Chapter 526

Raon's jaw dropped as he looked at Aries.

'There's no way that's going to work!'

Even though Glenn was the pinnacle of the continent as a transcender, it was the dragon lord that they were talking to.

Since the dragon race looked down on humans, Raon didn't think that her threat was going to work.

'Moreover… You should be calling him your father rather than my grandfather!'

Raon couldn't understand why she was calling him his grandfather instead of her father since she was the one who was closer to him. He thought once again that Aries was so peculiar.

'I should just prepare for battle… Hmm?'

Despite his expectation that it was going to be completely ineffective, the dragon lord's chin was trembling in panic.

"…Did you just say that the human over there is Glenn Zieghart's grandson?"

The dragon lord's firm voice became hoarse for the first time. It felt like a huge tree with no end in sight was starting to tremble.

'Huh?'

Raon's eyes widened as he looked at the dragon lord's face, which had turned pale.Ch𝒆êck out l𝒂t𝒆st 𝒏𝒐v𝒆l𝒔 on n/o/v𝒆/l/bin(.)c/𝒐/m

'Did it really work?'

He'd never expected that not just an average dragon, but the lord of the dragons would be crushed under the weight of Glenn's name.

"Hmm…"

The dragon lord quietly groaned and turned his gaze towards Raon. He examined his hair and eyes one after the other, and his lips curved downwards.

"He definitely does have a similar face and nature."

"Why would I lie about this since it would be found out right away? He's the grandson who perfectly inherited his blood. And Glenn cherishes him more than anyone else."

Aries tilted her chin as if she were making fun of the dragon lord.

"What are you gonna do? Do you wanna fight?"

She sneered, telling him to try showing off his power once again.

"Ahem!"

The dragon lord cleared his throat and shook his hand.

Whir!

Instead of starting the fight, he removed the wave of mana that was expanding endlessly. The powerful wave dominating Aikar was removed in an instant.

"Why aren't you attacking? Weren't you supposed to protect the continent?"

Aries rolled her lips into a smile and continued her provocation.

"I don't understand how taking Kaibar's dragon heart and corpse helps the balance of the continent, but you need to do your job, don't you?"

"The dragon heart includes a huge amount of mana with high purity. It can cause a huge issue in the continent if it is misused."

The dragon lord firmly lowered his lips and still claimed that he was acting for the sake of the world.

"Then what about Kaibar's corpse?"

"A dragon's bones, claws, and horn can create the sturdiest weapon…"

"Is that powerful enough to threaten the balance of the continent?"

"Hmm…"

The dragon lord stopped twitching his lips upon hearing Aries's mocking question.

However, the dignity didn't leave his gaze. He still seemed to believe that he was doing it for the sake of the world.

"Alright, I'll help you take it in that case."

Aries raised her arm and stretched it behind her without hesitation.

"Rabawin. Take it out."

"Understood."

Rabawin opened a subspace pocket. He took out a dragon heart, which was sparkling in rainbow colors, and gave it to Aries. He seemed to perfectly trust his lord.

"Here you go. Take it."

Aries casually threw the dragon heart in the air before catching it, then she glanced at the dragon lord with narrowed eyes.

"However, his grandfather might visit some other dragons and pull their throats out if you take this one. I estimate that about three of them will be killed."

She grinned, saying that she would get three dragon hearts for giving away one.

"Bullshit!"

The dragon lord bared his white teeth towards Aries.

"I know Glenn Zieghart very well. There's no way he would act on such a trivial matter—"

"He will."

Aries cut the dragon lord off.

"You met the Destructive King of the North at the center of the continent, didn't you? Do you know why he appeared there?"

"That's…"

"You went there to kill the demon king, but it wasn't the case for him. He went there to save him."

She shrugged her shoulders while claiming something ridiculous.

"That doesn't make any…"

The dragon lord started to refute her words but closed his mouth.

'No, he was acting strange back then.'

Glenn Zieghart wasn't interested in the demon king or the humans from the other factions.

He suddenly went into the barrier that appeared in the middle of his fight against the Holy Sword Alliance master and the White Blood Religion's leader and looked for the traces of the disappeared swordsmen.

The Glenn Zieghart of the Continental War would never have done that. He had definitely changed.

'Which means he really might attack the other dragons…'

If Aries was right and the blond-haired and red-eyed human was Glenn's cherished grandson, he might end up doing something bad. That was why he concluded that he should avoid a potential danger.

"Hmm…"

The dragon lord bit his lip while looking at his trembling hand on his staff.

'He said it was the last warning he'd give.'

Glenn had declared that he would wage war against the dragons if he was interrupted once again.

The lord wasn't afraid of other people in Zieghart, but the monster called Glenn was the issue.

