Translator: AnubisTL
Deep within the Burning Steel Citadel, the red-iron dragon's consciousness slowly withdrew.
He had temporarily severed the bloodline link with Iron Dragon Gordon, awaiting a response.
At the final moment, Garos had once again emphasized several critical details to Gordon that demanded utmost attention and could not be overlooked in the slightest—including how to carefully calibrate the information being transmitted, how to assess the true shifts in Eileen's intentions, and how to mitigate risks in the early stages of their cooperation. He had to ensure that his brother, embedded in the enemy's inner circle, would not expose himself through a single moment of carelessness, potentially jeopardizing the entire dragon pack's plan.
Based on the detailed descriptions Gordon sent back, and cross-referencing them with the information from the Gemstone Merchant Guild's intelligence network...
It is fundamentally certain that Crystal Princess Eileen is by no means some short-sighted, simple-minded fool kept captive by the court.
Garos calculated in his mind.
On the contrary, she is highly intelligent, possessing a keen political intuition and remarkable magical talent. More importantly... deep within her heart burns a passionate desire to serve her country and share the burdens of the precarious Lothurn Royal Court. She is a potential collaborator with both ambition and the will to act.
Garos lifted his massive dragon head slightly, his eyes gleaming as he thought:
I hope... she ultimately makes the right choice... the one that is most beneficial for both of us.
The red-iron dragon shifted his colossal body, adjusting into a more comfortable posture that allowed the heavy, plate-armor-like scales on his belly to stretch fully.
The serpent sorceresses understood.
Using their cool fingertips, infused with magic energy, they began to gently and precisely massage the softer areas of the red-iron dragon's belly, helping him relax his steel-and-iron-cast body.
While savoring this rare moment of relaxation, Garos sank his mind into the invisible bloodline link network.
He first contacted Iron Dragon Solgorn, then connected with Red Dragon Samantha, who was supervising the alchemy production line in the Black Iron Plains.
At the same time, he was silently waiting for Gordon to send back the crucial news from the Lothurn Royal Court regarding the Crystal Princess's response.
Meanwhile...
At Spark Monastery.
"Listen up, you little brats!"
Iron Dragon Gordon roared.
"The great King of Steel is about to set out for the Royal Court! Next time we meet, I hope your 'qi' burns a bit brighter, so you can at least mimic a fraction of a great dragon's majesty!"
Under the mixed gazes of the young apprentices—a blend of awe, curiosity, and a hint of resigned acceptance—he departed from the Spark Monastery.
His massive body, covered in dark metallic scales like a mobile fortress, braced its powerful limbs with a slight awkwardness. Each heavy step made the ground groan faintly. He lifted his colossal dragon head, maintaining a posture he deemed majestic but which in reality appeared somewhat comical.
A short while later.
Within the lavish study of Crystal Princess Eileen in the Lothurn Royal Court—a room that resembled a miniature museum of magic—Eileen reclined on a velvet-cushioned daybed by the window. Her slender hand rested lazily on Gordon's cold, hard scales.
She listened as the Iron Dragon Gordon described his blood kin—mighty and unparalleled, possessing extraordinary wisdom—who were soon to establish an immortal empire in the wilderness. His narration was vivid, his passion so great that he seemed to be spraying spittle as he spoke.
At first, she paid it no mind, treating his tales as mere stories.
In her eyes, Gordon was a pet, a playmate, and—as she grew older without offspring of her own—an object upon which to bestow the nurturing glow of maternal affection.
Yet, as she continued to listen...
The delicate features of Eileen's face, which had been wearing a faint, indulgent smile, gradually hardened. A flicker of unconcealable doubt then crossed her expression.
Her gaze involuntarily drifted from Gordon's dragon head, currently contorted in the passion of his speech, down to his massive body—a body that had grown exceptionally plump and rounded from his long years of pampered luxury in the royal court.
She then compared this sight to the image of his fierce brothers, who he claimed had fought and grown strong amidst the blood and fire of the wilderness.
The contrast was a bit too stark, wasn't it?
"See! Eileen! I knew you'd make that face!"
Gordon, keenly sensing the distrust in the princess's eyes, immediately let out a low, disgruntled growl.
With a surprising agility for his size, he twisted his neck and extended a massive claw covered in metallic scales. He snatched several copies of the Federal Daily from a nearby newspaper rack—all from different dates, yet each bearing a shocking headline on its front page.
He slammed the papers down in front of Eileen as if displaying trophies of war.
