173 Is there a woman too?
The whole issue of being backstabbed by an insider was a topic Leon had rarely discussed.
Roswiser could probably guess why he was reluctant to bring it up.
First, after years of fighting, achieving countless military feats, being betrayed by a petty person was a huge disgrace for someone who was hailed as a hero by the Empire and its citizens.
Second, the one who betrayed him was likely a comrade-in-arms who had fought alongside him. If it had been someone else, Leon probably wouldn’t be as heartbroken. But the only people who could get close enough to stab him in the back during battle were his squadmates.
But it had been three years since then; it was about time they examined this matter properly.
At Roswiser’s question, Leon indeed fell silent for a moment.
He lowered his head, scratching his forehead as if intent on discussing the matter, yet seeming unsure where to begin.
Seeing his dilemma, Roswiser took the initiative, “Why don’t we start with what happened that day? What were you and your teammates doing before you were betrayed?”
Leon stared at the tips of his shoes, his pupils gradually losing focus, his thoughts drifting back to the day they attacked the Silver Dragon Temple three years ago.
As he reminisced, he began to unfold the story,
“That day, our army had already broken through the outer defenses of the temple. Once we breached the main door, we would… um…”
He pursed his lips, casting a glance at Roswiser beside him, and continued, “We would get to see you.”
Roswiser propped her chin on one hand, her beautiful eyes focused on Leon, listening intently.
The Dog Man’s wording was quite tactful: “We would get to see you.”
And then what? Sit down for tea and have a little chat?
She shook her head, not overthinking it, and nodded, “Uh-huh, then what?”
“Well… you know, when we humans try to defeat the Dragon Race, most of the time we rely on sheer numbers. So after breaching the outer defenses, I allocated a large portion of our troops to attack your front door.”
“Of course, that was just a feint. The real hundred-strong elite Dragon Slayer squads would launch a surprise attack from the flanks. Once your Silver Dragon defenses were focused on the main entrance, that would be the best time to create breaches on the sides.”
“The battle proceeded just as I had anticipated; the feint worked, and the flank attacks went smoothly.”
“Normally, at this point, a Dragon King level opponent should make their grand entrance, and I had prepared myself for the decisive battle with you.”
Roswiser blinked; she grasped the gist of Leon’s tactics—it was the classic “N Protect 1” strategy.
Send this Dragon King assassination bomb into the temple, and everyone else’s mission would be complete.
After that, they just had to watch General Leon perform a classic dragon-slaying show.
“But… just as my squad and I were about to step into the temple courtyard, everything around me suddenly went dark.”
“A sea of darkness?” Roswiser frowned slightly, “Was it an illusion magic?”
“From the way it felt at the time, it definitely was a powerful illusion magic. And such strong illusion magic could only work if it was cast at close range, catching the caster off guard. But at that moment, there were no Silver Dragons anywhere near me.”
Roswiser’s eyes shifted, understanding the implication behind Leon’s words.
Only someone he trusted completely could put someone as formidable as him into such a powerful illusion.
Leon continued, “I didn’t have time to think much and hurriedly tried to break free from the illusion. But at that moment…”
Leon raised his hand to his chest, his tone darkening a little, “The one who betrayed me struck. It wasn’t with a kn*fe or dagger, but some kind of… sharp and pointy thing, imbued with piercing enchantment, otherwise, it wouldn’t have been able to pierce the Black Gold Battle Armor’s chest plate.”
“My heart was pierced, and oddly enough, only my chest skin and muscles felt pain; my heart itself didn’t feel much.”
At this point, Leon shook his head, letting out a bitter laugh, “But that’s just ordinary physiological phenomenon. I knew what had happened, and I knew that in that moment when my heart was pierced, everything was over.”
“The entire process from when I fell into the illusion to being ambushed took less than two seconds. And at that time, no Silver Dragons were within a hundred meters of me.”
“When I woke up, all ambush squad positions had been exposed, and you immediately adjusted your tactics to take us down one by one.”
“And I was no longer able to command, so according to protocol, my deputy took over the command and ordered a retreat.”
“My teammates carried my nearly-dead body inch by inch toward the temple exit. But the speed was too slow; after our positions had been fully revealed, your counterattacks were effective and swift. If they wanted to survive, they had to leave me behind.”
“By that time, my consciousness was already quite muddled. I could hardly hear what they were saying; there seemed to be a brief argument, but in the end… I still became your prisoner.”
“That’s about it.”
Leon covered his face with his hands, letting out a heavy sigh.
Roswiser stayed silent, absorbing what he had just laid bare.
From Leon’s description, it was clear that he had indeed been betrayed by his comrades.
And the illusion magic, enchanted weapons, exposed positions, and the final display of ‘battle friendship’ all indicated that this had been a premeditated backstab.
The person who betrayed Leon had made ample preparations for that moment.
Once the betrayal was successful, he left no trace.
Not only did the human side fail to detect him, but even after the battle, the Silver Dragons didn’t know which top assassin had slain their AD prodigy, resulting in the N Protect 1 strategy getting flipped on its head.
