A Journey That Changed The World.

Archer received Mary's happy reply before turning to Eldric, ''Form a shieldwall and advance down the street, but keep your eyes on the roof as they will try to ambush us from above.''

The black dragon knight nodded and barked orders to the White Dragon Guard, who quickly formed with their large shields and spears at the ready. When the Blightborn Elves saw this, they wildly charged at them.

Soon, Archer could hear the sound of flesh on metal as the soldiers stood firm behind the shieldwall. They plunged their spears into the Blightborns, who fell in waves, forming a mound of bodies before them.

Archer watched proudly as the White Dragon Knights slowly pushed forward while stepping off the corpses. While they were doing this, he summoned more Stone Men and ordered them to loot the hearts.

He noticed the previous Stone Men returned and brought him a few hundred hearts, which he had stored in the Item Box before watching the soldiers. Eldric stationed two dozen knights behind the shieldwall, which would allow them to deal with the creatures on the roof.

The battle lasted an hour until Archer and the White Knights ran into the Avalonian soldiers clearing the city. When the commander spotted them, he approached them before greeting him.

''Welcto Mountholm City, White Prince,'' the commander said respectfully. ''Thank you for your help; those monsters appeared out of nowhere and slaughtered the men guarding the walls.''

Archer nodded in understanding before casting Aurora Healing on the wounded soldiers, causing cheers to spread throughout their ranks. The commander smiled as he thanked him and returned to his soldiers.

After the departure of the Avalonian commander, the Stone Men swiftly began ferrying the harvested hearts to Archer, who deftly caught each one and deposited them into his Item Box.

With the grim task completed, he turned his attention to Eldric, joining the other knights in cleansing his sword of blood stains. Looking around, he didn't see his soldiers' bodies on the street, but he was happy.

Archer approached Eldric and spoke, ''How was the fight? Did the soldiers get much experience?''

The older man nodded, ''Yes, My Lord, many have fought before, but always fighting new creatures allows them to gain even more battle experience that will cin handy when the Great War begins.

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''The Great War? Where did that cfrom?''

''Baba Yaga predicted a war beyond anything that has happened before and said the Draconians will be at the forefront of it,'' Eldric said.

Archer's eyebrow raised but shrugged, ''If it happens, so be it; we can protect Draconia now the First Fleet is nearly complete, and the Seawall can annihilate any invasion fleet that dares to approach.''

''Excellent, Your Majesty,'' Eldric replied. ''Now the battle is over, we will return to training as there was a flood of recruits applying for positions in the White Dragon Knights from the regular army.''

''How many White Dragon Knights are there? And what about overall troop numbers?'' Archer questions the older man.

Eldric thought briefly before revealing the shocking numbers: ''There are 80,000 White Dragon Knights ready to be deployed, and another 120,000 are in training. The Draconia Royal Army has 4.5 million soldiers of many races, thanks to all the refugees flocking to the island.''

Archer was bamboozled and didn't know it was possible to raise such an army and pay them, which caused him to question, ''How are we paying and feeding them? I know we have plenty of farms, but not to feed millions of soldiers.''

The black knight chuckled before revealing, ''You really don't know what your ideas have done, do you? The untold amounts of notes you wrote for Queen Aisha were made in several books that outlined everything from government, public safety, trade, taxes, and everything else that will cause Draconia to becthe top powerhouse on Thrylos.''

''Explain,'' Archer said, wanting to hear about the kingdom.

Eldric nodded and informed him of the crop system he learned from a documentary on Earth. However, it was combined with the knowledge that Llyniel gave the farmers that helped the most.

The little wood elf had been coming to aid the kingdom whenever she had free time. Archer also found out that Aisha had established hundreds of food storage silos all over the kingdom that is enchanted using magic to preserve them for times of need.

Eldric said the excess was sold and reinvested into the realm after the government and veteran soldiers were paid. Most Draconian Army volunteers did it because the state looked after their families.

Still, the officials predicted they could afford 8-9 million soldiers without affecting the economy once they've been paid, which shocked Archer as that was a lot of gold. Still, he found out the food that the kingdom grows, and he so desired that they had to open an auction house in Stormwatch Port to sell it to the merchants.

