Chapter 336: Chapter 222: Let’s Hear What the Aggrieved Party Has to Say (Part 2)
Naferutali also suddenly understood what the other party meant. "You mean, that dragon wasn’t coming for me?"
The elderly earl, chuckling, allowed Drow feet to rest on his face. "With all due respect, you might be overestimating yourself. Considering the dragon’s various actions, it’s doubtful he even remembers such a trifle. After all, it was only the loss of a ship’s cargo with no follow-up. And, if I recall the intelligence reports correctly, didn’t his kin escape?"
"Indeed," Naferutali said. Listening to the earl’s words, spoken from an outsider’s perspective, she suddenly felt that the situation might truly be as he described.
If the dragon was indeed targeting her, it certainly would have made Pablo’s earldom the first target of its campaign, not Wallens, with its status as a port.
As Naferutali fell into deep thought, the elderly earl continued to browse through the intel related to ’David Uthos’, the Red Dragon.
When he came across the information about the half-blood Drow, Alianna, and the Barbarian kin Rosinde seen in Port of Wallens, wielding twin dragon fang blades, the earl’s eyes twitched. He directly asked, "If I recall correctly, you once said that this Barbarian suffered a fatal wound under the siege led by your Drow forces?"
"That’s right! Wait, he’s still alive!" Naferutali seemed to recognize the crux of the issue.
With the severity of the injuries he sustained, death was certain. This could only mean the dragon must have resorted to a Resurrection Spell, at the very least, showing just how much he valued this individual.
A dragon might not care about the life and death of Barbarians, but a Skanis Barbarian would never forget.
The crux of the problem was here.
The moment that Barbarian became aware of their existence, he would surely compel his Dragon Lord to recollect the animosity between them.
"Are those captured Barbarians from back then still alive?" the elderly earl asked.
Naferutali curled her lip and said, "Six died in battle then, and the seventeen captured Barbarians were indeed all given proper placements at that time. It’s just unknown if they’ve died of old age since."
The elderly earl breathed a sigh of relief. "Then it’s not a big problem. As it appears now, this Prince David Uthos has his Skanis territory occupied by Elves, so he’s likely to temporarily settle in Luwalden. Since we’ll inevitably deal with him in the future, we must take early action."
He then asked, "In your opinion, does Luwalden stand any chance against this Evil Dragon?"
Naferutali scoffed, "Unless King Luwalden comes back to life, or those incompetent Royalist Faction nobles manage to turn the defense of Luwalden into a defense war for Central Earth of the Granyel Continent, there’s no chance whatsoever."
The earl immediately made his decision and urged, "Since we have a chance to ease this conflict, why not..."
Naferutali raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Are you suggesting I switch loyalty on the spot to that Evil Dragon?"
The earl slightly lifted his head with a smile. "Exactly, and the sooner the better. If we delay, we might not get the chance."
"But..." Naferutali was certainly tempted, yet the psychological scars from forty-five years ago loomed large, filling her with hesitation.
The earl continued to persuade, "Don’t forget, Lady Naferutali, you are a legend after all. All we need is one opportunity. Moreover, as far as I know, that dragon has already enlisted two Drow, both with previous entanglements. I believe, with your beauty and skill, my lady, you’ll certainly not lose out to two junior Drow, right?"
Naferutali, who had assumed David to be an indiscriminate Red Dragon, was immediately filled with competitive spirit. With a meaningful look and sultry eyes, she turned to her few Pablo minions and said, "You lot seem quite willing to feed me to the dragon’s maw."
Upon hearing they might have a chance to become brothers-in-law with the Son of the Crimson Calamity, as mentioned in legends, the formerly disheartened Pablo minions instantly perked up. "For Lady Naferutali’s happiness, we are more than willing."
While Naferutali and her Pablo minions were joyfully enjoying their happy moments, another male servant came in with intelligence. "Mistress Naferutali, Lord Earl, a message from the Royal Capital."
Looking at the plea for help from King Klinsmann of the Royal Capital, the elderly earl and Naferutali exchanged knowing glances.
Opportunity—hadn’t it just presented itself?
...
「One week later, Port of Wallens.」
David, who had just woken up from a short rest after the journey, received an invitation from King Klinsmann of Luwalden, calling upon the mighty warriors of Central Earth to convene at the Royal Capital and discuss joining forces to fight against him—the Evil Dragon.
David instantly felt a surge of energy.
Having been in this world for so long, he had finally evolved from an obscure young wild dragon into a little boss that could make humanity shudder with a mere yawn from thousands of miles away.
He felt it was a good thing. He was ready for an open confrontation. When the time came, all he needed to do was to see to what extent King Luwalden could organize this coalition. Then he could decide whether to directly confront them or return early to the Astral Plane, Sed Ponga, to summon dragons. He would be able to adapt flexibly.
But... just thinking about these humans taking a whole week just to conceive the idea and send out a plea for help, and then convening in Luwalden’s Royal Capital before finally gathering their armies to come for him—it would probably be summer by then... What a drag! Why not just steamroll over them?
Arrogance