Chapter 90: I Declare Your Declaration Invalid
“Big sis, you came too!”
Roswiser was a bit anxious before the meeting, worried she wouldn’t see a familiar face.
Sure, she’s the icy Silver Dragon Queen most of the time, but ever since she ‘married’ Leon, her inner social anxiety had been fully unlocked.
Everyone says “marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog.” Well, look who this queen married — a professional who specializes in social blunders! Becoming socially anxious was basically a no-brainer!
But there’s another reason for Roswiser’s newfound ‘introverted’ charm. In the past, she dealt with everything herself—facing every problem alone. But now, with Leon by her side, she had someone to rely on, someone who gave her a newfound sense of security.
This did make her take on a bit of the ‘docile wife’ vibe.
Back to the topic.
Isar stood up, smiling.
“Why did it take you so long to arrive?” Isar asked.
“Uh…there were a few things on the road that held us up,” Roswiser replied, her gaze flicking to Leon beside her.
The real reason for their late arrival? Leon had been asking her about this so-called Dragon King secret meeting.
When Roswiser mentioned it was about his previous three encounters with Constantine, Leon asked, “So we’re the main attraction of the meeting?”
Roswiser nodded, “You could say that.”
Leon grinned, “Then let’s make a grand entrance; we’ll aim to arrive last.”
The queen raised an eyebrow, “Why’s that?”
Leon grinned back, “Because protagonists always make the grandest entrances, it showcases their charm and uniqueness.”
Roswiser: = =
So instead of rushing to the Sky City immediately upon arrival, they meandered through the shopping district.
What could Roswiser do? She married a weeb who’d rather shop than attend a meeting. Talk about breaking a queen’s heart!
“Oh, oh! Come on, we’ve been waiting for you!”
“Been waiting for you,” those five simple words satisfied Leon’s tiny, delusional ego.
See? He knew he had to be the star!
Once seated, Leon scanned the attendees around the meeting table.
If this was the Dragon King’s secret meeting, then everyone here must be Dragon Kings.
With a few minutes to spare before the meeting officially began, Leon slightly turned to Roswiser, whispering in her ear, “If I had known you Dragon Kings met up for meetings like this back when I was in the army, things might’ve played out differently.”
Just as Roswiser was about to ask “Why?” she caught on immediately to what he was thinking.
Killing them one by one was too troublesome; if he could, he’d much rather gather all the Dragon Kings in one place and take them down in one fell swoop.
Roswiser rolled her eyes in exasperation. Lowering her voice, she replied, “These Dragon Kings are different from what you’ve encountered before.”
Leon raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “How are they different? Enlighten me!”
Roswiser subtly tilted her chin toward Odin across the room.
“See that older Dragon King? He’s Odin, the Thunder Dragon King, and the father of Yuna, who accidentally stumbled into the Primordial Ruins with Noia last time.”
“He rose to power over seven hundred years ago. Back then, he was already among the top-tier of Dragon Kings; it’s hard to find anyone who could compete with him.”
“Even that starlit Dragon King, Star, we teamed up to defeat before couldn’t match him.”
Star?
Leon remembered that guy; he was one of the Dragon Kings colluding with the Empire. He led the charge during the second invasion of the Silver Dragon Temple, only to blow himself up in a fit of rage.
Despite that, Leon still respected Star’s strength, recognizing him as one of the best in their previous fights.
But this Thunder Dragon King in front of him… did he really surpass Star?
“You Dragon Kings really know how to keep me on my toes,” Leon said with a grin.
The quiet conversation between the couple seemed to catch Odin’s attention. He shot a look their way filled with scrutiny and authority.
Leon furrowed his brow but held his ground, meeting Odin’s gaze head-on.
Experience told him that whenever a Dragon King looked at him like that, trouble was bound to follow.
Thankfully, Odin shifted his gaze away.
“Those old-timers are always so alert,” Roswiser remarked.
“And you’ll be the center of this meeting, so be cautious with your words. One slip-up, and your flaws will be exposed, understood?”
Leon had never been good at making speeches in meetings during his time with the Dragon Slayer Army.
Their unit was always on the front lines, no time for fancy protocols.
But recently, while learning political strategies from Roswiser at the Silver Dragon Temple, he had gained some knowledge on royal communication tactics.
His once rigid views were slowly changing, and he was making strides in this area.
He nodded, “Yeah, I got it.”
As he turned his gaze from Odin, he caught sight of a blue-haired beauty at the other side of the table.
“Claudia’s here too.”
Roswiser followed his line of sight, “Oh, she is! Maybe it’s because Helena was also at the ruins, so she had to be here.”
“But isn’t Poseidon the Dragon King of the Sea Dragon race? Why let Claudia attend?”
“Participating in such discussions in place of your Dragon King indicates that this person has the king’s recognition; they’re likely the next Dragon King’s heir.”
Roswiser explained, “Claudia genuinely has the strength to inherit the title of Sea Dragon King.”
“Got it.”
Noticing the couple’s gaze, Claudia glanced over and waved, greeting them.
They smiled and nodded back.
Before long, the meeting host walked in.
