"Contact Her Highness? How is that possible? Isn't the..."
Lola did not finish the sentence, but she was thinking of how the communication relay stations had been blockaded. As a bishop, the fact that things had developed to this point was truly a failure on her part.
Currently, almost all communications within the Kingdom of the Moon had been severed.
Except for special long-distance direct communication, all other forms were unusable.
Under these circumstances, ordinary messages simply could not be sent out, and Her Highness did not carry such a communication stone on her person.
Lola's brow furrowed deeply.
It seemed that to prevent similar incidents in the future, she would have to prepare such a communication stone for Her Highness.
Of course, it would be best if such things never happened again.
But nothing in this world was absolute, and no one knew what the future held. If things went well, it wouldn't matter, but if something like this happened again, having a communication stone to talk to Her Highness at any time would be essential.
Price was not an issue. If a ruler was troubled by such a small amount of money, then their subjects might as well all go hang ourselves.
"Bishop Lola, please rest easy. Lady Ligeia is already contacting the Dragon King. We will be able to reach the dragon Shalin very soon."
Hearing this, Lola breathed a sigh of relief.
So that was it.
While Her Highness rarely carried such a communication stone, the dragon race was the exact opposite and habitually carried them.
As long as they could reach the Dragon King, they could use him to contact Shalin directly.
Since Shalin was always by Her Highness's side, this essentially used the Dragon King and Shalin as a relay.
Such a connection was virtually foolproof.
"Very well then... let us go. Also, there should be some ambushers nearby; I need you to clear them out."
"Please rest easy, Bishop Lola. That has already begun."
Lancelot spoke as he guided Mr. Momo back into the air, though this time his flight speed was not fast.
Clearly, Lancelot was being mindful of the two ordinary humans, Lola and Augus.
Just as Mr. Momo took off, sonic booms echoed from the sky not far away.
When thrown from a distance, those sixty-kilogram spears moved at speeds approaching five hundred kilometers per hour.
When thrown downward from a high altitude, gravity accelerated them further, causing their speed to instantly exceed five hundred kilometers.
Those sudden, explosive cracks were the sound of the spears breaking the sound barrier in an instant.
A moment later, a series of thunderous booms erupted from the ground.
This time, it was the sound of the spears piercing the earth!
Dust and debris flew into the air, visible even from a distance.
The spears descended with a force that could destroy anything in their path.
The noble soldiers hidden in the darkness faced utter despair, letting out shrill screams of terror.
In the next second, they were obliterated beneath the thunder and the dust.
A thousand members of the Dragon Knight Corps held an overwhelming advantage even against a single Heavenly Punishment Knight.
They certainly had nothing to fear from this ragtag bunch who were not even on the level of unaffiliated experts.
A single volley of over a hundred spears was enough to wipe out almost everyone.
The few stragglers who remained were left gasping for breath on the ground.
The falling spears were not just direct attacks; even the stones and sand kicked up by the impact were enough to shatter their skulls instantly.
Seeing this, Augus's eyes could not help but light up.
Lola's expression was one of satisfaction at first, but it was quickly followed by a faint look of pity.
As a woman, her empathy and emotions were much stronger than a man's, and she naturally felt some compassion for those who died so miserably under the spears.
However, pity was one thing, and killing was another.
If she had to give the order again, she would do so without hesitation.
Even if the scene were a hundred times more gruesome, she would not waver for a second.
While Lola felt a bit of unease, Augus was thinking of many other things.
He had never been on a battlefield. He had not participated in Her Highness's first battle, the battle at the Four-Ring Mountains, or the campaign against the demon island.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, but because of his physical condition, he could not follow Her Highness on such campaigns as he would only be a burden.
But as a man, how could he not be interested in military affairs?
It was a combat instinct hidden within male genes.
Powerful strength was one of the dreams pursued by all male creatures.
Previously, he had never seen a proper war, not even a small-scale skirmish.
