Flamesteel City, though constructed entirely from stone, is made of a very special kind of material.
In every corner, every inch of its surface, fierce flames burn incessantly, unaffected by high temperatures, showing no signs of deformation or charring despite the constant blaze.
The fierce flames emanating from the ground and walls lick the bodies of the fire giants.
Intertwining with the flames on their surfaces, becoming one.
"A legendary true dragon from the prime material world seeks to challenge the authority of the giants here."
"Its actions have been swift, those flesh and blood beings living in the elemental wastelands have mostly been united under its rule."
"Hmph, but they are merely struggling to survive, eradicating them would be as easy as flipping one's hand."
"Dragons possess great individual strength, and a legendary true dragon poses a certain threat to us."
"This is the elemental plane, not the prime material world; it's the realm of elements, and a legendary true dragon here won't stand a chance against the city lord."
Within the vast and magnificent Flamesteel City, the city lord sits on a throne ablaze with flames, idly tapping the armrest, expressionlessly listening to the fire giants below.
Elemental giants are enormous, with fire giants standing six to seven meters tall being common, while the Flamesteel City lord sitting on the throne of flames towers nearly twenty meters high, his body completely engulfed in flames, his face adorned only with a pair of glowing gem-like eyes.
At first glance, fire giants appear humanoid, with arms and heads, their body contours similar to humans.
However, they lack legs.
Below their waists, they resemble a swirling column of flames, tapering from thick to thin, like a tornado.
Flamesteel City is not solely inhabited by fire giants.
Fire giants, being high-ranking elemental beings and the nobility of Flamesteel City, are relatively few in number. The city also houses less advanced elemental beings, including numerous small fire elements, fire element hounds, fire element tigers, and other elemental life forms that serve as servants to the fire giants.
Regarding the recent disturbances caused by the true dragon from the prime material world, there's much discussion among the fire giants.
As beings condensed from fire elements, fire giants possess a volatile temperament akin to blazing fires, finding it difficult to contain their fury towards any creature attempting to usurp their position.
Quick-temperedness is inherent to fire giants.
After a brief discussion, the call to crusade against the legendary dragon and reduce it to ashes grows louder, with many fire giants unable to contain the boiling rage within them, indicative of their excitement to incinerate something.
The Flamesteel City lord remains silent.
As a legendary being, he differs from the fire giants below, able to restrain his fiery nature to a degree, displaying more rationality than the typical fire giant.
The more powerful a being, the better they can control their inherent nature.
"Coming from the prime material world to here."
"To so openly flaunt oneself in the domain of elemental life, without restraint."
"If it's not out of confidence, completely unafraid of legendary elements, then it's foolishness."
The Flamesteel City lord imperceptibly shakes his head, the firelight around him rippling.
Every legendary being of intelligence isn't foolish. Dragons often possess an inexplicable confidence and arrogance, but being legendary means this dragon has lived over six hundred years. Such an age implies a more reserved and steady temperament compared to their younger years, devoid of the arrogance that one is the greatest under heaven and earth. Those who think so wouldn't live to become legendary.
"Does it simply wish to carve out a territory here, or, as rumors suggest, aims for the entire demi-plane?"
The Flamesteel City lord taps his fingers lightly, his fiery visage showing contemplation.
Moments later, the voices of the fire giant nobles below merge into one.
"War!"
"Lord, if the dragon seeks war, then give it war."
"Turn it and those flesh and blood beings it has gathered into ashes!"
The Flamesteel City lord's thoughts are interrupted, looking down at the fire giants below, their faces full of rage and their bodies enveloped in surging flames.
"Fools!"
A scolding silences the fire giants.
"Those ugly earth elements are still watching. Initiating a fight with the legendary now only offers them an opportunity!"
The flames retract, merging back into the Flamesteel City lord's body, quietly burning on its surface.
The enraged voice calms down a bit.
"Defeating a legend will undoubtedly require a significant sacrifice, and the earth elements will not hesitate to extinguish the flames and rule the lava world alone."
A powerful fire giant looks towards the Flamesteel City lord, puzzled, "Then how should we deal with this true dragon from the prime material world?"
"Like the foolish earth elements, simply ignore it?"
The rest of the fire giants look towards the Flamesteel City lord, their silence indicating similar doubts.
