The new year had just begun, and the regular legions established by the Golden Empire were expanding their scale across all operations.
Deniro, the Mist Dragon, who had newly joined the territory, was recommended to Kalon by Germot, and the King of Gold bestowed upon Deniro, the Mist Dragon the responsibility of being the head of the Golden Empire's National Defense Construction Department.
Deniro, the Mist Dragon's responsibilities were extremely important; although he did not have the authority to command legions, he was in charge of cultivating and transporting talent for legion warriors, coordinating legion logistical support, constructing imperial defense infrastructure, and managing conscription and retirement for the empire's defense initiatives.
Although Deniro, the Mist Dragon's duties, by regulation, were supposed to be under the jurisdiction of the military and the Imperial Central Council, in reality, most of his decisions could be made with a single word.
However, Deniro, the Mist Dragon was new to the territory and not very familiar with the situation within the empire, so this somewhat unique True Dragon was not much better off than Dos had been recently.
Every day, he had to fly from his temporary lair by the sea to various parts of the empire, genuinely understand the local conditions, and formulate conscription policies and related measures for different regions based on the opinions provided by local imperial officials.
This was also a habit that the True Dragons in the Dragon clan had developed under Kalon's strong... guidance: policies for governing the empire could not be implemented based on one's own simple impressions; they had to be combined with the actual local conditions.
Once this principle was violated, leading to any oversight, then, during the annual dividend distribution, the True Dragon would find that a significant amount of gold coins and wealth would be missing from his treasure chest.
Although Deniro, the Mist Dragon did not initially join the Dragon clan because of this 'True Dragon's Covenant,' but rather because he loved the order and civilization of the Dragon Clan Territory, no True Dragon, regardless of their nature, could refuse the temptation of treasure.
In fact, during the wars of these past few years, the empire's major battle groups had undergone numerous expansions and formations, and the number of legion warriors had already exceeded the normal population-to-soldier conversion ratio of human nations.
This was, in most kingdoms and organizations, an extremely abnormal and unhealthy mobilization ratio, and it would also have adverse effects on normal agricultural production and social development.
However, the situation within the empire was different from that of normal civilized nations; a considerable proportion of the warriors were composed of the monster vassal races of those True Dragons.
Besides the elite soldiers, other creatures like Goblins and Kobolds were like weeds in the field, growing wildly year after year, so the pressure on them was not very great.
However, now that the empire was formally established, it was necessary to begin optimizing the army's scale and structure.
In the wilderness, a place where even without large-scale wars, there would be constant small conflicts, everyone understood the dangers of joining a legion.
But the Golden Empire's generous treatment and promotion system for regular legion warriors, as well as its logistical support system, still attracted many people.
Even soldiers who retired due to injury or disability, under the regulations of the retirement department, would be assigned to public security offices in various towns, becoming patrol officers or clerical staff in other departments, according to their own wishes.
If severely injured and unable to care for themselves, the empire would also guarantee the warrior's daily life, give preferential treatment to the warrior's family, and the combat merits and medals previously earned by the warrior could also serve as a qualification, allowing the warrior's family members to receive generous treatment.
This also led many subjects, who were exempt from conscription for ten years, to choose to voluntarily join the legion, and due to the excessive number of people, after discussions within the empire's military affairs department, a special policy was even issued.
Any household with only one adult male population was not allowed to join the imperial legion. Households with only two adult populations were permitted for one person to join the legion selection, but without achieving military merits or promotions, they would need to retire after one year.
If war were to arise, these retired soldiers would be the primary candidates for conscription.
However, due to the increased efficiency brought by magical production and the development of the entire empire's industrial foundation, a considerable degree of labor was liberated from production, coupled with a continuous influx and growth of population.
This allowed the Golden Empire to maintain a large number of legion warriors without affecting the development and operation of various industries within the territory.
Every Dragons in the Kogmora Dragon Clan supported the cause of vigorously building the imperial legion.
These Dragons were not like some arrogant Dragons whose eyes were blinded by their own strength; they had experienced war and no longer believed that mortal legions were merely crawling insects before a Dragons.
Some aloof Dragons, and even those Ancient Dragons, even before dying in a large-scale legion siege, believed that mortal armies were nothing more than fragile toys.
Mortals could not withstand the power and breath of a Dragon, and a Dragon could come and go as it pleased.
But the Dragons of the Golden Empire attached great importance to legion construction and structural optimization; even if it required consuming a large amount of wealth that the Dragonscould share, they remained unwavering.
