Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 593 - 593 591 Regaining the Hope That Belongs to

Chapter 593: Chapter 591: Regaining the Hope That Belongs to Shadowflame Chapter 593: Chapter 591: Regaining the Hope That Belongs to Shadowflame A week after, Russell felt he had grasped nearly all there was to understand about the extinguished Meltdown Volcano—sitting idly any longer would be pointless.

Duke Fritz Moltenfire had finished cremating the bodies, their ashes scattered into the volcano’s still-warm magma. The moment the funeral was over, Russell entrusted a few words to Viscount Fred and then left the place.

On the return journey,

he passed by Blue Mountain Fort again, but this time he did not stop; he simply felt the temperature of the Warm Enclave.

“The temperature has dropped quite a bit, of course, it’s related to the end of the Warm Season approaching.” It was now the 20th of October and as the Warm Season drew to a close, the ice age was set to return with a vengeance. Russell couldn’t help but sigh and then sped away from the area.

At a velocity of Mach 3, he raced along.

Several days later, he returned to the Shadowflame Duchy.

“Your Highness, in the past few days, four nations have established Thunder Sound Stations—Hurricane Thunder Kingdom, Clear Sky Dusk Kingdom, Grand Duchy of Mist, and Waterfall Duchy,” reported Baron Gedvedas, Chief Executive.

“Did you send greetings to them all?”

“Yes, we’ve established exclusive Thunder Note communication lines with the four nations and exchanged information on the Snowfield situations faced by each.” As he spoke, Baron Gedvedas presented a document, “This is the compiled Snowfield information.”

After looking through the materials, Russell had a clear picture.

Snow Giants were not unique to the Shadowflame Duchy; practically every nation was threatened by them. And now with the arrival of Frost Giants, who had brought organization to the Snow Giants, they became more brazen, even acting in groups.

Especially the Clear Sky Dusk Kingdom, which had discovered three Frost Giants nearby and had even assembled an army to attack the Volcanic Oasis.

However, once the Frost Giants gathered, the dragons could sense them from afar, thus avoiding engagement outside the Volcanic Oasis, and in the end, neither side could best the other. After several skirmishes, the Frost Giants dared not invade the Volcanic Oasis, and the dragons dared not stray too far from it.

“Human nations are too scattered!” Sighing quietly after closing the documents, Russell realized there was nothing he could do about this.

Then Baron Gedvedas reported on some of the Grand Duchy’s affairs, mainly regarding the reception of refugees from the Molten Fire Duchy.

“The food supply must be fully assured. No matter what means the Cabinet uses, when the refugees arrive, we absolutely cannot have a shortage of food.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After dealing with political affairs, Russell went to Shadowflame Volcano.

Revisiting Shadowflame Volcano, he felt the surge of vibrant life emanating from the volcano—a stark contrast to Meltdown Volcano.

“This, this is a dragon’s volcano indeed. Powerful life, omnipresent strength… I hadn’t felt it so distinctly before; only after returning from Meltdown Volcano does the contrast become so clear,” reflected Russell, landing on a platform.

“Russell, you’ve returned,” the Shadowflame Dragon lifted its head, speaking in a bubbling Magic Tongue.

“I have,” Russell smiled and waved to the Shadowflame Dragon.

“How was your inspection trip? Is the ruin of the Meltdown Volcano suitable for Ice Cream to cause a volcanic eruption?”

“I haven’t considered that question, but I’ve spent a week meditating in the Meltdown Volcano, and I’ve had some insights into the power of Dragonflame. Of course, that’s not important. What’s important is that I’ve brought you something excellent.”

“Oh, a Frost Star Bead?” The Shadowflame Dragon’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

“Something even more precious than a Frost Star Bead.”

“What could that be…” Unable to guess, the Shadowflame Dragon teased, “The head of a Bandit Flood?”

“Ah, clearly not.” Not keeping him in suspense, Russell directly took out a metal box, “Hope, left by the Meltdown Dragon, a return to the ancient hope. I promised to help you reclaim the hope that was taken from you, and here’s our chance.”

