Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 170 - 169 Changes

Chapter 170: Chapter 169 Changes

Leon took the Impermanence Card, and it was foreseeable that he would inevitably encounter many enemies because of the deck in the future.

Those enemies might want to collect the Impermanence Card, or perhaps destroy it altogether. Either way, Leon wasn’t going to give up the cards easily. In the end, a fight was almost certain.

Tassera didn’t take the Impermanence Card, but she did draw a card. Her luck wasn’t great; at one point, she drew the Flame Card, which instantly attracted the hatred of a powerful devil.

Even so, neither of them cared too much. After all, as dragons who’ve survived to this point, who hasn’t faced a few opponents or made a few enemies? One more or one less wouldn’t matter, especially when Dragon Slayers were lurking even if they did nothing at all.

They entered the Underground City in the morning, but by the time they emerged, it was already evening.

Although they grabbed a bite to eat while conquering the Underground City, it wasn’t enough. Leon caught a giant boar to shore up their meal... There was no need to rush back to Raffi and Watchtower Port when filling their stomachs was the immediate priority.

"Do you know of any other Underground Cities?" Leon asked curiously while cooking the giant boar.

Having just obtained a deck of Impermanence Cards in the Underground City, he was eager for more.

Tassera glanced at Leon and said, "There are the ruins near the Dwarf Castle, or the spider-infested nests... I know of many Underground Cities, though you wouldn’t be interested. You’re not really interested in conquering them—you’re after the treasures inside, but treasures aren’t that plentiful in every one of them."

"The tomb of the Ancient Fallen Empire deep within the Red Crown Desert certainly holds valuable items, but you’re scared of the danger." Tassera muttered as she warmed herself by the fire, rubbing her hands together. While the cold didn’t bother her much, fire conversations by the campfire had a certain soulfulness.

"Once I forge a proper set of equipment..." Leon paused, "Before I reach adulthood, I’ll definitely conquer that tomb of the Ancient Fallen Empire."

"You still have seventy to eighty years before adulthood," Tassera reminded him, resting her hands on her knees. "Anything could happen in that time—even the downfall of another empire."

One giant boar wasn’t enough for two dragons, so Leon brazenly raided all the livestock in a nearby village. Though he felt a pang of guilt, particularly since he had asked the villagers for information about Underground Cities earlier that morning and they were quite helpful. In return, he threw some gold coins at them as compensation.

After eating their fill and sleeping through the night, they were ready to leave the next day.

The journey back was much quicker than the trip to Raffi, as they no longer had to deal with navigating unfamiliar paths. This time, it took half the time it had taken them to get there.

Coming from Earth, Leon valued public opinion greatly. In his view, many people lacked the ability for independent thought and simply believed whatever they were told. Even in the 21st century, the notion that foreign countries were paradises was laughable to him. It was for this reason he wanted to establish a newspaper in Watchtower Port.

The search for talent and training hadn’t even begun, so he set that thought aside for now.

Leon realized that even in Raffi, a large city, it wasn’t easy to buy printing equipment. Printing presses were hard to come by, and there were no suppliers for ink and paper. Unless he outright took over an existing newspaper, starting one from scratch seemed nearly impossible.

He had initially planned to explore the Underground City, then handle the purchase of printing equipment before leaving Raffi. But now it was clear that unless he spent six months to a year there, he wouldn’t be able to accomplish that goal.

"What should I do?"

Leon murmured to himself before quickly coming up with a solution: he would issue orders and leave the rest to others to handle. For example, the publicity work could be handed over entirely to Cecilia. Whatever was achievable would be achieved, and if they later found someone more capable, the tasks could then be handed over to them.

With this plan in mind, Leon promptly left Raffi with Tassera. Instead of taking a ship, they traveled far enough from Raffi to return to their dragon forms and decided to fly directly to Watchtower Port. In just half a day, they were there.

After only ten days away, both Watchtower Port and Volcanic Island remained unchanged... No mountaintop castle, no hillside villa, not even a Treasure Vault to house his Impermanence Card.

It seemed unlikely that they would relocate again in the future.

For the first time, Leon felt that perhaps he should help build the nest. Sitting aside and watching wasn’t very productive, and with no other pressing matters to attend to, idle hands were better put to work.

Tassera stayed with Leon at Watchtower Port for an entire day before preparing to leave the next morning.

