Having played the role of a hero against a demon invasion in the guise of a dragon and fulfilling the noble virtues of a Golden Dragon, Saga left Laine City and continued his journey eastward.
The Yarl Continent is vast.
Even though Saga had already traversed the expansive territories of the Lionheart Kingdom, he was still far from the central region of the Yarl Continent, remaining in a more peripheral corner.
However, as time passed, with Saga’s flying speed, he was gradually penetrating deeper into the Yarl Continent.
After several days of continuous flight, crossing the territories of several kingdoms and numerous duchies, and after passing a mountain range as treacherous as a dragon’s spine, Saga officially arrived at the central inland of the Yarl Continent.
Suspended high in the sky, the Golden Dragon bathed in the moonlight cascading from above, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding environment.
Compared to the peripheral regions, the elemental energy concentration in the air of the Yarl inland was higher, the forests below were lush, and towering trees hundreds of feet tall were a common sight. Majestic mountains that reached into the clouds occasionally came into view, and the creatures encountered were generally stronger than those in the peripheral areas.
“The Skyrealm Empire occupies the Yarl inland,” Saga lifted his head, his gaze piercing through the deep night sky, looking towards the distant horizon.
Natural selection, survival of the fittest—any place rich in resources and beautiful in environment is controlled by the powerful, and the Yarl inland is the domain of the Skyrealm Empire.
As one of the three superpowers among the mighty nations.
The cities of the Skyrealm Empire, each a Sky City, hang between the flowing winds and drifting clouds, high above, like deities overlooking the world below. Following specific trajectories, the Sky Cities of the Skyrealm Empire move slowly within the imperial borders, their locations ever-changing, yet it is certain that anywhere in the Yarl inland, one can see a Sky City of the Skyrealm Empire.
At this moment, in the distant skies.
One such Sky City entered Saga’s field of vision.
Against the deep night sky, the Sky City, glowing with a soft blue luster, resembled a blue moon, its light visible even from tens of thousands of kilometers away.
For magical creatures with elemental perception, the existence of a Sky City was even more dazzling.
Saga closed his eyes, his elemental perception activated.
Colors of elemental light filled his perceptive vision, especially the location of the distant Sky City, where highly concentrated wind elemental energy swirled slowly like a storm vortex, seemingly endless, allowing the magnificent city to hang in the sky.
Because it was no secret, Saga knew the principle behind the operation of the Sky Cities.
“The powerful Wind Casters of the Skyrealm Empire, through a top-tier legendary spell of twelve rings, draw infinite wind elemental energy from the plane of wind elements, creating a wind core in the prime material world, which serves as the heart of the Sky City and also a strategic superweapon.”
It is known that when a spell surpasses nine rings and reaches the realm of legendary spells, each increase in ring level brings an exponential boost to the spell’s power.
The upper limit of legendary spells is twelve rings.
However, the power of twelve-ring spells can vary greatly.
The disparity in strength can be as exaggerated as the difference between a one-ring spell and a legendary spell.
In the Great Ring Universe, one of the most famous deities, the death god Kalsas, was originally an Arcanist who ascended to godhood with a twelve-ring spell of his own creation.
It is called, the Ascension Spell.
This spell is complex and precise, directly targeting the core rules of the multiverse, and even allowing a caster who is not yet a demigod to influence the gods. Its effect is to strip deities of their divine powers and divinity, taking their place.
Although there are many limitations, and there have been no successful cases since the death god Kalsas—with the assistance of the magic goddess behind his success—the terrifying effect of the spell cannot be denied.
Of course, such twelve-ring spells with such effects are exceedingly rare.
For deities, a normal twelve-ring spell is no different from a gentle breeze.
The strength of a Legendary Caster lies in how many twelve-ring spells they have mastered or created, and how many of those are of the powerful category.
As for spells beyond twelve rings, those who can master and create them are demigod casters.
A demigod is the threshold and starting point on the path to godhood, already stepping into the halls of the divine.
