DND Realms: The Rise of the Titan-Dragon Prodigy

"Huh?" The dragonborn girl, Mia, was slightly confused. She had thought that when Muria mentioned "a part," he meant to transform a few cloud islands first and leave the rest for later. "Young Master Muria, do you mean...?"

"Literally," Muria raised an eyebrow slightly. "Since we can't transform all the cloud islands completely, we should at least complete the signature feature of a floating city: making these islands movable at my will. That should be feasible, right?"

A floating city is a multifunctional complex, suspended in the sky and capable of moving around. Its distinctive feature is its mobility, along with various other functions like defense, offense, exploration, and habitation.

For now, Muria decided to temporarily forego those additional functions and delay their phased construction. His only requirement was that the cloud islands could move. Such a minimal request would drastically reduce the cost of transforming them into floating cities.

"This... should be possible," Mia hesitated for a few seconds, still somewhat uncertain. She needed to recalculate. "Young Master Muria, I'll need to recalculate."

"Hmm." Muria nodded. Regardless of the results, he was determined to use the Rockman Kingdom's resources to begin the cloud island transformation plan. This opportunity couldn't be missed.

No matter what, he planned to take all the cloud islands with him, leaving none behind. This time, Muria intended to cross the ocean and head to the next subcontinent by maneuvering the cloud islands instead of using the intercontinental teleportation array.

… Under the will of the highest ruler of the Rockman Kingdom, the nation, just emerging from the demonic disaster, began operating inefficiently to serve Muria's cloud island transformation plan.

Yes, inefficiently. Despite Muria's authority surpassing that of any previous king of the Rockman Kingdom, rivaling even the founding king, it was futile.

His decrees lost effectiveness once they reached the lower levels. Due to the administrative system of the Rockman Kingdom, Muria could only mobilize a small portion of the nation's resources; there were too many obstacles in the middle.

As for overthrowing the Rockman Kingdom's system and establishing a new order, Muria had no interest. He was just the acting duke, ensuring a smooth transition until he handed over the kingdom to Remilia. He wasn't the kingdom's heir.

Moreover, Muria found it pointless to implement reforms and establish a more advanced system. Any system, no matter how perfect, required people to execute it.

For instance, the farming and warfare system that enabled the ancestral dragon to conquer six states and achieve unification was undoubtedly an advanced wartime system. Ignoring its flaws, merely from a resource allocation standpoint, it was a miracle in the history of warfare. The entire nation's resources were genuinely mobilized, with no exaggeration.

During the Warring States period, the population-to-army ratio in the Qin state reached 5:1, an unbelievable ratio even to later generations. In the world of Erathia, this was similarly inconceivable.

Such a population-to-army ratio was impossible in human nations because joining the army required mastery of extraordinary power, either through training in combat aura or mental energy. The resources consumed by such extraordinary individuals were far beyond what an ordinary farmer could afford. Therefore, the more powerful a nation, the more disproportionate its population-to-army ratio.

Thus, the Qin dynasty's farming and warfare system and its resource allocation during warfare were miracles that couldn't be replicated in either the past or present.

However, this miracle that created a unified empire crumbled in just a few decades. Its downfall had many causes, but the main reason was the incompetence of the Qin dynasty's successors.

If the ruling individuals were incapable, no matter how advanced the system, how perfect the laws, or how strong the army, the empire couldn't avoid destruction.

Seeing through this, Muria had no interest in implementing new policies in the Rockman Kingdom. Regardless of how perfect his policies were or how much they strengthened the nation, everything would revert to its original state soon after he left.

The current seemingly outdated feudal lord system was what aligned with the various factions' interests in the kingdom. Only interests could maintain everything.

Therefore, Muria had to endure the inefficiencies brought by this outdated system. Of course, this so-called inefficiency was relative; at the very least, no one dared to disobey his orders, and they were carried out diligently.

One advantage of post-war reconstruction was that Muria could recruit plenty of manpower, at least in the Rockman Kingdom.

The demonic disaster had displaced millions of civilians, gathering them in major cities. These landless, homeless, and penniless refugees created significant security issues for the kingdom.

Scarlet City, the capital, housed the most refugees, as it was considered the safest place on the Nokiai Subcontinent by nearly everyone in the Rockman Kingdom. This was indeed the case. Thus, after the demon invasion disaster, anyone with the means would head to Scarlet City.

With the disaster over, Muria ordered the return of refugees to their original residences to rebuild their destroyed homes. However, many refugees, for various reasons, were unwilling to return.

For these people, Muria directly conscripted them, sending them to the cloud islands to work for food and shelter, eliminating a significant security threat to the Rockman Kingdom.

"A grand spectacle of natural wonders combined with the perfect touch of intelligent civilization," Muria stood on the highest cloud island, looking down at the bustling scene below with a face full of admiration and satisfaction.

At this time, the 132 cloud islands, including the one he stood on, had become enormous construction sites. The busy figures of giants, drow elves, dwarves, dragonborn, and humans could be seen everywhere.

The presence of dragonborn and dwarves was due to King Caesar of the dragonborn and Grand Duke Magni Bronzebeard of the dwarves. Hearing about Muria's cloud island transformation project, they had proactively sent teams to assist—a testament to their understanding and cooperation.

"Young Master Muria, the cloud islands are indeed naturally formed, but the magnificent sight of over a hundred gathered together is due to the beast below us," Mia calmly reminded him.

"I know." Muria glanced at Mia. He knew his dragonborn maid had some grievances about his current actions. The cloud island transformation project was vast, like a gold-devouring beast, and posed a heavy burden on the Rockman Kingdom's economy at this time.

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