Chapter 320: The Gaze from the Shadows

Sunlight slanted through the windows of the Floating Tower, spilling over the White Dragon curled up inside. His breathing was steady, his belly rising and falling in a deep sleep.

As the sun traced its path across the sky, the angle of the light shifted. The line between light and shadow crept slowly from the tip of the White Dragon's snout to his eyes.

Sensing the shift in temperature, his eyelids twitched. The dragon's consciousness slowly began to surface.

The White Dragon Lord groggily opened his eyes, met instantly by a brilliant golden radiance.

"Ah. Sunlight."

Wait! Where would sunlight come from in the Necromantic Plane?!

Realizing something was wrong, the White Dragon Lord scrambled to his feet. He stretched his head out the window, craning his neck a full hundred and eighty degrees to look at the sky.

High above the Outpost Base, a massive hole had been torn in the perennial gray clouds of the Rodoro Plane. The clouds around the edge of this gap were visibly thinner than those farther away, and the opening looked to be expanding.

Sticking his head outside the Floating Tower's temperature-regulating arrays, the unique, biting wind of the Necromantic Plane struck him. The White Dragon Lord shivered, any remaining traces of sleepiness vanishing instantly.

Roar!

Following his usual morning routine, the White Dragon Lord let out a mighty roar, leaped out the window, and forcefully spread his wings, soaring into the sky.

Above the gray clouds, he sensed a familiar aura.

Flying against the light, he passed through the gaping hole in the clouds and headed straight toward Elena, who was casting a spell directly at the gray expanse.

Her mouth busy chanting incantations, Elena turned to glance at him. She gave a slight nod in greeting and continued casting.

He watched quietly from the side as dense death energy spewed from Elena's claws. The energy poured into the gray clouds, causing them to dissipate at a visible rate.

"Huh?"

The White Dragon Lord frowned slightly, deeply puzzled by the sight before him.

The gray clouds were formed by the abundant death energy of the Rodoro Plane accumulating day after day. Pouring more death energy into them should only increase their concentration. How could the clouds possibly be dissipating?!

Elemental Eye!

A faint glow coated the White Dragon Lord's golden vertical pupils. The various elements between heaven and earth appeared in his vision: the red of fire elements, the yellow of earth elements, and the icy blue of ice elements...

Naturally, the most abundant element in the Necromantic Plane was still the black element representing death; its sheer quantity was more than double that of the fire elements.

While it didn't look like an overwhelming amount, one had to remember that death elements were incredibly rare. Back in Nordhill, any of the Four Great Elements, like fire, was dozens of times more plentiful than death elements.

After checking the elemental ratio of the Rodoro Plane, the White Dragon Lord shifted his gaze back to Elena.

In this microscopic view, he saw a swarm of pitch-black elemental particles surging out madly, pouring into the gray clouds that were largely composed of black elements themselves.

Then, the White Dragon Lord witnessed something shocking. The death energy Elena cast mixed with the other elements, and then they all simply melted away.

It wasn't like snow melting in sunlight; it was a complete, utter erasure.

"This is..." the White Dragon Lord murmured in astonishment.

Right at that moment, Elena finished her spell.

"Amos, you noticed it too, right? The elements vanished."

The White Dragon Lord nodded grimly. Under specific conditions, elements could transform into one another, but he had never heard of them simply disappearing.

Prolonged spellcasting had left Elena a bit fatigued, but she was vibrating with excitement, looking exactly like a child who had found a new toy and couldn't wait to share it with her older brother.

"I only discovered it by accident! It turns out elements can die, too!"

The White Dragon Lord froze in surprise.

"When you put it like that, it sounds a bit like the legendary dead magic zones. Elena, do it one more time and show me."

"All right."

The White Dragon Lord locked his gaze on the death energy Elena released. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a difference between her energy and the energy lingering in the gray clouds.

Elena's death energy was a pure, gleaming black, while the energy in the gray clouds carried a faint grayish-white tinge, lacking any luster.

Observing this, the White Dragon Lord had his Gold Finger analyze the phenomenon while he pondered it himself. Finally, using the physics of his past life, he found a plausible explanation.

Elements were like the single-celled organisms of his past world; they were composed of even smaller matter. Elena's pure death energy caused the elements to die, breaking them down into those basic particles.

Because these sub-particles could not be seen by the Elemental Eye, it created the illusion that the elements had vanished.

But confirming the exact details would require proper experimentation. The White Dragon suppressed his itching, overwhelming urge to begin his research, making a mental note to handle the question later.

