When Arthur Ryan suggested using himself as bait, Anbaixiu's first instinct was to refuse.
Arthur was the greatest trump card in his hand. Playing him at any time was like slamming down a royal flush. Was it really worth throwing him onto the table just to probe the Demonic Dragon Tyrant?
"That shouldn't be necessary, Your Majesty. Do you have any idea what kind of shockwave it would send across the world if your identity were exposed?"
Arthur Ryan nodded. A man capable of leading a rebellion was no fool; though Arthur was somewhat idealistic, he was certainly no reckless hothead like Alan.
"That's why we can't make a big spectacle of it. Only the Demonic Dragon needs to know. If he truly is the Demonic Dragon, passing him a single message will be enough for him to realize it's me. And the Demonic Dragon Tyrant would never want Arthur Ryan resurfacing. He will surely come find me in secret, making this the most ideal approach."
Anbaixiu considered the proposal. It did sound rather sound.
If they could dictate the time and place, summon every member of the Elegy Poetry Society, muster an army of the undead, and coordinate with Arthur Ryan... killing the Demonic Dragon right then and there wasn't entirely out of the question.
"The plan is worth considering. What words do you want brought to the dragon?"
Anbaixiu felt a surge of anticipation. When the legendary hero and tyrant crossed paths once more, what would their first exchange be? The thrill of witnessing history in the making was exhilarating—selling that scoop to Herki Stone could easily squeeze several million gold coins out of him.
Arthur cleared his throat and said with absolute gravity, "Just tell him straight: the most handsome paladin on the continent is back!"
Anbaixiu was struck speechless.
A sharp crash echoed from nearby as glass shattered on the floor.
Naomi, who had been pretending to tidy up around them, had accidentally dropped two bottles.
She had only intended to eavesdrop on the conversation between her master and the Holy King, but the result left her wishing she could dig a hole and crawl into it.
How utterly mortifying! How could the grand Holy King utter words so cringe-inducing that they made one's scalp tingle?
Living together day to day within Anbaixiu's personal demiplane, Naomi occasionally exchanged a few words with the Holy King. Mostly, Arthur's aura was simply so dazzling that she dared only look on with distant awe and never venture too close.
Yet today... Naomi felt as though her illusions had thoroughly shattered. Even if he was the Holy King, how could he possibly proclaim himself the continent's most handsome paladin?
Anbaixiu's bones were rattling in sheer embarrassment. If he still had flesh and blood, he would undoubtedly have broken out in goosebumps from head to toe.
Staring at Arthur Ryan's solemn expression, Anbaixiu asked, "Your Majesty, are you being serious? You're not joking?"
"Joking?" Arthur's face was stern. "What's wrong with what I said? Who else could possibly claim to be the most handsome paladin on the continent if not me?"
Anbaixiu fell silent again.
Seeing his reaction, Arthur took no offense. He simply pointed at his own face with earnest conviction and explained, "Look at the arrangement of my features—absolute golden ratio! Look at the bridge of this nose, these double eyelids! Hildas was only ever a tiny fraction ahead of me back in the day, and now that he's grown old, he can't hold a candle to me..."
He was actually serious. He wasn't cracking a joke at all. He genuinely believed the ancient Elven King had been only slightly more handsome than him!
Anbaixiu had no idea how to explain it. Influenced by the Holy Light, no paladin ever looked ugly. Even a face covered in scars would carry an altered aura under the Holy Light, looking rugged and battle-hardened rather than hideous.
Put simply, ugly paladins did not exist.
As for Arthur Ryan's looks, calling him ugly was certainly unfair, but calling him extraordinarily handsome was quite a stretch—even Alan was noticeably better looking. After all, Alan came from noble stock with generations of refined breeding, easily surpassing common folk in appearance. Meanwhile, Arthur had been an orphan living on the streets before training under an orc paladin; there was really no comparing the two in that department.
"Understood, Your Holy Majesty. I will make sure the message is delivered!"
Anbaixiu was now certain that the phrase would work like a charm. He could already picture Arthur mounted on horseback, sword leveled at the Demonic Dragon Tyrant, roaring, 'The one who claims your head is none other than the continent's most handsome paladin!'
The Demonic Dragon Tyrant would probably die full of bitter regret, horrified that he had fallen to someone who spouted such lines!
Without question, hearing that sentence in his sleep would startle the dragon right out of his slumber.
Now they had the bait, but arranging the meeting remained an obstacle.
The Emperor of Ryan was a figure whose every move rattled the entire empire; slipping out of the imperial palace unnoticed was impossible. Arthur's message guaranteed that he could lure the dragon out, but Anbaixiu still needed to craft an official pretext so His Imperial Majesty could leave the palace in full view of the public.
That part was easy enough. As long as the emperor was willing to step outside, Anbaixiu could fabricate any excuse, such as a 'Ryan-Orc Armistice Peace Conference.'
Invoking the name of Master Ultraman would be enough to get both nations to attend.
