Chapter 324: Training Results

"Senior Adelaide, I'll leave these guys in your hands."

"Leave them to me. You can rest easy."

The ancient gold dragon surveyed the four dragons with satisfaction. The two white dragons were obviously Felicia and Willy, while the gold and red dragons were the two top bosses from the Madilan World.

Thanks to their outstanding innate talent, the latter two dragons had grown rapidly after arriving in the element-rich world of Nordhill, stepping into the Legendary Rank realm.

However, the two dragons were already at the Mature Adult Dragon stage. Reaching the Legendary Rank had drained the last of their latent talent, leaving them with almost no room for further growth.

Still, they were Legendary combatants. The White Dragon Lord hadn't left them to their own devices. Instead, he arranged for them to undergo combat training alongside his younger brother and sister against the Titans. Both sides conveniently had exactly four members, and the ancient gold dragon had been invited by the White Dragon Lord to act as their coach.

A Mage Hand carrying four crystals flew toward the ancient gold dragon, who reached out and accepted them.

These crystals were the Council's contracts for controlling prisoners of war. They could destroy a captive's brain at a moment's notice, reducing them to mindless puppets devoid of self-awareness.

Guided by Willy, the ancient gold dragon headed toward the White Tower. He intended to collect the four sparring partners from the dungeon before finding a quiet location for combat training.

After the five dragons departed, the White Dragon Lord teleported directly to Sky City.

Within the White Dragon Lord's private lounge in the City of the Sky, Samaria.

The White Dragon Lord lounged on a soft sofa.

"Tower Spirit One, calculate how many points I need to upgrade the White Tower into a Floating Tower."

"Tower Name: White Tower. Serial Number: Magic Tower S32456. Specifications: Custom Colossal Magic Tower. Owner: Amos Aldrich. Builder: Horace Lappus. Date of completion..."

Tower Spirit One pulled up the relevant records for the White Tower and began calculating the cost.

"Calculations complete. A total of 4,521,384 points is required."

"Over 4.52 million points..."

The White Dragon Lord's face twitched. Even mentally prepared, the sheer size of that figure shocked him. After all, the total profit from successfully developing a high-quality sub-plane was only around seven or eight hundred thousand points.

"What is my current point balance?"

"Councilor Amos, your balance is 3,972,154 points."

"I need to convert a large batch of materials into points. Arrange for multiple appraisers as soon as possible."

"Your request has been forwarded to the point management tower."

Knock, knock, knock!

It wasn't long before a knock came at the door.

"Come in!"

Four humans, one elf, and one dwarf opened the door and walked inside, bowing respectfully.

"Greetings, Councilor Amos. We are pleased to serve you."

The White Dragon Lord didn't waste words. He took out twenty Dimensional Bags, lined them up on the table in front of him, and gestured for the six appraisers to begin.

The appraisers each picked up a Dimensional Bag and extended their spiritual energy inside to inspect the contents.

Once they finished inspecting a bag, they began calling out the inventory.

"Mithril Ingot x 10,000!"

"Domino Alloy Ingot x 20,000!"

...

Half an hour later, the inventory check was complete.

"Councilor Amos, your materials have a total value of 3.11 million points. Are you sure you wish to convert them?"

"I'm sure."

The appraisers didn't say another word; they simply gathered up all the Dimensional Bags.

"Have a pleasant day."

The door clicked shut.

The White Dragon Lord was left alone in the room.

"3.11 million points, huh? That's 110,000 more than I estimated."

The Council's point valuation wasn't fixed; it shifted based on market demand. For instance, if the Council's mithril stockpile grew too large during a certain period, the price would drop, and vice versa. Because of this, a fluctuation of 110,000 points was perfectly normal.

Not long after the appraisers left, the tower spirit notified him that the points had been deposited.

"Tower Spirit One, I want to purchase the White Tower upgrade service."

"Your application has been forwarded to the Speaker's Office."

"Your application has been approved. Deducting 4,521,384 points. Your balance is now 2,560,770 points."

"Tower Spirit One, I also want to apply for the construction of eight standard medium-sized magic towers. The locations will be Skull-Crusher City, White Scale City, Snowsurge City, Sokas City..."

"The price of a standard medium-sized magic tower is 38,000 points each. A total of 304,000 points has been deducted. Your balance is now 2,256,770 points."

With those matters settled, the White Dragon Lord made his way to the Speaker's Office.

He planned to forge a custom set of equipment for himself. If he could get some advice from Merlin Heavenly Principle, it would save him from making a lot of unnecessary mistakes.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Come in."

The White Dragon Lord pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Ah, Amos. Do you have any questions regarding your Floating Tower upgrade?"

"Not at all. The Council's procedures are well-regulated, so I know nothing will go wrong there. I came to see you about a personal matter. I wanted to ask for your advice."