He took a position at one end of the long table, pressed a brass bell, and began, “Thank you all for participating in this meeting regarding Constantine and the Primordial Power.”
“I’m just a servant of the Twilight Tower Master; he can’t appear in person, so I’ll be the one to host this meeting.”
“During this meeting, feel free to discuss Constantine without any interference from us.”
“We hope you can come up with effective plans quickly to prevent greater turmoil and chaos within our Dragon race.”
“Then let’s begin this meeting.”
With that, the servant bowed slightly and exited the meeting room.
As the door closed, all the Dragon Kings in the room discreetly turned their gazes towards Leon and Roswiser.
“Silver Dragon King, among those present, you and your husband have the most contact with Constantine, and you are the ones who discovered and attempted to thwart his theft of the Primordial Power. So, what’s your take on Constantine now?”
The speaker was another relatively old Dragon King.
Odin stayed quiet.
“I need to correct one thing. My husband and I did attempt to stop Constantine from stealing the Primordial Power, but ultimately, we failed. Constantine managed to seize most of the power.”
Roswiser spoke in a calm voice, revealing the poise and authority of the Silver Dragon Queen.
“And as for our perspective on Constantine… we believe that with his current strength, he has surpassed the vast majority of Dragon Kings, but he’s still not at the top tier.”
“Not at the top tier?” a young Dragon King interjected, “Ms. Melkway, I’ve heard of the might of the Primordial Power; it’s an energy entirely different from modern magic, beyond our comprehension. That Constantine possesses such formidable Primordial Power and still isn’t top-tier? I can’t believe it.”
“Primordial Power is indeed powerful, but not utilizing it properly is merely a descriptive failure,” Claudia interjected before Roswiser could respond.
All eyes swiftly turned to the beautiful woman in the corner.
Claudia’s arms were crossed, her head bowed slightly, her expression unreadable. Even surrounded by Dragon Kings, she carried herself with confidence.
“So what you’re saying, Ms. Claudia, is that… Constantine still can’t perfectly wield the Primordial Power?”
“No. The Primordial Power, at its core, is merely energy, like having a bomb in your hands. You can throw it to cause damage.”
Claudia continued unhurriedly, “With Constantine’s skills, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to throw the bomb; what’s challenging is… how to increase the amount of explosive powder inside, how to throw it farther, more accurately, and what kind of damage it will inflict upon explosion.”
Hearing this, the Melkway family exchanged glances.
Claudia made a valid point.
Back when the “Old King of Fusion” attacked the Red Dragon Holy Temple, Roswiser dealt significant damage using the purest version of the Primordial Power.
Subsequently, the “Soul Judgment” spell Leon learned from his master belonged to the Primordial Magic type.
Understanding Claudia meant that Old King is now brimming with power, yet he lacks the ability to wield it effectively.
Clumsy and ineffective—no need to worry.
“The Princess of Sea Dragons makes an excellent point. Besides, as far as I know, Primordial Magic has long since been lost, and finding any records of it would be nearly impossible.”
The old Dragon King spoke with a strange confidence.
That’s how Dragon Kings are—you get older and more confident.
Living long and seeing much makes you believe that your understanding is the entirety of the current era.
A younger Dragon King, possibly hoping to curry favor with the “senior,” spoke up, “What the elder said is accurate. I spent several years looking for Primordial Magic myself, but ultimately, I failed. I dare say that in today’s age, Primordial Magic is extinct.”
“The ‘Primordial Magic is extinct’ sentiment had the Silver Dragon couple barely suppressing laughter.
“Perhaps so; maybe Primordial Magic truly is… extinct.”
Claudia said, casting a meaningful glance at Leon and Roswiser across the way.
The couple knew that the author of “Soul Judgment” was Claudia, so her statement hinted at… possibly hiding information about Primordial Magic?
That made sense.
Given that this was a meeting solely addressing Constantine, there was no need to divulge critical information about their own lineage.
Yes, everyone’s here for a meeting; it’s not yet the time for alliances.
Roswiser and Leon didn’t dare engage in too much eye contact with the Sea Dragon beauty.
Did they want to get caught by her saying, “Hey, why’s the martial arts manual I wrote over there with you two?”
Claudia wanted to stay low-profile, and so did they.
The meeting continued.
After a discussion about the Primordial Magic, the conversation inevitably returned to Constantine.
“Apologies, everyone, but I have a slightly off-topic question for the Silver Dragon Prince,” Gold Sand Dragon King Morgan glanced at Leon.
“What’s your question?”
“We don’t know how Constantine learned about the Primordial Ruins, but we’re curious about how you received the intel regarding his attempt to seize Primordial Power?”
Because my late boss used the Primordial Power to turn Constantine into a Frankenstein monster, thinking of using him to conquer the world, but ended up creating himself a dad.
This ‘dad’ gained self-awareness and got a taste of Primordial Power, and to exact revenge on me and my former boss, he went looking for the Primordial Ruins.
↑
Wanna me to spill the beans, buddy?
If I say that, no one’s getting out of here.
