Chapter 70: My Retirement Was a Grand Slam
So, what about Ning?
A few days later, at the border of the Dragon’s territory, in the mountain cave, it was time for another intel exchange.
This time, Master came in hot with a bombshell for Leon.
“Constantine has come back to life?!”
Although Leon had a hunch the Empire might make a comeback after Old Constantine’s head was stolen by Iron Wing Dragon King Fair, he didn’t expect it to happen this quickly. It hadn’t even been six months, yet here we were!
You gotta hand it to the Empire—they sure knew how to roll out the chaos on a schedule.
“Yeah, but it looks like this time Constantine has broken free from the Empire’s control.”
Leon furrowed his brows, “Broken free? How on earth did he manage that?”
He clearly remembered when Constantine attacked Isar’s Red Dragon Holy Temple; he was practically a puppet on strings—no will, no thought of his own. The once-mighty Red Flame Dragon King had been reduced to a mere weapon for the Empire. Even as an opponent, Leon felt a tinge of sympathy for Old Constantine.
And now, months later, he suddenly claimed victory in what looked like a resurrection battle?
Leon didn’t know whether to mourn the Dragon King’s stubbornness or chuckle at the Empire’s incompetence.
“I’m not sure about the details, but I think the dragon that rescued him helped him out,” Taige chimed in. “It must have been a Dragon King, judging by its size and speed—longer tail and wing color like iron.”
From Master’s description, Leon quickly made the connection—“It must be Fair, the Iron Wing Dragon King… He was the one who snatched Old Constantine’s head at the holy temple. I bet they struck a deal then.”
“Fair was one of the Dragon Kings working with the Empire, right?”
“Yup. He was following the Empire’s orders to lift Constantine’s head.”
“But why would he help Constantine break free now? Isn’t that basically flipping off the Empire?” Rebecca piped up from the side.
The one to answer was Roswiser.
“Maybe when he saw Constantine reduced to a puppet, Fair realized the Empire didn’t actually see them as ‘allies.’ They were just tools in the Empire’s game.”
Roswiser continued, “So Fair decided to help Constantine and simultaneously extracted himself from the Empire’s clutches to avoid becoming a walking corpse himself.”
Leon had heard of the Iron Wing Dragon King before. Like the Silver Dragon Race, the Iron Wing Dragons specialized in speed. Since they were comparable in talent, they were worth studying.
As Roswiser put it, Fair was no fool. Although his territory was small, he skillfully navigated the chaos and secured a foothold in these troubled times.
Fair’s recent move was quite shrewd, really.
At first, he played the Empire’s game to gain benefits. Then, once their true colors showed, he bounced and latched onto Constantine like a well-timed piggyback ride.
Talk about having options!
Rebecca nodded enthusiastically, “Oh, I see! You’re so smart, Sister-in-law!”
That “Sister-in-law” rang out louder than a dragon’s roar.
Roswiser slightly nodded, glancing away, as a delicate blush crept onto her face.
Was it because she was being complimented or just the “Sister-in-law” title?
Geez, after hearing it so many times, why was she getting shyer instead of used to it?!
“Wait a minute, Master.”
Leon suddenly remembered. “During Constantine’s last attack on the Red Dragon Holy Temple, I should have blown up the Empire’s Heartguard Dragon Scales. Did they stockpile some or something?”
Taige shook his head. “All the Heartguard Dragon Scales are gone, but from what Martin found out, this time the Empire used… Primal Power to create Constantine’s new body.”
“Primal Power? The Empire has access to Primal Power?!”
Leon was practically slack-jawed at this revelation.
I mean, Primal Power was an ancient force belonging to the Dragon Race, going back to their first Dragon King, Noah. Even dragons struggled to get their claws on that; how could the Empire possibly?
Taige shrugged, “I’m not sure either.”
The two of them were at a loss, their minds blank.
Just then, Roswiser quietly stepped next to Leon, whispering something in his ear.
Leon’s eyes went wide, “That makes sense now!”
Taige was confused. “What makes sense?”
“Oh, right! I heard from the Dragon Race that Fair once stole the results of a reconnaissance project from the Extreme North Land. At the time, we didn’t know what the project was, but we could guess Fair was doing the Empire’s dirty work.”
“Connecting that with what you said about the Empire using Primal Power to recreate Constantine, it’s quite possible the results Fair snatched were actually Primal Power.”
Long ago, Principal Aulete at Saint His Academy mentioned she and Roswiser’s grandmother worked on a reconnaissance project in the Extreme North Land.
After years of work, some of the results were snatched by Fair.
At the time, Leon and Roswiser had no idea what those results were.
But now, piecing together the intel, it was easy to deduce that their grandmothers were working on uncovering Primal Power.
After Leon explained his theory, Taige nodded thoughtfully.
“Theoretically, that would line up.”
After uncovering Grandma’s secret project, Roswiser felt a mix of emotions.
The sheer power of Primal Power was undeniable; she had once severely wounded the first version of Old Constantine with basic Primal Magic, giving Leon a chance to blow those Heartguard Dragon Scales to smithereens.
And this power tied back to the oldest Dragon King, Noah, whose legacy still affected the Dragon Race to this day.
But why did Veronica’s grandmother and Principal Aulete choose to delve into such a mysterious and ancient history?
Roswiser was stumped for the moment.
“If the Empire has Primal Power, they might not just be able to create fusion monsters; they might have even crazier plans up their sleeves…” Leon worried aloud.
But Taige waved him off, “You don’t have to panic. Martin found out that the Empire has burned through all its Primal Power to create the new and improved Constantine.”
“Burned through?”
“Yep.”
Taige nodded, “The biological weapon they created lost control and escaped, wasting all the Empire’s resources. The minister responsible for this plan, Andi, was dismissed, too.”
After a pause, Taige added, “Word has it he’s been sent to a farm to feed pigs.”
“Classic Empire punishment,” Leon quipped.
Taige chuckled, shrugging, “Good thing we retired early.”
“No, Master, I was forced into retirement,” General Leon said earnestly.
“Oh, so it seems like I’m still better than you, old man.”
Hearing this, Rebecca leaned in, eyes sparkling.
“Old Man, the captain had already achieved a grand slam before being forced into retirement, what about you?”
“…Kids should mind their own business!”
After a brief chuckle, Leon got back to analyzing their situation.
“Right now, without Dragon Scales and Primal Power, the Empire is likely to chill out for a bit, too scared to make any big moves while keeping an eye on the ‘resurrected’ dad they created who’s now coming after them.”
“They really messed up Constantine; I have no doubt that, with the Dragon Race’s thirst for revenge, he’ll seek vengeance against the Empire.”
“Oh, and naturally, I’ll probably be on his hit list as well.”
“Just wondering when he’ll make his move.”
As soon as he finished talking, silence enveloped them.
The Constantine with Primal Power and a beefed-up body was undoubtedly their next formidable opponent.
Leon wasn’t sure if they could take him down as easily as before.
“I have a theory,” Roswiser suddenly chimed in.
The three turned their attention to the Silver Dragon Queen.
“Even though I don’t know when Constantine will act, before he officially launches his attack, I think… he’ll likely be preparing.”
“Preparing for what?” Leon asked.
“For… more—Primal Power.”
