With an overwhelming presence, Saga stomped down, crushing the Evil Tooth leader into the earth, blending with the soil into an indistinguishable pulp of flesh.

Though the Evil Tooth leader was a legend in his own right, and even a third-tier one at that, he was utterly powerless before Saga, who had just stepped into the realm of legends. It was as if they weren’t even on the same level.

“The Ratmen, who rely on numbers to win, are truly weak as individuals.”

The gap in legendary strength between different races was vast. This third-tier legendary Ratman felt weaker to Saga than the Dragon Kind he had encountered in the Dragon Soul Sanctuary, who had displayed the strength of a first-tier legend. Crushing it with his Superheavy Battle Form, Saga felt he was giving it too much respect, allowing it to die less pathetically.

After eradicating the rat horde with his Magnetic Thermal Dragon Might and Magnetic Cold Dragon Might,

Saga’s black sheen faded, and with a mighty flap of his wings, he soared into the sky, his gaze sharp as lightning as he focused on an inconspicuous corner, the shadow beneath a massive stone.

“Little rat hiding in the shadows, do you think you can escape my golden pupils?”

Reflected in his golden eyes was the slightly twisted shadow. The Golden Dragon’s face was calm as he murmured softly.

In an instant, the shadow seemed to come alive, coalescing into the form of the Black Claw leader, a sickly and dangerous Ratman with many signs of decay and an aura of plague.

Saga’s gaze narrowed as he extended a dragon claw, aiming it from afar at the Black Claw leader.

Suddenly, a surging gravitational force, like an invisible giant hand, seized the Black Claw leader’s body, pulling it towards the Golden Dragon.

The Black Claw leader’s face registered shock. As his body was lifted into the air, he clutched a skull-topped staff with both paws, swinging it as a sickly green light shone from the rat skull atop the staff.

Swarm of Flies and Mosquitoes!

Buzzing noisily, a nauseating drone filled the air as countless poisonous mosquitoes and flies materialized from the eerie green light, clustering around the Black Claw leader. They spread in all directions, forming a dark cloud that blotted out the sky.

Under the pressure of Saga’s Dragon Might and the gravitational force,

A multitude of flies and mosquitoes perished instantly, falling to the ground like rain.

Still, a portion clung tightly to the Black Claw leader, who in a blink burrowed into the ground, delving deep within.

The Black Claw leader, who had hoped to benefit from the chaos, wisely chose to flee after witnessing Saga’s power.

Within Saga’s sensory range, he could clearly detect the Black Claw leader’s rapid underground movement, as if treading on flat ground, swift as flight.

Just as Saga was about to use his psychic abilities to pursue underground,

A strange green layer surfaced on the countless dead insects, harboring a dangerous plague aura, and they began to swell rapidly, exploding one after another.

An invisible plague emerged, spreading immediately.

Although there were no visible changes, the area became extremely dangerous in an instant.

“Plague Warlock.”

Saga flapped his wings, and his Magnetic Thermal Dragon Might surged forth once again.

In a flash, although no flames ignited, the high temperature filled every inch of space around him, sweeping through and annihilating the plague.

Plague Warlocks were a type of Ratman Caster prolific within the Ratmen Empire.

They specialized in spells that spread death, disease, and plagues over a wide area, and they themselves carried the plague, causing it to spread wherever they went. There had been powerful Plague Warlocks who created the Grey Death Plague that swept across the Yarl Continent, causing countless deaths among both Magical Creatures and Sapient Beings, and earning the Ratmen Empire the deep loathing of many.

Before the spread of a plague, high temperatures and flames were an effective countermeasure.

Apart from Plague Warlocks,

The Ratmen Empire also had the equally notorious Sneaky Warlocks, skilled in stealth, and the Destructive Warlocks, adept at destruction and ruin.

Plague, Sneaky, and Destructive – these three major Warlock systems formed the mainstream casting systems of the Ratmen Empire and were the foundation of their survival.

The location wasn’t far from the Emerald Gorge.

To prevent the plague from spreading into the Emerald Gorge, Saga dealt with the plague while the Black Claw leader had already made his escape.

“Live a few more days then.”

After the air was cleared of the plague by the high temperature, the Golden Dragon’s face was indifferent as he murmured.

