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A vision flashed through Casalos's mind: a battle erupted between an ancient green dragon and an ancient bronze dragon in the Rapar Inland Sea region, surrounded by a black jungle. The clash between the two ancient dragons triggered an even more chaotic magical storm, devouring and tearing them apart, while also transforming the entire inland sea region into distorted, floating water masses in the sky. The seabed was completely exposed, rapidly drying and cracking under the erosion of the elements, and then emerging in massive numbers of lesser earth elemental creatures…
Beside the chaotic torrents of elements, the figures of two ancient dragons locked in a fierce battle were clearly visible. The green dragon was over thirty meters long, its scales a deep, dark green, each one as delicate as jade, engraved with intricate patterns, suggesting it too possessed some kind of secret technique. Its eyes were like two deep, dark pools, capable of driving mortals mad with a single glance.
The bronze dragon that fought it was slightly smaller. Its bronze scales shimmered in the sunlight, as if it were wearing ancient armor. Each of its breaths carried an unknown, eerie power, distorting space and time into chaotic vortexes wherever it passed.
The battle between the two ancient dragons transcended the realm of ordinary ancient dragons. They were now primarily clashing through magic. While the green dragon's poisonous mist and the bronze dragon's eerie breath were not perfectly balanced, they were evenly matched through special magical enhancements. It must be said that Faerûn was indeed teeming with dragon prodigies; Casalos had never known he had these two formidable and extraordinary neighbors on his doorstep… but they would soon be gone.
The calculations of the pseudo-Laplace's demon differ significantly from those of divination. The former continuously modifies and outputs the movement and changes of everything within its perception range as it receives information, and can present a specific subsequent development process as long as there is sufficient information. The latter focuses more on the outcome of a specific event.
In situations requiring frequent short-term "predictions" such as combat and analyzing remotely detected information, the calculations of the Pseudo-Laplace's Demon are clearly more effective. However, for predicting events that happen to someone outside the perception range, it is obviously inferior to divination spells—divination spells have uncertainty and a strong dependence on certain mysteries, and can only be used as a reference even in normal times, let alone in these turbulent times.
Regardless, Casalos had already foreseen the outcome.
The two dragons simultaneously unleashed devastating spells, merging with the omnipresent, raging magical power, and transforming into a chaotic sphere of energy. The sphere rapidly expanded, engulfing everything around it, including the two ancient dragons. After a silent explosion, the entire Rapal Inner Sea was lifted into the air, forming a gigantic, suspended mass of water that twisted and deformed continuously in the sky.
Beneath the water mass, the exposed seabed was immediately eroded by the out-of-control elemental power. The ground cracked open, and countless earth elemental creatures composed of mud, sand, shells, and coral surged from the fissures. They swept outwards in hordes, turning everything in their path into barren gravel.
"Two idiots, these days if you want to fight, why don't you just grab each other and bite? Why bother with legendary magic?"
Casalos snapped out of his daze, shook his head, and muttered a curse under his breath, clicking his iron beak.
"My lord, are you alright?" the dog asked worriedly.
Casalos waved his dragon claws to indicate that he was unharmed: "I looked into what happened in the Raparne Sea—two ancient dragons were dueling there, which resulted in a magical catastrophe. I'm afraid the situation there is worse than here."
"Two ancient dragons?" The kobolds looked at each other in bewilderment.
“That’s right.” Casalos’s voice carried a hint of sarcasm. “It seems that it’s not just the plants that have gone mad; some old guys have also taken the opportunity to stretch their muscles. Unfortunately, they couldn’t control their power, and now they’ve probably all perished together.”
Casalos gazed at the three suns dancing the tango in the sky, his eyes darting around, and said to the core members of the Dragon Territory behind him, "Strengthen the defenses of each stronghold and stockpile as many supplies as possible. If there is surplus production capacity, shift the focus of production to containerized makeshift shelters and other basic production tools and living supplies. Once this turmoil subsides, these things will be in short supply."