He couldn't figure out any way to defeat him since Glenn shed his skin while defeating the Holy Sword Alliance master.

"Huh…"

Raon gasped while watching the dragon lord, who was thinking deeply.

'Did that seriously work?'

Aries wasn't exactly lying, but she wasn't telling the truth either. Glenn was there to save the Light Wind division and the Heavenly Blade division, but it wasn't for just him.

It could be easily figured out, but the dragon lord's expression showed that Aries's claim had worked.

Why are you talking so much?!

Wrath poked his head out and furrowed his brow.

The King of Essence will pull that lizard's head off. Just give him your body!

'Hmm…'

Raon was slightly interested, but there was no guarantee that the demon king's advent was going to work once again, and it was obviously going to enlarge the wound that had finally recovered. That was why he simply pushed Wrath away.

"Take it for the balance of the continent. Here you go."

Aries walked up to the dragon lord and held out Kaibar's dragon heart.

She was clearly provoking him, but the dragon lord simply narrowed his eyes without responding.

"Haa…"

The dragon lord took a glance at Raon and sighed quietly.

"I'll withdraw for now. But you should be careful. His name isn't going to protect you forever."

"What's the matter? Aren't you going to protect the continent?"

Aries smiled while turning her shoulder. She seemed to have expected that reaction.

"Are you afraid of his grandfather?"

"…I'm not afraid of him. I'm just avoiding unnecessary fights to maintain the balance of the continent."

He tapped the ground with his staff while giving some excuse that was too unsightly coming from a dragon lord.

Whir!

The dragon lord became a golden light and disappeared, just like during his arrival.

"Hah…"

Raon shook his head while looking at the spot where the dragon lord had disappeared.

"D-did he just run away? But he's the dragon lord!"

"Yes."

Aries nodded while giggling. She gave the dragon heart to Rabawin and pushed her orange hair back.

"You should understand by now since you saw Kaibar, but that's the true nature of the dragons. They are extremely self-centered."

"She's right. They lived for such a long time that they became some goldfish who believe that they are always right and are working for the continent."

Kuberad lowered his eyebrows deeply as he also expressed his displeasure towards the dragons.

Humans are fully aware of the characteristics of the lizards.

Wrath nodded while looking at Aries and Kuberad.

The dragons have a whole different way of thinking than the other creatures because they've been powerful ever since their birth and can get stronger without making any effort.

He twisted his lips, saying that the dragons were the ones who were unnecessary in the world.

"But I didn't expect him to be so unsightly…"

Raon laughed bitterly. He couldn't forget the way the dragon lord ran away with shabby excuses after he tried to pick a fight. It was refreshing to watch, but he also found it ridiculous.

"The dragons are unsightly by nature."

Aries scratched the bridge of her nose, telling him to get used to it.

"By the way, Lady Aries."

"Hmm?"

"Why did you call the head of house my grandfather? It would've worked better if you called him your father."

"I was warning him."

She pouted slightly, wondering why he was asking the obvious question.

"A warning?"

"That father would appear if he attacked you."

"That was just a bluff, though."

"I wasn't bluffing."

Aries shook her hand, saying that she definitely wasn't bluffing.

"No, but…"

Hey!

Raon was trying to refute her words, but Wrath suddenly barked.

Since it's over now, get ready right now!

'Get ready for what?'

You need to tell her to eat the grilled dragon!

Wrath shoved his fist into Raon's face, telling him that he would seriously kill him if he skipped it once again.

"Haa…"

Raon sighed deeply and walked up to Aries.

"Erm, Lady Aries."

"What's up?"

"I have a request I'd like to make…"

"I'm listening. I'm willing to grant most of your wishes."

Aries nodded, telling him to say anything he wanted.

"I'm also going to do anything you want."

"Same goes for me! I'll even give you the principles of my sword techniques if you ask!"

Kuberad and Rabawin also told him to just tell them anything he wanted with smiles on their faces.

"In that case… Can we grill the dragon and eat it?"

"Huh…?"

The three people, including Aries, turned their heads with even more dumbfounded faces than when the dragon lord appeared.

* * *

Zieghart

Lord's Manor

The swordsmen guarding the lord's manor tilted their heads while looking at the ceiling, where the dust was falling.

"An earthquake?"

"Hmm, I believe earthquakes rarely happen in the north, though…"

"Then what is this? Why has the entire building been trembling since the morning?"

"Isn't the head of house going to get angry at this rate?"

The swordsmen swallowed nervously, worried about the lord manor's trembling phenomenon.

Roenn passed by the swordsmen with serious faces and headed to the audience chamber. He opened the trembling iron gate, entered, and raised his gaze.

