NOVEL NEXT Chapter 276
“What is the meaning of this, Succubus?”
The Dragon Lord growled, clad in a golden robe. The Succubus Queen shrugged her shoulders and replied.
“I have come to talk, oh great dragon.”
“Is this how one claims to have a dialogue while leading hundreds of thousands of troops right at our borders? Are you challenging us to war?”
“You, Dragon, are a servant of His Majesty the Emperor. His Majesty has commanded me to ensure the safety of dragons by allowing my army to enter where you reside. Isn’t that a command you should happily accept as a loyal subject?”
“Even the Emperor of the Terkeon Empire cannot bring an army into the territory of the Dragon Lord! This is a sacred promise made when we entered a master-servant relationship!”
“Is that so? Truthfully, our army has not come solely to ensure your safety.”
“Withdraw your army immediately! If you wish to talk, you should come alone. If not, I have nothing more to say, and if you persist, we will have no choice but to make an inevitable decision to protect ourselves!”
A weak flame flickered in the Dragon Lord’s mouth. The Succubus Queen recoiled slightly at the sight, but she spoke boldly, not showing her fear.
“Allow us to enter, Dragon. We are an inspection team with duties to fulfill.”
“Inspection? What exactly are you inspecting?”
“Your treasonous allegations. His Majesty has solid evidence that the esteemed dragons have been colluding with the enemies to inflict severe harm upon our Empire.”
The key point was that, in fact, there was no evidence at all. The reason the Succubus Queen was risking her life in this gamble was precisely that. If she failed to present evidence or prove the allegations, it could very well be her head that rolled right here.
The dispute of justification was important even among the demons. If the Demon King made a move to purge the Dragon Lord without any evidence, it would create an image of unjust bloodshed, leading other demons to lose faith in the Demon King, making it impossible to rule the Empire. After all, who knew when the Demon King might decide to slaughter warlords at will?
However, if the Succubus Queen could force the Dragon Lord to surrender with sheer bravado, the knowledge of the dragon’s treachery would spread widely, instilling fear in the demons and deterring any thoughts of betrayal. It was a risky and terrifying gamble. The Dragon Lord naturally took to denial.
“Treason? Me, the Dragon Lord? You are lying and boasting. Where is the evidence for something that hasn’t even happened, and what kind of investigation are you speaking of? It seems you just want to bring your army into our land under some other intentions.”
“Must I repeat myself? Open the borders and let our army in. If you are innocent, what fear should you have of a mere 200,000 demon troops?”
“Is this truly an order from His Majesty? Or are you staging a coup under the guise of excessive loyalty? If this really is an order from the Sorcerer Emperor, then bring him here in person!”
“This is indeed His Majesty’s order. However, His Majesty is currently busy defending against threats, so how could he personally appear here?”
“But isn’t it Jean Helmut who is fighting on the front lines? This is suspicious. If you cannot provide a proper explanation, I might have to show my loyalty to His Majesty. For the wise Emperor would not parade his army before the dragons while such threats loom right in front of him. It seems you are acting beyond His Majesty’s will, and it is my duty to punish you accordingly. Wouldn’t that be true loyalty to the Sorcerer Empire?”
The Dragon Lord growled, threateningly. No matter how timid and scared they appeared, a dragon was still a dragon. Among them, the most powerful and cunning Gold Dragon. The Succubus Queen felt her body tremble at the faint roar but spoke confidently without revealing her fear.
“This is crucial. From here on, it’s purely the realm of guts and deceit. I have to subdue the Dragon Lord with nothing but inference. I need to create an aura of belief that I have evidence. Any slight misstep, and that cunning dragon will mock me. If he realizes I’ve come here with no evidence, he will turn the tables.”
However, with Audrich’s forces beginning their advance, time was running short. There were no other options after coming this far; the gamble had begun.
“Airship.”
“What?”
“You agreed to allow the airship to pass. I’m talking about the elves’ enormous airship.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Are you referring to that ancient weapon used during the Eramenia Civil War?”
The Dragon Lord outright denied it, yet he couldn’t completely suppress his emotions. If it were entirely baseless, he would have reacted in disbelief, but the genius spy, the Succubus, could hear the tension in the Dragon Lord’s voice.
She had seized the opportunity. Now was the time to press harder.
“On board the airship are one legion of elves. And the Great Sage himself was planning to cross your territory to land within our Empire.”
