Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 214 - 213 End of Work

Chapter 214: Chapter 213 End of Work

When Leon found Cecilia, she was lying on the ground, half-asleep with her eyes narrowed.

The corpses of the Mind Flayers and Brain-eating Monsters were still scattered around, unattended. However, the Shifting Beast’s body was missing. Judging from the traces of blood on the Green Dragon’s lips, there was little doubt she had eaten it.

Originally, there had been six Gray Dwarves, five of whom survived their battle with Cecilia. Now there were only four left. They sat obediently on the ground, battered and bruised, not daring to think of escaping while the Green Dragon appeared to rest.

Leon could easily imagine the cunning Green Dragon employing some kind of bait-and-trap tactic, pretending to sleep to lure the Gray Dwarves into fleeing. The moment they tried to run, she would spring into action and eliminate one. With their dwindling numbers, even if Cecilia remained motionless for an hour with her eyes half-closed, the remaining Gray Dwarves wouldn’t risk harboring any rebellious thoughts.

They were about ten meters apart.

"Master has returned..." Before Leon even got closer, Cecilia opened her eyes, shifted into her human form, and transformed into a young girl wearing an elegant maid outfit, her short, chic hair neatly covering her ears. Her transformation made the Gray Dwarves secretly thankful they hadn’t tried anything foolish.

"I’m back," Leon said with an unusually bright smile. "I brought you something good."

"Something good?" Cecilia’s eyes lit up. "Master actually remembered your little maid... I’m so touched I could cry. Whatever you ask of me, Master, I’ll do it!"

"Eating this will definitely help you awaken your psionic abilities," Leon said, making a slashing motion with his hand in midair and opening a spatial rift. Out of it dropped the corpse of an Elder Brain.

"Is this... the corpse of an Elder Brain?" Cecilia hesitated. She had never seen an Elder Brain in person before. They were beings she would never dare provoke, nor would she have the chance to. But she had heard tales of them—an enormous brain with dangling tentacles.

"Yes, it’s the corpse of an Elder Brain," Leon confirmed, giving the fleshy, squishy-looking brain a poke. The seemingly soft and gelatinous tissue turned out to be surprisingly tough, though to Leon’s sharp teeth and claws, it might as well have been tofu. "Even a newborn Elder Brain is an Elder Brain. Eating it will undoubtedly help you awaken your psionics."

"Well..."

"What’s the problem now?"

"I think I’ll pass." Cecilia bit down gently on her thin lip, leaving faint tooth marks. While she wasn’t afraid of eating two-tentacled, six-legged Shifting Beasts, she hesitated before the Elder Brain, nervousness evident.

"So you’re afraid of danger, unwilling to accompany me to the Mind Flayer colony—that I can accept... But now I bring you the body of the Elder Brain, and you’re telling me you won’t eat it?" Leon crossed his arms and turned his gaze elsewhere with a soft hum of annoyance. "Fine, don’t eat it. Just don’t expect me to remember you next time."

"I’m scared, okay? I’m afraid it will possess me!" Cecilia said, putting on an expression that was pitiful, weak, and helpless all at once.

"I mean, isn’t it possible that the Elder Brain might not actually be dead, that its mind is still alive?" Cecilia stammered, trying to come up with an excuse. "What if it’s just waiting for someone to eat it so it can use its strong psionic capabilities to take over their body and be reborn?"

The Elder Brain had indeed been rather devious—scheming to lure Leon into becoming a Main Brain Dragon. It had only failed because its overall strength was somewhat lacking, its nest defenses non-existent, and its plans reliant on the cooperation of a Mind Flayer Arcanist. Otherwise, who knew what might have happened?

Considering this, Leon was certain the Elder Brain wouldn’t dare pull any underhanded tricks while under the scorching power of his Samadhi True Fire. His flames burned not only physical substances but also spiritual beings. Still, a trace of unease lingered in his mind.

"Forget it. If you don’t want to eat it, then don’t." Leon wasn’t in the mood to force Cecilia into discomfort. Instead, he turned his attention to the Gray Dwarves, seamlessly switching from Dragon Language to Dwarf Language. He pointed at the Elder Brain’s corpse and commanded, "You eat it. Don’t make me repeat myself."

The four remaining Gray Dwarves exchanged frightened glances.

How could they dare to defy Leon—the Red Dragon who had killed his way through the Mind Flayer colony, slain the Elder Brain, and brought back its corpse in just a few hours? These were Gray Dwarves who worked regularly with molten lava and fire, and they understood Red Dragons well. They knew just how unyielding and dangerous a Red Dragon’s temperament could be.

Benhard was the first to step forward. He approached the Elder Brain’s corpse, pried off a piece of slightly charred "tofu," and stuffed it into his mouth.

The other Gray Dwarves followed suit.

"How does it taste?" Leon asked curiously.

Benhard hesitated, unsure of what the Red Dragon wanted to hear. Finally, he decided to speak the truth: "Not good."

"Do you need some spices?" Leon offered generously. Money was no object to him these days, even if the spices were expensive.

"No, no need," Benhard shook his head hurriedly.

"Suit yourself... So, after eating the Elder Brain’s corpse, do you feel your psionic abilities improving?" Leon asked. He was reasonably sure that simply eating the corpse wouldn’t yield any significant effects. Perhaps refining it into an elixir might have been more effective.

Benhard replied, "I don’t feel anything."

