It was Ayaka's first time riding a dragon, so she was a bit cautious—afraid of upsetting the massive creature. After all, if it decided to swat her, she probably wouldn't survive it.

Beidou, on the other hand, didn't care in the slightest. She was happily riding the dragon and, not long after takeoff, even began doing loops and rolls in the sky.

The dragon's speed was astonishing—in the blink of an eye, they arrived at Base One.

Compared to before, Base One hadn't expanded all that much.

But right now, it was absolutely packed with people.

Not only were Dashi and the older veterans present, but also the 1,500 new recruits who had joined later.

Judging by how busy and energetic everyone looked, it was clear that they had mostly adapted during the past five days.

While they still weren't allowed to enter the Nether or the End, exploring around the main world and the area surrounding the base was already no problem.

Ryen guided the dragon to land on a newly built open area in Base One—effectively a landing pad now.

As they dismounted, Dashi quickly approached with long strides.

"Lord Ryen, I was just about to go looking for you!"

He chuckled warmly and reported:

"This batch of Qianyan Army and Knights of Favonius members has made excellent progress after five days of training."

"At the very least, they're now fully capable of mining and handling basic construction tasks."

"We're planning to let them build their own base—so they can learn more through practical experience."

Ryen clapped Dashi on the shoulder.

"Perfect timing—we were planning to talk about that today. There are a few things I'll need your team to handle."

"Let the new recruits from the Qianyan Army and the Knights take over this current base. I want your team to head out and explore the world."

Dashi was overjoyed upon hearing that.

"That's great! The nearby resources have mostly been used up. We've been worried about what to do next."

"Now that we have modern firearms and equipment, we should be fine venturing farther out."

Ryen nodded, then had Dashi lead the way to the meeting room so they could discuss further.

Along the way, they passed several new recruits who were eagerly studying crafting recipes, clearly immersed in the learning process.

The whole base had a vibrant and promising atmosphere.

Before long, everyone was seated in the meeting room.

Ryen organized his thoughts and asked calmly:

"First, how's the collection of Wither Skeleton Skulls going?"

Dashi immediately reached into his backpack and pulled out nine Wither Skeleton Skulls.

"We've gathered nine recently. Along with the four we hadn't delivered yet, that's a total of thirteen skulls."

Ryen nodded.

"We'll take those with us shortly. Continue assigning people to the Nether to collect more skulls. Also, expand the teams exploring ancient ruins."

Dashi agreed without hesitation.

Ryen glanced at Zhongli and the others, then teased:

"Feeling a bit more at ease now?"

Zhongli gave a wry smile.

"If possible, I'd rather wait until they're successfully revived before I dare feel relieved."

Ryen shrugged and continued:

"Gather all Qianyan Army members from Bases One and Two, except those assigned to long-term Nether mining. Everyone else will regroup here."

"Reorganize into three teams and head out in three different directions to search for resource-rich areas. Set up three new bases."

"Bring more firearms and various alchemical potions. No need to carry construction tools—travel light and use local materials to build."

"Also, assign twenty more people, split into two groups of ten, to take turns activating the Orbital Dragon-Slaying Cannon in the End to collect dragon eggs."

"Switch shifts every two days to avoid random generation of Phantasmic Wings."

"Select personnel from the existing members only."

Dashi hurriedly jotted everything down. Once he finished, he added:

"Lord Ryen, what about Base One, Base Two, the Mondstadt base, and the new Liyue City that's under construction…"

"Haven't we already stationed the latest batch of recruits there?"

Ryen waved his hand.

"You guys assign the manpower as needed. Aside from the Mondstadt base, there aren't many good resources near Base One and Base Two anymore."

"The main purpose is to familiarize them with the environment, then reassign accordingly."

"Oh, and make sure to arrange expansions of the landing plazas at Base One, Base Two, and the Mondstadt base—big enough for dragon flocks to dock."

Dashi was stunned for a moment and asked curiously:

"How big are we talking?"

"Big enough for each base to accommodate five hundred dragons."

"Five hundred?!"

Dashi exclaimed in shock, then as if something occurred to him, he asked excitedly:

"Lord Ryen, are we forming a dragon knight corps?!"

Ryen nodded with a smile.

"That's right. You guys focus on the expansion first. Don't worry—you were among the first to join and are most familiar with this world. Of course, you'll be included."

Dashi couldn't contain his excitement and shifted restlessly in his seat.

"Thank you on behalf of all the brothers, Lord Ryen! You have no idea—ever since they saw those majestic dragons, they've all been dreaming of riding one to defend Liyue!"

Ryen smiled without replying, but beside him, Ningguang commented in a cool tone:

"To defend Liyue… or to show off?"

Dashi's face froze, and he lowered his head sheepishly.

Ningguang snorted and said calmly:

"You all better understand this clearly—making you dragon knights is to better protect Liyue, its people, and its wealth."

"If you can't even grasp that, then you have no business calling yourselves Qianyan Army or dragon knights!"

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