Chapter 820

【 FAREWELL, URINOS 】

It was common knowledge throughout the world of Seigues that dragons loved glittering gold coins and precious gems.

However, that statement was not entirely accurate.

What dragons truly loved were beautiful, radiant objects, especially those imbued with mana or possessing exceptional magical conductivity.

After all, such things makes sleeping more comfortable.

In their natural state, only precious metals and gemstones fulfilled both of those requirements. As a result, dragons gradually gained the reputation of being obsessed with wealth.

These artificial gemstones created from resin were little trinkets the players had invented by sheer coincidence during their spare time and their principle was somewhat similar to that of artificial amber.

The Elven Forest was rich in magical plants, thereby allowing these handcrafted gems to surpass their counterparts from Earth. Not only were they more beautiful and available in a greater variety of colors, but they were also infused with abundant magical power.

Thus with all these qualities combined, it was only natural that such artificial gemstones would capture the attention of dragons.

“What are these?”

The Red Dragon King scooped up a handful of these sparkling “gems” with his enormous claws, surprise filling his massive draconic eyes.

A dragon’s eyesight was exceptionally sharp. She immediately recognized that although these objects resembled the treasures in his own hoard, they were fundamentally different.

“These are a new specialty of the Elves. We call them artificial gemstones, though you may also refer to them as Elven Amber.”

Li Mu explained.

“Artificial gemstones? Amber?”

The Red Dragon King repeated the unfamiliar names, his curiosity piqued.

“You made these yourselves?”

“Yes. We crafted them ourselves. These Elven Ambers can be used both as decorative ornaments and as magical materials. However… producing them is extremely difficult, and our current production capacity is quite limited. These are all the artificial gemstones we currently possess.”

Demacia said with a pained expression.

Whether that was true or not, however, only he himself knew.

The Red Dragon King did not pay much attention to Demacia’s words. After all, as a dragon who had lived for more than ten thousand years, he had seen countless extraordinary treasures. These unusual gemstones brought by the elves merely made him take a few extra glances.

Even so, a dragon would always be a dragon. Even after ascending as a Dragon God, his instinctive fondness for dazzling, beautiful objects had never changed.

Without a word, the Red Dragon King quietly pocketed the “gems” he had just picked up before nodding in satisfaction.

“Excellent! Dragon Island gratefully accepts your gift!”

“Hey! You old geezer! Those are for everyone here in Dragon Island, not for you! Why are you keeping them allnfor yourself?”

Tiberia protested.

“Bah! what does a little hatchling like you know? I’m Dragon Island’s Great Elder! Naturally, I’ll hold on to these gifts first, then distribute them later as rewards to those who contributed during the recent war!”

The Red Dragon King roared back.

However, the other dragons were clearly unconvinced, each casting skeptical looks his way.

Under their suspicious gazes, the old Dragon King’s voice gradually grew softer, and his eyes began darting around uncomfortably.

“I-I’m serious… I really mean it…”

…No one even questioned whether you were telling the truth.

The players could not help but complain inwardly.

Realizing he had embarrassed himself , the Red Dragon King coughed awkwardly before quickly changing the subject.

“Oh yeah, I heard… that game Gwent actually originated in the Elven Forest?”

The moment Gwent was mentioned, Hertos spirits visibly lifted, and he looked positively delighted.

“Yes.”

The players nodded.

The Red Dragon King’s eyes immediately lit up like a child discovering a fascinating new toy.

“Then… since you’re the ones who created it, your skills must be exceptional! Good. There’s still plenty of time, so how about we play a—”

“Hertos! You game-obsessed fool! Have you completely forgotten your responsibilities as Great Elder?!”

Before he could finish, a cold yet furious voice echoed from the distance.

The Red Dragon King’s cheerful expression instantly froze, and he instinctively shuddered.

Taking a sharp breath, Hertos face changed dramatically before he hurriedly addressed the players.

“W-Well… everyone, enjoy your stay here on Dragon Island. I have some urgent business to attend to, so I’ll be leaving first.”

Without waiting for a reply, the Red Dragon King slipped away toward the nearby forest under the players’ bewildered gazes, fleeing as though his tail had caught fire.

Halfway there, however, he suddenly remembered something. Hertos quickly turned back to Tiberia and Agnés, raising his head threateningly.

“Oh yeah! Neither of you is allowed to tell which direction I went!”