The White Dragon Lord turned his gaze toward the Magic Tower at the center of the Outpost Base. The Council's engineering team was incredibly efficient; in just a short month and a half, the tower was already nearing completion.

As the core of the entire defensive grid, this central Magic Tower cost the most. Of course, you got what you paid for—its functions were also the most powerful.

Once the main tower was finished, the Council's engineering team would use it as an anchor point to construct the remaining Magic Towers. Together, they would form a massive network to monitor any abnormal magical fluctuations across the plane.

Supported by this multi-tower network, the Rodoro Plane would be utterly secure.

The White Dragon Lord evaluated the size of the hole in the clouds. Obviously, Elena's purification speed was far slower than the Magic Tower's construction speed.

Seeing her older brother examining the gap, Elena stuck her tail high into the air with pride.

"Well? Aren't I amazing? While you slept for the past half month, I poked a hole in the sky! If I can purify all the gray clouds across the entire plane, sunlight will return to the earth. Once that happens, the death energy will gradually decrease even if I just lie around doing nothing."

Looking at the smug Dragon Sister, the White Dragon Lord didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Elena, I conquered this plane so you could cultivate as a professional, not so you could actually become a planar cleaner."

Elena waved her claws dismissively.

"Oh, so that's what you were worried about, Amos. Don't worry. In the process of purifying the clouds, I've already started to understand the path I need to take."

The White Dragon Lord breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good, then."

After chatting for a while, the White Dragon Lord and Elena descended into the base to grab something to eat.

Since the Holy Sanctuary's meager bread and water were just too miserable, the meals for everyone from the Council were provided by the White Castle, using ingredients specially shipped in from the Overseas Archipelago.

After ordering an Ogre chef to prepare some food, the White Dragon Lord and Elena sat in the dining hall to chat.

"Elena, over this past half month, have you felt like anyone was watching you?"

The druid Dragon Sister tilted her head and thought back.

"Umm... there actually were a couple of times. I was up in the sky purifying the clouds, and it felt like someone was glaring at me with malicious intent. But the feeling went away after a while."

A cold glint flashed in the White Dragon Lord's eyes.

"Before the Magic Tower is finished, don't wander too far from the Floating Tower."

Sensing the faint anger and killing intent radiating from her older brother, Elena nodded obediently.

After they finished eating, Elena—exhausted from her long hours of work—went back to her temporary nest to rest. The White Dragon Lord returned to the Floating Tower.

Inside the Floating Tower's control room, the White Dragon Lord toyed with the Control Core, endless frost seeping into his gaze.

Not long ago, during that grand event that lasted an entire month, the White Dragon Lord had deployed the Floating Tower and wiped out quite a few people's mining operations. He had killed many, and many others had escaped; it was safe to say he had made countless enemies.

The close relationship between Elena and the White Dragon Lord couldn't be hidden from anyone paying attention. It was highly likely someone wanted to sneak back and find an opportunity for revenge.

Revenge, sabotage, scouting for intelligence...

No matter their purpose, anyone remaining in the Rodoro Plane was an enemy, and if they were enemies, he had to eliminate them!

The White Dragon Lord used the Floating Tower to amplify his mental power and Scan the surrounding area, but he found nothing.

This was perfectly normal. No matter how foolish the enemy was, they wouldn't be dumb enough to linger within the Floating Tower's detection range.

The White Dragon Lord spun the Control Core in his claws, his gaze shifting darkly.

"I'll let you jump around for a few more days."

Now was not the time to purge them. The main tower was still under construction and needed the Floating Tower's protection. Without the Floating Tower, the White Dragon Lord wasn't confident he could kill an enemy of the same tier.

However, he could gather intelligence in advance. The White Dragon Lord did not like fighting unprepared battles.

"Yuir! Use the cover of darkness to scout the area. See if the enemies left any clues behind. Don't alert them just yet; wait until the main tower is finished."

A voice rang out from a hidden shadow.

"As you wish, Master."

The White Dragon Lord took out a Soul Crystal sealing an exotic beast's soul and began studying it. He probed his mental power into the slumbering entity to examine its internal structure.

Time slipped by unnoticed as he researched, and night soon fell.

An agile silhouette leaped from a window of the Floating Tower tens of meters above the ground. It vanished entirely in midair and landed without a sound.

A patrolling Master Tier gnoll sentry felt a faint breeze brush past. The brown fur on his side trembled slightly. He hurriedly spun around, raising his magic lantern to light the path ahead, but saw nothing.

