The Red Dragon Just Wants To Do As It Pleases

However, such a heretical idea merely flickered in David’s mind before being dismissed.

Damn it, he truly lives up to being a freak born of Sed Ponga, almost getting himself killed on the spot by a Red Dragon older and larger than himself. Relying solely on the trinket from that shameless old Ephelomon to forcefully play ’the quicksilver tune’ was purely suicidal. The reason was simple. The item was not some kind of chaotic, mind-controlling psionic Divine Artifact like a Spirit Sucker. Rather, it was more like a deterrent to be used in conjunction with the Demonic Scales Fury. Although he didn’t know the specific principle, it was impossible. A raging female dragon would never become a ’follower NPC,’ following him around like a fool from then on. If perpetual control was not feasible, the backlash would be like a tightly pressed spring—the harder you press, the more violent the rebound. Considering the ’miserable first half of life’ of his father Attilicia as a reference... The thought of certain dismal scenes made him involuntarily shiver with dread. Even the shiver came with a hint of blood. In her struggle to break free from his ’smothering kill,’ that female dragon’s Spartan Kick had nearly split his kidneys open.

HISS... He hadn’t felt it while in combat mode. But as soon as the fight ended and his mind fell from the frenzied state of Wrath back to rationality, he felt pain everywhere.

It had been many years since he had suffered injuries of this magnitude. Not since the life-and-death battle with Monado, the subsequent chaotic fight against the Barbarians and Elves in the Katjana Mountains, or even the bloody breakout from Barto Hell.

However, with his current constitution of 28, enhanced by the Stone of Regeneration, even such injuries were visibly healing over time.

And when considering the strategic objective of this mission, he had to perfectly maintain his guise: a Red Dragon Lord, already invincible without reaching his Legendary Destiny, solitary and supreme. He could not show any ’weakness.’

Thus, he couldn’t even be bothered to watch the city gate fortress collapse. His Dragon Breath had ignited ’oil tanks,’ causing an explosion. With a flick of his tail tip, he swept up the head of Baptiste, the legendary Dragon Slayer. His wings flared with bright flames, and he surged forth like a Tyrant Tiger transforming and soaring from the ground. He flew over the heads of the somewhat helpless Dwarves and their followers, alighting once more in the sky above the grand arena’s viewing platform.

To his surprise, the young king of Rurwaden was waiting there for him. He was accompanied only by a court guard, seemingly there specifically to meet David.

Thinking of a further possibility, his heart stirred, and he immediately opened his mouth with a sinister smile, revealing half-truths,

"Sorry, I didn’t want things to turn out like this. A ’relative’ came to visit ’home,’ and I got a little too rough."

Upon hearing this, the face of Klinsmann’s court guard captain twitched visibly, and his eyes showed clear signs of sorrow.

The Darkflame Christoph. The Crimson Calamity Pafila. Now comes a second Crimson Calamity, and that legendary Red Dragon named Brittany. Sed Ponga, truly a moving natural disaster in its own right. Their playful fight almost destroyed half of the Royal Capital...

And this event, laughable even among the Chromatic Dragons, became the final straw that broke the back of the Rurwaden king.

Therefore, Tania and the others, who had chased David far before flying back, saw something astonishing from a distance. The king, who had been organizing a ’Dragon Slayer Army,’ was now kneeling on one knee before David, drawing the ancestral sword of Rurwaden from his waist.

Having spent years in Dewensen, Tania was accustomed to minstrel tales. She fully believed the king, guilty of his crimes and seeking atonement, might intend to end his own life on the spot. Perhaps he meant it as penance, offering his life in exchange for David, the Evil Dragon, to ’stop further slaughtering his subjects.’

She was shocked and dumbfounded to see the king, who hadn’t fled back to the palace immediately, raise his sword aloft and beg for mercy, 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"I, the king of Rurwaden—Klinsmann Sfentos Asensio, though I deserve death a thousandfold, beg for your one act of forgiveness! For this, I offer up all one and a half million subjects of Rurwaden to you!"

Upon hearing such shameless words, Silver Dragon Tania’s sense of right and wrong was deeply shaken. She almost plummeted headfirst from the stunned Mofei, who had forgotten to flap his wings.

However, contrary to Tania’s imagination, if Klinsmann had truly intended a noble king’s death for his people as she speculated, David would have swept him away ’as he wished’ without a second word. Such a king was useless to him; he did not need him.

On the contrary, Klinsmann’s demeanor sparked a slight ’interest’ in David. The king was claiming serenely and earnestly, with no trace of fear in his eyes, only calm, that he would be the ’pathfinder’ for the people of Rurwaden.

"Oh? Why should I forgive you? If I kill you, wouldn’t your subjects still become my spoils of war?"

Without any hesitation, Klinsmann bowed his head and said,

"No, Rurwaden, from top to bottom, is utterly corrupt. With Rurwaden in its current state, killing me would only plunge Rurwaden into further disorder and chaos.

"In the end, five hundred thousand would flee as refugees to neighboring nations. Another five hundred thousand would die from various conflicts and hunger. The last five hundred thousand, even if they seemingly submit to you, will view you as an enemy. They would do so because of the loss of their parents, lovers, and children."