“The Greyrock Archipelago, finally here.”

After a day’s journey, flying over four thousand miles without incident, Saga arrived near his destination.

Between the clear sky, free of clouds, and the ocean as clear as a blue gem, the Golden Hatchling Dragon gazed into the distance.

The first thing that caught his eye was a group of islands centered around several large islands, surrounded by numerous small islets, sea pillars, stacks, and large reefs. The structure of these islands caused the surrounding currents to be very turbulent, almost never calm, and ordinary boats without the application of magic power found it difficult to dock and approach.

Screech!

A piercing and familiar shriek came through.

A sharp gaze filled with intense hostility and malice fell upon Saga.

Two thousand meters away, a colossal creature rose into the air from a nest atop a rugged sea pillar that jutted out from the sea surface, resembling a forest of stone in the sea. With a wingspan of fourteen meters and a body length of six to seven meters, it seemed to regard the newly arrived Golden Hatchling Dragon as prey, flapping its wings and rushing forward with a howling wind.

The Golden Hatchling Dragon narrowed its eyes and looked down at its target.

Sharp eyes, a pointed beak, a head like that of an eagle, limbs with fierce claws, a strong body like that of a lion, and a pair of huge wings covered with layered feathers. This was a gryphon.

“This is the Gryphon Nest Woods near the Greyrock Archipelago. The sea stone forest formed by a large number of sea pillars has attracted some gryphons to rest here.”

Watching the approaching gryphon, Saga’s heart remained undisturbed.

Unlike the White Feather Gryphons of Moon Bay, this gryphon was much larger, and the feathers at the edge of its wings were not the pure white of the White Feather Gryphon. Instead, they were silver, with a metallic texture that shone clearly in the sunlight.

Silver Feather Gryphon—a fifth-tier gryphon.

The ones in Moon Bay were fourth-tier White Feather Gryphons.

This type of gryphon, when reaching the sixth tier, would still be a Silver Feather Gryphon, but if it were lucky enough to advance further and break through to a higher level, it would become an exceptionally powerful Golden Feather Gryphon.

The Lionheart Kingdom on the Yar Continent has a unique method of cultivating Silver Feather Gryphons into Golden Feather Gryphons.

The Lionheart Kingdom even formed a Golden Feather Gryphon Knight Order, which is quite powerful, not inferior to some of the high-ranking legions of empires.

Silver Feather Gryphons are naturally ferocious and are bona fide predators.

Since Saga was concealing his dragon might and his current size was not too large, he was seen as prey by the Silver Feather Gryphon. Gryphons also have a preference for shiny objects, liking to decorate their nests with them, and Saga’s scales, which resembled precious metals and diamonds, attracted it.

When it approached within a few hundred meters of the Golden Hatchling Dragon.

The Silver Feather Gryphon opened its mouth and screeched again.

Screech!

The piercing sound vibrated the air, forming visible sound waves that swept over the body of the Golden Hatchling Dragon.

This was the Silver Feather Gryphon’s usual hunting method: first, it would use a magic-infused shriek to stun the target briefly, then swoop in to tear open the opponent’s throat with its claws or feathers, killing with a single blow.

The moment the sound wave shriek swept past.

The little hatchling raised an eyebrow, an invisible deflection force field isolated the sound waves, and he was unaffected. Then, he opened his mouth and took a deep breath.

—Roar!

Like thunder bursting forth.

A deep dragon roar bellowed from Saga’s mouth, startling the Silver Feather Gryphon so much that its body shook, and its rushing figure almost lost balance.

It shook its head, its ferocity triggered.

Buzz. Its wings stretched to the limit, the silver feathers at the edges gleaming with a cold luster, visible silver light gathering on them, exuding an extremely sharp texture.

Whoosh!

The wings flapped fiercely.

The Silver Feather Gryphon’s speed surged, its eyes filled with ferocity as it rapidly closed in on the Golden Hatchling Dragon, its wings like blades, slashing directly at the neck of the Golden Hatchling Dragon.

Saga lifted his chin and also moved.

A golden dragon shadow flashed by, intersecting with the figure of the Silver Feather Gryphon.

A pitiful scream sounded in an instant.

In the moment of gold and silver crossing, the body of the Silver Feather Gryphon uncontrollably flew backward with the golden dragon shadow, its neck gripped by a claw covered in fine diamond-like golden dragon scales, each sharp hook piercing the skin and sinking into the throat.

In the eyes of ordinary people, gryphons are a rather powerful type of magical creature.

However, compared to dragons, they are somewhat lacking; dragons are considered boss-level beings in the eyes of the common folk, while gryphons are at most elite monsters.

Facing a fourth-tier against a fifth-tier, Saga ‘overcame the strong with the weak’ and instantly killed it.