“Meltingfire’s hope?” The Shadowflame Dragon’s gaze flickered intensely, fixed on the metal box in Russell’s hands.

Not a movement was seen, yet the iron box opened on its own.

The ripple-like “hope” then flew straight toward the Shadowflame Dragon and was swallowed by it in one gulp.

The next moment,

colors of every shade flickered within its narrow, elongated pupils, dazzling like a stupor, taking a while before returning to normal.

Then, lowering its head to look at Russell, its gaze was filled with admiration and emotion, “Unimaginable, that Shadowflame could, in its lifetime, feel the hope of another dragon… However, after playing with it for a while, Shadowflame still wants to reclaim its own hope!”

“Of course, I’ll use this hope to exchange for your hope from King Ares,” Russell said.

Indeed, the hope that is one’s own fits better and holds a greater chance of returning to the ancient past.

After a pause, Russell asked, “Shadowflame, did you perceive anything from this hope? When I played with it, I saw a strange vision.”

“Vision?” The Shadowflame Dragon mused for a moment, “The hope of returning to the ancient past is colorful and blurry.”

“But I saw a forest of brilliant hues and a dragon of every color. It seemed to have noticed me and even spewed a breath of Dragonflame at me,” Russell described his experience, “Do you know what it means?”

“A forest of brilliant hues, a dragon of every color?” Shadowflame shook its head, equally puzzled.

“Well, that’s my impression. I hope it helps in your quest to return to the ancient past,” Russell said, “Once you’ve played with it enough, pass that hope to me, and I’ll go exchange it with King Ares… The Tri-Dragon Sacrifice Method should work with either hope.”

Upon hearing this, the Shadowflame Dragon sneered, “An exchange can certainly be made, but Shadowflame also wishes to join forces with Ice Cream and seize the Torrent’s hope for a plaything!”

“Really? Is that necessary?”

“Absolutely, it’s very necessary. Shadowflame needs an outlet for its roar, and Bandit Torrent is the fiery anger that Shadowflame must vent!”

“Alright then.” Russell nodded, somewhat reluctantly. After all, Shadowflame was now his dragon—his own dragon deserved indulgence. Besides, Torrent didn’t have the potential to return to the ancient past anyway, so it was better to give up the hope and let Shadowflame glean what it could.

Perhaps, with this new insight, Shadowflame Dragon might manage to return to the ancient past!

Subsequently,

Russell returned to Red Castle and began exchanging messages with King Ares through the Thunder Sound Machine.

They first discussed the migration of the citizens of the Molten Fire Duchy, and eventually, he proposed to swap the hope of the Meltdown Dragon for that of the Shadowflame Dragon.

In the Golden Palace, King Ares frowned unconsciously as he read the content of the Thunder Note, “Scorching, the hope of the Meltdown Dragon is in Russell’s hands… He proposes a trade, to exchange Meltingfire’s hope for Shadowflame’s hope.”

“Ares, I’ve long said you are too cautious in your actions… If we went to Molten Fire Duchy straight away, that hope would have been mine!”

“It was impossible either way. Russell was much quicker than us,” King Ares refused to concede, “Moreover, forcibly taking the Shadowflame Dragon’s hope to perform the Tri-Dragon Sacrifice Method was already a desperate move.”

“Let’s make the trade,” the Fiery Dragon resignedly said.

King Ares also sighed, “Scorching, I know you blame me for not being impulsive enough, but the fate of humanity rests on our shoulders. We must tread carefully. It’s my irrefutable duty to unite all the forces we can.”

“Ah, you always have these grand principles… I’ll listen to you,” the Fiery Dragon responded warmly in mind.

King Ares smiled contentedly, “Meltingfire’s hope is the same, and you’ve already pondered on Shadowflame’s hope for some time. If you contemplate Meltingfire’s hope, the success rate of the Tri-Dragon Sacrifice Method will be even higher!”

After pacifying the Fiery Dragon,

King Ares ordered a response to be sent back through the Thunder Sound, agreeing to Russell’s request for a trade.

Nearly five years later, the Shadowflame Dragon could finally reclaim its ancient hope of returning to the past.