Book 4: Chapter 42 |
Leon arrived at the outer perimeter of the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan’s territory.
Various dragon clans’ guard units were still stationed here, maintaining constant surveillance over Constantine—whose possession of powerful primordial energy made him too dangerous to ignore.
However, compared to the initial deployment of this mission, the number of guards had already been significantly reduced.
Leon located the sector monitored by the Silver Dragon Clan and, just like the previous two times, used his status as Silver Dragon Prince Consort to slip inside and look for Old Constantine.
“Your Highness, you’ve arrived.”
Seeing Leon, the stationed unit’s captain, Shirley, stepped forward to greet him.
Leon nodded.
“Thanks for your hard work, Shirley. Any movement from Constantine recently?”
“No. Ever since he passed through our sector once not long ago, there’s been no activity at all.”
Under the circumstances back then—when all dragon clans had completely encircled Crimson Flame territory—it would have been impossible for Constantine to slip out so easily.
The only reason he succeeded was because Leon and Rosvitha had coordinated with Shirley in advance.
“Good. Keep monitoring.”
With that, Leon headed toward the forest ahead.
Beyond the forest, after another stretch of road, lay Constantine’s lair.
Shirley watched the prince’s retreating figure in silence.
“Captain Shirley… don’t you think His Highness is acting kind of strange?”
After Leon had gone far enough, a Silver Dragon guard stepped forward and spoke quietly.
“This is already the third time he’s secretly gone to see Constantine, right?”
Shirley remained silent.
“And last time, he even let Constantine sneak out through our monitored area. He disappeared for three or four days and then came back. No idea what he went off to do.”
The guard muttered on, “I remember Constantine even attacked our sanctuary back when Her Majesty was giving birth. So why now—”
“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask.”
Shirley’s voice was low and firm.
“Her Majesty and His Highness give the orders. We execute them. Understood?”
Shirley’s rise to become one of Rosvitha’s closest aides at such a young age was no accident.
She trusted the queen and the prince absolutely.
A good ruler never betrays those who follow them. Every decision made by a king has its reason.
The guard scratched his head.
“I trust Their Majesties too. I’m just… curious.”
Curiosity is human nature.
Shirley felt it as well, so she understood the young guard.
“If you really want an answer,” she said calmly, “I can teach you one method.”
“What is it, Captain Shirley?”
“Wait for the result.”
The guard froze.
“Wait… for the result?”
“A ruler has their own way of thinking—their strategy and their vision of the battlefield,” Shirley explained patiently.
“Those of us who execute orders can only ever glimpse a tiny corner of the whole picture.”
“So if you’re full of questions, set them aside for now. When everything finally settles, you can piece the whole story together yourself. Isn’t that better?”
The guard nodded in realization.
“I understand, Captain Shirley.”
“Don’t call me captain—I’m only a little over a hundred years old.”
“Understood, Captain.”
“…Go back to your post.”
Leon passed through the forest and walked for about another hour.
Along the way, he encountered several patrols of Crimson Flame Dragon guards.
Upon seeing a “familiar face,” the dragon sentries all stepped aside. No one made a move to stop him.
“Captain, isn’t that an intruder?” a newly recruited Red Dragon “trainee” asked.
“Why aren’t we stopping him?”
“Someone even Constantine himself can’t stop—how do you plan to stop him?”
“With your life?”
“Huh? Is it really that serious? He looks pretty ordinary to me.”
“Then he might just redefine what ‘ordinary’ means for you.”
The trainee scratched his head, watching the man’s back as he slowly approached the sanctuary gates, and said nothing more.
Leon walked with his hands in his pockets, calm and steady, swaggering straight through the gates under the guards’ looks that clearly said, ‘Why is it him again? Forget it—better not mess with him.’
He crossed the stone path, climbed the steps, and entered Constantine’s sanctuary.
The massive doors opened slowly.
The Crimson Flame Dragon King reclined lazily upon his throne, gazing down at Leon from above.
There were no attendants or guards in the hall.
Clearly, not only was Leon used to this by now—Constantine was too.
“Long time no see, Constantine.”
“What do you want this time?”
“Huh? Can’t I visit an old friend without ulterior motives? Just catching up?”
“Drop the act. Who’s your old friend?”
“Come on—we’ve been through life and death together!”
“You lived. I died. Twice. That’s what you call friendship?”
“Hey—”
Leon was about to continue joking, but Constantine raised a hand sharply, cutting him off.
“I don’t have time for this. Say it. What do you want?”
Seeing Constantine still as irritable as ever actually put Leon at ease.
He got straight to the point.
“A long time ago, I got a list from your second-in-command. A list of Dragon Kings who collaborated with the Empire.”
Constantine frowned slightly.
“My second-in-command? You mean… Ogu?”
“Yes.”
“But he’s dead, Leon.”
Constantine’s tone shifted from stern to heavy, suppressed anger surfacing beneath the words.
Leon quickly clarified,
“He chose to self-destruct after giving me the list.”
Back then, after writing the list, Ogu had shouted a barrage of nonsense like “Casmord! The dragon race will take your life someday!”—and then detonated himself.
The reason was obvious: the Crimson Flame Dragon King had fallen, the clan was on the brink of collapse, and as the second-in-command, Ogu couldn’t shoulder the burden. Under immense pressure, he chose death.
Constantine closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
“Ogu was loyal and capable. Even now, I can’t fully come to terms with his death.”
“But there’s no need for you and me to dig up old scores. If we did, neither of us would be in the right.”
He wasn’t wrong.
First, Constantine attacked the Silver Dragon Sanctuary on the Empire’s orders—causing heavy casualties.
Then Leon killed him.