But this time, he had clearly witnessed the combat power of the Dragon Knight Corps.
No!
Calling it a battle was inaccurate; it was more like a one-sided slaughter and total suppression.
Ground forces were almost completely helpless against an aerial force.
Faced with the carnage on the ground, Augus fell into a long silence.
"Her Highness is truly a pragmatist. She understood the utility of an air force so early on. The Dragon Knight Corps was worth every penny!"
Augus knew exactly how much it had cost to obtain the skysoar dragons.
But because air forces were rare in this era, no one was quite sure of their true combat effectiveness.
Even the Kingdom of Sand, which had always possessed an air force, had not developed its capabilities to such an extent.
Clearly, Her Highness likely understood the power of an air force from other sources.
Previously, when the wyvern groups from the Kingdom of Sand attacked the Kingdom of the Moon, they didn't even have any throwing weapons.
None of those wyverns were equipped for long-range attacks.
The knights were the same as ground-based cavalry, wearing knight armor and wielding lances.
One could tell at a glance that those wyvern knight groups relied on diving into melee combat to exert their strength.
But the scene before him had instantly redefined Augus's understanding of an air force.
At the very least, before this, Augus had also thought that an air force was meant for diving charges.
Their advantage lay in movement speed and agility.
Now, however, it was completely different!
A single spear possessed such power.
What if they went a step further?
What if they mounted fire element mana stones on the spearheads that exploded upon impact?
For a moment, Augus's imagination ran wild regarding the future development of the Dragon Knight Corps.
However, they did not linger in the air for long.
They soon arrived at Dragon City.
Dragon City was only ten kilometers away from Brilliant City, a distance that an aerial unit like the Dragon Knight Corps could cover in just a few minutes.
Furthermore, they were less than five kilometers away, so they reached the skies above Dragon City in the blink of an eye.
At this moment, Dragon City was essentially finished, with only the roofing left to be completed.
The entire Dragon City had become a massive fortress.
It was a square city, five hundred meters long and wide, and about fifty meters high.
Each of the city walls had over a dozen entrances and exits five meters in diameter, set at different heights.
On the ground, the entire Dragon City had only one entrance.
Dragon City was built as an air force fortress, so ground-level passages were actually not that important.
This single ground entrance was only kept to facilitate the transportation of supplies.
The real entrances used by the Dragon Knight Corps were these holes in the walls.
The skysoar dragons were accustomed to living on cliffs, so they were already used to this method of entry.
As Mr. Momo slowly descended, he tucked his wings and glided into one of the openings.
The interior of the tunnel was exceptionally bright.
Luo Li was not one to spare any expense when it came to Dragon City.
The lighting for the entire city was supplied by high-grade mana stones.
This was done to ensure that everything inside Dragon City operated smoothly.
Just purchasing these mana stones had cost over two million gold coins.
Many of these things were absolute necessities.
For example, the fire element mana stones used for heating in the winter.
And the backup water element mana stones kept to ensure they had water even if the city were besieged.
To use these mana stones, corresponding magic arrays were required.
Even with two archmages like Camilla and Ligeia available to save on labor costs, a significant amount of money had been spent to ensure these magic arrays could be used long-term.
After all, the raw materials for drawing and stabilizing the magic arrays, and even the connections between them, required a vast amount of precious ores and special materials.
One could say that Dragon City had been built entirely out of money!
In the very center of Dragon City stood a towering mage tower.
This mage tower belonged to Ligeia.
The most critical feature of this tower was that it was mobile!
If any other mage were here, they would likely detect something unusual through their sensitivity to mana elements.
Beneath the stone-paved ground were mana circuits linked together.
All of these mana circuits were connected to the central mage tower.
A mage tower itself could be considered an extension of a mage's arms.
This city was now an extension of the mage tower.
It was almost like a second creation of the mage tower.
The moment they entered the walls, the surrounding temperature suddenly became warm.
During the initial construction, Luo Li had considered even the smallest details perfectly.