The Flamesteel City lord smiles, the flames around his eyes brightening by three degrees.
"We and the earth giants have been at war for too long. Although we currently hold a slight advantage, turning this into a decisive victory requires an exceedingly long time, and no one can guarantee there won't be unexpected complications during this period."
"Just like now, the arrival of the legendary dragon has broken the stalemate between us and the earth giants."
The flames on the Flamesteel City lord grow turbulent.
"This is an opportunity."
"A great opportunity to obliterate the earth giants."
"With the help of the legendary dragon, breaking through Stone City will be effortless."
"When this place becomes a world of blazing fire, my strength will experience unprecedented growth. At that time, dealing with this guest from the prime material world will be next."
The fire giants below grasp the Flamesteel City lord's intentions, their flames boiling with excitement.
Then, a lifelike firebird, the size of a palm, made of surging flames, flies out from the Flamesteel City lord, flapping its wings through the blazing city, moving through the air adorned with blossoming flames.
Quickly.
The firebird reaches a gap between the territories of two giants.
It circles briefly, heading towards the nearest clan of flesh and blood beings.
"The ruler of Flamesteel City has sent a firebird avatar, wishing to meet with the great Eternal Dragon, saying there's a matter to discuss with you."
A serpent over ten meters long, covered in thick rock armor, slithers on the ground, speaking to Garon.
A magma python.
A highly intelligent magical creature living in magma rivers, one of Garon's more powerful followers gathered under his rule.
The Flamesteel City lord's firebird found the magma python and conveyed its intentions, seeking an audience with the Eternal Dragon. The magma python, not daring to delay, quickly came to the volcano to seek Garon.
"The Flamesteel City lord, a legendary elemental giant."
Garon's gaze narrows.
Recently, ninety percent of the nearby flesh and blood clans have come under his control. To conquer the lava demi-plane, the next step is to venture into the territory of elemental giants and start a war with either the fire or earth elements.
He had been preparing to make his move.
His target was Flamesteel City.
With Balton present, fire and ice counter each other; his frost power could deal tons of damage to fire giants, making Flamesteel City a prime target.
However, before he could act, the Flamesteel City lord took the initiative to come forward.
Not sending any giants or elements, but using his own avatar, was quite a gesture of goodwill.
"Let it in."
Garon nods lightly.
"Yes."
The magma python moves, its rock armor scraping against the ground with a crackling sound, leaving the dragon's nest.
Less than a minute later, a firebird with flapping wings enters the dragon's nest.
Though made entirely of flames, its appearance is lifelike, and Garon can clearly see the distinct layers of feathers on the firebird.
The firebird's eyes are bright, like two gems set in flames, now reflecting the body of the silver dragon, taking a measured look.
It folds its wings and stands on a slightly protruding rock on the wall of the dragon's nest.
Then, under Garon's gaze, the firebird opens its mouth, emitting a hissing sound, like the noise of wind blowing through flames, with a special rhythm and pattern.
Fire tongue.
The language of fire elements.
Garon doesn't understand the fire tongue.
His followers include those who understand it, as learning the languages of elemental beings helps them survive better in this element-dominated plane.
Garon plans to call a follower who understands the fire tongue to translate.
However, at that moment, the firebird closes its mouth, and when it speaks again, its voice has changed to the common tongue.
"Hello, friend from the prime material world."
The mature and steady voice coming from the firebird's mouth sounds somewhat incongruous.
It has barely spoken when Garon detects an attempt to curry favor.
"Flamesteel City lord, we have no dealings with each other. What brings you here?"
Garon leans forward, closing the distance to the firebird, examining it closely.
The firebird is not even as large as one of his scales.
"I have visited the prime material world before, where humans have a saying: 'A distant guest is a guest.'"
Garon shakes his head, his gaze calm, "There's no need for pleasantries, don't beat around the bush. Just state your purpose directly."
The firebird's small head tilts slightly.
"Alright, then I won't waste time."
"I come with a clear purpose, hoping to gain the friendship of the legendary dragon and form an alliance."
"Together, we can destroy the Stone City Labyrinth, and the territory that belonged to the earth giants will be yours."
"This lava demi-plane can then be jointly ruled by you and me."
