Chapter 277: Everything is Ready Except...

Inside the hall of White Castle, the White Dragon Lord sat upright on his throne. Three four-meter-long black Very Young Dragons lay prostrate on the floor, their limbs folded beneath their bellies and wings tucked tight. Their heads and tails formed a straight line pressed flat against the ground in a posture of utter humility.

The strongest of the three, positioned in the middle, spoke up.

"My respects to you, great White Dragon Majesty. I am the black dragon, Tasdinmo Losamia."

"I am Honado Losamia."

"I am Rodasusi Losamia."

After the three black Very Young Dragons finished introducing themselves, the strongest, Tasdinmo Losamia, took over.

"We three siblings heard of your great name and traveled thousands of miles to the Overseas Archipelago to seek your protection."

Tasdinmo Losamia looked as though he wanted to add something, but his throat bobbed and he swallowed the words back down.

Nordhill's wild environment was undeniably perilous for chromatic dragons in the Very Young Dragon stage, as they lacked the strength to protect themselves. For the sake of survival, pledging allegiance to a powerful lord dragon and growing to adulthood under their shelter was an excellent choice.

While Very Young Dragons lacked significant combat power, they were still far superior to kobolds and gnolls. Lord dragons rarely refused free labor that delivered itself to their doorstep.

Yet at this moment, Tasdinmo Losamia's heart pounded with unease. A lord dragon only accepted young dragons because they were useful.

But along the journey here, Tasdinmo had witnessed the prosperity and might of the Afiaiv Kingdom. He understood that currently, the three of them held nearly zero value to the White Dragon Lord. The only bargaining chip they had was the Legendary Rank combat strength they would possess upon reaching adulthood.

Therefore, the clever black dragon had planned to offer a period of servitude after adulthood in exchange for the White Dragon Lord's protection. He believed the White Dragon Lord could not refuse such terms—until he saw Gurgalu.

Tasdinmo swore this terrifying two-headed ogre was even stronger than his own mother, an adult black dragon who lived underground.

As a result, his once-confident bargaining chip suddenly seemed insignificant. The White Dragon Lord clearly did not lack Legendary Rank subordinates.

Tasdinmo gulped, swallowing down the prepared speech he had drafted to showcase his worth.

Now, he could only pray the White Dragon Lord was as merciful as the rumors claimed. Otherwise, the crime of poaching livestock raised by Troglodyte herders would be enough to doom him. After all, livestock raised by a lord's dependents belonged to the lord.

The two-headed ogre chancellor leaned in close to the White Dragon Lord and whispered for a moment.

The White Dragon Lord was informed of exactly what had transpired. En route to White Castle, the three black dragons had poached Troglodyte-reared livestock, drawing the attention of the gnoll sheriffs in charge of security.

These gnoll sheriffs, specially trained by the academy, had followed the clues to uncover the poachers' identities. They projected the three dragons' route and reported the matter to the administration hall.

Against the formidable state apparatus of the Afiaiv Kingdom, the three black Very Young Dragons were apprehended without any trouble.

Because the prisoners were dragons, and since the trio kept shouting that they had come to pledge fealty to White Castle, the city defense department didn't dare handle the situation on its own authority.

Thus, the three black Very Young Dragons were locked in a cage and transported directly to White Castle.

Although Gurgalu knew the White Dragon Lord would most likely accept the trio, he lacked the authority to make decisions on the lord's behalf, so he simply notified him.

The White Dragon Lord lightly tapped his claws against his throne.

The three dragons seeking asylum and their petty livestock poaching was a trivial matter, but it served as a wake-up call to the White Dragon Lord: the current survival prospects for chromatic dragons in the Very Young Dragon stage were deeply grim.

The White Dragon Lord recalled the sight he had witnessed in the holy city of the Platinum Dragon God, where tens of thousands of dragons took to the sky, their wings blotting out the sun.

In contrast, Nordhill barely had a handful of dragons. The massive mortality rate among Very Young Dragons was an issue that could no longer be ignored.

If he gathered a vast number of young dragons under White Castle's banner, could White Castle become the Dragon Race's fourth holy city ten thousand years from now?!

At this thought, the White Dragon Lord's imagination ran wild, and he began pondering how to collect all the young dragons across the continent.

First, the news had to reach the young dragons' ears. But the moment they were banished by their mothers, they would seek out hidden places to conceal themselves. Finding them would not be easy.

The White Dragon Lord's brow gradually furrowed.

A heavy silence fell, leaving only the rhythmic clinking of the White Dragon Lord tapping his throne to echo through White Castle's spacious hall.

