As the magical dweomer flickered, Langpu's hideous face reappeared on the mirror's surface, his expression brimming with the joy of a bountiful harvest.
"Master, you've come just in time."
"This time, we swept through the inventory of the Tower of Polar Night and recovered over a hundred spell scrolls from the ruins, including one ninth-circle spell, two eighth-circle spells, three seventh-circle spells, five sixth-circle spells, and eleven fifth-circle spells. Most of them belong to the Necromancy and Conjuration schools, not to mention countless lower-circle spells."
Langpu took a sheet of parchment handed over by a subordinate, put on a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles, and continued reading:
"That sole ninth-circle spell is the Phantom of the King-Killer Star cast by Vagnerd right before his death. It was sealed deep beneath the tower with various vicious necromantic wards. We suffered dozens of casualties before finally retrieving it. As this is a matter of utmost gravity, this subordinate dared not make any unauthorized decisions. Following your instructions, I have resealed it as forbidden lore, ready to be delivered to your treasury."
"Additionally, we recovered hundreds of dragon bloodline test subjects and extensive experimental data from the tower. I must admit that Vagnerd had attained extraordinary mastery in dragon bloodline research. Over these past days, I haven't slept day or night, and I have already summarized a portion of these top-secret materials and sealed them into the kingdom's archives."
"The kingdom's spellcasters are conducting further studies on them. It is estimated to take three to five years to fully digest these research achievements."
"This quarter, social order in the Kingdom of Cinders has gradually stabilized, the economy has steadily recovered, and tax revenues across all categories have reached fifty-two thousand..."
The ogre mage nudged his spectacles with his hand, speaking in an excited, unstoppable stream.
"Furthermore, we have already researched..."
Cassius was on the verge of yawning. Even though his Intelligence had reached 16, being bombarded with so much information all at once still made him irritable. As an inherently lazy red dragon, he was much more accustomed to being a hands-off ruler, leaving the tedious affairs of governance to his subordinates.
He immediately cut Langpu short.
"Summarize all of this into a written report and submit it to me in two days. Stop wasting my time here."
"Yes, understood."
Sensing the red dragon's impatience, Langpu hurriedly shut his mouth and answered with utmost deference.
"I didn't call on you for these trivial matters..."
"Awoo?"
A head poked out from the red dragon's side—Tinia was peering curiously at the reflection in the magic mirror.
Seeing the white dragon's head, Langpu froze, immediately grasping the red dragon's purpose in summoning him.
This white dragon had caused him quite a lot of trouble. After all, she was a noble true dragon, and Langpu, as the red dragon's loyal vassal, dared not casually provoke her. Yet as the kingdom's minister of governance, he was saddled with duty and could not simply stand by while the white dragon wrecked buildings. In the end, he had resorted to a compromise, using Wall of Force to trap her.
Langpu's mind raced, imagining several worst-case scenarios in an instant, and cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
After weighing his options, Langpu earnestly confessed his fault:
"Master, it is truly my incompetence. I lacked the ability to properly settle Lady Tinia and could only confine her with magic. If you find this inappropriate, this subordinate can..."
Cassius frowned slightly and cut him off again:
"I didn't come to hold you accountable."
"Then what do you mean, Master...?"
Langpu drew a gold-threaded handkerchief and dabbed the sweat from his brow.
Cassius shot a glance at Tinia beside him. The white dragon caught on immediately and proudly puffed out a gentle gust of wind.
"Tinia possesses innate spellcasting ability. I want you to do your best to teach her some practical spells, such as Polymorph and Invisibility. Oh, and it would be best to teach her... the basic etiquette of the kingdom as well."
"This..."
Langpu's expression froze completely.
After a long silence, he managed to squeeze out an awkward, strained smile, his forehead already dripping with sweat.
"Lady Tinia is exceptionally gifted, but..."
Over the past decade, the dragon-blooded ogre mage had already exhausted his wits and mind trying to reform his tribe's 'exceptionally bright' ogres. Just as things had started showing a bit of promise, he was suddenly saddled with an even more stubborn, far more powerful white dragon whom he could neither beat nor scold. The prospect left him feeling suffocated.
"This subordinate will do his utmost."
Facing the red dragon's brook-no-refusal gaze, Langpu produced a smile that looked uglier than weeping.
"I will gather the kingdom's spellcasters periodically and pour all the kingdom's resources into educating Lady Tinia. We will certainly not fail your expectations."
After a moment's thought, Langpu finally found a way to share the burden. Without hesitation, he distributed this mess among all the kingdom's spellcasters—after all, there was no reason he should suffer this torment alone.
"Very well."
Cassius nodded slightly.
Beside him, Tinia remained oblivious, staring curiously at the magical projection.
Recalling something, Cassius asked Langpu, "Right, is my bedchamber completed?"
He was naturally referring to the 'Steel Dragonwing Palace' located on the city's outskirts. The red dragon had already sensed the need to enter a slumber to assimilate the power of his progenitor dragon bloodline, and slumbering within Northwind Keep was clearly dangerous—one slip, and he might turn half the city into a volcanic sea of magma.
Langpu replied, "We expended a large amount of Faction Contribution, commissioned over three hundred Starfallen, and assigned twenty-seven frost giant slaves. Working day and night without pause, aside from some additional decorations, the palace is essentially finished. Oddly enough, for some reason, these Starfallen have been unusually enthusiastic about taking quests lately."
Cassius thought to himself that it was obviously because the servers were about to shut down, so the players wanted to seize the chance to reap one last windfall.
"Good, I understand."
"Master, then I shall go prepare the report."
Langpu respectfully took his leave, waiting for the red dragon to step out of frame before cutting off the magical projection.
Cassius paced out of the hall, launched into the sky, and flew toward the city's outskirts, with the white dragon trailing close behind.
The brand-new Steel Dragonwing Palace finally came into view.
Built against the mountain, the palace was extraordinarily grand and imposing.
The main hall rose nearly thirty meters high, housing an enormous steel throne. The adjoining halls on either side were equally vast, spread out like broad dragon wings.
Only by relying on the Kingdom of Cinders' immense wealth, the tremendous physical strength of the frost giant slaves, and the players' diverse and crafty methods could such a palace have been erected in just a few short months.
Cassius even spotted several tower cranes constructed by the Machine Cult, leaving him wondering for a fleeting second whether he had returned to his original world.
Yet to Cassius, this palace was merely a facade. His true lair was a warm cave excavated deep into the mountain, offering ample space to accommodate his slumber.
Beside him, however, Tinia flapped her wings with an expression of sheer terror.
She had sensed a familiar magical resonance—it was Vagnerd's Dragon-Binding Circle, the powerful eighth-circle spell that had bound her for an entire century.
This undoubtedly struck terror into the deepest depths of Tinia's heart.
The circle that 'Grey Hawk' had never had the chance to use now lay quietly inside the left auxiliary hall.
Cassius finally revealed the true purpose of this trip. Grabbing the white dragon by the neck and ignoring her frantic thrashing, he hauled her right before the circle.
The red dragon pinned her head against the circle, grinning savagely:
"Dare to cause trouble again, and I'll keep you trapped for another hundred years."
"Understood?"
"Awoo—!"
Tinia flapped her wings wildly, letting out a shriek of sheer panic.
Chapter 220