Chapter 470 The Operation: Infiltration
Under the commanding gaze of the dragon, the three potent energies danced and spiraled around him. Nestled within a grand subterranean chamber, he shimmered as the light danced and warped, contorting around his silhouette.
"To truly ascend to unparalleled might," he mused, "I must master and wield this triad of energies."
The allure of demonstrating his newfound prowess was tempting. Vesuvius felt the urge to emerge and rain his formidable fury upon foes. Yet time was slipping through his talons, urging immediate action.
'The fortress will be first. Then I will finish all my long-term projects and dig in.'
As the earth responded to the dragon's unwavering focus, it quaked and murmured. At a mere thought from Vesuvius, stone and ice stirred into motion, reshaping and evolving.
Expansive corridors carved themselves out, extending to the frozen stone around him; their walls collected rock, forming a defense of compressed stone that surpassed even the sturdiest concrete.
The transformation didn't halt. It delved deeper, with icy ornaments radiating, cloaking the raw rock beneath a lustrous, crystalline veneer. Tall and thick pillars, looking like draconic hands grasping the ceiling, formed seemingly endless lines, supporting the corridors vanishing beyond the horizon.
'Even though it is a shelter or a fortress, it must still be worthy of my being.'
These passageways, each more magnificent than the last, made even the most opulent avenues look insignificant. They were designed grandiosely, accommodating the immense frames of dragons, allowing them to soar unencumbered amidst towering pillars sculpted from stone and eternal obsidian-black ice.
'I need to go deeper.'
As Vesuvius continued his descent, the land above swallowed him, the fortress emerging in his wake. The trails he left behind seamlessly sealed themselves, erasing any hint of his passage. It was as though he glided through water; the earth yielded to him, offering no hindrance to his journey.
'I am the ruler of this frosty piece of land. Everything here is mine.'
The cavernous corridors and deep vertical shafts plunged from icy to a fiery inferno warmed by the planet's molten core.
A sense of pride washed over Vesuvius as he surveyed his masterpiece. It wasn't just the sheer scale or intricacy of his creation that awed him, but the realization of the boundless power he now wielded manifested with such effortless grace.
'All this was so effortless.' Even with his previous domain, creating such a large structure would take some time, as he would still have to move it in a way that was similar to mundane construction methods.
With a mere thought, a crystallized concept, the fabric of the earth reshaped, morphing to mirror the grandeur of his imagination. The cosmos seemed to bend at his whim, crafting reality from his very desires.
'Is this what gods can do?'
Vesuvius had transcended, becoming an unparalleled sovereign with the might to reshape existence.
In the fortress's most sacred chamber, which was destined to be the very heart of Vesuvius himself, he beheld the monumental crystal statues of dragons.
Their luminous forms shimmered in the dim light, bearing the weight of the sprawling obsidian dome above. Each figure was imbued with an ethereal glow, a testament to the grandeur and majesty of dragonkind.
'Even with all my power, it is still just a hole in the ground, with a bit of nice coating on top of that.'
On his command, a radiant portal emerged, its golden periphery blazing like the sun with a bright halo of fire and light while its core devoured light, reminiscent of a black void.
'However, my kin will turn this into a place worthy of housing my heart.' Vesuvius knew the number of talents under his command was shocking.
The looming storm of chaos was on the horizon, with just a month to prepare before the world would be engulfed. Within this window, Vesuvius aspired not only to complete his fortress but also to elevate his status to that of a dragon king. Maybe even obtain the knowledge of attaining power over space from the administrator.
POV Infiltration Squad:
A large and lush park sprawled in the city's center. Towering trees, adorned with leaves painted in a spectrum of colors, grace the landscape, defiantly unaffected by the frigid snowflakes descending just beyond the park's borders.
Encircling this park were four stately mansions, their imposing fences and walls emanating an aura of grandeur and authority.
"This is not good. We are in the city center." A small group sat on a small terrace of a minor, two-story villa on a nearby hilltop. From their vantage point, they surveyed the vibrant and opulent cityscape sprawled beneath, the heavy snowfall doing nothing to obscure their inhumanly sharp visions.
"If it was just assassination, that wouldn't be a problem. However, we need to catch him alive."
The player with a high punk-style mohawk held his bow as he watched the guards patrol the premises around the distant mansion.
"Such a shame... Just imagine how beautifully that mansion would burn. All the panic it would bring. Maybe even that disgusting rainbow park would catch on fire." Pyromaniac, as always, his face covered by a mask, stared at a small spark of fire in his palm.
The young, elven woman, holding her staff, chimed in, trying to lighten the mood, "At least we have our escape route secured. That old space-archmage will teleport us out once we secure the target."
"Hahaha." Suddenly, Booba's laughter made all of them stop and stare at the single player, who was laughing like a maniac.
Lili's stern eyes pierced through his very soul. "What is so funny here? We are having here a serious discussion."
He froze, coughed up, and spoke with the utmost confidence, "You are overthinking it. We will just rush in, smash everything in our path, and grab that piece of trash."
Silence fell upon the group, leaving everyone dumbfounded. No one could retort, as the words made sense.
Pride swelled up in the draconic heart of the dumb boy, as he was right—they were no longer those weaklings from the times when they started. They were now all closing in on level eighty, had incredibly powerful gear, and most importantly, they had legendary races that could crush puny mortals even if they were much higher level.
In unanimous agreement, each individual nodded, their eyes aglow with a newfound perception as they regarded the pitiable mortal guards below with renewed insight.
"Yes, let's do that."
"I agree, but on the way back, I will set it on fire."