“Furthermore,” Casalos added, “mark the Raparne Sea region on our map and designate it as a high-risk Jedi area from now on, prohibiting anyone from approaching. The elemental disorder there will likely persist for years, and it may even become a permanent rift to the Earth Elemental Plane.”
The kobolds immediately sprang into action. Although they didn't understand why Casaloz had suddenly issued these orders, kobolds never doubted the commands of their dragon lord.
Disaster can also be an opportunity. Post-disaster reconstruction is an international money-making project. How much the Forgotten Continent market can be captured depends on how well Dragon Territory can prepare and how much production efficiency it can unleash.
Casalos peered out the window at the bustling industrial park below. The converters there burned day and night, and constructs and grey dwarf artisans worked tirelessly to produce all sorts of supplies. He couldn't help but feel a surge of pride—on this continent rife with uncertainty, Dragon Territory had become a rare haven of stability thanks to its advanced production methods and scientific management.
Of course, Casalos knew very well that this "stability" was relative. After the upheaval of the year came an even more violent storm, and the chaos in Faerûn—and indeed the multiverse—had only just begun.
47. Leap over Faerûn
Speaking of the reconstruction project, Casalos had to make a trip to Damara to see Gaelos Dragon Nightmare: he wondered how far the game between Bahamut and Tiamat had progressed, and whether he should put on the skin of Byersted and get involved.
Despite many unexpected events, Casalos's strength grew faster than initially expected, giving him greater confidence to make his own choices in this major upheaval.
"Get ready, I'm leaving tomorrow," Casalos said to his kobold lieutenant. "Remember, tighten the defenses while I'm gone; the safety of Dragon Territory is paramount."
“Yes, my lord.” The kobold bowed his head faithfully. “We will ensure that everything is done as you wish.”
The journey from Tindor to Mara almost vertically traverses the entire continent of Faerûn, spanning over 7000 kilometers. With teleportation spells unstable and the Iron Dawn unable to utilize the astral planes, Casalos had to rely solely on his wings to traverse this vast distance. Fortunately…
Chapter 285
If it ascends to the stratosphere and cruises at high altitude, its flight speed can be maintained at a stable speed of about 500 kilometers per hour, which means it can only fly for about fourteen hours...
Casalos spread its wings, covered in dark gray metallic scales, creating a gust of wind, and soared into the air. With powerful flapping, it quickly climbed to an altitude of ten thousand meters, then turned its head northward.
"It's not that simple." A deep, dragonish mutter escaped its throat.
In reality, its stamina and dragon magic couldn't sustain more than ten hours of high-altitude flight. The cocooned magic web ruled the higher skies, and the stratosphere remained the domain of chaotic magic. The most common chaotic magic was also ubiquitous in the sky; raging storms might not pose much of a problem for it, but the invisible wind elements hidden within could launch a fatal blow against anything invading the skies at any moment. Having seen the towering trees of the Black Forest, who knows what the limits of activated wind elemental power are now?
The high-altitude flight paths once considered safe passageways by dragons have now become the most dangerous areas. Countless fragments of the "past" flashed through Casalos's mind: those ignorant fools—in the early stages of the upheaval, usually low-level mages or mediocre warlocks, who would cast rudimentary flight spells to venture into the high sky, only to be torn to shreds by sudden elemental storms, leaving no trace of their remains.
Even for the silver dragons that rule the skies, long-distance flight in such conditions is no easy feat. Casalos's power makes it impervious to storms and relatively easy to combat chaotic elements, but even so, flying across most of Faerûn is still a remarkable achievement.
The first day of the flight went relatively smoothly. Casalozt maintained an altitude of 20,000 meters, just enough to avoid the severe weather in the troposphere without encountering the more turbulent elemental vortices at high altitudes.
However, by noon the next day, the situation began to deteriorate. A deep purple thundercloud appeared out of nowhere, instantly covering the sky for tens of kilometers. Unlike ordinary thunderstorm clouds, this cloud did not flash with white or blue lightning, but with eerie purple, green, and even black lightning, as if some chaotic energy was churning within it.
"Annoying!" Casalos cursed, quickly adjusting his flight altitude to try to fly around below the clouds.
