Chapter 297: High-Ranking Members of the Cult of the Dragon

The White Dragon Lord found it a bit strange. Why hadn't Philidel woken up yet?

He grabbed the fish from the tank. Just like the previous few times, Philidel hurriedly pretended to be fast asleep.

Seeing Philidel's soul body seemingly still in slumber, its aura steadily growing stronger, the white dragon assumed the lich's soul was still recovering and thought nothing more of it.

In truth, if the white dragon had probed a little deeper, he would have discovered that the lich's soul had already awakened. But peeking through a door to see if a patient was awake and stripping them down for a physical exam were two entirely different matters, and the white dragon and the lich simply weren't that close.

The White Dragon Lord placed the incredibly lifelike Alchemical Fish back into the tank and left the room.

After another half day of busy work, the White Dragon Lord suddenly received a message from Thaurissan: the earth dragon leader slumbering in Dark Furnace Fortress, Kemosg, had woken up.

The White Dragon Lord hurriedly teleported to Dark Furnace Fortress.

Inside a Dark Furnace Fortress hall supported by thick, square stone pillars, Kemosg threw his head back and roared in excitement. Due to the soundproofing barrier, however, no noise leaked out.

The White Dragon Lord secretly rejoiced at his own foresight in setting up the barrier. If Kemosg had been allowed to bellow like that, it would have been a miracle if Ala and Scarlett hadn't been disturbed.

With his massive size, the White Dragon Lord could hardly avoid drawing attention. The moment Kemosg noticed his arrival, the earth dragon immediately stopped venting his excitement.

The White Dragon Lord carefully observed Kemosg, who had just completed his Bloodline Advancement Ritual. The earth dragon leader hadn't changed much, but the earthy yellow scales covering his body had deepened in color, giving off a heavy, indestructible feel.

Accordingly, Kemosg was much heavier. He walked toward the white dragon, his footsteps thudding heavily against the stone floor.

Kemosg stopped before the White Dragon Lord and lowered his head.

"Thank you for granting me a new life! Respected Master, I am willing to become your sturdy shield! I shall never retreat!"

"Very good, Kemosg! What did you gain from this bloodline advancement?"

"Magic! I awakened a portion of the topaz dragon inheritance, and I can feel my scales becoming harder. They are constantly growing thicker."

The White Dragon Lord pressed a claw against the earth dragon leader's body, applying force to test his subordinate's defenses.

As he increased the pressure, the White Dragon Lord's expression slowly turned serious. In terms of physical defense, Kemosg's scales had already surpassed the attack limits of a Legendary Rank melee professional.

The White Dragon Lord realized that an ultimate meat shield had been born. A Legendary Rank Level melee professional wouldn't even be able to breach Kemosg's scales, unless they wielded a piece of premium equipment like the Combat Staff of Caucasus.

Following that, the White Dragon Lord tested Kemosg's magic resistance.

His magic resistance wasn't quite as absurd as his physical defense, but it was still at the absolute peak. He could likely take two or three ordinary legendary magic spells head-on and survive. Of course, he definitely couldn't face-tank top-tier legendary magic like Dimensional Slash.

The White Dragon Lord couldn't help but sigh in admiration. It truly lived up to the mutated bloodline of a topaz dragonborn, famous for its defensive capabilities.

The earth dragon leader and the Nether Panther were two extremes. One had all his attributes poured into defense, forming the ultimate shield; the other had all his attributes poured into agility, moving like a ghost. If utilized properly, they could definitely produce a synergy where one plus one equaled far more than two.

The White Dragon Lord planned to go check on the still-slumbering Ala and Scarlett.

The earth dragon leader had only undergone the Bloodline Advancement Ritual after crossing into the Legendary Rank, whereas Ala and Scarlett had performed it while at the Half-Step Legendary Rank. Compared to the earth dragon leader, the two wyverns had gained far greater benefits and would slumber for a much longer time.

Of course, in terms of pure combat strength, Ala and Scarlett certainly couldn't match the earth dragon leader, but the earth dragon leader couldn't do anything to them either—wyverns could fly, after all.

Halfway there, the Tower Spirit controlled by the Gold Finger suddenly sent a message: the lich had awakened.

...

I am Philidel, a lich pursuing truth, and my phylactery has fallen into the hands of a perverted white dragon who loves torturing souls.

That hypocritical white dragon is simply more cruel than a demon. Oh, that poor soul roasting in the Hellfire.

Whenever that pitiable soul can't bear it anymore, the Hellfire automatically extinguishes to let it rest for a moment. Then, that twisted white dragon reignites the flames, leaving it begging for life but unable to die.

However, the white dragon went out today. This is the perfect time to escape.

After sensing the energy fluctuations of teleportation, the lich waited a little longer.

Once he confirmed it was the white dragon who had teleported away, the lich wrapped his phylactery in his spiritual power and poked his head out of the fish tank.

