Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 873: Chapter 469: Dragon

Deep in the underground palace, the air was so thick it was almost heavy.

A blood pool, with a diameter of a hundred meters, stretched across the core of the underground, its surface shimmering with a sickly yet sacred dark golden hue.

Around the blood pool, five thousand imposing figures knelt on one knee.

They once belonged to the three most central and untouchable forces of the Empire—the First Legion of the Imperial Capital, the Dragon Blood Legion symbolizing the soul of the Empire, and the Emperor’s personal Imperial Guard.

But now, they no longer retained the complete contours of humanity.

Their thick armor was no longer a defense; the exposed skin showed a rough, dark gray covered with bizarre scales, beneath which dark red veins faintly flowed, moving slowly like magma crawling beneath a cooling crust.

Unnatural bones protruded at their necks and spines, some breaking the skin to form half-unfolded bone wings.

Some had grown incomplete wings, others had arms transformed into claw-like limbs covered with scales, but without exception, they all maintained the same posture, silently kneeling, motionless.

Like five thousand living stone statues.

And in this inhuman hell, Lin Ze seemed out of place.

He still wore a perfectly tailored black-and-white butler’s attire, with not a speck of dust on the hem, standing at the edge of the blood pool, calmly glancing at the pocket watch in his hand.

The hand ticked slightly, and with an almost inaudible “click,” the air of the entire underground palace seemed to tighten abruptly as if gripped by an invisible hand.

At the center of the blood pool, the dark golden liquid that had been flowing slowly suddenly halted.

In the next instant, ripples exploded.

Wave after wave of dark golden ripples spread sharply outward, crashing against the edge of the blood pool, splashing waves several meters high.

Accompanied by a dull roar.

“Boom—!”

Each pulse reverberated through the earth’s veins to the surface.

Then the blood water began to recede, slowly making room from the center of the pool outward.

Something massive was rising from within.

The spine appeared first, a spine stretching dozens of meters, each bone covered with dark golden glazed scales with a red glow flowing within, like magma yet to cool.

Next came limbs, torso, unfolded wing bones…

An enormous beast, nearly a hundred meters long, slowly stood upright.

It was not one of the Federation’s bloated and ugly alchemic pseudo-dragons, but a true ancient form.

Smooth and powerful lines, with a structure so precise it was almost cruel, every muscle, every bone seemed made for destruction.

At this moment, five thousand Half-Dragon Guards bowed their heads simultaneously.

The enormous dragon head slowly lowered, its eyes finally focusing on the small but upright figure at the edge of the blood pool.

Lin Ze did not retreat; he closed the pocket watch, raising his head to meet the dragon’s eyes calmly.

“Lin Ze…” the beast’s voice was low and slow, as if reacclimating to this world, “Now, outside… how is it?”

Lin Ze put away the pocket watch, took a step forward, and made a perfect bow.

His movements were meticulous, as if reporting a pre-written annual account, not declaring an Empire’s death.

“Your Majesty, the era has changed; the Empire is no more than a name.”

He raised his head, not meeting those amber eyes directly, but instead focusing on a point in the void, as if reciting a predetermined fact.

“Second Prince Kaelin, in his decisive battle with the Jade Federation, led twenty legions… all perished. He himself has been confirmed dead.

Moreover, Fifth Prince Lampard has been personally executed by the rising northern power—Louis Calvin.”

He paused for a moment, as if giving time for the information to be processed.

“In other words,” Lin Ze added softly, “your offspring have all perished, and the Empire you personally forged… is now a ruined wasteland, only in name.”

The dark golden dragon eyes contracted slightly.

Then, a dismissive and bored snort came from the Dragon Emperor’s nostrils, with red sparks bursting into the air, scorching the nearby rock faces with mottled marks.

“…Useless.”

The enormous dragon head slowly bowed, its shadow completely engulfing Lin Ze.

In those golden slit eyes, there was not a trace of sadness for the end of his lineage, only an aversion as if seeing rotten meat.

“I have been gone for less than ten years, and the flawed bloodline can’t even guard the home?”

It let out an almost inaudible cold laugh.

“Of course, the Empire gone is gone. It was merely a stepping stone for me on the path to eternity.”

It gazed across the entire underground palace, its voice filled with denial of all worldly prosperity.

“In this world, aside from this singular supreme power, all order, civilization, honor, are illusions.”

As the words fell, the Dragon Emperor unfurled its sky-obscuring wings.

A booming sound resonated from the dome, the heavy rock unable to withstand this mighty force, displaying countless cracks, the cold wind rushing through the gaps.

“It doesn’t matter anymore; tonight I’ve returned. I will let every ant on this continent understand that their so-called pursuit throughout life is no more fragile than a piece of paper before a true dragon.”

Under this soul-shattering proclamation, Lin Ze still stood straight.

He did not kneel like the five thousand Half-Dragon Guards, nor did he tremble before the dragon’s might.

On that ever-calm face, instead, appeared a meaningful smile.