Pirate Kingship-Chapter 580 - 421: Sorry, you can no longer be my sister from now on

In the heart of Tayapan City, within the vast underground palace beneath the golden pyramid of the former Heavenly God Itzamna.

The majestic structure, built of heavy rock enchanted through Black Sorcery, had stood here for at least a thousand years, yet remained as sturdy as new.

At this moment, the underground palace was filled to the brim with gold, Mithril, and jewels of every color; there was not a single spot to set foot.

Even the royal treasuries of some smaller nations on the Old Continent likely could not compare to the wealth amassed here.

At the very center of this mountain of gold and sea of silver, Catherine, clad in nothing but a red silk gown, lay as peacefully as a sleeping beauty.

Ever since she and the Mithril Dragon soul within her had fused as one, two tiny, glinting golden Dragon Horns had appeared on her smooth, pale forehead.

Her skin, white to the point of luminescence, resembled the finest porcelain. Her already perfect figure had grown even more voluptuous—a state the saying "slender branches laden with heavy fruit" could hardly describe.

Yet, even lying there motionless, she exuded a formidable aura of power—the innate might of a Giant Dragon!

More miraculously, as she breathed, the surrounding gold and silver treasures flickered, gradually resonating in sync with her breath.

"Exhale—"

"Inhale—"

Her entire being transformed into a dazzling silver light, which grew ever larger and brighter.

This was the bloodline sublimation ritual, "The Giant Dragon's Feast of Riches," recorded in the Forbidden Book, "Crown of the Giant Dragon":

"The Ascendant must hail from the Profiteer class, able to live idly off land rent and interest each day. They must acquire through bloodshed rather than sweat, viewing labor with disdain. They must obtain a true Dragon Soul. Then, by amassing enough Wealth to construct one's own Dragon Nest and simply sleeping within it, one could naturally ascend to a Third Order young Dragon, or even a Fourth Order Mythical Creature young Dragon. In subsequent promotions, the ever-expanding Wealth and the growing scale of the Dragon Nest would naturally drive further bloodline advancements."

At the Fifth and Sixth Orders, one must gain control over a nation, or multiple nations, possessing unique inherited treasures to aid their Anchoring.

This implicitly required them, much like the Night Demons—fellow members of the Profiteer class—to conquer at least one country and use an entire nation's Wealth to sustain themselves.

But while Night Demons sought Power, Giant Dragons coveted Wealth.

This was the fundamental reason why the two top-tier forces of the Mythological Era's Dragon Court and the Night Demons had no serious conflicts.

Nowadays, compared to the International Port—a melting pot of diverse converging forces—Tayapan had long become the core stronghold exclusively for the Lord of the Celestial Kingdom's power.

Surrounded by the direct lineage city-states of the various Golden Empires, its security was evidently more assured, naturally making it the Dragon Nest that Miss Vice Emperor and Regent King Catherine crafted for herself.

One would probably not find a more suitable place anywhere in the world for conducting a Giant Dragon Promotion Ceremony.

Similarly, the Dragon Lizard Warriors who also practiced the "Crown of the Giant Dragon" cultivation method had been entrenched here for at least a thousand years.

Countless Dragon Lizard Warriors and Multicolored Dragon Lizards were born and raised here; their bloodlines and Spiritual Radiance, over long years, had greatly transformed this extraordinary environment.

The effectiveness of promotion here was at least thirty percent greater than elsewhere.

As for where the money required for promotion came from?

Apart from regular income, the Pioneer Guiding Colonial Trading Company had recently struck it rich several times.

With the full moon causing shipping routes to close, freshly captured and processed Meis Leviathan Whale Oil from the Centaur Archipelago couldn't be shipped back in time.

Smaller factions had no choice but to wait until the end of the month, but larger factions with R&D capabilities couldn't wait that long, unhesitatingly purchasing small batches at inflated prices through the online portal of Financial Street.

Since the Artisans and Naturalists of the Tower Sequence were still vehemently debating the path for Whale Oil Power Furnace development, they decided to secure the Whale Oil first to initiate research projects, letting the final results determine superiority.

Each was energetically chasing the others, vying to be the first to taste the first crab of the Whale Oil power revolution.

To gain this entire month, the major factions' offered premiums became increasingly outrageous.

Coincidentally, ten percent of the whaling field's output share had already been delivered into the hands of "Mithril Dragon" Catherine by the first wave of Pioneers.

This instantly made her one of the largest suppliers of Leviathan Whale Oil on the Old Continent.

With emissaries from various factions besieging her doorstep with mountains of gold and silver, Miss Catherine could only "tearfully" accept the hundredfold payments they delivered.

And this was just the tip of the iceberg.

The futures market for Whale Oil on Financial Street exploded, its trajectory like a rocket soaring into the sky.

The stock price of the Pioneer Guiding Colonial Trading Company also began to skyrocket.

Regardless of whether others could achieve results with Whale Oil, Catherine, the Boss, had already made a fortune.

Adding to that, Byron earned a staggering two hundred thousand pounds from a single set of artillery, and selling six sets amounted to a colossal sum of one million two hundred thousand pounds.

And it was all in high-purity Gold ingots.

Byron often spoke of keeping half as his private funds, but when it came time for the transfer, he didn't withhold a single Gold Coin.

He knew his sister needed these things more than he did at the moment.

One could say their family's Wealth was growing daily, and Catherine's power—a Gold Sequence adept and Mithril Dragon Lady—was likewise changing day by day.