Merlin Heavenly Principle set down his documents, laced his fingers together, and leaned back in his chair.

"Speak."

The White Dragon Lord didn't stand on ceremony and took a seat across from Merlin Heavenly Principle.

"Speaker, I plan to forge a set of equipment for myself in preparation for the Blood War Battlefield. I came specifically to seek your advice."

"The space around the Blood War Battlefield is extremely stable. Ordinary Blink and Teleportation spells are heavily restricted there. I suggest you prepare some equipment for Triggered Blinks and rapid teleportation..."

As Merlin spoke, the White Dragon Lord chimed in with questions. The two conversed for over two hours, leaving the White Dragon Lord feeling that the trip had been more than worth it.

"Thank you for your guidance."

After expressing his gratitude, the White Dragon Lord left the Speaker's Office and teleported directly back to White Castle.

By the time he returned to White Castle, the staff members sent by the Council to collect the White Tower had just arrived.

Since the technology used to upgrade a Floating Tower required strict confidentiality, the Council was going to physically relocate the White Tower and only return it once the modifications were complete.

At that moment, the White Tower's steward, Heloise, was directing a group of magical servants to move his personal belongings out and store them in a temporary warehouse inside White Castle.

Once it was emptied, the Council staff teleported the White Tower away, leaving nothing behind but a massive, empty crater.

Without the White Tower, the White Dragon Lord couldn't conduct highly dangerous magic experiments. He felt a bit unaccustomed to it.

"I might as well take this time to get my equipment sorted out."

Lying in his sleeping quarters at White Castle, the White Dragon Lord reviewed the information he'd gotten from Merlin Heavenly Principle and evaluated his own shortcomings.

In one-on-one combat at the Legendary Rank and above, battles largely revolved around instant-cast magic, as enemies simply wouldn't give you the time to chant.

With a complete Dragon Inheritance and his own status as a learned Mage, the White Dragon Lord had no shortage of offensive magic at his disposal.

In terms of defense, his naturally tough dragon scales combined with the Gate of the Ice Beast—the Forbidden Spell provided by his pseudo-artifact, Sadolina's Bracelet—were more than adequate.

When it came to escaping with his life, however, he was somewhat lacking.

A dragon's flight speed was incredibly fast, but there were countless species in the multiverse that were even faster. If he encountered one, it would be extremely difficult to shake them off.

The White Dragon Lord had always acted only after careful planning, which was why he had never faced a major crisis before. But the Blood War Battlefield was different. Demons, Devils, and The Gods all had Abomination Rank beings stationed on the battlefield, and these catastrophic entities would occasionally join the fray themselves.

If he were to run into an Abomination Rank enemy...

The White Dragon Lord calculated his odds of encountering an Abomination Rank enemy. He concluded that without the support of a Mage Tower or a Floating Tower, his chances of a successful escape were less than thirty percent.

"Triggered teleportation."

The White Dragon Lord took note of this spell. Triggered teleportation would automatically activate the moment its caster faced mortal danger, teleporting them to a safe area nearby. However, the teleportation distance was limited. If an enemy unleashed a large-scale magic attack, the triggered teleportation likely wouldn't cover enough distance to escape the blast radius.

"If the distance isn't enough, I'll just make up for it in quantity."

Beyond standard magic, there were also highly dangerous, unorthodox spells, such as instant-death magic and Curses.

To counter those kinds of spells, Merlin Heavenly Principle had recommended a Death-Substitute Puppet.

A Death-Substitute Puppet could intercept a fatal Curse or an instant-death spell on its master's behalf. No one could ever have too many of these incredible life-saving tools. Even if someone happened to have a spare, they would keep it for internal trades among close friends; such items almost never circulated on the open market.

"Fortunately, Speaker Merlin knows how to craft Death-Substitute Puppets."

Since he was heading to the Blood War Battlefield, Merlin Heavenly Principle had agreed to craft one for the White Dragon Lord.

Of course, Merlin's commission fee was anything but cheap. He had given the White Dragon Lord two choices: first, buy one directly for two million points; second, provide three sets of the required materials for him to craft. In the latter case, no matter how many puppets Merlin successfully produced, he would guarantee the White Dragon Lord one of them.

The White Dragon Lord ran the numbers and decided that sourcing the materials himself was clearly the more cost-effective option. He would try gathering the materials first; if he truly couldn't find them, he would just buy the finished puppet from the Speaker.

Crafting a Death-Substitute Puppet required extremely rare magical materials, the most elusive of which was Abomination Blood. This didn't mean blood from an Abomination Rank powerhouse, but blood from a true Abomination.

Abomination Blood wasn't actually blood in the literal sense; it was a power crystal formed by an Abomination. It was only called Abomination Blood because the crystal possessed an ominous, blood-red hue.

Acquiring it from within the Council was out of the question. Perhaps he would need to take a trip to the Star Realm.

