"So you are saying..."
"They've already placed the Kingdom of Cinders on their list of hostile forces, and have begun gathering intelligence, preparing to overthrow our so-called 'dark rule'?"
Inside the main hall of the palace, the red dragon lay reclined across the iron throne, exhaling an irritated puff of sulfurous heat.
"Sent by the Harpers, were you? Noses as sharp as hounds—what a troublesome lot."
Cassius glanced at Richard on the floor and bared his teeth in a grin.
"So... what price should you pay? My belly is still feeling rather empty, after all."
Under the weight of dragon fear and the threat to his companion's life, Richard's spirit had long since shattered. He knelt on the floor with disheveled hair, showing none of the high-spirited vigor of the ranger once favored by an Archfey.
"I... I've already told you everything."
His voice was hoarse from sheer agony.
Cassius slowly rose and stepped toward Richard.
An overwhelming, invisible dragon fear swept outward; the half-elf could even smell the sulfur wafting against his face.
"Did you think I was joking with you?"
"The price you've paid is nowhere near enough to buy back your pathetic elven lover."
"If that is all you have to offer, just imagine the wondrous scene: that elf wailing in my maw, severed and crushed to pulp beneath my razor-sharp teeth..."
In his slitted pupils gleamed an invisible, eerie light—a Trembling Dread that broke through the half-elf's final line of mental defense.
Richard's gaze turned vacant, his mind on the verge of total collapse, as if he could already see that unbearable sight.
A red dragon's appetite for elves was no mere rumor; it was documented in extensive records. The Harpers' own intelligence reports had specifically noted it, highlighted in red ink.
He slammed his head against the hard floor again and again, blood trickling from his forehead down his cheeks.
"Please, I beg you, spare her! I'm willing to pay any price—even... even if you eat me instead!"
Cassius walked back to the throne and said coldly, "You are utterly beneath my notice."
He paused deliberately.
"Yet there are indeed things I need you to accomplish. That is the only, insignificant value you possess to me."
Richard immediately seized upon this like a drowning man clutching at a straw, a final glimmer of hope showing in his expression.
"Then... then what do you need me to do, My Lord?"
He was prepared for any rapacious demand.
Under the threat to his companion's life, Richard's mental defenses had been utterly broken by Cassius, reducing him to a pliant puppet.
Cassius spoke each word with deliberate precision: "I want you to return to the Harpers and become a double agent for the kingdom."
Richard froze, but quickly slumped back.
Perhaps he had anticipated it, or perhaps he simply had no room to resist. He answered feebly, "Yes... My Lord."
Cassius nodded in satisfaction and continued, "The spellcasters under my command will provide you with magical communication equipment."
"At a set time each month, you must report intelligence on the Harpers to us. If we discover the information doesn't match reality, or if you fail to provide intelligence..."
He paused once more.
A crisp magical projection appeared in the hall, showing the tall, slender female elf bound within a cold iron cage, like a canary trapped behind bars.
Her eyes were closed, her brow slightly furrowed, as if still lingering in the aftermath of their overwhelming defeat.
"Then you will never see her again."
Richard stared at that beautiful face for a long time before finally lowering his head, lips trembling faintly. "Abir..."
"My Lord, I will do it."
"Trust me, I will definitely complete the task."
Tiefling guards, who had been waiting for some time, bound his hands behind his back and escorted him down the corridor of the palace, preparing to take him to Langpu's wizard tower.
He said nothing. From beginning to end, he offered no struggle or resistance, submitting with utter powerlessness.
He turned to look into the distance, as if seeing that familiar face once more.
*Abir, wait for me. I will save you.*
Under the threat to the life of the woman he loved, and beneath the brutal oppression of the red dragon, this kindhearted, free-spirited half-elf ranger had no choice but to become a spy for the Kingdom of Cinders—to become the very scoundrel serving evil forces that he had once despised most.
Yet such was cold, hard reality.
...
"Another intelligence channel secured."
"The Harpers?"
"Tsk. Meddlesome busybodies. One day they'll pay the price."
"Though... that silver dragon seems to have some ties to them as well."
Cassius yawned out of sheer boredom, then connected to Langpu's magic mirror.
"Have you taken charge of that Harper ranger?"
"Yes, Master. Everything has gone smoothly. Your wisdom left him without the slightest courage to resist; he could only obediently become the kingdom's puppet."
Langpu's tone was somewhat excited, clearly having just come out of the laboratory.
"What's more, he carries a wondrous power from the legendary Archfey."
"Those ancient beings dwelling in the Feywild possess miraculous power. His patron is at least legendary tier, perhaps even higher, but can hardly interfere directly in the Material Plane."
"I was thinking... perhaps we could steal that power."
"Oh?"
Cassius showed little interest.
Those exceptionally powerful Archfey patrons with their own domains in the Outer Planes mostly favored only the good-aligned, and their power leaned heavily toward miracles of nature. It did not suit him, and even if obtained, it would be of little practical use.
So Cassius merely reminded him:
"You may conduct some experiments, but ensure his life is preserved. I don't want to see the spy we're dispatching to the Harpers turned into some bizarre freak—or a corpse."
"Of course, my Master."
Having cold water poured over his enthusiasm, Langpu immediately sobered up, most of the excitement draining from his expression.
Only then did he recall that this Harper half-elf carried an assignment from the red dragon; he was not one of those captive test subjects with whom Langpu could do as he pleased.
"As long as you understand."
"My next slumber is fast approaching. Prepare the protective arrays as soon as possible. While I sleep, try not to stir up trouble, and ensure the steady development of the kingdom," Cassius instructed.
The magma-like ripples across his body had grown increasingly pronounced—a sign of bloodline seeds surging within him, fire elemental energy overflowing.
"Yes, Master."
Langpu respectfully took his leave and cut the magic projection link.
Cassius opened his jaws wide in another yawn, casually gazing at the magical image beside him that had yet to fade.
"Elves, hm...?
"Elves in this era mostly hail from the surviving elven kingdoms. Perhaps I could dig up some news on an old acquaintance."
He recalled the perilous situation when he had first arrived in this world. It felt as if long ages had passed, yet also as though it were only a moment ago.
However, he had already undergone an earth-shattering transformation—no longer the wyrmling scurrying everywhere to survive, but an entity that made the entire Northlands tremble.
Chapter 230