air. As soon as Masha got off the train, she saw missiles, like shooting stars falling from the ground, attacking a giant dragon from all directions. Despite the dragon's best efforts to perform various maneuvers, it was still hit by the missiles.

Upon seeing this, Martha immediately tensed up. What kind of magic was that shooting star falling in reverse? But Martha had never heard of any magic that could manifest in such a strange way.

"Do not be nervous."

Margaret reassured her, "That's just the Empire's latest anti-aircraft missile."

"missile?"

Before Martha could even grasp the meaning of the word, the dragon stood up again, its runes glowing. It was unharmed and, in a defiant gesture, patted its chest with its claws, signaling the soldiers below to continue the experiment.

The two people, or rather the two female dragons, soon arrived at the test site.

In a room at the experimental site, Linde rose from the main seat and said, "Welcome to the imperial capital, guests of the Soren Continent."

Margaret gave a slight bow as a gesture of respect. Martha, unsure of the proper etiquette, imitated Martha's movements, and Lind returned the gesture with a slight nod.

This was the first time Martha had ever bowed to a human. Although the gesture wasn't very formal, Margaret introduced him as His Majesty the Emperor of the Mu Continent, so the dragon Martha had no choice but to lower her proud head.

At that moment, the sound of something cutting through the air rang out again.

"Excuse me."

Lind apologized, "I've been quite busy lately and it's really difficult for me to find the time to welcome our friends, so please forgive me."

Martha suspected that His Majesty the Emperor had deliberately chosen this place to meet her, using the human weapon known as a missile to intimidate her.

But Martha had to admit that the human emperor had succeeded. Through the glass of the room, everyone could clearly see the scene at the test site outside. Dense missiles were being fired into the sky as if they were free. Below, researchers were constantly recording various parameters of the missiles. Just by seeing the effective range of those missiles, Martha knew that at least on the continent of Mu, dragons could no longer collect wealth with their dragon breath and claws like they did on the continent of Soren.

The guards nearby handed over drinks at the right time, but Martha's face twitched when she saw the drinks on the table.

Bubbles were constantly rising from the dark brown drink, and a hissing sound could be heard when it was poured in. Not to mention, because it was frozen, the drink on the table was also emitting wisps of cold air.

Poison...poison? This is only my first time meeting the Emperor, surely it shouldn't be this bad? Or has this Emperor come to hate Sauron so much that he wants to exterminate him?

Martha peeked over and noticed that the emperor was drinking the same beverage. As soon as it was served, the emperor drank it down with a satisfied expression and leaned back comfortably in his chair. This made Martha suspect that the emperor's arrangement of this meeting might not have been intentional; he was genuinely busy.

While Margaret's reaction wasn't as dramatic as His Majesty's, she was already used to the drink. Seeing that the two of them had drunk it, Martha mustered her courage, closed her eyes, and gulped down the strange beverage.

Delicious.

A strange, stimulating feeling welled up inside Martha, making her praise the drink highly in her heart.

"I still think Coke is not suitable as a drink for formal occasions."

Although Margaret finished her Coke, she still said, "Otherwise, it would be too strange for all of you to burp after drinking Coke."

"Haha, it's not a formal occasion, just treat it as a private gathering with friends."

Lind put down his glass, glanced at Martha who was still savoring the moment, and said, "We have missiles for the enemy, and fine wine for friends. Of course, you can also have cola if you like."