They genuinely ruled these legions, so the Dragons in the Kogmora Dragon Clan all knew that before a powerful Dragons, perhaps an army of hundreds or thousands was not strong, but if it was a legion of tens of thousands, then it was extremely terrifying.
A legion of this size, even if only configured normally, would be qualified to hunt down a single normal adult Dragons.
And when the size of the legion reached fifty thousand, a hundred thousand, or even hundreds of thousands, even the most ordinary legion would possess unparalleled courage, with iron hooves and sharp blades capable of trampling all obstacles.
A drop of water is but a gentle breeze, but a surging tide formed by countless drops of water would make even a True Dragon retreat.
A Legendary being, while possessing power unattainable by many creatures, ultimately has finite power. Relying on a single Legendary being can at most cause bloodshed over hundreds of steps, disrupting a small area.
But the King of True Dragons did not need to act personally; with just a command, he could make the legion's warriors open up thousands of mountains, clear countless waters, traverse thousands of miles, and ignite beacons across the land.
As Kalon grew and came into contact with and understood more and more things, his legions were no longer simply established for his rule.
These legions were his preparation for dealing with many potential troubles and dangers in the future, and also one of his reliance in facing the changes of the future world.
Therefore, Kalon's emphasis on armed forces surpassed all other current priorities within the empire.
Dagonia, this city, in the common language of the continent, means the City of Volcanoes ruled by the Son of True Dragons.
This city was also the first large city built by the westward-migrating residents within the empire's territory, a medium-to-large city with a permanent population of one hundred and fifty thousand.
This city was built against a mountain, from which one could clearly see the peak of the mountain where the Emperor resided.
In the southern outskirts of Dagonia, in the 'Burning Hoof' Legion Military Supervision Area, Deniro, the Mist Dragon and the Dagonia regional recruitment officer accompanied Kalon, who had come to inspect, standing outside the training ground and observing the warriors' training.
Here, newly recruited and selected elite soldiers were undergoing the final round of screening tests. Currently, the Golden Empire's territory had a diverse range of subject races, in addition to the steadily increasing numbers of Dragonborn, Gnoll, Barbarian, Orc, and other races that were already excellent in combat.
There were also many elite human warriors and a varied number of Trolls, Ogre, Hobgoblin, and so on; even the recent Naga race from the sea had begun to appear in considerable numbers within the Golden Empire's territory.
However, apart from the earliest established independent legions within the empire, which were relatively pure, the rest of the legions were mostly mixed-composition legions, focusing only on ability, not on origin or race.
But a large number of warriors from different races and backgrounds possessed different natural inclinations and habits, so in addition to assessing the warriors' abilities, it was also necessary to consider the changes in those warriors' natural inclinations and obedience training.
Within a test cycle, if they failed to pass the temperament integration and obedience training, these individuals would be returned to their original domicile and would not be eligible to apply to join the 'Burning Hoof,' a very special battle group, for three years.
Because within the Golden Empire, apart from the extremely special Imperial Guards with their unique status, only the 'Burning Hoof' Legion was the personal guard legion directly under the Dragon Emperor Kalon Kogmora.
Therefore, the selection requirements and standards for the 'Burning Hoof' Legion were extremely strict; every warrior who could stand here to be tested was at least a powerful warrior, either due to bloodline, talent, strength, or their unique wisdom.
But no matter how prominent or obscure these people once were in their own places, whether farmers or adventurers, or elite legion warriors, they now quietly and obediently wore full sets of armor, held weapons, and underwent obedience queue training and various command training on the exercise ground.
The construction of the legion's armed forces was far from simply expanding the battle group's size and structure or merely increasing the number of warriors.
Although Kalon had previously established a fairly clear and precise legion hierarchy, divided into soldiers, ten-man squad leaders, hundred-man company commanders, thousand-man battle group leaders, and ten-thousand-man legion commanders.
But even so, the Dragons in the Dragon clan still found it difficult to make the legion stronger and more perfect according to the actual regulations, because such trivial knowledge would not be found in the Dragons heritage.
Although many talents within the empire had many ideas, most of them differed somewhat from Kalon's ideas, so Kalon had to devote a large part of his energy to military reform and organization, doing it personally.
And Deniro, the Mist Dragon was able to smoothly take office as the head of the Imperial Defense Department because, after seeing the relevant plan, which clearly outlined the salaries and benefits for each level of warrior officer, and required him to supervise warriors, compile battle merits, and reward and punish appropriately, this Wu Long, Deniro, proposed to Kalon the establishment of the position of ideological instructor within the legion.
This position would be responsible for supervising the legion, organizing and leading the political work of the legion, and implementing the policies and guidelines of the Royal Court.
