Chapter 448: Meeting with the Dragon Kings

Clad in the Shapeshifter's Cloak, the Nether Panther Yuir stepped onto the White Tower's Teleportation Platform and teleported to the Star Realm city of Frostless City.

The Nordhill Plane shared no diplomatic relations with the plane of the Frost Titan Monkenado Frostwhisper, so Yuir planned to use the Star Realm as a transit hub to reach his destination.

Just as the White Dragon Lord was renowned throughout the multiverse, Frostwhisper was the sole Abomination Rank Frost Titan. He had made a name for himself long before the White Dragon Lord, and his plane was open to outsiders.

Obtaining the coordinates to a famous plane was not difficult. In just a few hours, Yuir secured the target information: the Monkenado Titan World.

Indeed, Frostwhisper had named this Large Material Plane after himself.

Having confirmed the destination's coordinates, Yuir once again stepped onto a Teleportation Platform, paid the fee, and teleported to the Monkenado Titan World.

A Frost Titan guard scrutinized the gnoll stepping off the Teleportation Platform. It was a black-skinned gnoll with two daggers sheathed at its waist and shadow energy surging through its body, its power at the Legendary Rank.

Yuir sensed a peculiar magical energy fluctuation sweep over him; it was a magical detection method.

But the Shapeshifter's Cloak provided by the White Dragon Lord was a top-tier magical disguise within the multiverse. This scanning detection magic was not enough to pierce its camouflage.

When the detection magic yielded no abnormal reaction, the Frost Titan relaxed his grip on his Spear of the Titans. "Hey, gnoll, come over here and register."

Disguised as a gnoll, Yuir obediently approached the titan.

"Who are you? Where are you from? Is this your first time here? What is your purpose in the Monkenado Titan World?"

"Hey, buddy, that's a lot of questions. Let's take them one at a time."

The Frost Titan, whose duty was receiving outsiders, had plenty of patience. "Name?"

"Hog Blackskin."

"Where are you from? Is it your first time in the Monkenado Titan World?"

"Yeah, it's my first time in this world. I'm a wandering mercenary from the Star Realm."

"A mercenary?" The Frost Titan glanced at the gnoll. "Excellent! We are currently recruiting Legendary Rank mercenaries to support the Abyss Battlefield. The compensation will definitely satisfy you—"

"Hold on! I'm looking for a specific material, so I don't want to take any commissions right now."

"Very well. If you change your mind, you can head to the nearest titan settlement at any time." Since the prospective recruit was unwilling, the Frost Titan didn't press the matter. He asked a few more questions and then let him through.

Yuir walked out of the magic tower and entered the titan city outside.

Adult titans stood at least twenty meters tall, so the city's architecture was unusually massive. On the broad streets, the two-meter-tall gnoll looked up at the surrounding gargantuan structures like an ant.

The titans' colossal homes were built from giant stone blocks, giving them a rigid, square appearance with roofs piled high with white snow. Yuir recalled the information he had gathered in Frostless City:

The Monkenado Titan World was a frigid realm where more than half the land was covered in perpetual ice and snow. The Frost Titans and their followers ruled this land, while other races could only survive by clinging to the titan tribes. And Monkenado Frostwhisper was the absolute master of this world.

Frostwhisper's main base was situated at Frost Cliff in the center of the plane. Rising from the snow-blanketed precipice, the Frostwhisper Tower pierced the clouds.

The Frostwhisper Tower was the main tower of this world's Magic Tower Defense System, though the territory surrounding it was a forbidden zone to all non-titan creatures.

A shadow fell from above, and Yuir felt an oppressive weight bearing down. He quickly dodged to the side.

A gargantuan foot stomped exactly where he had just been standing. The owner of the foot was a Frost Titan, who looked down at the glaring gnoll with a flicker of contempt in his eyes.

"My apologies, you're too small. I didn't see you." Despite his words, not a trace of apology showed on the Frost Titan's face; instead, a mocking sneer curled the corners of his mouth.

A flash of fury flickered in Yuir's eyes. The titan was obviously looking for trouble on purpose, and there were plenty of possible reasons why.

A bad mood, xenophobia, or simply thinking the gnoll looked like an easy target could all be reasons to pick a fight.

Yuir couldn't even be bothered to ask. He wanted to teach the titan a lesson but instantly discarded the thought. He didn't need to argue with a dead man.

"That's fine. Night is coming; be careful." With that, the gnoll turned and walked away. His parting glance made the Frost Titan feel as if he had been plunged into an icehouse.

The Frost Titan, Lakdas, couldn't help taking a step back before catching himself.

'I was actually scared back by a lowly gnoll!'