Without Arthur Ryan's message, Ryan might have sent a mere minister. But with that phrase delivered, the Emperor of Ryan would very likely come in person.
With both the superficial pretext and the true lure in place, preparations for the meeting could begin.
Anbaixiu pondered further and decided to invite all the surrounding kingdoms, including the elves and the dwarves. The Demonic Dragon was the common enemy of every realm. The more people present, the less daring he would be to flip the table.
If the Demonic Dragon Tyrant dared to make a move, Anbaixiu could rally the united might of every kingdom against him. Even so, a delicate balance had to be kept. Anbaixiu had to ensure he didn't frighten the beast away from showing up altogether.
"What a headache!" Anbaixiu muttered with a sigh.
At this point, making a fortune off the national crisis was the last thing on his mind.
The Demonic Dragon was the paramount threat, far more terrifying than the kuo-toa goddess or the Lord of the Storms.
Whenever trouble of this magnitude arose, Anbaixiu's first reaction was always to call on his companions.
Opening the Necromancy Codex, Anbaixiu hastily inscribed a line: [My friends, I have grave news to share. The ancient Demonic Dragon Tyrant may have returned to life. President, the situation is extraordinarily perilous; we require your assistance!]
After a long wait, the dwarven vampire was the first to react.
[Dislikes Humans: You hole up in your demiplane and this is what you cook up? Didn't you say you were running experiments with a secret formula? Where on earth did you hear such bogus news?]
[Ultraman Tiga: When have I ever joked about a matter this serious?]
[Dislikes Humans: No way... What the f***! Are you for real?!]
Anbaixiu couldn't even be bothered to respond to the vampire. The fellow was the most useless member of the circle, good for nothing when the stakes were high.
[Rose of Decay: You mentioned this before. Is it confirmed now? If the Demonic Dragon has awakened, he must have seized control of the current Ryan imperial family, correct?]
[Ultraman Tiga: Exactly. The earlier reports of mass deaths within the imperial house corroborate it. The Demonic Dragon Tyrant is behind it all. I suspect he has already possessed the Emperor of Ryan, and the imperial lineage now exists in name only!]
[Rose of Decay: Can you confirm that?!]
[Ultraman Tiga: I'm in the middle of verifying it. I've devised a way to draw him out, which will allow me to personally determine whether the Demonic Dragon has truly resurrected and to what extent. However, I fear I lack the strength to keep the situation under control on my own. Friends, I need your help. This is the plea of a lifetime.]
There was genuine sincerity in those words.
Anyone who had read even a shred of history understood the terror of the Demonic Dragon Tyrant. The very first line recorded about him across all chronicles was: 'Single-handedly subjugated and unified all dragonkind.'
While the time dragon was one of the three legendary dragon breeds, prismatic dragons and force dragons were hardly inferior. The current master of the Dragon Tomb had once been a prismatic dragon, whose colossal frame dwarfed chromatic dragons several times over—proof of his staggering power in life.
Yet every dragon had bowed beneath the Demonic Dragon Tyrant, beaten into submission by sheer force of fists.
Dragons naturally harbored deep-seated vendettas against one another. To forge them into a unified front despite their instinctive hatred required a being powerful enough to crush lesser deities underfoot.
Furthermore, the Demonic Dragon Tyrant was a 'mortal' unbounded by the Covenant of Ao, meaning he could strike at Anbaixiu with utter impunity, swatting him to death whenever he pleased.
Without Ao's divine protection, Anbaixiu stood no chance in a fight, nor could he even escape.
The power of a time dragon was terrifying beyond measure, capable of reversing time and space. Naomi's druidic time dragon form had been enough to hurl Anbaixiu months into the past; the Demonic Dragon Tyrant could traverse the timestream at will. The moment he caught the slightest trace of Anbaixiu, he could step outside the river of time, materialize right beside him, and swat him into oblivion.
Even phylacteries were useless. No number of phylacteries could withstand countless time dragons converging on the same point in time. In theory, the Demonic Dragon Tyrant could locate every single one of Anbaixiu's phylacteries within a single second.
Of course, that was only theoretical.
Wielding the power of time carried its own toll; a time dragon was not, after all, the God of Time.
Yet no matter the cost, a time dragon possessed the means to incinerate Anbaixiu's greatest safety net. In an extended war of attrition, Anbaixiu was guaranteed to lose.
Consequently, Anbaixiu was genuinely fearful this time. Without powerful allies by his side, he would never confront the creature head-on.
[Crown of the Headless Horseman: Fighting a time dragon, are we? Count me in! I've been dying to see just how formidable this Demonic Dragon Tyrant really is!]
[Pale Little Skeleton: Absolutely not! Gareth, you are forbidden from going! Our bone dragon kin won't be participating either. Out of respect for our past friendship, I can only promise not to leak this news to the other dragons. But I'm sorry, Gareth and I will not take part!]