Having said that, Hertos did not even wait for their response before taking flight at top speed.

Not long after the Red Dragon King disappeared, an elegant and beautiful silver dragon descended from another direction.

Her entire body shimmered with a faint silver radiance, and the overwhelming pressure she emitted was immense.

Another Mythical Dragon.

Recalling the Red Dragon King’s panicked escape moments earlier, the players immediately guessed her identity.

The Silver Dragon Andrea, younger sister of the Platinum Dragon King Reinhardt, a Demigod-rank Mythical Dragon, and the Red Dragon King’s wife.

A trace of displeasure rested between her brows as her dark silver eyes swept across the dragons and players gathered before the cave.

“Elves?”

There was a hint of surprise in her voice.

“Mother, these are our fellow allied friends from the Elven Forest who have come to visit Dragon Island.”

The Silver Dragon Agnés explained.

“I see…”

Understanding flashed across the beautiful silver dragon’s eyes, and the icy expression on her face softened slightly.

“Welcome, friends from the Elven Forest.”

She then turned toward Tiberia and Agnés.

“So where did that old fool run off to?”

One dragon looked positively delighted by the situation, while the other wore a helpless expression. Both silently pointed in the same direction.

The Silver Dragon’s face instantly darkened once more.

“Hmph! He dares run again!”

Without another word, she immediately chased after the Red Dragon King.

Moments later, the players seemed to hear the old Dragon King’s miserable screams echoing from that direction.

“…Dragon Island is nothing like I imagined.”

All-Star Achan could not help remarking.

“You’ll get used to it. That old geezer getting chased around by Mother is practically Dragon Island’s daily routine at this point.”

Tiberia replied indifferently.

“It can’t be helped. Ever since Father became obsessed with Gwent, he’s paid less and less attention to his duties. As a result, several conflicts have broken out between dragons recently. He should have been the one to mediate them, but he never showed up. It’s only natural that Mother is angry…”

Agnés sighed.

After speaking, she looked toward the players.

“My apologies. You must think we’ve made fools of ourselves.”

“No, not at all. It’s actually… pretty entertaining.”

The players waved their hands.

After hearing Agnés’ explanation, Demacia seemed to recall something. Stroking his chin, he asked,

“So do dragons here on Dragon Island often end up fighting each other?”

“Of course. The conflict between chromatic faction and metallic faction isn’t so easily resolved. More often than not, it can only be settled through duels. Unfortunately, duels between dragons can easily escalate into fights to the death…”

Agnés sighed again.

“Duels…”

Demacia fell into thought.

Then, a grin spread across his face.

“Actually… I happen to know a way to provide everyone with a much gentler method of settling disputes.”

“Hm? What is it?”

Agnés asked curiously.

Demacia smiled with complete innocence.

“Miss Agnés, have you ever heard of Yu-Gi-Oh!?”

༺⟐༻

Meanwhile, after the Red Dragon King departed, the players and dragons became increasingly engrossed in conversation, eventually receiving an invitation to visit the dragons’ settlement.

Deep within a cavern on the other side of the basin, the Ancestral Dragon Urinos slowly raised her head from a game of Gwent she had been playing against a giant fire elemental created through divine magic.

She looked toward the figure who had just arrived before her.

“Oh? You’re here.”

She smiled lazily.

“Wasn’t it you who invited me, Your Majesty Urinos?”

Evé replied with a smile.

The true purpose of her visit to Dragon Island had always been to meet the recently awakened Ancestral Dragon in person.

Now that the players’ attention had been completely occupied by the dragons, she quietly separated from the group and came to this cavern alone.

Of course, her incarnation Féng was still present among the players and she had merely switched places with it while temporarily dividing her attention.

“Want to play some Gwent? You see, Hertos ran away halfway through our match.”

Urinos asked.

The moment she mentioned the Red Dragon King, her tone carried a trace of dissatisfaction, like a child upset that no one was willing to keep playing with her.

Then again, considering her loli appearance, if one ignored her actual age, she truly did resemble a little girl.

Had Evé not already known Urinos’ true identity, she would never have associated this small blonde girl standing before her, barely one hundred twenty centimeters tall, with the legendary Ancestral Dragon.

“Certainly.”

Evé smiled and took a seat opposite her.

Urinos appeared genuinely delighted. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the fire elemental giant, and the two of them began another game of Gwent.

