Chapter 290: Cooperating with a God

The Northland Witches' Council acted with immense efficiency. On the very night the contract was signed, the White Dragon Lord received a reply from Denise: they had already made contact with the Frost Spear Church of the Frost Spear War God, Haridon.

The Frost Spear Church naturally had no reason to refuse such a prime opportunity delivered right to their doorstep. The church's high archbishop, Marvin Ode, agreed with immediate delight.

Successfully spreading their deity's faith was a great merit. Once summoned by their Lord and brought to the Divine Kingdom, their soul would receive the god's direct reward.

For a matter as momentous as overthrowing another deity's church, the fewer people who knew, the better. A face-to-face meeting between the faction leaders was the best choice, so the three parties agreed to meet the next morning within the borders of the Elance Kingdom.

At the agreed time, the White Dragon Lord teleported to the designated location.

Upon arriving, he saw Denise already waiting.

"Oh, my friend. Why didn't Her Excellency Lilith come personally?"

"The Council Speaker had a sudden matter to attend to, so I am here in her stead."

The White Dragon Lord didn't dwell on the issue. After he chatted with Denise for a while, the Nordhill spokesperson for the Frost Spear War God, Haridon, arrived.

The newcomer was a burly man dressed like a primitive tribesman. Even in the frigid early spring, he wore nothing but a white fur kilt, exposing his sharply defined, muscular physique. Abstract symbols were painted in white greasepaint across his bronze skin.

The very first thing the burly man did upon arriving was twirl his spear into a beautiful whirlwind before bringing his spear-wielding right hand down heavily against his firm left pectoral, right over his heart.

"May strength fill your heart."

Although the newcomer was merely an ordinary Legendary Priest, he currently represented the deity behind him. Neither the White Dragon Lord nor Denise dared to act arrogantly, and both returned the greeting.

Greetings exchanged, the three parties immediately set up a ward and got down to business.

The high archbishop of the Frost Spear Church, Marvin, was the first to raise a point.

"That Majesty has held the barbarians' faith for many years, cultivating a large number of diehard loyalists among them. These zealots will be the greatest obstacle to spreading my god's faith. If we want to succeed quickly, we must first root out this batch of loyalists and eliminate them."

Denise lowered her head in thought for a moment.

"That won't be a problem. No one understands the barbarians better than a barbarian chieftain. I'll have Siegfried draw up a list of the fanatics, and when the time comes, we simply kill according to the list."

Siegfried had already betrayed Balinor once; he certainly wouldn't care about doing it a second time. Denise continued.

"But I have a condition as well. After we succeed, if Siegfried chooses to embrace His Majesty Frost Spear—regardless of how sincere his faith is—I ask that His Majesty Frost Spear dispatch a divine servitor to guide his soul when he dies."

Denise's condition was simply to give Siegfried a guarantee, preventing him from falling into the River Styx after death and giving Balinor an opening. While a deity was unlikely to break the rules and personally fish someone out of the River Styx, Devils could easily do it for them. Dispatching a divine servitor to guide him would eliminate this possibility at the root.

Marvin closed his eyes.

No deity would ever complain about having too many souls from legendary powerhouses, especially one who could bring such massive benefits. But Marvin had no right to make this decision on behalf of his master. A moment later, he opened his eyes.

"No problem."

The White Dragon Lord felt a sense of being watched. This was the Frost Spear War God, Haridon, gazing upon the scene through his believer's eyes. The White Dragon Lord nodded toward Marvin in a show of respect, and Denise did the same.

High-Tier Legends were known as Demigod Realm powerhouses across many planes. Even in the face of a descending divine consciousness, the White Dragon Lord and Denise only needed to nod in respect, because they held the qualifications to do so.

With the issue of the list resolved by the Witches' Council, the White Dragon Lord thought of the thousand elite Fishman Nightstalkers lurking in the Zhuonai River.

"White Castle will handle the assassinations," he said.

He didn't explain how, but the other two didn't doubt his words in the slightest. White Castle possessed that level of capability.

Marvin continued.

"Then we will leave the toppling of the temples and the spreading of the faith to our church. Do the two of you have anything to add?"

The White Dragon Lord spoke up.

"I want all the documents preserved within that Majesty's church. Copies are perfectly acceptable, of course."

Churches of deities had always maintained the good habit of recording information. The records accumulated over the years by the Church of Balino were exactly the historical foundation that the newly established Afiaiv Kingdom lacked.

As one of the main contributors to overthrowing the Church of Balino, the White Dragon Lord's demand for a share of the spoils was beyond reproach. Marvin agreed immediately.

