Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 407 - 407 406 Scale Tower

Chapter 407: Chapter 406: Scale Tower Chapter 407: Chapter 406: Scale Tower They talked from dusk till it was completely dark.

The red glow from the magma in the Shadowflame Volcano illuminated the two colossal beings squatting over the crater, making the dragons look even more ferocious than during the day.

The final outcome of the negotiation was that the Shadowflame Duchy agreed to build eight Torrent Scale Towers for the Torrential Flood Dragon.

Six of them would be distributed across the snowfields to the east, northeast, southeast, north, south, and southwest of the Shadowflame Duchy.

As for the remaining two,

one would be located over the Fire Ant Swamp to the northwest, and the other over Leize to the south.

“Scale Towers are tall towers used to enshrine the scales of dragons, and the Torrent Scale Towers naturally enshrine the scales of the Torrential Flood Dragon. With the Scale Towers, the Torrential Flood Dragon can rapidly transmit its power… just like the other day, when His Highness Shadowflame and you joined forces to repel Snow Giant Da,”

during the banquet, Count Merlin explained to Russell, “With these eight Torrent Scale Towers, the Torrential Flood Dragon can assist the Shadowflame Duchy at any time… But, aren’t the Torrent Scale Towers also the tentacles through which the Torrential Flood Dragon can spy on the Shadowflame Duchy?”

“Grandfather, why does the Torrential Flood Dragon insist on building a Scale Tower over Leize? What’s the reason behind it?” This was Russell’s main concern.

He clearly understood that this action was likely aimed at him.

If that was indeed the case, then it meant the Torrential Flood Dragon could possibly use the Torrent Scale Towers to monitor him and probe into his secrets at any time.

“I do not know, but you may ask His Highness Shadowflame,”

“I will,” Russell nodded, then asked, “Grandfather, with the Torrent Scale Towers, does the Dragon Blood Knights still need to continue patrolling the borders?”

“Of course they do, and they need to expand their scale,” Earl Merlin stroked his beard and said, “Knight Regiments from all the major provinces, the Exclave Knights, the Dragon Blood Knights, all must participate in border patrols, clear out the Snow Demons, and lure out Snow Giant Da from its cave!”

After a pause, the elderly Earl Merlin, with his white hair and beard, said with emotion, “It’s rare for the kingdom to change its strategy and decide to kill Snow Giant Da. We must seize this opportunity to be rid of it once and for all, otherwise… Snow Giant Da will become a nightmare for our Grand Duchy.”

That very night,

Russell made an overnight trip to the Shadowflame Volcano and saw the Shadowflame Dragon once again bathing itself in the magma on the platform.

Since the Torrential Flood Dragon had already left the Volcanic Oasis and returned to the Fire Ant Swamp to prepare the first Torrent Scale Tower, the M-shaped mark on Russell’s palm began to flicker again, allowing him to communicate with the Shadowflame Dragon in dragon language.

Russell went straight to the point, “Your Highness Shadowflame, do you know why the Torrential Flood Dragon wants to build a tower in Leize? Is it possible that it sensed the presence of Ice Cream?”

Gurgling.

The magic-infused dragon language sounded as the Shadowflame Dragon, with closed eyes, said, “It cannot sense the presence of Ice Cream. Under Shadowflame’s protection, nobody can detect it. Perhaps it thinks you are a knight trained by Shadowflame and wants to observe you up close.”

“Hmm, I see,” Russell nodded.

Now, within the Shadowflame Duchy, many believed that Russell was very likely to become the knight of the Shadowflame Dragon.

Looking around, exclusive of lineage, only Russell was qualified to be the knight of the Shadowflame Dragon.

And starting from the moment the Shadowflame Dragon looked at Russell directly, to joining forces with him to repel Snow Giant Da, everything confirmed the extraordinary relationship between the Shadowflame Dragon and Russell, far beyond the treatment of any other knight.

Obviously,

the Scorching Torrent Kingdom had also taken note of this, which is why the Torrential Flood Dragon insisted on building Scale Towers either on the Blackflame Plains or in Leize.

To closely observe Russell and probe into whether he would become the knight of the Shadowflame Dragon.

“So, Your Highness Shadowflame, with the Scale Tower on my territory, could the Torrential Flood Dragon possibly detect the presence of Ice Cream?”

“It could,” the Shadowflame Dragon said, “The Scale Tower acts like an avatar; once Torrent has its Scale Tower, it can leverage the power of the earth, scout everything upon the land… The Fire Ant Swamp, Leize, and even the Blackflame Plains, Glowing Valley, all will become its eyes.”