Rumble!

Glenn was sitting on the golden throne, and his left leg was shaking. It was because of that powerful vibration that not only the audience chamber but the entire lord's manor was trembling.

"…Did you learn anything?"

Glenn swallowed nervously and leaned forward as soon as he saw Roenn.

"Yes."

Roenn smiled faintly and nodded.

"The damage wasn't completely nonexistent, but Lady Aries, Rabawin, and young master Raon have all returned safely. As for Kaibar…"

"I don't care about it! Is Raon alright?"

Glenn shouted Raon's name, saying that he wasn't interested in Kaibar at all.

"Yes. He even recovered from his injury in his upper energy center. They said he played an important role in slaying Kaibar."

Roenn told Glenn about the report he'd gotten from Aikar.

"An important role?"

"They said that young master Raon pulled out Kaibar's dragon heart."

"He pulled out the dragon heart? That's what he would do."

Glenn smiled cheerfully. His leg that had been causing the vibration all day long finally came to a halt.

"Huhuhu."

Roenn smiled faintly, showing that he found Glenn's reaction interesting.

"Ahem!"

Glenn cleared his throat and started to give some shabby excuses. He must've felt slightly awkward.

"Don't look at me like that. I was just asking because I figured it would be annoying in various ways if a problem occurred in the ocean."

"It could actually become annoying."

"What do you mean?!"

He briskly stood up from the throne. He seemed to have forgotten that he was giving excuses.

"They said that the dragon lord suddenly appeared and started to threaten them."

"Threaten? How did he threaten them?! What did that lizard even say?!"

"He picked a fight with them and told them to hand over Kaibar's dragon heart and corpse. They said that he was going to attack if they didn't give them to him."

"That damned bastard…"

Glenn clenched his fist. His wrath spread around as his will, and the entirety of Zieghart started to tremor violently.

"Fortunately, Lady Aries made him leave without any issue."

Roenn shook his hand, telling him that it was all good.

"I don't like it."

Glenn stroked his chin with a frightening look in his eyes.

"Shall I just take this opportunity and kill them all?"

His frightening voice sounded like he was serious about it.

"It wouldn't be impossible, but we would also take a huge amount of damage. Since the Five Demons are also going to interfere, it will become an even bigger issue."

Roenn took him seriously and gave him a brief analysis.

"They said that the lord was the first one to surrender. I believe it would be better to leave them alone for the moment."

He smiled, telling him to forgive them once since the dragon lord lowered his head.

Tsk.

Glenn briefly clicked his tongue and leaned his back against the throne.

"So, when is Raon returning?"

"Lady Aries didn't say anything about it. She said to just come by yourself if you want to see him…"

Roenn lowered his head apologetically.

Wham!

Glenn stomped the ground before he knew it. The vibration of his long leg started once again.

"Order him to return right now! Tell him to come back immediately!"

The swordsmen in the lord's manor ended up having the chills all day long because of the unidentified tremors.

* * *

Aikar was having a festival.

Even though many people had died, they suffered a huge amount of material losses, and the reconstruction wasn't over yet, people were enjoying the festival with bright expressions on their faces.

Just like the mourners at a funeral forcing themselves to smile and chat, everyone had a fun time comforting the deceased and blessing the survivors.

However, there was a place that was the complete opposite of the festival and was as quiet as a library.

It was the workshop inside the warship that Kuberad had been using temporarily.

Raon was biting his lip while holding a frying pan on the furnace. He let out a small sigh while looking at the dragon meat placed on the frying pan.

'Why isn't it cooking?!'

The dragon meat wasn't cooking at all even though he was using the furnace for it. The frying pan was going to melt at the rate it was going because of the heat from the furnace.

'This is practically an ore rather than a meat!'

He could guess that it could withstand the furnace's heat because of its high fire resistance and the mana brimming inside the meat.

Focus! The meat is going to lose its juices!

Wrath smacked the back of Raon's head, telling him to focus on cooking.

'There's not even any juice to lose! It needs to be grilled first to have juices!'

Aren't there any magicians in the area who can cast Hellfire?

'Do you think you can find a ninth-circle magician just like that?'

Seriously, humans are so incompetent.

Wrath clicked his tongue in displeasure.

Use your fire in that case. It might take some time, but it will cook eventually.

He pointed his finger at the furnace, telling Raon to add the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's heat.

'I don't really want to use martial arts to eat some meat…'

You idiot. Why do you even think martial arts even exist?

'To become stronger.'

Then what do you need to do to get stronger?

'Hmm?'

You have to eat! That's why eating this meat is the same as training your martial arts!

'What the hell is that bullshit?'

Raon shook his head while looking at him with eyes full of pity.

