In the factory, hatchery dragons undergo lifelong implant modifications and enhancer addiction, with everything controlled by massive artificial intelligence, a sharply divided upper and lower world, temple, undercity, factories, districts, priests, lawmakers, elders, citizens, and the automated city, corporate-customized employees.

Talronde.

The "Dragon" Kingdom.

Everything here left a deep impression on Gawain, the impact even surpassing what he saw and heard the first time he stepped out of the grave; his impressions of the Dragon Kingdom were completely overturned in just one day of touring and visiting.

All impressions of the Dragonkin’s mystery, power, elegance, and majesty were shattered by reality, the world constructed in the imaginations of bards and playwrights crumbled, leaving behind a bizarre, grotesque vestige, a twisted, absurd imprint, and countless reflections and conjectures.

Facing such a Talronde, those stories of knights slaying evil dragons, dragons forming pacts with valiant heroes, castles, kingdoms, and dragons at war suddenly became adorable, even exuding a warm glow.

Gawain seemed to suddenly understand why there were so many "travelers" from the Dragon Kingdom who transformed into bards in the human world, writing so many bizarre and entirely fictional dragon legends, and he understood why someone like Melita Ponia, an "upper-class Dragonkin," would be bored enough to write a bunch of fabricated tales of "valiant heroes fighting evil dragons," even using her friends as characters in her novels.

He once thought these were all dull and inexplicable quirks, but now... he couldn’t help but wonder if it was perhaps a kind of nostalgia, reminiscing about the pastoral life the dragons once had without relying on enhancers and implants, without AI and automated cities—or maybe it was just a beautiful imagination.

The Extreme Arena, one of several large arenas in Agondale, hosted an "extremely intense game" that Amber and Veronica found utterly incomprehensible.

It was an elliptical three-dimensional field—composed of massive alloy materials and high-strength polymer shells forming a "giant egg" shape, with twelve dragons vying for a symbolic "championship ring" honor, completely redefining what Gawain and others thought of as a "dragon."

They boldly used numerous external implants, layering skeleton upon skeleton, skin upon skin, with alloy armor and turbine injection devices making their flesh-and-blood bodies resemble bizarre flying machines. In the giant egg, they fought, elbowed, even slaughtered—except no high-powered Dragon Breath or magic attacks were allowed, making this so-called "extreme game" permit almost any form and level of melee, which the dragon’s melee... was utterly destructive in human eyes.

A participating Black Dragon was eliminated, besieged in mid-air and torn nearly to pieces, wings, limbs, and torso shattered, the heavy remnants dropping to the alloy floor at the "competition giant egg" base, the break points flashing with glaring Arcane Sparks, uncontrolled frost, flame, and lightning, his chest cracked open, a still-beating heart tumbled out, its seal unable to activate in time, spewing hot and dimly glowing fluid all around—more oil and enhancers than blood from the Black Dragon’s body.

A rescue team charged into the field, quickly recovering the Black Dragon’s body with its head, while the remaining wreckage was left on the field.

A resounding boos echoed from the stands, like ten thousand thunderclaps breaking inside and outside the arena, the score on the scoreboard above the competition egg bounced, and the loser left the competition in numerical form.

Gawain, sitting with Amber and Veronica in the "premium seats" outside the competition egg, watched the spectacle before them in astonishment, with Melita and Nuoletta beside them, completely engrossed in the competition, until the remaining team successfully dashed to the stasis field holding the championship ring, retrieved it, and activated it, letting out relieved sighs, returning to the "real world."

"The Black Dragon that got eliminated earlier will really have a hard time!" Melita exclaimed, "He’ll have to replace almost all his parts—hopefully, his insurance is comprehensive."

"He shouldn’t have tried to fight off three opponents at once—once surrounded, he was done for, Black Dragons aren’t adept at dealing with attacks from behind, especially with an extra layer of joint armor on his spine... I wonder what he was thinking."

"Just overdosed on enhancers," Melita shrugged, "created the illusion of invincibility."

"...Makes sense."

The two Dragonkin friends discussed the just-finished competition enthusiastically, though even the typically chatty Amber refrained from joining in this time.

It took Melita about ten seconds to suddenly realize something, hastily shifting her gaze, apologetically glancing at Gawain and his companions: "Ah—sorry, we got a bit too carried away..."

Gawain didn’t know how to react, and for some reason, at this moment, he remembered the first time he saw Melita Ponia—a mysterious, elegant woman visiting under the night, draped in a purple gauzy dress and a light purple veil—yet this image was swiftly shattered by the near-deafening roar of the arena.

All he saw now was a fanatical Blue Dragon lady engrossed in the gladiatorial spectacle.

"It’s okay," Gawain shook his head, "I could tell you really enjoy this."

"Actually, I don’t like it that much—Extreme Arena is still a bit too chaotic for me," Melita smiled awkwardly, "but once immersed in this atmosphere, it’s hard not to be affected by the surrounding emotions... Normally, I don’t watch this."

Next to them, Nuoletta noticed Gawain and his group seemed uninterested in the arena: "Is the competition here... a bit boring for you?"

"It’s just a bit... um, a bit too intense," Amber finally spoke, scratching her head, wearing an embarrassed and somewhat impolite smile, "As a competitive game, isn’t this a bit too gory?"

"Well, it might not align with human aesthetics... that’s our mistake," Melita sincerely lowered her head, "Extreme Arena is a newfound entertainment in Talronde, we were too eager to show you some of the ’newer things’ on this land."

