Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 226 - 225: Remodeling

Chapter 226: Chapter 225: Remodeling

Those smaller activities like planting and taking care of trees can be handed over to subordinates.

But for something like leveling out an entire mountain, unless there’s some enormously powerful explosives to help, it’s unlikely the work could be finished within a few years—or even decades—if left to others.

Even though giant dragons have extraordinarily long lifespans, spanning thousands of years, such a long time is enough for a baby dragon to grow into a young adult dragon. To a giant dragon, that’s still not an insignificant period. Besides, Leon, who has a human soul inside him, is seen as overly impatient by Tassera and Cecilia. He simply has no patience to wait that long.

"If only we had some nitroglycerin."

Nitroglycerin is extremely unstable, highly prone to explosions, and incredibly powerful. Just a small bottle is enough to split mountains and crack boulders. Leon suddenly remembered that he had once shared the method for producing nitroglycerin with Edwin. Unfortunately, he had no idea where Edwin was now.

Tassera was a mage, but alchemy wasn’t her strong suit. Otherwise, Leon could have asked her to make nitroglycerin for his subordinates to blow up the mountains. Additionally, nitroglycerin could be used to create weapons. Incidentally, nitroglycerin could also be used to manufacture heart medication.

Wait, Leon’s subordinates were numerous but not overly abundant. Besides, there were still heaps of tasks waiting to be done on the Volcanic Island. Even if nitroglycerin was available, it wouldn’t be convenient to allocate some for mountain demolition.

Thinking this through, Leon suddenly felt slightly less burdened.

To transform the area into a feng shui masterpiece, the balance of the Five Elements and yin and yang must be considered. Due to the presence of the volcano, Fire Element was excessively abundant on the Volcanic Island. It was necessary to build a lake; otherwise, incorporating the ocean would make the Water Element overly dominant. Following that would be considerations like "conceal the wind, gather the breath" and "embrace by mountains and rivers."

"Cecilia, your task is to plant trees."

"Selim the Efreeti, I need you to lead someone to dig a large pit at the area shown on the diagram."

"Tassera and Fiora, your task is very simple—assist Selim in excavating a freshwater lake. Remember, I specifically want a freshwater lake."

After assigning one task after another, Leon personally flew to the island beside the Volcanic Island, a single wingbeat taking him across the distance, where he intended to level the tall mountain overshadowing the Volcanic Island.

The mountain wasn’t composed of dirt—no dirt mountain could withstand the relentless battering of seawater over countless years—rather, it was a rocky mountain. Regardless, as long as it wasn’t magically solidified, there was no need to worry.

Leon’s Catastrophe Blade was a refined gold weapon, imbued with properties that allow it to effortlessly slice through metal and shatter gold. Whenever it struck an object, it would deliver an overpowering impact, proving especially effective against structures, including stone.

"Where to begin?"

Leon wasn’t experienced in such matters. He simply swung the Catastrophe Blade and began slashing at the mountain rocks, breaking the connected rock into segments, pushing the pieces down the slope or into the sea, repeating the process over and over.

This was a tall mountain, not a lone peak. Just clearing one mountain head was substantial. Even if Leon could slice through a rock roughly the size of a small house in one stroke, after a whole day of hard work, it was unclear how much progress he had made—maybe one percent? Probably something around that.

"Tiring..."

"Haven’t worked this hard in ages."

The saying goes: "Living modestly is easy, but going back to modest living after luxury is difficult." Back then, Leon could work overtime continuously for an entire month, pressing on until the project was completed. Sure, the project was finished, but so was he—completely burned out. He could craft a tunnel network during his baby dragon phase without even frowning. Now, after just one day, he was utterly worn out.

Fortunately, Leon’s core essence remained that of a diligent, capable individual. He quickly pulled himself together and resumed work every morning, impressing Salovis with his determination.

After two days of relentless effort, Leon, observing Salovis lazily eating and sleeping all day, couldn’t put up anymore with the idling of this chaotic and evil Red Dragon with a malfunctioning brain, who hadn’t been assigned any duties thus far.

"You’re coming with me tomorrow," Leon barked at Salovis, who was soaking in the molten lava pool for her lava bath, upon returning to the Volcanic Island after another day of work.

Salovis opened her eyes and spotted Leon. Naturally, she knew what he was doing, and she absolutely didn’t want to get involved. She immediately refused, saying, "I’m not your subordinate... Besides, I’m preparing to establish my own territory. Tomorrow, I plan to visit the Lost Plateau."

"You can certainly refuse," Leon replied curtly. "But if you do, don’t expect to use my molten lava pool for your lava baths any longer... Also, I won’t starve you, but don’t count on my maids to prepare meals for you. Forget about even the cheapest seasoning, like salt."

Salovis, who understood Red Dragons profoundly, trusted that her brother would not bluff about such things. Hesitating for a moment, she countered with, "I... I can help you for an hour every day."

"How long I work, you work," Leon responded after pondering. "Do you know why I’m so strong? Do you want to be as strong as me?"

He wasn’t deceiving her—in the end, once the Volcanic Island was transformed into a feng shui paradise and a land of blessings, Salovis would surely gain considerable benefits.

No dragon could resist the lure of power, and Salovis was no exception. Flicking her forked tongue to wet her lips, she said, "I want to."

"Then work hard with me," Leon declared.

From the moment they hatch, baby dragons instinctively seek nourishment. Once fed, they search for hidden spots—caves, crannies, or fissures—that are easy to defend for rest, concealment, and hoarding treasure. They then devote themselves to honing their innate abilities, engaging in combat with siblings, sustaining long periods of meditation, and more. Such drive in the baby dragon stage does not necessarily persist into adulthood.

This parallels humanity—children brim with energy, but as adults, they’d often rather be idle. Those struggling in poverty strive tirelessly, but once wealth is attained, lethargy inevitably creeps in. Many authors, it’s said, write a single blockbuster book, earn a fortune, and lose the motivation to continue updating their work.

During her baby dragon era, Salovis had been quite industrious. Once she developed self-preservation capabilities that guaranteed survival unless she actively sought disaster, she lost interest in training her diverse skillset. She spent her life locked in battle—wasn’t it time for a little enjoyment?

Though Leon repeatedly claimed that her assistance would lead to future strength gains, and despite believing him, she still couldn’t rouse herself properly the next morning. Leon had to barge into her quarters, pound his fist against her head to wake her. Even then, there was no shortage of her waking irritation.

"Who dares disturb my sleep? Do you have a death wish?" grumbled the Red Dragon, her mouth emitting flames despite her grogginess.

"It’s me," Leon replied, sporting an intimidating grin. "Come kill me."

Salovis instantly snapped awake and remarked, "Oh, it’s you, brother."

With Salovis’s help—her strength as a young Red Dragon proved notable—Leon’s progress accelerated significantly, partly due to his increasing proficiency.

Initially estimating six months for the task, Leon ultimately finished leveling the mountain head in less than two months. However, the work wasn’t finished yet, requiring an array of arrangements and trips to the Lost Plateau.

Over the span of half a year, during which Githyanki people reappeared near Watchtower Port, selecting a plot of land to build a nursery for their offspring, Leon finally completed his transformation project.

Beyond the vast time and energy invested, it drained an enormous amount of treasure. His wealth accumulated over countless years was nearly depleted—he almost had to sell off physical assets.