For instance, the entrances and exits.
Every entrance and exit was equipped with a magic array, and the one carved here was of the wind element.
The wind magic arrays separated the interior of the walls from the outside.
In critical moments, they could also form a giant wind defense magic array on the exterior of the walls.
On ordinary days, their function was to isolate the internal and external temperatures.
This ensured that the temperature inside the walls remained constant.
The moment they stepped inside, Lola and Augus clearly felt a wave of warmth wash over them.
Seeing this, the two could not help but look at each other, their faces filled with surprise.
"This... a wind magic array? Isn't this a bit much?"
Augus muttered instinctively, but Lancelot, seeing their expressions, gave a faint smile.
"Lord Augus might not be aware, but the living environment of the skysoar dragons requires a stable climate. Maintaining a constant temperature inside the walls is very necessary."
Augus's brow tightened as he looked at Lancelot.
To be honest, he did not trust Lancelot, who, like himself, had come in response to the Recruitment Order. He always harbored a sliver of suspicion toward him.
After all, Lancelot was an apostate knight.
In the entire Kingdom of the Moon, the number of people who knew this could be counted on one hand.
As Luo Li's trusted aide, Augus naturally knew.
"Commander Lancelot, I didn't mean anything by it. It's just... maintaining this wind magic array can't be easy, can it?"
Constructing magic arrays varied in difficulty, and among the four basic elements, wind magic arrays were the hardest to stabilize.
If this massive sum of money had been used elsewhere, it could have probably built a hundred train engines.
Using it here just for insulation seemed a bit wasteful no matter how one looked at it.
"It is indeed not easy."
Lancelot likely guessed Augus's thoughts and nodded with a calm expression.
However, Lancelot understood perfectly. After all, when he first encountered this, his reaction had been the same as Augus's.
There was really no need to spend such a fortune on this!
Thinking of this, Lancelot turned and pointed to one side.
"Bishop Lola, Lord Augus, please follow me."
As he spoke, he began to walk forward. He kept his pace slow to accommodate the two of them while beginning to clear Augus's doubts.
"We knights of the Dragon Knight Corps were lectured quite severely by Lady Ligeia so that we could coordinate properly with the skysoar dragons."
"Among those lessons was the answer to Lord Augus's confusion."
Lancelot explained as they walked.
"The skysoar dragon is a powerful type of small flying dragon and is a dragon sub-species, though they are recognized by purebred dragons."
"They are strong enough to withstand any weather. A winter like the one in Brilliant City is nothing more than an itch to a skysoar dragon."
"Then why..." Augus started to speak instinctively but immediately went quiet, waiting for Lancelot's explanation.
Lancelot did not disappoint him.
"The skysoar dragon itself is very powerful and does not fear any weather, but they are not a dragon species that stays in a habitable zone. They are a migratory species."
"Because skysoar dragon hatchlings are quite fragile and very sensitive to climate changes, it is easy for eggs to fail or hatchlings to die. Therefore, during the breeding season, they must find a place with suitable temperatures to lay and hatch their eggs."
"This also forces them to fly for long periods, constantly searching for new homes."
"The wind magic arrays were set up for this reason. At the same time, this temperature is the most comfortable for the skysoar dragons."
"Just as a person can endure hot water and drink cold water, isn't lukewarm water the best?"
"The purpose of the wind magic arrays here is exactly that. To provide these skysoar dragons with the best conditions, Her Highness spared no expense. No, to put it another way... mere money cannot be compared to the skysoar dragons."
As they spoke, the three of them crossed an aerial walkway and arrived at the central mage tower.
Lancelot stopped before the door and knocked. From inside came Ligeia's somewhat intellectual voice.
"Please enter."
As she spoke, the door slowly opened, revealing the green-haired Ligeia.
And there, on a magic screen, was the silver-haired, red-eyed girl who turned her head to look at the three of them.
"It is good that you are safe. Come, join the meeting."
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