Raonâs jaw dropped as he looked at Aries.
âThereâs no way thatâs going to work!â
Even though Glenn was the pinnacle of the continent as a transcender, it was the dragon lord that they were talking to.
Since the dragon race looked down on humans, Raon didnât think that her threat was going to work.
âMoreover⊠You should be calling him your father rather than my grandfather!â
Raon couldnât understand why she was calling him his grandfather instead of her father since she was the one who was closer to him. He thought once again that Aries was so peculiar.
âI should just prepare for battle⊠Hmm?â
Despite his expectation that it was going to be completely ineffective, the dragon lordâs chin was trembling in panic.
ââŠDid you just say that the human over there is Glenn Zieghartâs grandson?â
The dragon lordâs firm voice became hoarse for the first time. It felt like a huge tree with no end in sight was starting to tremble.
âHuh?â
Raonâs eyes widened as he looked at the dragon lordâs face, which had turned pale.
âDid it really work?â
Heâd never expected that not just an average dragon, but the lord of the dragons would be crushed under the weight of Glennâs name.
âHmmâŠâ
The dragon lord quietly groaned and turned his gaze towards Raon. He examined his hair and eyes one after the other, and his lips curved downwards.
âHe definitely does have a similar face and nature.â
âWhy would I lie about this since it would be found out right away? Heâs the grandson who perfectly inherited his blood. And Glenn cherishes him more than anyone else.â
Aries tilted her chin as if she were making fun of the dragon lord.
âWhat are you gonna do? Do you wanna fight?â
She sneered, telling him to try showing off his power once again.
âAhem!â
The dragon lord cleared his throat and shook his hand.
Whir!
Instead of starting the fight, he removed the wave of mana that was expanding endlessly. The powerful wave dominating Aikar was removed in an instant.
âWhy arenât you attacking? Werenât you supposed to protect the continent?â
Aries rolled her lips into a smile and continued her provocation.
âI donât understand how taking Kaibarâs dragon heart and corpse helps the balance of the continent, but you need to do your job, donât you?â
âThe dragon heart includes a huge amount of mana with high purity. It can cause a huge issue in the continent if it is misused.â
The dragon lord firmly lowered his lips and still claimed that he was acting for the sake of the world.
âThen what about Kaibarâs corpse?â
âA dragonâs bones, claws, and horn can create the sturdiest weaponâŠâ
âIs that powerful enough to threaten the balance of the continent?â
âHmmâŠâ
The dragon lord stopped twitching his lips upon hearing Ariesâs mocking question.
However, the dignity didnât leave his gaze. He still seemed to believe that he was doing it for the sake of the world.
âAlright, Iâll help you take it in that case.â
Aries raised her arm and stretched it behind her without hesitation.
âRabawin. Take it out.â
âUnderstood.â
Rabawin opened a subspace pocket. He took out a dragon heart, which was sparkling in rainbow colors, and gave it to Aries. He seemed to perfectly trust his lord.
âHere you go. Take it.â
Aries casually threw the dragon heart in the air before catching it, then she glanced at the dragon lord with narrowed eyes.
âHowever, his grandfather might visit some other dragons and pull their throats out if you take this one. I estimate that about three of them will be killed.â
She grinned, saying that she would get three dragon hearts for giving away one.
âBullshit!â
The dragon lord bared his white teeth towards Aries.
âI know Glenn Zieghart very well. Thereâs no way he would act on such a trivial matterââ
âHe will.â
Aries cut the dragon lord off.
âYou met the Destructive King of the North at the center of the continent, didnât you? Do you know why he appeared there?â
âThatâsâŠâ
âYou went there to kill the demon king, but it wasnât the case for him. He went there to save him.â
She shrugged her shoulders while claiming something ridiculous.
âThat doesnât make anyâŠâ
The dragon lord started to refute her words but closed his mouth.
âNo, he was acting strange back then.â
Glenn Zieghart wasnât interested in the demon king or the humans from the other factions.
