Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 839: Dragon For Dragon ()

The calm and direct confirmation was startling. The representatives were all appalled and it took a moment for Jian’s words to settle.

Divide the stronghold...

Since the fall of the dark empire, the stronghold had always been under one supreme rule.

The races had battled fiercely in those decades following the uprising to rise to the title, but the dragons had claimed the ultimate victory.

Dismantling the supremacy was a topic that had never been brought up since. Or directly presented at the unified council, but that did not mean no one had thought of it.

Wished for it...plotted for it, even.

But now, at this very moment, the topic had finally been brought forward, from the one person they least expected, the Dragon King.

The representatives were not certain how to react.

Another beat of silence passed, looks of horror exchanged between the representatives.

"Your Grace..." Lady Melissa of the Nymphs stuttered. "This is...too sudden. How..."

"Let us not pretend it is not a shadow hanging over our heads. And now, I will give you a platform to make your dreams come true."

"I have thought long and hard about this," Jian said in a cold tone, "I have equally expressed my intentions to my kin, far and wide across the stronghold and I have allowed them time to contemplate."

"This will be a drastic change for us as much as you..." He trailed off. "For over a millennium, the fate of the stronghold has been intricately entwined with us."

"It ends today."

"This is our conclusion. The stronghold...will be divided. All tributes to the dragon empire will cease. Independent rule of every race is restored, feel free to appoint leaders, Kings or Lords over yourselves."

"But as of this moment, all dragon forces stationed in tributary territory will be withdrawn to dragon fortresses, for dragon protection. This has already begun as we speak."

"W...withdrawn?!" Lord Weinlor sputtered in shock. This time, his fellow elves did not attempt to restrain him, they were equally as shocked by this turn of events.

Jian continued as though he had not heard him. "I will not mince my words. Henceforth, all monarchs are exclusively responsible for the safety of their territory against the Forlorn."

"Your Grace!" Lord Finlor exclaimed, surging up to his feet. "Do you mean to leave us all to death?!"

Jian tilted his head to the side curiously, "Are you implying the noble Fae race cannot survive without dragon protection?"

"With a battalion numbering in the thousands? Where is the bravery with which you declared war on my court?"

Lord Finlor had gone silent, having no words to say in his defense. He opened his mouth and then shut it again, visibly short of words.

"What about us?!" Lord Weinlor asked in confusion. "We never declared war! Elves are peaceful people! We would never engage in a violent confrontation with the dragons like the Fae!" He defended.

Cassian raised a brow. "An order was dispatched to the Moon Forest prior to the volcanic eruption in Fort Inferno. Do you remember your response, or shall I remind you?"

Lord Weinlor was taken aback. "At the time...we couldn’t afford to open our borders to refugees fleeing from Fort Inferno, but that was..."

Jian cut him off. "Those borders...keep them shut for eternity."

Lord Weinlor winced visibly. He looked to his fellow elves for help but no one could argue with the reality.

While the Fae declared war on the Dragon Court, the Elves shut their borders to refugees despite receiving an order to do otherwise.

Lady Melissa cleared her throat slightly, "Your Grace, I believe you will acknowledge the fact that Forest Tajmaé has been loyal."

"Only recently, we welcomed Lord Verothrax into our territory and spared no efforts to assist him stabilize his magic."

"Have you?" Jian asked, turning to Imagor.

"Before the Dwarf King’s... unfortunate demise, he was remanded to Menarx’s district where he provided a rather interesting account of the creation of the mechanism with which he extracted magical ability..." Imagor paused, his eyes narrowed into a deathly glare.

Lady Melissa dropped back to her seat. Her head lowered, eyes averted.

"Why? Did you suppose if you kept silent and never came forward, I wouldn’t find out?" Jian hissed lowly.

The throne room went eerily silent. If the temperature decline was not obvious prior to this, all the representatives could feel it now.

A slow, chilling draft passed through the hall. No one dared speak, no one dared break the silence.

But at last, it was broken.

"Your Grace..." Lord João who had been silent throughout the council stepped forward. "I realise, this is brazen but as the Fae battle lord, I have battled the Forlorn myself."

"I watched dozens of my soldiers slaughtered in the blink of an eye."

"These beasts...they are beyond anything I have ever faced. Beyond anything I have envisioned possible."

"There is only one race capable of defeating the Forlorn. And Your Grace knows it, everyone in this hall knows it. This battle is lost... the stronghold is lost if the dragons retreat from the front lines at this moment."

"Freedom is a vain dream, if it means certain death. The Fae is willing to renew our alliance with the dragon court for another millennium... and for as long as my bloodline still exists in Aloria, we will not go back on our word a second time."

"On my honour, I implore Your Grace to uphold the stronghold as you always have."

Lord João unlatched his sword holster, dropping to a knee, he offered up his sword, his head bowed low.

The representatives stepped forward one after the other, joining Lord João in his plea.

The rider council exchanged looks, but no one spoke. The dragon lords would abide by Jian’s decision... whatever that meant.

Jian’s brows furrowed into a frown. He looked at the representatives... and he felt nothing.

What had he been protecting exactly? What had his father, and every other dragon lord after given their lives for?

This sense of duty...this honor that defined his very existence, it wasn’t so great after all.

"Let it be known to the stronghold, that dragons will only fight for dragons."