“You are spouting nonsense. Why would I, the Dragon Lord, agree to such treason—”
“Because the substance used in the airships is explosive. Surely that puts your mind at ease? As long as they don’t step foot on your land, they should pose no threat to you.”
“What in the world are you saying…”
“The Dragon Lord must have determined that the western demons would rebel again. Well, that could be true. The Great Sage is quite meticulous. It seems her plan was convincing. The rebels would be causing chaos in the west, hence, even if the demons aligned with them, they would serve as a shield against the dragons… Did you really think it would be that simple?”
The Dragon’s expression noticeably became anxious. The Dragon Lord’s thoughts grew complicated. Initially, he thought the Succubus Queen was just boasting without evidence, but what if that wasn’t the case?
What if she genuinely had proof that the dragon race had rebelled against her and the Demon King? The actions of the Demon King’s Army would be evident. They would wipe out the dragons. The coalition would be doomed if dragons cooperated with the allied forces. The Demon King’s Army wouldn’t care whether the enemy was launching an invasion; they would strike against the dragons regardless.
That was the very scenario the Dragon Lord feared the most.
“Making wild assumptions without any evidence is absurd. You cannot solve everything with bravado. Suggesting that we, the dragons, have been disrespectful to His Majesty is an exaggeration.”
At that moment, the Succubus Queen sensed that his slightly softened stance meant that the Demon King’s deductions were spot on and that her confident bluster had struck a chord.
If her accusation were entirely false, the Dragon Lord should be angry right now, not hesitating and waiting to ‘confirm’ whether the Succubus Queen had evidence. She had to land the decisive blow. The Succubus Queen smiled brightly as she said.
“I don’t understand why you keep saying there’s no evidence. The blond-haired hunter. I’m sure you are familiar with him. You must have met him often.”
This was also a gamble. Perhaps Bernard had only been contacted once, and even if they had made multiple connections, it could have been through other means besides that one. But judging by the Dragon Lord’s lack of rebuttal, it seemed her gamble had succeeded once again.
“We have captured him on our side and already obtained answers. While he’s quite strong-willed and a bit difficult, you know our species, right? There’s no one better than us at getting answers from a man. If you want, we can bring him here immediately—”
“Enough!”
The Dragon Lord raised both hands and nodded. Elio was victorious. The Dragon Lord had fallen for it, and the fear that further denials might provoke the Demon King’s wrath overwhelmed him.
At that moment, the Dragon Lord became convinced that Jenis’s operation would fail. If Bernard had been captured and the entire operation’s details were leaked, the demon warlord factions that had agreed to surrender when the airship took off would have all been identified. They would surely have been purged by now, meaning that even if the capture operation succeeded, they would not just be ambushed; they would be walking into the lion’s mouth.
If they didn’t quickly surrender here, it would be the end for the dragons. The dragon’s ruler submissively bowed his head and spoke to the Succubus Queen.
“Regent, did His Majesty wish for us to mobilize the army for an investigation?”
“Of course. That is my original duty.”
“…I will fully open the borders. Bring in as many as you wish. I will cooperate entirely.”
“Before that…”
The Succubus Queen, now emboldened, raised her finger to propose additional conditions.
“I require you to agree to have all dragons bound in chains and captured, and for your subordinates to be instructed not to resist. Given the treason allegations, such measures are only reasonable, right?”
The dragon ground its teeth but had no grounds to refuse. From a dragon’s perspective, chains weren’t such a big deal. This was less about actually restraining the dragons and more about inflicting psychological humiliation upon them. The elderly figure in the golden robe nodded helplessly.
“Do as you wish, Regent.”
At that moment, the Demon King’s 200,000 troops surged into the Dragon Lord’s territory without facing any resistance. Jenis Harker, observing this situation from a thousand miles away, shouted, pounding the floor with her fist.
“What the hell, what the hell, what the hell! This is ridiculous!”
The Great Sage of the Magic Tower screamed as she pounded the floor until her hands bled. All her carefully built plans crumbled in an instant. Unable to control her shock and anger, Jenis trembled, but she knew the action she needed to take immediately.
She quickly grabbed the Great Sage’s staff and channeled mana into it, immediately sending a brief order to the Eramenia Kingdom to abort the operation. It wasn’t long after that Eramenia received Jenis’s directive and relayed the contents to the northern front.