However, it was too late. The thunderclouds spread at an alarming rate, covering the sky for miles around in the blink of an eye. There was no way out; the only option was to face this bizarre storm head-on.
Casalos gathered his dragon magic into the scales of his wings, forcibly stabilizing them and maintaining a straight flight as he rushed into the edge of the thundercloud.
The moment the first bolt of lightning struck, Casalos felt his scales tremble all over. Unlike ordinary lightning, this chaotic lightning carried a power that impacted the mind; elemental evasion not only failed to prevent damage but also allowed it to penetrate his defenses. A bone-chilling cold spread from the struck tip of his tail throughout his body, as if someone had immersed him in ice water.
“Interesting.” Casalos narrowed his eyes, a strange light gleaming in his mouth. “Looks like we’ll have to take a hard line.”
It took a deep breath and then unleashed a scorching, fiery dragon breath, shattering the magical thunderclouds that swept through it and forcefully cleaving a passage. Casalos rushed into this temporary safe passage without hesitation, accelerating at full speed.
But the thunderclouds didn't stop there. More chaotic lightning bolts attacked from all directions, curving through the air as they chased the iron dragon—the psychic power contained within the lightning twisted something, making the lightning more powerful while slowing its propagation, bringing it into an evasive range. Casalos frequently changed direction, sometimes diving, sometimes climbing, skillfully dodging these deadly attacks.
"Close enough!"
After another bolt of purple lightning grazed its horns, Casalos finally faced the magical core of the chaotic thundercloud. It opened its mouth, and ripples of energy spread from its body. The next moment, a beam of light hotter than the sun erupted from its mouth, pointing straight into the depths of the thundercloud.
Boom!
The explosion resounded through the sky, and a huge hole was forcibly torn open in the center of the thundercloud. Perhaps due to its activation, the blazing flames were also able to work normally on the magical vortex within the thundercloud—the pseudo-Laplace's demon had allowed Casalos to foresee this outcome, prompting it to take the action of using the power of its dragon body to resist the might of heaven and earth.
It succeeded as expected, then plunged into the gap without hesitation, traversing the thunderclouds at top speed. Behind it, the void was quickly filled by chaotic energy, and the thunderclouds coalesced into a colossal object with the outline of a humanoid upper body, but the iron dragon was already far away…
The challenges extend far beyond the chaotic thunderclouds. On the third day, Casalos encountered a flock of giant eagles mimicking an animated hurricane. Their wings burned with elemental fire, their eyes flashed with a crazed light, and they attacked like madmen.
Iron Dragon didn't want to waste time entangled with these mad birds. Based on his calculations, he cast a mid-ring illusion offline, creating the illusion that he had been shot down. The giant eagles, a mixture of fire and wind, swooped down on the illusion, while Casalos, with minimal cost, lured away the wild creatures capable of tearing legendary warriors apart, taking the opportunity to change course and flank them from the side.
On the fourth day, a rift suddenly appeared across the sky in their path, with chaotic energy from another world overflowing outwards without restraint. Twisted figures could be vaguely seen writhing within it. Casalos was forced to descend rapidly, flying close to the ground for nearly a hundred kilometers, scattering a large group of ferocious wyverns, before finding a safe area where they could ascend again.
The most dangerous moment came at dawn on the sixth day. Casalos was flying over the Vihon Sea when a sudden, intense dizziness struck. Its vision began to distort, and the surrounding scenery flowed chaotically like oil paint thrown into water. Worse still, its dragon body seemed to begin to lose its form, becoming countless identical double images, like reflections in a shattered mirror, randomly shifting between semi-transparent and solid states.
“Spatial turbulence?” Casalos immediately realized the danger.
This is probably one of the most terrifying phenomena after the collapse of the magic network—the barriers between the prime material world and other realms became unstable, just as countless passages leading to randomly activated outer and inner realms were intertwined to form a maze, tearing apart any object that passed through it and scattering it to different planes.
It immediately poured all its dragon magic into the pseudo-Laplace's demon, activated its full senses, and planned a winding course, veering off one after another of the "giant mouths" that would devour dragons, until the waves on the sea washed over its scales.
