Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 332 - 327: Escape for the Moment

Chapter 332: Chapter 327: Escape for the Moment

Leon swished his tail, accelerating forward, and soon arrived at the Sahuagin settlement.

The Sahuagin settlement was surrounded by towering underwater mountains and dense forests of giant seaweed, providing natural concealment and seclusion.

The Sahuagin were followers of Sekola, the Shark God, and had a special close bond with sharks. They trained sharks as attack animals, and even untrained sharks saw Sahuagin as allies and wouldn’t prey on them. Unsurprisingly, there were quite a few sharks dwelling near the settlement.

Even though Leon was now in his young bronze dragon form, those ten-meter-long giant sharks that only appear in the deep sea were hardly a challenge for a young bronze dragon, let alone ordinary sharks.

"You like shark meat, don’t you? There are plenty of sharks here for you to feast on," Leon said, glancing at Fiora, who had caught up.

Fiora shrugged indifferently and replied, "Are you planning to talk to those Sahuagin first or attack directly?"

Bronze dragons have a strong sense of justice, intolerant of cruelty or anarchy in any form. They usually attack only in self-defense or to protect those unable to defend themselves. They dislike killing creatures they don’t intend to eat and strive to negotiate with intelligent enemies, though they remain vigilant against deceit.

Fiora, playing the role of a knight, preferred subduing enemies rather than killing them. Luckily, her true form was a bronze dragon, sparing her from ending up in certain peculiar novels where letting robbers or goblins go would inevitably result in being struck from behind with a stone, causing irreparable consequences.

"Diplomacy before hostility — let’s try talking first," Leon suggested, less inclined toward violence. "After all, if they submit to me, they’ll become my subjects. Population is a valuable resource."

With that, Leon swam to the front of the Sahuagin settlement and saw a circular plaza paved with rocks and shells. At its center stood a coarse statue carved to depict Sahuagin worshiping the Shark God Sekola. Surrounding the statue were piles of offerings: glowing coral and gold and silver artifacts looted from passing ships.

Before Leon could speak, a group of Sahuagin holding long spears approached him, making strange noises.

Leon turned to Fiora.

"That’s the Sahuagin language. I don’t understand it either," Fiora answered.

"So what now?" Leon asked.

Fiora puffed out a bubble, saying, "I don’t know either."

"If communication is impossible, then don’t blame me." For Leon, who believed appearance equals justice, the hideous Sahuagin had no rights in his eyes — especially since they had offended him before.

From the dozens of simple houses scattered around the plaza, which were constructed with coral frameworks and woven seaweed, and covered with heavy seagrass roofs, the Sahuagin settlement was clearly a small-scale one.

A small Sahuagin settlement, at most, housed dozens of Sahuagin, with no Sahuagin barons with four arms — one only appeared in one or two hundred Sahuagin — which meant a young bronze dragon would suffice to handle them.

Leon didn’t transform into the powerful adult dragon turtle or Kraken, remaining in his young bronze dragon form, and lunged forward, propelling himself closer to the Sahuagin. He bit down on the head of one Sahuagin, shaking it violently — one move, one life.

Seeing Leon launch an attack, Fiora swiftly joined the fray.

Leon’s young bronze dragon transformation followed the standard specifications for a young bronze dragon. Having lived on Leon’s volcanic island, which he had transformed into a treasure trove of geomantic power, Fiora had attained a strength close to adulthood and surpassed standard bronze dragon capabilities.

Even with the sharks’ help, a small Sahuagin settlement could hardly withstand just one juvenile bronze dragon, let alone survive against Leon and Fiora. Soon, they were slaughtered into disarray.

Even a small gain had value, so Leon didn’t leave behind the Sahuagin’s possessions. He noticed Fiora staring blankly and encouraged her, "Sahuagin are deep sea demons, a highly predatory race. They see the entire aquatic domain as their kingdom, treating its numerous creatures as their prey for bloody sport."

"I know," Fiora replied, though her words couldn’t conceal her slight melancholy. She still wasn’t adept at killing.

Leon thought about it and said, "I just scavenged about a hundred gold coins’ worth of treasure. I’ll give you ten percent."

"Wasn’t it supposed to be half?" Fiora snapped out of her gloom upon hearing Leon’s words. "Your young bronze dragon transformation isn’t stronger than mine, and you’re not as good at water combat... I killed more Sahuagin than you did."

"Feeling better now?" Leon teased.

Fiora squinted slightly, regaining her composure.

Sahuagin settlements were often well-hidden, buried either among underwater mountain ranges or nestled in ocean trenches. Without guidance from Fiora, Leon might spend a day without locating a single Sahuagin settlement and could even get lost in the depths of the ocean. She was indispensable, and he had to appease her.

...

...

Leon and Fiora could easily destroy a small Sahuagin settlement, but they couldn’t completely eliminate those determined to flee.

Some Sahuagin escaped and found a Sahuagin baron, reporting that their settlement had been attacked by two bronze dragons.

"Has that Red Dragon forgotten us?" The Sahuagin baron, upon hearing the report, sneered. "But it only has one bronze dragon under its command. Where did it recruit another?"

"That Red Dragon might be powerful on land, but even the Kraken isn’t a match for it. Still, it could only dispatch two bronze dragons to the sea," the Sahuagin baron said, folding all four of its arms.

"Even just two bronze dragons will be hard for us to deal with. We’ve already lost one Sahuagin priestess, and several others are in danger," the baron added.

"The Kraken has been staying in its deep sea lair recently... The Kraken is far more terrifying than the Red Dragon. It doesn’t bother with us, but we must never provoke it. If we do, we’re doomed to be warped by its power," the Sahuagin baron cautioned, waving a fish spear. "If only we had a Siege Crab, then we wouldn’t have to fear any bronze dragon."

Siege Crabs are ordinary crabs that have undergone mutations over decades. Each one is bound by a Coral Ring enchanted with magic. The wearer of the Coral Ring has absolute control over the Siege Crab and can directly issue verbal commands.

The Siege Crab’s size rivals that of dragons, and its power matches theirs. A single Siege Crab can engage in direct combat against an adult bronze dragon.

"We don’t have a Siege Crab..." the Sahuagin baron paused. "Contact that greedy Dragon Turtle immediately. If it helps us drive away those two bronze dragons, we’ll pay it unlimited gold and silver treasures."