Rage surged in his heart as he looked in the gnoll's direction, only to find the creature was already gone.

"Hmph! You run fast!"

Extremely dissatisfied with his own performance just now, Lakdas cursed all the way back toward his home.

In the shadows of the houses on the street, a gnoll coldly watched the departing titan.

'I was just missing a disguise template, and you delivered yourself right to my door...'

As time passed, the Monkenado Titan World plunged into darkness, and the titans followed their habits and returned home.

Lakdas felt incredibly uneasy for no apparent reason. His normally warm home provided him no sense of security, so he lit every Magic Lamp in the house.

"What is going on? This damn feeling! Did my brother die on the Abyss Battlefield...?"

Lakdas paced back and forth across his home. No matter how much he wondered, he never expected that a crisis was about to descend on him.

Suddenly, his hairs stood on end. A splitting agony erupted on the top of his head, and he lost consciousness.

A pitch-black panther stood atop the Frost Titan's corpse, licking its bloody claws. The Frost Titan's head had been crushed by a single swipe, killing him instantly.

Yuir pulled a scroll gifted by the White Dragon Lord from his Dimensional Bag and immediately unfurled it. A peculiar energy fluctuation shredded the titan's recently detached soul, sucking it into Yuir's body.

Soul Drain!

Soul Drain could shred a target's soul body, allowing the caster to absorb the soul fragments carrying their memories. Though the memories obtained this way were incomplete, it was safe and quick—more than enough for the infiltrating Yuir.

Absorbing part of the Frost Titan's memories, Yuir learned his name was Lakdas. He was an adult Frost Titan who lived alone, and he had an older brother on the Abyss Battlefield.

"A decent cover identity."

Yuir manipulated the Cloak of the Faceless One, taking on Lakdas's appearance.

He compared himself to the corpse on the floor and, satisfied that they were identical, stored the titan's body away.

Yuir would live on in Lakdas's place, gathering intelligence and transmitting it back to Nordhill.

................................................

Nordhill, Yafiavi Empire.

Upon receiving the news sent back by the Nether Panther, the White Dragon Lord ordered him to continue gathering intelligence.

As the days passed, Yuir relayed more and more information, and the White Dragon Lord's understanding of the Monkenado Titan World gradually fleshed out.

It was a frigid Large Material Plane. The Frost Titan, Monkenado Frostwhisper, had constructed over eight hundred magic towers to monitor the entire world, including several Floating Towers.

Indeed, it was a massive Magic Tower Defense System.

In fact, the vast majority of factions in the multiverse controlled planes through Magic Tower Defense Systems. Nordhill was no exception; the magic towers scattered across the world were all part of its planar defense system.

It was just that the main tower of Nordhill's Magic Tower Defense System was Sky City, and it also featured the powerful weapon of the Spatial Lockdown Magic Array.

Yuir's capabilities were very strong. In just a year, he managed to figure out the Monkenado Titan World's foundation.

Aside from the distribution map of the Magic Tower Defense System, he also obtained one crucial piece of intelligence: the Frost Titan Monkenado Frostwhisper had not appeared in a very long time.

The White Dragon Lord calculated the timeline carefully and found that Frostwhisper's last appearance was shortly before the end of that great battle in the Abyss. He instantly understood that Frostwhisper was hiding to recover from his injuries, and his subordinates might not even know that he had lost his spellcasting ability.

This could be a breakthrough point.

The White Dragon Lord ordered Yuir to continue lying low in hopes of obtaining deeper intelligence. At the same time, he began planning an invasion.

Sky City would be fully completed in five years at most, at which time the Yafiavi Empire's grand army would descend upon the enemy.

However, invading a plane controlled by an Abomination Rank titan was not solely the Yafiavi Empire's business. He had to notify Merlin Heavenly Principle in advance.

In truth, the White Dragon Lord was merely making a gesture. The Dragon Race was an important component of the Nordhill Guardian Council, and the council had long been strapped to the dragons' war chariot. Although they were unwilling to get dragged into the war between dragons and titans, they would not stop native dragons from invading a titan world either.

After notifying Merlin Heavenly Principle, the White Dragon Lord contacted the three Dragon Kings. Even though Tiamat was unreliable in some matters, she was absolutely trustworthy when it came to dealing with titans.

The Platinum Dragon God, the Five-Headed Dragon Queen, and the Gem Dragon King descended with their avatars to the White Castle to convene with the White Dragon Lord.

"Three Majesties, I have summoned you here because I am about to attack the world of the Frost Titan, Monkenado Frostwhisper. This will very likely ignite the flames of war completely."