But if one wanted to find a silver lining in this, it was that since the insider had stabbed straight at Leon’s heart, it was clear he intended to take his life, not leave him alive.
Unfortunately, Leon was not only alive and well, but he had also become the fake husband of the Silver Dragon Queen.
He even had three adorable daughters now.
If the insider were to find out about this, they’d probably choke on their own rage.
After a moment of silence, Roswiser asked, “Do you have an answer in your heart? A rough guess about that insider?”
Leon stared straight ahead and shook his head, “From a rational perspective for analyzing the entire situation, everyone is a suspect; but from an emotional perspective… I can’t believe any of those three could do such a thing.”
With both rationality and emotion in check, he didn’t lose his temper just because the insider was once his comrade, nor did he recklessly accuse someone, forgetting their bond forged in battle.
Leon had controlled his emotions and reason quite well; it would be difficult for others to reach that level.
Roswiser contemplated and turned to him, “You just mentioned three teammates?”
“Yep.”
“Then let’s talk about them. Just a brief chat will do.”
Leon raked his hair, thinking that since he had already said so much, it was no harm saying a bit more.
“Well… there’s one vice-captain, one support mage, and one artillery master. Let’s start with the vice-captain.”
Leon said, “That guy is a perennial second fiddle.”
Roswiser was taken aback, “Perennial second fiddle? Is that… an insult?”
Leon shrugged, “I often take first place, so guess who the runner-up is?”
“Oh~ got it. Please continue.”
“He’s just like me; before joining the Dragon Slayer Army, he was from a commoner background, no connections, and stepped up to vice-captain purely with his strength. Oh, he was also the one who took over the command from me at that time. A pretty impressive guy.”
After a pause, Leon added, “But he’s not as impressive as me.”
Roswiser chuckled and nudged Leon’s shoulder, “You sure know how to take the opportunity to praise yourself.”
After heavy topics, it’s always nice to lighten the mood a bit with jokes.
Leon smiled back, then went on,
“The second one is the support mage; he comes from a notable background—he’s the youngest son of a certain noble in the Empire. I heard he wanted to join my squad after graduation, specifically mentioning how much he admired me and aspired to be a Dragon Slayer like me.”
Roswiser huffed with a smile, “Still a little fanboy, huh? And what about that last artillery master?”
“Oh, her? She’s a real chatterbox—”
The Queen perked up, “Wait, a girl?”
Leon paused, “Y-Yeah… What’s up?”
“Casmod, in your monotonous life with nothing but donkeys, you finally mentioned a second girl of your age, besides the silver-haired classmate.”
Leon blinked; it sounded like a dig at his twenty years of solo life.
But the more he pondered, the more he sensed… a bit of jealousy in the air?
“What does she look like?” Roswiser asked.
Leon’s thoughts stirred, and mischief brewed inside him, “Beautiful—very beautiful.”
In Leon’s eyes, the girl was pretty average, but she had plenty of admirers.
His assessment was, they might as well chase after his donkey; it could at least give them a bray or two.
And hearing Leon’s high praise for that female artillery master made Roswiser’s beautiful eyes widen as she clenched her teeth secretly.
But on the surface, she pretended to be indifferent, “Oh? That’s nice. Having a pretty girl in the squad must make battles much more enjoyable, huh?”
Leon didn’t answer that question but countered, “Tsk, tsk, tsk, Mother Dragon, is that beer expired?”
“Expired? No way.”
“Then why is there a sour smell?”
Crack—
The can in Roswiser’s hand was suddenly crumpled, making a crisp sound.
Leon glanced down at the squashed can, thinking this might heat things up.
No, he couldn’t poke the bear any further; this Mother Dragon drank too much, and after last night’s new dragon pattern fiasco, who knows how she might torture him in a fit of temper.
So he quickly said, “Just kidding, just kidding! She’s quite average, at least I think so.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah… anyway, from her hair color to height to personality, none of it is my type.”
“What’s your type then?”
Now, come on, you know the little bit of XP I have, right? Why are you asking?
Leon calculated how to skip that question, but Roswiser leaned closer, still tipsy, her face slightly flushed,
“Come on, what’s your type?”
“Uh, I like… I like silver—”
“Blah, blah, blah, can’t you just say it in one breath…?! Ugh—”
As she spoke, Roswiser suddenly swayed, and her vision spun wildly, her body uncontrollably leaning forward, finally ending up sideways on Leon’s lap.
Leon froze, cautiously poking her cheek, “Hey, Roswiser, hey?”
“Ugh…”
What answered him was a mumble of dreams.
“Well, that was fast, Mother Dragon.”
Having just given birth, she hadn’t fully recovered her strength, and now she had drunk so much; it wasn’t surprising to pass out.
She leaned against him, lying on Leon’s lap, and soon fell asleep.
A faint scent of her body mixed with a bit of alcohol wafted in the air, along with her warm body temperature.
The softness at her chest pressed lightly against Leon’s thigh, making his thoughts go wild.
Leon’s face flushed, and he quickly took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.
After calming down a bit, he gently picked up the sleeping Roswiser and, treading carefully down the steps, walked into the temple.