The Northland Witches' Council already possessed a very rich historical foundation, but operating on the principle of taking everything rather than missing out, Denise made the exact same request. Marvin agreed to this as well.

Following that, the three signed a magical contract to ensure the validity of their discussion.

Once the contract was finalized, the three dispelled the ward and smiled at one another.

Two people could do a thousand good deeds together and still end up parting ways, but the moment they committed a single wicked deed together, they became the closest of accomplices.

Naturally, the same applied to three.

But as high-ranking leaders of their respective factions, all three were busy. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they bid their farewells and separated to begin their respective tasks.

The White Dragon Lord teleported back to White Castle. His side of the mission had to wait for Siegfried's results, so there was no rushing it.

Upon his return, the administrative officer, Hobbes, immediately came to visit him.

"Your Majesty, the Rowe Kingdom has sent an invitation. In three days, they will announce the kingdom's successor, and they invite White Castle to attend the ceremony."

"Mm, understood."

After Baines XXIII signed the treaty with Siegfried, the dangerous Northern Province had ironically become a secure rear guard. Naturally, they no longer needed such a massive army. Baines XXIII retained a border garrison of only ten thousand soldiers and reassigned the rest to where they were needed more.

The three princes followed the grand army back to the capital, and based on their performance during the war, Baines XXIII had selected a suitable successor, though he had yet to announce the result.

Securing a nation's heir was a momentous occasion that demanded a grand ceremony. The question of who the throne would fall to would be revealed then.

The White Dragon Lord had promised to help the Rowe Kingdom stabilize its internal situation, and he certainly wouldn't break his word.

"Gurgalu, I'll have to trouble you to make a trip for the Rowe Kingdom's ceremony."

"It is my honor to serve you."

The White Dragon Lord nodded. A minor event like the Rowe Kingdom securing its heir naturally wasn't worth his personal intervention. Sending the second-in-command of White Castle was more than enough face for them.

Three days later, the White Dragon Lord received the news: the third prince, Milem, had been officially cemented as the crown prince of the Rowe Kingdom. The various nobles, having caught wind of White Castle's involvement, hadn't dared to jump out and cause trouble. Gurgalu returned to White Castle as well.

...

At dusk, ten days later, the White Dragon Lord was soaking in the Elemental Pool while studying the profound mysteries of magic.

Suddenly, the magical fluctuations of teleportation rippled through the sky. He set down the incredibly thick Spellbook in his hands and switched to the Magic Tower's omniscient perspective.

In this state, absolutely nothing within a ten-kilometer radius of the White Tower could escape his detection. He felt infatuated with this sensation of total control and found himself growing increasingly fond of it.

The figure appearing in the sky right now was none other than the helmsman of the Northland Witches' Council, the Extreme Cold Witch—Lilith. She had come to visit as promised.

The White Dragon Lord invited this fiercely independent woman with formidable combat power into the reception hall of White Castle. The dragon and the human took their seats as host and guest.

Inheriting the impatience of the Barbarian Tribe, Lilith dispensed with pleasantries and cut straight to the chase.

"Your Majesty Amos, I've come this time to discuss a collaboration between the Northland Witches' Council and White Castle to jointly develop the Great Glacier. What are your thoughts?"

The White Dragon Lord was slightly taken aback.

"Your Excellency Lilith, what sort of value does the Great Glacier hold that requires a joint effort between White Castle and your esteemed organization? Furthermore, why seek out White Castle instead of another group?"

Realizing her abruptness, Lilith quickly explained.

"According to our latest investigations, the depths of the Great Glacier's Desolation of Extreme Winter connect directly to a Para-Elemental Plane—the Plane of Winter Elements. There are elemental creatures living there that are extremely valuable."

The White Dragon Lord nodded. Like ice elementals, winter elementals were special elemental beings, but winter elementals were a bit rarer. They possessed the dual attributes of ice and wind and lived exclusively in regions of extreme cold.

The Great Glacier, this land of extremes on the Nordhill Continent, was perfectly suited for all ice-attribute life. While ordinary people called it a forbidden zone for life, the species living on its outskirts were actually quite abundant. Unique tundra creatures like Northland Yaks, Reindeer, and icefield mammoths roamed the outer regions. The territory where the White Dragon Clan operated was also on the periphery.

But once you crossed a certain boundary and entered the Desolation of Extreme Winter, it truly became a forbidden zone for life. Only highly adaptable transcendent creatures, like elementals or dragons, could move about in the Desolation of Extreme Winter. The Snow Demon lived precisely in that region.

