Chapter 120: Gathering intelligence.

“With pleasure, my Lord.”

“One more thing.”

“Yes?”

“The captured scouts. Keep them alive and comfortable. If Harken is the type of commander I think he is, he will notice when his people do not return. And when he does, I want those scouts to be in good enough condition to deliver a message.”

Sanovere raised a brow.

“A message, my Lord?”

“When the time comes, yes. For now, let them sit. Fear is always more effective when it has time to marinate.”

Sanovere bowed deeply, his smile never wavering, and left the Throne Room without another word.

Kai sat in silence for a long while after the doors closed.

The torches along the walls flickered, their dark flames casting shifting shadows across the obsidian floor. The weight of everything pressed down on him, not physically, but mentally.

The Nexus Empire, the sovereignty agreement, the Elder Dragon sleeping beneath his feet, the trade routes that were barely established, the laws that were only days old.

’I am building a kingdom from scratch while two separate nations are trying to figure out how to destroy it. One from inside, one from outside. The Nexus Empire sends generals. Traona’s prince sends treasonous letters to the enemy. And I am sitting here with a skeleton army and a city that does not even have a finished wall yet.’

He exhaled slowly.

’I need more power. Not political power. Not economic power. Raw, undeniable military strength. The kind that makes generals reconsider their career choices and princes rethink their ambitions.’

His mind drifted to the system notification he had received weeks ago, when Verendel had been named and evolved.

Dragon Slayer Update: The act of naming and evolving a dragon through the Dragon Slayer title has revealed a hidden progression path. Further attributes will be unlocked upon additional dragon contracts.

’Additional dragon contracts. The title is telling me to find more dragons. Not kill them. Contract them. Name them. Evolve them. Each one I add to my banner unlocks more of the title’s power. Verendel was the first. The Elder Dragon beneath the Fifth Floor could be the second, but it is not ready yet. It is still sealed, still sleeping, still recovering from whatever put it there in the first place.’

He tapped his finger against the armrest.

’Which means I need to look elsewhere.’

…

The Council Room on the First Floor was smaller than the Throne Room but more functional. A long obsidian table sat at its center, surrounded by high-backed chairs that had been carved by Teriam’s skeleton workers. Maps and documents were spread across the surface, and the blue torches along the walls provided just enough light to read by.

Kai sat at the head of the table. To his left stood Sanovere, his hands clasped behind his back. To his right sat Fanny, clutching her teddy bear with both hands, her pale blue eyes darting nervously between Kai and the map laid out before them.

Verendel was present as well, though his massive form could not fit inside the room. Instead, the True Dragon had positioned his head through one of the large archway windows, his midnight-blue scales gleaming in the torchlight. His golden eyes watched the proceedings with quiet intensity.

“I will get straight to the point,” Kai said, pulling up a system window that only he could see. “The Dragon Slayer title has a progression path. I have confirmed this through Verendel’s naming ceremony. Each dragon I form a contract with unlocks additional attributes. The more dragons under my banner, the stronger the title becomes.”

He dismissed the window and looked at the others.

“The Elder Dragon beneath the Fifth Floor is not an option yet. It is too weak to sustain a contract, and forcing one could kill it or, worse, damage the dungeon’s foundation. That means I need to find dragons elsewhere.”

He turned to Fanny.

“Which brings me to you.”

Fanny’s grip on the teddy bear tightened. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she glanced down at the table before forcing herself to meet his gaze.

“M-me?”

“You are a True Dragon. The last of the original bloodline. Your knowledge of dragon lore is more extensive than anything the system or any library in this world could provide. I need you to tell me where the remaining dragons are.”

Fanny was quiet for a moment. Her tail swished behind her slowly, and her eyes took on a distant quality, as though she were looking at something far beyond the walls of the room.

When she spoke, her voice was softer than usual, carrying the weight of memories she rarely shared.

“There are… there are not many left, Master. The royal families hunted the True Dragons to extinction centuries ago. What remains are the Calamity Dragons and lesser breeds, all still bound by the ancient binding spell. They serve the human kingdoms as weapons and guardians, and most of them do not even realize they are enslaved.”

