Chapter 447: Gem Dragon King Sardior

Gem Dragon King Sardior, like the Platinum Dragon God and the Five-Headed Dragon Queen, was an Offspring of Io. They were the sole surviving elders of the Dragon Race. Yet, unlike his older brother and sister who had ascended to godhood, Sardior had never taken that step.

He was the most conservative Dragon King, steadfastly adhering to ancient traditions and residing in the Star Realm. His followers, the Gem Dragon Clan, did the same.

Realistically, however, the continuous decline of the dragon bloodline meant the Star Realm was no longer suitable for dragons—especially not those yet to reach adulthood. Because of this, the Gem Dragon Clan was far fewer in number than the Chromatic Dragons and Metallic Dragons.

The White Dragon Lord stepped off the Teleportation Platform and arrived at the dragon holy site hidden within the Star Realm—the Obsidian Sanctuary.

The Obsidian Sanctuary was built upon a massive stone adrift in the Star Realm, wandering without direction and protected by the Gem Dragon King's formidable power. Without knowing the exact teleportation frequency, even beings of Greater Divine Power couldn't hope to find it.

The White Dragon Lord gazed at the ancient dragon city. Rumor had it that the Obsidian Sanctuary had existed long before the Platinum Dragon God and the Five-Headed Dragon Queen attained godhood, serving as a massive dragon settlement in the ancient era.

The settlement's architecture mirrored the Platinum Dragon God's sanctuary, the North Wind Temple. Its buildings were peculiarly spherical with entrances situated at the very top. One by one, gem dragons wove their way through the city.

He looked toward the very center of the city, where a colossal structure forged from black crystal stood. That was the Gem Dragon King's residence—the Obsidian Sanctuary itself.

The White Dragon Lord took flight toward it.

Because he flew in his true form, every dragon along the way turned to look and recognized him. After all, there was only one Abomination Rank white dragon in the entire multiverse.

His path remained completely unobstructed until he reached the grand doors of the Obsidian Sanctuary, where two High-Tier Legend gem dragons acting as guards stopped him.

"Amos Aldrich has come to visit His Majesty, the Gem Dragon King."

The words of an Abomination Rank dragon would never be taken lightly anywhere. The gem dragon guards immediately relayed the message inside.

A moment later, the White Dragon Lord was granted entry and successfully met the Gem Dragon King.

Gem Dragon King Sardior was a massive dragon entirely covered in translucent black crystal scales. A beam of light spilled down from the dome above, bathing the dragon king in a solemn, mysterious glow.

Right now, he was resting upon his throne, watching the White Dragon Lord enter through the doors. He felt a surge of surprise, realizing this white dragon was scarcely weaker than himself.

"Descendant of Tiamat, what business do you have with me?"

The White Dragon Lord revealed the Platinum Dragon God's mark. "I have come uninvited today to ask for Your Majesty's assistance in a certain matter."

Seeing the Platinum Dragon God's divine mark, the Gem Dragon King raised a brow. It was somewhat unexpected, but upon further thought, not entirely surprising. With the White Dragon Lord's strength, he certainly had the qualifications to interact with dragon gods.

The White Dragon Lord cut straight to the chase. "Your Majesty, I am currently in urgent need of a batch of high-quality gems. I have come to borrow some from you."

"How many do you need?" Sardior decided internally that as long as the white dragon didn't ask for too many, he would agree. After all, dragon powerhouses of this caliber were exceedingly rare, and it was better to stay on good terms.

"One hundred thousand rubies, emeralds..."

Hearing the White Dragon Lord's requested numbers, Sardior's heart skipped a beat. Even as a premier gem collector of the multiverse, parting with such a massive quantity of high-quality stones pained him deeply.

The Gem Dragon King bristled with anger. "White dragon! What do you need so many gems for?!"

"To raise a Floating City."

"A Floating City?!" His tone now held nothing but sheer astonishment. "Are you saying you can build a Floating City?!"

"Yes."

Receiving a definitive answer, the Gem Dragon King fell deep into thought. The hall descended into silence.

After a long while, the Gem Dragon King looked at the White Dragon Lord. "White dragon, I can provide these gems free of charge, but you must exchange them for the Floating City technology."

"Your Majesty, that's impossible. When I acquired the Floating City technology, I signed a magical contract with the provider. I cannot transfer the knowledge to anyone else."

The Gem Dragon King frowned, but his brow quickly smoothed out.

As expected. This made perfect sense.

At the same time, he understood why the Platinum Dragon God had sent the White Dragon Lord to his door bearing that mark.

The situation between the dragons and the titans was rapidly deteriorating. An all-out war was only a matter of time. When that day came, no dragon would be able to remain aloof. Furthermore, the decisive battles in several past dragon-titan wars had always taken place in the Star Realm.