Casalos spread his wings, barely managing to slow his descent, before crashing heavily into the sea, creating a small tsunami.
"Pah!" A dragon head emerged from the water, spitting out a mouthful of seawater, and looked around. "At least we're still in Faerûn..."
Without taking a break, Casalos took off again before the seawater also changed, maintaining a low altitude and flying close to the sea surface until he entered the Amfilon Mountains and avoided the spatial turbulence area.
Casaloz was practically a burning journey, taking a full week, with sparks and flames cleaving a trail across the continent of Faerûn in the sky.
Since the gods were banished, the Faerûnians have seen the sun in all its colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, black, and white. There have been times when two thunderclouds collided and became giants that blotted out the sky, fighting and filling the sky with thunder. Who cares about a trail of fire burning high in the sky?
Casalos finally saw the Bloodstone Path. In the distance, a winding river shimmered silver in the sunlight—it was the Ice River, Damara's natural barrier.
"Where have you been again?" Fiona Milon was more concerned about her dragon and came to greet her from afar. Her brightly colored scales and soft horns shimmered with a cold light in the sunlight, but the concern in her eyes was undeniable.
Casalos slightly folded his wings, slowing his flight, and flew alongside Fiona: "As the intermediary, I reached a trade agreement with Dragon Nightmare, so of course I need to check on the supplier's situation and confirm the trade details."
Chapter 286
Will it be affected...? Hmm, don't worry.
This is certainly not the truth, but what does it matter? Tungsten Dragon never investigates its secrets, only its safety.
After landing on the ground and spending a few moments with Miss Tungsten Dragon, Casalos returned with her to the front-line defense camp. Compared to when they left, the new front line had moved back hundreds of kilometers, and the sparse figures and dilapidated scenery made the Iron Dragon wrinkle its scales.
The atmosphere in the camp was tense and heavy. The paladins looked exhausted, their equipment damaged, though their wounds had mostly healed, clearly indicating they had endured a fierce battle. But the paladins were not all; some ordinary wounded lay groaning in makeshift medical tents, where healers bustled about, but with limited effect—the fall of the gods and the collapse of the magic network had rendered divine magic and healing spells completely ineffective, and medicine was insufficient to remove the blasphemous power from the wounds inflicted by demons or the undead.
Casalos's gaze swept across the entire camp, searching for a familiar figure: "Where's Kara? I haven't seen her."
“They’re monitoring her from the Great Glacier, don’t worry. I’ve already sent Rosely to replace her, she should be back soon,” Fiona replied, her voice tinged with weariness.
"How is the battle going?" Casalos asked, though he had already deduced a general picture from the state of the camp.
“Not good…” Fiona shook her head, the ornaments hanging from the soft spines on her back swaying gently with the movement. “At first, the turbulent natural disasters hindered the advance of the demon army, and Damara, whose internal affairs were unstable, did breathe a sigh of relief. But this situation did not last long. Without the pressure of the demon army, the farce of power struggles among the nobles suddenly escalated several levels, evolving into a mutiny within two days, and internal strife turned into civil war. The ‘righteous army’ led by the ‘fallen military noble’ Baron Upton stormed into the palace, hanging the last bloodline of the Bloodfeather family on spears, and the powerful Bloodfeather Dynasty was destroyed.”
Fiona led Casalos around the noisy main camp area to a relatively quiet high ground. From here, they could overlook the entire front line, with the outline of the Ice River faintly visible in the distance, and the dark mass of the Expeditionary Legion on the opposite bank.
"Although it was Baron Upton who ended the Bloodfeather Dynasty and occupied the palace, he had no legitimate cause and few supporters. Other nobles naturally wanted to sit on the Iron Throne as well. While condemning Upton, they issued a recall order to the front-line army, and the legion fighting against the demon army was completely put on the defensive."
Fiona pointed to an army gathering behind them: "See that flag? That's the Culbert family's private army. Two months ago, their commander received a recall order from the family and was preparing to return to the heartland early this morning..."
Casalos sneered, "A bunch of idiots."