She paused, her eyes flickering toward Verendel. The True Dragon’s expression was unreadable, but his claws tightened slightly against the stone windowsill.

“However,” Fanny continued, her voice gaining a faint edge of certainty, “there are places where dragons exist outside the binding. Wild dragons, ones that were never captured. Some fled to the remote regions of the continent before the spell was cast. Others were sealed away, like the Elder Dragon beneath this dungeon.”

The teddy bear in her arms suddenly jerked to life.

“She is being modest. She memorized the locations of every known dragon nest before she was banished. It was her way of keeping track of her kind, even after they stopped keeping track of her.”

Fanny slammed her hand over the bear’s mouth.

“I was going to say that!”

“You were taking too long.”

“I was building up to it!”

Kai watched the exchange with a patience that was more amused than annoyed.

“Fanny. The locations.”

She released the bear and took a steadying breath. Then she reached forward and placed her small hand on the map, her finger tracing a line from the Jaun Land northward.

“There are three places I know of where dragons might still exist.”

Her finger stopped at a mountain range that straddled the border between Traona and the Nexus Empire.

“The Ashveil Mountains. This range was once a nesting ground for Storm Dragons. They are a subspecies of Calamity Dragon, but more intelligent and significantly more powerful. The terrain is volcanic, which suits their physiology. If any survived the purge, they would have retreated here.”

She moved her finger further north, deep into Nexus Empire territory.

“The Ironclaw Basin. This is a massive depression in the northern highlands, surrounded by walls of natural stone nearly a thousand meters high. In the old histories, it was called the Dragon Graveyard, because wounded or dying dragons would fly there to spend their final days. But some of the stories suggest that not all of them died. Some went into a deep hibernation, similar to the Elder Dragon beneath this dungeon.”

Her finger stopped at the third location, and her hand trembled slightly.

“And the last one. The Nexus Empire’s capital. Or rather, beneath it.”

The room went still.

“Beneath the capital?” Kai repeated.

Fanny nodded, her expression tightening.

“The Nexus Empire did not exhaust their dungeons by accident, Master. They consumed them deliberately to fuel something. And the stories, the very old stories that even most dragons have forgotten, say that what they are fueling is a dragon.”

Verendel’s eyes widened. His massive head shifted forward through the archway, his nostrils flaring.

“A captive,” Verendel rumbled, his deep voice carrying a barely contained edge. “They are keeping a dragon beneath their capital?”

Fanny looked at him, and for a moment, something raw and painful passed between them. The shared knowledge of what it meant to be a dragon in a world that viewed their kind as tools.

“Not just any dragon,” Fanny said quietly. “The stories call it the Ironbound. A dragon that was captured during the early days of the binding spell, before the True Dragons were hunted. It was too powerful to kill, so they sealed it beneath the capital and used its mana as a power source for the Empire’s war machines.”

Silence filled the room.

Kai stared at the map, his mind running at full speed.

’A dragon held captive beneath the Nexus Empire’s capital. Used as a living battery for their military. If those stories are true, and given everything I have learned about dragon lore in this world, I have no reason to doubt them, then the Nexus Empire’s military strength is not just built on soldiers and artifacts. It is built on the back of a chained dragon.’

He leaned back in his chair.

’And if I free that dragon…’

The implications were staggering. Not just the military advantage of adding another dragon to his banner. Not just the progression of the Dragon Slayer title. But the strategic devastation it would cause to the Nexus Empire if their primary power source was suddenly ripped away from them.

’That is not a mission I can undertake now. Not with a war potentially weeks away. But the other two locations are possibilities. The Ashveil Mountains are close enough to scout without crossing deep into enemy territory. And the Ironclaw Basin, while further north, could be reached by air.’

He looked at Verendel.

“How fast can you fly?”

The True Dragon’s golden eyes gleamed.

“Faster than anything the Empire has in the sky, Master.”

“Good.”

He turned to Fanny.

