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The dragon nodded and pondered for a moment before saying, "There is a method that might be viable. The elves have been worshipping the elemental giants for over a hundred thousand years, and there are countless magical contracts passed down, one of which can make an elemental giant a servant of the elves. Of course, the condition is that the elemental giant must be willing. Ever since the last demigod Great Elven King passed away forty thousand years ago, this magical contract has been unusable. I only know about it from the elven documents my father looted. Although this woman is not a genuine elemental giant, it might still be worth attempting."

"That sounds reasonable. It's worth a try," I agreed to the suggestion.

With a single word from me, everyone sprang into action. This elven contract was supposed to be used by a demigod-level mage, someone on the level of the Twelve Sages. Other than them, no one could subdue an elemental giant. As a wolf without magic, it was impossible for me to activate this contract. Fortunately, I had plenty of subordinates. White Dragon Winter Night led the way, along with four ninth-level mages and a group of seventh and eighth-level mages. A dozen or so priests who had surrendered to me constantly cast healing and spell-enhancing divine magic. All I had to do was focus on circulating my Nine Yin True Qi to enhance my mental power.

The entire ceremony was a mystery to me. Winter Night chanted lengthy elven incantations throughout, which took three hours to complete. This was with the benefit of a dragon’s complex vocal cords speeding up the process several times over. Had it been a real elf using it, it would have taken two or three days. After all, the elven language is the most complex in the world. Elves, who have plenty of time to spare, have made their language as detailed and intricate as possible. Learning even the simplest everyday elven language can take over fifty years, let alone mastering the additional thousand or so grammatical structures. It is said that reciting the epic poem about the great demon king Bato from elven history can take over a year, and conversing with elven nobility in their language is considered one of the ten greatest tortures of the Mainland, enough to make anyone shudder.

However, the results of the ceremony were very satisfying to me. The woman named Zha did not resist at all and accepted my mental imprint, with a six-petaled snowflake rune mark flashing on her forehead. From then on, I could directly control her consciousness with my mind, a power that even a mental-type mage on the level of the Twelve Sages would not be able to undo.

Afterward, Winter Night took Zha and the group of mages to build the Dragon Tower. The mages sent by the Temple to the Northern Country were mostly experts in ice magic, and Zha herself was an inexhaustible source of ice magic. Although she could not yet control this power herself, under Winter Night's guidance, she was already able to manipulate tens of thousands of jin of ice sand imbued with ice magic to construct the tower. The pure elemental crystals scattered outside Zha's body, which had been retrieved from the Ice Plane by the power of "Gaia's Tear," were all used by Winter Night to form the magic arrays inside the Dragon Tower. With the assistance of a team of helpers, the Dragon Tower grew rapidly.

However, given that the overall design of the tower exceeded three hundred meters in height and fifty meters in diameter at its widest, it would still take at least six months to complete at the current rate. But that was fine; we could let them continue working while my forces returned to the south to prepare for battle, awaiting the day the Orc Alliance launched their total war.

Yet, I remained in the Northern Country until now for one reason: Katherine was in seclusion training.

Katherine’s training this time followed a significant emotional shock from being pierced through the heart by Zha in the Crystal Grand Canyon, which led her to believe she might break through to the Sword Empress realm. When Katherine arrived in the Northern Country, she was only at the ninth level of Sword Master. After several hard-fought battles and witnessing the power of the forbidden spell, she broke through to the tenth level. Normally, it would take at least another year or two of rigorous training to accumulate enough battle qi to advance to the Sword Empress level. Without sufficient strength, even if one had insights, they would miss the opportunity. After all, there was only one person like me who possessed innate true qi. However, the issue was with the 'Great Resurrection Scroll,' personally bestowed by the pope. This scroll not only brought the dead back to life but also infused the recipient with a surge of vitality that could lead to a breakthrough. The reason the Temple had gathered so many Sword Empresses was largely due to this ultimate divine technique. It was with the help of this divine technique that Katherine had reached the threshold of the Sword Empress level.

Since Katherine was in seclusion, I could not leave. I had to let my disciples lead the army back to Fontainebleau first while I stayed at Snowflake Harbor to guard Katherine. Fortunately, Katherine's exceptional talent allowed her to break through in just ten days. Golden light radiated from her, like the rising sun with thousands of brilliant rays, a clear sign that she had reached the Sword Empress level with the "Emperor Martial Overlord Art."

Seeing Katherine's figure, I smiled and congratulated her, "I didn't expect you to become a Sword Empress so quickly. From now on, I'll have to call you 'Emperor Martial.'" The title "Emperor Martial" was originally the highest honor among the orcs. Later, the legendary lion clan's Mu Fa Sha created the unparalleled martial art "Overlord Art" and became invincible. Since then, all "Emperor Martial" figures have been practitioners of the "Overlord Art." All practitioners of the "Emperor Martial Overlord Art" who reached the Sword Empress level were honored as "Emperor Martial." In contrast, the strongest swordsman of the elves was honored as the "Arrow God." Before the appearance of the "Sword Saint," these two titles represented the pinnacle of martial prowess on the Mainland.

"The title of 'Emperor Martial' is no longer the symbol of the strongest on the Mainland. There's no need to boast about it, especially when it doesn't have an advantage over your 'Holy Grail Battle Qi,'" Katherine said with a smile, shaking her head. However, the joy in her eyes was undeniable. She had never been as talented as the Orc King Samantha. Reaching the Sword Empress level at the age of twenty-three, alongside Samantha, was truly a pleasant surprise. Of course, Samantha had reached the peak of the tenth level of Sword Master at the age of nineteen and had spent four years struggling before breaking through the limits by challenging the "Sword Saint of the Vast Sea." This was not something Katherine could compare to, having broken through twice in a single month.