Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 279 - 275: Searching for Him a Thousand Times in the Crowd

Chapter 279: Chapter 275: Searching for Him a Thousand Times in the Crowd

One week later, Salovis finally returned to the Volcanic Island.

Unexpectedly, Anglistra did not come back with her.

"You came back alone?" Leon asked incredulously.

"Yes, I came back alone." Salovis puffed out her chest proudly. She had some confidence in herself, and truth be told, aside from Cecilia being an exception, the rest of them had remarkable figures. Dragons, after all, were practically perfect beings. "I ditched her... Pretty impressive, huh?"

"But she knows you live on the Volcanic Island," Leon reminded her.

"I never told her I live on the Volcanic Island," Salovis said. "Normally, no two Red Dragons would live together. When two Red Dragons live together, all they do is fight, so she definitely wouldn’t guess that I also reside here."

"But we don’t fight," Leon pointed out.

"That’s because it’s one-sided—I get beaten up," Salovis said glumly, hugging her head with both hands. Her pitiful expression made her remarkably endearing, a stark contrast to her true nature as a ferocious Red Dragon... who also happened to be greedy, lazy, and gluttonous.

Leon laughed heartily. As long as his strength was sufficient, Salovis would always remain his adorable little sister.

"What are you working on?" Salovis noticed a large pile of alchemy materials next to Leon, alchemy materials that he also treated as ingredients for elixirs. "Did you switch to being an Alchemist?"

"Perfect timing! Follow me," Leon said. He was eager to test Salovis’ flames.

It turned out that when refining Human Elixirs, he had always used ordinary fire... although molten lava wasn’t exactly "ordinary fire." If he were to refine advanced Human Elixirs or Heavenly Immortal Pills, there wouldn’t be much need to summon an Efreeti from the Lost Plateau specifically for its fire.

"Where are we going?" Salovis asked curiously as she followed Leon up to the Volcano Top.

"Aim your flames at this furnace," Leon instructed.

Salovis tilted her head and asked, "Why?"

"Why ask so many questions? Just do what I say," Leon replied curtly.

Salovis grumbled under her breath, but in the end, she breathed flames onto the alchemy furnace.

"I didn’t say stop," Leon said.

"You’re a Red Dragon too. You should know we can’t keep breathing fire indefinitely," Salovis complained.

Leon suddenly realized the limitation—using Samadhi True Fire relied on mana, which he could expend freely as long as he had enough. For a dragon to use their Spit Weapon, they needed to charge their lungs with energy from their main blood vessels, similar to a person’s deep breath before exhaling—or, to be more precise, like spitting saliva. Continuously spitting saliva would be impossible without extraordinary talent.

Feeling a bit awkward, Leon refused to admit fault. "This is because you lack learned skills. If you had mastered Spitting Specialization techniques or Spit Recovery abilities, you’d be using Flame Breath however and whenever you wanted," he said.

"Mother never taught me," Salovis replied, "so it’s not like I had a choice."

Leon froze for a moment at this, then asked, "She mastered Spitting Specialization techniques?"

"Of course." Salovis said. "You didn’t know? Otherwise, why would you think she earned the nickname ’Molten Throat’?"

"Wasn’t her nickname because her throat glows when she uses Spit Weapon?" Leon asked intrigued. He had never fully investigated Anglistra’s nickname origins.

"It’s both," Salovis explained. "She’s quite formidable. She knows Spit Attachment, Spit Retention, Spit Range Increase, Extreme Salivation—those sorts of techniques. Luckily, her only forte is her Spit Weapon, which is how I managed to escape from her grip... She can’t outspeed me in flight."

Leon mulled this over. In game settings, while Efreetis were called the Lords of Blazing Flames, they were more like glorified figureheads, upheld by others. There were countless beings more powerful than them. Above the Efreetis were the Noble Genies, then the Efreeti Sultan, and finally the Fire Element Prince. As for the damage caused by a Red Dragon’s Flame Breath, it far surpassed the fire projectile damage of an Efreeti.

To refine Heavenly Immortal Pills, he might need his mother’s assistance.

Thinking this, Leon hurriedly asked, "Since you’re back, where did you leave Mother?"

"She’s probably searching all over the Lost Plateau for me right now," Salovis giggled gleefully.

"Enjoy your laughter while it lasts," Leon said. "She could come back at any moment."

"Don’t ruin a happy moment with sad thoughts. Life is hard enough as it is—some things are better left unsaid," Salovis said with bright eyes. "Big Brother, you’ll help me, right?"

"Are you kidding me?" Leon retorted coolly. "Be prepared to pay up to sort things out."

"I can give her ten thousand Gold Coins, but she wants one hundred thousand! One hundred thousand Gold Coins—how could I possibly afford that? She’s dreaming!" Salovis protested loudly.

"She raised you for so many years," Leon joked.

"She barely gave me enough food. By the time I was in the Young Dragon stage, she stopped preparing meals altogether, forcing me to hunt for myself all in the name of ’training.’ Ten thousand Gold Coins should be more than enough repayment," Salovis argued.

"Ten thousand won’t cut it," Leon reasoned thoughtfully. "Fifty thousand Gold Coins. Fifty thousand, and I’ll help you settle things with her—just this once. If she asks for money again in the future, you can come to me, and I’ll stand up for you."

"Rather than constantly hiding, why not spend fifty thousand Gold Coins to buy some peace of mind? Your choice," Leon added.

"My heart is bleeding," Salovis lamented.

"Don’t put on an act in front of me," Leon said. "I spent at least ten sets of fifty thousand Gold Coins renovating this Volcanic Island. Did I ever complain? You all live here, and I never asked for rent."

"But the Volcanic Island is yours," Salovis countered. "Your ten sets of fifty thousand Gold Coins are just a different way for you to entertain yourself."

"I didn’t realize you were this eloquent before," Leon teased.

The next day, Salovis gave her answer—she was willing to spend fifty thousand Gold Coins for peace of mind.

Anglistra returned three days later, storming in with a loud yell: "Did that scoundrel come back yet?"

"If you’ve got fire, aim it at this furnace," Leon pointed at his alchemy furnace. "I heard you’ve mastered several Super Spitting Specialization techniques?"

Anglistra glared at Leon, but she couldn’t overpower him.

"Use your absolute strongest flames on this furnace, and I’ll tell you where Salovis went," Leon said.

"You’re acting strange," Anglistra remarked. "One breath of my fire could melt it."

Leon carefully observed Anglistra’s flames—they could definitely be of use.

"Now then, can you tell me?" Anglistra asked after sparing Leon’s alchemy furnace from being melted.

"I can persuade her to hand over fifty thousand Gold Coins for you," Leon paused before continuing. "In return, I need your flames."