Leon squatted down beside Pyre once again. Though the old dragon had surrendered, his face still bore a stubborn and unyielding expression.
But Leon didn't care much about his expression; he just wanted him to obediently reveal what he knew.
"Now that you know I'm a human, it means we've got the right person. Constantine must have valued you greatly, huh? That's why he entrusted this secret to you," Leon analyzed calmly.
He was confident that the fact of him being a human hadn't spread among the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan. It wasn't that Constantine couldn't let it spread, but rather, he dared not.
Constantine knew about Leon being human on the condition that he had struck some sort of deal and cooperation with the Empire, helping them with certain tasks. In simple terms, he was 'rare' among the dragon clan.
Despite his status as the Dragon King, secretly colluding with the human empire, if discovered by others, would inevitably lead to dire consequences.
Once the news got out, Constantine would either be ousted due to internal factional struggles or the entire Crimson Flame Dragon Clan would become a laughingstock and be ostracized by the entire dragon clan.
That's why Constantine didn't directly attack the Silver Dragon Clan from the beginning but instead took a full year to conquer various territories, using it to cover up his true intentions.
If Constantine had indeed killed Leon in the Silver Dragon Clan, all the dragon clans would've just assumed it was part of the Crimson Flame Dragon King's expansion plan, completely unrelated to whether the Silver Dragon Prince was human or not.
It had to be admitted, Constantine's plan was executed flawlessly, not only expanding his territory, re-establishing his authority within the dragon clan but also perfectly fulfilling the tasks assigned to him by the Empire—
The problem lay with General Leon.
Constantine had never calculated, not in a million years, that the human empire would produce such a freakishly talented individual.
If old Constantine knew that the poor sod whose heart got pierced back then still possessed peak combat strength, he would've probably reacted to the Empire assigning him this task with just two words: "Me?!" (Waves his hand dismissively)
Leon had also gone over the logic of the situation several times before daring to "open the box" of Pyre with Rossweise.
Pyre gazed directly at Leon, confirming his speculation. "Yes, the late king Constantine did indeed trust me greatly and confided your secret to me."
"Did your late king tell you anything else? Like… cooperating with the human empire or something?"
Now officially entering the interrogation phase, Pyre's dragon eyes flashed with a hint of faint resentment. But after a moment of hesitation, he chose to speak.
God knows whether the nonsense those two lunatics just spouted was true or not, but Pyre wasn't brave enough to gamble on it. He could accept a grandiose death—even dying under torture would do, at a stretch.
But he couldn't accept being toyed with and mocked to death by this pair of cursed spouses, as it concerned the dignity of his position as the second-in-command of the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan. The dragon clan's stubbornness about their dignity was no less than their vengefulness.
"The late king did indeed cooperate with humans for a period," Pyre spoke cautiously.
"And then?" Leon shrugged. "What were they cooperating for? Just to kill me?"
"Not just to kill you," Pyre said mildly.
"Then what else for?"
"For a greater plan," Pyre replied. As the words fell, a scorching dragon flame swiftly grazed Pyre's face, piercing through the tree trunk behind him.
Pyre's face was also scorched by the intense heat of the dragon flame. He clutched his burning cheek, glaring angrily, about to protest.
But before he could speak, Rossweise interrupted him, "Don't answer one question at a time. If you do it again, I guarantee it won't just be half your face that gets burned."
The queen's voice was cold and commanding, devoid of anger yet full of authority. She had seen through it; though the old guy pretended to cooperate verbally, he was still playing games with Leon. Ask a question, get an answer, and it seemed like he was just repeating Leon's inquiries.
Like a lazy horse, you give it a whip, it moves forward two steps; withhold the whip, and it stands still.
Pyre appeared to be cooperating on the surface, but in reality, he was just feeding them useless information. After being threatened by Rossweise, Pyre shrank back, enduring the burning sensation on his cheek, and said, "The intelligence I possess isn't as much as you think. The primary purpose of the late king's cooperation with humans wasn't to kill Leon; he just happened to become an uncontrollable pawn on the chessboard at the wrong time."
Leon furrowed his brow, "An uncontrollable pawn…"
Pyre continued, "You were supposed to die three years ago. That way, none of this would have happened. But unexpectedly, the idiot responsible for assassinating you back then botched the job."
"So, to clean up this mess, the Empire had no choice but to let the late King Constantine use the pretext of expanding territory to kill you while you were in the Silver Dragon Clan."
"As for what happened next… I suppose I don't need to say."
Leon didn't immediately proceed with further questioning but instead turned to Rossweise. The couple exchanged a brief glance, then subtly nodded at each other.
Leon looked back at Pyre and continued, "So, what you're saying is that my being alive has disrupted some plan that the Empire and the dragon clan originally had in mind, is that it?"
Pyre closed his eyes and remained silent, tacitly agreeing.
"What was the purpose of this plan? Or rather, what did the human Empire and the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan hope to achieve through this plan?"
"I'm not sure about that. The late king only told me that to keep the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan standing, cooperation with the human Empire was necessary," Pyre replied, his tone not suggestive of falsehood.
This was reasonable. Even though he was Constantine's confidant, it didn't mean Constantine would spill all the details of his cooperation with the Empire like a routine report.
After all, he was a dragon king, bound to have secrets to uphold. These secrets could be crucial cards to play in life-or-death situations or could be the key to turning the tide. Of course, reality was cruel, and Constantine could only take those secrets to his grave.
