Tilian lowered his voice to an extreme extent, as if fearing that Rongka on the other side of Hell’s gate could hear him. Of course, the gate to Hell was now closed, and Rongka couldn’t hear anything.

Upon hearing that Tilian might have a solution, a glimmer of excitement finally appeared on Yake’s gloomy dragon face. He grabbed Tilian and headed back to the palace within the city. This was one of the imperial palaces, originally reserved for the royal family members. But since the Imperial Palace had been reduced to ruins with no hope of reconstruction, Yake had made this his new palace.

"What’s the plan? Out with it," Yake asked impatiently.

"Your Majesty, I’ve studied the missiles of Long Yi. Although I haven’t seen them in person, I do know the Hive Dragon very well. Long Yi must have used some special means to significantly enhance the Beetle Missiles’ ability to contain Dragon Power, using the missile’s inherent dragon power as a source of propulsion, ultimately lashing out across borders to strike us. We can do the same, although the price may be a bit high..."

"How can it be achieved?" Yake completely ignored the cost, focusing only on his desire to annihilate the White Dragon Empire. Where would he trouble himself over the price? If the issue of the Beetle Missiles wasn’t resolved, a full-scale ground war was simply impossible to initiate!

"According to my calculations, the Dragon Power contained in a Beetle Missile is comparable to that of a young or even fully mature dragon. As these beetles have a very simple structure, most of their bodies are comprised of Dragon Power. And if that’s the case, we could recreate these creatures with our current technology. We could use the flesh of the Dragon Clan as materials and combine it with necromancy to create a mammoth vessel. The flesh of the Dragon Clan will continuously supply Dragon Power, and once the vessel is filled with it, the resulting explosion will be absolutely unparalleled by the Beetle Missiles!" Tilian explained.

"What are you waiting for then?" Yake bellowed.

"But that’s only the creation part. Even though these creatures contain an enormous amount of Dragon Power and explode with great force, they can’t simply appear in the enemy’s Imperial City. I have no idea how Long Yi managed to get the Beetle Missiles to fly over, but if it were up to me, I’d need some special help," Tilian responded.

"What help?" Yake’s eyes sparkled, his heavy breathing causing Tilian’s clothes to flutter.

"I need some volunteers," Tilian answered.

"Volunteers?"

"Yes, volunteers. Soaring through the sky is not a straightforward process. I can build this massive bomb and even launch it, thanks to our previous experiments. But, I cannot get the bomb to fly such a great distance. That’s too difficult. What I need is someone to control the bomb’s trajectory, or rather, I need some Dragon Riders," Tilian revealed.

Tilian wasn’t sure how Long Yi had managed to get the missiles to fly so far on their own, but he had his own solution. In Tilian’s plan, Dragon Riders play a crucial role. Dragon Riders excel in controlling Mount Dragons and aerial combat. Combining Dragon Riders with the newly developed weapon to create a self-piloting bomb could be the answer.

Tilian explained his plan in detail to Yake, who was confident that he understood it. But this time, Yake fell silent.

The reason, naturally, was the sacrifice of the Dragon Riders.

Frankly, the Black Dragon Empire had always greatly valued Dragon Riders, far more than any other nation in the world. The empire had been continually upgrading and enhancing the Dragon Riders. If it weren’t for the emergence of the peculiar Long Yi from the White Dragon Empire, it can be said that with these powerful Dragon Riders alone, the Black Dragon Empire would have easily conquered the world.

And now, Tilian’s plan was to treat the Dragon Riders as disposable resources. This made Yake hesitant.

Yake had never cared about the life of a Dragon Rider. As warriors, in his eyes, these Dragon Riders were expected to sacrifice their lives. But in this way?

"What are the chances of success?" Yake asked.

"Sixty percent," Tilian replied.

"Only sixty percent?" Yake furrowed his brow. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Yes, only sixty percent. I don’t know how long Long Yi spent researching the Beetle Missiles, but I don’t have much time. A sixty percent success rate is already very high considering the lack of resources at my disposal," said Tilian.

Yake fell silent once again.

"Your Majesty, I urge you to make a decision soon. Time is running out...Or perhaps, you could weigh it this way. How many enemies can one Dragon Rider kill on the battlefield versus how many enemies a single bomb can destroy?" Tilian suggested.

"The power of this bomb..."

"It surpasses the Beetle Missiles, let alone the impact of necrotic energy. Even any enemies that survive the initial blast would slowly perish due to the necrotic energy."

"Then do it!"

Yake finally made his decision, this being his evaluation of the worth of a Dragon Rider.

The more enemies they can destroy, the more valuable the Dragon Riders are. As for their lives, Yake didn’t care. In his eyes, it was a great honor for anyone to die for him.

Tilian immediately set to work. He selected a group of extremely loyal Dragon Riders as they needed to control the bombs. If they weren’t devoted enough and someone tried to retreat in mid-air, the consequences would be unimaginable.