Right now, reduced to nothing but a soul, the lich had temporarily lost his spellcasting abilities. However, his spiritual power was already strong enough for telekinesis. As long as he could escape the Magic Tower and plunge into the water, no one would ever be able to find him. The lich was highly confident in this.

"Yo! Your Excellency Philidel, you're awake."

A Portal appeared in the room. The voice arrived before the person did, nearly making Philidel wet himself—if he still had the parts to do so.

The Alchemical Fish plummeted back into the tank, splashing a tiny droplet of water.

When the White Dragon Lord entered the room, he saw only faint ripples in the water tank.

"Your Excellency Philidel?!"

Damn it! How did this perverted white dragon find out?!

Hearing the white dragon's puzzled tone, Philidel knew in his heart that he had been exposed from the start.

"Ahahaha, Lord Amos, you're back?!"

The White Dragon Lord felt the lich's laugh sounded a bit forced. He brushed it off; the lich had probably just regained consciousness and was still a little weak.

"Since Your Excellency Philidel has awakened, what are your plans next?"

The lich, Philidel, didn't know what schemes the White Dragon Lord was brewing and felt somewhat hesitant.

The White Dragon Lord continued speaking.

"Regardless, you should forge a new body first. What thoughts do you have regarding a new body?"

Seeing that the white dragon seemingly truly cared for his well-being, Philidel couldn't figure out the White Dragon Lord's intentions.

"Speaking of a lich's body, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

The White Dragon Lord pointed at Old Jimmy, who was currently being burned by Soul-Forging Fire.

"This kin of mine also wants to be converted into a lich. However, he hasn't stepped into the Legendary Rank, and his soul strength isn't sufficient. Once the Soul-Forging Fire finishes strengthening his soul, do you have any suggestions regarding his lich conversion?"

The lich stared in stunned disbelief upon hearing this. Hellfire did indeed have the effect of tempering souls.

So it was a misunderstanding all along!

You should have said so earlier!

I spent all this time terrified out of my wits for nothing!

Of course, he couldn't say these words out loud. Philidel began to ponder.

"Going by this situation, as long as your kin can endure the agony of the Hellfire, his conversion into a lich will be practically guaranteed."

"The three greatest hurdles to becoming a lich are knowledge, soul strength, and willpower. If his soul's strength is insufficient, it will be blown apart by necromantic power. If his willpower is lacking, he will be corrupted by necromantic energy and turn into a mindless undead that only hates the living."

"As long as your kin can endure the roasting of Hellfire, his willpower will absolutely pass the test. There won't be any problems converting him into a lich."

The White Dragon Lord nodded. What Philidel, an authentic lich, said was pretty much identical to what he had read in books.

"Do you have any suggestions regarding the body?"

"A physical shell is just a vessel used to shield against the pull of the River Styx. The soul is the foundation. As long as the vessel can resist the suction of the River Styx, any kind of body will do. However, I recommend using the original body. The soul retains its habits from life, making the original body much more comfortable to use."

It was a good thing he hadn't handed Old Jimmy's body over to his clansmen. Otherwise, they would have had to go grave-robbing—oh wait, the murloc custom was burial at sea.

The White Dragon Lord continued asking.

"Then regarding your new body, did you make any prior preparations?"

"Preparations? I have none! I never thought I would need to change into a new body this quickly."

Remembering the absurd stunt he had pulled, Philidel was practically pulling his hair out in madness.

"Oh my god! I feel like killing myself right now! Lord Amos, please, you have to keep this a secret for me! If word gets out, I'll be laughed to death by that bunch of old friends! I guarantee it! Those old geezers will show up at my door just to mock me!"

Oh... It seems everyone has a few awful friends like that around them!

"Rest assured, my lips are sealed!"

After receiving the White Dragon Lord's promise, the lich felt a bit better. If he had a physical body right now, he'd probably be crouching in a corner drawing circles in depression.

The lich's current state wasn't suited for discussing alchemical knowledge, so the White Dragon Lord left him alone in the room—or more accurately, in the fish tank.

A few days later, once the lich's mood had improved, the White Dragon Lord seized the opportunity to propose exchanging Alchemy knowledge.

Alchemy rankings were divided according to a person's achievements and the breadth of knowledge they mastered. Fully digesting the knowledge of a single school was enough to be called a Master; a Grandmaster was someone who founded their own minor school; and an Arch-Grandmaster was the founding patriarch of a major school.

At this time, the White Dragon Lord was at the Master Tier, while Philidel was an Alchemical Grandmaster.

In truth, in terms of sheer breadth of knowledge alone, Philidel couldn't catch up to the White Dragon Lord even on horseback. Mastering the knowledge of one school made one a Master; mastering the knowledge of ten schools still only made one a Master. And the White Dragon Lord himself didn't even know how many schools of knowledge he had studied.