"We should probably leave this place," Gawain said offhandedly, casting one last glance at the direction of the competition egg—finishing work groups had begun entering the field, collecting the scattered parts and severed limbs, and some large cleaning machinery started clearing the oil and blood on the floor. Meanwhile, small teams guarding several exits under the giant egg began to retrieve those scrapped parts and salvageable biological tissue onto vehicles, "...this place is indeed a bit too noisy."

Under the night sky, the blue and white dragons soared once more, circling above the Extreme Arena.

From this height, Gawain looked down and saw the "giant egg" made of alloy and high-strength polymers being illuminated by numerous lights both inside and outside. The steel support structures and the intricate streets around the arena intertwined like branches woven into a nest, spreading out.

The bustling roars and spirited music had turned into a faint hum in the distance, and the oppressive feeling that weighed on his heart gradually faded. The giant egg in Gawain’s eyes seemed to take on a certain aesthetic appeal once again.

It resembled a crystalline egg illuminated by lights, quietly lying in a nest made of metal and concrete, nurturing blood, oil, and steel inside.

Talronde "birthed" this egg... then what birthed the current Talronde? The dragons reveling around the arena... are they captivated by this celebration, or are they captivated by the indulgence itself?

Gawain’s thoughts unexpectedly spread uncontrollably until Melita’s voice suddenly sounded, like the rumble of distant thunder, snapping him out of his reverie: "Still thinking about that arena? Sorry... now that I think about it, Noletta and I were only focused on showing you the ’complete Talronde’, without considering the aesthetics and worldview of Loren humans. Some elements that clash with human preferences probably shouldn’t be shown to you."

"No, I didn’t mind that," Gawain shook his head, "I was just pondering other things."

"That’s good," Melita seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and then shook her head, "Actually, Noletta and I got a bit... overly excited. It’s rare for dragons to have the chance to openly guide visitors like you through Talronde... We hope the things we eagerly showed you haven’t caused unpleasant feelings."

Gawain immediately laughed, "Not at all, actually I’m quite... delighted."

He truly wasn’t being polite; he genuinely found this visit to Talronde novel and interesting. Apart from the occasional deep musings and worries about the situation underlying Talronde, this eye-opening trip was a pleasant surprise for him—after all, in his previous life, he never got to experience CyberXck 2077...

This trip was akin to fulfilling a dream.

Noletta didn’t know Gawain’s true thoughts; evidently, she felt his words were mostly polite, so she could only respond with an awkward yet courteous laugh.

Amid Lady Blue Dragon’s embarrassed laughter, the brightly lit land of Talronde quickly retreated, gradually disappearing into the depths of the night.

In the subsequent two days, Melita and Noletta became the "dedicated guides" for Gawain and his companions.

Under the guidance of the two lady dragons, Gawain, Amber, and Veronica explored nearly every corner of the metropolis Agondale, and even visited two cities nearby as well as the industrial cluster located in the coastal region. After the initial shock and being caught off guard, Gawain and his companions calmed down, and began to truly tour this bizarre world with an almost sightseeing mindset.

Amber seemed quite happy—although she still couldn’t make sense of these dragons who were nothing like the legends, she obviously decided to stop worrying about it and began to sincerely enjoy the hospitality and the pleasures of the visit.

Even Veronica fully showcased her curiosity, treating the trip as both a tourist and a "scholar." She actively conversed with the dragons she met, inquiring about Talronde’s customs and culture, or borrowed some translated texts from Melita, processed by Omega, to try to understand the cultural changes and legendary stories of the Dragonkin—everyone could see she was genuinely enjoying it, not like her usual self, always wearing an ever-peaceful, ever-smiling mask.

But Gawain knew this "tour" wasn’t the entirety of his trip to Talronde. The truly important part of this journey... was still the meeting with Dragon God Enya.

He didn’t have to wait long.

On the fourth day of his arrival in Talronde, the high-ranked Dragon Priest with golden vertical pupils and a solemn demeanor appeared before him again—Gawain and Melita were overlooking the scenery from a mountain peak outside Agondale at that moment. Under the night sky, Talronde was illuminated by both lights and starlight, and a vast aurora curtain just happened to stretch across the sky, a sight rare in the human world. The Dragon Priest emerged directly from the night sky, as though using some kind of teleportation technology.

"My lord wishes to have a private meeting with you." Heragor came before Gawain, conveying Dragon God Enya’s desire.

"Private meeting?" Amber, who was enjoying the scenery nearby, curiously approached, "No invitation for us this time?"

"Please pardon," Heragor maintained the perfect composure with everyone, smiling graciously at Amber, "This is my lord’s wish."

Amber and Veronica, who stood by, slightly furrowed their brows. Gawain, however, was not surprised at all. In fact, he had been pondering when this moment would arrive since yesterday—he smiled slightly and said to Heragor, "Seems like she finally wants to discuss some more profound topics with me. When do we set off?"

"If it’s convenient for you, we could go right now," Heragor immediately replied, "I can directly take you to the Upper Sanctum."

Gawain pondered for a moment, then reached for his mechanical watch, opened the lid to check the time, and then nodded to Heragor, "I am quite free now—the timing is perfect." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Heragor’s gaze lingered on Gawain’s mechanical watch for a moment, but soon shifted away. Taking a step forward, he slightly spread his hands, and a faint golden halo materialized out of thin air, enveloping the entire area around Gawain: "Allow me to escort you."

In the next moment, the faint golden halo suddenly expanded, transforming into a beam of light connecting heaven and earth. After the beam dispersed, Gawain and the high-ranked Dragon Priest had vanished in front of the others.