Dragon Queen and Dragon Slayer

This respect for the next generation was clearly different from the ideology of the dragon race, so it must have been Leon who influenced Rossweise.

"Mm, Leon is very good at getting along with our daughters and respects them very much. So... senior, you see, could we change the condition?"

Claudia rubbed her glabella and thought, 'Really can't do anything about you youngsters.'

"Fine, then have Helena go stay at your house for a few more days. As long as she's with Noah, she doesn't care where she goes."

She paused and added, "That's exactly what Helena said. This time, I respected her too."

It seemed this Sea Dragon senior was the tough-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside type. Clearly wanted to help, but still insisted on going through the whole "set-a-condition" procedure.

Rossweise gave a helpless smile.

"Alright, little Helena is always welcome at our home."

———

Fast-clear Empire dungeon team progress: 2/3

Only Constantine, that legendary king of resilience, remained. Leon planned to mobilize him soon too.

But before that, he had to first make sure Master and Mistress were in good health.

After bidding farewell to Donkey, Leon and the others arrived at the resting chamber of Tiger and Charlotte.

Although the elderly couple still looked a little weak, their complexion was clearly better than the day before.

Leon also felt somewhat relieved.

Then, he told Tiger about his plan to formally declare war on the Empire.

Tiger had been planning the same.

"I was originally going to take you back to the Empire after this intelligence handover, overthrow that damn emperor, and clear your name, but—cough cough—"

Tiger gave two light coughs, pressing his hand to his chest.

Even with the transplanted protective dragon scale, he still needed some time to fully recover.

Charlotte sat beside him, gently rubbing his back.

Tiger turned his head and patted his wife's hand, signaling that he was fine.

Then continued speaking to Leon, "Who knew we'd get targeted by that special ops unit. I was too careless, didn't set up proper counter-surveillance."

Over the past few years, each time Master and Leon met at the canyon cave for intelligence exchange without being caught by the Empire, it was thanks to the old man's strong anti-tracking ability.

After all, Master had served in the Empire's Dragon Slayer Army when he was young. Though he never achieved Leon's level of success, he was still a respected former dragon slayer, skilled in detection, tracking, and counter-tracking techniques.

But as he aged, the old man had inevitably grown slower, less vigilant than in years past.

Rebecca was too young and lacked experience, which led to this crisis.

Leon patted his master's shoulder to comfort him, "It's not your fault, Master. From now on, just focus on recovering. Leave the rest to us."

Given Tiger's temperament, he would definitely want to be part of the final confrontation against the Empire.

But he also knew clearly that in his current physical state, he would only be a burden to Leon.

So after thinking it through, Tiger decided to yield to reality.

He nodded.

"Alright. Once you're in the Empire, Rebecca will take you to the Lionheart Society. They're all your supporters, many of them have also suffered under the Empire's corrupt rule. With their cooperation, your actions in the Empire will be much smoother."

"Mm, I understand, Master."

"Then your mistress and I will be here waiting for your good news."

Leon nodded firmly.

Charlotte also stepped forward and held Leon's hand.

"It's been so many years since we last saw you, and now after just two days we're parting again…"

Leon held her hand tightly too. Her broad, slightly cool hand gave him comfort.

"It's alright, Mistress. Once I take care of the Empire, things can return to how they used to be."

"Alright... you must be careful."

"I will, Mistress."

Charlotte then looked toward Rebecca behind Leon and reminded the young girl, "If you encounter any trouble you can't handle, don't try to act tough. Go find Leon immediately, understand, Rebecca?"

The usually goofy twin-tailed girl was also serious now.

"I understand, Aunt Charlotte."

Charlotte lowered her eyes, looking at the scar-covered back of Leon's hand. She gently brushed over those scars with her fingertip.

"You all must come back safely, you must…"

Time seemed to return to many years ago.

Back then, Leon had just graduated from the Dragon Slayer Academy and was about to enter the brutal battlefield.

Every time he left, Charlotte would hold his hand like this and repeat over and over: "come back safely."

Leon had never once grown impatient.

Because he knew, in times of war, every farewell before heading to the battlefield might be the last. That was the cruel reality of war, unchangeable.