Therefore, demigod casters are collectively known as Spellgods, with the stature of casters comparable to deities.
The Skyrealm Empire has more than one Spellgod.
The twelve-ring Wind Core Creation Spell was researched by a Spellgod of the Skyrealm.
Used for creation, it can create wonders like the Sky Cities.
Used for destruction, it can easily obliterate a kingdom.
“Even if a powerful true god wanted to destroy the Skyrealm Empire in the prime material world, it would probably take some effort.”
Saga’s gaze focused on the Sky City, thinking silently.
Deities cannot exert their full might in the material world, so it is not easy to deal with particularly powerful material world empires, especially in worlds where the atmosphere of faith is very underdeveloped. Among the many planes, the prime material plane is a natural barrier for material world empires against deities.
However.
Numerous cases have proven that material world empires that oppose deities never end well, because for a deity to destroy a material world empire is just not as easy, not impossible. When a deity is determined to eliminate a certain material world empire, no matter the process, the empire targeted by the deity will inevitably face destruction.
Unless, that material world empire has the protection of a deity.
“But the world where I was born seems to be an exception, with empires standing tall, exceptionally powerful. An empire as strong as the Skyrealm Empire might not appear even once in hundreds of prime material worlds, and here there are two that can match each other in strength, and the other empires, though not as powerful, are not to be underestimated.”
The true god known as the Beast of Black Blood, the God of the Hunt, met his demise in the encirclement of the empires. Afterwards, all his followers in that material world were exterminated, his reputation tarnished, his divine might greatly diminished, and even after a thousand years, the great empires still exist. During this period, the God of the Hunt had some plans to overthrow the empires, but without exception, all failed.
“It’s difficult to reach the pinnacle in such a world… but it’s also something to look forward to.”
The night wind at high altitude was fierce, hitting Saga in the face. After thinking for a while, he temporarily set aside his curiosity about the Sky City and continued to soar with the wind, veering away from the direction of the Sky City that was gradually leaving his field of vision.
“The Sky City can be visited at any time, let’s go see Tixil and the others first.”
The Skyrealm Empire is a pure caster nation, although it discriminates against all other professions, it is very inclusive of casters, welcoming casters of all races and alignments to discuss spells in the Sky Cities.
No matter what your race is, whether you are good or evil, no matter how powerful you are, as long as you have the ability to cast spells, in the Sky City, there is only one common title—Caster.
Saga, as a Mind Warlock, also belongs to the category of casters, and moreover, he is a noble existence in the casting system that can look down upon many types of casters. He can go to the Sky City at any time.
Not to mention being a dragon.
Even if it’s a demon, as long as it has the ability to cast spells, the Skyrealm Empire dares to open its gates wide, showing extraordinary courage.
As Saga progressed, he saw more Sky Cities along the way.
Based on the aesthetic preferences of the Sky City lords, each Sky City had its own characteristics: inverted mountains, flying saucer shapes, rings, pentagrams, giant towers. The various Sky Cities hung high among the flowing winds and drifting clouds, slowly moving across the vast territories of the Skyrealm Empire, forming a major feature of the Yarl inland.
No matter where you are in the Yarl inland.
Just by looking up, you can see the existence of a Sky City.
“Each Sky City represents at least one high-ranking legend.”
The Skyrealm Empire honors casters and the strong. The lord of a Sky City must be a high-ranking legendary caster who can create a wind core on their own, capable of casting twelve-ring spells.
Passing another Sky City with countless azure tracks connecting, numerous floating platforms scattered across space, creating a structure like a cluster of stars.
Saga looked at it for a few moments and couldn’t help but marvel.
“These Sky Cities are filled with the whimsical ideas of casters, each a magnificent and unique work of magic art.”
At the same time, Saga, who was marveling at the unique designs of the Sky Cities, thought of the records in the dragon’s legacy.
If one only considers the Sky Cities as beautiful cities where casters gather, that would be a huge mistake.
In times of war, each Sky City is the most terrifying weapon of war, loaded with countless war artifacts crafted by casters. A single Sky City could easily overpower an ordinary kingdom.
