Ashen Dragon

Not just the forelimbs, the Red Dragon's back, tail, and even its chin were covered in numerous crystals that would easily fall off with a gentle snap.

If all the crystals on his body were scraped off, they would probably pile up into a small mountain weighing dozens of tons.

"This should be crystals formed from the discarded energy when absorbing Karex's bloodline, let's call it Dragon Crystals." My Virtual Library Empire (MVLE1MPYR) thanks you for reading at the source.

"They are too impure for my current bloodline level, merely considered impurities, but for other dragons or Dragonborn, they are rare treasures that enhance bloodline power."

"Hmm... Perfect to put these Dragon Crystals on the Array Shop, sell them to those players in bulk, as for the price—set it at thirty gold coins and eight thousand faction contributions per kilogram, at such a low price, they should be snatched up eagerly."

Just after a nap, Cassius could earn millions of gold coins from the players' hands, making them toil tirelessly.

As the biggest 'entrepreneur' within the Ashen Empire, holding the major shareholder status in dozens of imperial royal companies ranging from daily essentials, clothing, food... to military industry and construction, Cassius's annual dividends are astronomical figures.

But unlike those giant dragons who like to hoard gold coins in their own vaults, Cassius invests most of his wealth in the empire's industrial production and magical technology advancements.

The rumor circulating on the Fianso Continent that the 'Ashen Emperor's wealth rivals nations' is no legend because his wealth is the empire's wealth, even Cassius himself finds it hard to calculate exactly how much money he has.

Of course, as the saying goes: The wealthier you are, the more you don't relax even a bit, the more you don't relax even a bit, the wealthier you become.

Cassius still won't miss any opportunity to make money, and feels ecstatic for every gold coin that flows into his pocket, as if hearing that crisp "ding" sound.

Well, it's the innate nature of giant dragons, even Ao would find it hard to cure.

Cassius looked at his panel.

