Surviving The Fourth Calamity

As a Half-Druid who aspired to turn her domain into a grand garden, the Golden Dragon always took the greatest pride in her ability to cultivate plants.

You must know, this is the Northern Continent where winter lingers for an extended period.

Only in her territory could all these various and unique flowers bloom in the middle of the cold winter, and the Dragon Queen was never willing to share this beauty with other domains.

Being able to choose to give them to Hill meant she was genuinely grateful to Hill for saving Terry's life.

The Female Mage with black hair took out a small bell from her pocket and gave it a gentle shake.

The delicate bell did not make a sound.

"Ah!" Velara Malendith exclaimed with a sigh, "Such a powerful soundproofing spell, I thought I was going to have to play dumb! Damn Black Staff, he dares to eavesdrop in such a top-tier box, completely breaking all kinds of conventions in the Ferun Great Land.

No wonder Elaströ doesn't want to see him.

Why does Mystra still tolerate this guy messing around!"

Hill frowned, "Has he gone mad? Deepwater City is not a place where he can simply do as he pleases, is it?"

Velara Malendith smiled contemptuously, "He wants to find those hidden lords who are lurking in the shadows, but it's all been in vain. Otherwise, why would he be so desperate to subdue that wasteland city?

His wife is indeed carrying twins! Those are children prophesied not just by one deity, the Goddess of Magic, and since then, Black Staff's ambitions have become completely uncontrollable.

However, the hundreds of dragons in Deepwater City are also the last straw that crushes him. For someone as cautious as Black Staff, dragons are not good neighbors.

Everyone lives so normally, and he feels threatened even by collecting rent!"

Hill smiled in agreement.

Lynn turned her head and browsed through the catalog of auction items on the table.

"What annoys the Elves the most about him is that he refuses to acknowledge that he is a descendant of Mistral, yet he won't swear an oath to forsake all claims to Mistral, right?" the Golden Dragon asked slowly, "Although the Elves all seem to act offended, aside from you Gold Elves, most Elves don't care much about Half-Elf descendants.

With Elven pride, it would be normal to resent Black Staff and cut all ties with him, but the way all Elves show their pain when stepped on, who can't see that?

Black Staff is truly courting death! Not only will the Elves not let him off the hook, but the Fairy Queen won't either! Mistral is very suitable for Fairies to settle down, but the premise is there's not an Archmage who can sneak in at any time."

Hill laughed, "Actually, it doesn't concern me at all. Lynn doesn't care either; the Gold Elves don't want to get involved in these matters.

If there's really a city that pains the heart of the Gold Elves, it would probably be that Ancient Elf City that got lost in a temporal rift, which was destroyed because of last year's events."

The Silvermoon Dragon Queen suddenly looked up at Hill with an angry glare.

The Ancient Elf City that was manipulated by the leader of the Dragon Worship Church was, in fact, the Dragon Madness created by the Ancient Elves to combat the Giant Dragons using their lives and souls.

It's just that the Elves had a pattern; as long as the dragons of the continent hid away when the time came.

"Although the Chromatic Dragon Queen used the incident to disgust us, the Dragon Madness was also completely annihilated. Those of us who survived will have a better future!" Velara Malendith declared solemnly.

"Of course, that's what I hope as well." Hill replied with a smile.

Since you don't like to talk about Dragon Madness, we obviously don't want to talk about Mistral.

Regardless of how much the Elves want to kill Black Staff, they shouldn't be so blunt about it.

Lynn almost lost control of his expression just now.

He himself had only hinted at Hill, without stating these things outright, but anyone with a slight understanding of Mistral's history knows that by doing this, Black Staff is nearly challenging the Elves' tolerance, and the Elven Pantheon will not let him live any longer.

But such matters can only be acted upon, not spoken of.

It's quite possible that while they are here enjoying tea, up above the stars, Coron is already at odds with the Goddess of Magic.

The fifth level has already begun to admit guests into boxes, Hill glanced a few times but couldn't make out the blurred figures behind the crystal windows.

The Dragon Queen sat aside, finally realizing that Hill did not appreciate her sarcasm towards the Elves; she glanced at Lynn who had been silent all the while and saw that Hill truly treated him as a friend.

Otherwise, why would Hill, who comes from another world, care so much about the reputation of Elves in this world? He's not a child of Coron.

Since she was the first to slip up, Velara Malendith decided to show a more generous attitude in front of her child's friend.

She smiled and advised Hill, "In a rectangular building surrounded by boxes on all sides, those directly across and opposite are definitely allies. That means the legends of Deepwater City are in front, and the Silvermoon Alliance is opposite.

If I came with my own invitation, I would be sitting opposite.

You are a neighbor to Deepwater City, but not a part of the Silvermoon Alliance, so you sit on the left side.

The right is reserved for those guests from other continents or powerful individuals who suddenly show up.

This floor does not welcome beings below level 17.

Such people, if they wish to come, no auction house would dare to refuse them, but they must be marked.

Otherwise, if they get mixed up on the lower floors, it can easily lead to trouble.