[Ultraman Tiga: Gareth, you truly shouldn't get involved. Just keep an eye on the dragons overseas for me and make sure they don't cause trouble.]
Anbaixiu was not surprised. Although Gareth was his most formidable ally, the dullahan's ties to the dragon race were far too complicated. The eldest miss of the bone dragons answered to her father, and the master of the Dragon Tomb had been the Demonic Dragon Tyrant's sworn brother and staunchest fanatic. Choosing neutrality was already the best possible outcome.
The bone dragon princess felt rather embarrassed. After all, Anbaixiu had saved her father and preserved the entire Dragon Tomb; otherwise, the githyanki would have stripped them clean down to the marrow. For them to stand idly by while Anbaixiu faced mortal danger was difficult to justify.
Had Anbaixiu insisted on assistance, she feared she wouldn't have been able to stop her husband from stepping in. Fortunately, the lich proved far more considerate and attuned to his friends' circumstances than expected.
[Pale Little Skeleton: Thank you. We owe you one, and we will surely repay the favor later. On my soul, I swear that neither the bone dragons nor the chromatic dragons overseas will cause you any trouble.]
Anbaixiu felt a measure of relief. With the overseas dragons neutralized, half his worries were gone.
[Mute: If you can lure him onto the sea, I can assist. On land, there is very little I can do.]
This was Aige's reply, and Anbaixiu had never doubted her willingness to help. However, arranging the rendezvous on the open ocean would not be easy. The entire world knew the sea was Anbaixiu's domain; not only would the Emperor of Ryan refuse, but other invited dignitaries would hardly welcome entering the boundless ocean either.
Still, that was no dealbreaker. At worst, they could set the meeting on the coast, where Aige could still lend support.
Yet Aige alone was not enough. Anbaixiu had hoped the Poet and the President would step in; with those two, victory would be all but assured.
Regrettably, the President gave no response whatsoever, and the Poet merely offered a detached refusal: [I will not take part in this matter.]
[Ultraman Tiga: Does Senior have reservations? You seemed quite eager when dealing with Shar previously.]
[Poet: Trying to pry information out of me? It matters little if I tell you. The wager between the draconic pantheon and the Lord of the Dawn has not yet concluded. Intervening in this affair would mean entering the gamble. Yet I cannot provide the corresponding stakes; I cannot afford to lose, nor do I have the right to win. Therefore, my apologies, but I cannot intervene. The same goes for the President. Both of us have reasons that forbid us from taking action, so do not count on us.]
Just as Anbaixiu felt disappointment setting in, another veteran stepped forward.
[Non-Vegetarian: Dealing with the Demonic Dragon, eh... Let me think. I recall someone in the Elegy Poetry Society who fought in the ancient Demonic Dragon War.]
Anbaixiu froze. Weren't all the members of the society already accounted for?
The Mourner (the President, suspected to be a deity), the Poet (the Vice President, who claimed not to be a god), Mute (the ghost ship Aige), and Non-Vegetarian (Youjiaxi the ghoul)—these four were the old guard who personally knew the President.
Rose of Decay, Canggu, Headless Bro, the dwarven vampire, and Anbaixiu were newer additions, less acquainted with the older generation.
There was another member lurking in the shadows, an ancient veteran who had fought in the Demonic Dragon War over a millennium ago?
Who could it be? What manner of undead were they?
The President really had poor design sense. Why couldn't the Necromancy Codex display a full roster of members? If someone never spoke, there was literally no way to find them.
After waiting for quite a while, the chat remained silent.
[Non-Vegetarian: I sent him a message, but he hasn't answered. I know where he's holed up, though. I'll go track him down. Wait for my word.]
Anbaixiu promptly expressed his gratitude. Summoning such a venerable figure would undoubtedly carry a heavy price, and Anbaixiu committed the favor to memory. When this was over, he would gift the ghoul the corpse golem he had acquired from the Storm Arena, letting him feast on some well-aged, vintage meat left behind by the ancient giant civilization.
With more than half the Elegy Poetry Society willing to offer their backing, Anbaixiu felt a little more at ease. The next step was to map out the general region and timeline.
That wasn't overly difficult, provided they took great care in laying their preparations to prevent an immediate brawl on the spot.
Rose of Decay offered to handle the logistics; she had ample personnel throughout the Underdark, and she had waited years for a day like this.
What Anbaixiu needed to do now was drag the war between the orcs and Ryan into a grueling quagmire, making both sides lose the appetite to fight so they would turn to negotiations.
To achieve that, he would have to make the orcs suffer a slight setback.
Anbaixiu activated his magic mirror and contacted Gustavo Fring. The alchemist enjoyed cordial ties with the orcs; it was through his brokerage that Anbaixiu had sold undead forces to the greenskins for a handsome profit.
Looking at Gustavo Fring's stern, solemn dark face, Anbaixiu got straight to the point: "I'd like to speak with that orc commander. Introduce us, would you?"
Chapter 478