Chapter 46: Dragon’s Counterattack

Leon crouched back down beside August.
Though the old man had submitted, his face still maintained an expression of unyielding dignity.
But it didn’t matter – Leon didn’t care what expression he wore, as long as he spilled everything Leon wanted to know.
“Since you already know I’m human, that means we found the right person. Constantine must have valued you highly in life to have told you this secret,” Leon analyzed unhurriedly.
He was certain that the fact of his being human hadn’t spread among the Crimson Flame dragons.
It wasn’t that Constantine couldn’t spread it, but that he didn’t dare.
The premise of Constantine knowing Leon was human was that he had reached some kind of deal and cooperation with the Empire, helping them accomplish certain things.
Simply put, he was a ‘rare specimen’ among dragonkind.
Even though he was Dragon King, he secretly colluded with the human Empire – if others discovered this, the consequences would be inevitable.
Once the news spread, at best Constantine would be removed from power due to internal faction struggles;
at worst, the entire Crimson Flame clan would become a laughingstock and be ostracized by all dragonkind.
That’s why Constantine didn’t directly attack the Silver Dragon clan at first, but instead spent a full year conquering territories everywhere to conceal his true target.
At that time, if Constantine had actually killed Leon among the Silver Dragons, all dragonkind would have simply thought it was part of the Crimson Flame Dragon King’s territory expansion plan, completely unrelated to whether that Silver Dragon Prince was human or not.
It had to be said that Constantine’s plan was perfectly orchestrated – not only did he expand his territory and re-establish his authority among dragonkind, but he could also perfectly complete the task assigned to him by the Empire—
But the problem lay with General Leon.
With all his calculations, Constantine never anticipated that the human Empire would produce such an extraordinary being.
If Old Constantine had known that the unfortunate fellow whose heart was stabbed years ago still maintained his peak combat ability today, when the Empire gave him this mission, he would have only said two words:
“Huh? Me?”
(Waving hands in rejection)
Leon had to think through the logic several times before daring to come “expose” August with Rosvitha in the Crimson Flame dragon territory.
August stared directly at Leon, confirming his speculation,
“Yes, the late King Constantine indeed trusted me greatly and told me your secret.”
“Did your former king tell you anything else? Like… cooperation with the human Empire?”
Now formally into the interrogation, a trace of reluctance flashed through August’s dragon eyes.
But after brief hesitation, he still chose to speak.
Who knew if that psychotic couple’s earlier act was real or fake – August didn’t have the courage to gamble.
He could accept dying in a blaze of glory—or at worst, dying under severe torture would be barely acceptable.
But he couldn’t accept being toyed with and mocked to death by this pair of ill-fated spouses. This was about his dignity as the second-in-command of the Flame Dragon Clan.
Dragons’ stubborn adherence to pride was no less than their dedication to revenge.
“The former king did indeed cooperate with humans for a period,” August said, weighing each word carefully.
Leon spread his hands. “And then? What was their cooperation for? Just to kill me?”
“Not just to kill you,” August said flatly.
“Then what else?”
“For a greater plan.”
As soon as the words fell, a blast of scorching dragon flame shot past August’s face, piercing straight through the tree trunk he was leaning against.
August’s face was burned by the high temperature of the dragon flame.
He covered his stinging cheek, glaring angrily, about to shout.
But Rosvitha interrupted him before he could speak, “Stop answering one question at a time. If you continue like this, I guarantee that it won’t just be half your face that gets burned.”
The queen’s voice was cold and naturally imposing.
She could see that this old fool, though claiming to cooperate, was still playing mind games with Leon.
He would only answer exactly what Leon asked, essentially just repeating Leon’s questions back to him.
Like a lazy horse, taking two steps forward when whipped, but staying still when not prompted.
On the surface, August appeared to be cooperating, but in reality, he was only providing useless information.
After being threatened by Rosvitha, August shrunk back sheepishly, enduring the burning sensation on his cheek, and said,
“I actually don’t know as much intelligence as you think. The former king’s main purpose in cooperating with humans wasn’t to kill Leon – Leon just entered the chessboard at the wrong time, becoming a piece neither side could control.”
Leon frowned. “A piece neither side could control…”
August continued, “You should have died three years ago. If that had happened, none of the subsequent events would have occurred. But unexpectedly, the fool responsible for assassinating you failed.”
“So, to clean up this mess, the Empire had no choice but to have former king Constantine use territorial expansion as a cover to kill you while you were with the Silver Dragon Clan.”
“As for what happened after… well, I don’t need to tell you that.”
Leon didn’t immediately continue questioning, but turned to look at Rosvitha.
The couple exchanged a brief glance, then gave each other an almost imperceptible nod.
Leon looked back at August and continued asking, “So what you’re saying is that my being alive delayed some original plan between the Empire and the Dragon Clan, is that right?”
August closed his eyes without speaking, which was as good as confirmation.
“What was the purpose of this plan? Or rather, what did the Human Empire and the Flame Dragon Clan hope to gain through it?”
“That I don’t know. The former king only told me that if we wanted the Flame Dragon Clan to stand unshaken, we had to cooperate with the Human Empire.”
August’s tone didn’t seem like he was lying.
This was understandable. Even though he was Constantine’s confidant, it didn’t mean Constantine had to report everything to him like filing work reports, revealing all the truth about his cooperation with the Empire.