From the activities of these Ratmen, it wasn’t hard to deduce that they definitely lived in the underground world around the Emerald Gorge. Otherwise, they wouldn’t repeatedly appear on the surface here.

With Saga’s terrifying sensory abilities after ascending to legend, as long as he put his full effort into it, it wouldn’t be difficult to find their nest.

“When the time comes, I’ll uproot their rat nest completely.”

To eradicate a rat infestation in a certain place, it wasn’t enough to just kill the leader or the Ratmen that appeared on the surface. When one leader died, other Ratmen coveting the position would scramble for power, and a new leader would quickly emerge. The Ratmen that surfaced were only a small part of those in the nest; more were born than died.

Sometimes, Ratmen clans would deliberately send their excess population to the surface to harass powerful nations as a form of population control.

The key point was that Ratmen had an excessively strong breeding capability and were tenacious in harsh environments.

Unless all the Ratmen in an area were exterminated, it wouldn’t be long before they returned, rising from the ashes.

“These Ratmen are really annoying.”

Charlotte hovered in mid-air, looking down at the numerous Ratmen carcasses on the ground, and said.

“There must be a large nest of Ratmen beneath the Emerald Gorge.”

“If these Ratmen continue to surface, we’ll have to constantly guard against the plagues they bring. We need to find a way to resolve this.”

Tixil the Amethyst Dragon shook her head slightly, frowning.

Saga flapped his wings and rose into the air, flying next to the two Little Dragonesses, and said, “Let these rats underground jump around for a few more days. Once I confirm the location of their nest, not one will be spared.”

Right now, Saga’s mind wasn’t on the Ratmen.

He wanted to fully refine the Heart of Stone into something of his own first, to completely control the Dragon Soul Sanctuary, and then he would deal with the Ratmen.

Immediately after, Saga and Tixil left the Dragonfall Mountains and returned to the Emerald Gorge.

After a brief moment of affection, resisting the influence of the heart-stealing demon, Saga and Tixil began to tend to their own matters.

Perched within the Dragon’s Nest, Tixil the Amethyst Dragon sat with her eyes closed, breathing evenly as she meditated. Her body radiated psychic energy like ripples of water, slowly enhancing her psychic foundation. Charlotte, similar to Saga and because she was an Outsider, needed to research her own power and also practiced spells that suited her, like charm and control.

Saga, meanwhile, focused intently on the Heart of Stone suspended before him.

With the glow of psychic energy, Saga’s will spread out like tendrils, concentrating on the Heart of Stone. As time passed, it transformed into imprints of will, spreading throughout and penetrating every part of the Heart of Stone.

Gradually, the Heart of Stone began to take on an aura similar to Saga’s, growing stronger and stronger.

Saga could now feel the Heart of Stone Sanctuary more clearly, as if with a mere thought, he could change the sanctuary’s operating mode, making it move according to his will.

Time flowed like water, trickling by.

At the same time,

In the underground world around the Emerald Gorge,

The Black Claw leader, having returned to his clan, showed a relieved expression, and after confirming that Saga hadn’t pursued him, he let out a long sigh.

“I never expected the dragon who took over the sanctuary to be so powerful.”

“The stupid leader of the Evil Tooth clan died in an instant. Lucky I ran fast.”

In terms of surface combat power, the Evil Tooth leader and the Black Claw leader were not much different, but as a Caster and a Plague Warlock, the Black Claw leader had a richer array of tactics and better escape methods when facing strong enemies. The Evil Tooth leader, especially when taking the brunt of the attack, was not so fortunate.

“The ancient Dragon Soul Sanctuary is out of reach now, such bad luck.”

The Black Claw leader calmed his emotions, and his beady eyes soon lit up with new ambition.

“However, there’s still some gain.”

“With the leader and many of the Evil Tooth clan dead, I can take the opportunity to annex their territory.”

“Under my leadership, the Black Claw clan will grow and develop further.”

“When my clan’s numbers increase, I will also gain greater strength.”

Ratmen had a collective characteristic.

The more members of the same clan gathered in an area, the stronger the Ratmen warriors of that clan would become.