The Platinum Dragon God frowned. "Amos, you are too hasty. For the dragons to proactively initiate war will tarnish our reputation among The Gods."

"Your Majesty, dragon god, we both know this battle is inevitable. Rather than letting the titans ignite the flames of war, we might as well take the initiative and seize control of the battlefield. This can effectively reduce the casualties of the Dragon Race."

"I agree with Amos's viewpoint," the Five-Headed Dragon Queen said. "By suddenly igniting the flames of war from the dragons' side, we can catch the titans completely off guard. At that time, we will unite our forces and wipe out as much of the titans' vital strength as possible."

After a moment of thought, the Gem Dragon King looked toward the frowning Platinum Dragon God. "This plan benefits the Dragon Race. Now is not the time to worry about reputation."

After a brief discussion, the White Dragon Lord reached a consensus with the three Dragon Kings.

Tiamat promised to keep an eye on the God of the Dark Titans, and the Platinum Dragon God promised to deal with the Luminous Titan. The White Dragon Lord shifted his gaze to the Gem Dragon King, who was the only one yet to declare a stance.

The Gem Dragon King shrugged. "I can't guarantee I can hold off the Star Titan because I don't even know where the Rootless City is located. Just like the Obsidian Sanctuary, the Rootless City is hidden within the boundless Star Realm."

The White Dragon Lord understood the Gem Dragon King. "Based on what Your Majesty says, let us switch to a different combat strategy..."

A night passed, and the White Dragon Lord reached an agreement with the three great Dragon Kings on the battle plan. The three Dragon Kings left; they had to make the appropriate preparations before the White Dragon Lord launched his attack.

The White Dragon Lord began mobilizing the empire's strategic materials, starting with the army.

Besides the titans, the Monkenado Titan World also had many giants and various major races attached to the titans. The White Dragon Lord and the Dragon Legion would deal with the titans, while the titans' followers would be left to the empire's grand army.

After years of development, the military strength of the Yafiavi Empire had made great progress.

The Ogres remained the empire's well-deserved ace army; the ordinary soldiers in the most elite Ogre legions were High Tier professionals.

Factoring in their Creature Levels and coordinated attack techniques, two Ogre soldiers could handle a Master Tier powerhouse without any issues.

In the ace Ogre army, Master Tier Ogres were low-to-mid-level officers, and only Legendary Rank Ogres were high-ranking officers. The Ogre legion commander was none other than the empire's prime minister—Gurgalu.

As for the other main combat branch—the gnolls—the leader of the gnoll race was Hogg Riverclaw. The minimum enlistment standard for the gnoll soldiers under his command was Level 8.

These gnoll warriors had a fierce combat style and strictly obeyed orders; they were the empire's loyal soldiers.

In addition to the Ogres and gnolls, the Yafiavi Empire had gained a special ace army: the puppet grand army.

Over the years, the empire had exported countless puppets, and the puppets they accumulated for themselves were enough to stuff the Dark Lands.

In this special legion, Rock Golems comparable in strength to High Tier professionals were the grass-roots soldiers, Steel Golems comparable to the Master Tier were the elite troops, and there were even hundreds of various Legendary Rank Puppets acting as the elite forces.

The commander of this puppet army was a clone of the White Dragon Lord.

While the grand army prepared, the White Dragon Lord summoned the Yafiavi Empire's strategic experts to the White Castle to conduct a strategic analysis of the map of the Monkenado Titan World that Yuir had sent back.

After various discussions, a battle plan to invade the plane was completed.

At this moment, the Yafiavi Empire was like a cheetah crawling in the grass, its muscles tense, ready to strike at any moment as soon as the time was right.

And that time was when Sky City was thoroughly completed.

Day by day passed, and the massive amount of resources the White Dragon Lord had invested into constructing Floating Towers finally showed results.

Not long ago, the Council delivered several Floating Towers, and the White Tower's own teams also completed several Floating Towers.

Watching each Floating Tower dock with its base on Sky City, the White Dragon Lord felt full of pride.

Thinking back to when he piloted a Council Floating Tower back to the City of the Sky, Samaria, he had thought about one day possessing his own Sky City and a complete Floating Tower battle group.

Now, his goal was finally about to be realized.

Inside the control room of the White Tower at the center of Sky City, the White Dragon Lord personally witnessed the final Floating Tower dock with its base.

With this, the Sky City belonging to the Yafiavi Empire was finally complete.

On a snow-white Sky City, a giant white magic tower towered in the center. Evenly distributed around the giant white tower were twelve slightly smaller Floating Towers, their thirteen pinnacle crystals radiating a dazzling magical brilliance.