It's bullshit indeed! So just send the heat already!

Wrath patted his thin stomach while complaining that he was about to die from hunger.

'Haa…'

Raon furrowed his brow and added the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's heat into the furnace.

Whaaap!

The furnace's fire became bigger, but the power wasn't as good as the size.

"Hmm…"

Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the fire.

'Does adding fire to the fire not amplify the output?'

Raon activated the Ring of Fire and carefully observed the fire's movement.

The fire inside the furnace and the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's heat had similar yet different flows.

'What if I synchronize the flows now…?'

Raon matched the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's heat to the movement of the furnace's fire, and the size was decreased as a result while the heat was amplified more than ten times.

Whaap!

The blazing frying pan looked like it was about to melt, and the dragon meat's surface was slowly turning brown. The meat was finally starting to cook.

'So this is it. Instead of just adding the output of the same attribute, I can multiply it instead…'

Stop being enlightened while cooking! You must have a blade in your brain!

Wrath barked at him as Raon was gaining a better understanding of the fire attribute's characteristics.

'Alright, alright.'

Raon sighed and focused on the fire. He was cooking the meat while focusing on keeping the juices inside the meat, and he heard the sound of the door bursting behind him.

Wham!

Aries leaned her back against the wall, holding liquor bottles in both hands. She'd always been wearing some laid-back attire similar to a swimsuit, but it was even worse, probably because she was drunk.

"Are you seriously planning to eat that?"

She burst out into laughter while looking at the dragon meat. She seemed to find the idea ridiculous.

"Yes, I have a reason why I have to eat it no matter what…'"

"People told me that I was special a lot, but I'm not as bad as you."

Aries chuckled and came next to him. Her hair fluttered in the air and spread the refreshing and pure fragrance of an ocean flower.

"Not at all…"

Raon shook his head. He definitely believed he wouldn't be as weird as Aries.

"Is it cooking now?"

"Yes. The furnace's fire wasn't enough, so I added my own."

"Let me help you."

Aries walked up to the furnace while giggling and placed her finger on it. A colorless wave spread from her finger, and the heat inside it intensified even further.

Sizzle!

The meat cooked even faster and spread its delicious smell.

Pour the butter! Do it now!

Wrath quickly pointed with his hand, telling him to place the butter he'd prepared in advance into the frying pan.

Raon nodded and placed the entire slab of butter in the frying pan.

The butter melted in no time and became yellow water. It looked like it was going to get stuck in the frying pan shortly.

Dip the meat into the butter!

'Why am I even doing this…?'

Raon tried to not think about it and dipped the dragon meat into the melted butter, and Aries came next to him after putting down her bottle.

"I have a gift for you."

"A gift?"

Raon stopped his hands and tilted his head.

"You know, the thing I promised you before we left for battle."

"Ah!"

Raon remembered that he'd asked Aries to give him a sea serpent's heart in the beginning.

'I can finally make my mother's artificial energy center now.'

He'd acquired a drake's heart a long time ago, but he was frustrated because he couldn't get a sea serpent's heart. Getting it meant he could finally complete the artificial energy center.

Thinking about Sylvia's happy expression brought a smile to his face.

"You must like Sylvia a lot."

Aries chuckled and rolled her lips into a smile.

"You look your age at a time like this."

"Hmm…"

Rano simply shut his mouth because he couldn't deny or admit it.

Whir!

Aries's smile deepened as she opened her subspace pocket. Raon watched her hand in anticipation, and a bone that sparkled in rainbow colors suddenly came out. It wasn't the sea serpent's heart, but Kaibar's dragon heart.

"Here you go!"

She handed over the dragon heart, telling him to take it.

"Why are you giving this to me…?"

"You said you were making your mother's energy center. Since she's my sister, I need to give you the best material. A sea serpent can't dare to match up to this!"

Raon licked his lips without taking the dragon heart.

He would've refused if it was for himself because it was too challenging as a gift, but he couldn't easily voice out the denial because it was material for Sylvia's energy center.

"Of course, I'm not giving it to you for free."

Raon was awkwardly extending his hand when Aries pulled the dragon heart back. Her brow was furrowed slightly.

"I have a condition."

"What would that condition be…?"

There was no way it would be an ordinary condition since she was giving him a dragon heart instead of a sea serpent's heart. Raon was certain that it would be a dangerous one or a difficult one.

'She might ask me to join her pirate crew, or help her for a few years…'

He nervously waited for Aries's response, and her red lips slowly parted.

"My condition is simple."

Aries smoothed her furrowed brow and rolled her lips into a bright smile.

"Call me auntie! You promised to call me auntie if we returned alive!"

"Ah…"

Call her auntie and flip the meat already! It's burning!