Leon arrived at the outer lands of the Crimson Flame Dragon clan.
Here, the guards of the various dragon clans were still stationed, watching at all times for any movements of Constantine, who possessed powerful primordial force.
But compared to when this task was first issued, the number of troops on watch had already lessened quite a bit.
Leon found the sector under the Silver Dragons' watch. Just like the last two times, he used his identity as Silver Dragon Prince to secretly slip in and visit Old Con.
"Your Highness, you've come."
Seeing that it was Leon, the stationed commander Shirley stepped forward to greet him.
Leon nodded, "You've worked hard, Shirley. Has Constantine made any moves recently?"
"None. Ever since he passed once through our stationed sector not long ago, there's been no activity at all."
What Shirley called "passing through the Silver Dragons' stationed sector" referred to the time Constantine went to the Empire to help Leon overthrow the Kant regime.
Otherwise, with all the dragon clans surrounding the Crimson Flame Dragon territory back then, Constantine couldn't possibly have slipped out so easily.
And the reason he succeeded in sneaking out through the Silver Dragons' side, of course, was because Leon and Rossweise had already given Shirley advance notice.
"Good. Keep monitoring," Saying that, Leon walked toward the forest ahead.
Through the forest, and some distance farther, was Constantine's old lair.
Shirley's gaze followed behind the Prince's back, lips sealed in silence.
"His Highness is so strange."
When Leon had gone far, a Silver Dragon guard came up and said to Shirley, "This seems like his third time secretly going to see Constantine, right?"
Shirley still said nothing, "And last time he even let Constantine sneak out through our sector, then three or four days later he came back. Nobody knows what he did in between."
The guard kept muttering, "I remember before, Constantine even used the day Her Majesty gave birth to attack our Sanctuary, so why now—"
"Don't ask what you shouldn't."
Shirley's voice was low, "Her Majesty and His Highness give the orders. We just need to execute them, understood?"
For Shirley to become Rossweise's trusted aide and right hand at such a young age was not without reason.
She believed unconditionally in Her Majesty's and His Highness's decisions.
A worthy king would not betray the followers who trust him; every decision a king made had its reasons.
The guard scratched his temple, "Actually I do trust the two of them a lot. I'm just… really curious."
Curiosity is only human.
Shirley was curious too, so she understood the young guard's thoughts.
"If you really want the answer, I can teach you a method."
"What is it, Senior Shirley?"
"Wait for the result."
The guard was stunned, "Wait… for the result?"
"The king has the king's way of thinking, and the king's strategies and decisions for the war. In the course of executing those plans, all we subordinates can glimpse is only the tip of the iceberg."
Shirley patiently explained, "So if your heart has countless whys, then settle them down for now. When everything is settled and the dust has fallen, then sort out the whole cause and effect yourself. Isn't that better?"
Hearing her teaching, the guard suddenly understood and nodded.
"I see, Senior Shirley."
"Don't call me senior. I'm only a little over a hundred years old."
"Okay, senior."
"…Go back to your post."
———
Leon crossed the forest, and walked for about another hour.
On the way he encountered several squads of Crimson Flame Dragon guards.
When the dragon guards saw it was a "familiar face," they all opened a path, none of them making a move.
"Captain, captain, isn't that an intruder? Why don't we stop him?", asked a rookie Red Dragon "intern."
"Even His Majesty Constantine can't stop that man. How are you going to stop him? With your life?"
"Hah? That's an exaggeration. I think he looks pretty ordinary."
"Then he'll refresh your understanding of the word 'ordinary.'"
The intern scratched his head, staring at the man's back as he slowly approached the gates of the Sanctuary, but said nothing more.
Leon walked with both hands in his pockets, calm in expression, steady in step. Under the looks of several gatekeepers, "It's that guy again, whatever, can't afford to provoke him, didn't see anything", he swaggered right into Old Con's courtyard.
Crossing the stone path, stepping onto the stairs, Leon entered Constantine's Sanctuary.
The great doors of the Sanctuary opened slowly. The Crimson Flame Dragon King lounged leisurely upon his throne, gazing down at Leon from on high.
There wasn't a single attendant or guard in the hall.
It seemed not only had Leon gotten used to coming and going, even Constantine had grown accustomed.
"Long time no see, Constantine."
"What do you want this time?"
"Hm? Do I have to have some motive to come see an old friend? Can't it just be for a chat?"
"Don't be shameless. Who's your old friend?"
"Come on, we're comrades who've faced life and death together!"
"You lived, I died, twice. That's what you call old friends?"
