Is This... a Gate?

After the masked man left, Old Butler Horden emerged from the back of the hall.

"This person might truly have many dragon corpses," he remarked. "It doesn't seem like a bluff."

Sophia nodded in agreement, then handed a spatial ring and a crystal card to Horden. "Butler Horden, our guild has sold around two thousand five hundred bottles of mid-grade elven spring water recently, generating nearly nine million gold coins. You can take these funds back to the Golden Oasis. As for the commission, there's no rush."

"Very well," Horden said, accepting the spatial ring and the crystal card. He infused his mental energy and magic into the ring, revealing a massive dragon corpse within. Even in its mummified state, its aura was intimidating, making his heart tremble. It was the first time he had seen a dragon in any form.

"Thank you, Miss Sophia. My young master will be very pleased with this dragon corpse."

"Serving Lord Haotian is our Crystal Merchant Guild's honor," Sophia replied with a smile.

Horden nodded. "It's late. I'll rest now and return to the Golden Oasis early tomorrow. I'll leave the remaining matters in your capable hands. If any issues arise, contact my young master directly."

"Understood, Butler Horden."

As Sophia watched Horden leave the hall, she knew he needed to stay overnight. Tomorrow, when the major guilds opened, he would withdraw the gold coins from the crystal card in physical form before heading back to the Golden Oasis. The coins on the card were just numbers and couldn't be used to upgrade their territory buildings—a fact emphasized by his young master.

After Horden left, the old mage Simon sighed, "Those knights have grown even stronger."

"What?" Sophia asked, momentarily confused.

Simon explained, "The last time Butler Horden brought ten golden griffon knights, all of them were at the king level. This time, he brought another ten knights. I can't tell if they're the same group, but I can confirm that these ten knights have reached the extraordinary realm!"

"A squad of extraordinary knights?" Sophia gasped. In the Sacred Continent, extraordinary professionals were considered powerful. A team entirely composed of such professionals, especially golden griffon knights, was a formidable and luxurious force. Few mid to large-sized merchant guilds had such a lineup, let alone the Crystal Merchant Guild. Their highest-ranked member was Simon, a low-tier king-level mage, far below the extraordinary level.

Simon mused, "I'd love to see how the Golden Oasis has developed. It must be beyond our imagination."

Sophia's expression mirrored his sentiment. She had long wanted to visit the Golden Oasis. Especially now, with various merchant guilds constantly seeking collaboration, she felt besieged.

"Once we've handled this batch of elven spring water, we'll go to the Golden Oasis for a while," she said.

Simon winced at the thought. Butler Horden had brought over twenty thousand bottles of mid-grade elven spring water. Even with another dragon corpse transaction, there would likely be a significant surplus. Handling it all discreetly, as the lord demanded, would be no easy task.

Meanwhile, at the Golden Oasis, Haotian was staying up late, waiting for his lord talent, [Benefactor of All Races], to refresh. After receiving news of Sophia's successful transaction, he was pleased and instructed her to secure the next deal as well. Then, he left the [Town Hall] and headed to the area near the [Royal Griffon Knight Training Grounds]. Finding an open space, he constructed the [Dragon's Tomb], costing ten thousand gold coins and ten thousand units of stone.

"A gate?" Haotian muttered, expecting a cemetery-like structure for the Dragon's Tomb. Instead, it was a large, ancient-looking bronze gate, standing about ten meters tall and six meters wide. The gate was adorned with various dragon carvings, some fierce and some elegant. Not all dragons had wings; some were wingless.

Haotian wasn't well-versed in this world's dragon species and couldn't identify them all. The bronze gate was also covered with intricate runes that occasionally glowed with golden light, adding to its mysterious aura.

Dragon's Tomb

Level: Low

Building Attribute: A magical structure capable of nurturing undead dragon units.

Next Level: Mid-level Dragon's Tomb

Upgrade Requirements: 50,000 gold coins, 30,000 units of stone

Special Note: The strength of the dragon units depends on the building's level and the original dragon's rank. Upgrading the Dragon's Tomb and burying high-level dragons can produce more powerful dragon units.

Unlike the [Royal Griffon Knight Training Grounds], the Dragon's Tomb couldn't directly recruit units; it required dragon corpses to summon them. The good news was that the units nurtured by the Dragon's Tomb had no initial level restriction. Under the right conditions, they could be extremely powerful from the start.

"I'll keep it at the low level for now," Haotian decided. "Once my new unit building is complete, I'll consider upgrading the Dragon's Tomb."

With that, he opened the bronze gate and stepped inside. He soon returned, finding an expansive space filled only with rows of blank tombstones.

After a seemingly short wait, midnight arrived. At the same moment, a prompt from the [Lord System] appeared in Haotian's mind. His lord talent, [Benefactor of All Races], had refreshed!