Christina did not notice the glint of coldness that flickered across the red dragon's eyes, and continued, "Her Majesty the Dragon Queen said that you are Her most valued child. She will ensure your smooth rule over Anzeta and make you a vital part of the chromatic dragons' grand design."
Cassius thought to himself, *Do I need her guarantees to rule the Northlands?* Still, he replied politely and flatly, "Thank Her Majesty for Her support on my behalf, but I do not appear to lack such strength."
"You..."
Christina was momentarily lost for words. She truly had not expected anyone to turn down aid offered right to their doorstep, especially on the eve of a great battle.
Cassius continued, "You do not need to be my aid. You need only be witnesses and observers of history. My army and I will destroy every enemy, including that newly awakened old silver dragon."
His words were calm yet forceful, as though stating a matter of trifling significance.
Christina was once again shaken by this overbearing confidence.
After all, the enemy camp harbored a wyrm-stage spellhoarder silver dragon!
Even the most arrogant great wyrm red dragon would not dare claim absolute certainty of victory, yet the red dragon before her seemed to have already pocketed the triumph, quietly awaiting the victory banquet.
Yet she did not know that Cassius's real concern was refusing to let these blue dragons gain a foothold in Anzeta; once that door opened, who knew how many of Tiamat's lackeys would infiltrate his lands.
Furthermore, in combat at his level, even these adult and mature adult blue dragons could contribute very little, and might even hinder his judgment in battle.
And in large-scale warfare, the formidable army of the Kingdom of Cinders was already more than enough to crush the enemy. Adding a dozen or so blue dragons would be mere icing on the cake, hardly shifting the overarching course of the war.
Christina could not help but say, "Your confidence and might fill me with awe."
"However... Her Majesty the Dragon Queen has one more decree."
Her tone faltered, her breathing turned slightly rapid, and a flush crept onto her cheeks.
"What decree?"
Christina shifted into a blue dragon over ten meters long. Under Cassius's puzzled gaze, she stepped forward, leaning seductively against the red dragon's powerful frame, and whispered into his ear, "Prince Cassius, Her Majesty the Dragon Queen declared in person that, as a reward for the Fabria family's years of devotion, you... must sire the finest offspring with me."
Cassius's expression darkened dramatically.
...
After kicking away the female blue dragon—who had clung desperately to his thigh while wailing at the top of her lungs that "Her Majesty the Dragon Queen arranged this!"—and wiping the saliva from his face, Cassius laughed in sheer anger, thinking, *What a Tiamat, what a Queen of Chromatic Dragons. I've truly witnessed the depth of Her shamelessness.*
*Obtaining my bloodline and verifying the Garyx lineage while simultaneously placating the blue dragon clan, and even worming Her own influence into the Kingdom of Cinders.*
*What a marvelous scheme to reap everything from nothing.*
Beside him, Tinia wagged her tail smugly and spat spitefully, "Ptui! That blue-skinned dragon was definitely up to no good. Stinking of desert dust with an awl stuck on her snout—how could someone like her be worthy of mating with Master?"
With the red dragon present, however, she dared not voice the second half of her thought: *Only I am worthy.*
Cassius cast a glance at the foolish white dragon and ignored her, turning his thoughts instead to Oszedro. That piece of intelligence had arrived quite timely.
His absolute confidence earlier had merely been a performance for the blue dragon.
Without tapping into the power of the Heart of Garyx within him, he harbored some wariness toward that wyrm silver dragon, lacking absolute certainty of victory.
Silver dragons were second only to gold dragons among metallic dragons, comparable in combat prowess to red dragons. A wyrm silver dragon alone carried a base Challenge Rating of 23, not to mention the spellcasting capabilities of a spellhoarder.
*It seems... I need to see Olivia again,* Cassius thought.
After that accident, a faint trace of guilt lingered in his heart toward this silver dragon wizard who had met with such misfortune, though it accounted for very little.
He did not deliberately try to suppress that feeling; perhaps it was a manifestation of the humanity he still retained.
...
Inside a side hall of the Steel Dragonwing Palace.
The silver dragon lay quietly on the floor, her wounds still unhealed.
Fortunately, with Cassius's tacit consent, she had been freed from her chains and was allowed to move freely within the confines of this palace. She could even enjoy delicacies prepared by royal chefs and keep up with basic news from the outside world through the daily issues of the *Kingdom Daily*.
Yet at this moment, Olivia felt none of the leisure of convalescence; her face was filled with worry.
"Is war about to break out already...?"
The silver dragon gazed at the tightly shut palace doors, her vision seeming to pierce through the palace to behold that bloody, infernal battlefield and the murmuring rivers of gore.
Having conducted field observations and read through the kingdom's newspapers, she knew the Northlands stood no chance against the kingdom. This war would very likely be a one-sided slaughter, a massacre.
At this thought, her heart trembled.
Suddenly, Olivia felt a familiar sense of oppressive weight.
With a resounding boom, the shut metal doors swung slowly open, and the massive form of the red dragon appeared at the threshold.
*Boom—*
Olivia looked up into those pale gold slit pupils. Involuntarily biting her lip, she was overwhelmed by complex emotions and a whirl of thoughts. She had pondered how to handle Cassius's arrival, but found herself completely helpless.
How on earth was she supposed to face this red dragon?
As an enemy, or as...
As the red dragon crossed the threshold, the surrounding air grew instantly tense, and an indescribable solemnity filled the hall.
In the end, it was Cassius who broke the silence:
"Long time no see, Olivia."
"..."
Biting her lip in prolonged hesitation, Olivia finally gathered her courage, pleading in what was nearly a posture of humility:
"Cassius... can you... stop?"
"Stop what?"
Cassius lowered his head slightly, gazing into the silver dragon's pale blue eyes.
Olivia raised her head, meeting the red dragon's gaze with earnest sincerity.
"All of this. Including this war."
"Too many innocent lives have already perished because of you. Cassius, stop here, please? I know you aren't a purely evil dragon; you've just been influenced by something. I'm willing to do everything I can to help you—"
"Olivia, you're wrong."
Cassius cut her off without mercy.
"It isn't that I don't want to stop; it's that they are terrified. Whether it was the Battle of Trier or the Magur Incident, the nobles of the Northlands made the first move. I merely mounted a passive counterattack out of necessity. Am I supposed to stretch out my neck and wait for the butcher's blade? Just because I am a red dragon?"
"You have seen plenty here by now. Have you still not seen through it?"
"As long as my kingdom exists for a single day, the serfs and commoners ground down by noble exploitation will pour in one after another. It isn't that I refuse to live in peace with them—it's that the nobles of the Northlands cannot permit such a kingdom to exist. They fear it will shake the very foundations of their rule."
"Whether I am righteous or evil truly means nothing to them. As long as I continued to allow serfdom and guaranteed the power and privilege of those northern nobles, even if I were an Abyssal demon, they would cover for me in every possible way—they would even revere me as an enlightened monarch. And vice versa."
The red dragon bared his jaws in a sinister grin.
"In other words, righteousness and evil don't matter to them. What matters to them is having no Kingdom of Cinders—no such monstrosity to destabilize their rule."
Chapter 304