After all, as a Dragon King, he surely had secrets to keep. These secrets could become trump cards in matters of life and death, or could be key to turning the tide—
Of course, reality was cruel, and Constantine could only take those secrets with him to the grave.
“How long has this plan been going on?”
“The former king didn’t tell me when the plan started, but it’s been at least thirty years.”
Thirty years…
Leon blinked, pondering this time difference.
The thirty-year timespan felt somewhat familiar…
Leon didn’t dwell on it; even if it was familiar, it probably had nothing to do with the current interrogation.
“Was Constantine the only Dragon King cooperating with the Human Empire?” Leon stared into August’s eyes, asking the most crucial question.
August’s gaze wavered slightly, and after a moment’s hesitation, he replied, “Not just the former king.”
As August said, if this was a grand game of chess, then the Human Empire and Dragon Clan were the two players, and Leon was a piece that had entered chaotically.
And his Flame Dragon Clan was now just a discarded piece.
Former King Constantine was dead, and the entire Flame Dragon Clan had no more value to the Empire.
So August had no reason to keep hiding secrets for the Empire anymore. He could use this intelligence to bargain for a chance at survival—or at least a quick death.
August was loyal to the Flame Dragon Clan and Constantine.
As for the Human Empire?
Heh… what did he care about them?
“From what I know alone, there are at least five Dragon Kings cooperating with the Human Empire.”
Five Dragon Kings…
Although he was mentally prepared, Leon was still shocked when he heard this number.
It seemed that in the dark corners he knew nothing about, this conspiracy had already taken root so deep, so very deep.
And if the remaining Dragon Kings were all at Constantine’s level, it meant the Empire was truly planning something “big.”
Something so big… it was far beyond Leon’s imagination.
In his surprise, he suddenly felt a soft touch on his shoulder.
He snapped back to his thoughts and looked up – it was Rosvitha.
The queen gently patted his shoulder, gesturing him not to let the current intelligence disturb his composure, and to continue the interrogation.
Leon nodded, took out paper and pen he had prepared in advance,
“Write down all the Dragon Kings’ names you know on this.”
August took the paper and pen, hesitated slightly, then began to write.
Leon wasn’t worried that August would write down random names, nor was he afraid he would take the chance to frame other dragon clans.
Because there was no need to do so anymore.
Leon couldn’t possibly take this list and “expose” these Dragon Kings one by one. Not only would his current magic reserves not support him doing that, but the risk level of such behavior was also something Leon couldn’t accept.
And the Empire was still in the active position – Leon had far too little intelligence and information to launch any proactive moves.
August surely knew this point too, which is why he had no reason to try using others as scapegoats.
A moment later, August finished writing the names and handed the paper and pen back to Leon.
Leon looked at the names on it, as expected: “Ravi, Blai, Jagus… three Dragon Kings skilled in spatial magic.”
Rosvitha’s grandmother had given the couple a heads-up some time ago, saying these three Dragon Kings had mysteriously disappeared without causing any huge commotion within their clans, so they must have made proper arrangements before secretly leaving their tribes.
There were no such coincidences in the world – three Dragon Kings skilled in spatial magic leaving their tribes at the same time, and they happened to all be Dragon Kings cooperating with the Empire.
It wasn’t hard to guess that the Empire must have gathered them together, planning to send General Leon a “grand gift.”
And there were two other Dragon Kings on the list:
Warhammer Dragon King · Adam
Starlight Dragon King · Sta
Similarly, these were Dragon King names Leon had never heard of in all his years.
He put away the list, then stood up, looking down at August:
“Is there anything else you want to add?”
August slowly closed his eyes, not responding.
Leon didn’t continue questioning either.
He had already gotten all the information he wanted to know.
Leon looked up at the approaching firelight in the distance, probably the pursuers from earlier arriving.
He looked back down and said to August,
“It seems your fate is sealed, August. You won’t see the end of this chess game.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Leon turned around and walked toward the forest exit with Rosvitha.
But before he had taken more than a few steps, he heard August suddenly shout from behind,
“Leon Casmode!”
Leon stopped and looked back.
The old man’s eyes were wide with fury, his half-burned face making him look even more ferocious, like an aged lion roaring at Leon:
“You chose the wrong opponent! You have no idea how powerful the enemies you’re about to face are!”
“They will stop at nothing to kill you, to take everything away from you!”
“Killing Constantine wasn’t your first victory – it was your last moment of glory!”
“So… Leon, cherish your remaining time!”
“You cannot withstand the true retaliation of the Dragon Clan!”
“Flame Dragon King Constantine — Live forever!”
With that final cry, August clenched his fists, all the magic circuits under his skin flashing with deep red light, as if molten lava flowed through his veins.
The next moment, August’s chest exploded, sending a pillar of flame straight into the night sky.
As the explosion’s shockwave and heat wave rushed over, Rosvitha spread her dragon wings, sheltering herself and Leon within them.
“He self-destructed…”
“Yes, how could the proud Dragon Clan allow themselves to be trampled to death?”
With this, the Flame Dragon Clan had no possibility of revival for the next hundred years.
And in that brilliant firelight, August’s final roar to Leon seemed to still echo—
You cannot withstand the true retaliation of the Dragon Clan.
What exactly… did this mean?