Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 199 - 198: Not a Single One Shall Escape

Chapter 199: Chapter 198: Not a Single One Shall Escape

Leon would rather trust the devils, who are lawful evil, than believe in the treacherous and unreliable Yugros Demons who are neutral evil and could betray at any moment.

Those creatures are simply too unreliable; a wise man doesn’t stand under a crumbling wall. Though with a contract in place, there’s less need to worry about tricks from a Yugros Demon.

Leon burned an Ophalos Demon to death with a burst of Samadhi True Fire. He deliberately checked afterward, confirming that the creature hadn’t liquefied into a puddle but had indeed left behind only some ashes... Honestly, he couldn’t guarantee that he’d completely eliminated it in the Material Plane, thwarting its rebirth in the Burning Flame Hell.

Hunting Demons fear the Samadhi True Fire, and Ophalos Demons do too. Clearly, the fire can threaten them, but the extent of its threat remains uncertain.

Leon’s thoughts were that demons, devils, and Yugros Demons rely on their souls for rebirth; once their souls return to the Abyss, Nine Prisons, or Burning Flame Hell, their bodies can be remade. His Samadhi True Fire, however, can burn their souls.

Under these circumstances, if he wanted to completely eliminate these pesky entities in the Material Plane, a mere bit of Samadhi True Fire might not suffice. He’d need to amplify its power. Even if they could rebirth afterward, it was likely that their souls would be left fractured, rendering them unrecognizably damaged.

Thinking this through, Leon nodded and turned his gaze to Tassera, noting that he probably should have sought her opinion beforehand, but now it was more of an act first, ask later. He said, "I killed it, is that okay?"

"Killed is killed," Tassera replied indifferently. "Even if you hadn’t killed it, I wouldn’t have."

"Actually..." Leon opened his mouth but then remembered something urgent. He spread his wings, spanning over 20 meters along their edge, which had, at some point, taken on a blue hue reminiscent of metal burning in a flame. "Now isn’t the time to discuss this—we should hurry back."

"Back where?" Tassera asked, her head lowered as she idly pushed some rubble across the ground.

"Back to the city..." Leon replied obviously. "That Ophalos Demon just said it—it brought you out here not to kill you... It alone couldn’t kill you, but it wouldn’t be easy for you to kill it either. What it wanted was to distract you, aiming for your shop instead."

"Your shop only has some magic traps and a single Stone Magic Statue, right?" Leon speculated, unsure if Tassera had any contingency plans or hidden tricks that she’d never mentioned to him. Judging by what he knew, she probably didn’t. After all, she was just a young dragon; it wasn’t as though she could hide a steel magic statue, could she?

"Given the situation, there’s no point in rushing," Tassera responded with remarkable calm. "If what it said is true and a single Stone Magic Statue couldn’t hold off so many people, even if we hurried back now, the rampage would long be over."

"I should’ve stayed here while you rushed back at that time... Maybe we would’ve made it in time," Leon remarked in hindsight. "Weren’t you anxious about your shop earlier? Why didn’t you think of leaving first?"

"I did think of it, but I couldn’t just stand by and watch you face an Ophalos Demon, fighting for my sake... You likely didn’t need my help, and me helping would likely interfere with you, but there was still a chance that you’d need me." Tassera pressed closer to Leon, rubbing herself against him like a pampered cat. "Compared to the shop, you’re far more important."

Leon could sense that Tassera had grown closer to him—was it because of his earlier actions?

"That petty Ophalos Demon... If I truly wanted to kill it rather than capture it for questioning about the major figure behind all this, it wouldn’t stand a chance," Leon said, his demeanor turning serious. "That Chains Demon General Marahis feels formidable, somewhat threatening... Do you know anything about it?"

"Chains Demon General Marahis—a cruel and powerful tyrant, exceedingly cunning and extremely quick-tempered. It revels in spreading anguish and enjoys seeing rivers of blood flowing," Tassera said, her thoughts drifting amidst the loud wind sweeping through the ruins. "That’s all I know."

"According to what the Ophalos Demon said... it schemed against you because of Chains Demon General Marahis, making Marahis the true culprit here," Leon mused.

Leon pondered aloud, "From what I gather, the sword was placed into the Material Plane by Chains Demon General Marahis. It wasn’t targeted specifically at you; it simply fell into your possession by chance... Because of the Flame Card, no matter what you did—whether you studied the sword or not—you’d likely offend Chains Demon General Marahis."

Leon casually returned the Catastrophe Blade to the small space within his Sleeve of the Universe and dismissed his avatar, commenting, "I thought having that sword meant you’d been set up, that we’d find out who was pulling the strings behind this drama, but turns out the sword was just bait... A purposeful plan can dominate an unsuspecting victim. That’s how we ended up at such a disadvantage, blindly guessing while they operated in secrecy."

