Chapter 310: Racing Against Time

After listening to her older brother explain the stakes, Elena stood and said her goodbyes. The Council operated with high efficiency, meaning the magic tower construction team would depart shortly. She needed to head back and pack, as she would be living in the Rodoro Plane for a long time.

"Dried fish, shredded kelp, dense conchs..."

Elena muttered as she counted off her necessities. Pushing open the door, she walked out of the White Tower, leaving behind a floor littered with shattered blackwood stands, scattered scrolls, and broken porcelain.

The White Dragon Lord looked at the trashed hall, feeling a bit exasperated. His three younger siblings had entirely different personalities.

Willy possessed a calm and steady temperament, saving the White Dragon Lord the most worry. Although Felicia could be somewhat cruel and unreasonable, she had improved significantly over the years. Coupled with the fact that she was a total shut-in, she rarely caused any trouble he couldn't handle.

Elena, on the other hand, was flighty and unreliable. Her attitude was always excellent whenever she made a mistake, but a few days later, she would forget the lesson entirely. She loved running around and frequently stirred up trouble. Fortunately, with the Cat-Woman and White Castle serving as two golden shields of authority, none of her messes ever escalated into major problems.

But this time was different. The Rodoro Plane was not Nordhill. The powerhouses who invaded planes for plunder wouldn't give a damn about the reputation of White Castle or the Nine Eyes Alliance.

"Forget it. Once the mining operations are finished, I'll spend some time keeping an eye on her."

Behind the White Dragon Lord, the White Tower steward, Heloise, was directing magic servants to clean up the mess. Hearing her boss mutter to himself, the corners of her mouth curled into a faint smile.

Three days later, the White Dragon Lord, Elena, and the Council's magic tower construction team teleported to the Outpost Base in the Rodoro Plane.

Upon arrival, the construction team immediately set to work. Elena grabbed a handful of black soil, examining the extent of the plane's pollution.

Meanwhile, the White Dragon Lord met with the person in charge of the Outpost Base: Knight Magellan.

"Your Excellency Magellan, it is an honor to see you again."

Following the discussion between the White Dragon Lord and Priest Sinod, Knight Magellan had led the Holy Sanctuary's exploration team to the Rodoro Plane ahead of the others. He had established the Outpost Base and begun the resource surveying operations.

After exchanging the usual pleasantries, the White Dragon Lord got straight to the point.

"Your Excellency Magellan, how goes the resource exploration?"

"The Holy Sanctuary dispatched a total of two thousand three hundred Master Tier powerhouses to simultaneously survey the Rodoro Plane for resources. At our current pace, we will have the entire plane thoroughly mapped out in half a month."

Knight Magellan handed over a record sheet.

"This is the result of our efforts over the past few days. All of the high-value mineral veins we have detected so far are recorded here."

The White Dragon Lord took the sheet and gave it a cursory glance. Mithril, adamantine, Hallelujah magic steel... a total of eight high-value mineral veins. The record also detailed the exact coordinates of these precious resources, the time of their discovery, and the names of the finders.

"Then without further delay, I will make my move."

Based on the locations of the veins, the White Dragon Lord quickly charted a route. Gripping the record sheet, he rapidly chanted a spell and teleported to the site of the first high-value deposit.

Out on a stretch of lifeless black land, a massive silhouette appeared out of thin air.

"This should be the place. The Hallelujah magic steel vein..."

The White Dragon Lord released a swarm of Excavation Assistant No. 1s and brought out a chunk of Hallelujah magic steel for the puppets to identify.

The horde of puppets set to work. Driven by magical power, their iron shovels drove into the earth, churning up massive clumps of black soil. In just a few moments, the excavated dirt formed a small mound.

He then brought out several of Morel's Transport Carts. Without even waiting to inspect the puppets' progress, he immediately teleported to the next location. He needed to strip the Rodoro Plane of its high-value veins before the plane's coordinates spread too widely, avoiding unnecessary losses and conflicts.

Due to the previous civilization's development of the Rodoro Plane, all remaining high-value mineral deposits were hidden deep underground. Only a faction with mature magical technology like Nordhill's could locate these deposits in such a short amount of time.

Within a mere hour, the White Dragon Lord teleported multiple times, hitting all eight of the discovered high-value veins.

He returned to the Outpost Base.

"Your Excellency Magellan, it is done. I have activated the limit mode on the Excavation Assistant No. 1s. They are running at maximum capacity, which drastically improves their efficiency. Those precious minerals will be cleaned out very soon."

"Thank you for your hard work. Please rest for now, Your Excellency Amos. I will notify you if we make any new discoveries."