He suddenly went into the barrier that appeared in the middle of his fight against the Holy Sword Alliance master and the White Blood Religion's leader and looked for the traces of the disappeared swordsmen.
The Glenn Zieghart of the Continental War would never have done that. He had definitely changed.
âWhich means he really might attack the other dragonsâŠâ
If Aries was right and the blond-haired and red-eyed human was Glennâs cherished grandson, he might end up doing something bad. That was why he concluded that he should avoid a potential danger.
âHmmâŠâ
The dragon lord bit his lip while looking at his trembling hand on his staff.
âHe said it was the last warning heâd give.â
Glenn had declared that he would wage war against the dragons if he was interrupted once again.
The lord wasnât afraid of other people in Zieghart, but the monster called Glenn was the issue.
He couldnât figure out any way to defeat him since Glenn shed his skin while defeating the Holy Sword Alliance master.
âHuhâŠâ
Raon gasped while watching the dragon lord, who was thinking deeply.
âDid that seriously work?â
Aries wasnât exactly lying, but she wasnât telling the truth either. Glenn was there to save the Light Wind division and the Heavenly Blade division, but it wasnât for just him.
It could be easily figured out, but the dragon lordâs expression showed that Ariesâs claim had worked.
Why are you talking so much?!
Wrath poked his head out and furrowed his brow.
The King of Essence will pull that lizardâs head off. Just give him your body!
âHmmâŠâ
Raon was slightly interested, but there was no guarantee that the demon kingâs advent was going to work once again, and it was obviously going to enlarge the wound that had finally recovered. That was why he simply pushed Wrath away.
âTake it for the balance of the continent. Here you go.â
Aries walked up to the dragon lord and held out Kaibarâs dragon heart.
She was clearly provoking him, but the dragon lord simply narrowed his eyes without responding.
âHaaâŠâ
The dragon lord took a glance at Raon and sighed quietly.
âIâll withdraw for now. But you should be careful. His name isnât going to protect you forever.â
âWhatâs the matter? Arenât you going to protect the continent?â
Aries smiled while turning her shoulder. She seemed to have expected that reaction.
âAre you afraid of his grandfather?â
ââŠIâm not afraid of him. Iâm just avoiding unnecessary fights to maintain the balance of the continent.â
He tapped the ground with his staff while giving some excuse that was too unsightly coming from a dragon lord.
Whir!
The dragon lord became a golden light and disappeared, just like during his arrival.
âHahâŠâ
Raon shook his head while looking at the spot where the dragon lord had disappeared.
âD-did he just run away? But heâs the dragon lord!â
âYes.â
Aries nodded while giggling. She gave the dragon heart to Rabawin and pushed her orange hair back.
âYou should understand by now since you saw Kaibar, but thatâs the true nature of the dragons. They are extremely self-centered.â
âSheâs right. They lived for such a long time that they became some goldfish who believe that they are always right and are working for the continent.â
Kuberad lowered his eyebrows deeply as he also expressed his displeasure towards the dragons.
Humans are fully aware of the characteristics of the lizards.
Wrath nodded while looking at Aries and Kuberad.
The dragons have a whole different way of thinking than the other creatures because theyâve been powerful ever since their birth and can get stronger without making any effort.
He twisted his lips, saying that the dragons were the ones who were unnecessary in the world.
âBut I didnât expect him to be so unsightlyâŠâ
Raon laughed bitterly. He couldnât forget the way the dragon lord ran away with shabby excuses after he tried to pick a fight. It was refreshing to watch, but he also found it ridiculous.
âThe dragons are unsightly by nature.â
Aries scratched the bridge of her nose, telling him to get used to it.
âBy the way, Lady Aries.â
âHmm?â
âWhy did you call the head of house my grandfather? It wouldâve worked better if you called him your father.â
âI was warning him.â
She pouted slightly, wondering why he was asking the obvious question.
