Rugard, the Kingdom of Dwarves.
The only nation in the continent that the Great Empire refused to
antagonize. A nation so strong that it had never lost a battle since its
founding. The kingdom protected by the mythical dragon.
Just recently, the dwarven kingdom was in uproar. The Ancient Fire
Dragon, who, under normal circumstances, refused to speak even to the
dwarven king, suddenly issued an order. An order to investigate the new
human king ruling over their adjacent nation.
Several days had passed since then. After mobilizing all of his men, and
after exhausting all means possible, the current dwarven king—King
Lerenon 'Blood Mithril' Rugard—finally decided to give his report to the
Ancient Fire Dragon.
Bringing the four princes with him, King Lerenon climbed the highest
mountain within the dwarven kingdom. After passing by Dragonewt
Village, they finally arrived at the mountain peak. Where the Lair was
located.
They stopped in front of the Lair's entrance. The ninety-meter entrance,
which resembled a temple, was made entirely of gold. Numerous runes and
magic formations, meant to immediately kill unwanted visitors, were
engraved on the golden pillars.
Before entering, King Lerenon sternly said to his sons, "Do you all
remember the rules?"
He decided to ask them again, just in case.
The four princes nodded their heads resolutely. They said in unison,
"Yes, Father."
Unless permitted, never make eye contact with the dragon.
Never touch any of the treasures and artifacts inside the Lair.
The words of the dragon were absolute. Never question the dragon's
orders, no matter what.
These were the rules everyone should abide by inside the Lair. The
foolish dwarves who'd met their demise after not following them—most of
them from the royal family—numbered in the dozens.
For mortals like them, the words of the dragon were tantamount to law.
"There should still be a couple of months left before the dragon chooses
a successor among the four of you," said King Lerenon. "Use this chance to
leave an impression. Use this opportunity to gain the dragon's favor."
The eyes of the princes glimmered with dangerous light. The successor
to the throne was not yet set in stone. At the end of the day, the dragon
would have the final say regarding the future successor.
"Remember, never question the words of the dragon," said King
Lerenon.
After uttering his final reminder, King Lerenon placed a hand on one of
the golden pillars, activating the runes engraved on it.
King Lerenon said, "We've come to pay our respects to the Great
Guardian Deity."
As much as it loved treasures and beautiful things, the dragon loved
flattery. King Lerenon, who'd met the dragon several times before, knew
this more than anyone.
Several seconds passed and a words spoken in human tongue were
heard. "I've been waiting for you, Lerenon. Come inside."
"Thank you, Great Guardian Deity," said King Lerenon.
The sinister spell guarding the entrance of the Lair was deactivated and
King Lerenon's group was granted entry into the colossal cavern. They
traversed the path leading to the heart of the cavern. Unlike dungeons, there
was only a single, straight path leading to the Lair. The walls and the ceiling
were made entirely of gold, and numerous luminous devices, created only
by the best craftsmen, were embedded in them. Every now and then, they
passed by murals drawn on the walls depicting the greatness of the dragon
race. There were murals showing the dragons standing at the peak of the
highest mountains, murals depicting a dragon flying in the heavens, and
murals showing humans worshipping a newly born hatchling.
After walking for over half an hour, they finally arrived at the heart of
the Lair—a kilometer-large clearing where the dragon slept. Numerous
gigantic crystals, which resembled kalrane stones, were seen here and there.
At the opposite end of the path, they saw the dragon's hoard—a mountain
of gold, artifacts, and treasures. The treasures that had been accumulating in
the Lair for centuries. Treasures offered to the dragon by the dwarven race
over several generations.
Upon seeing the dragon, lying on top of the mountain of gold, King
Lerenon and the four princes lowered their heads, their eyes staring at the
ground. Slowly, they knelt.
"King Lerenon and his sons humbly pay their respect to the Great
Guardian Deity!" said King Lerenon.
The four princes behind him immediately followed suit, "We humbly
pay our respect to the Great Guardian Deity!"
Despite his nickname—'Blood Mithril'—King Lerenon sounded very
submissive, as though he would lick the floor if the dragon ordered him to.
Even his sons, each of them notorious in their own right, acted like
shivering mutts before the dragon.
The Ancient Fire Dragon was satisfied with this.
Indeed, this was how things were supposed to be. That damn human
who contacted them via the communication crystal was the abnormal one.
"It's been four days, Dwarven King," said the dragon, it's voice deep
and domineering. It exuded some of its dragon fear, effectively making the
four princes tremble while kneeling. King Lerenon, on the other hand, lived
up to his reputation as the strongest dwarf. He remained unperturbed even
after being exposed to the dragon fear. "I expect that you've accomplished
the tasks I've entrusted you with."