The Shadowflame Dragon opened its eyes and gazed at Russell, “You must be careful, once the Scale Tower is complete, Shadowflame cannot protect the essence of Ice Cream with all its heart… You should have Ice Cream hide, just as it avoids Shadowflame now.”

“Do you mean, as long as Ice Cream doesn’t exhibit any excessive behavior and only appears in the form of a mark, it won’t be ‘seen’ by the Torrent Scale Tower?”

“Yes,” the Shadowflame Dragon responded.

A curious glint flickered in its pupils, “Ice Cream is different from the dragons Shadowflame has seen. It is very good at hiding. Even though it’s right in front of Shadowflame’s eyes, Shadowflame can’t lock onto its essence. Strange, truly strange!”

There was a pause.

The Shadowflame Dragon continued, “Besides, Shadowflame was born from a volcano, gaining intelligence only when the magma rose and Shadowflame sought its own knight… Ice Cream already had a knight before any volcanic eruption, and it’s you, that knight.”

Speaking of Russell the knight, the Shadowflame Dragon snorted through its nostrils, seemingly with a touch of disdain.

“Hehe,” Russell chuckled, “What’s wrong with me being the knight, Your Highness Shadowflame? Don’t look down on me… Have you seen a seventeen-year-old Flying Dragon Knight, an eighteen-year-old Dragon Domain Lord? I am no less than any Dragon Knight.”

The Shadowflame Dragon cocked its head.

After a long silence, it continued, “You have grasped the Power of Thunder; you, your talent could rival that of a Dragon Knight.”

“Exactly, I’ve been saying I’m excellent, right?” Russell laughed heartily.

This was a compliment from a dragon, no less, and in the Shadowflame Duchy, the Shadowflame Dragon’s status was equivalent to that of a divine spirit!

“But your personality…”

“What about my personality?”

“…Ordinary,” the Shadowflame Dragon hesitated, originally wanting to say “mediocre,” but found the word hard to express.

If one were to list those Dragon Knights with boundless valor and overwhelming presence, their talents and achievements might not necessarily surpass Russell’s. The Shadowflame Dragon reflected upon its own three Dragon Knights and realized, aside from the original Quentin Shadowflame, no one seemed to truly outshine Russell.

Quentin II Shadowflame’s greatest achievement in life was probably living long enough—reaching the ripe old age of one hundred and ninety-five.

As for Quentin III Shadowflame, it was even more disgraceful; he was stealthily attacked to death by the Snow Giant Da, a life that could be described as unbearably tragic.

Apart from being Dragon Knights, their achievements might not compare to Russell’s.

Moreover, Russell would soon possess the status of Dragon Knight himself, a unique and naturally born Dragon Knight at that.

Unwilling to dwell on the thought, which only made the dragon feel inferior to the Little Dream Dragon, the Shadowflame Dragon changed the subject, “You are a lucky little fellow. As long as you are careful, Torrent building the Scale Tower to spy on you won’t lead to Ice Cream’s exposure.”

“I’ll be careful.”

“Your real fortune is that when Torrent spies on you, it will also project its power onto Leize, accelerating the fusion of the Glowing Valley, Blackfire Plains, and Leize… Sacrifice, sacrifice, your humans always say that with sacrifice comes gain, which is quite true.”

The Shadowflame Dragon sighed and then closed its eyes again.

Its head receded back to the surface of the magma, “Hopefully, this ‘sacrifice’ of Shadowflame’s will reap the ‘gain’ of killing the Snow Giant Da, the ‘gain’ of Ice Cream Volcano erupting, and the ‘gain’ of snatching away the hopes of Torrent…”

Gurgle gurgle, the magic dragon language extinguished, and the Shadowflame Dragon returned to its slumber.

The M-shaped mark in the palm flashed.

Russell couldn’t help but mutter in his heart, “Your Highness Shadowflame, your understanding of sacrifice is a bit off; this is one sacrifice for three gains! Can the Torrential Flood Dragon and that Dragon Knight King truly fulfill your wishes?”

Shaking his head.

Russell’s confidence quickly surged, “It doesn’t matter whether the Torrential Flood Dragon and the Dragon Knight King are willing or not. Old Shadowflame Dragon, when my Ice Cream comes into the world, it will surely make the Scorching Torrent Kingdom willingly sacrifice!”