âA warning?â
âThat father would appear if he attacked you.â
âThat was just a bluff, though.â
âI wasnât bluffing.â
Aries shook her hand, saying that she definitely wasnât bluffing.
âNo, butâŠâ
Hey!
Raon was trying to refute her words, but Wrath suddenly barked.
Since itâs over now, get ready right now!
âGet ready for what?â
You need to tell her to eat the grilled dragon!
Wrath shoved his fist into Raonâs face, telling him that he would seriously kill him if he skipped it once again.
âHaaâŠâ
Raon sighed deeply and walked up to Aries.
âErm, Lady Aries.â
âWhatâs up?â
âI have a request Iâd like to makeâŠâ
âIâm listening. Iâm willing to grant most of your wishes.â
Aries nodded, telling him to say anything he wanted.
âIâm also going to do anything you want.â
âSame goes for me! Iâll even give you the principles of my sword techniques if you ask!â
Kuberad and Rabawin also told him to just tell them anything he wanted with smiles on their faces.
âIn that case⊠Can we grill the dragon and eat it?â
âHuhâŠ?â
The three people, including Aries, turned their heads with even more dumbfounded faces than when the dragon lord appeared.
* * *
Zieghart
Lordâs Manor
The swordsmen guarding the lordâs manor tilted their heads while looking at the ceiling, where the dust was falling.
âAn earthquake?â
âHmm, I believe earthquakes rarely happen in the north, thoughâŠâ
âThen what is this? Why has the entire building been trembling since the morning?â
âIsnât the head of house going to get angry at this rate?â
The swordsmen swallowed nervously, worried about the lord manorâs trembling phenomenon.
Roenn passed by the swordsmen with serious faces and headed to the audience chamber. He opened the trembling iron gate, entered, and raised his gaze.
Rumble!
Glenn was sitting on the golden throne, and his left leg was shaking. It was because of that powerful vibration that not only the audience chamber but the entire lordâs manor was trembling.
ââŠDid you learn anything?â
Glenn swallowed nervously and leaned forward as soon as he saw Roenn.
âYes.â
Roenn smiled faintly and nodded.
âThe damage wasnât completely nonexistent, but Lady Aries, Rabawin, and young master Raon have all returned safely. As for KaibarâŠâ
âI donât care about it! Is Raon alright?â
Glenn shouted Raonâs name, saying that he wasnât interested in Kaibar at all.
âYes. He even recovered from his injury in his upper energy center. They said he played an important role in slaying Kaibar.â
Roenn told Glenn about the report heâd gotten from Aikar.
âAn important role?â
âThey said that young master Raon pulled out Kaibarâs dragon heart.â
âHe pulled out the dragon heart? Thatâs what he would do.â
Glenn smiled cheerfully. His leg that had been causing the vibration all day long finally came to a halt.
âHuhuhu.â
Roenn smiled faintly, showing that he found Glennâs reaction interesting.
âAhem!â
Glenn cleared his throat and started to give some shabby excuses. He mustâve felt slightly awkward.
âDonât look at me like that. I was just asking because I figured it would be annoying in various ways if a problem occurred in the ocean.â
âIt could actually become annoying.â
âWhat do you mean?!â
He briskly stood up from the throne. He seemed to have forgotten that he was giving excuses.
âThey said that the dragon lord suddenly appeared and started to threaten them.â
âThreaten? How did he threaten them?! What did that lizard even say?!â
âHe picked a fight with them and told them to hand over Kaibarâs dragon heart and corpse. They said that he was going to attack if they didnât give them to him.â
âThat damned bastardâŠâ
Glenn clenched his fist. His wrath spread around as his will, and the entirety of Zieghart started to tremor violently.
âFortunately, Lady Aries made him leave without any issue.â
Roenn shook his hand, telling him that it was all good.
âI donât like it.â
Glenn stroked his chin with a frightening look in his eyes.