“Humans are always like this, even in the face of disaster they don’t forget to fight among themselves,” Fiona sighed. “More than 70% of the frontline legion’s forces are private armies from various families in Damara. With the collapse of the Bloodfeather Dynasty, no matter how strong Gaelos was with those damned nobles, he was no longer able to stabilize the morale of the army. The army collapsed overnight, and the troops retreated back to their original territories in Damara, eagerly preparing to swing their swords at their former comrades who fought alongside them against the demons.”
Casalos silently watched the soldiers dismantling their tents in the distance. It understood Fiona's anger and disappointment. The kind and lawful nature of tungsten dragons made such treachery unacceptable. But Casalos was different; it had never held any hope for these people in the first place.
"and after?"
"Upon seeing this, the demon army of the Extinction naturally launched a surprise attack despite the calamity that was falling on their heads. If it weren't for the Dragon Knight Legion relying on its high mobility to cover the strategic retreat of Gaelos's personal knights, who retreated to the crossroads and used the terrain to guard the gates of the royal city, Damara might have become a dead land ravaged by demons."
With only 30% of their forces remaining, it was impossible for them to withstand the onslaught of the demon army. Without the army's restraint, the natural barrier of the Ice River was no longer effective. Several demon armies bypassed the sea city, crossed two river basins, and penetrated deep into Mara's territory, wreaking havoc. Even so, the nobles, blinded by greed for the throne, showed no sign of stopping. Their private armies slaughtered their way across the icy, fertile plains, achieving what even the demon army had failed to accomplish.
48. Not in control of one's own destiny?
Casalos witnessed even more of the war's horrors. The wounded soldiers' tents were crammed with injured men, many missing limbs or eyes, some even corrupted by the demonic curse, their bodies slowly rotting. The medics had done their best, but faced with so many wounded and unable to use magic, they were overwhelmed.
Some soldiers recognized Casaloz and began to whisper among themselves.
"That's Lord Casaloz..."
"It should be called the Great Dragon... wait, that doesn't seem right either. I heard it can breathe fire hotter than the sun..."
"The craftsmanship of the armor it brought is said to be superior even to that of the dwarves..."
Its reputation was quite widespread in the Damara army, especially for the excellent weapons and equipment it provided, which saved the lives of countless soldiers.
"Where is Dragon Nightmare now?" Casalos was indifferent to these discussions; it had more pressing matters at hand.
“He’s in the main tent, discussing countermeasures with his personal guard.” Fiona gestured to him. “I’ll take you to see him.”
The two dragons headed straight for the large central tent. Judging from the undulating roof, there were quite a few dragons crammed inside in their true forms. The guards at the entrance, of course, did not stop them—in fact, the two guards were also dragon riders—and they immediately opened the curtains to let the two dragons in.
Inside the tent, a group of officers and Long were gathered around a sand table, engaged in a heated discussion.
Gaelos Dragon Nightmare stood in the center, the tall paladin's face showing weariness, but his gaze remained resolute. His eyes lit up slightly when he saw Casalos enter.
“My friend,” Garros bowed slightly, “your arrival is just in time. We need your advice.”
Casalos nodded, ignoring Gallos's polite words, and simply looked down at the sand table.
The sand table marked the entire territory of Damara. Red markers indicated the location of the demon army, blue represented the remaining loyal forces, and green represented the private armies of the nobles. Strangely, the situation wasn't as unfavorable for Damara as expected. A golden banner had cut off the demon army, and on the vast expanse of white-painted land to the north, all the demon banners were broken. The private armies of the nobles, which should have been scattered throughout the rich regions of Damara, had also regrouped on the defensive line. Clearly, Fiona's explanation of the battle situation was not yet complete.
"Seeing that Damara was about to fall into the abyss, the Golden Dragon Court of the Lead Mountains could no longer sit idly by. The current King of Justice, Lares's second-in-command, Tamarand, led an army of hundreds of metal dragons to wipe out the demons between Bloodstone Path and Heliogarus, helping Galos Dragon Nightmare rebuild its defenses," Fiona added.
This news made Casalos raise the scales on the bridge of his eyebrows.