This included the empire's laws, the resolutions and orders of superiors, and directives, serving to build the legion's ideology and stably supervise legion discipline.
Kalon then named this position the Legion Political and Ideological Guidance Committee, or simply, the Legion Commissar.
Currently, only veteran soldiers from the Imperial Guards and some warriors who were extremely loyal to the empire and the Red Dragon, and who were also sufficiently flexible, could serve as commissars.
These commissars were not only responsible for their original work but also had one most important task: to punish and reclaim the lives of warriors who could not control themselves.
Because every warrior in the 'Burning Hoof' Legion carried the glory of dragon blood, as well as the sin of other ancient bloodlines, and the blood of demons and devils.
A warrior serving as a temporary commissar in the new recruit training camp, wearing a full set of energy armor, moved freely on the exercise ground, driving the hundreds of pounds of armor solely with his physical body, while simultaneously providing ideological guidance to the warriors of the new recruit camp.
He instilled brainwashing guidance, like a faith, and the imprinting of loyalty and obedience.
Although the distance was far, the Dragons's hearing still allowed Kalon to clearly hear the commissar instructor's low voice, coming from the training ground.
"If the empire needed us to attack a nation, a nation known for its righteous alignment, stability, and harmony, what would you think?"
The commissar's large Dragons-faced helmet on his energy armor, and the inlaid Dragons Sanctuary emblem, symbolized their status and glory.
These commissars, through performing rituals, could draw upon the light of the Dragons Sanctuary, and were hailed as 'Divine Warriors' by warriors of other legions; perhaps to outside spellcasters, these 'Divine Warriors' seemed more like future priests of that Dragon Emperor.
Each of their weapons was different; the only commonality was that intense psionic fluctuations surged around these commissars, indicating that this group of people was most affected by their loyalty to the Emperor.
They had already given birth to psionic seeds, possessing the magical power of psionics. Therefore, these commissars served this role not only because of their loyalty and ideology but also because their strength was sufficient to spread the Emperor's radiance and bring the scythe of death as punishment to enemies and uncontrolled warriors.
"I will take up my weapon, carry out the will of the Royal Court, do what I must do, obey the commands I must obey, and bring bloody slaughter to all opponents marked as enemies by the empire,"
A strong Ogre Warrior thumped his hard armor, shouting first.
"You are a qualified soldier, but nothing more," the commissar's voice came from beneath the dignified Dragons-faced helmet, sweeping across all the warriors present.
"Are there any other opinions? I hope to see different perspectives."
A human warrior raised his hand and loudly said, "Our Golden Empire once suffered from the invasion of the Orc Kingdom and endured the hardships of war, so why should we actively invade other countries? Is this not somewhat unjust, even if we are not known for justice?"
The Dragons-faced helmet turned towards the speaking warrior, then nodded slightly, and the commissar's indifferent voice came, "Very good, I like differing opinions. Congratulations, you are out. The 'Burning Hoof' only screens, it does not educate, but if you want to know the reason for your dismissal, you can stand aside and listen."
"Anything else? Be bold. The 'Burning Hoof' does not welcome cowards," the commissar's gaze, even through the thick Dragons-faced helmet, still carried a powerful sense of oppression.
Another young warrior raised his hand. Although this young warrior appeared robust, the light blue fuzz on his chin indicated that the warrior's age was not yet mature.
"There is only so much in the world," the young warrior said fearlessly, "some people gain, and some people must lose, and what we warriors must do is to make the empire, to make us, gain more. Therefore, any war against any force or nation is righteous for the empire, for us."
"Just as the Sacred Emperor once said, everything we have must be obtained from blood and fire, by the steel and iron in our hands."
"Very good," the commissar's solemn voice came from beneath the Dragons-faced helmet, he said, "Although your thinking is still not mature enough, having your own thoughts will make you an excellent warrior."
Clang!
The Dragons-faced helmet suddenly sprang open, revealing the commissar's cold face hidden beneath the helmet. He smiled and said, "I know the names of all the warriors present, and I know your name—Keith. Today, at this very moment, is your belated coming-of-age ceremony."
"What is our true duty?" the commissar said sternly, "To be bathed in the fires of war, forged on the iron anvil, is our powerful doctrine."
"Everything we do is for the establishment and development of the empire, for the survival and space of its people, for the glory of the Emperor, and for the dissemination of the Emperor's radiance and civilization."
At this moment, the commissar spread his massive arms, as if embracing all the warriors. He said, "Come, for the great Emperor, spread the shining light of civilization, and offer your humble strength!"