You could never have too many skills. He had recorded every scrap of knowledge he could get his claws on.

However, there was specialization in every field, and Philidel's title as an Alchemical Grandmaster wasn't just for show. In certain areas of knowledge, Philidel was still a notch above the White Dragon Lord.

Therefore, the two of them had met their match, and both gained greatly from their exchanges.

After finishing their exchange one day, the White Dragon Lord and Philidel were chatting idly.

"Your Excellency Philidel, I'm very curious. How do you liches manage to perform experiments every single day without ever leaving your homes? Where do your experimental materials come from?"

The expenses for magical experiments were incredibly steep. A single type of precious magical material could easily cost tens of thousands of gold coins. Furthermore, a complete experiment couldn't possibly use just one material; it was commonplace for a high-level experiment to cost millions of gold coins. Yet liches stayed in their tombs day in and day out. Because of this, the white dragon was highly curious about their supply channels.

"Erm..."

Philidel hesitated for a moment.

"Alright, there's no harm in telling you. The experimental materials for most of the liches in Nordhill are provided by the Cult of the Dragon."

The White Dragon Lord was startled.

"The Cult of the Dragon?!"

"That's right! The Cult of the Dragon! You know, the higher-ups of the Cult of the Dragon are all necromantic creatures. Aside from dragons, liches are the cult's primary clients."

The White Dragon Lord suddenly understood.

Philidel continued.

"In the beginning, we use the savings from our mortal lives to purchase experimental materials from the Cult of the Dragon. If a lich doesn't know how to make money, their life's savings will quickly be squandered away."

"When the money runs out, our only option is to exchange experimental results for materials. If we don't have results, then we have to work for the Cult of the Dragon—crafting magical items, fighting in their battles, assassinating people, and so on. Occasionally, when desperate for funds, some will even come out of hiding to pull off a heist."

The White Dragon Lord nodded. In some weaker planes, if a lich ran out of experimental materials, they would kick off an undead scourge.

Of course, in Nordhill, no one dared to do such a thing. Otherwise, the Council would teach them how to be a proper person in minutes—oh wait, a proper lich.

Philidel spoke with a hint of pride.

"My Alchemy skills are quite impressive. My main source of income is crafting magical items for the Cult of the Dragon. I've never been short on money, and I even have a small amount of savings."

Then, recalling the scene he had witnessed of the white dragon conducting experiments, Philidel spoke sourly.

"Of course, I can't compare to an outrageously rich tyrant like you."

"Hahaha."

Because exchanging Alchemical knowledge required experimental verification, Philidel watched from the sidelines whenever the White Dragon Lord conducted experiments. To be perfectly honest, seeing the white dragon squander precious experimental materials like dirt had made him extremely sour.

The White Dragon Lord changed the subject.

"Your Excellency Philidel, how much do you know about the Cult of the Dragon?"

"Why? Are you interested in the Cult of the Dragon? That makes sense. You're a dragon, and the Cult of the Dragon has always been quite enthusiastic toward dragons. It's just that you might find their enthusiasm a bit hard to accept, hahaha."

The White Dragon Lord naturally knew what Philidel meant. The Cult of the Dragon had always loved converting dragons into dracoliches.

After making his little joke, Philidel continued.

"The Cult of the Dragon is a massive, extremely powerful organization. They are even stronger than the Guardian Council. They have branches across many different planes. Therefore, as long as the Cult of the Dragon doesn't plot any schemes within Nordhill, the Council will just turn a blind eye."

The White Dragon Lord frowned. The Cult of the Dragon was even more troublesome than he had anticipated.

Philidel offered a word of comfort.

"But you don't need to worry. In Nordhill, the Cult of the Dragon is definitely no match for the Council. They absolutely wouldn't dare push things too far. Besides, the Cult of the Dragon is not a unified monolith internally."

"Oh?! What do you mean?!"

The White Dragon Lord's interest was piqued.

After thinking it over, Philidel spoke up.

"I don't know the exact details, but it seems to be related to differing ideologies among the cult's higher-ups. You can think of the Cult of the Dragon as an existence similar to the Council. Furthermore, even a High-Tier Legend is only a mid-level member within the Cult of the Dragon."

The White Dragon Lord felt a sudden ache in his teeth. If High-Tier Legends were only mid-level, it went without saying what kind of strength the higher-ups possessed. In contrast, the Council only had Merlin Heavenly Principle propping up its reputation.

"How many higher-ups does the Cult of the Dragon have?"

"I'm not clear on that either. The only ones I know of are the Lord of Withered Bones, The Witherer, and the Undead Dragon King."

"Among them, the Undead Dragon King, Padesam Frostsoul, is the one most passionate about converting dracoliches. I suppose it might be to strengthen the forces under his command."