"How long has this plan been going on?"
"The late king didn't tell me when the plan began, but it has been at least thirty years."
Thirty years… Leon blinked, pondering over the time frame. It seemed oddly familiar… but he didn't dwell on it. Even if it sounded familiar, it probably had no relevance to the current interrogation.
"Was Constantine the only dragon king cooperating with the human Empire?" Leon stared into Pyre's eyes, asking the most crucial question.
Pyre's gaze shifted slightly, hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Not just the late king."
As Pyre said, if this was a game of chess, then the human Empire and the dragon clan were the players, while Leon was an unexpected pawn.
And his Crimson Flame Dragon Clan had now become a discarded piece. With Constantine dead, the entire Crimson Flame Dragon Clan had lost its value in the eyes of the Empire.
So Pyre had no need to conceal any secrets for the Empire anymore. He could use this information to bargain for a chance to survive—or a swift death.
Pyre was loyal to the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan and Constantine. As for the human Empire? Well… that was none of his concern.
"As far as I know, there are at least five dragon kings cooperating with the human Empire."
Five dragon kings… Despite being mentally prepared, Leon was still somewhat astonished to hear this number. In the dark corners he wasn't aware of, this conspiracy had already taken root so deeply.
And if the remaining dragon kings were on the same level as Constantine, it meant that the Empire was truly brewing something big. Something… far beyond Leon's imagination.
Amidst his astonishment, he suddenly felt a soft touch on his shoulder. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see Rossweise.
The queen gently patted his shoulder, signaling him not to get overwhelmed by the current information and to continue the interrogation.
Leon nodded and took out a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket, "Write down the names of all the dragon kings you know."
Pyre took the paper and pen, hesitated for a moment, then began to write.
Leon wasn't worried that Pyre would randomly write down names or shift blame onto other dragon clans. There was simply no need for it anymore.
Leon couldn't possibly go around "opening boxes" for each of those dragon kings one by one. Not to mention his current magic reserves couldn't support such actions, and the risk involved was something Leon couldn't accept.
Plus, the Empire still held the initiative. With so little intelligence and information in Leon's hands, he couldn't take the initiative.
Pyre certainly understood this point, so there was no need for him to attempt anything.
After a moment, Pyre finished writing the names and handed the paper back to Leon.
Looking at the names on the paper, Leon's expectations were met, "Ravi, Bly, Jags… three dragon kings skilled in spatial magic."
Rossweise's grandmother had recently warned the couple that these three dragon kings had mysteriously disappeared without causing any uproar within their own clans.
It must have been arranged properly before they secretly left their tribes.
There are no coincidences in the world—three dragon kings skilled in spatial magic simultaneously leaving their tribes, and coincidentally, they were all cooperating with the Empire.
It wasn't hard to guess that the Empire had gathered them together, intending to send General Leon a "gift."
There were two other names on the list:
Warhammer Dragon King- Adam.
Radiant Star Dragon King- Star.
Similarly, these were names of dragon kings that Leon had never heard of in all his years.
He folded the list and stood up, looking down at Pyre, "Do you have anything else to add?"
Pyre slowly closed his eyes without answering. Leon didn't press further. He had asked everything he wanted to know. Leon looked up at the approaching glow in the distance; it seemed like the pursuers had arrived. He withdrew his gaze and addressed Pyre, "It seems your fate is sealed, Pyre. You won't see the endgame of this chess match."
With those words, Leon turned around and walked towards the exit of the forest with Rossweise. But before he could take more than a few steps, he heard Pyre suddenly shout from behind, "Leon Cosmodeous!"
Leon halted and turned back to look. Pyre's eyes were wide with fury, half of his burnt face making him look even more menacing, like an aging lion roaring at Leon, "You've chosen the wrong opponent. You have no idea how powerful your enemies are going to be."
"They will stop at nothing to kill you, to take everything from you!"
Pyre continued, his voice filled with rage.
"Killing Constantine wasn't your first victory, but your final glory," he proclaimed.
"So… Leon, cherish your last moments!" Pyre warned.
"You cannot withstand the true counterattack of the dragon clan!"
"Crimson Flame Dragon King Constantine—forever immortal!"
With his final shout, Pyre clenched his fists, and the magic circuits under his skin shimmered with a deep red light, as if molten lava flowed through his veins.
In the next moment, Pyre's chest exploded, a column of flames shooting up into the night sky. The explosion's shockwave swept over, and Rossweise spread her dragon wings, shielding herself and Leon within.
"Did he self-destruct…"
"Yeah, the proud Dragon Clan, how could they allow themselves to be trampled to death."
With this, the possibility of the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan's revival within a hundred years was gone.
And in that dazzling blaze, it seemed to still echo Pyre's final roar at Leon—
"You cannot withstand the true counterattack of the Dragon Clan."
What exactly… Does this represent?
Leon stared at the roaring flames, the heat waves distorting the air before him. Rossweise's silver wings remained unfurled, blocking the scorching heat and flying debris for him.
In the intense light, Leon's expression was unreadable. He had obtained the information he wanted—the names of five dragon kings collaborating with the Empire, the confirmation that he was a pawn disrupting their plans, the fact that this conspiracy had been brewing for at least thirty years...
But with this information came even greater unease.
Pyre's final words echoed in his mind like a curse. "Cherish your last moments"... Was this a warning from a dying man, or a genuine prophecy?