Dragon Secrets

The Beast Sovereign hadn't brought many men, only about four or five thousand, but every one of them was an elite.

With that being the case, the arrangements for this battle were easy to make.

"Your Majesties, I believe we should proceed like this: I will lead my knights to harass the Demon King's Castle, while the Beast Sovereign leads the beastmen army to challenge them at the main gate."

"His Majesty the Dragon King can lead your dragon army to pressure the demon race, but you must not be the first to attack. We must wait until the demon race can no longer endure it and comes out to attack us themselves."

Since the Demon Emperor had dared to say words like 'I will wait for you at the Demon King's Castle,' the castle inevitably held other trump cards.

At the very least, the Demon Emperor was convinced that even in such a war, these cards could ensure the safety of the Demon King's Castle.

Otherwise, there would have been no need for him to leave such a message.

Of course, it could also be a bluff.

However, the purpose of this war was to eliminate the demon race's active forces and force the demon army to return for reinforcements.

It was not for a total eradication.

The strategic objective could not change.

The current situation, to put it simply, was... the advantage is mine!

At a time like this, one must not be reckless.

Luo Li balanced the gains and losses; the current Demon Emperor no longer had the capital to compete with them outside the Demon King's Castle.

Although that massive tentacle was powerful, the more powerful something was, the higher the price that had to be paid.

From the fact that the Demon Emperor hadn't immediately summoned the tentacle to completely crush the knights earlier, it was clear.

The price required for that tentacle... specifically the number of lives, had to be quite high.

Next, as long as they fought steadily and took one solid step at a time, there shouldn't be any major changes.

The closer one was to victory, the more cautious one had to be!

"Hmm... I don't mind."

Ricardo waved his hand dismissively.

Although this Beast Sovereign appeared boisterous and casual from start to finish.

Being able to sit on the throne as an emperor suggested that strength alone was likely not enough.

Luo Li subconsciously began to size up this Beast Sovereign.

If it were purely a matter of powerful strength, there would be no need for him to be the emperor; he would only need a 'title' for others to use him.

The fact that he could be the emperor meant he must have something special about him.

Luo Li didn't believe an emperor could truly be as dull-witted as he appeared.

Sure enough, right after Ricardo said those words.

The gaze of a certain beastman behind him flickered slightly.

The most obvious difference between this member of the Lion-Tiger tribe and the others was that his body was even more robust.

He wasn't from the Lion tribe, but the Tiger tribe, with conspicuous golden fur all over his body.

The tattoos across his frame and the character for 'King' on his forehead made him recognizable at a glance.

Judging by this reaction, this was likely Ricardo's strategist, wasn't it?

Asfield pondered for a moment, his golden vertical pupils flashing a few times before he nodded slightly.

"Mm, I see this is indeed a feasible method. Luo Li's grasp of the battlefield situation is truly extraordinary."

Of course it is; did you think she hadn't read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Sun Tzu's Art of War—wait a minute?

Luo Li?

You just swallowed the words 'Your Highness'!

Why the sudden use of a nickname?

Blinking her eyes, Luo Li was momentarily stunned, but she ultimately chose to ignore the form of address.

At least for now... the dragon race was indispensable. It was just a title; whether those two words were there or not didn't make much difference.

"Since you both agree, then... next, I suggest we take a short rest. Your Majesty Ricardo, could I trouble your army to explore the surroundings? My knights... are already very exhausted."

Others might not feel for these knights, but she did!

She was the one who had led the army on this expedition. Even if these people weren't knights of the Kingdom of the Moon, she had been the one to bring them out.

Therefore, she had to take responsibility for them to the end.

"That's no problem."

Ricardo raised his glass from afar to toast Luo Li, then turned back to the member of the Tiger tribe behind him.

"Tiger, divide three thousand beastmen into groups of three and send them to keep watch on the surroundings. Report any movement immediately."

"Yes, my respected Majesty."

Tiger?

That's really... straightforward.

If the tiger is called Tiger, should the lion be called Leon?

She turned her head toward Asfield.

"Your Majesty the Dragon King, the dragon race should still have some strength left, right?"

"Mm, we still have some power. What are your thoughts?"

Asfield was clearly more thoughtful, and his answer was very smooth.

