Chapter 907: Can You Breathe
He discovered that the southern region of Draconia had emerged as the kingdom's bustling trade hub, while the north served as its industrial heartland. Meanwhile, the central region flourished as the breadbasket, boasting hundreds of farms.
'Oh wow, everything developed so quickly,' he mused while Aisha reviewed some paperwork. "There must be more I can do to increase our earnings.'
While Archer was thinking, Nala, Teuila, and Sia started chatting as Aisha handed him a stack of papers, "These are the reports from Dagny and Farrah. They believe your train can be built in a matter of months, but we're missing one crucial part," she explained.
"What's that?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Aisha took a specific paper and spoke, "Thanks to your blueprints, the train, its tracks, stations, and carriages have been constructed, but we have no way to power it."
"How about Manaheart Crystals? Either Dagny or Farrah had a design that we could charge the stones to use in trains and airships," Archer questioned.
The dragonkin woman shrugged, "Those girls have thousands of designs they're creating; I've lost track of their work. They only come to me to get more coins for their crazy projects."'
He chuckled, causing Aisha to bristle, "Don't laugh! They've damaged their workshop and the legion's training fields so much that it costs hundreds of thousands of gold to repair and pay the people to work."
Instinctively, he emptied all his wealth, keeping only a million coins for himself. The sudden action stunned all four women, with Aisha jumping up before drawing the mountain into her storage ring.
However, even with her considerable storage capacity, it wasn't enough. She rummaged for more until the mountain of gold and silver vanished, causing her to exhale with relief before turning to Archer, "Don't do that again, you little demon; I hate carrying so much wealth."
Archer laughed at her scolding before standing up and looking at the other three warmly "I'll be back in half an hour; wait here for me," he said.
They nodded before giggling. He grabbed Aisha's hand and left the room. He said, "Take me to your room."
She nodded and led him down one of the corridors until an alarm started blaring, causing Aisha to spin toward the nearest window with a concerned expression. Archer followed her only to a glowing green light.
This caused her to speak, "The Southern Wall is being attacked again; the legions will be deploying to defend it."
When Archer heard this, he quickly said, "Stay here while I deal with them."
Afterward, he cast Blink to teleport outside, summoning his wings and swiftly taking flight southward. Archer accelerated, covering the distance in just ten minutes. Upon arrival at the scene of chaos, he immediately began casting Eldritch Blast at the towering monsters.
Archer swiftly recognized the soldiers on the wall being forced back, and in that moment, clarity struck. With resounding determination, he cried out, "Soldiers of Draconia! Today, we stand not just for ourselves, but for our legacy, for your children! Let us show these monsters that Draconia's spirit cannot be quelled. Fight with valor, for every step they take will be met with our unwavering resolve!"
The soldiers below erupted in cheers, invigorated by the power surge coursing through them as they fought fiercely, pushing the monsters back over the wall. Witnessing their bravery, Archer raised his fist high and proclaimed with unwavering conviction, "May Goddess Tiamat bear witness! I am the chosen one who will lead Draconia to paradise! Fight for me and become part of something greater than yourselves!"
"All Hail the Dragon King!" screamed one overzealous soldier, starting a wave of cheering that psyched up the troops.
When the thousands heard this, Archer noticed something changed within them, igniting a fire. Without another word, they surged forward like death and chased the monsters onto the beach while slaughtering any they caught.
He witnessed them in a frenzy as they charged right into the jaws of death with no care for themselves. The Homeguards fought like savage animals, bringing down giant monsters only to swarm over them like rage-filled ants.
Archer was impressed, decided to level up his Shadow Prince form, and transformed within seconds. He fell toward the ground before vanishing into the shadows, only to start dragging monsters into the darkness.
Without much effort, he butchered the largest foes, which looked like a mix between an octopus and crab, taking out many of his soldiers with one swipe of their large claws and creepy-looking tentacles that brought death to the beach.