The three black Very Young Dragons waited anxiously. With no response from the White Dragon Lord, their hearts plummeted. Seeing his frown deepen only made them shiver violently.

They assumed this mighty white dragon was concocting a way to punish them. After all, poaching livestock without permission was a direct violation of the owner's property.

If the White Dragon Lord accepted them, this minor offense would naturally be forgiven. But if he refused...

The teeth of the timid young female dragon, Honado Losamia, began to chatter.

The clattering of her teeth pulled the White Dragon Lord from his reverie. He looked down at the three black Very Young Dragons quivering like frightened chicks in the middle of the hall. With a brief thought, he realized they had misunderstood, but he didn't bother explaining. This was the privilege of a superior.

"Ahem. You may rise."

The White Dragon Lord's tone bore no hint of anger. Finding a sliver of relief, the three black Very Young Dragons shakily climbed to their feet.

"Where did you three hear of me? And why did you come to seek my shelter?"

Tasdinmo bowed his head humbly.

"Your great name echoes across the continent. Even while we were still under our mother's protection, we had heard of you."

"After we left the nest, we hid for a while. But recently, we were discovered by human adventurers. Fortunately, we spotted them too and managed to capture one. From his mouth, we learned that you had established the Afiaiv Kingdom."

"Our hiding spot was not far from the Overseas Archipelago, so we plotted to come seek your protection. You know what happened after that."

Tasdinmo dared not hide a single detail, recounting the entire sequence of events in full detail.

The White Dragon Lord could naturally discern whether the black dragon was lying. He nodded in satisfaction.

"Very well. I like honest children, so I have decided to grant your request."

Given the sudden turn for the better, the three black dragons were overcome with joy.

"Thank you for your mercy."

"Mm."

The White Dragon Lord lowered his head, mulling over where to house the three black dragons and what tasks to assign them.

A black dragon's favored habitat was swamps and wetlands. The Overseas Archipelago had no shortage of wetlands and possessed quite a few swamps, so housing them would be simple.

As for what tasks to assign, the White Dragon Lord racked his brain but realized he genuinely had no immediate use for three Very Young Dragons. Ultimately, they were just too weak—they wouldn't even be able to defeat a random adult ogre.

Forget it. He would raise them for now and let them work off their debt once they grew a little older.

"As payment for your protection, you will serve White Castle for one hundred years after reaching adulthood."

"No problem."

Tasdinmo hurriedly agreed.

The Dragon Race had a lifespan of two thousand years, and reaching adulthood took eighty years. Trading one-twentieth of their total lifespan for a carefree and safe adolescence was an incredibly worthwhile deal.

Furthermore, White Castle's forces were immensely powerful. Even the ogre guards were outfitted in complete sets of magical equipment. Tasdinmo was confident he could earn the White Dragon Lord's rewards during his time of service.

The White Dragon Lord nodded. Magical power surged from within him, forming a map of Kumlinge in the air.

"You three will live here. Someone will come to deliver food every week."

The White Dragon Lord pointed to a specific swamp in the center of Kumlinge. This small swamp sat at a moderate distance from White Castle, making it the perfect home for the black dragons.

The young black dragons naturally accepted the White Dragon Lord's arrangement with joy.

For a typical lord dragon, tossing them in a random cave would have been good enough. The White Dragon Lord had actually taken their natural habits into consideration; it would have been strange if they hadn't agreed.

The White Dragon Lord mused that if he simply let the three black dragons grow to adulthood on their own, he would only reap three ordinary Legendary Rank subordinates. That wouldn't provide much help to White Castle. Thus, it would be best if the three black dragons also trained in a combat class.

"The dragons of our White Castle all choose a combat class. Therefore, you three had best pick one as well. Think about which class you want to pursue."

The White Dragon Lord's tone left no room for refusal. The young dragons lowered their heads in deep thought.

The little female dragon, Honado Losamia, made her choice the fastest. She opted to become a priest of Her Majesty the Dragon Queen.

The ordinary young male black dragon, Rodasusi Losamia, quickly followed suit. He chose to become a tamer.

A tamer was a niche class that involved domesticating beasts to assist in combat, functioning as a branch of the hunter. This choice surprised the White Dragon Lord a little, but he said nothing.

Seeing the other two reach a decision, the strongest of them, Tasdinmo, chose the Warrior class. His physical constitution was relatively excellent, after all.

While the trio had been thinking, the White Dragon Lord was also considering how to groom them. Enroll them in the Dragon Beast Academy?

After a moment's thought, the White Dragon Lord abandoned the idea. A True Dragon's developmental path was entirely different from a dragon beast's. Throwing three black dragons into the Dragon Beast Academy would do more harm than good.

