Chapter 250: The Trouble Brought by Faith

The White Dragon Lord gladly accepted the congratulations from his younger brother and sister, but his excitement didn't last long. Although the opportunity for a breakthrough had come suddenly, it wasn't a complete surprise.

He had remained at the Half-Step Legendary Rank for a long time, amassing a profound foundation of magical knowledge. It was only natural that the breakthrough followed.

"Scan."

[Name]: Amos Aldrich

[Level]: Level 22 Dragon, Level 20 Mage

[Power]: Legendary Rank

[Alignment]: Lawful Neutral

[Profile]: You are a male Ancestral White Dragon in the Adult Stage. Compared to ordinary white dragons, you are an entirely different organism altogether. As an Ancestral White Dragon, you have acquired the complete Dragon Inheritance and grasped the true essence of the laws of the soul; your breath weapon carries a soul attack. On the path of the Mage class, you have forged your own way and become a true legend. You have received the blessing of a powerful entity from the Elemental Plane of Ice, and the ice elementals consider you a close companion; the power of your ice magic far exceeds that of a normal dragon. With your current strength, you are fully capable of going head-to-head with those who have just stepped into the High-Tier Legendary Rank.

On the surface, the White Dragon Lord lay calmly beside the elemental pool, but inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief.

With this breakthrough in his Mage class, he had become an exceedingly rare dual-class Legend. Backed by his complete Dragon Inheritance and the formidable physique of an Ancestral Dragon, he now had the confidence to clash head-on with a High-Tier Legend, even while his bloodline remained sealed.

Counting the slumbering Ancient Gold Dragon, White Castle now possessed the combat power of two High-Tier Legends.

However, according to the Ancient Gold Dragon's promise, he would only serve White Castle for a hundred years.

The White Dragon Lord privately pondered how he could permanently tie the Ancient Gold Dragon to White Castle's war chariot.

The Ancient Gold Dragon had lived for tens of thousands of years. He had fought in the great war against the Titans in the Star Realm and traveled through dozens of material planes. With such vast experience, lip service wouldn't be enough to keep him; it would take tangible benefits.

After thinking for a moment, he realized he truly didn't hold any trump cards that could entice the gold dragon to stay in White Castle forever.

Since that approach was a dead end, he stopped dwelling on the issue.

As long as he treated the Ancient Gold Dragon well and forged a genuine friendship, he could ask for his aid when White Castle faced a crisis. That was just another way of tying the gold dragon to their chariot.

The White Dragon Lord drifted off into a groggy sleep.

...

Half a month later.

Cold air currents from the Great Glacier swept south, ushering in the winter season on Nordhill.

The first snow of the year fluttered down over Oqi City, transforming the newly expanded White Fort into a veritable "White Castle."

The White Dragon Lord sat on the throne at the end of the White Fort's grand hall, discussing the establishment of their new kingdom with Gurgalu.

The exact date for the nation's founding had already been decided. The moment the first ray of spring sunlight struck the spire of the magic tower—the White Tower—the Afiaiv Kingdom would be officially established.

That was still nearly three months away, but the White Dragon Lord had already begun the preliminary preparations.

"Gurgalu, instruct White Castle's merchant chambers to spread the news within the human nations that the Overseas Archipelago is about to form a kingdom and fully open its borders. Make sure this news spreads across the entire Nordhill Continent within a month."

"Yes! Your subordinate will see it done!"

The imposing Two-Headed Ogre Chieftain accepted the order, and the White Dragon Lord nodded in satisfaction.

"I have prepared an assistant for you. Hobbes, come here."

Hearing this, a human man standing quietly at the edge of the hall hurried over.

The White Dragon Lord made the introduction.

"His name is Hobbes Scott. He was originally a king within the Madilan World Kingdom Alliance. You must consult him often regarding the management of a kingdom."

The Two-Headed Ogre Chieftain looked down at the small human, feeling a bit odd. A former human king acting as an assistant to an ogre chieftain? The picture just didn't seem right.

But Gurgalu didn't dwell on it. Whatever his master ordered, he would simply carry out.

Wait!

Kingdom management!!!

Gurgalu suddenly realized what this meant: the White Dragon Lord was asking him to learn kingdom management.

The White Dragon Lord looked at the momentarily stunned two-headed ogre and spoke.

"Over the years, I have seen your loyalty and dedication to White Castle. Once the Afiaiv Kingdom is established, the position of prime minister will be yours. Therefore, you must learn as much as you can about kingdom management from Hobbes."

Gurgalu was deeply moved.

"Yes! I will never disappoint you, Master!"

"..."

After discussing a few more specifics regarding the nation's founding, the White Dragon Lord spoke again.