Holding the Silver Feather Gryphon, which was one or two sizes larger than himself, the Golden Hatchling Dragon calmly landed on a sea pillar, then stretched out his dragon claw to grip the gryphon’s head, twisted it with a cross, and with a snap, the struggling Silver Feather Gryphon’s movements stiffened.

Huff huff huff. The sound of dense wings flapping arose.

Four or five White Feather Gryphons that were staying in the Gryphon Nest Woods flew away in panic as Saga approached.

Glancing at the fleeing White Feather Gryphons, Saga settled down on the spot and began to eat.

“Just got a bit hungry, and you delivered yourself to my doorstep.”

Gryphon meat is tender yet resilient, especially the pair of gryphon wings. Although there isn’t much meat after plucking the feathers, the remaining skin and flesh are tight, and the fascia is dense, making for a very good texture to eat.

Moments later, feathers were scattered all around.

Saga held a silver feather in his hand and flicked it with his hook.

Clang. A clear sound like steel colliding rang out; this silver feather was a very good magical material, arguably the most valuable part of the Silver Feather Gryphon. Saga looked at it for a few moments and then stored it in his spatial crystal.

“When I travel with my dragon might concealed, there are always magical beasts that think I’m easy to bully and deliver themselves to my doorstep.”

“But that’s fine; it saves me the trouble of hunting for food myself.”

Saga patted his belly, thinking.

Straightening up, he raised his head.

Saga looked towards the main islands of the Greyrock Archipelago, surrounded by many smaller islands.

The coastal sandy areas sparkled with golden hues, like gold, hence the name Golden Sand Island, the territory of the mature Topaz Dragon.

The island’s terrain is relatively flat, with hardly any hills, woodlands, or other natural scenery. What comes into view are mainly castles, houses, streets, towers, walls, and so on, with many humans gathered on the island of Westia, belonging to the Polara Principality, the largest and most densely populated island of sapient beings in the Greyrock Archipelago.

Red maple leaves everywhere, countless tall and straight red maple trees stretching their branches towards the sky, the Redwood Island, where the figure of the red maple tree is omnipresent. In the middle of this island, a spire towering a hundred feet high is particularly eye-catching, with fine magical runes flickering on its surface. About three meters from the spire, a round, magic-lit orb floats in the air without any support.

“A Mage Tower, belonging to a caster from the Skyrealm Empire.”

Saga pondered thoughtfully.

“The Skyrealm Empire, the City of the Sky, is said to be formed by the combined effects of anti-gravity and wind spells, along with many supporting spells. During wartime, each City of the Sky is a war fortress, at least led by a legendary caster of over thirty biological levels, commanding many casters.”

Gazing at the peculiar Mage Tower, Saga silently thought.

The Skyrealm Empire, this powerful empire that venerates casters, is located on the Yar Continent and is one of the higher empires, also a particularly strong presence among them, with a vast influence on this planet. Countless casters consider it an honor to study at the magic academies of the Skyrealm Empire.

This place is an undisputed paradise for casters, even necromancers can openly show their faces in the Skyrealm Empire.

Moreover.

The Skyrealm Empire and the Mechanar Empire have been archenemies for many years.

Before signing the non-aggression pact and establishing the High Kingdom Council, during the endless chaotic era, the wars between the Skyrealm Empire and the Mechanar Empire were the most brutal and terrifying. The Alberti Rift, the Schlein Crater, the Augustus Ringland… This planet still retains many of the drastic terrains caused by the wars between the Skyrealm Empire and the Mechanar Empire.

Even in the ostensibly peaceful New Era.

The Skyrealm Empire and the Mechanar Empire have been manipulating behind the scenes, using other countries as pawns, and have engaged in many proxy wars to compete with each other.

“To have a Mage Tower means at least a high-ranking existence, but the key is that this caster belongs to the Skyrealm Empire, coming from the empire with the most complete system of spells, not comparable to ordinary casters.”

“However, why would a caster from the Skyrealm Empire not stay in the magnificent City of the Sky and come here instead? The Greyrock Archipelago is dozens of times larger than Moon Bay, but it’s still considered a backwater for a caster from the Skyrealm Empire.”

Saga was somewhat puzzled.

Without delving deeper due to a lack of information, he shifted his gaze to another large main island.

The sea area around this island has the fiercest undercurrents and winds, with relentless waves constantly battering and eroding the coastline, forming numerous oddly shaped reefs and bays. The island itself has little vegetation, with bare hills and cliffs densely covered with wind-eroded rocks.

—Boulder Island.

The wind brought a scent that Saga did not like, and this scent was precisely from Boulder Island.

“Ruled by a small tribe of storm giants.”

“At first glance, this island seems barren, but according to Gulitia, it’s full of rich metal ore reserves underneath, all strategic resources. This tribe of storm giants is so wealthy that they can afford to equip every one of their affiliated monsters with metal armor and weapons.”

Maintaining the refractive force field, the Golden Hatchling Dragon vanished into the air and ascended into the high sky.