"The matter of the chromatic dragons is in your hands. As long as you provide me with enough information, money is not an issue."
"Your Highness, rest assured. We have collected information on any chromatic dragon with significant power on the continent. It's just that the information is scattered and hasn't been consolidated. Give me three days to organize it, and we can deliver it to you. Based on your description, we definitely have the information you want."
In Synapse, a Cardinal, filled with shock but maintaining a calm facade, patted his chest and assured Muria.
"Three days? That works." Muria nodded gracefully, the twelve tassels on his crown swaying with his movement, radiating five-colored light. The twelve-tasseled crown was crafted with colorful silk, with each tassel bearing twelve multicolored crystals. Each crystal could control all the formations on a cloud island. Wearing the crown, Muria could command all of Synapse.
"Then, Your Highness, I shall take my leave!" The Cardinal, specially sent by the Dawn Church to liaise with Muria, bowed slightly and left with a heart full of unspeakable awe.
"You raise these dragons from hatchlings, and you don't even go looking for them yourself? Instead, you rely on human help?" A discordant voice rang out once the human left.
"Why use ten units of effort when one will do?" Muria rolled his eyes, the majestic demeanor from earlier vanishing.
By this time, Synapse had already arrived over the Obistos subcontinent, and the first task, of course, was to find dragons. Muria did not use his initial method of locating dragons via dragon scales but directly contacted the local Church of the Good Gods for information on all chromatic dragons in the region. He had reached a stage where even they could not easily ignore him.
"You beat up their Cardinals recently, yet you still have the nerve to ask them for help?"
"That's all in the past. They don't mind, so why are you bringing it up?" Seeing his brother-in-law about to speak further, Muria dismissed him and turned to Mikaela. "I plan to explore the underground undead abyss. Are you coming?"
"Of course," Mikaela responded without hesitation.
"Then let's go!"
...
"At first glance, it doesn't seem much different from other continents," Muria remarked, observing his surroundings with curiosity as he descended from Synapse with Mikaela and the persistent Ilvest.
"But there's a big problem underground," Muria closed his eyes and used his mental power to scan the area. Finding nothing unusual on the surface, he extended his senses deeper. About a hundred meters down, he encountered dense death energy.
As his mental power continued to probe further, the death energy grew thicker, almost tangible. It was hard to imagine what kind of undead such an environment would breed over time.
"During the day, the sun suppresses it." Muria looked up at the bright sun, which seemed particularly radiant on this continent, more so than on others. The sunlight contained a faint divine power, almost negligible but vast in quantity.
"But at night, when the sun sets and this divine power wanes, what happens? How do ordinary people live here?"
"In cities, there are likely large-scale magic arrays providing protection, so those inside are safe. But what about those living in towns and villages? If they can't return home by nightfall, what do they do? Wait to die?" Muria gazed down at the land, filled with curiosity about this continent, so different from the ones he had seen before.
"What else? The old methods: amulets blessed by priests or holy water. These can protect against low-level undead, allowing normal life," Ilvest, who seemed familiar with this place, led Muria and his sister around the cities and villages, observing the people.
Muria noted that faith in this land was diverse: the God of Death, the God of Dawn, the Sun God, and others, all with powers to suppress or counteract the undead.
Moreover, no matter which god they worshipped, the people's faith was exceptionally devout, with many devout followers—something unimaginable on other continents.
Entering a city, Muria, with his divine nature, could feel the river of faith flowing above, converging from all directions into the central cathedral, which then emanated a holy power enveloping the city.
Here, the divine power seemed to act as a converter for faith. In a sense, the people were protecting themselves.
"Have you had enough fun? Let's go to the undead abyss. The real excitement is underground, where you said many powerful liches, even demigod liches, dwell."
"Demigod liches," Muria's eyes glinted. "Have you heard of the Undead Council?"
"Of course," the siblings nodded.
"Could these dense death energies be related to the Undead Council? Are the powerful liches underground part of the Council?"
"The Council isn't that extensive. Some of the liches underground are members, but many operate independently. The Undead Council is merely a collective of powerful undead. They don't represent all undead," Ilvest explained, showing his familiarity with the Council.
"So, there's a chance I'll encounter a Council member here?" Muria rubbed his chin, golden light flickering in his eyes.
"Possible, but it depends on luck. These liches often have multiple lairs. If you wander around, you might stumble upon an abandoned lich castle."
"Enough talk, let's go explore!" Muria said excitedly, with Mikaela equally eager. "Where can we enter the undead abyss?"
"On this continent, any random cave might lead to the abyss. But it's best to find marked entrances, as they come with maps. Without a map, don't wander around; the undead abyss is a super labyrinth covering the entire continent."
"I see a garrison over there. Is that an entrance to the abyss?" Muria's powerful mental scan quickly found a garrison near the city. Next to it was a large stone cave, with adventurers of all kinds going in and out. Muria sensed faint death energy on those exiting the cave.
...
In the silent darkness, eerie creaking noises echoed, as if someone were stepping on decayed wood or pushing open rusty iron doors.
In the depths of the darkness, a strange iron warship glowing with blue-green light slowly sailed through a bottomless lake, stirring up waves. Through the eerie light from the ship, twisted human faces could occasionally be seen in the water.
Following the iron warship, more ships sailed one after another, forming a continuous procession—a ghostly fleet sailing through the deathly still underground sea.
"This feeling, it's here again." In the largest flagship of the silent fleet, a voice filled with frustration rang out, further quieting the already deathly still sea.
"I've been robbed twice by those damn golden dragon father and daughter. Am I about to be robbed a third time? No way. I've built such a massive undead fleet now. Even an ancient golden dragon won't take a single ship from me..."
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