Chapter 37: Chapter 36: Eruption

In Katjana Volcano, within a cave on the side opposite the Red Dragon’s Lair, Pafila, having cleansed herself multiple times in a magma pool, carried the pile of ’scrap metal and trinkets’—an offering from David, sourced from the High Elves—to a relief carved with the likeness of a five-headed dragon.

It was, indeed, a shrine dedicated to Tiamat, the mother of the Chromatic Dragons.

However, compared to the dazzling mountains of gold and silver in Pafila’s own nest, both the crudely carved five-headed dragon relief and the meager silver and copper coins and Cat’s Eye Stones adorning the shrine appeared pathetically inadequate.

Taking a deep breath, Pafila unwrapped the canvas. With an air of indifference, she haphazardly placed its contents before the shrine of Tiamat, Mother of the Evil Chromatic Dragons, the Scales of Evil, and then spoke, “Oh, my lord Tiamat, Pafila, the Skanis town guard from the Elariya realm, has a report for you.”

The elven junk, stripped from the ship by David and the Drow, was soon enveloped by an ethereal flame and gradually vanished.

After a moment, perhaps due to the immense distance to the lower realm, the faith connection was finally established. An evil gleam emanated from the pupils of the central red dragon head on the relief, “Oh? It’s my dear little Pafila. How rare. Speak, what is it?”

On the other side, the Dragon Mother of the Chromatic Dragons sounded like a perpetually busy CEO of a family enterprise, seemingly multitasking while receiving a cross-planar communication from a trusted regional manager.

Her words, though retaining their authority, were laced with favoritism.

She did not even seem to mind the offerings, which could only be described as pitiful.

Pafila, dispensing with pleasantries, stated bluntly, “Those white-skinned Goblins have encroached on my territory again. This is the third time. So, I plan to eliminate them, just as I did the first time. However, I anticipate the Elf deities will likely question you about it, so I’m reporting to you in advance. That’s all.”

“Oh? Are they a Noble’s private soldiers or the regular army?”

Pafila fiddled with an Alchemical Tool that was displaying a magical scene, smacked her lips, and said, “Regular army, but they’re flying a Noble’s banner.”

“Oh, then kill them as you please. Just avoid a rampage like the one eight years ago, which left their main force crippled for years. Those foolish gods probably won’t dare to utter a peep.”

“All right, that’s it.” With that, Pafila prepared to end the ’call’.

However, the Scales of Evil on the other end was not ready to let her go. “Wait a minute!”

“What now? Didn’t I already offer last year’s divine grace tithe?” Pafila asked, her voice tinged with caution.

“Of course, I know that. Haha. But recently, I’ve been a bit sh…ort.”

Before the Evil Dragon Mother could finish her sentence, Pafila forcefully disconnected the communication.

But soon, the dragon eyes on the relief lit up again, this time without any offerings, and with a seemingly ingratiating tone, “So, this year’s…”

Pafila disconnected again.

“Divine grace…” The relief lit up once more.

“The fees, can we…”

Disconnected again.

Tiamat tried again, “Get an advance on the…”

“Payment…”

Pafila finally lost her temper, roaring at her own deity, “Damn it! You don’t go after those obscenely wealthy Red Dragons in the Astral Plane who are always plundering alongside the Githyanki, but you insist on picking on a dirt-poor town guard like me! Am I the only Red Dragon left in all of Sed Ponga? Or have all the other Chromatic Dragons gone freaking extinct?! Huh?!”

The mighty Mother of the Evil Chromatic Dragons seemed genuinely taken aback by the outburst from a mere legendary Red Dragon. After a long silence, she sighed deeply, “One blessing.”

“One discretionary blessing, with no faith-based backdoors attached,” Pafila, her earlier resolute demeanor gone, immediately pressed her advantage.

“Hmm? Who do you plan to give it to? Or perhaps our little Silver Dragon princess has been suitably… educated by you? If it’s for her, I might…” Tiamat’s interest was instantly piqued.

“No, it’s for another rebellious whelp of mine,” Pafila cut her off irritably.

Tiamat’s interest, however, only grew. “Oh! It seems our Chromatic Dragons have produced another genius. When will you bring him for me to see?”

For a ’rebellious whelp’ to not only survive but also be deemed a genius by the talented Red Dragon Pafila, and for Pafila to use such a precious opportunity to trade with Tiamat for a Dragon God’s blessing for this individual—this was enough to pique even the Evil Dragon God Mother’s curiosity.

“Not a chance. He’ll never worship you,” Pafila flatly refused.

“Don’t be so absolute. Who knows, one day he might begin chanting my name of his own accord, hehehe.”