In the power dynamics of the three superpowers, the Skyrealm Empire, as one of the three superpowers, had always been committed to striking against the Ratmen Empire, partly for this reason. If left unchecked, the Ratmen Empire living on the Yarl Continent would cause even more trouble for the Skyrealm Empire.

With a vicious look, the Black Claw leader thought fiercely:

“When I become stronger, hmph, I must develop a dragon plague specifically targeting the Dragon Kind, and let those arrogant and detestable dragons taste the might of the Ratmen they look down upon!”

Although he had provoked a powerful True Dragon, the Black Claw leader didn’t even consider leading his clan to relocate. Instead, he thought of using this opportunity to further develop his clan.

He didn’t believe the enemy would pursue them underground.

Delving into the underground world to eradicate Ratmen clans was something only very powerful casters of the Skyrealm Empire would do; others would just deal with the Ratmen on the surface.

Many of the Ratmen Warlock’s spells were more effective with more of their kin around.

When Ratmen numbers gathered sufficiently, even ordinary Ratmen would develop various resistances or buffs like bloodlust and frenzy.

Therefore, even if he was sure Saga wouldn’t let things go, the Black Claw leader believed he had the advantage on his own turf and wasn’t afraid of Saga.

“Now that the Evil Tooth clan is leaderless, it’s a good opportunity to conquer them.”

The Black Claw leader put aside other thoughts and decisively left his leader’s den. He then summoned countless Black Claw clan Ratmen, forming a tide of black, and through the myriad tunnels that crisscrossed the underground world, they headed towards the nearby Evil Tooth clan.

Days and nights passed in cycles.

Several weeks later,

Inside the Dragon Soul Sanctuary, the black and gold dragon was single-handedly battling all the dragons, including an ancient Red Dragon and an ancient rock dragon, as well as dozens of high-ranking legendary dragons. Dragon Might surged tumultuously, like an abyss, as he effortlessly wielded various powerful basic force abilities with skilled hands, rampaging through the horde of dragons like a fierce wind, displaying an invincible momentum.

A few days ago, Saga had perfectly imprinted his will into every corner of the sanctuary.

Since there were no actual souls present in the Dragon Soul Sanctuary now, he hadn’t changed the trial mode set up by the ancient rock dragon and used it to begin his training.

The first time he entered the Dragon Soul Sanctuary,

Saga started by dealing with the high-ranking dragons, then fought a melee against the ancient Red Dragon and ancient rock dragon, never feeling much pressure as he breezed through the Dragon Soul Sanctuary.

But this time, as the master of the sanctuary, Saga took control and made all the dragons attack him at once.

The ancient rock dragon and ancient Red Dragon coordinated their attacks, along with numerous high-ranking legendary dragons and a multitude of ordinary dragons, unleashing a devastating offensive with only Saga as their target.

This way, the difficulty skyrocketed.

However, Saga’s growth was incredibly rapid, with his strength improving almost daily. Each time he underwent the trial and reflected on his shortcomings, he experienced a surge in power.

Thus,

As time passed and the number of trials increased,

Saga went from initially struggling to cope, to managing normally, to quickly becoming comfortable, and now he maintained a stable advantage even when facing the onslaught of all the dragon shadows in the sanctuary.

“Whew.”

After shattering the last dragon into broken light, Saga took a long breath, his golden eyes sparkling.

Immediately after, the dragons began to re-form, looking at the black and gold dragon in the center of the sanctuary with awe.

After the final transformation by the ancient dragon soul,

These dragon shadows that couldn’t truly die wouldn’t reset immediately after death but would retain memories from each time, becoming more and more like real dragons.

“My lord, you are becoming more powerful.”

The ancient Red Dragon bowed before Saga and said.

Saga’s black sheen dissipated, and he deactivated his Superheavy Battle Form, patting the ancient Red Dragon’s shoulder and saying:

“When I’m not in the sanctuary, you can also improve yourselves through battle.”

“The war may be over, but appropriate sparring is allowed.”

These dragon shadows, who had died in real history but existed here, enjoyed the peace, but the inherent belligerence of the Dragon Kind wasn’t so easily quelled. Saga allowed them to spar with each other.

Turning to look at the ancient rock dragon, the ancient Red Dragon grinned eagerly and said:

“Old Fellow, you’ve died under my claws countless times, and you’ve always wanted to beat me, haven’t you? Now I’m giving you that chance.”

