Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 360 - 355: Each with Their Own Calculations

Chapter 360: Chapter 355: Each with Their Own Calculations

Tassera quickly left Crossroads City with Betty.

Considering the distance from Crossroads City to Watchtower Port and the need to gather dispersed personnel, Tassera brought everyone over by flight the next morning. To maintain the element of surprise, she did not make a grand entrance in Dragon Form.

Leon looked around. Besides the young Silver Dragon, Isily, and the lowest ranked Brass Dragon, Eggon—Isily had been working particularly hard lately, and Eggon was an old acquaintance who needed a chance to prove himself—the strength of everyone else was quite good. The absence of the Efreeti was due to identity issues.

"I heard you’re dealing with an Ancient Black Dragon and specifically called us here for this, is it true?" Salovis, in her human form, had grown rounder than before, suggesting how she’d been living, but still within a cute range. Leon didn’t want to interfere, after all, he was quite particular about first impressions.

Leon glanced at Tassera, guessing she hadn’t explained everything clearly to everyone, and said, "Are you scared?"

"Not scared. It’s just an Ancient Dragon, a Black Dragon at that," said Salovis bravely, being a Red Dragon, unafraid of anything as long as she hadn’t been pressed. "What I meant was, even if it’s a Black Dragon, being an Ancient Dragon, the travel and overtime pay should be triple."

"You’re always making a fuss." Leon cracked his knuckles, "Has it been a long time since I taught you a lesson? Do you feel itchy?"

Salovis stuck out her tongue.

Anglistra stood by the window, looking out at Crossroads City, and said, "It’s my first time in Crossroads City... Is it really this big, larger than Watchtower Port?"

"As a world-renowned old city, being bigger than Watchtower Port is quite normal," Leon replied.

"Do you think we could rob this place for ten million Gold Coins?" Anglistra seemed tempted.

"You’re dreaming," Leon paused and said, "It’s not that this place can’t yield ten million Gold Coins, it’s just that we don’t have the capability, not even with both of us. It’d still be a stretch...unless we call everyone, including the Dragon Turtle and Kraken."

Leon thought, Crossroads City has five major guilds. Aside from the Guild Leader of the Nightfall Guild, whose identity is unknown, reportedly very strong but also rumored to be too weak to show his face, Leon could handle any other Guild Leader single-handedly without much issue, tackling two wouldn’t be impossible, but three would be a stretch.

The five major guilds have both competition and cooperation; targeting one guild won’t provoke the others too much. If we aimed to rob the entire Crossroads City, we would face the united power of all five guilds...Leon admitted he didn’t have such capability.

"Our target is the Nightfall Guild, then the Black Water Trading Company," Leon emphasized, "not the entire Crossroads City."

On the way back to Watchtower Port from Crossroads City, Tassera specifically consulted Betty. Although Betty didn’t know much, she said, "As long as we don’t disrupt city order, the Grand Judge...which is actually a Sphinx, will not interfere, and the Guild Leader of the Kozan Alliance is a Mad Mage, only mad experiments will attract him."

"The large member base of the Roots Sect believes death is part of the cycle of life. They think everything will ultimately decay but decayed lands will always nurture new life..." said Tassera, "The Guild Leader of the Roots Sect is a Lich, originally an Elf, and he might become Delaguna’s helper."

"Then it’s the Nightfall Guild and the Black Water Trading Company... If the Roots Sect insists on getting involved, that’s one more. Tackling three guilds should be quite easy, right?" Anglistra looked at Leon, "They provoked you so much, yet you’re still willing to negotiate and give them a chance; you’re really a good-tempered Red Dragon."

"If I weren’t good-tempered." Leon eyed Anglistra, "Remember when you drove me away, you lit your own path to destruction, yet you still want to stand here and talk."

Anglistra kept silent.

Leon sighed, feeling it wasn’t very fitting, but still somewhat reasonable, and said, "No matter how big a country is, if it’s fond of war, it will perish; even if the world is peaceful, forgetting war leads to peril."

No one mentioned it, but at least Fiora liked Leon’s words.

...

...

At the same time, Delaguna traversed the vast and intricate sewers of Crossroads City and found a handsome Elf deep inside.

The age and origin of a Lich affect its appearance. An ancient Lich might appear as fragile bones clad in decayed attire of the Forgotten Empire style, while a "younger" Lich would look closer to a living being, donned in modern attire. Many Liches use illusion techniques to disguise their true form, appearing as attractive mortals.

The handsome Elf named Jarei was, in reality, the Guild Leader of the Roots Sect, a Lich, and unsurprisingly, an ally of the Ancient Black Dragon, "Lord Delaguna, what do you need from me?"

"Stop pretending in front of me," Delaguna’s expression was unfriendly, "You can’t possibly be unaware of what happened yesterday."

Jarei smirked, "You specifically came to ask for my help against that Red Dragon?"

"No," Delaguna shook his head, "I don’t need your help against the Red Dragon because I’m planning to have a talk with him."

Delaguna’s simple plan was to gather a bunch of allies to showcase his strength to the Red Dragon; he’s not one to be trifled with, making the upcoming negotiations easier. He just hoped that the Red Dragon, as rumored, valued commitment and would hold to his words.

"You’re actually considering negotiating with that Red Dragon..." Jarei stared at Delaguna, "Did I hear wrong? Are you still the Ancient Black Dragon I knew?"

"What do you know..." Delaguna sneered.

"How could I not understand?" Jarei snapped his fingers, materializing an illusion of a Three Heads and Six Arms Red Dragon, "I heard that Red Dragon transformed into Three Heads and Six Arms. Are you afraid he’s your majesty’s chosen one?"

"He says he has nothing to do with his majesty, but I don’t believe it."

"Strange, very strange indeed. The spells he uses are ones I’ve never seen before. Until I figure out what’s behind those spells, letting him be arrogant for a while longer is fine, isn’t it?" Delaguna recalled the gust of wind the Red Dragon stirred with his wings and still felt a chill.

"Spells you’ve never encountered in a thousand years?" Jarei became excited at the thought, as a Lich pursues arcane magic secrets, striving to explore the mysteries of life, the Multi-universe, the Divine, and other incomprehensible phenomena, "Tell me everything you know, and I can assist you."

Delaguna revealed what he knew.

"Really don’t want it?" Jarei spread his arms, "I can help you take down that Red Dragon, I want to crack open his head and take a look."

"I’ve warned you, he’s very strong," Delaguna said, "My subordinates, my servants... all blown away like a gust of wind."

"You really have aged," Jarei chuckled sinisterly, contemplating whether to summon his Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, four Death Knights, to suddenly strike during negotiations and capture the Red Dragon. Delaguna wouldn’t lie about such things; he’s too intrigued by the spells mastered by the Red Dragon.

Can’t underestimate that Red Dragon, but can a Red Dragon truly be so formidable?

Delaguna was undoubtedly scared stiff by the Three Heads and Six Arms Red Dragon, but not him.

No matter how powerful he is, he is still just a Red Dragon.