The White Dragon Lord made up his mind.

Just then, he sensed several familiar auras returning to the castle. Standing up, he headed for the door.

The ancient gold dragon had returned with the four dragons, the three Titans, and the lone giant.

The four dragons looked quite battered. Their scales were shattered in places, crusted with dried blood.

The blood had flowed from puncture wounds across their bodies. Though the bloody holes looked terrifying, none had hit vital organs. Thanks to healing magic, the bleeding had stopped, though their scales had yet to regrow.

Of course, if the ancient gold dragon hadn't intervened in time, the Spear of the Titans would likely have left far more than just surface wounds.

The Titans and the giant didn't fare much better; their bodies were covered in severe frostbite and burns. The giant, in particular, had been charred completely black.

Judging by the injuries, the Titan side had held an absolute advantage.

This was something the White Dragon Lord had foreseen. The four dragons had only recently stepped into the Legendary Rank, whereas their opponents were seasoned veterans at the same level. Furthermore, the fact that these Titans had managed to survive a Forbidden Spell bombardment meant they clearly possessed formidable skills.

The ancient gold dragon stepped forward.

"Amos, this giant attempted to resist, so I've already reduced him to a mindless idiot."

The White Dragon Lord looked at the lone giant. At this point, the creature was charred so black that only the whites of its eyes were visible.

"Hmm... Alright then. How did the puppet controls feel?"

"A bit clunky, but acceptable once you practice a few times."

When the Council's contract destroyed a captive's brain, reducing them to a vegetative state, their body could still be controlled to fight as long as someone guided it, though their combat effectiveness would be drastically weakened.

Seeing their companion reduced to such a state, the three Titans dared not speak out despite their anger. In their hearts, their fear of the White Dragon Lord and the others only deepened.

"Felicia, heal them up."

Healing their enemies left the Dragon Sister feeling a bit displeased, but she still followed the White Dragon Lord's orders.

After four Master-tier Healing Spells washed over them, the wounds on the three Titans and the giant improved significantly.

"Guards, lock them in the dungeon."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

A squad of Master-tier Ogre guards escorted the Titans away. With the contracts in place, the White Dragon Lord wasn't worried about them causing trouble.

The White Dragon Lord looked at the battered group of four.

"Do you have anything to say?"

"Your Majesty, even though we've reached the Legendary Rank, we still have far too many shortcomings."

The gold dragon, Granbula, looked deeply disheartened. Having recently advanced to the Legendary Rank, his confidence had soared, and he had truly believed he could now be considered a powerhouse. He never expected to suffer such a miserable defeat—and at the hands of mere prisoners of war captured by the White Dragon Lord, no less.

The fiery red dragon, Ramzaha, was practically seething with indignation.

"I'll definitely get stronger and trample that damn giant under my feet!"

The White Dragon Lord looked at the fired-up red dragon and felt a bit speechless.

Where did this hot-blooded youth vibe come from?

Forget it. Having fighting spirit was a good thing, at least.

"Keep at it! I'm sure you can do it!"

The White Dragon Lord turned to Willy.

"And you, Willy?"

"I've summarized some of the Titans' attack methods," Willy said. "Their Spear of the Titans has a longer range and greater piercing power than our Dragon Breath. Titans are more suited for one-on-one combat, whereas we dragons..."

The White Dragon Lord felt a surge of satisfaction. After his defeat, Willy hadn't blindly wallowed in disappointment. Instead, he had quickly snapped out of it to analyze his enemy's attack methods, identify his own weaknesses, and figure out how to play to his strengths while mitigating his flaws.

As expected of the brother I raised!

"Felicia, do you have anything to say?"

Felicia's injuries were the lightest. This wasn't because she could cast heals, but because her combat strength was the highest among the four.

"Hmph! It was a one-on-one bout this time, and they really are stronger than us!" she declared. "But as long as the four of us team up, we can definitely beat the teeth out of them!"

The White Dragon Lord nodded.

What sharp combat intuition!

With Felicia acting as a support priest, if the four dragons coordinated properly, they might not defeat the Titans, but they at least wouldn't lose.

His brother and sister had clearly gained something from the exercise. As for the gold and red dragons, the White Dragon Lord frankly didn't want to bother too much with them.

Part of the reason he let them join the training was out of respect for the ancient gold dragon. Whatever they managed to learn was up to them.

"I had you fight one-on-one this time to drill your solo combat abilities. We will practice group combat later. Alright, you're dismissed. Go get some rest."

Since Felicia had already healed herself and her companions right after the battle ended, the four dragons dispersed, leaving only the White Dragon Lord and the ancient gold dragon in the courtyard.

"Senior Adelaide, what did you think of the training results?"

"Highly effective," the ancient gold dragon replied. "Especially Willy. The time it took him to adapt to the Titans' attacks was extremely short. He has a real talent for combat."