༺⟐༻

Ten minutes later…

“I thought that, as the one who created this game Gwent, you would be exceptionally skilled at it.”

Looking at the victorious board before her, Urinos raised an eyebrow.

“Everyone has things they’re not good at. I’m no exception.”

Evé replied unconcernedly.

She truly was not very good at Gwent.

In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say she was terrible at it.

Using the overwhelming computational abilities of a True God to crush ordinary players was one thing.

But facing another True God like Urinos was an entirely different matter.

Of course, if Urinos wanted to play the game ‘Fight the Landlord’, then that would have been another story as she had plenty of experience with that game.

Though with only the two of them, it would not have been possible anyway.

“Haha. I thought you were capable of overcoming anything, especially after terrifying all those Abyssal Myths only a few months ago.”

“I was merely fortunate. If possible, I would much rather live a peaceful life instead.”

“Ha! You’re far too modest. Besides… from the moment one becomes a True God, one should already understand that a peaceful life is forever beyond our reach.”

Urinos laughed before slowly shaking her head.

“You’re right…”

Evé let out a long sigh.

“Oh, right.”

Urinos dismissed the Gwent cards with a wave before smiling.

“I haven’t congratulated you yet. Congratulations for attaining the rank of Higher Divine Power once more.”

Eve’s expression shifted ever so slightly as she nodded.

“Thank you.”

“Have you remembered anything?”

Urinos asked again.

“No. I am still myself, not her.”

After a moment of silence, Evé answered.

“Then I guess you still haven’t remembered anything. That’s understandable. After all, your method of resurrection is… rather unusual. Even I cannot fully comprehend it.”

Urinos shook her head, though she seemed unconcerned.

She stood up, stretched lazily, then turned toward Evé with a faint smile.

“Still… the fact that you accepted my invitation and came here means you’ve already made up your mind, hasn’t it?”

“Of course.”

Evé nodded before sighing.

“Ever since I reached the rank of Higher Divine Power, I have sensed its call more than once. Had I not considered that my true body could not go there, I would likely have investigated that place long ago.”

“So you only think of me as your bodyguard…”

Urinos said, feigning heartbreak.

“It was you who told me to seek you out once I reached Higher Divine Power, so that we could go there together.”

Evé mercilessly exposed her.

“Tch. You’re just as unadorable as ever!”

Urinos puffed out her cheeks.

Then her exaggerated expression faded, replaced by a serious look.

“Evé, before we depart for the Cradle of Origins, I’d like to ask you one question.”

“Please.”

“If one day you encounter an enemy you absolutely cannot defeat, would you choose to flee, or would you instead choose to fight?”

Urinos gazed directly into Eve’s eyes.

Her dragon eyes, within which prismatic-like light seemed to flow, now appeared as deep and boundless as the night sky.

“An enemy I cannot defeat?”

Evé repeated thoughtfully.

“That’s right.”

Urinos nodded gently.

“If I run… would I escape successfully?”

“Not necessarily.”

“What if I fight?”

“I already said the enemy is impossible to defeat.”

“There isn’t any other choice?”

“There isn’t.”

Evé fell silent.

After a long pause, she smiled faintly.

“Then I would still choose to fight.”

“Why?”

Urinos asked in surprise.

“If I truly face an enemy I cannot overcome, then what is the point of running? I would rather stake everything on one desperate battle. Even if I lose, at least I would know that I fought with everything I had.”

Evé answered softly.

Urinos looked at her with some surprise.

“You’re even bolder than I expected.”

“Well, I’ve always been this way. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have reached the rank of Higher Divine Power in such a short time.”

Evé replied calmly.

At her blunt response, Urinos couldn’t helped but burst into laughter.

When her laughter subsided, the Ancestral Dragon let out a quiet sigh.

“Fine… I believe you.”

“Believe what?”

Evé asked in confusion.

Urinos raised her head, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

“You truly are still yourself, not her.”

Then, under Eve’s slightly narrowed gaze, the petite blonde let out a long breath.

“Very well! Since you’ve already made your decision, then let’s depart right this instant.”

“Right now?”

“Of course! I’ve always been one to act immediately, you know.”

Urinos smiled impishly.

Then her expression gradually grew complicated.

“Come. Let us journey together to the Cradle of Origins and witness the secrets of the cosmos which has been hidden for billions of years. I only hope that, after seeing them, you will still be able to hold fast to your convictions.”