"I would like to ask you to have your dragons explore the vicinity of the Demon King's Castle."

"Although I have a dragon cavalry regiment of skysoar dragons, it is difficult for them to protect themselves. Any loss would be irreparable."

"Individual dragons are powerful. Even if they encounter trouble, they should be able to evacuate safely."

After Luo Li finished speaking, she fell silent and looked at Asfield.

He lowered his head in thought for a moment before giving orders without turning back.

"Black, go take a look. If you find anything, notify me immediately. Remember... I do not wish to see my subjects fall on the demon island. Mind your own safety."

From behind the Dragon King, a man dressed in a black robe with black eyes and black hair stepped forward, bowing slightly.

"By your command."

As soon as he spoke, the man leaped into the air, jumping into the sky like a bolt of lightning before his form shifted.

Dark elements instantly enveloped his body.

With the surge of elemental power, a pitch-black dragon claw tore through the elemental mist, and the dragon's head let out a long roar toward the sky.

'Roar~'

Wings flapping, the massive black dragon flew toward the Demon King's Castle amidst the wild wind and long roars.

This seemed to be... the only black dragon she had seen among the entire dragon race.

She couldn't help but glance back at Ligeia.

Ligeia reacted quickly, leaning down to whisper in Luo Li's ear.

"Your Highness, that is a dark dragon. They are a rare race among dragons that almost never uses mana elements."

Hearing this, Luo Li's brow twitched slightly.

No wonder in the battle she saw earlier, this black dragon hadn't used any magic from start to finish, relying entirely on his physical body to fight.

However, if he couldn't use mana elements and could still become a true dragon species, he must have something remarkable about him.

Judging by that brawling ability, the characteristic of the dark dragon should be immense physical strength.

Asfield seemed to have heard Ligeia's voice.

However, he paid no attention to Ligeia and instead explained to Luo Li.

"Dark dragons indeed cannot use destructive magic. Because the mana elements in a dark dragon's body are somewhat chaotic, many dark dragons use mana elements to strengthen their physical bodies from birth. Even my own Dragon Breath... he can withstand it with his physical body alone."

Speaking to this point, a slightly roguish yet inexplicably attractive smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"There is no need to worry. With me here, the dragon race will not be your enemy."

Holy crap!

Did you max out your flirting skills or something?

Feeling her heart skip a beat, Luo Li couldn't help but complain internally.

Fortunately, although this body was female, her thoughts were still those of a male, including her sense of aesthetics.

Although the Dragon King Asfield was extremely handsome—to an ultimate degree, one could say.

But overall, he leaned toward being masculine without the feminine beauty of a woman. He simply couldn't attract her!

"Your Majesty the Dragon King must be joking. I think... even if every race on the continent combined, they might not be a match for the dragon race, right?"

Since the decisions had been made, the conversation that followed was truly just idle talk.

Of course, idle talk could also contain some personal motives.

For instance, testing the Dragon King's views on the other races of the continent and his own race.

"Mm..."

Asfield pondered for a moment and didn't hide anything, swirling the crystal glass filled with red wine in his hand.

"If the dragon race exerted its full strength, we could indeed completely wipe out a race after paying a certain price."

He slowly raised the wine glass, the surface reflecting the Dragon King's own silhouette.

"According to the heritage and records of the dragon race, there was indeed one instance in history where the dragon race wiped out another race."

Ricardo kept his head down, staring at the red wine in his glass without saying a word, but his nimbly moving ears proved he was listening intently.

Clearly, even this boisterous Beast Sovereign was very wary of the dragon race.

"Really?"

"Are you curious?"

Asfield turned to look at Luo Li, his golden pupils reflecting the interested expression on the young girl's face.

A smile couldn't help but curl at the corners of his mouth.

"It is truly rare to see you show such an expression. Mm... I am pleased. Even more pleased than if I had obtained gold and jewels. Since you are curious, there is no harm in telling you."

This Dragon King was truly flirting at every possible moment.

"In the histories of the other races on the continent today, almost all records of this period have been lost. Aside from the elves, probably only the giants still remember."

The Dragon King smiled slightly.

