Meanwhile on the other side, Long Yi and Lady Nor’s research had also made significant progress. The captured Black Dragon Knight and a variety of technologies deciphered from the Scourge Bomb provided Lady Nor with excellent hints, prompting her to conceive an alternative answer to some critical questions. Coupled with ceaseless research, day and night, the biological research institute had enabled Long Yi’s plan to smoothly proceed.

The primary objective of upgrading the power of the White Dragon was to enhance its Dragon Breath. The characteristics of the White Dragon’s Dragon Breath determined the direction of the upgrade: range and endurance.

Previously, the Crystal Demon had provided significant aid to Long Yi in the form of a series of minute crystals, but nobody understood how to use these crystals, and Long Yi didn’t elaborate.

Now, with the technology provided by the Black Dragon Empire, the only obstacle has been overcome.

Admittedly, the Black Dragon Empire was far ahead of the White Dragon Empire in biological research. Although the Black Dragon Empire hadn’t mastered the genetic aspect of biology, through the sheer audacity of its biological experiments, it reached this stage, this was indeed admirable.

Now, reverse-engineering the Black Dragon Empire’s experiment results allowed Long Yi to devise a method of altering biological traits, bypassing genetics through the use of magic.

Long Yi planned to augment the lung capacity of the White Dragon, enabling it to accommodate more Dragon Power at once.

The Dragon Breath of the White Dragon, like that of any other dragon, is expelled through the lungs. As members of the Dragon Clan, dragons innately possess abundant Dragon Power. However, the Dragon Power that can be outputted via the lungs is limited. Long Yi’s plan sought to change this outcome.

The Scourge Bomb of the Black Dragon Empire provided Long Yi a novel problem-solving approach.

Long Yi intended to transform the dragon’s lungs into a pseudo Scourge Bomb.

If dragons cease to breathe, they can survive for more than ten minutes. These ten minutes, if devoted to producing Dragon Power, could yield substantial energy.

Previously, dragon lungs lacked such capabilities. But now, Long Yi needed them to have this ability.

A concoction that integrated the technologies of both the Black Dragon Empire, the White Dragon Empire and Long Yi was successfully developed. It was converted into steam using magic and injected into the lungs of the Dragon Clan.

This mixture, combined with the dragon’s lungs, began to alter the structure of the dragon’s lungs, revealing new properties, most notably, augmented Dragon power carrying and storage capabilities.

With no adverse side effects, the experiment was successful.

Then Long Yi conducted an experiment where the White Dragon held its breath while injecting Dragon Power into its lungs for five minutes. The Dragon Clan’s lungs expanded with potent Dragon Power. Previously, such a prodigious amount of Dragon Power would have been fatal due to internal bursting, but now, the lungs of the Dragon Clan had transformed, readily accommodating this extent of Dragon Power.

Five minutes later, the White Dragon exhaled as planned, but it was evidently unprepared for the action. A beam of white light sprayed out in a fan shape from the mouth of the dragon, pulverising the mountainous range in front of it.

The dragon and its dragon knight stood speechless in amazement.

"Just as I thought, they lost control of the power," Long Yi commented, nodding.

"What should we do now?" asked Lady Nor. Although the exhalation seemed formidable, it appears to diverge from the high-range that Long Yi was aiming for.

"That’s when I come into the picture!"

The always silent Dean Ma Deburg from the Crystal Core Research Institute arose with a smile.

"Eh? Aren’t you here just to watch the fun?" Lady Nor shot a glance at Ma Deburg.

"Don’t be ridiculous, of course not! I too, have been commissioned by Long Yi to create a bespoke device! And it seems like it’s coming into use now!" Dean Ma Deburg responded with a hearty laugh.

Next, a staff member retrieved a metallic hoop from a sterilized box. The hoop was encrusted with three crystals, each filled with a complex rune matrix.

"This is a device that my colleagues and I spent a long time researching. With this tool, the problem we just saw will be easily resolved," explained Long Yi.

"What is this?"

Lady Nor examined the item without touching it - respecting the need for it to remain sterile.

"Each of the three crystals has a different function. The first is a Dragon Power confinement crystal, capable of creating an intense forcefield to contain the explosive beam of the Dragon Breath within a specific range; the second crystal adjusts the strength of this light pillar in relation to the amount of Dragon Power infused; while the third crystal automatically adjusts the size of the hoop, which will be positioned at the dragon’s airway, ensuring comfort," Long Yi explained.

Having witnessed many instances of Long Yi successfully piecing everything together seamlessly, Lady Nor was not surprised and simply nodded in understanding.

The White Dragon opened its massive mouth, and the device was carefully placed into its windpipe. One of the crystals flickered, and the device attached itself as if taking root. Initially, the White Dragon felt slightly uncomfortable, but this wore off after a few minutes.

