Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 189 - 188 Footsteps

Chapter 189: Chapter 188 Footsteps

Two flowers bloomed simultaneously.

Mankus and Grianna did not leave immediately because Angmog’s nest at Sunshine Peak still had some loot hidden away... Leon hadn’t finished scavenging yet when Angmog returned, and then the fight broke out.

Grianna still had some savings, while Mankus was downright broke, desperate enough to scrape every inch of the ground, unwilling to leave even a single copper coin behind.

They looted for about half an hour in total, collecting a few scattered treasures—perhaps amassing a few hundred or even a thousand gold coins. Feeling his coin pouch swell, Mankus gained a bit of confidence—though he was annoyed that Grianna hadn’t expressed any consideration for him and was looting right alongside him—but finally, he called Grianna to leave, planning to find someone to interrogate for information.

His target was an Ogre wandering at the foot of Sunshine Peak.

"Stupid creature." Mankus had a knack for dealing with Ogres. After all, he used to keep some as pets in his castle. With a single slap to the Ogre’s head, he left it feeling dazed. "I’m going to ask you a question."

Ogres, notorious for their fierce tempers, could erupt in fury when insulted or addressed wrongly, but it depended on who was talking. A Hag could easily beat an Ogre senseless—let alone a Cloud Giant twice its size.

The scar-faced Ogre initially wanted to lash out. But upon glancing at the Cloud Giant and Silver Dragon nearby, it instantly crouched to the ground, clutching its head.

"Have you seen two Red Dragons flying out of there?" Mankus pointed at Sunshine Peak, looking at the Ogre with disdain. "Where did they go?"

"T-Two Red Dragons. One Red Dragon was chasing the other. They... they flew that way," mumbled the scar-faced Ogre, speaking clumsily.

"Who was chasing whom?" Grianna asked.

The scar-faced Ogre truthfully replied, "The injured Red Dragon was fleeing, while the uninjured Red Dragon gave chase."

"Who was bigger?" Grianna asked, recalling that Leon was massive, but Angmog was even larger.

"Big is big, small is small." The scar-faced Ogre scratched its bald head. "About the same size. Almost the same."

Grianna wanted to press further, but Mankus stopped him, knowing that Ogres possessed legendarily stupid minds.

Mankus shooed away the Ogre and found a nest of goblins next.

The Goblin tribe operated under a four-level caste system. The lowest caste, the peasant goblins, were incredibly dumb, but the higher-caste Whipper Goblins were relatively clever.

The Whipper Goblins gestured and recounted what they had seen—

When everyone assumed that the Great Red Dragon Angmog had returned to its nest, another massive Red Dragon appeared. That Red Dragon turned out to be the real Angmog. Not long after that, a thunderous noise erupted from Sunshine Peak, and Angmog flew out, wounded, missing many of its scales, being chased by the other Red Dragon...

"Leon ripped off Angmog’s scales and chased him everywhere?" Grianna exclaimed in disbelief. "Could he really be that strong? Isn’t he just a teenage dragon?"

"I don’t know," Mankus replied. "But you shouldn’t trust goblins too much—they excel at lying."

"You must understand, Angmog isn’t just an ordinary Red Dragon now. He’s in Blood Scale Frenzy," said Mankus.

What Mankus didn’t realize was that if Angmog were still an ordinary Red Dragon, Leon might not have stood a chance. It was precisely because Angmog entered the Blood Scale Frenzy state—enhancing his combat prowess but making him reckless and unable to dodge attacks—that Leon managed to deal with him.

They then moved from the goblin tribe to the Frost Giant village for more information.

The Frost Giants’ intelligence didn’t differ much from the goblins’, though they added some news about Angmog’s pursuer—it was a Red Dragon seen around the area a few days ago, armed with a sword, using peculiar spells, and incredibly agile. This dragon had attacked several Frost Giant villages, killing any giants who dared resist.

"A sword-wielding Red Dragon? That must be Leon. He attacked several Frost Giant villages a few days ago, not sparing women and children who dared resist?" exclaimed Grianna in shock. "He even uses strange spells, like the Harpies’ Temptation Song, making everyone who hears it go mad?"

"Don’t look at me—I’m just finding out now," Mankus said. "He can also go invisible, use immobilization spells, and even cast Lightning Magic... Can a Red Dragon really be swifter than a Winter Wolf or a Saber-toothed Tiger? Seems exaggerated, doesn’t it?"

"And there’s even talk that blades and axes can’t harm him..." Grianna sighed. "Even if a Red Dragon’s scales are tough, they shouldn’t be able to completely ignore Frost Giant attacks."

"I’ve seen it firsthand," Mankus suddenly murmured. "When I first encountered Leon, I thought he was just an ordinary Red Dragon. I hit him on the head with a Storm Hammer, and he didn’t even flinch—didn’t leave a mark on his scales. I immediately chickened out and apologized."

Leaving the Frost Giant village, they headed into the Fire Giant Fortress, only to acquire even more intel.

