Northwind Keep, inside the Council Hall.
"Your Majesty, that is the situation."
"Forgive my incompetence..."
"Lord Langpu said he lacks both the ability and the authority to discipline Lady Tinia, so he could only trap her here until your return to make a decision."
Damakos, the tiefling guard captain, stood before the red dragon with his head bowed, reporting respectfully.
Cassius watched the white dragon rummaging around the hall, reducing the place to utter chaos. His expression darkened slightly as he began to wonder whether this white dragon's progenitor bloodline came from some canine creature known as a husky.
He had only been away for two days to experiment with spells, yet no one in Northwind Keep could manage Tinia. The hobgoblins and tiefling guards were beneath the white dragon's notice, and even Langpu had been driven to his wit's end, forced to cast Wall of Force to trap this troublesome creature in the hall.
After all, in the eyes of this white dragon carrying a faint trace of progenitor bloodline, these little creatures were merely delicious "meat"; only dragons could be considered equals.
Fortunately, the constraints of Dictatorial Law kept her in check; otherwise, out of curiosity, she probably would have snacked on a few humans to satisfy her cravings.
"Tinia, stop that."
Hearing the familiar voice and sensing the irritation in Cassius's tone, the white dragon instantly settled down. She sat obediently on the floor, completely shedding her earlier unruly tantrum.
"Is this how you behave while I'm away?"
"Where is your draconic dignity?"
"Master..."
Tinia tucked her wings in cautiously, lowering her head to let out soft whimpers as if begging for mercy.
Cassius looked around at the scrolls scattered across the floor and the shattered bookshelves. A surge of fury welled up within him, and he pinned the white dragon to the floor, thrashing her soundly.
"Defying regulations, are we?! Trashing the place, are we?!"
Even though she carried progenitor dragon blood and was a whole age category above him, the gulf between red dragons and white dragons was simply too vast. What was more, Cassius was an aberrant dragon who had traced his lineage back several times, his size far outstripping red dragons of his age group.
Thus, to the white dragon, his strength was utterly overwhelming.
Not only was he several sizes larger, but his characteristically thick, powerful limbs and tail were nearly twice the girth of the slender white dragon's.
*Smack! Smack! Smack!*
Holding her neck firmly to the ground with his left talon, the red dragon struck her repeatedly with his right, landing crisp, resonant smacks.
"Awoo—"
Pinned flat to the ground and unable to budge, Tinia could only wail continuously, her tail arching high into the air under the beating. Yet she didn't dare fight back—nor could she.
Having been trapped in a tower for a century, the white dragon wasn't much of a fighter, but her pain tolerance was maxed out. After a few half-hearted howls, Tinia actually didn't feel that much pain anymore; she had even grown somewhat used to it.
Her single-threaded, simplistic brain began to wander toward matters beyond the pain.
*So big... so strong.*
*Getting beaten severely by such a powerful dragon is completely natural, isn't it?*
Tinia turned her head slightly, gazing at the muscular foreleg clamping her firmly to the floor. Then her eyes half-closed as she mused to herself.
*Seems a good thrashing was what she needed after all. Savage beasts like white dragons only respond to force, just like wild dogs.*
Just as Cassius was venting his anger with the mindset of training a dog, he was startled to notice that something seemed off with the female dragon's expression.
Contrary to his expectations, the dragon face—which looked decent enough by his aesthetic standards—bore neither pain nor remorse.
Instead, it wore a look of... secret pleasure?
Cassius: "..."
*Did this white dragon awaken some bizarre kink?*
The red dragon released his grip and stepped back a few paces, eyeing the perverted white dragon with utter bewilderment.
Tinia seemed still immersed in the one-sided pummeling. Pressed tight against the stone floor with her tail raised, she let out low whimpers, only to realize the expected pain had stopped.
She opened her eyes in surprise, locking eyes directly with Cassius.
"..."
The white dragon was beaten black and blue, with shattered teeth and broken scales scattered across the floor. After all, Cassius hadn't held back much, having used sixty to seventy percent of his strength.
"Awoo~"
Yet she still wagged her tail obsequiously, her eyes even gleaming with... intense anticipation.
Cassius's furious "lesson" had shaken the very ground. Unaware of the truth, the residents of Northwind Keep had assumed an earthquake had struck, sparking a brief panic throughout the city until the tiefling city garrison arrived to quell their fears.
"Awoooo..."
Tinia lowered her head and rubbed her flank gently against him, seemingly admitting her fault of her own accord.
Cassius sighed with a darkened face, barely maintaining his regal authority as he commanded,
"Clean this place up."
"And don't let me catch you destroying anything again. Understood?"
When it came to this downright perverse white dragon, he had no truly effective way of disciplining her.
Was she loyal as a vassal?
Indisputably loyal, of course; the draconic oath woven through the Weave could not lie. Yet she was also quite a troublesome headache.
Based on Cassius's draconic heritage, white dragons despised socializing with others of their kind, save for members of the opposite sex. They favored carnal pleasures and often mated purely for the delight of it. And this white dragon—seemed to have stumbled upon a rather niche pleasure.
After glancing at him cautiously, the white dragon slightly parted her jaws and exhaled puffs of breeze, blowing away the debris on the floor.
"Awoo—"
She raised her head and let out a smug little purr, as if seeking praise for her deed.
Sensing the subtle ripples in the Weave within his domain, Cassius was taken aback.
"Is that... Gust of Wind?"
"This dimwitted white dragon can actually cast spells?"
White dragons only matched humans in intellect once they reached advanced age, and they typically didn't gain even the lowest spellcasting levels until reaching the adult stage. Before that, they usually knew nothing beyond Fog Cloud, yet the white dragon before him was already capable of casting a "towering" second-circle spell like Gust of Wind.
Cassius opened his vassal panel to check.
[White Dragon with Extremely Faint Progenitor Bloodline - Tinia]
[Challenge Rating: 10]
[Draconic Innate Caster Level: 5]
This meant she could even learn third-circle spells.
Innate spellcasting of this caliber was something ordinary white dragons could only attain upon reaching the old age stage, yet Tinia had already achieved it as a young adult, marking her as remarkably gifted.
Still, when even a white dragon—dubbed the "white beast" and considered the embarrassment of true dragons for its intellect—could cast spells, it was no wonder wizards referred to sorcerers as "barbarians with staves."
A dragon's innate spellcasting was equivalent to a sorcerer's level. Casting spells relied entirely on the power of "cuz I think so," manipulating the Weave through sheer force of confidence.
"As expected of progenitor dragon blood.
"Even when 'extremely faint,' it still brings a qualitative leap."
With that in mind, Cassius casually summoned a magic mirror and contacted Langpu, who was busy conducting research in the wizard tower.
Chapter 219