After Eldric spoke for a while, Archer dismissed the knight and returned to Draconia before walking around the kingdom and thinking. He had plans to sell rare plants and ingredients, which would bring in billions of gold if everything went to plan.

Then, his food ideas would spread worldwide once he introduced them to the kingdom. Nefertiti suggested getting srare Desert Worms that produce a material called Red Silk that Merchant Federations would pay a heavy price to get their hands on.

The next idea was to breed rare work monsters in extensive breeding facilities. The creatures would be treated well and allowed to thrive while sold to Monster merchants, who resold them to empires and kingdoms throughout Thrylos.

Another was controlling and setting up Trade Routes toward the other continents from Pluoria, allowing ships to rest in harbors or ports throughout Draconia and taxing them using the Draconia Royal Navy.

Once Archer stopped thinking to himself, he made his way to Mary and decided to take her to Avidia so they could hunt for Desert Worms to bring back to the kingdom. While walking toward the inn, he contacted Llyniel and asked for her help.

The wood elf happily agreed and appeared beside him when Archer summoned her with the dragon tattoo. He scooped the petite girl into a loving hug as she spoke, ''What do you need help with, my love?''

''Could you please check on the farms my Agriculture Minister Baily set up? She's the fox demi-human who helps with Draconia's food supply.'' Archer requested.

Llyniel instantly agreed with a bright smile before hugging him. That's when he truly realized how deep her love for plants goes, and he found it adorable. Afterward, Archer opened a Gate to the Bastion so the Eldric, the knights, and Llyniel could travel there quickly.

Once the wood elf and White Dragon Knights were gone, Archer walked into the inn and spotted the people relaxing while Mary, Lucrezia, and the other staff served them drinks. He sat down and watched them work, and twenty minutes later, a guard banged on the door, letting everyone know it was clear.

After that, the people thanked Mary before leaving for their homes, and the soldiers in the street watched the Stone Men looting. Soon, they were standing outside the inn waiting to give Archer the hearts.

He quickly grabbed them all and stored them in the Item Box before dismissing the Stone Men, who vanished where they stood. Archer went inside and asked Mary if she would like to accompany him to Avidia, to which she agreed.

Lucrezia wanted to relax in the domain and wished them a good tas she kissed Archer before vanishing. Mary turned to him and sweetly asked, ''Do you want to travel while in my real form?''

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Archer got excited, ''Yes. Do you know how to get to the southern continent?''

''Yes,'' she replied while taking a cloak out of a storage ring she wore on her right hand and wrapped it around herself. ''We can use the Underrealm to get there.''

''Okay, let's go,'' Archer commented as they left the inn.

The older woman locked up the inn before they strolled toward the city gate. When the guards saw who they were, they let them out. Once outside, Mary transformed into her massive serpent form.

She was massive, like the World Serpent in Norse myth; that's when Archer heard her sweet, melodic voice, ''Get on top of me, husband,'' she said. ''I will dive in the ocean and must cast a spell so you will be safe.''

Without wasting any more time, Archer jumped onto her body and started Blinking until he arrived at her head. She had sharp, barb-like spines sticking out of her, which he laid against and got comfortable.

''Let's get going,'' Mary said before moving quickly.

They crossed over the massive grassland like they were crossing the street, but then Archer saw the ocean in the distance just as a wave of mana washed over him, and Mary dived into the dark depths, causing a small tsunami to hit the shore.

As they plunged into the ocean's dark depths, they were surrounded by an otherworldly blue glow. The water shimmered around them as they descended further, the pressure increasing with each passing moment.

Archer held onto Mary's massive serpent form tightly, feeling the cool air that got through the mana shield she erected around him. As they ventured deeper into the ocean, they encountered many sea creatures.

Vicious-looking sharks with rows of razor-sharp teeth circled around them, their predatory eyes glinting in the dim light. He decided to scan the monsters to see what rank they were and if they were powerful.

[Maelstrom Sharks]

[Rank: SS+]