"You will need to oversee the purchase of necessary supplies for the founding and the dispatch of invitations to the various factions. If there is anything you do not understand, discuss it with Hobbes. Alright, both of you may go."

Gurgalu led his new assistant out of the hall.

The White Dragon Lord watched Gurgalu's retreating back with deep satisfaction. Taking in the Two-Headed Ogre Chieftain as a thrall was one of the best decisions he had ever made.

In terms of strength, Gurgalu's Warrior and Mage classes had both reached the Half-Step Legendary Rank. Combining his creature level with those two professional levels gave him explosive combat power, more than enough to crush any professional who had just reached the Legendary Rank.

In terms of intellect, Garu—one of the Two-Headed Ogre Chieftain's two heads—possessed an incredibly high intellect that surpassed the vast majority of humans.

In terms of loyalty, an ogre bound by the Dragon Tooth Blood Pact had zero possibility of betrayal; he wouldn't even slack off on the job.

Because the White Dragon Lord had always taken a strong interest in Gurgalu's Skull-Crusher Ogre Clan, the resources they received were the most plentiful and of the highest quality among all the monster tribes.

As a result, the Skull-Crusher Ogres held the strongest sense of belonging to White Castle. From Chieftain Gurgalu down to the newborn cubs, everyone was fiercely loyal to the White Dragon Lord. Of course, the latter was also due in no small part to White Castle's aggressive ideological education.

Because of this, he felt completely at ease leaving the daily affairs of the kingdom for Gurgalu to manage.

That was precisely it. Even before the kingdom was officially founded, the White Dragon Lord was already preparing to be a hands-off ruler.

This was exactly why he had found a former king, rather than a former prime minister, to serve as an assistant to the ogre chieftain.

In ancient times on the Blue Star, kings had to personally handle state affairs because they feared their ministers would strip them of power or even usurp the throne.

But he didn't need to worry about that. Thus, he planned to hand the kingdom's management over to Gurgalu, leaving himself only responsible for steering the overall direction of the Afiaiv Kingdom.

As for that direction, he already had a preliminary vision: the future of the Afiaiv Kingdom had to be an open one.

There was no doubt about this. The lessons from his past life in China had taught him that only by opening up and integrating with the wider world could one reap the greatest benefits.

Currently, while goods from the Overseas Archipelago were sold all over the continent, the roaming range of the archipelago's common monsters remained restricted to a very small area.

Outside of the Overseas Archipelago, the only places ordinary monsters could visit were specific coastal cities in the Kingdom of Rowe and the Kingdom of Pavlan.

If they ventured to other cities, simply getting past the gates was a secondary issue. The real tragedy would be if they were mistaken for wild monsters by human guards and killed on sight.

After all, across the Nordhill Continent, monsters of the same species as White Castle's army were virtually universally reviled, attacked on sight wherever they went.

In order for the subjects of the Overseas Archipelago to walk freely across the continent, the Afiaiv Kingdom needed to gain the recognition of other nations.

The first step toward that recognition was to open the borders of the Overseas Archipelago, allowing the outside world to understand this kingdom of monsters.

Therefore, the White Dragon Lord had Gurgalu spread the word, letting the continent's public know that the Overseas Archipelago would soon open its borders. This would bring a massive influx of travelers to the islands.

Previously, aside from the small trading port city of Kasos, the rest of the islands had been closed off to outsiders. This had kept the Overseas Archipelago shrouded in a veil of mystery.

However, the archipelago produced massive quantities of high-value goods. This led many to view the Overseas Archipelago as a land of unimaginable wealth, practically paved with gold. Yet, the murloc armies patrolling the ocean had always blocked those curious and greedy gazes.

Once the Overseas Archipelago opened its borders, curious nobility, greedy prospectors, and wealth-seeking adventurers would all flock to its shores.

These people would create value within the Overseas Archipelago, contributing to White Castle's continued development.

Of course, anyone looking to stir up trouble would have to weigh whether they could withstand the ogres' Spiked Clubs, and whether they could outrun the sharp noses of the gnolls.

As outsiders integrated into the Overseas Archipelago, the White Dragon Lord would use the practical experience to figure out a way for monsters and other intelligent beings to live together in harmony.

Once the many nations of the continent recognized this newborn kingdom of monsters, the inhabitants of the Overseas Archipelago would finally be able to step beyond their borders and explore the wider world.

All of this required the White Dragon Lord to put his plans into practice, step by step.

After Gurgalu left, the White Dragon Lord took out a stack of gold-rimmed Parchment and began writing invitations for his friends to attend the founding ceremony of the Afiaiv Kingdom.

The ordinary factions could be left to Gurgalu, but for certain important friends and powerful forces, the White Dragon Lord needed to personally pen the invitations to show his sincerity.