Leon didn’t press the matter. He turned back to Cecilia and tried to persuade her again. "See? Nothing happened to them after eating it."

"But there’s also no effect," Cecilia dismissed the idea. Being a dragon capable of eating mud didn’t mean a dragon ought to eat mud willingly.

"Maybe the effects are just delayed," Leon insisted, unwilling to give up.

"And maybe in the next moment, they’ll develop split personalities," Cecilia countered. After some thought, she decided to change the subject. "So, Master, how did you find the Mind Flayer colony and kill the Elder Brain?"

Who doesn’t enjoy showing off? Leon was no exception. With great enthusiasm, he recounted his adventures in tracking down the Mind Flayer colony, emphasizing how the Elder Brain had spotted him early on and schemed against him, only to be overpowered by his brute strength. In the face of overwhelming might, any machinations were futile.

"Master, you’re amazing!" Cecilia clapped in admiration.

"While you were away, I asked the Gray Dwarves about their city," Cecilia added, eager to change the topic further to steer Leon away from pushing her to eat the Elder Brain. "That city is ruled by the Black Iron King and the Landlord Council, with additional influence from the Scholar Council and the Merchant Council. They didn’t give me an exact population count, but their army is at least five hundred strong. They even have Stone Giants..."

"The strongest among them, the Black Iron King, can duel a Beholder but ends up injured himself. So it’s safe to assume his strength is far inferior to yours."

"If it came to a direct battle, the entire Gray Dwarf city combined wouldn’t be a match for you. But those Gray Dwarves love digging tunnels—deep and extensive," Cecilia advised. "Rather than attacking their city outright, I’d suggest extorting a sum from them instead."

Leon nodded thoughtfully.

He had no interest in ruling a Gray Dwarf city in the Dark Territory. His primary goal was to acquire some rare metals.

By now, Leon was starting to piece things together. Beyond Mithril and refined gold, there were many exotic metals to seek out, such as Cold Iron, Shadow Steel, Abyss Iron, and Hell Iron.

"I don’t know why Master..." Cecilia smiled faintly, unable to suppress her amusement. "Why do you have such a roundabout personality? You obviously want something—why not just take it, extort it, or trick them outright? Instead, you always feel the need to find some excuse. Sometimes, it’s almost as hypocritical as those Humans."

"The Gray Dwarves planned to rob us; that’s reason enough. Plus, you could say Master did them a favor by destroying the Mind Flayer colony, removing a major threat. They should feel compelled to express their gratitude, right?" Cecilia asked. "What do you think, Master?"

"No argument there," Leon thought to himself. Despite the passage of so many years, he still couldn’t bring himself to act with reckless abandon. Having a righteous pretense suited him just fine. After all, what distinguished him from a mere beast if he blindly gave in to every greedy impulse?

"Never mind eating that; if you can’t stomach it, just don’t," Leon told the Gray Dwarves, motioning them to come closer. "The reason I called you over is to discuss your actions—breaking your agreement and trying to rob us."

"We’re willing to serve the great Red Dragon Lord as your loyal servants," Benhard blurted out without hesitation.

"I... Never mind, Cecilia, take care of this," Leon sighed. He despised such mundane tasks, so he left the negotiations to Cecilia.

When it came to scheming, deceit, and coercion, Leon couldn’t hold a candle to the Green Dragon.

While Cecilia negotiated with the Gray Dwarves, Leon sat nearby to rest—at least for a moment.

Although he was immensely powerful, his abilities were straightforward and finite. With just a few powerful attacks in his arsenal, if he couldn’t win, his only option was to flee. The assault on the Mind Flayer colony had drained his mana almost completely. If he didn’t recover soon, he’d only be slightly stronger than an average young Red Dragon.

The negotiation—or rather, the threats—eventually concluded.

With Benhard leading the way, the group returned to the Gray Dwarf city.

Leon handed the Elder Brain’s corpse to Benhard and instructed him to present it to the city’s rulers as a token of negotiation—just to ensure they understood who held the upper hand. Then, Leon took Cecilia to a nearby inn for food and drink.

As for Benhard’s discussions with the city’s rulers, Leon neither knew nor cared.

Upon hearing that a Red Dragon and Green Dragon had arrived, the so-called Black Iron King hurried to the market district, eager to discuss matters with them. Leon left everything in Cecilia’s capable hands.

Still hesitant and unwilling to spend lavishly for peace, the Black Iron King found himself staring at Leon, who had reverted to Dragon Form. With a casual motion, Leon drew his Catastrophe Blade and, in one sweeping strike, cleaved a stalactite several meters thick in two.

"The Cliff Sword."

"He’s the Red Dragon Cliff Sword!"

Leon hadn’t expected his reputation to reach even the Dark Territory.

Despite this recognition, they still had to haggle back and forth. Eventually, Leon secured a sizeable amount of gold and a heap of rare metals.

Yet, as Leon gazed upon the easily extorted wealth, he didn’t feel particularly triumphant. Instead, he felt a flicker of unease.

Making money this fast, this effortlessly—if he didn’t exercise restraint, he feared he’d become consumed by greed, unable to extricate himself, with no telling what might happen in the end.

"So, what’s next? Shall we head straight back?" Cecilia asked, clearly eager to delve through the treasures Leon had plundered from the Mind Flayer colony—the prize haul that might help her awaken her psionic powers. "Or do you want to explore further?"

"Since we’re out here, we might as well keep going," Leon replied. "Heading back now would feel like a waste."