Even a powerful kingdom like the Lionheart Kingdom could not withstand the suppression of a Sky City.
In the Yarl inland, apart from the high and mighty Sky Cities, there are also many kingdoms, duchies, city-states, and so on scattered across the surface, but without exception, they all rely on the Skyrealm Empire to survive.
The Skyrealm Empire is ostensibly only present in the airspace of the Yarl inland.
But in reality, if the surface of the Yarl inland does not respect the Skyrealm Empire, other nations will rise up and attack it, leading to its destruction.
“However, the Skyrealm Empire is not the only imperial overlord on the Yarl Continent.”
“The Ratfolk Empire that lives beneath the surface of the continent can be seen everywhere in the most prosperous inland.”
“There is also the Beasthaven Empire, which occupies most of its territory in the northern part of the Yarl Continent and a smaller part in the eastern part of the Cleis Continent, spanning two continents. Located in the southern part of the Yarl Continent is the Sands Empire.”
The Yarl Continent is also known as the Monster Continent for a reason.
There are a total of nine empires on this planet, with four of them existing on the Yarl Continent alone.
Then there is the Cleis Continent, which borders the Yarl Continent, home to the Mechanar Empire and the Naturia Empire. The Beasthaven Empire, which spans two continents, can also be counted among them, and its combined strength is not inferior to that of the Yarl Continent.
The Skyrealm Empire and the Mechanar Empire have constant disputes, partly due to their close territories.
As for the other continents, there is only one empire on each, such as the Undead Empire that occupies the Blackland Continent.
“It’s not easy to find a territory in such a place; Tixil and the others are quite lucky.”
The Golden Dragon gazed into the distance, his vision piercing through the clouds, sweeping over the mountains and dense forests below.
With the continuous flight over this period, he was getting closer and closer to where Tixil the Amethyst Dragon resided.
Observing the scenery of the Yarl Continent with intermittent stops, about a week later, under the sunlight, the Golden Dragon paused in midair, then looked down at the land below.
“We’ve arrived, Tixil the Amethyst Dragon and the Gemstone Dragons are here.”
Within his field of vision, the mountains rose and fell, forming two majestic, intersecting mountain ranges, known as the Dragonfall Range and the Twilight Range.
The Twilight Range got its name because, in an earlier era, the sapient beings living there believed that the mountain range could stretch all the way to the end of dusk.
As for the Dragonfall Range, it is said that during the Dragonfall War, a demigod ancient dragon fell and died here.
The howling of the wind through the mountains is thought to be the eternal echoes of the ancient dragon’s indignant roar.
“Whether a demigod ancient dragon really fell and died here is unknown.”
Saga shook his head, gazing at the Dragonfall Range that stretched like a dragon’s spine.
The Dragonfall War was a very ancient time, and the related information in the legacy was scarce; whether this place was once a battlefield of the Dragonfall War remains to be verified.
His gaze swept over the two mountain ranges, finally settling on the intersecting area.
In the intersection of the Dragonfall Range and the Twilight Range, a natural, vast canyon was formed, once rich in emeralds and thus named the Emerald Canyon. But now, the emerald veins have long been exhausted by various factions, the large mine pits have been reclaimed by nature, a river meanders in the middle, and dense forests flourish on both sides, home to many living species.
At the same time, this is one of the few neutral areas, not occupied by the many nations on the surface of the Yarl inland.
The geographical location of the Emerald Canyon is good, with a not-so-small space and not too poor natural resources. The Dragonfall Range and the Twilight Range serve as natural barriers.
But why haven’t the surface nations occupied this place?
First, because the nations surrounding the Emerald Canyon are unwilling to give it up, leading to a strange balance due to their tug-of-war.
Second, there have been nations that have built cities in the Emerald Canyon, but without exception, after building the cities, disasters occurred frequently, and they could not withstand it, so they relocated and left.
The second reason is unknown.
The sapient beings living in the Emerald Canyon speculate that it is the ancient dragon souls wandering in the Dragonfall Range that are causing trouble, but there is no evidence.
