The Red Dragon Just Wants To Do As It Pleases

"To fully integrate and utilize them, you would need at least three generations—no less than fifty years—to dissolve their hatred. I know you don’t care about their hatred, nor even much about their lives. But you, it seems, do care about this time frame. Otherwise, you would not have personally come here to stand before me."

"Perhaps you need someone like me, a loyal dog to lick your claws, to herd the masses for you."

"And then, when you need it, to step onto the battlefield you designate."

At this point, Klinsmann suddenly looked up, gazing directly into David’s eyes, and said in a voice audible only to them, "Because we humans are not affected by the Dragon Mad Lock."

David’s eyes widened slightly. He finally took a proper look at the human king before him, who appeared to be no older than his twenties.

It wasn’t too difficult for this man to deduce, from his own identity and limited information, that David would turn against the Elves; it was, in fact, quite easy to guess.

But to stand in David’s shoes, to firmly grasp his needs with the logic of a Red Dragon, and to use that as an entry point to plead for survival—that was no simple feat.

Especially that last sentence...

So Elariya also possesses a Dragon Mad Lock?

This was something David had long suspected but had never been able to confirm.

Klinsmann’s heart leaped; he knew his gamble had paid off. He immediately replied, "My ancestor Asensio was one of the first settlers who crossed east from Skanis on the Old Continent. According to his few remaining memoirs, they recount a scene like this:

"On a battlefield fiercely contested by five factions, the Dragons suddenly went mad. They slaughtered indiscriminately, without regard to friend or foe. However, the episode did not last long. After a Red Dragon shattered a tall tower, the calamity ended. But the destruction it caused was still catastrophic. This, however, also created an opportunity for the Elves, and even for us humans, to escape Skanis.

"So, I sometimes wonder, if the High Elves back then had placed such a ’Mystlock device’ capable of triggering dragon madness in places harder for Dragons to reach, like deep underground, or high in the sky..."

So it *is* true...

David immediately laughed and said, "In a primary material plane called Toriel, those Elves have already done so."

What he didn’t say was that those High Elves from Toriel even had a way to ’summon’ it here.

Klinsmann bowed his head even lower, his posture more devout than before. "Then, you are in need of me, Your Highness David Uthos."

Hearing this, David looked at the human king before him with an odd expression; he had the rather amusing impression of being pursued by a groveling sycophant.

Especially since this human, with his sycophantic attitude, possessed all the potential of a philandering Sea King: an almost arrogant confidence, the charm of a ruler, keen insight into the ’human’ heart, superior resource management skills, and a wide-ranging erudition.

Even knowing the other party was a ’scoundrel king,’ the Dragon somehow couldn’t bring himself to dislike him. Heh!

With that thought, David looked down and asked, "So, what can you bring to me?"

Klinsmann, his expression solemn yet his words concise, replied, 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"A loyal dog to herd the masses for you.

"A kingdom steadily rebuilding and developing.

"A source of troops who will hold the Dragon as their faith.

"And, most importantly, the time you require.

"Ten years. Just give me ten years to develop. I will return to you a Luwalden as strong as it once was."

David finally smiled with satisfaction.

He extended a claw, lightly tapping it on the Sword of Sovereignty that Klinsmann held aloft.

He did not pluck it away; instead, a surge of magic power flowed from his touch.

In an instant, the entire Sword of Sovereignty glowed red-hot, as if fresh from the forge.

Klinsmann’s hands sizzled and smoked as if touching a branding iron. Yet, he dared not drop the ancestral sword in his grasp, his veins bulging as he silently endured the agony that seemed to bore into his very soul.

But gradually, this pain began to spread from his hands, coursing through his entire body...

This truly is a hellish torment...

Endure! I must endure! If I endure, I will live! And only by living can I truly preserve all of Luwalden!

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, the agonizing pain that had nearly driven him mad abruptly vanished.

He looked up in astonishment, only to find that, at some point, blood had begun to flow from the claw resting on his longsword, trickling down the Dragon Scales towards him.

This... this is... the Blood Ritual!