The White Dragon Lord accepted Magellan's suggestion. Having cast Teleportation so many times in such a brief window, even he felt a bit fatigued.

Yet, more than physical exhaustion, what truly pained the White Dragon Lord was the toll on his magic puppets. Operating at maximum capacity for extended periods severely impacted their lifespans.

Working at a normal pace, the magic puppets typically lasted fifty years. Limit mode, however, would cut that lifespan down to twenty years. The resulting loss was tremendous.

The silver lining was that the immense value of the extracted high-grade ores would more than compensate for the damage to the puppets.

The White Dragon Lord casually lay down in an open clearing to restore his mana.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Having barely rested, the White Dragon Lord felt a surge of irritation. Impatiently, he pulled out a device. The special instrument was flashing with a yellow light.

He pressed a button to shut off the alarm, killing the beeping and the flashing light simultaneously. He checked the location where the issue had occurred.

Receiving an alert from an Excavation Assistant No. 1 at this stage meant one of two things. Either a massive problem had arisen—such as a cave-in burying a large number of puppets and halting operations—or it was good news, like encountering high-energy reactions from a companion vein or companion gems.

"The Mithril vein, coordinates (654664, 31558, 98798). I wonder if this will be a pleasant surprise or a headache."

Muttering to himself, the White Dragon Lord stood up and cast Teleportation, jumping to the Mithril mine.

In just two short hours, a swarm of Excavation Assistant No. 1s had carved out an enormous mine shaft from the surface. Mithril ore was piled into a small mountain, while ordinary dirt and rocks were heaped on the other side.

The White Dragon Lord shrank his massive frame to avoid bumping into the walls when he entered the mine.

Soon enough, he discovered the source of the alert: a peculiar gemstone.

Embedded right inside the Mithril ore, this strange gem had liquid silver flowing across its surface. It emitted a bizarre, silvery radiance that cast ripples resembling shimmering water against the pitch-black walls of the mine.

"A Flowing Silver Gem?!"

The White Dragon Lord let out a cry of surprise. Flowing Silver Gems were companion gems found alongside Mithril. They were exceedingly rare and mostly yielded from massive Mithril veins. By the Council's standards, Flowing Silver Gems were classified as god-tier materials. Even the most inferior Flowing Silver Gem was worth a million points.

"I hit the jackpot!"

The White Dragon Lord pierced his sharp claws into the Mithril ore encasing the gem, prying it out along with the surrounding rock. After he carefully chipped away the extra Mithril, the Flowing Silver Gem revealed its true form: an oval gemstone roughly the size of an egg. It looked as though liquid mercury was circulating inside it. Its raw energy wasn't particularly strong, but its fluctuation frequency was bizarre and unique.

"Looks like it's not low quality, at least."

After a close inspection of the material, he concluded it was far from inferior. As for its exact quality grade, that would require specialized testing instruments.

Based on the value of this single Flowing Silver Gem, even after parting with half for the church, White Castle stood to gain nearly a million points. His expected haul had instantly doubled.

Exploring outer planes truly was thrilling. Getting rich overnight!

Stowing the Flowing Silver Gem in a box, the White Dragon Lord teleported straight back to the Outpost Base.

He pushed open the door to Knight Magellan's room.

"Your Excellency Magellan, I found a Flowing Silver Gem!"

"What?!"

At first, Knight Magellan didn't quite process the words—until the White Dragon Lord presented the gem with its rippling, mercury-like light.

The White Dragon Lord could hear Knight Magellan's breathing turn ragged and heavy.

"Your Excellency Magellan, White Castle doesn't have the capacity to absorb this Flowing Silver Gem right now. If the Holy Sanctuary also has no desire for it, then I will send it directly to the Council."

The White Dragon Lord's reaction was not an exaggeration. A god-tier material like the Flowing Silver Gem was not a treasure a High-Tier Legend should hold on to. Keeping it in the Rodoro Plane, where battle could erupt at any moment, was exceptionally dangerous.

Hearing this, Knight Magellan snapped out of his daze.

"I do not have the personal authority to make that decision. I need to report this to His Eminence the Archbishop. Please wait a moment, Your Excellency Amos."

The White Dragon Lord nodded. Knight Magellan drew out a golden disk and began communicating with the Archbishop far away in Nordhill using the Holy Sanctuary's exclusive methods.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

His device started chiming again. The White Dragon Lord hastily checked it, memorized the coordinates, and switched off the alarm.

Not long after, Knight Magellan opened his eyes.

"Your Excellency Amos, the Holy Sanctuary has decided to accept this Flowing Silver Gem."

According to the rules, any treasure uncovered in a jointly developed plane was to be digested internally first. The White Dragon Lord handed the box containing the Flowing Silver Gem over to Knight Magellan.