"I can’t figure out how we were lured out, manipulated by that Ophalos Demon into leaving your shop unguarded," Leon exhaled heavily. "The sequence of events was chaotic, but at least the outcome is bearable... I’m not afraid of Chains Demon General Marahis now that I know who the enemy is. The real problem lies in not knowing when the Flame Card will activate—when the bomb will go off out of nowhere."

Just one Ophalos Demon was dead, and Chains Demon General Marahis had only dealt harsh words from beginning to end. The ordeal wasn’t over, but it felt like a temporary pause.

"What a shame that Chains Demon General Marahis didn’t dare to come here in person." Leon wrinkled his nose as he crawled atop the ruins of the collapsed temple, scanning his surroundings. "If I hadn’t taken the sword out, hadn’t shown even a hint of bravery, do you think it would’ve come looking for trouble with us?"

"I don’t know," Tassera replied. "Yugros Demons are quick to anger. Maybe provoking it somehow would’ve worked."

"Ugh—" Leon sighed deeply, "It’s too late to bring that up now. Forget about it; let’s hurry back and take a look at the shop."

The two dragons flew off, returning to Oasis City, only to find Tassera’s shop reduced to ruins.

"Did you mark any of your goods with magic symbols?" Leon asked, gazing at the burnt remains of the giant tent where nothing of value remained. The useless racks and counters, coupled with the broken and immobile Stone Magic Statue, left him feeling a hint of pity. "You surely know the Item Locating Technique, right?"

A crushed corpse with a caved-in chest and a deformed head, presumably slain by the Stone Magic Statue, lay nearby. Another burnt body, seemingly killed by a magic trap, was also among the debris. Tassera stared at the wreckage for a long time before saying, "Item Locating Technique isn’t as powerful as you think—it has distance limitations."

"It would be hard to locate so many items all at once," Tassera admitted.

"No problem." Tassera nodded abruptly, then said again, "No problem."

"Those who looted my shop were surely influenced by the Ophalos Demon. Anyone wielding cursed equipment from Chains Demon General Marahis couldn’t possibly escape the curse. Whatever they stole from my shop will eventually end up in Marahis’s hands." Tassera was firm in her resolve. "As long as we kill Chains Demon General Marahis, we can recover everything."

"If Chains Demon General Marahis dares to come to the Material Plane, I’m not afraid of him. But causing trouble for him in Burning Flame Hell—that’s something I can’t manage for now," Leon said. "Who knows when we’ll be able to kill Chains Demon General Marahis. Can you really wait until then?"

"What are you planning?" There was a trace of apprehension in Tassera’s tone.

"Make some noise?" Leon, who might have let things slide before, now couldn’t let it go due to his newfound power. "The desert surrounds us; these invaders can’t escape fast enough. Unless they return our belongings, double the amount they took, no one will leave Oasis City alive."

Leon noticed Tassera staring at him, shrugged, and added, "But of course, this is your shop, not mine. Ultimately, it’s your decision. If you don’t intend to hold them accountable, I’ll let it go as well. If you’re unwilling to let it slide, I’ll gladly back you up with some chaos."

"That will just put me on the map as an Evil Dragon," Tassera said, "When that happens, who knows how many will be after me, wanting to make their mark by killing me."

"You wouldn’t still plan to stay here, would you?" Leon asked suddenly, seizing the opportunity to convince Tassera to leave with him.

Honestly, he needed Tassera.

Now that he was no longer a teenage dragon but a young dragon on the verge of becoming a youth, with an adult soul to boot, he inevitably felt certain physical desires.

Beyond that, he urgently needed a mage by his side. His mountain castle and valley villa currently lacked even a single magic trap, nor were they guarded by spells to prevent theft or magical detection. Consequently, he didn’t dare store anything valuable inside.

"If not here, then where?" Tassera asked, lowering her gaze, despite knowing full well what Leon meant.

"Watchtower Port, of course." Leon answered. "Chains Demon General Marahis surely won’t let this go, and I can’t stay here forever just to protect you."

"Mage Tower..." Tassera hadn’t forgotten Leon’s promise.

After ransacking Angmog’s two lairs, Leon now had savings in the tens of thousands of Gold Coins, confidently offering, "Come to Watchtower Port with me, and I’ll fund your Mage Tower however you want to build it... To be honest, if you don’t come, I wouldn’t bother building a Mage Tower at all."

"Not only will I help you construct a Mage Tower, but I’ll also gift you a shop within Watchtower Port," Leon added. "If anyone causes trouble, disrespects my rule, I’ll kill them, confiscate their shop, and you can open up a business there."

"You can take your time deciding—no rush. You can give me your answer tomorrow if you want," Leon offered.

"No need to think it over. I’ll go with you," Tassera replied without hesitation. As a Blue Dragon, she couldn’t possibly leave the robbery of her shop unaddressed. "Let’s rest tonight and act in the morning. Surround the city... Anyone who dares to take my belongings must pay the price."