A Dragon against the Whole World

Chapter 481: Chapter 350: Legendary Guard, Rise of the Five Kings (Part 2)

He stopped in his tracks, turned his head, and his gaze fell on Alina’s delicate but weary face, his tone softened a bit.

"What you need is relaxation, to enjoy the flowers and tranquility of this courtyard, not to exhaust yourself pondering over military and national affairs that shouldn’t be your responsibility."

"Your worries are already written on your face."

As he spoke, he slowly raised a hand, gently brushing past Alina’s face from a slight distance.

In an instant, the few fine lines on Alina’s face, born of worry and fatigue, disappeared, her skin becoming flawless.

She seemed to have returned to her most perfect, unblemished state as a young girl, with not the slightest flaw in sight.

However, Alina did not feel the slightest joy from such a nearly miraculous beautification, instead, she furrowed her brow slightly.

"It’s just a few insignificant wrinkles, nothing serious for me."

"You know, I have never been as overly concerned about appearance as other princesses."

She reminded, "You should use your domain more cautiously, every rewriting of reality comes at the cost of life, which concerns whether your life can be prolonged."

For humans who transition to the Legendary Domain, their theoretical lifespan often does not see a significant increase commensurate with that, far less than those of the long-lived species.

This seems rather unreasonable.

And the most crucial reason lies in the existence of the domain.

A legendary gains power beyond the ordinary by mastering the domain, but managing and utilizing this power that touches the world’s rules is not without cost.

Every time the domain is activated.

Every time local area rules are rewritten.

It imposes a burden and a depletion on the source of life of the legendary being.

With frequent use of the domain, these burdens accumulate continuously, irreversibly wearing down and eroding the lifespan of the legendary creature.

If a human legendary never uses their domain from after their ascension could reliably live over a thousand years.

However, this is almost impossible.

Before ascending to legendary status, one cannot use the domain, and after going through so much hardship to ascend, then not daring to use it due to fear of depletion... what then is the meaning of ascending to legendary status? Isn’t that just wasting the effort to become legendary?

Of course, there are indeed exceptions.

For instance, in the deep-rooted Lotheren Kingdom, there are some ancient Legendary Guards who choose to seal away their domains through special rituals.

They are awakened only in the direst moments of crisis for the kingdom to fight for it, regardless of the cost.

Such a foundation is one that any powerful kingdom with a significant historical accumulation must surely possess as their final trump card.

Compared to the Ripos Kingdom’s aggressive expansion and influence in recent years, Lotheren Kingdom indeed seemed a bit stagnant, lacking breakthroughs.

Yet it can still garner steadfast support from several countries amidst the turbulent times.

Precisely because it possesses unfathomable, ancient foundations that no one dares to underestimate.

"No worries."

The King merely smiled faintly, seemingly not taking his sister’s reminder to heart at all.

His voice paused for a moment, then he suddenly shifted topics and asked, "Where has that, um... plump and robust Iron Dragon of yours gone?"

Seeing her brother’s indifference, Alina could only answer with helplessness, "Starfire Monastery."

"Gordon likes the feeling of being admired and frequently goes there for people to admire."

The King nodded slightly, not inquiring further about the Iron Dragon or monastery matters, as if the mention had been casual.

Immediately, he chatted with Alina about family affairs for a moment, then turned and left the courtyard to return to the palace to handle his own matters.

"Brother... seems blinded by overconfidence from countless past victories, a bit too conceited."

Alone in the courtyard, Alina watched her brother’s departing figure, letting out a barely audible sigh, her worries instead of diminishing, only deepened.

In her view, confidence is necessary for a king.

But O’Brien’s current display is overly confident.

The Ripos Kingdom, along with its allies, came menacingly prepared, while despite Lotheren Kingdom’s profound foundation, victory against such adversaries wasn’t assured.

Her slender fingers clenched slightly, her chest rising and falling with deep breaths, striving to calm her scattered thoughts and regain composure.

"I can’t directly influence or intervene in the frontline’s military layout and strategic decisions."

"However, I will not sit idly by either and will seek to secure more opportunities and bargaining chips for the kingdom in my own way."

She decided to further increase investment and support for the Dragon Group.

Although the wilderness base had been damaged, the impact on the front lines was minor, but it nonetheless caused some material supply chain losses and strategic distraction.

Alina was unwilling to simply watch helplessly, she had to do something.

On the other side of the Sel Wilderness.

The dense curtain of rain continued to shroud the vast and dangerous land, with no telling when the rains would cease.

Amidst a fervent civil war unfolding within the Southern Federation, the Molten Iron Tribe, after newly incorporating a Purple Crystal Dragon Lion Lord and its lion group, saw a boost in overall strength but did not rashly proceed to dispatch troops against the remaining Map Kings.

This was mainly because the territories of the remaining Map Kings were relatively far from the Molten Iron Tribe’s existing map.

Unlike the previous Lion Group, the distance precluded inevitable conflict due to direct borders.

However, the Molten Iron Tribe was not idle either.

Under Galos’s will, the Dragon Group led the Molten Iron Tribe, adopting a more steady and solid strategy, centering on the tribe’s existing map, expanding and reinforcing gradually like a rolling snowball, absorbing the newly acquired territories and populations.