This time, the evil gleam on the wall dimmed on its own, detaching from the relief and coalescing around one of Pafila’s claws, forming what looked like a simple, clay-textured ring.

Sometime later, having returned to her own nest and paid the divine grace tithe in advance, Pafila gazed at the gaping new hole in her treasure hoard and suddenly felt a pang of regret so sharp it made her twitch.

Damn it, she had paid such a steep price for one discretionary blessing, all for that death-seeking rebel she often couldn’t stop in time.

And it would take ninety-five years just to recoup the cost!

This calculation left Pafila extremely irritated.

Why does it still feel like a loss?!

Dammit, it’s definitely a loss!!!

Could that kid earn back this much in less than a hundred years?! If I’d known, I would have just told him I’d support him into his old age!

AHHHHHHHH!

Just like her son David by the seaside half a month ago, she was furiously irate.

If Pafila also possessed David’s Wrath Authority at this moment, the power level might have already surpassed five digits.

BOOM… Triggered by the Dragon Mother’s nameless fury, Mount Katjana also suddenly erupted.

「…」

On the surface of the Arctic Ocean, a flotilla of five High Elf warships sailed at full speed toward the Old Continent, their sails billowing.

As they neared the coast, the High Elves, who had been adrift at sea for nearly two weeks, became visibly excited and joyful.

Only four High Elves—one tall and three short—who had been temporarily ’conscripted’ by a Noble onto the ship, were interspersed among the sailors, all hunched over, scrubbing the deck.

The tallest and fairest-skinned among them, Yevgeny, the Sword Dancer also known as the Fox of Dewensen, who had been captured by David and his companions, suddenly stopped her work.

But now, she could only hide in a corner of the deck. She secretly looked up at the High Elf commander standing before the helm, who was ardently extolling their upcoming dragon capture. Her eyes brimmed with a touch of desolation, envy, and longing.

The Elf commander on this expedition was her colleague and, for a long time, the object of her secret admiration. However, the disparity in their status forced her to keep her feelings buried deep within her heart.

Just as these thoughts began to surface, a tremor that seemed to originate from the depths of her soul made her knees buckle, and her body began to convulse uncontrollably.

“What are you thinking?! Do you actually expect this idiot to catch the master?!” Hiatt, who was in a great mood after successfully rescuing her brother from Spider Nest City, pinched the Elf’s delicate chin, patted her flushed cheeks, and taunted.

“Exactly! If this bunch could capture the master, I’d twist off my own head and give it to you to use as an Alchemy Potion bottle,” the Drow Mage chimed in, attempting to sound intimidating.

“…”

But just as Yevgeny was about to feign submission with soft gasps, as she usually did to escape the Drow’s physical and spiritual torment, a low whistling sound suddenly echoed from the sky.

“Enemy!… Attack…?”

The handsome Elf commander had just drawn his longsword, signaling everyone to be on guard, when he saw a tumbling, disheveled figure arc gracefully through the air.

With a loud splash, the figure crashed into the sea less than two nautical miles ahead of the fleet, sending up a towering column of water.

All the Elves on the flotilla were stunned, staring in bewilderment at the Red Dragon that had fallen from the sky.

“…” Hiatt and her companions were also dumbfounded.

“That… that looked like the master…” the Drow Mage stammered.

“Hehe, hahaha…” Yevgeny suddenly burst out laughing hysterically, a choked sound mixing with her mirth.

Just as she was about to shout something, she was gagged by the two Drow, and her entire soul was bound.

However, the High Elf commander, Ahmed, would not let such an opportunity pass. Regardless of whether this Red Dragon was the one mentioned in his lord’s intelligence reports, there was no reason to ignore it.

“Full speed ahead! Capture that dragon!!!”

“Boss… what do we do?” the Mage asked Hiatt.

Hiatt was silent for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, “…When the fleet gets closer, we’ll jump into the sea together. We must find a way to help the master escape.”

No matter what, she would not allow the master to fall into the hands of these High Elves. That would also mean her soul would fall into their hands.

She could tolerate her soul being manipulated by the Red Dragon, but she would never permit herself to be a mere lackey for the High Elves.

Because that was a choice she had made willingly.

It was true in the past, and it was true now.

But just as the ships drew near and everyone tensed, preparing for a fierce battle, the once-calm sea began to churn violently, as if a colossal beast were thrashing about beneath the surface.

All the ships tossed about on the waves like flimsy leaves. The staggering High Elves clung desperately to the railings, struggling to maintain their balance and avoid being thrown overboard.

BOOM RUMBLE…

Mount Katjana, before their very eyes, seemed to transform into a suddenly enraged behemoth.

Accompanied by a Dragon’s Roar that vibrated their very souls, it burst forth…

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