Ultimately, he decided to use a few low-tier magical items to incentivize the three fledgling black dragons.

Once all three had made their choices, the White Dragon Lord spoke.

"The three of you will remain at White Castle for now to study the foundational knowledge of your respective classes. You will move to your new home once you grasp the basics. Whoever reaches the entry level first will receive a magical item as a reward. Furthermore, you will return to White Castle once every five years, and whoever makes the fastest progress will be rewarded as well."

The three dragons were utterly stunned. Not only was he not exploiting the young dragons, he was actually gifting them magical items! Was there truly such a generous lord dragon in the world?!

Snapping out of their daze, the three dragons hurriedly agreed, showering the White Dragon Lord with praises for his mercy (and foolishness).

The White Dragon Lord noticed their strange gazes but felt no anger. These brats simply had no idea how terrifying a dual-class Legendary Rank entity could be. If a dozen low-tier magical items could buy him a dual-class Legendary Rank subordinate, the White Dragon Lord would gladly fork over ten thousand of them.

The White Dragon Lord instructed the two-headed ogre by his side.

"Gurgalu, arrange their lodgings and find them an instructor."

"As you wish."

Gurgalu led the three dragons away, leaving the White Dragon Lord to resume his contemplations on gathering underage dragons.

First, underage dragons were divided into two categories: those still sheltered by their mothers, and those who had already left the nest.

The first type was easy to resolve. White Castle just needed to spread the word to the young dragons while purchasing dragon beasts, telling them they would be brought to White Castle once they left the nest.

The second type was what troubled him, because there was no way to know where these young dragons were hiding.

The White Dragon Lord pondered it for a long time but still came up empty. He could only set the matter aside for now.

The boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge!

Pushing the headache-inducing problem to the back of his mind, the White Dragon Lord teleported back to the White Tower to continue working on the magical array for the Bloodline Advancement Ritual.

After several months of relentless work, the preparations for the Bloodline Advancement Ritual were missing only one final component: the materials needed to draw the magical array.

A High Tier Bloodline Advancement Ritual required the assistance of a magical array. Naturally, this auxiliary array was incredibly complex and could only be inscribed using special materials.

The White Dragon Lord crushed a golden beast bone, grinding it down until it turned to dust.

He scooped the golden bone dust into a jar and placed it on the laboratory table. Before him sat several other jars already filled with differently colored powders. The White Dragon Lord then picked up another new material.

...

After a few more days of busy work, the materials were finally prepared. He could now begin formulating the raw ink for the magical array.

Looking at the dazzling array of diverse materials, the White Dragon Lord felt a slight headache, yet also a sense of pride. The Bloodline Advancement Ritual for his Dragon Brother and Dragon Sister was undoubtedly the most complex and tedious magical ritual he had ever undertaken.

But no matter how massive the hurdle, he was finally nearing the end of it.

Moreover, the prolonged, high-intensity magical experiments had served as an enormous workout for his spiritual power. The White Dragon Lord could feel that his Mage class, which had just broken through not too long ago, had made further progress.

The White Dragon Lord began formulating the materials.

He retrieved a large beaker filled with a dark blue liquid. This dark blue liquid was Nether Spring Water.

Nether Spring Water was a peculiar magical spring water produced in the Necromantic Realm. It contained a massive amount of negative energy, making it strictly harmful to living beings, but a supreme tonic for the undead.

As such, Nether Spring Water was generally kept firmly in the grasp of powerful undead creatures. Not even the Council possessed this material internally.

This beaker of Nether Spring Water had been acquired from the Cult of the Dragon, costing the White Dragon Lord a significant price.

"Step one: add the powdered teeth of the Holy Howling Hound to neutralize the negative energy."

The White Dragon Lord picked up the jar containing the golden powder. Bit by bit, he sprinkled the golden bone dust into the Nether Spring Water. Even with such care, the liquid immediately began to boil and bubble, hissing as it released white smoke.

The teeth of the Holy Howling Hound contained an immense amount of holy energy. When it met the negative energy-saturated Nether Spring Water, the reaction was more violent than dropping red-hot charcoal into snowmelt. Thus, it could only be added a tiny bit at a time.

Half a day later, the negative energy in the large beaker of Nether Spring Water was completely neutralized by the holy energy, leaving behind a beaker of crystal-clear, viscous liquid.

The White Dragon Lord picked up another jar.

The fangs of an Eight-Armed Snake Demon.

Soil of Life.

...

The White Dragon Lord added the magical materials one after another.

Three days later, the Nether Spring Water had transformed into a beaker of brilliant golden fluid.

The White Dragon Lord breathed a long sigh of relief. Everything was ready—all that remained was the magical array!