Chapter 232: Symbol of Victory (4)

"What's going on?"

King Dennis was surprised as he watched Cale. Seeing Cale laugh while looking at a beautiful, vibrating mirror was strange and unusual.

'Is it some kind of magical object?'

As that doubt arose, Cale's mouth opened.

"The Dragon Lord is considered the main God, and beneath him, there are Dragons who also have the role of minor Gods, right?"

"Yes."

The one who responded to his words was the elderly Prime Minister, who joined the conversation from halfway. He was a man who looked more aged than Bailey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, with marked wrinkles on his face. At first glance, even his pupils seemed blurry. However, his voice was clear.

"There is a total of Ten Dragons, each in charge of their own position. Of course, in addition to those Dragons, it is said that there are around twenty more Dragons. Perhaps it doesn't exceed forty."

Eruhaben, the Ancient Dragon, spoke.

"It's quite numerous."

And he added.

"But it's not an overwhelming number."

Cale nodded in agreement with those words.

In the world where the Roan Kingdom existed, there were believed to be fewer than twenty Dragons across both the Eastern and Western Continents. This low number was due to many Dragons being hunted by the White Star and the organization called 'Arm.' Because of this, the count of Dragons was always cautious, and they were likely even fewer than estimated. Unlike the Dragons in Cale's world, who tended to live separately, Eruhaben was an exception. Most Dragons lived alone, making it hard to know exactly how many were left.

Eruhaben fell silent for a moment before speaking again.

"...Still, it's a challenging number."

Pat, pat.

His fingers tapped on the armrest.

"If all the Dragons attack us at the same time, no matter what we do, we wouldn't be able to win."

With a firm look, Eruhaben spoke decisively while looking at Cale.

"The Gods have to come."

Eruhaben's expression hardened more.

"Do you say that the Dragons' power has increased since the Catastrophe Era?"

"Yes, Dragon-nim."

To the Prime Minister's answer, Eruhaben asked again.

"But you don't know why, right?"

"Yes. We don't know the exact reason, but we recently checked the strength of one of the Ten Dragons, and we found that it is much stronger than in the past."

"It won't be easy."

On Eruhaben's face, who expressed that it was difficult, doubts different from the words were woven.

"But on the other hand..."

"Yes."

"...Are the Dragons here friendly with each other?"

"...Eh?"

King Dennis was surprised. At that moment, Cale also intervened in the conversation while putting the Mirror back in his pocket.

"It's true. Your Majesty, is it possible for Dragons to obey another Dragon as a leader? Is that possible?"

"That's what I'm saying. I don't understand it either. Even if it's a Dragon of the caliber of a Dragon Lord, there's no way the other Dragons would follow him everywhere."

Eruhaben's voice was sarcastic.

"Do the young Dragons here tolerate being mistreated by one from above? Is that possible?"

King Dennis was surprised at first, but then he swallowed saliva and answered.

"No, it's not possible."

A smile appeared on Eruhaben and Cale's lips at the same time.

Crunch, crunch.

Raon, who was eating cookies, spoke cheerfully.

"Goldie Gramps and our Human look alike when they smile!"

Ignoring those words cleanly, the Ancient Dragon and the young one leaned towards the king with expressions full of interest and anticipation. With great expectation and enthusiasm, they opened their mouths one after another.

"Is that so? Surely there are power struggles among the young Dragons, right? There must be some who want to become Dragon Lord and are restless, right?"

"Sure, there are. Aren't Dragons generally selfish? And among the Dragons who didn't become the 10 Gods, aren't there some dissatisfied ones? Or maybe there are Dragons who have simply retired completely, right?"

"Yes, that's right! Who would listen to the Dragons and follow their movements? It doesn't make sense!"

"Exactly! It absolutely doesn't make sense!"

Raon smiled upon hearing the conversation between Eruhaben and Cale.

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or a criticism!"

However, that reaction was not shared by the people of Har Kingdom. They looked at the Dragon and the person with amazed expressions and eventually locked eyes with each other. The king nodded, and the Prime Minister opened his mouth.

"Since we've decided to work together, we must share all the information."

He opened a document.

"Currently, we've identified about twenty Dragons that follow the Dragon Lord."

Cale directed his gaze to the document.

