Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 336 - 331: Friends

Chapter 336: Chapter 331: Friends

The Sea Elves uphold their love for freedom and personal emotions. Although they regard most laws and governments as tools of manipulation, leaning more toward chaotic alignments, they are all good-hearted people. At the very least, they bravely fight against the wicked Sahuagin and never attack passing ships. They often act as mediators between aquatic and non-aquatic races.

As for the Triton Fishmen, they might come off as arrogant and conceited at times, but they are truly crusaders of the seas, Sea Guardians who firmly believe other civilizations’ races deserve their protection. Whenever a pirate fleet stirs up havoc or a Kraken awakens from its slumber, they are always the first to pick up weapons to protect others, willingly sacrificing themselves for the greater good.

Fiora has never denied that her choice to become a Knight wasn’t solely due to the Bronze Dragon’s nature; she was somewhat influenced by the Triton Fishmen.

Whether it’s the Sea Elves or the Triton Fishmen, Fiora couldn’t imagine them being slaughtered mercilessly like the Sahuagin at the hands of Leon’s transformed Kraken.

Distracted, Fiora swam along, pondering ways to stop Leon. However, no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t find a solution. Frustrated, she swung her tail and shattered a piece of an undersea reef.

Leon once again shifted into his youthful Bronze Dragon form, following closely behind Fiora. Having experienced a lot, he easily saw through Fiora’s thoughts. She clearly wasn’t pleased to guide him to find the Sea Elves and Triton Fishmen.

Realizing this, Leon accelerated to catch up with Fiora, saying, "You’ve lived on Volcanic Island for so many years. You should know I’m not like other Red Dragons."

"I know." Of course, Fiora knew this, or she would have left long ago.

"Those Sahuagin dared to attack the ships under my protection. I must teach them a lesson. Those Sea Elves and Triton Fishmen haven’t done anything..." Leon said, "As long as they accept my rule, I won’t hurt them."

"Accepting my rule shouldn’t be a problem, right?" Leon said confidently. "I am absolutely more generous and magnanimous than those nobles. Under my reign, taxes will be lower."

Leon genuinely didn’t care about the meager wealth of the poor. Building up Watchtower Port was more important than anything else.

Additionally, he trusted advanced productivity more. Instead of taking coins from the pockets of peasants, he preferred to open factories to earn big money. Though he hadn’t yet figured out how to manufacture a loom, he was currently relying on Edwin to sort out nitroglycerin. Explosives had considerable economic potential...

"I know that, too." Fiora affirmed Leon’s rule, but the problem lay in that the Sea Elves wouldn’t readily bow to a Red Dragon, and neither would the Triton Fishmen.

Leon wanted to persuade her further, opening his mouth but not knowing where to begin. Suddenly, he noticed that they were doubling back and asked, "Why are we turning around?"

Fiora snapped out of her thoughts and said, "Aren’t you looking for the Sea Elves and Triton Fishmen? Sea Elves mostly live in shallow coastal waters, not too far from the shore. The deep sea, where the Sahuagin live, is too cold and dark for them."

Leon nodded and said, "But the Triton Fishmen live in the deep sea like the Sahuagin, don’t they? We should find the Triton Fishmen first and then circle back to the Sea Elves, so we don’t have to backtrack."

"Never mind, it’s all the same." Leon didn’t care much about such details.

About an hour passed.

Fiora still hadn’t come up with a good plan. For the first time, she felt her brain wasn’t up to the task. If it were Cecilia, she’d undoubtedly have countless ideas, but that Green Dragon absolutely wouldn’t help her. Compared to Leon, Cecilia was even more sinister, always dismissing Leon as overly kind.

Time. She just needed a little more time, and Fiora was certain she’d devise a good plan. For now, she decided to stall and said, "We’ve been out for a day, haven’t we?"

Leon smirked and said, "Are you tired?"

"Aren’t you tired yet?" Fiora replied. "I think maybe we should take a break, eat something, and then get some sleep."

Leon wasn’t tired, but they had indeed been out for quite a while. Winning over the Sea Elves and Triton Fishmen wasn’t an urgent matter, so he said, "Taking a break is fine by me."

"This area used to be where I met with friends to hang out. We swam, played around..." Fiora said, drifting into memory. "There are many places here for us to hide—underwater caves, shipwrecks. We often played hide-and-seek here."

Leon said nothing, as his childhood in this world as a Red Dragon had been far from joyful, mostly spent hunting and sleeping. As for his life as a human, there wasn’t much worth mentioning either.

"There’s a type of seaweed here that’s really delicious," Fiora said.

"I’m a Red Dragon, not a Bronze Dragon. I don’t eat seaweed," Leon said. "Let’s find a place to rest first, then figure out what to eat."

"Alright. I know a small island." Fiora said. As a Bronze Dragon, she indeed spent most of her time underwater, though she didn’t lay eggs, sleep, or store treasures in the water. In fact, Bronze Dragon lairs were always dry, with submerged lower chambers that flooded during high tides and upper chambers that remained dry all the time.

And so, Leon followed Fiora toward the small island. On the way, he suddenly thought of something and asked, "Why don’t we just fly there? Isn’t flying faster than swimming?"

"Yeah, we can fly," Fiora said, flapping her wings and using them like large fins, resembling rays or marine birds.

Leon imitated her technique. Initially, he thought using his wings as large fins would speed up his swimming, but it wasn’t faster than moving his body in a sinuous manner, vigorously flicking his tail for propulsion. The difference felt like transitioning from butterfly stroke to freestyle swimming. Just as he surfaced, he noticed a Bronze Dragon circling overhead.

Leon turned his head and saw Fiora nearby, so the circling Bronze Dragon wasn’t her.

"Do you know her?" Leon noticed Fiora was fixated on the circling Bronze Dragon.

"Tatiss..." Fiora said, "My friend."

"You’ve never mentioned her before," Leon said.

"We haven’t met since entering the young-adult stage," Fiora suddenly seemed uneasy. "Can you stay in your Bronze Dragon form?"

"Am I that disgraceful?" Leon teased knowingly. Although there wasn’t much animosity between Red Dragons and Bronze Dragons, unlike the deadly rivalry between Red Dragons and Silver Dragons, as a Colorful Dragon, it certainly wasn’t ideal to appear before a Metal Dragon.

"I’m begging you," Fiora said.

At that moment, the Bronze Dragon circling in the sky noticed the two Bronze Dragons surfacing and excitedly dove into the sea, causing massive water splashes.

"Miss Fiora, long time no see."