"Alright, now let’s give it a try, shall we? Your target is over there. Do you see the metal cube on top of the mountain three kilometers away? Just melt it." Long Yi said to the White Dragon.

The White Dragon nodded in understanding, held its breath, stored its Dragon Power, and then opened its mouth.

Boom!

A dazzling beam of light was emitted. Surprisingly, the diameter of the light beam seemed to be slightly narrower than before, but its range was formidable!

At first, the White Dragon overshot the target as it was adjusting to this new method. However, after about five or six attempts, it mastered its aiming and hit the target precisely.

But merely targeting correctly was not enough to melt that piece of metal.

The White Dragon must stabilize its head.

The distance was a full three kilometers, which was difficult to do, even for the White Dragon. However, it quickly figured out a way.

After several attempts, the beam finally locked onto the metal! 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Two seconds!"

Long Yi said with a smile.

Boom!

The slim beam suddenly doubled in thickness! Its power also surged twofold! This was more gargantuan than the original breadth of the White Dragon’s breath.

"Four seconds!"

Boom!

The beam’s thickness doubled again! Its power was now fourfold!

"Six seconds!"

Long Yi continued.

Boom!

The beam reached eightfold power!

"Eight seconds!"

"Ten seconds!"

Everyone’s eyes were nearly blinded when the beam, with thirty-two times the original power, instantly turned the metal into liquid and blasted a hole in the rocks behind it.

It wasn’t merely imaginative – everyone forgot how foolish it was to look directly at the beam.

"The power is even greater than I thought." Long Yi said, quite satisfied.

Such terrifying power was not even expected by White Dragon itself. A full five minutes of dragon breath culminated into a ten-second attack. In the end, the thirty-two-fold power of the beam easily pierced through the metal.

Moreover, the White Dragon’s Dragon Breath came with a talent for amplified damage! This meant the thirty-two times beam indirectly meant thirty-two times the amplified damage!

Everyone present was dumbfounded. They had never anticipated that White Dragon’s breath could reach such an extreme!

The Black Dragon didn’t stand a chance against thirty-two times more damage.

"But... the Black Dragon wouldn’t just stand still..." said a weak-voiced technician.

"That’s why the next step is moving target practice," replied Long Yi with a smile.

The range of three kilometers was just an initial estimate by Long Yi. He guessed that the White Dragon’s breath could even be lethal at five kilometers, but such a distance was too great. His idea was to settle at three kilometers as the slightest movement could significantly skew the trajectory at five kilometers.

First were the fixed targets, then the moving ones, and finally practicing various postures of moving dragon breath during flight. The production speed of potions and equipment was swift, significantly expanding the scope of the Royal Research Institute. Talents were discovered and filled various positions. They underwent strict scrutiny, and any anomaly was immediately dismissed, ensuring no leakage of research secrets.

Even the Emperor of the White Dragon Empire didn’t have such measures in place.

Soon, all of White Dragon Empire’s dragons underwent a power upgrade. Joy among the Dragon Knights and the dragons knew no bounds. Overnight, their accompanying Dragon Breath had become so sharp – this didn’t give the Black Dragon Empire any chance!

Meanwhile, the retaliatory bombardment of the White Dragon Empire continued. Every day, missiles fell on various Black Dragon Empire military facilities, sometimes even on military camps. Soldiers of the Black Dragon Empire had nerves frayed, and every slightly odd noise sent people scurrying with their heads covered.

Of course, despite the missiles’ might, breaching the dense defenses was not easy. And though missiles could be destroyed, it took time, and even the slightest carelessness could lead to tragedy. The Black Dragon Empire had stationed sentinels at every important location – not patrolling but lying down, keeping a constant watch on the sky. Once, a sentinel fell asleep, and almost half the camp was wiped out from a missile strike.

A rumor started circulating in the Black Dragon Empire – claiming that the White Dragon Empire wouldn’t care if the soldiers left the Black Dragon Empire, as the dispute was more of a personal grudge between Long Yi, Yake, and Tilian.

Thus, soldiers from various places began to mutiny. Some directly discarded their gear and, disguised as civilians, entered other countries. Complacency about the semi-open border controls encouraged this, and regular citizens also began to flee. They escaped to small neighboring countries or even managed to cross the border into the White Dragon Empire.

Similarly, within the Imperial City of the Black Dragon Empire, there was widespread fear. Inflation was once more threatening, diminishing the value of people’s money. Wealthy people began to sell off their Black Dragon currency and hoarded gold, covertly sending it overseas in an attempt to offset the risks.

When Tilian received the first report, he immediately reported this to Yake. An annoyed Yake, troubled by Long Yi, shouted, "Kill them all! Kill! Send their bodies to become Undead Soldiers! Don’t report such matters to me again! Kill, kill, kill!"

Then, an unprecedented turmoil began in the Black Dragon Empire. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote and subscribe at qidian.com. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile phone users please read at m.qidian.com.)