Ancestral Dragon Bloodline: 21%

Near the Sword Bay Region, there are a few famous cities, such as Waterdeep, Elturel, Neverwinter, etc. Waterdeep is built on the site of the capital of the Elf Empire Ilfaen—Erin Vier, with many temples of divine, the Miracle Temple is the grandest Magic Goddess Temple in the game, featuring majestic high towers, embellished with various paintings and magical decorations, full of luxurious Baroque style, while Neverwinter leans more towards Gothic architecture, being the earliest human settlement Aegostor developed after nearly a century, and the story's main city, Baldur's Gate, is the largest and most prosperous trade city-state in the Sword Bay Region, from nobles to commoners and thieves, the place is mixed with fish and dragons, called "the nest of plotters" by adventurers. Baldur's Gate's name comes from a hero, Grey Port adventurer Bodlan, who, after exploring the continent beyond the Sword Sea, returned to Grey Port with wealth and led a team to build the city here. Based on the residents' status, Baldur's Gate is divided into a noble Upper City and a commoner Lower City, and the Outer City is scattered around Chenyi Mountain, the gate dividing the Upper City and Lower City is called Baldur's Gate, and the whole city is named after it, serving as a monument to the city's founder Bodlan. Currently, Baldur's Gate is governed by a four-person council, all Great Dukes, with one being the leader of the council, if a vote is tied, Grand Duke Elder Ravenclaw makes the decision. The Upper City's security is handled by the elite class official police force, the Watch, while other areas by a mercenary group called "Flaming Fist," the Grand Duke Elder Ravenclaw is also the highest leader of the mercenary group, with the headquarters located at Bodlan Sea Tower, the strongest fortress against sea invasions for Baldur's Gate, and like a crescent, it encases Baldur's Gate's economic lifeline—Gray Harbor, with hundreds of merchant ships coming and going daily, bringing gold coins, and also greed and sin. The Upper City sits at a higher elevation, composed of Castle District, Temple District, Manoburn District, and Wide Alley District, with numerous religious buildings, Miracle Hall, and Supreme Miracle House, are centers of the God of Craft, Gund, in Baldur's Gate, with the Miracle Hall showcasing Gund's great inventions and the Supreme Miracle House also serving as a workshop. The Lower City's structures are mostly stone houses, comprising six districts, respectively Sea Tower District, Blonrich District, Steep District, Crowded Side District, East Road District, and Branpton District, the middle class generally resides in Blonrich District adjacent to the nobles of Upper City, while East Road District near the connection to the Outer City at Stone Lizard Gate is comparatively more mixed, with many lively taverns and cheap inns, Sea Tower District houses the Flaming Fist Mercenary Group, its headquarters built on the largest rocky offshore island from Sea Tower District, while Branpton District and Steep District are relatively rundown, belonging to the sailors and manual laborers' living communities. The Outer City is distributed along Chongsar River, gathered with temporary buildings and shantytowns, the landmark is a stone bridge spanning Chongsar River—Flying Dragon Crossroad, bustling with many vendors, even extending the bridge surface with planks, constructing numerous buildings on it, where law and order virtually do not exist, even the Flaming Fist Mercenary Group's protection is very limited, some destitute people or criminals unable to find accommodation in the city gather here. The algae in the arched ceiling of the sewer gleamed green under the dim phosphorescent lights, thick sewage seeped over the boots, each step stirred a viscous "gurgle" sound. Purple-black slime seeped from the wall cracks, merging like veins toward the drain—this is the characteristic nerve-corrosion matter of the Spirit Sucking Monster Nest, inhaling it causes ordinary people to hear auditory hallucinations, as if countless small tentacles were wriggling in the ear canal. Suddenly, there was a "click-clack" sound of realigned bones from behind a severed cast iron pipe, as if something was twisting through narrow spaces. A mind flayer burst out from the water, its pale humanoid body covered in detritus, octopus-like head's tentacles vibrated at high frequency, releasing visible purple mind shock waves. The foremost guard's helmet dented, his eyeballs bursting into a blood mist from increased cranial pressure; the second was impaled through the ear by a tentacle before he could scream, his spine extracted like a marionette from the shell; the lone survivor staggered backward, the roar of his misfired firearm drowned out by the collective low-frequency screech of the mind flayers. These mind flayers were obviously trained in tactics. Two diversion individuals slapped the water with tentacles, stirring a mist shrouded in corrosive liquid to obscure vision; the third descended from the ceiling, using suckers to adhere to the guard's skull, a tentacle tip precisely pierced into the foramen magnum—not immediate death, but like manipulating a puppet, forcing the captive to turn, using his trembling hands to reload ammunition for the companion's firearm. At this moment, the fourth mind flayer was using knuckle bone blades to cut open the fallen guard's chest cavity, taking out a warm liver to stuff into its mouth, pale yellow digestive liquid dripped from its jaw, smoking on the ground. As three patrolling guards just raised their lanterns, the sewage suddenly exploded open! Four parasitized beings did not completely die. The remains of the guards crawled up in spasms, semi-transparent mind flayer larvae tentacles drilled out of the neck wound, pupils expanded into murky milky white. He grabbed a dagger and stabbed at his former comrades, squeezing out an inhuman synthetic voice from his throat: "Skull... Tribute to the Overmind...". And the true horror had just begun to reveal—distant sewage pools began to boil, more pale figures emerged from the water, dragging dozens of captives wrapped in mucus cocoons, those human faces twisted into silent screams under the cocoon shells. Those fierce demons roared, flapping their wings desperately, shoulder muscles bulging, bursting veins, trying to forcibly break the line, but a strong Gravity Spell descended, and the demons were swatted down like flies, falling into the river of magma while the devils raised their Hell Crossbows, aiming skyward, countless arrows laced with flames poured down like torrential rain, shooting demons out of the sky, within a few minutes, thousands of demons perished under the Magic Tide's surge, choking black smoke pervaded the battlefield, making one retch.