"I have no desire to share this land with those foolish earth giants, but legendary true dragon, my friend, I would be pleased to become your neighbor."
The firebird's voice is sincere, serious.
As if genuinely wanting to ally with Garon and jointly rule the lava demi-plane.
Garon's tail sways lightly, his claws caressing his chin's scales.
The Flamesteel City lord's words are quite believable.
As an elemental being, it has no resource conflicts with flesh and blood creatures, no irreconcilable stance.
Even in a purely fire elemental plane, there are flesh and blood clans that thrive unafraid of flames.
And its true enemy is the earth giants, elemental beings like itself, coexisting in a not-so-large plane. If the earth giants thrive, indicating the world's elemental concentration of earth outweighs fire, then the fire giants' power wanes.
Similarly, as fire giants gain strength, earth giants weaken.
Their conflict is a matter of racial survival, irreconcilable.
Only by completely annihilating one another can the elemental struggle cease.
As for the idea of jointly ruling the elemental demi-plane with Garon, that's merely rhetoric. It would be ludicrously naive to take it seriously.
There's an old saying that aptly describes this: "How can one sleep soundly on another's couch?"
Neither the Flamesteel City lord nor Garon would consider sharing a demi-plane.
This is not a vast, complete world but a limited demi-plane. Though it spans nearly a hundred million square kilometers, compared to a real world, this area is still quite restricted.
More likely, after allying with Garon to eliminate the earth giants, sooner or later, the currently sincere Flamesteel City lord will show its fangs.
Garon ponders carefully.
Stirring strife between giants and reaping the benefits sounds simple but is quite difficult.
Elemental giants are intelligent, led by legendary leaders.
This strategy is likely to temporarily unite them against the instability before resuming their internal conflict.
"Hmm, dealing with the earth giants first would simplify matters."
Allying with the Flamesteel City lord to handle the earth giants before determining the true ruler of the lava demi-plane seems to be what the Flamesteel City lord also intends.
The relatively slow-reacting earth giants are in for some misfortune.
However, what the Flamesteel City lord doesn't know is that Garon, even facing both fire and earth giants simultaneously, does not fear. It might cause some injury, making things a bit more troublesome.
Balton, the legendary frost giant, is currently concealing his presence, having reduced his size.
Moreover, since arriving in the lava demi-plane, Garon has kept Balton hidden.
Neither the fire giants nor the earth giants know of another legendary being on Garon's side.
If the Flamesteel City lord knew of a legendary frost giant here, it certainly wouldn't choose to ally with Garon before deciding the outcome. The threat of a legendary frost giant to fire giants far exceeds that to earth giants.
Garon looks at the firebird, a smile spreading across his dragon face.
"Actually, I had the same intention. I planned to visit Flamesteel City personally, but you've come here first."
"Our thoughts align, making us suitable to be friends."
The firebird's tiny mouth emits a laugh, "Then, here's to a fruitful cooperation, my friend."
Garon's eyes narrow, echoing, "To a fruitful cooperation."
The two 'friends' exchange glances, smiles appearing on their faces.
"In a week, Flamesteel City will dispatch a fire elemental army to Stone City Labyrinth."
After discussing some details, the Flamesteel City lord says.
"On that day, the dragon will fight alongside the fire elements."
Garon laughs.
"Ha, I look forward to seeing the legendary dragon crush the earth giants."
The Flamesteel City lord doesn't leave immediately but inquires about the prime material world from Garon, who likewise learns more about the elemental plane from it.
Half an hour later, the Flamesteel City lord bids Garon farewell.
"I need to focus on preparing for the war. We'll meet again in a week."
After speaking, the firebird's body trembles, unable to maintain its form, quickly turning into a burning flame, then dispersing into fire elemental energy after burning in the air for a while.
Garon leaves the dragon's nest, calling his followers to inform them of the cooperation with the fire giants to first deal with the earth giants.
"Fire giants? I heard they're immune to flames."
"Hmph, the powerful flames of red dragons can injure even fire elemental beings. Those made of rock chunks, the earth giants, are even less of a challenge."
The red dragons are quite confident.
Indeed, because flames vary in strength. More turbulent, higher-temperature flames can consume weaker ones. Any immunity has its limits.
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