"What?" Mankus frowned at the Fire Giant recounting the tale. "You’re saying the Red Dragon chasing Angmog might be the one you saw years ago? The one who killed a traitorous Fire Giant, defeated a powerful Prison Fire Villain, scared off a strong Hunting Demon, and indirectly thwarted the plan to open the Nine Prisons portal?"

Outside the Fire Giant Fortress, Grianna couldn’t hold back his amazement. "I thought you said you knew Leon well. Turns out you have no idea what he’s capable of... He’s done so much without us knowing?"

"You should be thankful that he isn’t a Great Evil Dragon like Angmog," Mankus muttered, relieved at not provoking Leon back then.

Following vague whispers and clues, Mankus and Grianna eventually tracked Angmog’s nest to an active volcano and stumbled across Tiamat’s temple. Amongst the rubble and worthless scraps, they found a man holding a Pegasus.

The man introduced himself as Jason, a knight of the Blazing Sky Barrier, pursuing the Impermanence Card in the active volcano.

Jason didn’t mind sharing his findings. Someone had drawn the Skull Card, summoning a Death Fear Punisher, and even bringing forth the Death Horror Monarch of Annihilation, who then intervened personally.

This volcano was clearly a Red Dragon’s lair, but no Red Dragon was to be seen—because the Death Horror Monarch of Annihilation sometimes reduced its victims to ashes.

You ask how powerful the Death Horror Monarch of Annihilation is? Even the highest-ranking Angel—a Solar, terrifying enough to send a Demon Lord cowering in fear—wouldn’t stand a chance.

Mankus turned to Grianna and asked, "Do you think Leon might’ve chased Angmog here, forced him to use the Impermanence Card, which then brought out the Death Horror Monarch of Annihilation, and both of them ended up dead?"

"Leon? You mean Leon?" Jason interjected. "The Red Dragon from Watchtower Port? He’s got a grudge with the Death Fear Punishers—he killed a Death Knight."

"He killed a Death Knight? A top-tier Undead Creature? How come I’ve never heard of this?" Mankus whispered to himself. "Even if he’s that strong, facing the Death Horror Monarch of Annihilation would surely be his doom."

"What do we do now?" Grianna asked.

"No idea." Mankus took a deep breath. "Either way, Angmog is definitely dead. I can go back to my castle and start over."

...

...

Leon was awakened by someone nudging him. Opening his eyes, he found a Cloud Giant staring at him with wide eyes, while the Silver Dragon nearby looked equally stunned.

"You’re still alive..." Mankus muttered, astonished. He had returned to his ruined castle with shattered hopes, intending to rebuild his fortune step by step, only to find a sleeping Red Dragon—one he thought was surely dead.

"Of course I’m alive," Leon said grumpily, annoyed at being woken up.

"So, we got it wrong?" Mankus mused. "The Red Dragon chasing Angmog around wasn’t you?"

"It was me," Leon replied loudly. "What’s the problem?"

"No problem, no problem..." Mankus hesitated, then asked, "That knight from the Blazing Sky Barrier tricked us, didn’t he? There was no Death Horror Monarch of Annihilation, was there?"

"How do you know about the Death Horror Monarch of Annihilation?"

Leon nodded and recited the words he had prepared long ago: "I’m telling you, if it weren’t for your poor handling, the Impermanence Card wouldn’t have fallen into Angmog’s hands. He wouldn’t have drawn the Skull Card, and the Death Horror Monarch of Annihilation wouldn’t have appeared... The Impermanence Card is now in the hands of the Death Horror Monarch of Annihilation, and that’s all on you."

Leon reached into his pouch, pulled out a small bag, and tossed it in front of Mankus. "Is this yours? Those seeds—they’re supposed to grow into giant plants, right?"

"Yes, that’s mine," Mankus said, picking up the bag. "The Magic Bean Bag."

"What about this rope?" Leon held up a coiled rope. "Is this yours?"

"It’s mine," the Cloud Giant said. "A Climbing Rope. Its name describes its use. You grab one end of the rope, say the command word, and the rope animates, guiding the other end to your designated destination, helping you climb with ease."

"Completely useless junk. Take it back." Leon shrugged. "You contributed minimal help... Angmog was entirely my doing. So we won’t split the loot as originally agreed—I’ll only give you goods worth 10,000 gold coins. Any objections?"

"No objections," Mankus quickly replied, shaking his head.

Leon pulled out anything he found uninteresting, useless, or clearly belonging to the Cloud Giant—like gilded window frames, oversized silk garments, and similar trivial items—and handed them over. "Angmog’s dead, and he certainly had more than just two lairs..."

"I-I-I’ll handle it!" Mankus stammered. Facing the Red Dragon who had taken down Angmog, killed a Death Knight, and supposedly survived the Death Horror Monarch of Annihilation, Mankus didn’t dare step out of line. He had once thought they were equals, but now he realized they were from entirely different worlds. "I’ll locate Angmog’s other lairs and will definitely keep... your share."

Leon scratched his head, puzzled. Why did it feel like Mankus had suddenly become strangely fawning?