âShall I just take this opportunity and kill them all?â
His frightening voice sounded like he was serious about it.
âIt wouldnât be impossible, but we would also take a huge amount of damage. Since the Five Demons are also going to interfere, it will become an even bigger issue.â
Roenn took him seriously and gave him a brief analysis.
âThey said that the lord was the first one to surrender. I believe it would be better to leave them alone for the moment.â
He smiled, telling him to forgive them once since the dragon lord lowered his head.
Tsk.
Glenn briefly clicked his tongue and leaned his back against the throne.
âSo, when is Raon returning?â
âLady Aries didnât say anything about it. She said to just come by yourself if you want to see himâŠâ
Roenn lowered his head apologetically.
Wham!
Glenn stomped the ground before he knew it. The vibration of his long leg started once again.
âOrder him to return right now! Tell him to come back immediately!â
The swordsmen in the lordâs manor ended up having the chills all day long because of the unidentified tremors.
* * *
Aikar was having a festival.
Even though many people had died, they suffered a huge amount of material losses, and the reconstruction wasnât over yet, people were enjoying the festival with bright expressions on their faces.
Just like the mourners at a funeral forcing themselves to smile and chat, everyone had a fun time comforting the deceased and blessing the survivors.
However, there was a place that was the complete opposite of the festival and was as quiet as a library.
It was the workshop inside the warship that Kuberad had been using temporarily.
Raon was biting his lip while holding a frying pan on the furnace. He let out a small sigh while looking at the dragon meat placed on the frying pan.
âWhy isnât it cooking?!â
The dragon meat wasnât cooking at all even though he was using the furnace for it. The frying pan was going to melt at the rate it was going because of the heat from the furnace.
âThis is practically an ore rather than a meat!â
He could guess that it could withstand the furnaceâs heat because of its high fire resistance and the mana brimming inside the meat.
Focus! The meat is going to lose its juices!
Wrath smacked the back of Raonâs head, telling him to focus on cooking.
âThereâs not even any juice to lose! It needs to be grilled first to have juices!â
Arenât there any magicians in the area who can cast Hellfire?
âDo you think you can find a ninth-circle magician just like that?â
Seriously, humans are so incompetent.
Wrath clicked his tongue in displeasure.
Use your fire in that case. It might take some time, but it will cook eventually.
He pointed his finger at the furnace, telling Raon to add the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivationâs heat.
âI donât really want to use martial arts to eat some meatâŠâ
You idiot. Why do you even think martial arts even exist?
âTo become stronger.â
Then what do you need to do to get stronger?
âHmm?â
You have to eat! Thatâs why eating this meat is the same as training your martial arts!
âWhat the hell is that bullshit?â
Updatđd frđm freewebnĂžvel.com.
Raon shook his head while looking at him with eyes full of pity.
Itâs bullshit indeed! So just send the heat already!
Wrath patted his thin stomach while complaining that he was about to die from hunger.
âHaaâŠâ
Raon furrowed his brow and added the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivationâs heat into the furnace.
Whaaap!
The furnaceâs fire became bigger, but the power wasnât as good as the size.
âHmmâŠâ
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the fire.
âDoes adding fire to the fire not amplify the output?â
Raon activated the Ring of Fire and carefully observed the fireâs movement.
The fire inside the furnace and the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivationâs heat had similar yet different flows.
âWhat if I synchronize the flows nowâŠ?â
Raon matched the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivationâs heat to the movement of the furnaceâs fire, and the size was decreased as a result while the heat was amplified more than ten times.
Whaap!
The blazing frying pan looked like it was about to melt, and the dragon meatâs surface was slowly turning brown. The meat was finally starting to cook.
âSo this is it. Instead of just adding the output of the same attribute, I can multiply it insteadâŠâ
Stop being enlightened while cooking! You must have a blade in your brain!
Wrath barked at him as Raon was gaining a better understanding of the fire attributeâs characteristics.