Mount Celestia housed numerous deities, and they would not sit idly by and watch their realm be engulfed by the flames of war.

The Abyss was home to many abyssal lords, meaning a decisive battle there would be unsafe for both factions.

Only the Star Realm was vast and boundless. No matter how much havoc the Dragon Race and Titan Race wreaked, they would, at most, catch a few hidden evil gods in the crossfire.

"Very well. For the sake of our shared dragon lineage, I will lend them to you. But when war breaks out in the future, you must not refuse a call for aid from the Obsidian Sanctuary."

The White Dragon Lord hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. "Naturally. Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty."

Three days later, the White Dragon Lord received the complete batch of gems and returned to Nordhill. Shortly after his arrival, the Platinum Dragon God's promised assistance also arrived.

The Platinum Dragon God and the Gem Dragon King provided the vast majority of the materials needed for the Floating City. White Castle could easily scrape together the rest on its own.

After a year of gathering, the materials for the Floating City were finally fully prepared.

The White Dragon Lord piloted the White Tower into the sky, drawing the curiosity of Oqi City's residents. Every time the White Tower ascended, something monumental happened.

What would it be this time?

The White Dragon Lord landed the White Tower on a pre-selected island. Gathered on this island were the alchemists the empire had cultivated over many years. Among them were monsters, humans, and even elves.

The Yafeiawei Empire was a civilized and open nation with a blistering pace of development, which had attracted a massive influx of immigrants from across the continent.

Thanks to its advanced magical industrial system—including golem production—and systematic vocational education, the Yafeiawei Empire boasted a large number of highly skilled alchemists. They were more than enough to support the construction of Sky City.

After signing non-disclosure agreements, these alchemists from all over the country had been centralized on this island. They watched the White Tower descend from the sky, their eyes filled with curiosity and doubt.

Even though they had signed the agreements, they still didn't know the specific details of their mission.

The White Dragon Lord set the White Tower down on a flat patch of land on the island. He flew out of the White Tower's control room and hovered in the sky, gazing down at the dense crowd of imperial alchemists.

"Citizens of Yafeiawei! I am your emperor! I have gathered you here because a monumental event that will alter the destiny of our empire is about to unfold! And you shall be its builders and its witnesses!"

The White Dragon Lord swept his gaze over the upturned faces. "We are about to raise a Sky City right here!"

"A Sky City?!"

The crowd immediately exploded into an uproar, quickly followed by endless excitement and an eager urge to get to work.

As an alchemist, what could possibly bring a greater sense of achievement than participating in the construction of a Sky City!

Under the White Dragon Lord's formidable organizational skills, the tens of thousands of alchemists were divided into three teams, each led by a grandmaster alchemist. He then broke down the knowledge of Sky City into individual modules, distributing them alongside the raw materials stored in the White Tower's warehouse.

On the island, sealed away by a Magic Barrier, a feverish wave of construction began.

Because Sky City was of such paramount importance, the White Dragon Lord remained on the island the entire time, personally overseeing the construction of the core Tower Spirit system.

The entire island was strictly entry-only. All food was delivered via teleportation by Gurgalu.

In a flash, twenty years passed.

From absolutely nothing, a Sky City had been built on the island.

It was a Sky City centered around a colossal white Magic Tower. The inner city buildings hadn't been constructed yet, making it look a bit bare, but it was undeniably the prototype of a Sky City.

Countless people surrounded Sky City, unable to hide their excitement. This was the culmination of over twenty years of their blood, sweat, and tears, and today, it would finally be activated.

Inside the White Tower's control room, the White Dragon Lord stared at the floating Control Core and issued a command through his Gold Finger.

"Activate Tower Spirit! Initiate self-diagnostics!"

"Tower Spirit Number One activated. Initiating self-diagnostics."

A faint glimmer flashed across the floating Control Core. Auxiliary runes lit up across its surface, and three-dimensional magic arrays hovered around it.

"Testing Elemental Furnace. Elemental Furnace test complete. Operating normally."

"Testing flight systems. Flight systems test complete. Operating normally."

"Testing spatial jump systems. Spatial jump systems test complete. Operating normally."

"..."

A short while later, after the White Dragon Lord patched a few minor glitches, Sky City slowly ascended into the sky amidst the roaring cheers of the crowd.

Down on the island, the cheers boiled over like a wave. Inside the control room, the White Dragon Lord was equally thrilled.

Sky City was heralded as a Mage's Divine Kingdom. Formidable abilities like spatial jumps and dimensional orbital cannons finally gave the White Dragon Lord a trump card that allowed him to face Intermediate Divine Power without fear.

Most crucially, this Sky City belonged exclusively to the White Dragon Lord. It was worth noting that the Sky City piloted by Merlin Heavenly Principle was public property belonging to the Nordhill Guardian Council.