After pausing for a moment and surveying the surrounding environment.
The Golden Dragon flapped its wings, sniffed with its nose, and descended towards the Emerald Canyon.
In the forests on the eastern side of the Emerald Canyon, he had already smelled a familiar scent.
Releasing the twist field, the majestic Golden Dragon’s figure appeared in the air, causing many wild animals in the forest to panic and hide, attracting a lot of attention, with numerous gazes immediately focusing on him.
At the same time.
Feeling Saga’s dragon might, a formidable Gemstone Dragon might burst forth in the forest.
Hum!
Psychic light shimmered in the space, and the next instant, a Sapphire Dragon, over twenty meters in size and slightly smaller than Saga, appeared in Saga’s field of vision.
With a wary gaze at the Golden Dragon whose species was unclear, feeling the imposing aura that was naturally intimidating.
The naturally combative Sapphire Dragon suppressed the impulse in its heart and asked in a deep voice:
“Golden Dragon. For now, I’ll call you a Golden Dragon, where do you come from?”
“The Gemstone Forest welcomes all kin, but only if they have a clear origin.”
Looking at the unfamiliar Sapphire Dragon, the Golden Dragon replied calmly:
“Oh? Haven’t you heard of me?”
Even many humans have heard of his name, his own kind should be even more aware.
The Sapphire Dragon’s brow furrowed slightly, and after hearing the Golden Dragon’s words, it scrutinized the Golden Dragon carefully, with the dragon’s unique scales and horns reflecting in its eyes.
Seeming to recall something, the Sapphire Dragon was inwardly shocked.
Although it had heard of Saga, it wasn’t necessarily able to recognize him immediately just by the features known through hearsay. However, after being reminded, it wasn’t difficult to recognize him.
“You are the King of the Near Seas!”
The Sapphire Dragon was moved.
However, its vigilance and readiness disappeared at the same time, it exhaled and a smile appeared on its faceplate, saying:
“Tixil and Charlotte have mentioned that the ruler of the Near Seas would come to the Gemstone Forest during this time. I didn’t recognize you at first, please forgive me.”
In front of a renowned and powerful kin at the height of his fame, the Sapphire Dragon showed ample respect.
Saga nodded slightly, saying:
“No matter.”
At the same time, ripples appeared in the air again.
Tixil the Amethyst Dragon, about sixteen meters long from head to tail, with beautiful scales like purple crystals and a tranquil demeanor, stepped out from the ripples.
“Saga, you’ve arrived.”
Looking at the figure before her, now even more majestic, and with a kingly aura even more intense, almost overwhelming, the Amethyst Dragon’s eyes brightened, her voice unable to hide her admiration.
“You’ve become stronger and more robust.”
In less than a decade, with the growth rate of dragonkind, the changes in Saga could be described as enormous, and they were not in a bad direction, but a better one.
At the same time, Saga turned around, looking at Tixil the Amethyst Dragon, whom he hadn’t seen in nearly ten years.
In Saga’s view, the Amethyst Dragon had also changed a lot. After all, she was a genius dragon capable of being a top contender for the crown, with a growth rate not slow. Her size had clearly increased a lot, her scales were more lustrous and beautiful, like the finest purple crystals, and the psychic spines on her body were denser and more translucent.
“Your beauty is also incomparable to before.”
Saga also complimented the Amethyst Dragon.
“I can’t compare to you. I feel a deeper, almost kingly quality in you,” Tixil the Amethyst Dragon’s gaze fell on the young Golden Dragon, exclaiming, “No wonder your name has reached the inland areas even though you are in the remote Near Seas.”
Saga said with a smile:
“Don’t be modest. In my eyes, your beauty is one in ten thousand.”
Hearing Saga’s words, the Amethyst Dragon’s tail curved into a beautiful arc, her mood uplifted, and she continued to praise Saga’s physique and aura, with Saga responding in kind.
The two dragons complimented each other, enjoying the exchange.