25 Eternal Life
(Double Feature, Extra Update!)
At the border of the territories of the human and dragon races, in a mountain canyon cave.
Leon stood at the edge of a cliff, staring at the hidden cave behind the waterfall, his expression serious.
That was the agreed meeting spot with his Master.
Just moments ago, Roswiser asked him if he’s feeling nervous, worrying about what would happen if Master didn’t show up.
Leon believed deeply in his Master’s abilities. There was no way he could be easily caught by the Empire.
After all, when his Master put pressure on the Empire by eliminating the casino owner and Father Metallurgy, the Empire couldn’t catch him for a whole year.
But belief aside, Leon still had a twinge of worry and anxiety, just like Roswiser mentioned.
The sound of the waterfall echoed in his ears, and a chill crept up from the canyon below.
Leon closed his eyes, took a deep breath to calm himself, then turned to Roswiser beside him, “Let’s go down.”
The Queen nodded, spreading her dragon wings and slowly flying with Leon into the canyon.
As they reached the waterfall, Roswiser flapped her wings to part the rushing water, and together they entered the cave behind the waterfall.
Inside the cave was just as they’d seen before: simple tables and chairs, without any unnecessary furniture.
Leon peered around the cave entrance, then focused on the deeper part of the cave.
It was dimly lit, shrouded in shadows, making it hard to see.
Leon tentatively called out, “Master, are you there?”
The echo lingered in the cave, but he received no response.
A jolt of anxiety gripped Leon’s heart.
What if something really happened to his Master?
He subconsciously clenched his fists, his heartbeat racing uncontrollably.
A flurry of bad thoughts flooded his mind.
If something happened to Master, how could he ever face his Master’s wife…
And then there’s Rebecca, that crazy girl who risked everything to help him, willing to get involved in this entanglement between humans and dragons. If she didn’t make it, he would carry that guilt for life.
And if Master and Rebecca couldn’t escape the Empire’s pursuit, then Martin would likely be caught up too.
Even though he had protection from his minister father, the Empire would stop at nothing to eliminate anyone who could uncover their dirty secrets.
Leon gulped down his anxiety, his brain racing with various contingency plans.
But the growing fear in his heart kept him from thinking clearly.
What to do, what to do—
“Are you sweating, Captain?”
A familiar female voice came from the shadows.
Leon’s brain momentarily crashed before booting up again—clearing the mental cache created by his frantic thoughts, or he wouldn’t be able to handle whatever came next.
He looked up into the cave.
Two figures emerged from the shadows.
One tall and one short.
The tall one wielded a katana. Despite showing some signs of age, the aura he radiated was no less than that of a young warrior.
As for the shorter figure, she sported familiar twin tails and meaty thighs under super short shorts, each leg strapped with a handgun. She intertwined her fingers behind her head, seemingly chewing on bubble gum, her blue eyes glancing at Leon with an air of playful triumph.
Seeing the two of them standing there safe and sound, Leon let out a relieved sigh and rolled his eyes at Rebecca.
“Was it fun? Was it fun?”
Rebecca popped her bubble gum and grinned, “Hehe, it’s fun! I’ve never seen you look so flustered before, Captain.”
Leon decided it was time to stop communicating with this crazy girl and turned to the old man beside him, “Master, you’re just as much of a troublemaker, aren’t you?”
“I find it quite entertaining,” the old dude, over fifty and fond of youthful pranks, replied. “I must say, other than the donkey at home, I’ve never seen you care for anyone like this.”
“……”
Rebecca wanted to continue teasing the Captain, but alas, the beauty behind him was far too captivating, and her attention was completely drawn.
The beauty had hair like a starry sky, her features as if chiseled from marble—graceful and stunning, with a high nose and lips as thin as snow petals, radiating a natural aristocratic aura.
Her eyes resembled a bottomless lake, calm yet shining with a chilly light, exuding a sense of aloof beauty, as if she was destined to be isolated from the world, untouched by its dust.
Her tranquil demeanor seemed unshaken by any grandiosity, carrying an air of untouchable pride.
Dressed simply yet elegantly, her white long dress perfectly complemented her tall figure and remarkable presence. She bore an indescribable charm, making her shine like the brightest star in a night sky, unique and dazzling even in this humble cave.
Rebecca summed up the beauty accurately:
“Leon’s XP-level wife.”
A silver-haired vixen in high heels and a long gown, Rebecca now seriously suspected that Leon had mastered some forbidden magic of “creating life,” and molded himself a perfect wife.
Wait.
Wife.
Rebecca quietly leaned over to Taige beside her and whispered, “That’s the Captain’s wife, right? Silver Dragon… Queen?”
Taige nodded without a hint of emotion.
This was his second time seeing Roswiser, and her aura was as powerful and dignified as ever.
Roswiser, however, seemed uninterested in their conversation, merely turning to the side and sitting down on a wooden chair quietly.
Her posture was both standard and graceful, back straight, arms lightly resting on the table edge, then slowly closing her eyes.
All kings have this strange commonality: when they sit quietly, those around them can’t help but fall silent too, halting meaningless chatter and focusing their attention on them.
Roswiser was no exception.
She just sat still, saying nothing and giving no looks, yet effortlessly becoming the focal point in that cave.
“Captain, is your—” Rebecca paused, altering her choice of words, “Is your wife upset?”
Leon glanced at the meditative Mother Dragon but said nothing.
He pulled his gaze back, stepping up in front of his Master and Rebecca, “It’s fine. She doesn’t like talking to strangers. We can chat.”
After a brief moment of banter, it was time to get down to business.
