Departure

Another year passed after the awakening of Jose's magic power.

On the bank of the river, Jose stood watching his reflection in the water.

It was a teenage Red Dragon that was as long as a truck. On the Red Dragon's head was a pair of symmetrical spiral horns. Between the horns were three rows of small horns that extended all the way to the top of its head, just like the crown of a king.

At the point where the two horns met, there was a protrusion at the back of the head that looked like a fish fin. The bright crimson fin began at the head and extended to the back and the tail. Together with the defined muscles on his body, he looked mighty and domineering.

"Oh~ I've gotten more handsome again."

He snorted as tiny flames emerged from his nostrils. This was because he had just entered the teenage stage, and he was still unable to control the sudden explosive increase in power, causing his energy to leak out.

"In three years, my body length has increased by 3.3 meters. According to the normal Red Dragon growth pattern, Jinkela's growth boost is around ten percent. Not bad," Jose murmured.

Recalling the past three years, he was filled with emotions.

Everything was as he had planned. The remnant authority of the Mistress of the Red Nest made the powerful supernatural beasts not dare to step into the Jorgol Mountains. This gave the two young dragons two years of peace.

However, from the third year onwards, supernatural creatures were attracted by the relatively safe hunting grounds in the Jorgol Mountains and gradually migrated in.

Fortunately, those that had migrated in were not powerful creatures, and Jose had awakened his spellcasting ability in advance, so the two young dragons were able to deal with them.

Jose had thought that he and Cassie would be better able to guard their territory, or even expand it, once they grew into teenagers, but an accident had disrupted his plan.

With this thought in mind, he looked gloomily towards the river. On the surface of the river floated some broken pieces of wood: it was the remains of a small wooden boat.

Human adventurers had sailed into their territory.

However, the adventurers did not come to slay dragons. They did not even expect to meet a dragon.

Without any preparation, the adventurers encountered the young White Dragon lurking in the water. The outcome was obvious. Cassie overturned the boat from beneath the surface of the water and tore it into pieces. The adventurers who fell into the water were even less of a match for the White Dragon.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A five-meter-long young White Dragon popped his head out of the river, carrying two drenched human adventurers in his dragon claws. After three years of growth, Cassie had made some progress, and he no longer stuttered when he spoke.

"Boss, I followed your instructions and left two alive," Cassie said while tossing them in front of Jose.

The moment they landed, the two of them sprawled on the riverbank and spat out some river water.

This was the first time Jose had met a human since escaping the Red Nest. He observed the two of them, one blond and the other red-haired. They were dressed much like the medieval Westerners of his past life.

He did not feel any sense of belonging to the humans of this world. He was even vigilant and slightly hostile because he was a dragon. Furthermore, he was a Five-Colored Dragon. Most of the teams that specialized in hunting underage Five-Colored Dragons were formed by humans.

He patiently waited for them to stop retching before speaking, "Gentlemen, are you done vomiting? We should get down to business."

Both of their legs were trembling, and their faces were ashen as they looked at the pleasant (malevolent) Red Dragon.

"Don't be afraid. I'm different from ordinary dragons. I'm a reasonable dragon, and I just want to ask you some questions."

The blond young man swallowed his saliva and mustered his courage. He asked using the common language, "Can you let us go after answering the questions?"

"Of course… I can't."

If Jose was an adult dragon, it would not have mattered whether the two of them were released or not. Now, he did not want the two of them to return alive and then sell his information everywhere.

"It's impossible for you to survive, but if you cooperate, you'll be able to die more peacefully. In conclusion, cooperation is more beneficial to you." He stated the cruel facts to both of them.

The red-haired youth's face flushed red. With the thought that he would die anyway, he questioned loudly, "Didn't you say you are reasonable?! What kind of logic is this?!"

"Strength is everything! I'm strong, so whatever I say is right!" Jose spread his dragon wings, and their shadow enveloped the two of them. At the same time, his draconic aura swept over them.

The two drenched men immediately felt as if their hearts were being tightly clenched, and they collapsed to the ground.

Jose smelled something foul and raised an eyebrow when he saw the pale yellow liquid spreading beneath them.

It was more effective to scare people like this.

"Then, I'll ask, and you'll answer. First question, why are you here?"

"…"

The adventurers who were scared to the point of pissing their pants by the teenage dragon were not strong-willed. They told him everything under such pressure.

As it turned out, they were not adventurers, but private soldiers affiliated with Viscount Taggul's clan. Their master had attempted to open a smuggling passage in the Jorgol Mountains that connected the Great Northern Plains to the Human Kingdoms. As a result, they had been sent to probe the canyon's waterways.

Jose replied as he understood the situation, "So that's it."

Due to the distance between the Jorgol Mountains and the Dark Forest, there were only two routes between the Human Kingdoms and the Great Northern Plains. One was located at the western edge of the Jorgol Mountains, where there was a narrow mountain pass, and the other was the shipping route, taking a boat to bypass the Dark Forest and reach the Great Northern Plains.

The horses, gold, and specialties of the Great Northern Plains were continuously sent to the human world through these two trade routes, while humans transported food, cloth, and so on to the Northern Plains. This trip brought huge profits to the merchants.

However, one of the two trade routes was located in the west, while the other was located in the east. The position of the kingdom in the middle was very awkward. It was hard to imagine how uncomfortable it was to be unable to participate in such a huge profitable business right under one's nose.

The greedy nobles of the kingdom thus turned their desires into action. For hundreds of years, they had tried to open up a path through the Jorgol Mountains, but due to the forest filled with large trees and the numerous supernatural beasts, they had never succeeded.

In the era when the Mistress of the Red Nest was dominating the Northern Region, the Jorgol Mountains were like the proverbial tiger's den, or a dragon's lair rather. But now, the greedy human nobles saw some hope…

With powerful supernatural creatures migrating in and the human nobles interfering, there was no point in staying in the Jorgol Mountains.

Thinking of this, Jose asked the second question, "Have you heard any news about the Mistress of the Red Nest in recent years?"

"I've never heard any such news. I only know that after the battle three years ago, Shavana never appeared again."

Jose lowered his head and thought about it. There was a 90% chance that Shavana had escaped. If the dragon-slaying mission had been successful, the human countries would have chopped off her head and hung it on the city wall to spread the news.

"The third question is about the major events that have happened recently. You can think about it slowly. I'm not in a hurry…"

Through the narration of the two captives, the two dragons learned of some recent events on the continent.

If one lived in the world, they would not be able to fully isolate themselves. If one were to blindly avoid everything, they would only become more and more narrow-minded and incompatible with the world. As a result, one would miss the opportunity brought by the progress of the era.

Of course, Jose, who was still a teenager, did not have the ability to seize great opportunities, but it was always right to keep up with the times.

They asked some more questions, and Jose felt it was about time. Without warning, he spewed out dragon flames and turned them both into charred skeletons before tossing them into the water.

"Cassie, we have to move."

Cassie was silent. He was also a True Dragon with a complete inheritance, so he knew about his ancestors' past.

The Five-Colored Dragons that were able to reproduce had a common characteristic, which was staying far away from intelligent creatures when they were young.

"Boss, where are we going next?"

Jose had already made plans for the future. He took out the map of the Northern Lands given to him by the Black Dragon and pointed at the borders of the Jorgol Mountains, the Dark Forest, and the Northern Plains, saying, "We will go here."

One of the two trade routes was on the eastern side, while the other was on the western side. As such, there were very few people in the middle of the plains where monsters and beasts ran rampant.

Calculating their age, the two dragons had already reached the stage of gathering their followers and forming a force. Those native monsters that were not that strong were the best targets.