“I am sending both of you on a scouting mission. Verendel will provide transport and aerial coverage. You will serve as the guide. Your objective is simple. Locate any surviving dragons in the Ashveil Mountains and assess whether they can be contacted. Do not engage. Do not reveal yourselves. Observe, report, and return.”

Fanny straightened in her chair, her teddy bear momentarily forgotten.

“Yes, Master.”

“If the mountains are empty, proceed to the Ironclaw Basin. Same rules. Observe only.”

He paused, his golden eyes settling on both of them with a weight that made the torchlight seem dimmer.

“Under no circumstances are either of you to approach the Nexus Empire’s capital. The Ironbound is a target for another day. Am I clear?”

“Crystal clear, Master,” Verendel responded, his deep voice reverberating through the archway.

Fanny nodded rapidly.

The teddy bear poked its head up from under her arm.

“She is excited. She has not left the dungeon in months. She is pretending to be calm but her tail has been wagging for the last thirty seconds.”

Fanny’s face went crimson.

“It has not!”

It absolutely had.

Kai allowed himself the faintest hint of a smirk before his expression settled back into the cold authority of the Shadow of Victims.

“Depart at dawn. Sanovere will provide you with communication crystals so you can relay information in real time. If you encounter anything hostile, retreat immediately. I cannot afford to lose either of you.”

The last sentence landed differently than the rest. It was not a tactical observation. It was something quieter. Something that made Fanny’s ears turn pink and Verendel’s silver-veined wings shift ever so slightly.

“We will not fail you, Master,” Fanny said, and this time, she did not stammer.

Kai nodded once and looked back at the map.

The Ashveil Mountains. The Ironclaw Basin. The Nexus Empire’s capital.

Three locations. Three potential dragons. Each one a piece on a board that was growing larger and more dangerous by the day.

’Harken is gathering intelligence on Valdris. Prince Aldren is feeding information to the Empire from inside Traona’s court. The Elder Dragon beneath my dungeon is still too weak to contract. And somewhere to the north, a dragon is chained beneath an empire and being bled dry for power.’

He closed his eyes.

’I need to move faster. If war comes before I am ready, everything I have built will be reduced to rubble.’

When he opened them again, the gold of his irises burned brighter than the torches.

’But if I can get those dragons under my banner before Harken makes his move…’

The corners of his mouth curved upward behind the dark mist of his form.

’Then General Harken is going to learn a very hard lesson about what happens when you call a dragon king an infestation.’

…

Three hours after the meeting adjourned, Sanovere found Kai still seated in the Council Room, alone, staring at the map.

“My Lord. The communication crystals have been prepared for Fanny and Verendel. They will depart at first light.”

“Good.”

A pause.

“There is one more thing, my Lord.”

Kai glanced at him.

“The woman among the captured scouts. She is the ranking officer. During the interrogation, she mentioned something I did not include in my initial report because I wanted to verify it first.”

“And?”

“She said General Harken has not been assigned merely to observe the Jaun Land. His orders include a secondary objective.”

Sanovere’s voice dropped.

“The complete subjugation or destruction of every dungeon in the southeastern region of Traona. Not just ours. All of them. The Empire intends to strip this land of every dungeon, every mana source, and every resource it possesses. And they plan to begin within the season.”

The torches along the walls flickered.

Kai sat perfectly still for a long moment.

Then he spoke, his voice carrying the ancient cadence of the Shadow of Victims, each word falling like a stone dropped into deep water.

“Then we shall ensure the season changes before he is ready.”

Sanovere bowed.

“As you command, my Lord.”

The doors closed behind the vampire, and Kai was alone once more.

The map stared up at him from the table, its borders and boundaries drawn in ink that was already becoming obsolete.

Somewhere to the north, a general was sharpening his sword.

Somewhere in the mountains, dragons might still be sleeping.

And somewhere beneath an empire’s throne, one was screaming in chains.

Kai placed his palm flat against the map, directly over the Nexus Empire’s capital.

’I am coming for all of them.’

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