The ancient rock dragon here was just a manifestation of a part of the true ancient dragon soul’s will. In fact, all the dragon shadows here were derived in the same way, essentially the same.

But they were endowed with different personalities and also possessed independent personalities.

“Old man, I’ll twist your head off.”

The ancient rock dragon retorted, not to be outdone.

The two ancient dragon shadows were eager to try, immediately ready to spar.

At that moment, Saga waved his claw and solemnly said before they began to fight: “Sparring is fine, but remember not to kill each other.”

In the Dragon Soul Sanctuary, the reformation of dragon shadows after death wasn’t without cost.

Saga had to infuse his own psychic energy or use the Heart of Stone to absorb external soul energy to allow the dragon shadows to re-form.

If the supply was insufficient, these dragon shadows would become weaker and weaker.

On the other hand, if they were bound to the sanctuary, they would also thrive and grow stronger.

During trials, Saga, for better results, often didn’t mind the cost and would shatter all dragon shadows, but their sparring couldn’t continue like that, or the consumption would be too great for Saga to bear.

Immediately after, the ancient Red Dragon and the ancient rock dragon began to fight fiercely.

Countless other dragons watched, peacefully standing together, even witnessing the previously mortal enemies, the Chromatic Dragons and Metal Dragons, standing shoulder to shoulder.

While watching the battle between the ancient Red Dragon and the rock dragon,

Saga thought to himself:

“The trait of these shadows in the Dragon Soul Sanctuary, where they don’t truly die, feels somewhat similar to the Einherjar.”

“If in the future, real dragon souls reside here and also don’t truly die, it would be akin to real Einherjar.”

The Einherjar Saga thought of were native creatures from one of the outer planes, the Hero’s Domain, evolved from the souls of heroic beings from various worlds under the influence of plane rules.

Einherjar were immortal and indestructible.

“The Hero’s Domain is filled with omnipresent life energy, allowing Einherjar to revive at will.”

“My Dragon Soul Sanctuary doesn’t have this inexhaustible energy source. For souls to shatter and revive, I need to provide the energy.”

“However, its potential is still very high, and there’s a chance to develop it into a realm similar to the Hero’s Domain. I don’t need it to be as vast as a plane, even becoming a small world would be quite nice.”

Saga held certain expectations for the Dragon Soul Sanctuary.

Before long, he left the Dragon Soul Sanctuary and, with the Heart of Stone in tow, circled above the Emerald Gorge and the Dragonfall Mountains.

Under Saga’s prompting, the Heart of Stone rippled, sweeping across the surrounding space.

Then countless fragmented Ratmen souls, along with various other wild beasts and Magical Creature souls, rose from the rocks and vegetation, absorbed by the Heart of Stone and ground into pure soul energy to strengthen the sanctuary.

“Now that I fully control the sanctuary, I only realized afterward that it absorbs souls. It’s a pity for the legendary Ratmen souls.”

Saga shook his head slightly.

The souls being absorbed now were only fragments.

Ordinary souls couldn’t last long; they would either fall into the River Styx or the Oceanus River, be transformed in the lower planes like Hell and the Abyss, or in the upper planes like Heaven and the Hero’s Domain, or they would quickly shatter in the material world and gradually fade into nothingness.

Soul fragments provided little energy.

The best way to develop the sanctuary was to absorb some complete souls.

Complete souls moving within the sanctuary would naturally produce soul energy as a supply for the sanctuary. Relying solely on extracting energy from soul fragments wasn’t a long-term solution. When there were enough complete souls, and the Dragon Soul Sanctuary could sustain itself, it would essentially be no different from an ordinary world.

“Let’s first test the efficiency and limit of the Heart of Stone’s absorption of complete souls with the Ratmen. Now that the Heart of Stone is under my control, it’s time to head to the underground world.”

Ratmen souls were generally weak and usually shattered upon death. The proportion of complete souls was not high, but given the vast numbers of Ratmen, they could still produce many complete souls.

“The Dragon Soul Sanctuary is dominated by dragons, but it should also have a variety of other creatures as embellishments. The current Dragon Soul Sanctuary is too monotonous.”

Saga thought this way.