"Ham!"

"My lord! You called for me?"

The paladin subordinate waiting outside pushed the door open and stepped in. Knight Magellan offered him the box.

"Teleport back to the Holy Sanctuary immediately and deliver this box to the Archbishop."

"Yes, sir!"

Ham took the box and walked out. The White Dragon Lord was just about to take his leave when a magical instrument resting on the desk suddenly rang. Knight Magellan picked it up to check.

"Your Excellency Amos, the exploration team has discovered another high-value vein."

"Log it down for now, and notify me once you've gathered five. I still have matters to attend to on my end."

Knight Magellan nodded. The White Dragon Lord left the base, casting his spell to teleport to the site of the recent alarm he hadn't yet dealt with.

The location was a Nightstone gem mine. Full of expectation, the White Dragon Lord walked into the cavern.

Although finding a Flowing Silver Gem was an incredibly low-probability event, what if luck struck twice?

Splash!

Hearing the sloshing of rushing water, the White Dragon Lord knew his hopes were most likely dashed.

Sure enough, the mine shaft had turned into a flooded swamp. The Excavation Assistant No. 1s were currently digging for Nightstone gems in the dry spots, but their numbers had dwindled noticeably.

It went without saying that the puppets had breached an underground reservoir, flooding the mine. The White Dragon Lord didn't have the time to investigate the exact cause. He exhaled a blast of Dragon Breath, freezing the water in the cavern solid—along with the submerged puppets.

Afterward, he replenished the puppet workforce and left.

Right now, the Allied Forces of White Castle and the Holy Sanctuary were racing against time.

Seven days later.

A colossal white dragon lay resting upon the black earth. Thanks to the purification of the paladins, the land surrounding the Outpost Base had been stripped of the foul stench of necromantic energy. The White Dragon Lord took a rare moment to lie down and recover his mana.

For the past seven days, the White Dragon Lord had been buried in work: excavating new high-value veins, retrieving fully mined top-tier ore, and handling whatever accidents popped up during the digs.

It was safe to say he hadn't slept a wink these past few days. However, for a dragon, skipping sleep for a week was mere child's play. They could go without slumber for years on end, though it was equally true that when a dragon did sleep, they might sleep for years at a time.

Physically, the White Dragon Lord didn't feel a hint of fatigue, but the sheer intensity of constant teleportation was proving a bit much to endure. It wasn't until he summoned extra hands from White Castle to assist him that the burden eased significantly.

Still, there were problems that required a powerhouse like the White Dragon Lord to handle personally. This included disasters during excavation, such as cave-ins or flooding, as well as appraising newly discovered companion veins and companion gems.

That's right! The White Dragon Lord's luck had exploded, and he had unearthed several more companion gems along with a companion vein. While not all companion gems were god-tier materials like the Flowing Silver Gem, they were still incredibly valuable. Altogether, the newly found gems amounted to over a million points.

A paladin clad in full plate armor jogged over to the White Dragon Lord and spoke in a hushed tone.

"Lord Amos, Lord Magellan requests your presence. There is an important matter to discuss."

The White Dragon Lord, who had been resting with his eyes closed to recover his mana, opened his eyes. He stood up and headed toward the center of the Outpost Base.

The White Dragon Lord pushed the door open and walked in.

"Your Excellency Magellan, you were looking for me?"

Ever since the reinforcements from White Castle had arrived, the White Dragon Lord had solely been in charge of resolving emergencies at the dig sites. Ore retrieval and the excavation of new high-value deposits had been delegated to his subordinates. As a result, Knight Magellan hadn't bothered the White Dragon Lord at all these past few days.

Seeing the solemn expression on Knight Magellan's face, the White Dragon Lord sighed inwardly. What was bound to happen had finally arrived.

"Your Excellency Amos, I received word from the Holy Sanctuary. The coordinates for the Rodoro Plane have already surfaced on the black markets in the Star Realm."

"I understand."

The White Dragon Lord turned around and walked out, returning to his spot to lie down and recover his mana once more.

The White Dragon Lord and his allies were not the only ones who knew the coordinates of the Rodoro Plane. The Lord of Withered Bones, the devils, and other entities also understood the situation in this plane. Any one of them could easily trade the coordinates and related intel for a quick profit.

To the bandits of the Star Realm, a newly developed plane without a complete defense system was like a defenseless naked maiden, and everyone wanted to cop a feel.

Right now, the exploration of the Rodoro Plane was only halfway done. The forces of Nordhill would absolutely never abandon the remaining high-value mineral deposits. Battle was already inevitable.

The White Dragon Lord closed his eyes and muttered to himself.

"The sharks of the Star Realm, huh..."