“I have a unique information outpost. It’s not hard to get updates on Constantine’s movements,” Leon replied.
“An information outpost? Interesting. Why create something like that?”
“Since I faced off against Constantine twice and felt a sense of crisis, I specifically established an information exchange outpost to prevent being caught off guard again.”
“Oh? Silver Dragon Prince, could you share your information—”
Before Morgan could finish, Isar interrupted, “Hey, Morgan, since this is a personal information exchange outpost for the Silver Dragons, prying into it this much isn’t great, is it?”
“Uh, um…”
Roswiser took the opportunity, “Besides, it’s a precaution set up just in case. If you dig too deep and get to the bottom of its operation, wouldn’t that render my husband’s efforts pointless?”
Morgan was taken aback, flabbergasted by the two sharp and beautiful women’s retorts.
Finally, he smiled and shook his head, “You both have a point.”
“Hmph.”
Isar snorted and turned her gaze to Leon, winking at her brother-in-law.
Leon smiled back, internally thinking that having two crafty women at home did have its perks.
They’re certainly useful at times.
The meeting trudged on.
As the discussion progressed, Dragon Kings debated how to deal with Constantine.
After several hours, through a voting process, they reached the decision to:
“Deploy a guard team to camp near the territory of the Red Flame Dragon Race. As soon as Constantine makes any reckless moves, we’ll jump in at the first opportunity.”
“After applying pressure on Constantine for a while, we can then tighten the encirclement until we force him out.”
“During this time, let’s gather any information we can find about the Primordial Power. We need to extract all the Primordial Power from Constantine.”
“Does anyone have anything to add?”
Leon slowly raised his hand. “And what happens after we reclaim the Primordial Power from Constantine?”
“Of course, it will be used for righteous purposes.”
“Righteous purposes?”
Leon pondered that phrase carefully.
Sure, the phrase itself isn’t problematic.
The problem lies with the person using that phrase.
Leon didn’t have a stereotype of Dragon lineage; it’s just that the power was so immense. Would anyone who got it really use it for those “righteous purposes”?
“Silver Dragon Prince, do you have another opinion?” the active old Dragon King asked during the meeting.
Leon thought for a moment before looking at Roswiser.
She slightly nodded, signaling that he could speak his mind.
“I think we should just monitor Constantine and his territory. There’s no need for pressure or warfare.”
“Warfare inevitably brings casualties, but if you believe that trading the lives of your kind for a power that doesn’t rightly belong to you is worth it, then I have nothing to say.”
When Leon wasn’t being reckless, he was quite smart—almost a bit of a moral superior.
He was basically throwing some moral baggage on the Dragon Kings.
To use the lives of their kin to obtain power that wasn’t theirs to start with?
Just do it—you’re born anew;
If not, just be good and monitor Old C and calls it a day without all the unnecessary dramatics.
He could hear all their little calculations all the way back from the Silver Dragon Temple.
Of course, this was merely an objective conclusion.
Leon also had his subjective perspective, which was… compared to these Dragon Kings, he actually trusted Old C’s character a bit more.
After returning from the Extreme North, Noia told him that Constantine had the chance to deal with their group of students but chose not to.
Even after learning that Noia was Leon’s daughter, Constantine didn’t hold it against her.
From that, Leon realized that the mad dragon had principles.
So, he preferred to temporarily trust the Primordial Power with Constantine than give it to any of those unfamiliar Dragon Kings.
Roswiser had taught him that all power is intertwined with politics.
Politics is just the fine disguise of the selfishness of those in power.
That supreme divine power is like a delicious cake; everyone wants a slice. So, in front of that “cake,” you seriously cannot trust anyone you don’t know, even if they stand on the same side as you.
“Well then, how about we put the Silver Dragon Prince’s proposal to a vote? Those in favor, please raise your hands.”
The old Dragon King’s voice carried a certain assertiveness.
He knew exactly who in the room was itching for a piece of that Primordial Power.
How could they agree with the naive young fool’s ideas?
What a joke.
Sure enough, of all the Dragon Kings present, aside from Roswiser, Isar, and Claudia, no one raised their hands.
“Too bad, Silver Dragon Prince, your proposal doesn’t pass.”
“Then, I declare—”
Just as the old man was about to finalize the decision, Odin, who had been quiet throughout, slowly raised his hand.
“I agree with Mr. Casmod.”
The confident old Dragon King was taken aback, his expression darkening.
But wait, things were about to get even more awkward.
After Odin expressed his agreement, Morgan, the Gold Sand Dragon King, raised his hand as well.
“Hey, I think Brother Leon has a point. Fighting and killing isn’t good; let’s all sit down for a cup of tea. If we sit and chat happily, maybe Old C will just hand over the Primordial Power voluntarily!”
Not just Morgan—other Dragon Kings began to raise their hands after exchanging glances.
When compared to the uncertain chance of reclaiming the Primordial Power by force, leaving a good impression on Old Thunder Dragon seemed a lot more appealing.
Soon, the number of raised hands surpassed the few hands that stayed down.
Leon chuckled to himself, crossing his arms.
“Old man, I declare your declaration invalid.”
