Moments later, someone shouted in delight, "Over here! They're here!"
———
"Damn."
Adam coughed up blood. Even after Rebecca shot out his right eye, he could still barely make out the figure close by.
He stared at Leon, weakly speaking, "Today I've fallen into the hands of a lowly human like you. Kill me however you want!"
From the day he became a mercenary who took money to do dirty work, this ending had already been written.
Adam just hadn't thought it would be at the hands of a human.
The reason he said "kill me however you want" was because in the past, when he handled his targets, he often chose torture. Making them wish for death rather than giving them a clean end.
So, at the end of his life, he instinctively thought Leon would do the same.
Leon, of course, understood what he meant and let out a cold laugh, "I've never believed in torturing those about to die. Don't lump me in with scum like you."
General Leon had always given his enemies a clean death.
'Right, Old Con?'
"Hmph... Human, mercy toward your enemies is cruelty to yourself," Even at death's door, Adam still had to get the last word.
"Hey now, don't be hasty. I may be softhearted, but the one I brought with me definitely isn't."
"What—AHHH!"
Before Adam could react, pain exploded in his right eye.
Blood poured uncontrollably from the eyeball, as if acid had been poured onto it, burning and stinging at once.
"My eye... my eye!"
This time he was completely blind.
But that wasn't the end.
Adam's screams suddenly cut off.
Constantine had slashed open his throat with dragon claws, thick blood clogging his windpipe, leaving only muffled howls.
"UHH! UHHHHH!"
Unable to vent the agony through screaming, Adam thrashed uncontrollably.
But Constantine followed by mercilessly crushing his shoulder and thigh joints, leaving only his neck and head able to move.
Leon silently watched it all. Though he had never been one to torture enemies, he didn't feel disgust at all this time.
For a vile, shameless beast, such an end was only fitting.
Soon, Adam stilled.
The ruined Dragon King's body slumped against a boulder, breath faint, heartbeat fading.
"You won't mind if I take this beast back, will you?", Constantine said in a low voice.
Leon knew well the dragon race's obsession with vengeance. Just blinding Adam and breaking his limbs wouldn't be enough to vent Constantine's fury.
"Mm, do as you will."
After last time, Leon knew better than to keep an enemy's corpse anywhere near him or Rossweisse.
The last dragon head they hung outside had turned into a stitched-up monster that came back for revenge.
If Adam became something worse, Leon would have a headache on his hands.
So letting Old Con drag the guy away, to string him up and torture day and night, wasn't a bad idea at all.
"I'll go find Noah and Helena."
Leon said, then turned toward where Rebecca and Martin had gone earlier.
———
As he neared the cave, he saw a group of children and teachers helping Noah and Helena out.
"Noah!"
Leon cried out anxiously, then hurried over.
He rushed to his daughter, dropped to one knee, hands gripping her thin shoulders, wiping dust and blood from her face.
That round little face was full of exhaustion.
But the moment she saw Leon, the gloom in her eyes cleared, replaced with pride.
"Daddy... I held out until reinforcements came... Am I... awesome?"
General Leon gazed at his soot-stained little one.
Even worn out like this, she still wanted praise. His heart softened, tears threatening to spill.
But with so many people around, he couldn't let his emotions overflow. He could only hold them back, hugging his daughter close.
"You're amazing, Noah. The most amazing."
Noah's eyelids grew heavy, her consciousness fading, "Good... Daddy... I want, I want to sleep a little..."
"Noah? Noah?", Leon called worriedly.
The medic nearby said, "She's fine, just overused her power. With a few days' rest she'll recover."
Leon finally relaxed. He squeezed his daughter's small hand, then cradled her in his arms.
Feeling the solid chest of her father, Noah drifted into peaceful sleep.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Leon. We didn't know the Warhammer Dragon King was here. If Kristina hadn't returned in time to warn us that Noah and Helena were in danger, who knows—"
One of the teachers hurried to apologize.
Leon gave him a look, not forgiving outright, but not pressing either.
No one wanted this accident.
"At the forest's southwest entrance, your academy's men are there, yes? Adam wounded them before sneaking in. When I came, they still had breath. If you hurry, they might survive."
"Th-thank you, Mr. Leon. Come on, let's go check!"
"Yes!"
Watching the medics rush off, Leon still had doubts.
On the way, he and Rebecca had seen the slaughtered Steel Mammoth. And deeper in the forest, many more dangerous beasts had died just as horribly.
No doubt Adam's work.
But was it simply for the sake of torture?
Or... did he have another goal?
Perhaps that was where the next investigation should focus—
"Uncle Casmodeous! So cool"
"Uncle, can you sign for me and my brother? We're Golden Sand Dragons, Lord Morgan said he was your buddy!"
"Uncle, me too!"
"..."
Leon: ?
"Wait wait, I'm not some celebrity, no need for autographs..."
In an instant, kids swarmed, surrounding Leon.
Behind them, a teacher carrying the unconscious Helena smiled, "Adam tormented our people for years, and no one could stop him. For Mr. Leon to strike him down, calling you a dragon hero isn't too much at all. 'Celebrity' doesn't even compare."
'Crap! So now I'm your dragon hero again, huh?'
'Why do I keep becoming a hero every damn day?'
"Mr. Leon, don't refuse. The kids admire you. It's a good thing."
'I'm doomed, surrounded by baby dragons!'
'No!'
'No! No! No!'
Leon had social anxiety. Even if he liked kids, he couldn't handle dozens of baby dragons clamoring for autographs.
'What did that teacher just say?'
'A good thing?'
'Yes, a good thing.'
"Noah, let me teach you a life lesson. Good things should be shared with good friends."
He whispered to his already-asleep daughter, then put on a smile, turning to the kids, "This wasn't all my work. Beating the bad guy wasn't just Uncle Leon's credit."
"Eh? There was another master?"
"Of course!"
Leon jerked his chin toward Old Con, "The other hero did even more. Let's go ask him for autographs, shall we~"
"Yay! Let's go! I want to be first!"
The children rushed over eagerly.
Constantine was still there, staring at Adam's nearly lifeless body, calming himself after vengeance.
Suddenly, he heard children's voices.
Turning, he saw a swarm of baby dragons charging toward him, shouting "Great hero, give us your autograph!"
On his stern face cracked a faint trace of speechless disbelief.
He glanced far off, only to see Leon grinning stupidly at him.
'Got it. All your doing, huh?'
"Fel."
Boom!
The Ironwing Dragon King descended, landing behind Constantine.
"Take this beast away. Don't let the kids see."
"Yes, senior."
Fel grabbed Adam's body and flew off.
Moments later, the children gathered around Constantine.
"It's... the Crimson Flame Dragon King..."
"My Daddy said he's super fierce... Maybe... maybe we should just go back to Uncle Leon..."
"..."
The little ones were clearly intimidated by Constantine.
Though he was a hero in the textbooks, face-to-face was another matter.
"How is he fierce? Uncle Constantine just isn't good with smiling, right?", That annoying voice piped up beside him.
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