Not only had he survived, but he had also been granted the Dragon Blood Ritual, a mark of favor from this, the Second Red Calamity?!

Suddenly overcome with uncontrollable ecstasy, he saw the mocking smile in David’s eyes. "Deal, my loyal dog Emperor," David said.

Having exceeded the requirements of his mission, David slowly turned. Without looking back, he said, "Tend to the masses for me. Until the day I come to collect, you are to present the results of your ten years of cultivation."

Klinsmann involuntarily dropped his other knee to the ground, kneeling fully. Filled with excitement and fervor, he exclaimed, "Yes! My Dragon Lord, David Uthos, Your Majesty!"

David smiled. He flapped his wings, stirring a searing wind. As he ascended towards the grand arena amidst the escort of dragons, he seemed to suddenly recall something.

"Right, considering how ’brilliant’ you are, why not let me bestow a title upon you?

"Hmm, henceforth, you shall be known as the Blood Emperor.

"Vassal of the Red Dragon, Blood Emperor—Klinsmann Sfentos Asensio! Hmph, hahaha, HAHAHAHA..."

[Arrogance]

With such an arrogant and unrivaled laugh, David took to the skies with his cohort of dragons, returning laden with spoils, leaving behind the Blood Emperor, who remained kneeling, watching him disappear into the distance.

However, halfway through the flight, while David was filled with self-satisfaction, his tail suddenly cracked like a whip.

"Damn it! I was so caught up in showing off, I forgot to open the treasury!"

[Wrath]

However, he then thought about it. The sheer amount of treasure in a major port like Wallens was enough to give even a Dragon Egg a headache. Luwalden, having been repeatedly ravaged like this, was most likely depleted of resources years ago. He couldn’t be bothered to fly back for such a meager sum.

Once David and his dragons had completely vanished over the horizon, the ’Blood Emperor,’ filled with surging power, stood up and unleashed a Dragon’s Roar into the sky.

"ROAR!!!

"Ancestors! Did you see?

"I, Klinsmann, a Vassal of the Dragon, have been crowned Blood Emperor by the Second Red Calamity!

"I! I shall be the sovereign who will lead Luwalden’s resurgence!

"And I shall be the overlord who unites Central Earth and the entire Granyel Continent!"

Hamad, who had been standing somewhat anxiously behind him, almost choked on his saliva upon hearing the last sentence, his expression one of utter shock. "Ah? This... this... Are we going to contend with the Vitali Empire in the future?"

So that Red Dragon harbored such ambitions?!

Luwalden has yet to be rebuilt, and they’re already preparing for a southern campaign against the Vitali Empire and a northern one against the High Elves? To sweep through all the nations of Central Earth?

This is... utterly insane!

Klinsmann slowly turned, his eyes shining with unprecedented confidence and fervor. "Of course. My lord has named me the Blood Emperor.

"What is an emperor? The supreme ruler of the mortal realm!

"So, on a single continent, there cannot possibly be two emperors at the same time, can there?"

"Uh..." Hamad, who wasn’t well-read, was at a loss for words.

But it does seem to make sense, somehow.

But...

Just as Hamad was worrying about the sudden change in Klinsmann and the uncertain future of Luwalden, the Blood Emperor once again wrapped him in a tight embrace, whispering in his ear,

"Don’t worry, Uncle Hamad.

"Our fate, and Luwalden’s, has been completely changed today, thanks to the Dragon... Whatever the future may hold, I have, at the very least, secured Luwalden’s destiny for another ten years, haven’t I?"

"And thank you for successfully protecting me once again today."

Hamad still harbored anxieties. "But the Red Dragon just ravaged the Royal Capital today, and now we’ve pledged allegiance to the ’Second Red Calamity.’ The people of Luwalden, will they possibly..."

Klinsmann, however, waved his hand dismissively, laughing loudly. "What do you mean, the Red Dragon ravaged the Royal Capital?

"What I saw was a Red Dragon descending from the heavens, nipping the ’Demon’s Advent’ in the bud!

"This, this is precisely an omen of Luwalden’s...

"Destined Flame of Prosperity!"

"Huh?" Hamad was utterly dumbfounded.