"Moreover, the deeper parts of the Desolation of Extreme Winter are mostly blank expanses that have yet to be explored. In such extreme environments, there are absolutely rare magical materials that would be useful to both of us. As for why I sought out White Castle..."

Lilith picked up the tea brought by a servant and took a sip.

"Because right now, neither of our organizations possesses a newly discovered alternate plane."

The White Dragon Lord: "..."

He felt an urge to slam his claws on the table and curse the heavens. Not at Lilith, of course, but out of doubt in his own draconic luck.

Damn it! He had tossed out over a thousand highly valuable Drift Bottles, and not a single splash had come back!

The White Dragon Lord felt as though his white scales were just painted on, and that his true species was an unlucky 'black' dragon.

Ignoring the White Dragon Lord's internal melodrama, Lilith continued to drop a bombshell.

"Furthermore, the headquarters of the Cult of the Dragon—which I know you are quite concerned about, Your Excellency Amos—lies right within the Great Glacier's Desolation of Extreme Winter. They already have a foundation there. To snatch this piece of cake from the Cult of the Dragon's hands, the Northland Witches' Council alone isn't enough. I need an ally."

"As an ice-attribute white dragon, Your Excellency Amos, you have a need for the Great Glacier, and you hold no good feelings toward the Cult of the Dragon. Since White Castle's strength is on par with the Witches' Council, I couldn't find a more suitable partner than White Castle."

Excellent. Very candid. I like it.

Since Lilith was being so sincere, the White Dragon Lord felt he ought to express his own stance.

"My siblings have fallen into a deep slumber, and White Castle is currently in a dormant period. We are not suited for any major external operations within the next three years. Once they wake up, I will give you a definitive answer. I hope you can understand."

Lilith lowered her head in thought upon hearing this, then nodded. Under these circumstances, it truly wasn't suitable for White Castle to make any major moves in the short term.

"Then I shall return and await Your Excellency Amos's good news. Farewell."

The swift and decisive woman teleported away, leaving the White Dragon Lord deep in thought within White Castle's grand hall.

The higher you stand, the further you see; the further you see, the more you know; the more you know, the more you realize you don't know.

Over the years, as his strength grew, the White Dragon Lord realized that the waters of the Nordhill Continent ran far deeper than he had imagined.

The Cult of the Dragon in the Desolation of Extreme Winter; the Quicksand Purgatory where the blue dragon Thunder Tyrant dwelled; the Sea King Beast deep within the ocean; the Faceless Ones whose records the Council had scrubbed clean; the beholder race living deep within the Dark Lands, operating completely outside the Council's purview. Even within the Council itself, there were many secrets hidden from ordinary councilors—such as the true functions of Tower Spirits Eight and Nine, and the sub-planes attached to the Nordhill Plane...

Lilith had bluntly stated that the Witches' Council couldn't take on the Cult of the Dragon alone, and the White Dragon Lord still lacked vital knowledge about the Desolation of Extreme Winter.

Thus, he had to be cautious.

Even if he was deeply tempted by Lilith's proposal, he still had to evaluate whether the risks and rewards were proportional before making a move.

"Tower Spirit Seven, pull up the data on the Desolation of Extreme Winter for me."

"The Desolation of Extreme Winter is located deep within the Great Glacier in the northern part of the Nordhill Continent. Ordinary flesh-and-blood creatures are entirely absent there. The species surviving in the Desolation of Extreme Winter include Snow Demons, Frost Dormancy Scorpions, and Frost Breath Sprites... It is recommended that a team of three or more legendary practitioners go together, and that they prepare a large quantity of cold-resistance items."

The White Dragon Lord raised an eyebrow. There was no information on winter elementals. Lilith had no reason to lie to him, and such a flimsy lie wouldn't stand up to verification anyway. This meant that the Council's understanding of the Desolation of Extreme Winter was incomplete, or perhaps his clearance level wasn't high enough to access deeper information.

Either way, it wasn't good news for him.

"It seems I'll just have to make a trip there myself."

Suddenly, the White Dragon Lord remembered the Dragon Beast Academy principal he had brought back from the Great Glacier: the white dragon, Soglamo.

The territory where Soglamo—a dragon mage born as a half-dragon beast—once lived wasn't very far from the Desolation of Extreme Winter.

Perhaps he knew more.

Better to act than just think about it. The White Dragon Lord stood up.

Ever since the Dragon Beast Academy was established, the dragon beasts he had collected and the dragons he had brought back from Madilan World had all been living there. That massive island had subsequently been renamed Ten Thousand Dragon Island.

Ten Thousand Dragon Island wasn't too far from Kumlinge. The White Dragon Lord left White Castle and flew off in its direction.