The Golden Dragon Court's intervention in a war between human kingdoms is unprecedented. While the Golden Dragons uphold justice, they typically prefer to let humanity resolve its internal problems unless the situation escalates to the point of threatening the entirety of Faerûn.
"At the same time, the great glacier, which had been shrinking for hundreds of years, suddenly expanded southward, engulfing and freezing the army of demons roaming the northern plains of Damara. It turned the tide, saved the collapsing edifice, and rescued Damara from its peril." Fiona's tone was filled with awe. "No one knows what happened. Perhaps it was divine punishment from the benevolent gods against the demons?"
“The gods are now in dire straits themselves,” Casalos sneered. “This is the work of the former Lord of Justice, Palotanser, the Ice King. Only the artifact in its claws could produce such an effect.”
It's obvious even to a fool that the Golden Dragon Court's participation in the battle, and even Palotanser's winged attack, were definitely orchestrated by the Platinum Dragon God Bahamut—the Golden Dragon Court doesn't even recognize the North Wind yet.
Chapter 287
The dragon god Bahamut reveres the metallic dragon god and benevolent dragon god named Shimo, an empty form created by the Ptallian Code. However, the current right-hand man of the Righteous King Lares, the chosen successor of the Glorious Lord Tamarand by the Gold and Silver Dragons, is not a follower of the Ptallian Code; he is Bahamut's chosen one.
If Bahamut is using the Wings of Tamarand to manipulate things, the intervention of the Golden Dragon Court and the Ice King in the war in Damara wouldn't be surprising. It's just a kingdom to slay demons and save mortals, isn't it perfectly normal for the Golden Dragons? Even if the Golden Dragon Court hadn't intervened before, there have always been quite a few Golden and Silver Dragons who have joined the fight against Damara as individual dragons.
But...would Bahamut be so kind?
Casalos sneered inwardly, his gaze fixed on the bright red word "Damara".
Ultimately, He is simply pushing Galos Dragon Nightmare onto the path of his destiny. In the future timeline of Faerûn, Galos Dragon Nightmare will play a crucial role, and Bahamut clearly doesn't want this process to be disrupted.
"Then?"
The puzzle is not yet complete. The private armies that should have been recalled by the various families have now returned to the front lines, which means that the war has taken a new turn after the Golden Dragon Royal Court intervened.
The answer is that even the nicest people can have a bad temper.
With the frontline crisis temporarily averted, and seeing the heavy losses suffered by the knightly order he had personally built, Gaelos finally resolved to end the internal strife once and for all. Alone with his sword, he rode the silver dragon Gerlesk—this creature was indeed alive; when the demiplane collapsed, it had been thrown onto Mount Paradise, escaping the clutches of any evil otherworldly creatures and even gaining a fortuitous encounter that significantly increased its strength… Well, considering its future relationship with Gaelos, the main protagonist, this was perfectly normal—a legendary paladin and a silver dragon paladin marching back to the rear of Damara, who in Damara could possibly stop them?
“I beheaded all the noble leaders who instigated the civil war; they were traitors!” Galos pointed to the direction of the royal city on the map. “Luckily, Gerlesk came back with me. He discovered some significant clues, and by following the trail, we finally uncovered the true mastermind behind this civil war. It turns out a succubus had been hiding in Damara, causing trouble all along. Now, the situation in Damara has finally been stabilized.”
His tone was calm, but the anger in his eyes was evident. As a paladin, betrayal and infighting were the most unacceptable sins to him, and demons were his mortal enemies.
"You're really merciful. Such a huge mess, and you only killed a few ringleaders." Casalos remained noncommittal, and several people in the tent subtly shrank back upon hearing this.
Gaelos clearly didn't want to dwell on the matter, waving his hand and continuing, "The matter is far from over. The collapse of the magic network has rendered Vasa's demon seal completely ineffective, and more and stronger abyssal demons are pouring into the continent of Faerûn through Vasa's abyssal passages. Damara, which is bearing the brunt, is still in grave danger, and I need to preserve Damara's power as much as possible."
Casalos nodded, finally getting down to business.