Chapter 199: Nations Seeking Aid

For the first two days, the White Dragon Lord received nothing but good news: a noble in one kingdom was thrown in prison, a certain organization destroyed another Demon Church stronghold, and a Demon Cultist leader was cleansed on the burning stakes of the Holy Sanctuary.

But by the third day, the Demon Church—initially stunned by the Council's relentless flurry of strikes—finally regrouped and launched a counterattack. Bad news gradually began finding its way to the White Dragon Lord's desk.

In a remote village of a few hundred people, the inhabitants committed mass suicide, sacrificing themselves to summon a Demon from the Abyss. After massacring several neighboring settlements, the Demon was finally purged by arriving Holy Sanctuary knights.

A legendary squad affiliated with the Council fell into a trap while following orders to destroy a Demon Church stronghold. Ambushed by Demon Church elites, the squad suffered two deaths and three severe injuries before reinforcements arrived.

In multiple regions, the Council discovered sections of the Dark Lands where demonic beasts were being bred. Driven to desperation, the cornered Demon Cultists drove their captive creatures up to the surface. Once unleashed, these beasts roamed the overworld, bringing a storm of blood and slaughter to every town they encountered.

The White Dragon Lord frowned. Intelligence indicated that among the rampaging demonic beasts were entities that only legendary practitioners could defeat.

In the past, a single corrupted aquatic creature approaching the Legendary Rank Level had wreaked havoc on the lower reaches of the Zhuonai River for over a month, forcing the Northern Barbarians to purchase their grain via land routes.

Now, with so many demonic creatures collectively surfacing to cause wanton destruction, there was no telling how many people would suffer.

However, the mainland's storm of blood and slaughter could not reach the Overseas Archipelago.

The few demonic strongholds on the Overseas Archipelago had been discovered and uprooted long ago.

The White Dragon Lord continued his leisurely days overseeing the construction of his Mage Tower. It wasn't that he was bored; rather, he planned to use his Gold Finger to record the tower's architectural craftsmanship.

That was until a fast ship from a human kingdom arrived at Kumlinge.

Standing on the grassy plains, the White Dragon Lord received the visiting Bruce Dumbledore.

Decades had passed. Bruce Dumbledore had transitioned from a dashing youth to an elderly man in his twilight years, though his status as a High-Tier Mage kept his body relatively robust.

Sporting a white beard and dressed in the long robes of nobility, Bruce stood before the White Dragon Lord and offered an impeccable aristocratic bow.

"My respects to you, great Lord of the Archipelago. The King of Rowe has entrusted me to bring you his most sincere greetings."

The White Dragon Lord gave a slight nod.

"Hm. Convey to His Majesty that the friendship between White Castle and the Kingdom of Rowe remains everlasting."

Many years ago, Bruce had stepped down from his Count Rank, passing the title to his heir, and relocated to the Kingdom of Rowe's capital to serve as the Minister of Finance.

This position was both a courtesy extended by Baines XXI to his cousin and a reward to the Dumbledore family for supporting him during the civil war.

Bruce wore a serious expression as he spoke with earnest gravity.

"Lord Amos, demonic beasts are currently rampaging throughout the Kingdom of Rowe. Our manpower is utterly insufficient. I implore White Castle to lend us a hand."

Faced with frenzied, bloodthirsty demonic beasts, ordinary soldiers were prone to morale collapse. Therefore, it was customary for professionals to form elite squads to deal with the corrupted creatures.

Bruce observed the White Dragon Lord's expression before continuing.

"Naturally, the Kingdom of Rowe will provide ample compensation."

The White Dragon Lord raised an eyebrow. Currently, White Castle's annual income was several times that of an ordinary human kingdom. It would be difficult for the Kingdom of Rowe to offer a reward that would tempt him. Yet, regardless of the compensation, the dragon fully intended to deploy forces to help.

For no other reason than the fact that the white dragon was on the verge of establishing a nation and needed a solid reputation. Saving a neighboring country from a crisis would bring White Castle a tremendous amount of positive prestige.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to hear what the Kingdom of Rowe was offering first, the dragon mused.

Bruce continued.

"The Kingdom of Rowe is willing to offer a piece of Legendary equipment in exchange for Lord Amos's assistance."

Oh?!

The White Dragon Lord was mildly surprised. To offer up their foundational Legendary equipment—it seemed the Kingdom of Rowe had truly been forced into a corner by the demonic beasts.

"Very well. I will have the monster army assist the Kingdom of Rowe in clearing out the demonic creatures."

The White Dragon Lord immediately used the Vassal Contract to contact the Ogre chieftain, whose strength rivaled a legendary practitioner, and the Master Tier gnoll leader. He ordered them to take one thousand Ogres and five thousand gnolls to the Kingdom of Rowe to assist the humans in wiping out the demonic beasts.

Having achieved his goal, Bruce departed.

The very next day, Prince Silver Deer of the Kingdom of Pavlan came knocking with the exact same request.

"Lord Amos, the Kingdom of Pavlan is willing to offer 200 million gold coins in exchange for your assistance."

The White Dragon Lord shook his head. To build a reputation, helping one kingdom was enough.

"Unfortunately, you are too late. White Castle's elites have already departed to aid the Kingdom of Rowe."

Prince Silver Deer's expression changed drastically. The Kingdom of Pavlan was facing the exact same dilemma as the Kingdom of Rowe.

Furthermore, every nation on the continent was currently dealing with varying degrees of demonic beast crises. Everyone was looking out for themselves; who would be willing to lend out their elite troops?

Thus, White Castle was Pavlan's only hope for aid.

Prince Silver Deer recalled the town that had been destroyed by demonic beasts just yesterday. A large city with a permanent population of over ten thousand people had been completely wiped out in less than four hours under the frenzy of the corrupted monsters.

If even White Castle refused them, there was no telling how many more tragedies like that would occur.

The severe consequences were something Prince Silver Deer dared not think about any further.

"Lord Amos, as long as White Castle is willing to help, you may name any condition you desire!"

"This isn't a matter of compensation. I am truly powerless to help."

The White Dragon Lord continued.

"With the mainland in such chaos, White Castle needs to keep a portion of its elite troops behind just in case. You should seek help elsewhere."

At that moment, Willy descended from the sky, handing the Dimensional Bag in his grasp over to the white dragon.

"Oh, brother, this trip cost another 300 million gold coins."

After landing, Willy noticed the tiny figure standing in the tree's shade—Prince Silver Deer.

"Hm? A human noble? Why aren't you in your own country fending off the demonic calamity? What are you doing in the Overseas Archipelago?"

Looking up at the massive Willy, Prince Silver Deer had a flash of inspiration and spoke up.

"Greetings, esteemed Lord Willy."

Willy felt somewhat surprised.

"You know me?"

Prince Silver Deer answered with absolute certainty.

"Of course. Your reputation, along with Lord Amos's, has spread far and wide across the mainland."

"Is that so."

Willy came to a sudden realization. He raised his head high, staring down at Prince Silver Deer from above as a wicked grin spread across his face.

"But even if you flatter me, I still won't help you."

The White Dragon Lord: "..."

Prince Silver Deer: "..."