"There's always a fool who thinks they can buy their lives with money."

Once the distinguished guests on the fifth floor were all seated, the auction began.

Hill, somewhat bored, watched on. The early part of the auction was just a warm-up; the people below were animated, but the upper tiers, not just the fifth level but also the third and fourth level boxes, were indifferent.

Perhaps to stir up the atmosphere, the auction house quickly brought out goods from other continents.

These items might not interest the most powerful at the very top, but the nobles sure loved them.

Hill sat steadily. The goods from the Kalartu Continent seemed to be very popular, with the nobles calling out high prices.

Right now, a complete set of porcelain from the Shoulong Kingdom, over a thousand pieces big and small, was quickly bid up to 20,000 gold.

Hill looked at the few nobles below who were competitively bidding and, as their pace began to slow, seemingly reaching their limit, he casually added 1,000 gold.

Silence fell below in an instant.

"Why didn't you bid from the start?" Velara Malendith asked curiously, "No one would dare to compete with you, would they?"

"I'm not short of money, so why bother doing that? This comes from the Shoulong Kingdom. If it doesn't sell for a good price, won't the owner of the magic ship lose a fortune?" Hill looked at the Golden Dragon with widened eyes.

Considering the matter-of-fact tone of Velara Malendith, this practice seemed common for her, but the Golden Dragon was the Queen of the North!

"Even the starting price is a profit for him!" Velara Malendith said without hesitation.

But that starting price wouldn't be enough to tempt him to take the risk again.

If he still wanted goods from the Shoulong Kingdom, the best way was to let these people make enough money to drive them mad.

"This set is prettier than the one you bid for." Velara Malendith, looking at a newly presented set of resplendent porcelain, said softly, "I think you've made a loss."

Thinking of the set he had bid for—of simple elegance, graced with scholar-like charm, white porcelain decorated with subtle flowers and light bamboo—Hill couldn't help but offer a polite smile upon seeing this new set's gaudy reds and purples, gold inlays, and oversized flowers.

The nobles waited a few minutes and, seeing that Hill made no move, began to bid tentatively.

But no matter how slowly they increased their bids, the figure on the fifth floor didn't react, and they began to bid aggressively.

"You don't like this kind?" Velara Malendith asked, somewhat puzzled.

"What I like are things that carry the style of that country." Hill thought for a moment before speaking slowly, "What's being offered now is popular in Ferun but lacks that special feeling."

The Dragon Queen nodded thoughtfully, "You sound like a scholar."

Hill bid on a batch of silk and tea then stopped. He had no interest in the jewelry pieces with unique styles.

Soon enough, Hill learned why the Golden Dragon had come.

Midway through the auction, the auction house put up a Dragon Egg for sale!

"Has the Lord of the Black Staff gone mad?" Lynn, who had been silent, couldn't hold back anymore.

"Does he want to know how many dragons are left in Deepwater City?" Velara Malendith's eyes were fixed on the Dragon Egg, "This egg has been touched by Chromatic Dragons. Could it be from that Blue Dragon up north? Or the farther Red Dragon? Damn it!"

Hill, seeing Velara Malendith cursing under her breath, was somewhat puzzled.

"There are White Dragons among the Chromatic Dragons." The Dragon Queen looked up at Hill, "Those need considerable effort to teach even a little common knowledge to, and they can be eaten!"

The bidding below rapidly exceeded 50,000 gold and then slowed down.

Many were worried about the White Dragon.

Hill felt they were thinking too much; the White Dragon was their only hope.

If it was any other dragon, did they really think the Dragon Worship Church was completely finished? Only their leader, Samast, who was a human, had died. The Church still had so many Dragon Liches!

Velara Malendith suddenly leaned back into the sofa, "Ahh, it seems I won't need to step in, the Song Dragon Sisterhood has arrived."

Hill thought for a moment and realized they were the Half-Dragon women with Song Dragon bloodlines, who had appeared on the Ferun Great Land last year in order to save those unfortunate Giant Dragons.

Although they had made enemies of some evil Chromatic Dragons, they truly had saved many Giant Dragons and Dragonborn.

"Won't Deepwater City run into trouble doing this?" Lynn suddenly spoke up, "If they can sell like this, won't Dragon Eggs be in danger in the future?"

"Don't worry." Velara Malendith revealed a dangerous smile, "Having money to take doesn't mean they have lives to spend it.

As for the Black Staff, he'll understand what the fury of a Giant Dragon is.

He thinks he can look down on the existence of Giant Dragons just because a number of Ancient Dragons have died? He's not even the Goddess of Magic!"

Hill suddenly felt that the Black Staff had long been prepared to die.

"Prophecy." Hill softly asked, "What's the content of that famous prophecy?"

"I don't know the specifics." The Dragon Queen shook her head, "It's only known that it mentioned he will have a pair of twins who will become the ultimate powerhouses of the Ferun Great Land in the future.

But as for ultimate powerhouses, is Ferun short of them? One or even a group can emerge every now and then."

Hill, contemplative, wondered if fate decreed that Kelben would die once more?