"And most of the other Dragons have chosen silence or indifference. Of course, it wasn't like that at first."

"...Wasn't it like that at first?"

Cale's gaze shifted to the Prime Minister.

"At first, it was reported that more than half of the Dragons opposed the Dragon Lord."

"But why?"

"That's what we're trying to understand. However, after the Catastrophe Era, most of the Dragons, except for two Dragons, have changed their minds or opted for silence."

Eruhaben asked.

"Who are those two Dragons?"

And Cale continued the question.

"Is one of them Maxillienne?"

"!"

The eyes of the Prime Minister widened.

"Do you know that person?"

"Yes. I got involved in this matter after meeting her."

The Prime Minister looked at King Dennis. The king's gaze met Cale's without showing any surprise. Cale decided to give his answer.

"My late father, the previous king, mentioned that if there's a Dragon that can be trusted, it's Maxillienne-nim. However, we couldn't confirm her whereabouts. Although Father never saw her in person, he said he heard it from Mother, and that was something passed down from generation to generation."

"I see."

Maxillienne. The Dragon who crossed dimensions and died in the Central Plains. Cale didn't mention that specific incident. Instead, he asked.

"But why did the Dragons who initially opposed the Dragon Lord eventually submit to him?"

"We're trying to understand that. However, it seems it may be related to the fact that the Dragons became stronger after the Catastrophe Era."

"I see. But..."

Cale smiled as he asked.

"It seems like Har Kingdom knows more about the Dragons' situation than I thought."

"...."

Dennis didn't even blink at the question. He simply silently looked at Cale.

In response, Cale expressed his own answer.

"It seems that there are Dragons providing information to Har Kingdom."

"...."

Dennis continued to silently look at him, then nodded slowly.

"Except for her, Maxillienne-nim. The remaining one. The one who still opposes the Dragon Lord and provides information."

At that moment, Cale realized who that Dragon was.

The Dragon who sees the 'Past.'

The Dragon that Maxillienne, she, had asked him to find.

Maxillienne, who had the Future Attribute.

A Dragon with the Past Attribute.

And a Dragon Lord with the Time Attribute.

"Human, why are you staring at me?"

Raon, who had the Present Attribute.

Cale briskly wiped cookie crumbs from Raon's mouth and spoke.

"Can you communicate with that Dragon?"

"...Unfortunately, there's no way to contact him, as he's like the wind. He only appears from time to time, shares some stories, and then leaves."

Dennis spoke with regret and added:

"I think it will be difficult to invite him as an ally."

"Well. Anyway, can I ask you to find out his location?"

"It doesn't matter, I plan to find him somehow anyway. Surely, he'll be nearby to tell us his story in these days."

They were already in a situation where they might end up fighting against the Holy Empire and even against the Dragons. King Dennis felt the need to attract that Dragon.

Cale reflected upon seeing that.

'That Dragon-'

And.

'Choi Jung Gun.'

Both had to be found.

Then, Cale diverted his gaze to the documents.

"The description of the Ten Gods is quite detailed."

The Prime Minister opened his mouth.

"Although information about the Dragon Lord is hard to come by, information about the Ten Gods is quite well-known. They even appear before their followers."

"Yes. The God of Water, the God of Fire-"

Huh?

Cale stopped.

"...Is there also a God of Struggle?"

Among the dragons occupying the 10 thrones, there was a God of Struggle.

"Commander Jenyu of the Eradication Team had the Struggle Attribute-"

Cale stopped speaking and looked at the members of Har Kingdom. In response to his gaze, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bailey, opened her mouth.

"Yes. All Dragon Half-Bloods inherited one of the Attributes of the Ten Gods. They were considered more valuable because they had inherited part of the Gods' power."

Sigh!

At that moment, Eruhaben sighed as if he were astonished. Bailey, surprised, turned to him.

"It can't be."

Eruhaben shook his head.

"These Dragon Half-Bloods are definitely fake."

He said firmly.

"A Dragon, even if it's a Half-Blood, will never have the same Attribute."

In the first place, it wasn't easy for a Dragon Half-Blood to inherit an Attribute. They had to resist the dragon's blood and go through the first phase of growth. And after enduring that process, they developed their own Attributes. Even if they were just Dragon Half-Bloods, they were still Dragons.

