"The clouds of war have already enveloped the Golden Land. The distant Orc Kingdom has dismantled the bridges representing friendship and peace, slaughtered the True Dragon's people, infringed upon the interests of merchant groups, and their forces are now pointed directly at the Golden Land."
"But these greedy and malicious Orcs are still coveting our territory, wanting to invade our homeland. They want to seize your land, possess your wives, and turn you back into slaves, draining your blood dry."
The mayor of River Valley Town stood on the high platform, looking at the dense crowd gathered in the town center, and shouted with raised arms.
"They want to take advantage of the Great Lord who rules all races, the wise monarch of the Golden Land, and the generous Lords entering slumber, to invade our homeland and enslave our Golden People."
"Therefore, under the will of His Excellency, the Supreme Lord Kogmora, the declaration of war against the Orc Kingdom has been jointly signed by Her Excellency Alina, the acting Governor of the Golden Land, His Excellency Akzi, the Minister of Military Affairs, His Excellency Naxon, the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the entire territory, and His Excellency Alfred, the Minister of Propaganda."
Every word from the mayor was deafening, every word echoed in everyone's ears, because it wasn't just him; many enraged people loudly repeated every word he spoke, transmitting these flames of anger into everyone's hearts.
"The Golden Land officially declares war on the Orc Kingdom. Under the will of His Excellency, the Sacred Kogmora, all Golden People shall unite and, under the banner of the Dragon clan, expel the Orcs from our homeland and annihilate any enemies who dare to invade this land."
The human voices surged like a tide, wave after wave, powerful and boiling, the loud cheers resounding over the town, scattering birds and spreading far away.
"The Governor's Mansion of the Golden Land, the regional administrative offices, and the military command departments shall implement a mobilization for war among all Golden People, preparing for direct combat with the Orc Kingdom, and mobilizing all Golden People to voluntarily undertake rear-area war efforts. No free citizen shall need to face the front line of war before all warriors have fallen."
The mayor's not-so-tall figure was like an old lion at this moment, his beard under his jaw flared like a lion's mane, his hair and beard bristling with rage. He raised his arm and shouted: "May the will of the Sacred Kogmora, the Supreme Lord, be with us! The Golden People shall surely achieve victory!"
"May the will of the Sacred Kogmora, the Supreme Lord, be with us! The Golden People shall surely achieve victory!" The surrounding residents shouted in unison at this moment, raising their arms and offering their fervor to the fiercely fluttering banner of the dragon clan.
In the hearts of most free citizens in the Golden Land, their Lord here was arguably the most generous and wise Lord in the Ekania World.
Because in other noble territories, not to mention the serfs who had no autonomy, even free farmers who owned their land had to pay seven or eight tenths of their hard-earned harvest in taxes each year.
Even on lands blessed by the Goddess of Abundance, most common people could not guarantee a full meal every day, because the more they harvested, the more they had to hand over.
And once in a bad harvest year, many would starve to death, or to survive, the common people would sell themselves and their entire families to nobles, becoming serfs. This is how a continuous stream of serfs came to be.
Moreover, besides the bloodsucking grain and land taxes, many Lords would create various other taxes to exploit their subjects, such as window tax: any window facing the street or opening outwards required a window tax.
Or a luxury clothing tax, where people's clothing was taxed according to its elaborateness.
There were also strange taxes like beard tax, name change tax, coffin tax, rat tax, hat tax, and so on. Although the amounts of these strange taxes were small, they were numerous and varied enough.
If one was not careful, even the last remaining rations would be confiscated, leaving the people in other noble territories in a state of numbness and worry all day long.
But in the Golden Land, vagrants who voluntarily migrated and some free citizens who gained their freedom, attracted by the policies set by the True Dragon, enjoyed a ten-year tax exemption. And after ten years, the grain tax required to be paid was only one-fifth.
Only one-fifth of the grain needed to be paid annually as the land tax for the current year. Moreover, the Dragon clan's laws were strict, but as long as one obeyed the territory's laws, one could obtain a great degree of relative freedom, and there were no strange exploitative taxes.
The Great Lord of the Golden Land was not one of these native souls. Under his will and guidance, the True Dragons did not focus their goals solely on these farmers, who formed the foundation of the kingdom.
Furthermore, Kalon also knew that the revenue generated by a purely agricultural society was far less than that which could be generated after the development of an industrial base. Therefore, most of the Dragon clan's wealth now came from an increasing number of factories and commercial trade, eliminating the need to exploit the farmers.
So these free citizens, who formed the largest numerical base, were fully supportive of the Dragon Lords and would firmly defend their rights and their hard-won good lives.
"These Orc dog-spawn, I'm going to slaughter them!" A strong farmer squeezed out from the crowded people around him. He raised his hands and shouted: "I can shoot arrows! I used to be a bowman captain under a minor noble! I want to sign up for the army!"
The other people around, who were signing up for the logistics troops, immediately showed respect for this brave warrior. Brave warriors always earned more respect.
With this brave warrior leading the way, the passion of many young people was immediately ignited. They all pushed forward, shouting: "I can throw spears! I want to sign up too!"