"History records that this event took place a hundred and fifty thousand years ago. The dragon race went to war with a tyrannical race that ruled the continent at the time. That race was completely exterminated, with only a branch remaining on the continent."

He lowered his head, his golden vertical pupils reflecting Luo Li's figure.

"This branch is the current giant race. And the name of that race was the titans."

"It is said that the titan race was incredibly massive, almost on par with the dragon race. A single step could cause the earth to shake, a single foot could crush mountains and rivers, and a casual swing of a fist would make other races flee in terror."

The Dragon King swirled his glass and drank the red wine in one gulp, saying calmly.

"I no longer know the specifics of what happened. Perhaps some elders in the tribe still know some details. What I know is only the result of the war."

"What was the result?"

Luo Li quickly pressed for more; she couldn't miss out on such massive lore.

"The dragon race lost three lineages of purebred dragons, and over half of the dragon race died in the war. As for the titan race, they were completely wiped from the continent. Only after that did the other races on the continent have the chance to develop to this day."

"Strictly speaking, all the races on the continent today, including your humans, the beastmen, the elves, and so on, should thank my dragon race. If the titan were still here, you would have no chance to occupy the continent."

A trace of disdain appeared at the corner of Ricardo's mouth, but he didn't argue.

It was very likely that he knew something about this, or had heard some details.

Ligeia whispered in Luo Li's ear.

"I have investigated this matter. It's just that because it happened so long ago, almost no evidence remains. But at the very least, I am certain that there truly was once such a giant race on this continent."

Luo Li had almost forgotten that her Ligeia was not just a professional dragon breeder but also knew a great deal about the dragon race itself.

Regarding such a massive war for the dragon race, even if there were no records left in history, some clues would at least remain.

It was normal for Ligeia to know.

Mm... this was an interesting scoop, though it didn't really matter. As a spectator, she could just enjoy the story.

She had no intention of finding out how this scoop was grown.

Listening to it was enough; after all, it was something from over a hundred thousand years ago and had absolutely nothing to do with her.

What they discussed next was basically meaningless idle talk.

Luo Li also hurriedly had Dominica notify the knights to take a short rest.

After chatting for about an hour, Luo Li finally excused herself. Upon returning to the Saint's Carriage, she immediately tried to contact the Pope.

Although magic towers themselves weren't that easy to build, mobile magic towers could still exist.

It was just that their consumption was far higher than that of a normal magic tower.

Under normal circumstances, no one would ever use such a money-burning magic tower.

The process of connecting was unexpectedly smooth, perhaps because the demon race was no longer able to interfere with the elements in the air.

After waiting for only a moment, the elemental signal stabilized.

Although images couldn't be transmitted, the Pope's voice still clearly reached Luo Li's ears.

"Your Highness Luo Li, I am relieved that you are safe."

Diocletian's first words were to ask about her safety.

One had to admit, this was indeed a very good way to win people over.

A single sentence was enough to warm one's heart.

"I am sorry to have worried you, Your Holiness. I am fine. Most of the situation on the battlefield is already under control."

"Mm, I would like to know the details, if Your Highness has the time?"

The communication stone in Luo Li's hand vibrated slightly.

"The situation is like this..."

She recounted the events from beginning to end, omitting the less important parts.

"...Very well. It seems you have a good grasp of the situation ahead. However, I must still say one more thing. Your Highness must remember that a lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit. Even if you hold the upper hand, you must never underestimate the demon race. If you don't mind, I suggest not approaching the Demon King's Castle for the time being."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Holiness. I have already considered that and made arrangements."

"Good. As expected of the person I... mm. Your Highness Luo Li, I can tell you about the situation in the Kingdom of the Sun now."

As expected of the person you... what?

Luo Li's mind didn't process that for a moment, but she was immediately drawn in by the next topic.

The most important thing now was to see if the demon army had already retreated from the Kingdom of the Sun.

While it was impossible to track them the whole way, knowing a general time shouldn't be a problem.

"I was just worried about that. Please be as detailed as possible, Your Holiness."

"Mm. After you left, the demon race attacked several times. The Saintess of the Sun, Her Highness Momoka, was seriously injured. Fortunately, the holy knights arrived in time, and she is now out of danger."

"As for the demon army, they have already withdrawn to the sea."