Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 253: After modification - 251 Difficulties

Chapter 253: After modification: Chapter 251 Difficulties

Cecilia flew away.

Leon watched her leave the crater and thought about how, when Nezha uses his Three Heads and Six Arms Dharma Body, each hand wields a demon-suppressing Divine Artifact—Fire-tipped Spear, Demon-slaying Sword, Demon-cutting Blade... anything you could want. He knew he couldn’t compare to a legendary figure like the Great Sage of the Sea, but he couldn’t afford to fall too far behind either, nor lose the imposing presence of Three Heads and Six Arms.

As Leon let his thoughts wander, the Green Dragon and Blue Dragon flew toward him, one ahead of the other.

"Cecilia said you were looking for me?" Tassera landed and immediately transformed into her human form—a refined beauty with glasses, intellectual and composed. You could easily imagine Cecilia had gone to the Mage Tower to find her while she was reading.

"Yeah, I wanted to ask you about something," Leon said, looking at Tassera expectantly. His gaze inadvertently dropped from her face to her chest before hastily raising his eyes. "Do you know anything about forging materials?"

"I’m planning to have several weapons crafted. Do you know of any materials better than refined gold?" Leon continued.

Tassera loved reading, not limiting herself to magic books—astronomy, geography, history, mathematics, all kinds of topics. But she didn’t make any grand claims about her expertise.

She was tempted to say she didn’t know, but it was hard to reject the man looking at her so intently, especially when that man happened to be her chosen partner. She said, "I know a little."

"I’d love to hear more," Leon said excitedly.

Tassera mulled over the question for a moment before answering, "Heavenly Realm Steel is definitely better than refined gold."

"Heavenly Realm Steel?" Leon hadn’t heard of it before.

"It’s said that before Zarriel, the Great Devil, fell, when she was still an angel, she wielded a weapon called Zareel’s Sword, a Divine Artifact made of Heavenly Realm Steel," Tassera said after some consideration. "The sword granted its wielder radiant damage and resistance to dark erosion damage, as well as True Vision, plus it carried additional radiant damage."

Leon knew of Zarriel, the Great Devil. She had once been a formidable angel, tasked with monitoring the Blood War’s progression. However, she succumbed to the corrupting influence of the Nine Prisons and accepted Asmodis’ offer, transforming into a Great Devil. She now ruled the first layer of the Nine Prisons, Aphnas.

"If Zareel’s Sword really was made of Heavenly Realm Steel, then it’s capable of creating Divine Artifacts. It must be better than refined gold," Leon said, nodding in agreement.

"Here’s the question," Cecilia interjected, "Where can we buy, or find Heavenly Realm Steel?"

"I only know of its existence, not its location," Tassera said, adjusting her gold-rimmed glasses. Being a Blue Dragon, she didn’t suffer from near or farsightedness, so the glasses were purely decorative. "Since it’s called Heavenly Realm Steel, it’s most likely found in the Celestial Realm."

"The Celestial Realm..." Leon mused. "Celestial Mountain, perhaps?"

"Celestial Mountain, Twin Heaven, the Bliss Realm... basically any upper plane qualifies as the Celestial Realm," Tassera replied.

"Have you ever been to the Celestial Realm?" Leon asked out of curiosity. "I remember you’ve traveled to many places."

"I’ve traveled to many places, but other planes aren’t included," Tassera clarified.

Leon couldn’t confidently place himself into any specific faction, knowing at least that he wasn’t aligned with good. Since the Celestial Realm was firmly in the domain of good-aligned factions, he figured it best not to carelessly venture there. He said, "Are there any materials better than refined gold aside from Heavenly Realm Steel?"

"Hell Iron?" Tassera wondered aloud, shaking her head. "I only know that Hell Iron is used to craft many powerful pieces of equipment, but I couldn’t say whether it’s better than refined gold."

"The weapon of Coschechi, the Frost Giant King from the 23rd layer of the Abyss’s Steel Ice Plain, is said to be made of Cold Iron," Tassera said, furrowing her brow. "But if Cold Iron is really great, why do so many ordinary demons use weapons forged from it?"

"That’s all I know..." Tassera said. "I’ll head to Danalan and check the Elf library for you later."

"Great. I’ll see if I can ask the Cloud Giant as well. He’s quite knowledgeable," Leon said. "And maybe the Efreeti."

Tassera hesitated to speak.

"What is it?" Leon noticed the apprehension on Tassera’s face.

"If you want a weapon forged from materials better than refined gold... these materials do exist, but obtaining them is no easy feat," Tassera said. "Unless you’re willing to invest a lot of money and effort, I don’t think there’s much hope."

Leon fell silent.

"I didn’t realize rare materials were so hard to come by," Cecilia said, sticking out her tongue.

"What about now?" Cecilia asked Leon. "Do we accept reality and forge refined gold weapons directly? Or hold off until we find rare materials for crafting?"

Leon rubbed his forehead and sighed, "Rare materials aren’t easy to obtain—they’re hard to come by, so we can’t expect to reach the pinnacle right away. Let’s craft five refined gold weapons to use for now, and revisit the idea of reforging when opportunity strikes."

"Alright," Cecilia replied. "I’ll find a chance to inquire with the Gold Shore Chamber of Commerce. Maybe they’ll have some rare materials."

"They definitely won’t," Leon said, now sounding pessimistic. "The Gold Shore Chamber of Commerce is just one part of the Talia Alliance. Their scale is decent, but they’re not a major organization spanning multiple planes... Tassera and I have been to the Talia Alliance before. Refined gold and mithril are hard enough to come by there, let alone any rare materials."

"It’s still worth asking," Cecilia reasoned. "And the Githyanki are Star Realm Pirates—they might have plenty of rare materials."

"You might be right. Do as you see fit," Leon responded. "Anyway, this matter will be in your hands... I’ll add just a few more specifications; beyond that, you can manage it however you like."

Leon explained some additional requirements: the weapons he wanted had to at least be refined gold standard, no expense spared, and rare materials were welcome. While he wasn’t betting on creating legendary weapons, he insisted on ensuring exceptionally rare-grade possibilities. He suggested involving the Cloud Giant to connect with the Fire Giant Furnace Master for crafting and finally having the Elf artisans refine the details.

"I promise to complete the task," Cecilia said confidently. She was fearless when it came to action, knowing that only by taking initiative could she wield influence.

Leon’s primary concern was acquiring equipment directly tied to his combat strength. Now that he had delegated the matter to Cecilia, he didn’t have much else to worry about, and he could afford to rest for a while.

From here onward.

Leon hadn’t gone out of his way to announce that he had killed Envis, the ruler of Moon Bay, and plundered the entire area, but the news spread quickly. No pirate dared to act recklessly in the Flash Sea anymore, while the frightened elves rushed to establish a trade hub in Watchtower Port.

With no one stirring up trouble, Leon was quite content with peace.

To be honest, though, it was partly because he was in a period of recuperation. His weaponry was still with the Elf artisans being finely crafted, and the equipment he planned for his Three Heads and Six Arms was still far from ready. He’d also just transformed Volcanic Island into a strategic haven and hadn’t had the chance to enjoy it properly yet...

In short, life went on, day by day.