"I know a bit of swordsmanship!"
"I'm very accurate with a slingshot!"
The official dispatched to recruit logistics support troops sat behind the table, covered in sweat, while the mayor beside him showed a satisfied smile and then shouted: "One by one! Tell the recruitment officer what skills you're good at! No cutting in line! Hey, you, stop pushing!"
This scene was playing out in all the towns. As danger approached, all the people of the territory were finally united. The embryonic form of the Golden People, like Spark under ashes, gradually spread like a prairie fire.
Bay Stream City, as the city furthest from the Golden Coast, was also enveloped in an atmosphere of impending storm under the guidance of the propaganda department.
These members of the pioneering group, who had finally gained free citizen status, also voluntarily answered the call and formed a sizable team, preparing to transport food, weapons, and other supplies by ship to the Kings Capital, in preparation for the subsequent war.
Nora was currently at Uncle Farn's house, watching her Elf aunt pack Uncle Farn's bags and put on his leather armor. She herself was squatting on the ground, taking care of her young brother, a half-Elf, half-human child, and also the first mixed-blood child born in Bay Stream City.
"Be careful, don't be impulsive. The Dragon clan's warriors are very strong; you just need to stay safely in the rear." The Elf woman's already beautiful face was imbued with an even more sacred glow—the light of motherhood.
Although Elves were also a proud race, most of them were also exceptionally loyal and devoted to family and responsibility, with the exception of those infamous variants, the Drow Elves.
Farn kissed his Elf wife on the forehead and whispered: "Of course I know, but I couldn't protect the purity of the gods before, but now I can do my part for my family, for my homeland. Ashaya, I won't let the Orcs get close to here."
After embracing his wife, Farn came to Nora.
Looking at his son, who was quietly watching him with round black eyes, clutching the wooden toy he had carved himself, Farn softly said to Nora: "Nora, after I leave, remember to take good care of your brother and aunt. You are a girl I trust."
Nora had now grown into a young woman. Ample food and a lively, active personality made Noratall and her skin rosy, transforming her from the kind girl of yesteryear into a kind wild horse.
"Don't worry, I've got everything, Uncle Farn. You need to be careful," the young woman Nora said, her thick braid resting on her shoulder, patting her chest to assure him.
"Mm," Farn bent down and hugged his well-behaved son, gently kissing him on the forehead, and whispered: "Netis, my son, I will fight for you. May the will of the Sacred Kogmora shine upon us both!"
"Wah!" The previously calm infant suddenly grabbed Farn's trimmed beard and started crying loudly.
...
At the foot of the mountains, in the beast enclosure far outside Golden City, Wyvern were being pulled out of their enclosures by strong Jackal Barbarian warriors, who had secured the saddles and buckles on their chests and backs with tough ropes.
The restless Wyvern's nostrils flared, their heads swaying from side to side. The entire beast enclosure was filled with the pungent smell of these wild beasts.
Then, a layer of finely crafted leather armor was placed on the fragile chests and abdomens of these Wyvern. These creatures had no scales, only a layer of wrinkled, tough skin for defense, making them extremely vulnerable to weak points when used as aerial units.
Originally, the plan was to cover the Wyvern's weak points with a layer of iron armor, but Wyvern were not True Dragons after all. Although they were powerful compared to ordinary warriors, they could not bear excessive weight.
Carrying tall Gnoll Barbarian warriors and their weapons was easy, but to maintain flexibility, no more weight could be added.
Long-handled crescent blades were placed on the Wyvern's saddle rings. These Dragons were not as flexible and fast as Batwing Wyverns, but they could be used as close-combat aerial units for ground attacks. In the hands of the riders, these crescent blades would become scythes for cutting grass, but they would harvest lives.
A six-meter-long Wyvern with a fifteen-meter wingspan suddenly resisted, struggling against the restraint of the collar around its neck.
"You dare to refuse the Dragons's summons, beast!" A Gnoll Barbarian mercilessly whipped it, his chilling voice calming the intelligent Dragons.
Wyvern were not considered Dragons by the Dragons, so these warriors treated these Dragon like creatures as wild beasts that could not resist, and domesticated them.
Seeing the Wyvern calm down, the captain of these aerial cavalry, a human warrior, took down the horn from his waist and blew the call to assemble.
These aerial cavalry mounted their Wyvern and, led by their captain, took to the sky, flying towards the prairie. In the distance, a Blue Dragons, Carlit, awaited these cavalry.
And from the aerial cavalry's vantage point, it could be seen that not only were many beast herds in the beast enclosure migrating towards the central area of the Dragon Clans Territory, but the entire population of Golden City was also moving out of the city. Countless residents, with their families and belongings, were transferring their property by horse or cart towards the heartland of the territory—the Kings Capital.
Only the armory, established nearby earlier, was becoming increasingly busy, with countless soldiers driving horse-drawn carriages laden with weapons and military equipment, rushing towards Golden City.
Just as the Blue Dragons Akzi had said, this was a test, not only a test of war response but also a comprehensive test of organization, cohesion, and other factors.