Under the influence of the Imasca Crown's power.
Within a vast area centered around the Imperial Palace, almost all the mechanical marvels have lost their capabilities at this moment, becoming ordinary metal machinery, unable to assist the mechanists.
The combat power of the mechanists is almost seventy percent derived from these marvels.
The power of the Imasca Crown can be said to have directly struck a major artery of the mechanists. The Imperial Palace, unsurprisingly, plunged into immense panic. The dragons soaring in the sky were clearly well-prepared, not only stealing their seventh secret artifact but also somehow replicating the most important Imasca Crown for the Empire.
Now, only high-ranking mechanists could attack the dragons thousands of meters in the air.
After all, mechanists are also a type of mage. Even without the aid of mechanical marvels, their strength is significantly reduced, but not to the point of being utterly powerless.
Garon mainly used the Imasca Crown to neutralize the almost infinite army created by mechanical marvels.
Without their mechanical marvels, the mechanists are like birds with broken wings, barely worth his consideration.
Spells belonging to the mechanist system were used one after another, attacking the two dragons.
However, protected by invisible barriers of force, these weak and not so numerous spells couldn't even touch a scale of Garon and Yuna.
At this moment, having created a mechanical seal domain in a short time, not needing to face the endless onslaught of the mechanical army, the silver dragon looked down indifferently and coldly at the Imperial Palace, shaped like a cluster of crystals. Immediately, magical power surged within Garon, bursting forth.
His mental power locked onto the entire Imperial Palace, and a low and dangerous spell chanting echoed in the sky.
Meanwhile.
Several royal mechanists with the right to use secret artifacts emerged from the spire.
At this time, they had taken out the first to sixth secret artifacts possessed by the Second Empire, looking up at the terrifying dragons in the sky.
Although all legendary mechanists, not ordinary figures, they all felt their insignificance before this unknown silver dragon.
Due to the uniqueness of the Imasca Crown as the first secret artifact, the second to sixth secret artifacts were mercilessly suppressed at this moment, rendering the legendary mechanists unable to activate them, except for one legendary mechanist who also possessed an Imasca Crown.
Only an Imasca Crown remained unaffected under the power of another Imasca Crown.
"Kase, quickly use the Imasca Crown!"
"This dragon's crown must be a fake, a replica obtained from somewhere."
"With the Imasca Crown, you can lift the mechanical seal it has released!"
Named Kase, this mechanist was a Mechanist Lord and also a member of the Second Empire's royal family, holding a status and identity akin to a prince. It was rare for these mechanists to gather unless it was for the search for the seventh secret artifact.
Facing the current situation.
Kase had already donned the Imasca Crown as the other mechanists spoke.
He didn't believe there were two Imasca Crowns, thinking like the others that the silver dragon's crown was just a well-made replica with some power of the Imasca Crown. In Kase's belief, a replica's power couldn't surpass the genuine crown in his hands.
This mechanist focused intently, staring at the silver dragon above the Imperial Palace.
The next moment, he took a deep breath, channeling all his magical power into the Imasca Crown.
Buzz!
Waves of azure light appeared, very similar to the scene when Garon activated the Imasca Crown, the blue veil spreading out, quickly sweeping across a vast area centered on the Imperial Palace, the area Garon had sealed.
However, using an Imasca artifact always comes with a significant drain.
Kase, wearing the Imasca Crown, turned pale as paper, his body trembling slightly under the strain.
Under his will, mechanical marvels covered by the blue veil began to twitch slightly.
Seeing this, the mechanists showed hopeful expressions.
However, to their disappointment, although the runes on the surfaces of these mechanical marvels flickered incessantly, they merely wobbled but failed to activate properly. One Imasca Crown sealed the mechanical marvels, while the other tried to activate them. The powers of the two Imasca Crowns pulled at each other, but clearly, the Imasca Crown in the silver dragon's hands was superior.
In reality.
The abilities of the two Imasca Crowns were similar.
But the strength of their users was not on the same level.
Garon's magical reservoir, mental strength, and more were much stronger than Kase's, making the seal he created with the Imasca Crown impossible for Kase to lift.