As the king of the dwarves, King Lerenon was privy to several things.
He knew there were several dragons living in this Lair. All the more reason
for the Dwarven King to fear them. A single dragon would be enough to lay
waste to the dwarven capital. Several more would be more than enough to
destroy the entire kingdom in a single day. King Lerenon believed that they
should never offend these mythical creatures, no matter what.
"This humble servant worked himself to the bone to fulfill your tasks,
Great Guardian Deity." King Lerenon made sure to always add that title at
the end of his words.
The dragon's gaze shifted from King Lerenon to the four princes. It
said, "I'm aware that the time has come for me to choose the next successor
to the throne. But this matter is of graver importance, Lerenon."
The four princes flinched.
A matter of greater importance than choosing the next successor?
"Of course, Great Guardian Deity," said King Lerenon. "We gathered
everything we could regarding the new King of Lukas, Lark Marcus."
"Very well," said the dragon. "Tell me everything, Lerenon."
King Lerenon started reporting everything they'd learned. His age, his
features and appearance, his origins, the people close to him, his military
might, territories, even down to the food he enjoyed eating. King Lerenon
made sure not to miss anything. Fortunately, although the dwarven kingdom
had closed off their borders to the world centuries ago, they still made sure
to maintain a strong information network. They planted spies and
informants in various kingdoms, all for the sake of maintaining their status
as the continent's most powerful nation.
"He defeated a monster horde—tens of thousands of them—on his
own," said the dragon after hearing King Lerenon's report. "And he erected
a large wall and a barrier to protect a town under his jurisdiction."
The dragon sounded really interested.
"The barrier protecting that town is similar to the one currently
enclosing their capital, you say?" said the dragon.
"I believe so, Great Guardian Deity," said King Lerenon.
The dragon laughed, its voice reverberating through the Lair. After
some time, it paused. Its eyes widened and it roared, "Are you taking me for
a fool, Lerenon!"
A shockwave swept past the dwarven king and the four princes. The
third prince, known to have the weakest constitution and fighting strength
among them, lost consciousness. With his eyes rolled up, he fell limp on the
ground. King Lerenon and the other princes, fearing the dragon's wrath, did
nothing to help the prince who'd fallen to the ground.
"Even I, an Ancient Fire Dragon, needed to constantly supply the
barrier enclosing this kingdom with mana!" said the dragon. He sounded
really angry for some reason. "Heaven's Dominion! The strongest barrier
spell, available only to dragons! Are you telling me that not only did that
human king manage to erect such a barrier to their capital, he also cast the
same spell to protect a small human town?!"
The dragon felt insulted hearing this part of the report. The spell their
race was so proud of was cast by a mere human? Impossible. The
knowledge of the spell aside, they needed astronomical amounts of mana
and a strong medium to cast a pinnacle-grade spell. The thought of a human
casting such a spell was preposterous. Moreover, he cast it to protect a small
town in the middle of the wilderness.
"B-But based on the information from my me—"
The dragon slammed its front paw, sending a shockwave upon impact.
The fourth prince almost vomited blood, but managed to regain himself at
the last moment. Dragons were truly terrifying creatures. Just the
shockwave alone was enough to render seasoned warriors like them
immobile.
"Lerenon, I've already told you," growled the dragon. "We do not
tolerate liars."
King Lerenon didn't utter a reply. He knew that if he continued
insisting that he was telling the truth, this dragon wouldn't hesitate to
slaughter all of them here. In the dragon's eyes, it did not matter even if he
was the dwarven king. This was the difference between them and this
mythical creature.
After calming down for a bit, the dragon said, "Leave." It gazed at the
princes. "It seems your descendants didn't inherit even half your courage
and strength, Lerenon. How disappointing."
The princes, who initially came to gain the dragon's favor, trembled.
This was their first time meeting the Ancient Fire Dragon. Who would have
known that it would be this terrifying? The princes started realizing how
great their father, King Lerenon, truly was. He was the only one who
remained unperturbed even after being subjected to the dragon fear.
"As you will, Great Guardian Deity," said King Lerenon. The dragon's
words were tantamount to law. He did not dare refute them.
"Margaro," said King Lerenon.
"Father," said the first prince.
"Carry that pathetic brother of yours. We're leaving."
"Yes, Father!"
Without looking at the dragon, and without turning their backs, the
dwarves left the heart of the Lair.
After confirming that the dwarves were gone, the Ancient Fire Dragon
said, "What do you think?"
A voice from above replied, "I do not think that the dwarven king
would dare lie to us, dear."
"And you, Shahaneth?"
"I'm… not sure. The vision of the future has become muddled lately,
Father."