Even with the gold-devouring behemoth that was the industrial city of Torrent Fortress, she had managed to amass substantial personal stashes and marriage funds for both herself and her brother.

Every morning, Catherine would awaken to the sight of her mountain-like, sea-vast, increasingly burdensome family fortune, as if seeing her brother's future well-endowed wives enthusiastically waving at her.

She would always start with a silly chuckle, completely unaware that she herself was the "biggest" of them all.

At this moment, another Transformation occurred within the underground palace.

The cluster of silver light, having gradually expanded to its limit, suddenly pulsed and surged once more, instantly filling the entire underground palace.

"ROAR—!"

Accompanied by a heaven-shattering Dragon's roar that made everyone in Tayapan City tremble, a Giant Dragon, entirely silver-white, emerged, vigorously flapping its wings amidst the brilliant silver glow.

Its body, resembling Mithril, was slender and elegant. The scales on its body gleamed like polished mirrors, reflecting the dazzling silver light, as if a pool of Moonlight had descended to the Mortal World.

Upon its head grew a crown-like ring of golden horns, and its vertical Dragon Eyes were also a radiant, pure gold.

Majestic! Beautiful! Elegant! Dazzling! Rich!

What was especially different this time was that this Mithril Dragon was a living, breathing being of flesh and blood.

Catherine had now successfully completed her Third Order Transformation, thoroughly stepping beyond the Human realm and becoming a genuine, young Mithril Dragon.

She flew gracefully in a loop around the spacious underground palace before joyfully crashing back into the mountain of gold and sea of silver. She rolled repeatedly in the piles of money, admiring her claws, tail, and gleaming scales.

I... I am just too beautiful. This is all real Mithril! From now on, our family will never be short of money again! Hahaha...

From this moment on, any scales she shed would turn into real Mithril.

When she advanced to the Fourth Order and became a true Mythical Creature, her saliva, scales, Dragon breath, bloodline, and Spiritual Radiance would influence her surroundings. Gradually, they would transform nearby mineral deposits, eventually producing Mithril veins and various associated ores.

Possessing a Mithril Dragon was akin to possessing inexhaustible Wealth.

It is said that during the Mythological Era, Human nations had such a unique symbiotic relationship with Dragons.

It's a pity Byron isn't home, wuu~

With no one to share this wonderful moment, Catherine's immense excitement diminished considerably.

Lying atop a cold mountain of gold, she listlessly flicked her tail and gazed towards the actually invisible Southern Hemisphere, once again experiencing the simple, unadorned, and tedious life of the wealthy.

A life with nothing but money... it's truly too painful, too dull.

Sigh, Byron won't be back until the end of the month. It feels so slow. Life without him is just too hard to bear.

When Byron was around, Catherine felt time flew by; days passed as if in flight.

But this time, though he had been gone for only half a month, she already felt as if each day were a year. She couldn't even muster much enthusiasm for her favorite activity: "making money."

No matter how much money she made, it seemed unable to reignite the thrill she once felt.

It probably affirmed the saying: when money reaches a certain level, it truly becomes just a string of numbers.

With the International Port and Financial Street, even if she stopped striving, her continuously accumulating Wealth could propel her to the Fourth Order, perhaps even the Fifth Order.

Without a doubt, Catherine, the "True Mithril Dragon," had become a genuine Profiteer who could now afford to simply lie back and enjoy her success.

Her claws idly raked through a pile of Gold Coins beneath her.

Gus was right. What we truly desire isn't money, but freedom and dignity. It just so happens that money can bring freedom and dignity. If the person who needs this money to solve problems and achieve freedom and dignity is gone... then all the gold and silver, even the Power and immortality it brings, would be meaningless to me.

A somewhat lost look flickered in Catherine's golden Dragon Eyes.

Through Spirit Vision, she saw the huge golden Anchor chain in her Spirituality, far thicker than all her other Anchors combined, stretching off into the distant south.

Compared to the tens of millions of Anchor chains on Byron, which anchored nearly half the world, hers were far too few and singular.

In this world, the one who truly occupied Catherine's thoughts and concerns had always been, and only ever been, one person.

A single glance at this Anchor chain revealed that, in her heart, the weight of the entire world did not compare to this one person. The emergence of the "Sister-in-law" was not without reason.

Not to mention her painstakingly accumulated personal stash—if Byron asked for anything Catherine possessed, she would give it to him without a moment's hesitation.

Every time she made Byron plead and squirm before finally relenting, it was purely due to her sisterly... perverse sense of humor.

Hehe...

As she reminisced about their shared moments from childhood to the present, the corners of the Mithril Dragon's mouth couldn't help but curl up gently, a tender smile tinged with a hint of playful malice.

Longing is like the weeds in a courtyard. When that certain someone comes and goes frequently, not a single weed is seen. But leave it untended for even a short while, and the courtyard unwittingly becomes overgrown.

When you look into someone's eyes, Love cannot be concealed.

DING DING...

Just then, within the internal network of The King's Right Hand, Byron's avatar suddenly flashed. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Catherine cheered and eagerly opened it, only to see Byron, who appeared to have just been through a battle, say to her with a grave expression, "Sister, I have some unfortunate news to tell you."

Catherine's heart tightened instantly. She shot up, her face filled with anxious concern as she asked, "What's wrong, Byron? Are you hurt? Is it serious?"

But Byron continued, "I'm fine, but... in the future, you might not be able to be the Regent King of the Sacred Golden Empire, or my sister, anymore."