"How is this possible?"
"Its Imasca Crown seems to be real."
Kase, drained of energy like a floodgate had been opened, couldn't believe it.
In the confrontation with Garon, he gradually realized that the other's Imasca Crown was not a fake.
"Could it be that mine is the replica?"
The pale-faced mechanist touched the crown, plunging into deep self-doubt.
"There's a traitor, maybe someone stole the real Imasca Crown."
Kase looked around, his gaze filled with distrust towards the legendary mechanists nearby.
Those who could access the Empire's secret artifacts were mostly this small group of legendary mechanists. If there was a traitor, it was likely among these few.
None of the mechanists believed that both Imasca Crowns could be genuine.
At this moment, the surrounding mechanists noticed Kase's plight. Unable to compete with the silver dragon using the Imasca Crown, the mechanists became anxious. However, due to the first secret artifact's massive suppressive effect on mechanical marvels, the mechanists, having lost their mechanical aid, had no good solution against the powerful legendary dragon.
"Everyone, stay calm."
"Whether the other's secret artifact is real or fake, rendering such a range of mechanical marvels inactive must consume a lot of energy."
"Even the dragon's vast magical power won't last long."
"Once the mechanical army is activated, then we can take it down and find out what exactly its crown is!"
They were right.
Even with Garon's energy, maintaining such a wide range of mechanical seals was not sustainable.
But he didn't need to maintain it for long.
As long as he could prevent the surrounding mechanical legions from interfering for a short period, that would be enough.
The silver dragon, solemn and focused, ignored the surrounding distractions, dedicating himself entirely to constructing the spell.
About a minute later, the last syllable of the spell was cast.
Eleventh-circle Arcane—Mountain Cleaver!
Due to the absence of a magical network, the construction of arcane spells became much more difficult. However, Garon's proficiency in casting Mountain Cleaver was high, and despite taking some extra time, he successfully utilized it. He had been slowly refining arcane spells on the Faerun continent, replacing arcane runes with his own spell runes to facilitate their use back on the main timeline without a magical network.
Endless elemental energy gathered, forming a dazzling and sharp glow in Garon's dragon claws.
With the Imperial Palace in his sights, the silver dragon's gaze was calm as he swung his claw.
Swoosh!
A glow extending to the horizon flashed and vanished.
In just a brief moment after this attack, the glow in Garon's dragon claw disappeared, having been used up.
It seemed as though nothing had happened.
The mechanists within the Imperial Palace, who were on high alert, were slightly stunned, not understanding the purpose behind Garon's attack.
But they realized its significance in the next second.
The Imperial Palace, resembling a giant metal flower, began to sway slightly.
A ring of tall buildings surrounding the Imperial Palace were affected by the spell, showing almost imperceptible cracks at their bases, then, a ring of thousands of metal skyscrapers started to tilt along these cracks, including the uniquely shaped, eye-catching Imperial Palace. Its stable foundation had been cut through.
Under the gaze of countless shocked eyes, the Imperial Palace, standing for thousands of years, began to tilt.
With a thunderous rumble, heavy metallic objects slid off first, crashing to the ground with dull, thunderous noises, creating craters upon impact.
The Imascans inside the Imperial Palace fell into immense panic.
The mechanical marvels were sealed, and mechanists below a high rank lost their means of flight.
With the Imperial Palace tilting, an unknown number of people within would die or be injured.
These individuals in the Imperial Palace were among the most important in the Second Imascan Empire, holding power in various capacities. Their deaths would leave the empire without a leadership layer, plunging it into widespread chaos without Garon needing to take further action.
However, Garon's purpose in coming to the Cain continent wasn't to destroy the Second Empire.
Having witnessed the ancient Imascan Empire, Garon understood the potential of a magical empire.
Ordinary clans held no interest for him; only a magical empire of this caliber could invoke Garon's desire to conquer. The Second Empire, while not yet comparable to the ancient Imascan Empire at its peak, had inherited a substantial portion of its legacy. Given more time, it could potentially match the ancient empire's glory.
Garon had seen how the ancient Imascan Empire developed.