When Archer saw this before rushing toward the monsters and slashing through their carapace with his claws that made easy work of them, the battle continued for an hour until he sensed something heading in his direction.
'Finally someone as strong as me,' he thought.
He knew this would be a worthy battle, so he transformed into his majestic dragon form and soared into the fray, clashing with a colossal water serpent that surged from the sea. As the two titans fought, Archer raked his claws down the creature's scaled body, but it retaliated by sinking its teeth into one of his wings.
Archer was filled with rage as he bit down on the snake's long body and let out his dragon's breath that seared through the monster, causing it to let go of him, but that's when he noticed more of them charging at him.
Suddenly, four brilliant lights burst forth as Teuila, Kassandra, Lucrezia, and Demetra joined the fray. The four women unleashed their fury upon the invading monsters, who were taken aback by the ferocity of the girl's attack.
It took the Archer and the Titan ladies to decimate the monster wave, and he was now standing on the beach in his human form with the others. He gazed at the group before speaking, "Mary and Luce. You ladies stay here to defend the kingdom and mining platforms."
The three nodded in agreement as he continued, "The rest of us will track the monsters back to their origin and eliminate the threat at its source. Inform the others that we will return
soon."
They agreed with determined smiles before each kissed Archer. The duo went to sit down near chairs that had appeared after the battle. Teuila, Demetra, and Kassandra leaped into the water, transforming into their Titan forms.
Teuila grew massive, resembling a mosasaur. Archer jumped onto her back and cast Cosmic Shield, settling in comfortably as the three dove beneath the waves, heading towards the source of the invading monsters.
The ocean was a vast and mysterious realm of endless blue. As Teuila, now in her massive form, glided effortlessly through the water, Archer sat comfortably on her back, protected by
his Cosmic Shield.
Beside them, Demetra and Kassandra, in their equally formidable Titan forms, swam with powerful strokes. The seafloor stretched below them like an alien landscape, dotted with towering coral formations, vibrant colors, and teeming with life.
Schools of fish darted around them, shimmering in the filtered sunlight that penetrated the depths. Strange and wondrous sea creatures observed them hiding within the coral reefs while
avoiding them.
While relaxing, Archer got a message from Aisha about him being invited as a special guest to a meeting of rulers from all over Pluoria. She mentioned that the invitation came with many
trade offers.
Archer became curious and asked her when the conference was and where it was being held,
only to find out it was in a few weeks and the Land of Mediterra on the coast as the realms had secured the area; this was good because he had some time to chill out and work on the
kingdom before leaving.
Following that, he sensed something approaching them from below. Archer alerted the girl while transforming into his Shadow Prince form and sunk into the shadow before seeing hundreds of black sharks with glowing yellow eyes.
He told the girls above to prepare for a fight as he tore into the monsters within reach, causing the blood to cloud the water. Archer killed hundreds of sharks as the group above engaged
with the creatures.
Chaos erupted hundreds of miles below the surface as Kassandra, Demetra, and Teuila battled with the monster wave. While they did that, Archer went to work and slaughtered even more
until they stopped coming.
Archer let his violet eyes glow from the shadows on the seafloor to alert the girls. Teuila was the first to spot him and swarm toward him before turning into her humanoid form as she
arrived.
"Can you breathe in there, darling?" she questioned while swimming around the
underground bushes.
"The water doesn't affect me while in this form, Teu," Archer answered as Demetra and Kassandra swam toward the duo.
Afterward, the group continued as Archer followed them while traveling along the seafloor
and found nothing. They grew frustrated until he summoned his Shadow Army and ordered them to find the monsters.
Once Archer did that, he appeared on Teuila's head and spoke, "The shadows will find out where they're coming from."
They all nodded, but Kassandra and Demetra said they would scout the area while waiting in the shadows. Teuila settled on the seafloor and rested. Archer was relaxed as he spoke, "So how does it feel having a Titan form? Must be different."
"I love it, Arch!" her voice rang in his head, thanks to the dragon tattoo.