“I’ll start with what I’ve learned.”
Leon began, “From the information I currently possess, there are other dragon kings cooperating with the Empire, not just Constantine. Other dragon kings are secretly colluding with the Empire to form some sort of scheme.”
“And among those who know their identities, there should be a confidant under Constantine.”
“I plan to investigate this confidant once the Red Flame Dragon Race stabilizes a bit.”
“Let’s aim to gather more intel on the moon fund group.”
Taige frowned, “There are other dragon kings? The Empire’s appetite is really insatiable, isn’t it?”
Leon shrugged, “The number of dragon kings isn’t the issue; we can just eliminate them. What’s important is figuring out what the Empire and the dragons are really planning.”
“The number of dragon kings isn’t the problem; just eliminate them.”
Did you hear that, folks?
Rebecca’s vision blurred momentarily upon hearing that; she quickly grabbed Old Man’s arm for support.
In this world, only Leon Casmod could pull off such a confident and terrifying demeanor.
“Have you gathered any intel on your side, Master?” Leon asked.
“Ah, we’ve picked up some new leads, plus we’ve done some analysis.”
Taige said,
“Since you left, the Empire has been relentlessly pursuing Rebecca and me, but this intense pressure lasted for about a month.”
“After a month, the Empire shifted more manpower and resources to the Dragon Slayer Army, and battles against the dragon race became more frequent.”
“And from the information Martin gathered within the royal family, the Dragon Slayer Army hasn’t attacked your Silver Dragon Race again. They probably fear your strength; killing Constantine is practically a taboo in the royal court.”
“Still, Leon, don’t let your guard down with the Silver Dragon King. Initially, they sent Constantine to invade the Silver Dragon Race, which shows their firm resolve to eliminate you.”
“Maybe the current Dragon Slayer Army is just pretending to attack other dragon races; their real target is still you, got it?”
Leon nodded, “I understand, Master.”
“Good. Now, next up are some speculations Rebecca and I gathered over the past three months that aren’t dragon-related but probably concern some behind-the-scenes dealings of the Empire’s royal family.”
Taige continued,
“Do you remember when the previous king passed away?”
Leon was taken aback, not expecting that question, but he recalled, “About over thirty years ago? It’s in textbooks at the Dragon Slayer Academy.”
“Exactly, thirty years ago. Recently, Rebecca and I went through all the newspapers, documents, and records from the period before and after the previous king’s d*ath and found something quite strange.”
Leon knitted his brows, “What’s the strange thing?”
“In all the records regarding the king’s d*ath, there are no photos of his corpse.”
Taige spoke seriously, his tone quickening,
“When a king dies, the citizens ought to pay respects to their great leader. However, at that funeral, the king’s casket was sealed tight; not even his trusted aides could see him.”
“Moreover, Rebecca and I collected some newspapers from other years and were astonished to find that not just the previous king, but many members of the royal family and ministers, when they died, all anyone had were written records of their lives, with no photos of their corpses taken at the funeral.”
“If we say this was to protect the royal family’s privacy, then how do we explain that every previous king had their corpse photos seen through news outlets?”
Taige let out a breath, looking straight into Leon’s eyes as he laid out his bold speculation, “So I suspect… the true power behind the Empire’s royal family is held by those who were supposed to have died decades ago.”
Leon felt a bit dazed.
He struggled to digest his Master’s theory, scratching his head, he replied,
“Just based on the lack of corpse photos, Master, isn’t it a bit weak to support your theory?”
He knew the old man was a bit insane;
But this theory felt a tad too outlandish, not something to claim so easily.
“Of course, it’s not just that.”
Taige said, “The reason I thought to look through the old papers and records was that during my time in the Empire, I suddenly realized a problem: the current king’s policies are nearly identical to the previous one, with no apparent reforms.”
Leon’s mind was stirred; he glanced at Roswiser sitting quietly beside him.
He’d learned quite a bit about the royal way from her over the past few weeks.
And from what Master just said, he quickly grasped the implication, adding,
“Not changing policies or other governance methods is highly unusual for those in power. Every new ruler will likely attempt to erase everything left by their predecessor, because as soon as they take the throne, that kingdom belongs to them. They won’t allow any previous rulers to interfere.”
“To put it bluntly, a new official often brings three flames to burn.”
“First flame—burn all enemies faced up until now;
Second flame—burn the various handles left from the past;
Third flame—burn all traces left by the previous ruler.”
Leon’s words left Tai-ge with a gleam in his eyes, surprised, mouth slightly agape.
Sure enough, my student, I didn’t want you to learn about these power struggles before, did I?
How come now you can speak so eloquently about it?
And after Leon’s deduction, Roswiser, who was quietly seated, couldn’t help but reveal a barely perceptible smile.
Didn’t expect this fool to pick it up so quickly, huh?
“Hmm, your thoughts align with mine.”
Taige said, “Since the current king’s coronation, the Empire’s economic system, social system, culture, education, welfare policies, nothing has changed at all—simply abnormal. So I thought of investigating the previous king, which led us to the matter of the corpse at the funeral.”
Leon pondered for a moment, then murmured, “If what you say is true—that the previous king and other ministers are faking their deaths—then they would have to be… over a hundred years old, right? Normal humans hardly live past a hundred.”
Putting aside whether normal people could reach that age, even if they did, their bodily functions and mental faculties wouldn’t be able to govern a kingdom.
“Eternal life, my child.”
Taige sighed heavily,
“Eternal life, something those in power have been pursuing for centuries.”
xx
Extra update is here, seeking monthly tickets~