Providing the Second Empire with a feasible path, given the uniqueness of mechanical marvels, they could rapidly progress.
Even the current Second Empire could easily conquer the planet of Kala.
Without the imperial secret artifacts, Garon couldn't even approach such a critical area as the Imperial Palace.
After all, the Second Empire could never imagine that a creature could bring back imperial secret artifacts from other timelines to use against them.
Garon possessed the legacy of mechanical marvels.
But to develop a mechanical empire from scratch would take an unknown amount of time.
Moreover, becoming a mechanist also required talent.
The Imascans were among the best, so instead of wasting time developing, it made more sense to seize what was already there.
If they refused to submit, he would destroy the Imperial Palace.
Then, taking the secret artifacts and leaving would also result in no loss for Garon.
As the Imperial Palace tilted, Imascans inside scurried about, the shadow of death following close behind.
At the same time.
Just then, Garon had prepared another spell.
Looking at the Imperial Palace, Garon extended his dragon claw towards the target and commanded, "Rise!"
Under the effect of the reverse gravity spell, the Imperial Palace, with its foundation cut, rose along with a cloud of dust and debris, soaring into the sky.
Without a magical network or a core, the reverse gravity spell continued to drain Garon's power, feeling like a stone pressing on his will, imposing a certain burden on him.
But Garon came prepared.
"Yuna."
He called out to Yuna.
Upon seeing Garon cast the reverse gravity spell, Yuna blinked.
Then, under the thought of the force dragoness, invisible energy fields converged, applying force onto the massive Imperial Palace.
In an instant, the Imperial Palace seemed to lose its weight, and the burden Garon felt almost entirely vanished. Then, under the coordination of the two legendary dragons, amidst the terrified and horrified gazes of countless mechanists, the Imperial Palace shot into the sky, taking many of the empire's high-ranking officials with it, far from the ground.
If Eolem had the assistance of a force dragon, constructing a floating city would not require so many conditions.
The sky and earth seemed to reverse.
The Imperial Palace, initially plummeting to the earth, now ascended rapidly into the sky.
In just a few seconds, the massive structure of the Imperial Palace, akin to a floating city, stopped nearly ten thousand meters in the air, suspended among the flowing clouds and winds, with the rolling sea of clouds visible to every mechanist.
Some mechanists at the edge of the palace swallowed hard and peered down.
The view below was vast, with only a miniature scene of the ground visible.
At this moment, the silver dragon had already retracted its wings, landing on the top of a sword-shaped building, its claws firmly gripping the smooth metallic structure, spreading its massive wings wide.
Yuna, bathed in golden sunlight, did the same, landing on the opposite side of the same building as Garon.
Boom!
Both legendary dragons released their dragon might at the same time.
Two substantial waves of profound dragon might mingled together, swiftly passing through every mechanist within the Imperial Palace.
The mechanists stiffened, their pupils contracted, minds blanked, and thoughts muddled.
A few legendary mechanists who controlled the empire's secret artifacts reacted quickly.
They did their utmost to resist the dragon might, looking at the two dragons with wary and perplexed gazes.
Then, the force dragoness, with an indifferent glance at a few Imascans, suddenly changed her gentle dragon eyes into dangerous slits. Simultaneously, an invisible force burst forth, pinning several legendary mechanists firmly to the ground like invisible hands.
Under the suppression of the Imasca Crown, they couldn't use their abilities to their fullest.
Including the Imasca Crown possessed by Kase, the first to sixth secret artifacts were controlled by Yuna's force, forcibly taken from the legendary mechanists and presented before Garon.
The force dragoness turned her gaze to the time dragon beside her.
Just moments ago, her eyes, seemingly indifferent and dangerous to the Imascans, suddenly softened, saying, "Here, the little things you like, I've taken them for you. Keep them."
The mechanists, deprived of their secret artifacts, looked at each other.
To them, the golden and silver dragons appeared to be a couple.
Garon applied a series of sealing spells to the not-yet-his secret artifacts and stored them in a dimensional space. His tail, covered in silver scales, gently rubbed against Yuna's tail, which stiffened like an electric shock, her scales tightly pressed together, and she froze again.