"You’re leaving today?" Leon asked reluctantly. "You could stay a few more days. Researching spells can wait."

"Get my Mage Tower built, and I’ll stay here with you permanently," Tassera responded, not forgetting a specific promise someone had made.

"I don’t even have my own place built yet. At the very least, I need to finish my castle and villa before thinking about your Mage Tower." Leon shrugged, then thoughtfully nodded. "When you return, if you come across the Brass Dragon, let him know I need something from him."

"What could you possibly need from that loudmouthed idiot?" Tassera sneered at the Brass Dragon, holding her low opinion of him firmly.

"He’s chatty, yes, but calling him an idiot is biased." Leon had simple reasoning, "His stonecutting skills are excellent, and being immune to fire means he can work at the volcano without issue. I need his help building my castle."

"After he finishes the castle..." Leon continued, "I won’t need his help with my human-form villa, so then he can move on to your Mage Tower. Tassera has always been reliable, but Leon still thought some incentive was necessary.

After Tassera’s departure, Leon felt a momentary pang of loss but quickly regained his composure. He decided to check on how Cecilia was faring in the forest.

Cecilia had discovered a fantastic nest-building location—at least, fantastic for a Green Dragon. The entrance to the lair was hidden behind a small waterfall.

"You dug this cave yourself, didn’t you? It’s not natural," Leon remarked as he looked around, noting claw marks on the cave walls.

"It’s natural, but I expanded it a bit." Cecilia explained, "It’s not done yet. When it’s finished, with flowers and greenery planted here, it’ll be gorgeous."

"I’m going to plant a whole field of Magic Palace Roses here. They’ll be beautiful and serve as both guards and traps..." Cecilia gestured eagerly, her words pouring out in a torrent.

Leon listened patiently before commenting, "Your nest is very well-made. I’ve noticed that. Now, how about that task I assigned you?"

"Of course, I haven’t forgotten my master’s task." Cecilia snapped her fingers. "Now let me show you the results."

Following Cecilia, Leon came across four emaciated, gray-skinned humanoid creatures.

"Where did you find four shapeshifters?" Leon circled around them, recalling his experiences meditating in the Primitive Forest.

"I stumbled upon them." Cecilia replied, "They murdered a merchant and posed as him and his family."

"I’ve been training them recently." Cecilia added, "Once their training is complete, we’ll send them out to spread the messages you want the world to hear... They’re skilled mind-readers, adept at tailoring messages to different people."

Leon hadn’t even considered using shapeshifters, but Cecilia had. Was this what people called initiative?

"Good, not bad," Leon said, generously offering praise.

"By the way, weren’t you planning to establish a newspaper and buy printing equipment in Raffi, master?" Cecilia hadn’t heard about Leon’s failure to procure anything, "Did you get what you needed?"

"I didn’t buy anything." Leon remained composed, "When I got to Raffi, I realized that Watchtower Port is so small that there’s no need for a newspaper. Word of mouth will suffice."

"True," Cecilia agreed wholeheartedly.

Cecilia then led Leon to inspect her new recruits.

Goblins, Bugbears, Hobgoblins, Ettercaps, Kobolds, Orcs, Ogres... Leon noted that Cecilia had acquired quite a sizable force during their short ten-day absence. It was impressive, though collectively they were still no match for Leon’s fire Salamanders.

Since Cecilia was his subordinate, Leon figured there was no need to feel jealous about her growing entourage.

"Has Tassera left?" Cecilia asked abruptly after the inspection.

"She’s gone," Leon replied. "She’s heading back to seclude herself."

"I figured as much." Cecilia wrapped her arm fervently around Leon’s, "Otherwise, she wouldn’t leave you alone with me."

Leon quietly pulled his arm back without making a fuss.

Tassera had just left, and he didn’t want to be that much of a scoundrel. Besides, it wouldn’t make future coercion easy after eating her food. Cecilia wasn’t the same as Tassera—there was no shared interest involved in their relationship. Besides, the short-haired girl’s figure was somewhat meager, and as a youth, Leon didn’t yet have overwhelming desires.

Cecilia looked at her now empty embrace and gazed at Leon with a sense of longing.

But Leon was lost in his thoughts, pondering who to entrust with the crafting of his equipment. His fire Salamanders clearly weren’t up to the task.