[THE OMINOUS STAR OF DEATH DESCENDS! THE CENTURY-OLD GEM MINES OF THE DUCHY OF RAYMOND MASSACRED BY A DRAGON]
[BLACKROCK PRINCIPALITY'S MINING OUTPOST TURNED INTO A LIVING HELL OVERNIGHT, NO SURVIVORS. SUSPECTED ATTACK BY THE EVIL DRAGON MOUNTAIN-BURNING WINGS. THE DRAGON'S CRIMES ARE UNFORGIVABLE, AND A BOUNTY OF TEN MILLION GOLD COINS HAS BEEN PLACED ON ITS HEAD.]
Beyond the headline, there were the accompanying images.
A mine pit melted into glass by dragon breath; steel walls trampled as if by a giant beast; and... a blurry yet ferocious, sky-blotting silhouette captured by a magic recording crystal.
"Look! Just look at this!"
Gordon's voice brimmed with fierce confidence. "This is the masterpiece of my blood relative—the 'Ominous Star of Death'! Listen to that name! Look at that track record! Is it enough to make a name for itself?!"
Eileen took a deep breath.
To be mistaken for Mountain-Burning Wings? She had heard of that infamous dragon.
She sat up straight, her expression turning focused and solemn. With the keen insight unique to a high-level mage, she read the duchy's reports—the kind she usually ignored—word by word, sentence by sentence.
Gradually, the image of a dragon in her mind became incredibly clear and real: a creature of incomprehensible power, terrifying growth speed, and a cautious, steady operating style... a dragon that no force could ever afford to underestimate.
Eileen slowly lifted her gaze from the newspaper.
Her gaze returned to the round creature before her, sweeping over Gordon from head to toe, again and again.
It was as if she were trying to dig beneath his plump exterior, searching for some proof of bloodline that could link him to that Ominous Star of Death.
"Gordon," she said, her voice tinged with hesitation. "Are you certain... that the dragon known as the Ominous Star of Death is truly your biological brother?"
She paused, her tone growing more skeptical.
"Are you two... truly the closest of kin, sharing the same ancestral blood? You haven't mistaken him for someone else?"
Her unspoken meaning was painfully obvious: The difference between you two... isn't it a bit too vast?
One was a Demon King descended upon the wilderness, decisive and ruthless in slaughter.
The other had been pampered in the royal court until he'd grown fat as a ball.
"Of course! Absolutely!"
Iron Dragon Gordon's reply was as unyielding as steel.
"The blood flowing in our veins is the same. There is no mistake about that."
Eileen fell silent.
She scrutinized Gordon's eyes and expression once more, searching for any trace of deception. But she found only pure pride and unquestionable certainty.
She recalled Gordon's origins—he had indeed been found in the Sierre Wilderness, a place far removed from civilized order, filled with primitive strife and brutal laws, before being brought back to the royal court.
After another ten minutes of questioning and reflection, she gradually accepted this seemingly absurd and fantastical truth.
"The Sierre Wilderness... the Ignis Dragon Clan... the Duchy of Abel..."
The Crystal Princess's gaze grew deep and sharp, as if piercing through the study walls to the vast, volatile lands at the kingdom's edge.
For a long time, a fierce resentment had burned within her like an unquenchable fire. She refused to be a mere ornament, a delicate vase adorning the Lothurn Royal Court. She craved to prove her worth, to use her wisdom and power to do something meaningful for this kingdom she loved—a kingdom now teetering on the brink of ruin.
Yet, she was trapped in the very heart of the royal court. Her noble title, while granting her an aura of prestige, also served as a heavy shackle, binding her hands and feet. Her siblings, who coveted the throne and saw her as either a threat or a pawn, used every rule and ruse to obstruct her path.
Now, with the federation's undercurrents churning and the situation taut as a drawn bow, she possessed all the ambition and power of a high-level spellcaster, only to find herself utterly powerless to enact any real change.
But now.
A turning point seemed to have arrived.
"Gordon."
Eileen's gaze snapped back, refocusing on the iron dragon. Her voice took on an unprecedented gravity and clarity.
"Your kin—can they engage in rational, effective communication? Would they be willing, in exchange for specific resources of value to them or a sufficiently generous magical reward, to consider accepting... certain commissions from the royal court?"
(End of the Chapter)
---------------------------
📖 You are reading [294] Chapters behind.
🔥 Read up to Chapter [612] now, only on 𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝕞.
💸 Read up to Chapter [392] for 100% FREE!
📚 Read upto [13,000+] Chapters on Site with [10,400+] Free Chapters!
🚫 Also get FREE lifetime ad-free and join the giveaway by joining our Discord!
---------------------------