Chapter 57: Are You the Riddler? What a coincidence, so am I
The man walked to the side of the Star-Travelling Dragon King, Ravi, on a high general’s platform twenty kilometers outside the Silver Dragon border.
“I already told you, intimidation does not affect Leon Casmodé. Your ‘phantom’ not only failed to scare him, but it also tipped him off, and he’s now taken precautions.”
A few days ago, Ravi had used spatial magic to silently eliminate a secret outpost in the forested mountains along the Silver Dragon border. The original plan was to use this move to test the waters and see what level their opponent was at.
The result was predictable. Ravi had underestimated his opponent’s attentiveness and ability to react on the spot.
Almost the same night the outpost was destroyed, the Silver Dragon tribe abolished all isolated sentry points, switching to five-man patrol units instead. The five individuals in each unit were spaced twenty meters apart, creating a hundred-meter-wide line of defense, making it impossible for any ‘phantom’ to escape.
Ravi’s spatial magic could no longer act rashly.
But for the man’s hindsight commentary, Ravi merely snorted disdainfully.
“How can you be sure this counter-tactic was Leon Casmodé’s doing?”
The man shrugged indifferently. “He’s used this tactic before when he served the Empire. It’s one of his classic anti-ambush strategies.”
“Your spatial magic has a limited range, and his units stretch to a hundred meters, with each group watching the others. You have no chance to make a move.”
“Heh… if you ask me, we shouldn’t have played psychological games in the first place. We should’ve brought Sta here directly.”
The Star-Flame Dragon King, Sta, held a rank in the dragon tribe even higher than Constantine.
Ravi’s gaze shifted slowly from the Silver Dragon territory back to the man beside him. His voice grew lower, with a hint of menace, as he said:
“Nacho Salaman, the Empire and our dragon tribe are merely collaborators, not in a superior-subordinate relationship. Know your place—Sta is not someone you can summon at will.”
It was clear that Ravi held great respect for Sta.
But Nacho didn’t care.
He merely let out a cold laugh. “It wasn’t me who called for Sta. It was on the orders of ‘that lord.’”
When ‘that lord’ was mentioned, Nacho’s face was filled with reverence, as if ‘that lord’ were standing right next to him.
Ravi frowned slightly. He knew that the only reason Nacho, a mere messenger, dared to speak so boldly in front of him, a Dragon King, was entirely because of this ‘lord’ he mentioned. The reason Ravi was here supervising this battle today was also on ‘that lord’s’ orders.
‘The lord’ said that while Sta was undoubtedly powerful, it was wise to have a backup plan just in case.
The backup plan referred to Ravi.
But Ravi couldn’t fathom how there could be any human capable of defeating Sta. Just because they had defeated Constantine, they dared to call themselves ‘invincible.’
Humans… such a narrow-minded race, Ravi thought.
“By the way, Ravi, that secret weapon you and Bligh and Jaggs have been working on—it’s complete now, right?” Nacho asked.
“If it weren’t ready, do you think your ‘lord’ would have me as Sta’s backup?” Ravi’s tone remained cold.
Nacho knew these Dragon Kings all had terrible tempers and viewed most humans as ants. But he enjoyed this ‘you don’t like me but you can’t kill me’ dynamic.
So he continued to chat with Ravi, unfazed.
“By the way, when they called you back, weren’t you still in the far northern lands? How’s the progress over there?”
Ravi’s patience was wearing thin, but he still had to endure this braggart of a messenger. “Very smooth. After all, I’m the only one in the team up there who can use spatial magic. Even if the progress is delayed, they won’t suspect me.”
“That’s good.”
Nacho pretended to let out a sigh of relief, acting as if it had something to do with him, a mere messenger, overly concerned.
“I heard there are some impressive figures in that northern team, even Angelina Ouellette.”
“Of course, considering what they’re dealing with is the seal of ‘that thing,’” Ravi deliberately slowed down his speech.
“You keep harping on about your ‘lord’ earlier, speaking in riddles. Well, now I’ll return the favor with ‘that thing’—let’s see how curious you get.”
Nacho glanced at Ravi, sensing his unwillingness to say more, so he simply changed the topic.
“Actually, for the power of ‘that thing,’ Leon Casmodé would make quite a suitable ‘vessel.’”
Ravi raised an eyebrow, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer. “Do you see Casmodé as that powerful?”
“Trust me, Ravi, he’s stronger than anyone could ever imagine.”
Nacho squinted into the distance, his expression growing serious.
“That’s why we need methods beyond imagination to defeat him. That’s also why ‘the lord’ sent you. You’re not just Sta’s backup—you’re the surprise element, the decisive strike.”
Ravi’s dragon pupils trembled slightly.
He thought, Since when… did humanity produce a monster so powerful that even Dragon Kings needed to rely on ‘surprise’ to defeat him?
He shook his head, dispelling his wandering thoughts. Following Nacho’s gaze, his eyes landed on a man clad in golden armor, slowly approaching the boundary of the Silver Dragon territory.
And at the entrance, where Constantine’s head hung, two figures appeared, heading toward him.
“Roseweather Melkweh… she’s coming out personally,” Ravi muttered.
“This is going to be quite the show,” Nacho echoed.
At the border in the distance, the soldiers of the Silver Dragon tribe and the maid corps stood in a straight line. Anna and Sherry were at the front of the ranks.
Unlike the previous invasion led by Constantine, this time the soldiers were not mere sacrificial lambs in the first charge.
From the very start, it was a clash between Dragon Kings.
“Sta, the Star-Flame Dragon King… does it take both the Emperor and the Prince to deal with him?” Sherry’s voice was filled with concern.
Anna slowly shook her head. “Constantine was already beyond my understanding. I have no idea what level Sta is at… Sherry, don’t you think we’ve been fighting a bit too often lately?”
Sherry paused for a moment, then made light of the situation, “The Silver Dragon tribe has been prosperous for a thousand years. Maybe people finally noticed how great the land here is and want a piece of it.”
Anna chuckled. “If that’s the case, I suppose we’ll need to expand the entrance after this.”
Sherry blinked. “Why?”
Anna turned to look at Constantine’s head hanging at the entrance of the border.
“The space is getting too small. It won’t be enough to hang them all.”
Inflated egos clashing against each other is always hilarious because of how pompous they are. That Lord must be really powerful to have so many jerks in fearful compliance. If “That Thing” is an ancient dragon demon maybe Leon will finally become a dragon if he’s possessed.
Looks like the Silver Dragon clan will later be famous for more than just the prosperous land and raising talented children.
Anna clearly understands how strong both Leon and Rosvitha are… I wonder how the rest of the silver dragons will react when they do eventually find out Leon is a human and was the one leading the previous human invasion on them.
He is already considered a one man army by their clan. Dragons follow strength and I think most won’t object.
I don’t think they will mind that much if their queen accepts him. He is more valuable to have at their side. And they already have lovely and gifted daughters for the clan, so I guess there isn’t much downside for them to complain. And since their queen finally found a bit of happiness, I’m sure the maids would be the most supportive ones.
But if they never find out, I guess they will only see him as a strong prince with a known past that makes him want to never show his tail.
I think they will be fine since silver dragon is bit different compared to the other dragons. But what is that thing? Some kind of ancient dragon or monster? Whatever that is i am pretty sure casmode will possess that and annihilate rest of the enemies.