After scanning his surroundings again, the gnoll guard looked up at the towering Floating Tower.

Who would dare act wildly right under His Majesty the King's nose?!

Figuring he was just being paranoid, the gnoll lifted his lantern and continued his patrol.

Treating the joint defensive line built by the White Castle and the Holy Sanctuary as if it didn't exist, the Nether Panther slipped smoothly out of the Outpost Base and disappeared into the endless night.

The moon set, and the stars faded.

Inside the Floating Tower's control room, the White Dragon Lord was still studying the soul.

"Master, I've found an enemy hideout."

A cold flash flickered in the White Dragon Lord's eyes.

"Excellent. How many are there?"

"Judging by the tracks left outside, at least three. The traps at the cave entrance were packed too densely, and I was worried I'd be discovered, so I didn't go inside."

"Then don't go in. Note the location and continue scouting elsewhere. Remember, staying hidden is your top priority. Do not beat the grass and startle the snake."

"Understood!"

The White Dragon Lord returned his focus to the Soul Crystal in his claws.

At dawn, the Nether Panther returned to the Floating Tower.

"Master, so far I've only found the one group of enemies."

"Can you determine their identities?"

"Based on some uncleared footprints, they are humanoid creatures, small in size. There is no residual negative energy, so they should be the living, though I can't rule out the possibility of undead masking their aura."

The intelligence was still too sparse; there was no way to judge the enemies' strength or race.

But it didn't matter. With the Floating Tower, the White Dragon Lord was confident he could crush them. Besides, he didn't plan on going into battle alone. Once the main tower was complete, he would notify the Ancient Gold Dragon, the Cat-Woman, and Priest Sinod so they could mop up these scumbags together.

He figured they wouldn't mind wiping out these malicious pests while grabbing some loot on the side.

Ten days later, the main tower was completed. Leaving a Legendary Mage behind to oversee it, the White Dragon Lord piloted the Floating Tower to transport the Council members to the second construction site.

At the same time, the White Dragon Lord sent word to his friends.

On the Teleportation Platform, the figures of the Cat-Woman, the Ancient Gold Dragon, and Priest Sinod appeared.

"Amos, what good news do you have for us this time? Meow~"

The White Dragon Lord's mouth twitched.

"Someone has been spying on your precious disciple."

"What?!"

The previously relaxed Cat-Woman instantly flared up, her fur standing on end. A moment later, seeing the White Dragon Lord holding back a laugh, she realized what was going on.

"Don't you laugh!"

Three cold glints flashed across her sharp claws. Knowing when to stop, the White Dragon Lord dropped the joke.

"Ahem! I called everyone here because there are still some clowns lurking in the Rodoro Plane. I don't know their motives, but it's definitely nothing good. I've gathered some intelligence on them over the past few days, so..."

The High-Tier Legends chatted as they walked, eventually taking their seats in the Floating Tower's main hall.

Priest Sinod spoke up.

"Amos, how many enemies are at the High-Tier Legend rank?"

"So far, we've found three. One is an Orc Warrior. I've already figured out his exact details; he's a former defeated opponent of mine. Right now, he's hiding in a burrow two thousand li to the west. The Orc is nothing to worry about. The troublesome ones are the other two."

"One is a rogue. He's incredibly elusive. If I didn't have a special exotic beast under my command—Yuir—we really wouldn't have been able to find him. This rogue constantly operates around the base, so he's absolutely up to no good."

Receiving a telepathic message from the White Dragon Lord, Yuir stepped out of his shadow and greeted everyone.

The group was shocked. If the Nether Panther hadn't shown himself voluntarily, none of them would have realized there was a panther hiding in the White Dragon Lord's shadow.

After the shock faded, the Cat-Woman's eyes lit up. As a druid, her absolute favorite things were all kinds of fluffy animals. The Nether Panther, with his glossy, pitch-black fur, perfectly matched her aesthetic tastes. Unable to resist, she reached out a paw to pat the top of the panther's head.

"Can I pet him?"

"Uh..."

The White Dragon Lord was slightly taken aback.

"If he is willing."

"I am not willing! I have my dignity, too!"

The Nether Panther shrank back into the White Dragon Lord's shadow, and the Cat-Woman resentfully pulled her paw back.

"Aside from him, there is also a mysterious spellcaster. His specific class is unknown, and his hiding spot is also unknown. If Yuir hadn't accidentally triggered a magic trap he had laid down, I might not have even known he existed."

"However, this spellcaster shouldn't hold any ill will toward us. Yuir got caught in his trap, yet the spellcaster let him go."