Later, Constantine was turned into a stitched undead abomination by the Empire and sent to attack Isa’s Red Dragon territory.
Then Leon killed him again.
If they truly wanted to settle old grudges, there’d be no point talking—they’d just step outside and fight.
Constantine did want to defeat Leon once and for all to reclaim his pride.
But he also knew the current situation was delicate. With many forces in motion, having a reliable “ally” mattered more. Their duel could wait.
“I thought you were going to jump straight into a fight,” Leon said with a grin.
He knew Constantine could read the situation clearly—otherwise they wouldn’t have cooperated so many times.
Constantine snorted.
“Continue. The list—then what?”
“Not long ago, humans and dragons reached a ceasefire agreement. The talks went smoothly, and the Dragon Kings who betrayed us were punished appropriately.”
“I’ve heard about that,” Constantine replied.
“And I also heard… the one who represented the dragons in negotiations was you. Right?”
Leon flashed a grin.
“Guilty as charged.”
“Heh. No wonder you say it went ‘smoothly.’ If it hadn’t, that would’ve been strange.”
Leon shrugged and returned to the point.
“I reviewed the battles of recent years and cross-referenced them with Ogu’s list. One by one, I eliminated the names.”
“And among all those traitorous Dragon Kings, there was exactly one who neither fell to me nor received any punishment.”
Constantine raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
“Who?”
“Warhammer Dragon King—Adam.”
Even Constantine froze for a moment upon hearing that name.
The faint smile on his face stiffened, then slowly vanished.
After a brief silence, Constantine rose from his throne and descended the steps.
“I don’t like that name,” he said coldly.
“And I don’t like that filthy bastard.”
“Oh?” Leon asked. “Filthy how? I don’t know much about Adam.”
“Among Dragon Kings of my era, Adam was infamous. You and your Silver Dragon wife not knowing much about him is normal.”
Constantine stopped a short distance from Leon, meeting his gaze.
“My wife said he has no clan and works like a mercenary—paid to do anything,” Leon said.
“That’s right,” Constantine replied.
“And Adam will use any means to achieve his goals. No matter how despicable.”
His voice dropped further, teeth grinding out the words:
“He disgraces the very title of ‘Dragon King.’”
Leon understood. Constantine prized honor and reputation above all else.
Just like in the northern ruins—he could have used Noya to take revenge on Leon, but he refused.
A true Dragon King would never drag the next generation into personal vendettas.
That was why Leon trusted Constantine not to stab him in the back.
“Sounds like you really hate him,” Leon said.
“Believe me—if you’d dealt with him, you’d despise him too.”
“Alright. If I ever run into him, I’ll be sure to beat him up for you.”
Constantine gave a humorless chuckle and asked,
“So since the list didn’t include Adam, you came here to ask where he is?”
“I swear—if I knew where that bastard was, I’d be the first to kill him.”
Leon grew more curious.
“Just insulting the title of Dragon King wouldn’t earn this level of hatred. So what did he do?”
Constantine didn’t answer immediately.
He hesitated, silent for a long moment.
Leon waited without pressing.
Finally, Constantine spoke.
“Come with me.”
He turned and walked toward the rear of the sanctuary.
Leon followed.
They passed pillars, crossed a corridor, and descended a staircase leading underground.
After about five minutes, they stopped before a heavily concealed stone door.
Constantine raised his hand and infused the recessed center with his magic.
The stone door slowly split open.
“Come in.”
Leon followed him into the chamber.
At first glance, there was nothing unusual.
Until Constantine stepped aside—
Revealing an ice bed at the center of the room.
Cold mist curled from its surface. Above it hovered a crystal.
And within that crystal lay a dragon—
A newborn with a crimson tail.
The little dragon clenched her tiny fists, eyes closed, body curled as if asleep.
Leon froze.
He stepped closer. Judging by her size and features, she had only just been born.
As for the crystal—Leon recognized it.
In that tragic future timeline, when Rosvitha exhausted her magic and fell into slumber, Grandmother Veronica sealed her in such a crystal to preserve her life.
But why would a newborn—
“Thirty-three years ago,” Constantine said, staring at the infant, his voice trembling with suppressed rage,
“Adam accepted a job from a certain Dragon King—to steal magical resources from me.”
“So Adam chose to threaten me with her.”
“In the end, his mission failed… but he gravely injured this child.”
Leon’s lips tightened.
“So this child is…”
“She’s called Hefei. Hefei·Constantine.”
“…My daughter.”
Constantine stepped forward, gazing at the sleeping hatchling. A faint smile touched his face.
Then his voice turned ice-cold.
“That is why I cooperated with the Empire.”
“Because Adam was among those Dragon Kings.”
“Every day back then, I prayed I would run into him.”
“And when I did…”
“…I would tear him apart.”
…
Footnotes:
- àn dù chén cāngPinyin: àn dù chén cāngMeaning: “To secretly cross a river under cover”; to slip past unnoticed through deception or coordination.
- chū shēng rù sǐPinyin: chū shēng rù sǐMeaning: “To go through life and death together”; often ironic here, as one survives while the other dies.
- liǎng xiù qīng fēngPinyin: liǎng xiù qīng fēngMeaning: Literally “empty sleeves”; someone with no possessions or ties, implying nothing to lose.
- bù zé shǒu duànPinyin: bù zé shǒu duànMeaning: “To stop at nothing”; using any means, no matter how immoral.
- chén àn jiù zhàngPinyin: chén àn jiù zhàngMeaning: “Old grudges”; unresolved past conflicts.
- suì shī wàn duànPinyin: suì shī wàn duànMeaning: “To tear into ten thousand pieces”; an expression of extreme hatred and desire for vengeance.