âAlright, alright.â
Raon sighed and focused on the fire. He was cooking the meat while focusing on keeping the juices inside the meat, and he heard the sound of the door bursting behind him.
Wham!
Aries leaned her back against the wall, holding liquor bottles in both hands. Sheâd always been wearing some laid-back attire similar to a swimsuit, but it was even worse, probably because she was drunk.
âAre you seriously planning to eat that?â
She burst out into laughter while looking at the dragon meat. She seemed to find the idea ridiculous.
âYes, I have a reason why I have to eat it no matter whatâŠââ
âPeople told me that I was special a lot, but Iâm not as bad as you.â
Aries chuckled and came next to him. Her hair fluttered in the air and spread the refreshing and pure fragrance of an ocean flower.
âNot at allâŠâ
Raon shook his head. He definitely believed he wouldnât be as weird as Aries.
âIs it cooking now?â
âYes. The furnaceâs fire wasnât enough, so I added my own.â
âLet me help you.â
Aries walked up to the furnace while giggling and placed her finger on it. A colorless wave spread from her finger, and the heat inside it intensified even further.
Sizzle!
The meat cooked even faster and spread its delicious smell.
Pour the butter! Do it now!
Wrath quickly pointed with his hand, telling him to place the butter heâd prepared in advance into the frying pan.
Raon nodded and placed the entire slab of butter in the frying pan.
The butter melted in no time and became yellow water. It looked like it was going to get stuck in the frying pan shortly.
Dip the meat into the butter!
âWhy am I even doing thisâŠ?â
Raon tried to not think about it and dipped the dragon meat into the melted butter, and Aries came next to him after putting down her bottle.
âI have a gift for you.â
âA gift?â
Raon stopped his hands and tilted his head.
âYou know, the thing I promised you before we left for battle.â
âAh!â
Raon remembered that heâd asked Aries to give him a sea serpentâs heart in the beginning.
âI can finally make my motherâs artificial energy center now.â
Heâd acquired a drakeâs heart a long time ago, but he was frustrated because he couldnât get a sea serpentâs heart. Getting it meant he could finally complete the artificial energy center.
Thinking about Sylviaâs happy expression brought a smile to his face.
âYou must like Sylvia a lot.â
Aries chuckled and rolled her lips into a smile.
âYou look your age at a time like this.â
âHmmâŠâ
Rano simply shut his mouth because he couldnât deny or admit it.
Whir!
Ariesâs smile deepened as she opened her subspace pocket. Raon watched her hand in anticipation, and a bone that sparkled in rainbow colors suddenly came out. It wasnât the sea serpentâs heart, but Kaibarâs dragon heart.
âHere you go!â
She handed over the dragon heart, telling him to take it.
âWhy are you giving this to meâŠ?â
âYou said you were making your motherâs energy center. Since sheâs my sister, I need to give you the best material. A sea serpent canât dare to match up to this!â
Raon licked his lips without taking the dragon heart.
He wouldâve refused if it was for himself because it was too challenging as a gift, but he couldnât easily voice out the denial because it was material for Sylviaâs energy center.
âOf course, Iâm not giving it to you for free.â
Raon was awkwardly extending his hand when Aries pulled the dragon heart back. Her brow was furrowed slightly.
âI have a condition.â
âWhat would that condition beâŠ?â
There was no way it would be an ordinary condition since she was giving him a dragon heart instead of a sea serpentâs heart. Raon was certain that it would be a dangerous one or a difficult one.
âShe might ask me to join her pirate crew, or help her for a few yearsâŠâ
He nervously waited for Ariesâs response, and her red lips slowly parted.
âMy condition is simple.â freewebnoveâ.com
Aries smoothed her furrowed brow and rolled her lips into a bright smile.
âCall me auntie! You promised to call me auntie if we returned alive!â
âAhâŠâ
Call her auntie and flip the meat already! Itâs burning!