Using the polymorph spell, the Ancient Fire Dragon—the leader of the
tribe—slowly turned into a human. A middle-aged man with long crimson
hair reminiscent of the sun. His scales turned into red armor, and his claws
turned into a claymore. His slit-like pupils were like blazing fire.
"Whether the words uttered by Lerenon are the truth or not," said the
Ancient Fire Dragon. "I will see for myself."
The other dragons did not object. They knew that once their leader
made up his mind, there was no turning back. Moreover, they were curious
too. They wanted to know if that human king had indeed erected two
pinnacle-grade spells on his own. It should have been impossible, unless the
caster was a dragon.
"Can I come with you, Father?" said Shahaneth.
The leader of the dragons pondered for a moment. "Very well. Come,
Shahaneth."
The Fire Dragon, Shahaneth, activated polymorph and slowly turned
into a female human. She appeared to be around twenty years old, with the
same crimson hair as her father. Her dress, reminiscent of flames, flowed
past her ankles. If not for her slit-like pupils, she would easily pass as an
aristocrat's daughter.
The father–daughter duo left the Lair. They flew past the barrier
protecting the dwarven kingdom and headed straight toward the capital of
the Kingdom of Lukas. As a creature with near perfect memory, the reports
they'd garnered from the dwarves were enough for them to pinpoint the
exact location of the human cities.
Without bothering to conserve their mana, they flew at top speed. And
soon, they arrived at the capital.
"It's real," muttered the leader of the Fire Dragons upon seeing the
massive barrier enclosing the capital. "Heaven's Dominion. A pinnacle-
grade spell is protecting the human city."
The leader and his daughter were struck speechless realizing that the
dwarven king spoke the truth.
So, this was why that human king dared to be so haughty despite being
in the presence of dragons like them.
But how did the human erect such a barrier?
As far as they knew, this was a spell exclusive to their race.
"Lerenon," said the leader of the Fire Dragons. "He said there were two
pinnacle-grade barriers."
"The human town, Father," said Shahaneth.
The two dragons looked at each other. Both of them wished to see the
town too, especially the barrier and the colossal wall enclosing it.
Decisively, the two flew southeast, toward Blackstone Town. They flew
at top speed, and after several hours, finally arrived at their destination. The
two couldn't help but be in awe upon seeing Heaven's Dominion enclosing
a human town. Even the sixty-meter wall was fortified with solid clumps of
mana. Unlike the stonewalls protecting most human cities, this one was
more durable—it was even capable of taking a blow from a dragon's magic.
This was no mere town. It was a fortress.
"I see," said the leader of the Fire Dragons. "This must be the reason
for that vision of yours, Shahaneth. If it's that human, then it's possible.
Such a human should be capable of leading and protecting us dragons."
Although dragons were prideful creatures, they were capable of
recognizing strength. And seeing the barrier spells and the walls, the two
dragons started to recognize King Lark's true worth.
"We've seen enough," said the leader of the Fire Dragons. "Shahaneth,
we're heading back."
"Yes, Father."
The leader of the Fire Dragons planned on returning to the Lair upon
witnessing these things. The moment he arrived, he would summon the
dwarven king once more and ask him to send over a hundred delegates to
the capital of the Kingdom of Lukas. They needed to become allies with the
Kingdom of Lukas—particularly with the human king—no matter what.
Shahaneth's visions had never been wrong before. A war so great that it
would rip apart the continent would surely come. They needed to do at least
this to survive.
"The human king asked us to show sincerity," said Shahaneth. "Are
you planning on making an oath using our dragon blood, Father?"
The leader of the Fire Dragons didn't utter a reply. Although he wished
to become allies with the human king, he was still unsure if he was willing
to go as far as swearing an oath using their blood.
He decided to ponder over it carefully. After all, this concerned the
survival of their tribe.
Just as they were about to return to the dwarven kingdom, the two
dragons felt tremendous pressure coming their way. A massive clump of
mana headed their direction.
"What's that?" said Shahaneth.
The ominous mana was definitely hostile.
The creature, who looked like nothing but a dot from afar, slowly
became bigger as it closed the distance. Eventually, the two dragons came
face-to-face with the creature. A seven-headed monster with black
iridescent scales and two pairs of bat-like wings.
The seven-headed monster spoke haughtily in draconian, "A fellow
lizard. It's quite a while since I met one."
The two dragons were still assuming human form. They appeared tiny
before the seven-headed monster.
"As to why you've been observing the territory of my God"—Massive
amounts of mana started gathering inside two of its mouths—"we'll talk
about later, after we've crippled the two of you. While he is gone, my God
entrusted this territory's protection to me, but you dare lay your eyes on it?
Consider this as divine punishment, fools."