He didn't have many High-Tier Legend friends: the gold dragon Leopold Chodmartin, the Silver Dragon Scholar Jetesla Nashudine, the Grand Duke Silver Dragon Adrian Samaranch, the red-bearded dwarf Muradin Firebeard, and Priest Sinod of the Holy Sanctuary.

After a moment's thought, he also wrote an invitation to the Northland Witches' Council's High-Tier Legendary Mage, Denise Clive. They had dealt with each other a few times and could be considered acquaintances.

Next came the numerous faction representatives that needed to be invited: the Nine Eyes Alliance, the Raven Council, the Northland Witches' Council... as well as their immediate neighbors, the Kingdom of Rowe and the Kingdom of Pavlan. Any other kingdoms they hadn't dealt with directly were left for Gurgalu to handle.

After finishing the letters, the White Dragon Lord stretched.

"Willy!"

Wrapped in magical power, the call passed through the snow-covered gardens, wound past the exquisitely decorated corridors, and drilled accurately into the ears of Lord Willy, who was lazily sleeping atop a pile of gold coins.

Not long after, Willy walked out of a nearby passageway, his eyes bleary with sleep.

"Brother, is there something you need?"

"Yes. Send all these invitations out. These are important guests; I feel most at ease leaving this to you."

Willy took the invitations and headed up the passageway leading toward the white magic tower inside the castle.

As an aside, the White Dragon Lord had named the newly constructed white magic tower the "White Tower," perfectly matching White Castle.

The White Tower housed a Teleportation Platform. Now, when the white dragons went out on errands, they would no longer need to pass through the Kingdom of Rowe.

Watching Willy's retreating figure, the White Dragon Lord suddenly remembered something.

"Willy, wait."

Willy looked back in confusion as the White Dragon Lord continued.

"Pass a message to Priest Sinod of the Holy Sanctuary. Tell him he must make a trip to White Castle."

Seeing the serious expression on his brother's face, Willy gave a solemn nod.

After Willy left, the White Dragon Lord sat back on his throne, a headache coming on.

The ordinary dragons of the Madilan World were all housed inside the Dragon Beast Academy, which was under Felicia's charge.

A Metallic Dragon had already snuck over to complain to him—Felicia was showing blatant favoritism toward the Chromatic Dragons, assigning all the dirty, grueling chores exclusively to the Metallic Dragons.

After the White Dragon Lord gave Felicia a stern warning, the situation had improved somewhat, but he harbored a much deeper concern.

Felicia was a priest of Tiamat. A large portion of her power came from Tiamat's blessings. As her priest level continued to rise, she would become increasingly influenced by Tiamat, and her methods would gradually mirror the goddess's style.

Greedy, brutal, ruthless, and contemptuous of all non-dragon races!

That was Tiamat.

Of course, Felicia wasn't that bad yet.

Moreover, what gave the White Dragon Lord comfort was that the bond among the four siblings had never wavered in Felicia's heart.

But White Castle consisted of more than just the four dragons. There were other races in their territory, and White Castle couldn't avoid dealing with outside factions.

Although nothing major had happened yet, if Felicia were allowed to continue down this path, she would inevitably stir up serious trouble.

The White Dragon Lord had no solution for this. As long as Felicia remained a priest of Tiamat and studied Tiamat's teachings, she would inevitably be influenced by her god.

He couldn't exactly advise Felicia to give up her power and abandon Tiamat.

The enemy's villain is our hero.

Tiamat was the god of evil dragons. Whether the evil dragons admitted it or not, Tiamat was their greatest backer.

Because only Tiamat would take in the souls of evil dragons, ensuring that when they died, their souls wouldn't be taken by the god of death to patch the Wall of the Faithless.

When ordinary creatures died, their souls traveled through the River Styx to the Underworld. At the end of the River Styx, the god of death would fish out their souls and hand them over to the deities they had worshipped in life.

Those faithful believers would survive in the Divine Kingdom for several thousand more years. After their eventual death there, they would merge with the Divine Kingdom, becoming its nourishment.

The faithless, however, would be taken by the god of death to patch the Wall of the Faithless.

On the Wall of the Faithless, those faithless souls would be pinned in place, wailing in agony until their souls were ground away and completely dissipated.

This was The Gods' punishment for the faithless. In the eyes of The Gods, the faithless were all potential enemies, because the prerequisite for ascending to godhood was having no faith at all.

From this, one could see the importance of a deity to any race.

However, Tiamat's way of doing things didn't suit an anomaly like the transmigrated White Dragon Lord, nor did it suit the law-leaning White Castle.

Professional matters were best left to professionals. The White Dragon Lord wanted to consult Priest Sinod to see if there was any way for Felicia to shake off the negative influences brought by her faith in Tiamat.