However, Merlin Heavenly Principle hadn't shouldered such massive debts either. The White Dragon Lord carefully tallied the debts he carried: he owed the City of Truth, he owed the Platinum Dragon God, and he owed the Gem Dragon King.

This was a staggering debt that couldn't be repaid even if the Yafeiawei Empire was sold ten times over. Fortunately, both the Platinum Dragon God and the Gem Dragon King had given him very long repayment terms, and with zero interest.

The White Dragon Lord distributed rewards to the many alchemists who had rendered great service. The rewards were varied: magical knowledge, wealth, and even the gift of becoming his kin.

As an Abomination Rank Ancient Giant Dragon, the White Dragon Lord accepting a mortal as his kin could instantly elevate them to the Legendary Rank Level. Because of this, the empire gained a new batch of legendary powerhouses.

After the rewards were fully distributed, the White Dragon Lord dismissed the majority of the personnel. He returned to Oqi City, leaving Sky City stationed above the island.

It wasn't that he wanted to hide his strength; rather, Sky City needed to be outfitted with new Floating Towers. Before those Floating Towers were complete, Sky City would only have a solitary White Tower standing on it, which looked far too shabby.

The White Dragon Lord returned to White Castle and settled into the imperial palace, which was now missing the White Tower. At the same time, he had the alchemists specifically left on the island continue building the Floating Towers.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion, exactly according to plan.

The White Dragon Lord's clone had also adapted to the knowledge transferred from his true body. Its strength surged exponentially, becoming an Abomination Rank Mage.

While his clone handled imperial affairs, the White Dragon Lord's true body carefully selected suitable targets for plunder.

In the near future, Sky City would be completed according to plan. By then, the White Dragon Lord's wings would be fully grown, and it would be time to join the war between the dragons and the titans.

Participating in the war didn't necessarily mean charging directly onto the battlefield. Sabotaging the enemy's rear was also a valid form of combat.

The White Dragon Lord's plan was to pilot Sky City and attack planes controlled by the titans. This would achieve both the goal of weakening the enemy and the goal of plundering wealth.

After all, the pressure of his debts was crushing. The White Dragon Lord had no choice but to think about how to pay them off.

After a round of meticulous selection, the White Dragon Lord settled on a target: the Frost Titan—Monkenado Frostwhisper.

The Frost Titan, Monkenado Frostwhisper, was an Abomination Rank titan. He was the ruler of a large-scale plane that boasted immense power and was as renowned throughout the multiverse as Nordhill. Its coordinates were not hard to find.

Furthermore, the last time they were in the Abyss, Frostwhisper had been hit by the Winter Empress's Curse. He had lost the right to command Ice Elementals, causing his strength to plummet dramatically.

You always pick the softest persimmon; if he didn't target Frostwhisper, who else would he target?!

Target confirmed, the White Dragon Lord began his preparations. First, he dispatched his kin to the Star Realm to purchase intelligence. Then, he started organizing the invasion logistics. Specifically, he recalled the Nether Panther, Yuir, from the Abyss Battlefield.

The black panther, graceful and brimming with power, stood before the White Dragon Lord, his slender tail swaying back and forth.

"Yuir, show me your new abilities."

Obeying the White Dragon Lord's command, the Nether Panther extended his dagger-like claws and held them up for inspection.

A flash of surprise passed through the White Dragon Lord's eyes. He saw that the Nether Panther's claws were cloaked in a layer of Soul Energy. This was exactly why he could directly attack the soul.

After breaking through to High-Tier Legend, Yuir's shadow-weaving abilities had also improved drastically. His teleportation range had expanded to two thousand meters. In other words, within a two-thousand-meter radius of Yuir, as long as there was a shadow, he could reach it instantly.

With this ghost-like speed, coupled with soul-attacking claws that ignored all physical defenses, it was no wonder he had carved out the title of Claw of the Underworld God on the dragon and titan battlefield, where powerhouses gathered in droves.

"Yuir, I have a vital mission for you. I need you to infiltrate a large-scale plane ruled by an Abomination Rank titan and gather intelligence, paving the way for the Yafeiawei Empire's marching army."

"Your will is my path."

"Excellent. But you don't need to worry too much. That Abomination Rank titan is essentially crippled right now; he might not even be able to catch you. His name is Monkenado Frostwhisper..."

Because the large-scale plane where Frostwhisper resided was an open plane, Yuir could actually travel there openly through official channels. However, just to be safe, the Nether Panther needed a little disguise.

The White Dragon Lord pulled a cloak from his Dimensional Bag. This was the Shapeshifter's Cloak he had bought at an auction in the Star Realm. It could flawlessly transform its wearer into a completely different creature.

After teaching Yuir how to use the Shapeshifter's Cloak, the White Dragon Lord teleported him to the Star Realm.

"Now, everything is in place. All we have to do is wait for the Floating City to be finished."