"Eh—"
Leon was just about to keep cracking jokes, but Constantine cut him off with a raised hand, "I don't have time for your nonsense. Say it. What is it?"
Seeing Old Con was still just as short-tempered as before, Leon felt relieved.
At once he got to the point, "Long ago, I received a list from your deputy. On it were all the dragon kings colluding with the Empire."
Constantine's brow furrowed, "My deputy? You mean… Aug?"
"Mm."
"But he's dead, Leon."
Constantine's tone shifted from stern to heavy, with suppressed anger behind it.
Leon quickly explained, "He chose to self-destruct right after handing me the list."
At the time Aug had indeed, after finishing the list, spouted a whole bunch of things like, "Casmodeous! One day the dragons will take your life!", and then self-destructed.
The reason was simple: his Crimson Flame Dragon King had fallen, the whole clan was collapsing, and as second-in-command he lacked the ability to take the reins. Under crushing pressure, with nowhere to turn, he chose self-destruction.
Constantine closed his eyes and let out a silent breath.
"Aug was a loyal and excellent deputy. To this day I can't let go of his death. But you and I have no need to dredge up old scores. If we did, neither of us would have the right."
That was true enough.
At first it was Constantine, on the Empire's orders, who attacked the Silver Dragon Sanctuary, causing heavy casualties.
Then Leon killed him.
Then the Empire remade him into a stitched-up zombie, sending him to attack Isa's Red Dragon territory.
Then Leon killed him again.
So if they really wanted to dredge up old scores, there was no need for explanations or debates over right and wrong. They could just fight.
And Constantine certainly did want to truly defeat Leon once, to wash away his disgrace.
But he also knew the current situation was special, powers moving everywhere. Having a reliable "ally" was important. So their duel could wait until later.
"I thought you'd come down swinging at me straight away," Leon said with a smile.
He knew Old Con was someone who could see the bigger picture. Otherwise he wouldn't have worked with him so many times already.
Constantine snorted, "Keep talking about that list. After you got it, then what?"
"Not long ago, humans and dragons held a ceasefire negotiation. It went smoothly, and the dragons punished those colluding kings appropriately."
"I've heard about that. I also heard… the one who represented the dragons in that negotiation was you, wasn't it?"
Leon grinned, "None other than me!"
"Heh, no wonder you say 'it went smoothly.' If it hadn't, that'd be strange."
Leon spread his hands, then returned to the topic.
"I reviewed the battles of the past few years, and combined them with the list Aug gave me. Crossing names off one by one, I found that among all the colluding dragon kings, only one neither fell to me nor was punished."
At that, Constantine perked up, raising a brow, "Who?"
"Warhammer Dragon King, Adam."
At that name, even Constantine paused slightly.
The smile that had just shown froze, then slowly drained from his face.
After a moment of silence, Constantine rose from his throne and walked slowly down the steps, "I don't like that name. I don't like that shady bastard."
"Oh? Shady bastard? I don't know much about Adam. Can you explain what kind of shady he is?"
"Among the dragon kings of my generation, Adam's infamy spread far and wide. It's normal you and your Silver Dragon wife don't know much."
Constantine descended the steps, stopping not far from Leon, speaking face to face.
"My wife only said he had no tribe of his own, and was basically a mercenary for the dragons. As long as you paid him, he'd do anything," Leon said.
"That's right."
Constantine said, "And to achieve his goals, Adam will use absolutely any means. No matter how despicable or shameless, he doesn't care in the least."
He paused, voice growing heavier, words squeezed through his teeth, "A disgrace to the name of 'Dragon King.'"
Leon knew Constantine valued honor and reputation greatly. He bore the pride and principles of a dragon king.
Just like back at the ruins of the Far North, when he clearly had a chance to use Noah for revenge on Leon, but did not.
The mighty Crimson Flame Dragon King would never drag the next generation into his personal grudges.
That was why Leon trusted Old Con not to stab him in the back.
"Looks like you really hate Adam," Leon said.
"Trust me, Leon. If you'd ever dealt with him, you'd despise him just as much."
"All right. If I run into him, I'll be sure to give him a beating for you."
Constantine gave a cold laugh, then asked, "So, since Adam wasn't on the list, you came to ask me where he is?"
"But I swear, if I really knew where that bastard was, I'd be the first to go kill him."
Hearing that, Leon couldn't help but wonder, "For you to hate him this much, it can't just be because he disgraced the name of dragon king. So what exactly did he do?"
To Leon's question, Constantine didn't answer immediately.
He was silent for a moment, as if hesitating.
Leon waited quietly, not pressing.
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