Even the Dragon Half-Blood of the Black Castle had its own Attribute.

"...Isn't it possible?"

Bailey's face filled with astonishment.

"All Dragon Half-Bloods have a Dragon from whom they inherited the blood. It's their lineage. Therefore, even if they develop an Attribute, they will receive the Attribute of the one who gave them their blood."

"...Impossible."

Although Eruhaben hadn't heard about the jewel embedded in Jenyu's chest or the secret of the Dragon Half-Bloods' blood yet, he remained firm.

"They are not Dragon Half-Bloods. They are fake. They can't even become chimeras. They were definitely created incorrectly."

Hm.

The Prime Minister sighed. And Eruhaben frowned.

"The Dragon giving you information surely hasn't told you everything. Of course, a Dragon would know that's nonsense."

Eruhaben smiled as if mocking.

"Interestingly, there's a reason why the Dragon Half-Bloods were weak."

Seeing Eruhaben disdain the Dragon blood, King Dennis swallowed saliva. But then, Eruhaben's angry voice left him speechless.

"They probably injected dragon blood into human bodies. Those who survived became Dragon Half-Bloods."

The Ancient Dragon was getting more irritated.

"Many innocent people likely lost their lives in the process. Human physiology is ill-equipped to handle the properties of Dragon blood."

What makes a dragon a dragon?

If you want to be a noble being, if you want to be an arrogant being, shouldn't you act accordingly? If you act that way and become a God...

"Backwards!"

That kind of God is not right. That is what befits the name of Dragon.

"Hmm."

Cale let out a sigh.

The Ancient Dragon was truly angry.

Around the Ancient Dragon, small particles of platinum dust began to emerge one after another.

It was an involuntary manifestation of his power.

"Goldie Gramps! Calm down! Have a cookie!"

Cale, looking at the Dragon not responding to Raon's words, spoke.

"First, why don't we confront the Dragons following the Dragon Lord?"

It was a refreshing tone.

"?"

Eruhaben's expression, full of doubts, cleared as the dust disappeared around him.

"Ah."

Soon, a smile slowly appeared on his face.

"I guess there's something we can do."

To which Cale responded with a casual tone.

"The Dragon Lord is no longer in this world."

"What?"

King Dennis reacted to those words.

"What does that mean?"

Cale, looking at Dennis's surprised face, didn't respond immediately.

Beeeep—

It was at that moment...

"Human, there's communication from the castle!"

The communication came from the Black Castle.

After reading the message left, Cale immediately asked a favor from Eruhaben.

"Please, connect the visual communication."

"Why?"

"It is said that a Dragon appeared from the slopes of the Erghe Mountains."

People on the side of Har Kingdom were surprised. In particular, Bailey jumped from her seat.

"It doesn't make sense for a Dragon to be moving right now! It's not possible!"

"Wait a moment."

But Cale was impatient. That's why Eruhaben unconsciously asked:

"How many Dragons have appeared?"

"One."

"Is that all?"

Eruhaben spoke with a puzzled expression.

"It's just one, why are you so anxious?"

People from Har Kingdom didn't understand the meaning of those words.

But Cale didn't have time to pay attention to them.

He showed Eruhaben the content of the message.

The message's content was just one line.

[A Dragon entered my senses. I'll go kick its ass! - Rasheel]

And he spoke.

"He has to live! We need to get information! It would be a problem if Rasheel killed him right away!"

Ah, Eruhaben nodded and immediately connected the visual communication.

While Cale and Eruhaben were busy amid the surprised faces of the people of Har Kingdom.

Munch, munch.

Raon, who was eating cookies, glanced at a corner of the room.

Under the drawer...

"Huh?"

In the darkness, he spotted a green sparkle.

To be precise, they were green eyes.

A small snake, a White Snake hatchling, emerged with its tongue out from under the drawer, then shivered as its eyes met Raon's.

* * *

"Hahaha, finally, it's time to defeat those little Dragons in this horrible world! Hahaha!"

Rasheel laughed joyfully as he headed towards the place where he sensed a Dragon trapped in his senses.

"Hahaha! This noble will discipline them!

Clopeh Sekka followed him silently at his side.

* * *

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]