And Leon's mission this time might just be the one to rewrite the entire war between humans and dragons, reveal the truth to the world, and free the common people from their suffering.

After a long moment, Charlotte finally let go of Leon's hand reluctantly.

She wiped her warm eyes and gave a smile.

"Go now, child. Go do what you must do."

"Yes, Mistress."

Once everything had been settled, Claudia led the group away from the undersea palace.

The four split into two groups.

Rebecca and Claudia headed to the Empire first, infiltrating it under the Lionheart Society's coordination;

Leon and Rossweise went to find their final helper.

And also to drop by home and check on their daughters.

———

When the couple arrived at the border of the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan's territory, it was already nighttime.

They found the area patrolled by the stationed Silver Dragon Clan.

"Your Majesty, Prince."

Shirley stepped forward and bowed her head.

"Has Constantine made any moves recently?", Rossweise asked.

"Reporting, Your Majesty, no. He's remained within his territory and hasn't stepped out."

That meant Old Con was currently at home.

The couple exchanged a glance, then nodded in tacit agreement.

Shirley, noticing this, realized that Her Majesty and His Highness were planning something beyond just surveillance.

But being a loyal subordinate, Shirley didn't ask further, and simply stepped aside silently.

"I'll go alone," Leon said, "You wait here."

"If I said I wanted to go with you, would you still use the same excuse as last time?"

Leon smiled, which was as good as admitting it.

Rossweise couldn't do anything with this fool.

Once he decided something, even eight donkeys couldn't pull him back.

"Then be careful. If he doesn't agree, we'll think of another way."

"Alright."

With that, Leon strode forward into the forest.

This was Leon's third visit to Crimson Flame Dragon territory, so he was already quite familiar.

Before long, he reached the outer perimeter of the Crimson Flame Sanctuary.

Just like last time, several Crimson Flame Dragon guards jumped out to block his way.

Leon stopped, raised a hand and scratched his forehead.

"Well, saves me the trouble of knocking."

———

Half a minute later.

The gates of the Crimson Flame Sanctuary were violently kicked open, and two Crimson Flame Dragon guards were flung through the air.

"Constantine—"

"You're here to negotiate?"

Leon's eyes lit up, "Yo, you're even answering preemptively now."

On the throne, Old Con rested his hand on his forehead, his face full of helplessness.

He felt the biggest mistake of his life wasn't working with the Empire, but accepting the mission, "kill Leon Casmodeous."

"Speak. What do you want to negotiate?"

"You. Go take down the Empire."

Constantine: ?

"Five years ago, the Empire told me to take you down; five years later, you tell me to take down the Empire."

"So as the middleman, I have an immature idea:"

"Why don't you two just take each other down directly and be done with it?"

Constantine knew how to speak diplomatically.

In those three lines, he quietly erased one very key, though humiliating, condition.

That was:

Five years ago, the Empire told me to take you down, and I ended up as a pitiful stitched-up monster;

And five years later, you ask me to take down the Empire—who knows what I'll turn into this time?

"Ah… I didn't explain clearly. What I meant is, you come help me, and together we take down the Empire," Leon clarified.

This time, Constantine was interested, "Help you?"

But even with his deep grudge against the Empire, that didn't mean he'd readily agree to help Leon.

He would first hear what this guy had to say.

"Give me a reason to help you," Constantine said.

Leon spread his hands.

"Isn't it obvious? You want to take down the Empire to avenge their vile acts against you; I want to overthrow that corrupt regime and clear my name. Our motivations differ, but the end goal is the same, isn't it?"

Constantine leaned back slightly, lazily reclining on the throne, squinting at Leon.

"Same old rhetoric. Got anything else to convince me with?"

'Same old rhetoric?'

'Fine, King of Resilience, you're just trying to be difficult, huh?'

'Then don't blame me for playing the moral debt card!'

"Don't forget, you owe me a favor."

"You mean the secret meeting of the Dragon Kings? Didn't I already pay you back for that? I told you about the Empire's cooperation with the Dragon King, and you left satisfied with that intel."

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