Although their relationship as mates was confirmed, Yuna still showed shyness towards some intimate gestures.
To this, Garon thought she would get used to it over time.
Under the watchful eyes of the Imascans, now like lambs to the slaughter, the two dragons, after a public display of affection, ceased their intimate actions and turned their dangerous gaze to the surrounding Imascans.
"Bring your emperor to me."
The silver dragon spoke with an irrefutable and forceful tone.
His voice, like thunder, spread throughout the Imperial Palace.
Since taking the Imperial Palace to the sky, Garon concentrated the influence of the Imasca Crown within the palace, significantly reducing the energy drain of the secret artifact. Moreover, with Yuna's help, the reverse gravity spell barely consumed any magical or mental power, allowing Garon to remain composed.
As the dragon might dissipated, the high-ranking mechanists regained their ability to move normally, while those below still appeared somewhat stiff, their faces etched with fear of the dragons, trembling and utterly terrified.
Next.
Protected by a group of mechanists, the emperor, dressed in imperial attire adorned with gears and mechanical runes, left the palace and came to Garon's location with a grave expression.
This emperor, a middle-aged man in appearance, looked up at the silver dragon from the cracked ground, enveloped in the dragon's shadow.
Simultaneously.
Various mechanical airships, magical ships, and legendary-level mechanical creations, amid the roaring of mechanical engines, tore through the sea of clouds from all directions surrounding the Imperial Palace. In the distance, more mechanical armies could be seen rapidly approaching, creating the current situation.
After taking the Imperial Palace into the sky, without the suppression of the Imasca Crown, the nearby mechanical legions activated.
The message of the Imperial Palace being attacked and hijacked spread, causing other mechanical legions from various locations to start moving towards here, resulting in this scene.
However, they dared not act rashly, maintaining a significant distance from the Imperial Palace.
Almost the entire royal family was inside the palace.
If the floating Imperial Palace were to crash to the ground, the consequences would be catastrophic, and the imperial capital below would suffer severe damage. In a rush, these mechanists could not ensure the safety of the royal high-ups, and too close a proximity would enable the Imasca Crown to easily disable their mechanical marvels.
"Giant dragon, for what purpose have you attacked our Imascan Empire and taken the Imperial Palace to such heights?" the emperor asked, his life hanging by a thread on Garon's whim.
Yet, this man showed little fear or tension in his expression, calmly questioning Garon.
Garon disliked unnecessary chatter.
He surveyed the surroundings, his gaze sweeping over the various high-ranking officials dressed in luxurious attire, and spoke gravely, "Deep down, you all should be very aware of your current predicament."
Garon looked directly at the emperor, his gaze sharp, continuing, "Now, I offer you a choice."
"Lead the Second Imascan Empire to swear fealty to me, become my subjects."
"You can still be your emperor, under me but above billions."
Upon hearing Garon's words, the emperor immediately refused.
"Impossible, the Second Imascan Empire belongs only to the Imascans!"
His words left no room for negotiation.
The emperor's stance was firm, adding, "I can pay a hefty ransom in exchange for the lives of the empire's high officials and the Imascan secret artifacts."
"But your demand, I will never agree to."
With a whoosh, the silver dragon opened his mouth and exhaled an invisible dragon breath.
The Breath of Time Ravaging engulfed the emperor.
The emperor's face showed astonishment as his body aged tremendously in a blink of an eye, becoming nearly skeletal in another instant, and as time passed in the rest of the timelines, the effectiveness of the Breath of Time Ravaging had indeed become stronger.
With a snap, the emperor's aged body collapsed.
Barely alive from the fall, the emperor's fragile bones broke, extinguishing the flame of his life, dying dismissively, without dignity, cheaply.
The empire's high officials fell silent.
They had not expected the silver dragon to be so ruthless, killing the emperor without a word of negotiation, offering no chance for discussion.
Garon's indifferent gaze swept over the empire's high officials.
"I need an obedient emperor."
"Now, tell me, who among you wishes to be that emperor?"
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