Chapter 827

【 DUEL AND BARBECUE 】

A black dragon and a red dragon glared fiercely at one another.

Like two lazy, oversized orange cats, they sat facing each other with their plump bellies sticking out. Each dragon held a hand of glittering cards in its claws.

The cards had clearly been specially designed for dragons. Lavishly decorated and inlaid with numerous artificial gemstones, every card was as large as a door panel, each bearing a vividly illustrated monster.

Not only that, but magical power could also be sensed radiating from them. They had obviously been enchanted.

Producing such cards must have required considerable effort and it was clear that the players had prepared them well in advance.

As Evé looked at the familiar art style of the monsters depicted on the cards, she could not help but glance toward Demacia, who stood among the crowd.

Seeing his excited expression, she already had a pretty good idea who had come up with these cards…

In front of the two dragons stood two lavishly decorated artificial gemstones displaying glowing numbers, seemingly representing their “Health Points,” or rather, Yu-Gi-Oh!’s “LP.”

Evé examined them with her divine senses and discovered they were filled with magical power, which appeared to have been infused by the dragons themselves.

As the red dragon played its card, a faint glow bloomed from the card lying on the ground.

“Come forth, Crimson Demon Dragon!”

A vague silhouette, half demon and half dragon, flashed into existence, letting out a thunderous roar before briefly materializing.

It was a Fourth Circle illusion spell: [Illusory Disguise].

The spell itself had no real practical effect as it merely consumed magical power to manifest whatever the caster had imagined.

When applied to these enchanted cards, it projected the cool and imposing monsters illustrated on them as lifelike phantoms, even complete with sound effects.

“Whooa!”

The young dragons watching nearby erupted into cries of amazement.

Their eyes sparkled as they stared at the glittering cards and the vivid, majestic spectral monsters.

Meanwhile, the two Chromatic Dragons, normally infamous for their hot tempers and impulsive personalities, sat “obediently” atop their rocks, panting heavily as they enthusiastically played card after card against each other.

Watching the scene unfold, the mastermind behind it all stood off to the side with his proverbial tail practically raised to the sky.

“Hahaha! I told you so! No one can resist the joy of card games, not even dragons!”

“Heh, to be honest, I specifically studied the personalities of various Dragons. They love beautiful things, and deep down, every single one of them has an inner chuunibyou!”

“For them, Gwent or ordinary playing cards might not be tempting enough, but once they’re replaced with these carefully designed Yu-Gi-Oh! cards of mine, they’ll become absolutely addicted to it!”

“Look! Now the dragons have found something fun to do. The next time they want to fight, they can just settle it with a card duel instead!”

“Moreover, the LP consumed during the duel comes directly from their own magical reserves. So if one duel isn’t enough to settle things, then they can simply keep playing until one side completely runs out of magical power. Whoever still has mana left wins.”

“And just like that… I have created a way for Dragons to battle that only consumes magical power instead of beating each other up!”

“Not only that, it even helps train their magical power!”

“Hehehe… This card set isn’t cheap either. It’s practically a guaranteed profit. And the cards have limited durability too. If we can promote them across all of Dragon Island… hehehe…”

Demacia rubbed his hands together excitedly.

His eyes practically turned into gold coins.

As he vividly explained his grand business plan, Dōngdōng and Li Mu beside him listened with shining eyes, as though they, too, had already spotted a tremendous business opportunity.

Of course, during the last few sentences, Demacia deliberately lowered his voice so that the dragons immersed in their duel wouldn’t overheard it.

Less than ten minutes later, the red dragon had utterly crushed the black dragon.

Its opponent’s magical reserve, which served as its “Health Points,” had been almost completely depleted.

The red dragon had won.

It proudly raised its head high, looking unbearably smug.

Meanwhile, the defeated black dragon lowered its head miserably.

“I refuse to accept this! Another round!”

it roared.

“Hmph! Bring it on!”

the red dragon sneered.

Watching the two dragons devote themselves entirely to the card game, Demacia became even more pleased with himself.

“See? Just like that, a world without savage fighting has been achieved!”

Then he turned toward Evé, who had returned to her player disguise, and grinned.

“So? What do you think, Sister Féng?”

Seeing the expression on his face that practically screamed, ‘Come on, Sister Feng, praise me!’, Evé’s expression turned rather strange.

She glanced at the increasingly excited dragons before speaking in an inexplicable tone.

“…Would it really go perfectly as planned?”

“Huh?”

Demacia froze.

Evé shook her head.

“Demacia, do you really think dragons, especially Chromatic Dragons, are the kind of beings who will always follow the rules?”

Her words left him momentarily speechless.

At that very moment, another burst of laughter erupted from the duel.

The red dragon… had won again.

“Hahaha! You little black lizard! No matter how many chances I give you, you’ll never defeat this great Lord Red Dragon!”

it laughed arrogantly, looking utterly pleased with itself.

Seeing how smug the red dragon had become, the black dragon’s expression darkened even further.

Having lost yet another card duel, it had finally reached its breaking point.

The red dragon’s taunts only poured fuel onto the fire, becoming the final straw that shattered the last remnants of its self-control.

With a furious snarl, the black dragon hurled all of its cards onto the ground.

Its fangs bared as its face twisted with rage.

“You red pig! Who the hell are you calling a little lizard?!”

The red dragon was briefly stunned before becoming furious as well.

“What did you just call me? You little black lizard!”

“You stupid pig! You’re asking for death!”

“Little lizard! Want to fight?!”

“Fine! Let’s fight! Who’s afraid of you?! Today, This Grandpa Black Dragon is going to beat your pig brains out!”

“ROAAAR!”

“Ruaaaaa!”

With simultaneous roars, the two dragons threw aside their cards.

Under Demacia’s dumbfounded gaze, they charged at each other with bloodshot eyes and immediately began brawling.

The surrounding dragons watching the duel became even more excited.

The Chromatic Dragons, in particular, began cheering loudly, clearly delighted that things had escalated into a real fight.

Looking at the completely ruined “dueling arena,” Evé sighed.

She had known this would happen.

As the two Chromatic Dragons fought, Dragon Valley descended into utter chaos.

Furthermore, these were two Legendary-rank Dragons whose strength approached the Demigod level.

So once they started fighting, there wasn’t a single dragon in the vicinity capable enough of stopping them.

After all, most Mythical Dragons did not live nearby as they resided over in the basin at the heart of Dragon Valley.

The repeated defeats in the card duels seemed to have filled the black dragon with bottled-up frustration.

It bit and clawed like a mad beast.

The two already hot-tempered Chromatic Dragons quickly fought with increasing ferocity, and before long, the battle spread outward, dragging more nearby Chromatic Dragons into the conflict.

“Roar! You bastard! Why are you hitting me?!”

A red dragon had been struck by accident.

“I’m hitting you on purpose! You red-skinned shrimps are all the same!”

the black dragon snarled.

“You actually dared insult me?!”

The accidentally struck red dragon exploded with rage and immediately joined the fight.

“Ah! You lunatics! You’re going to flatten my nest!”

“Serves you right!”

“Want to fight?!”

“Bring it on! Who’s afraid of who?!”

“ROAAAR!”

“Ruaaaaa!”

Dragon Valley already housed the largest concentration of dragons on the entire island.

As the two Chromatic Dragons rampaged through the area, more and more dragons became caught in the chaos.

Gradually, the conflict escalated into an enormous free-for-all that left even the players completely dumbfounded.

By this point, it was no longer limited to Chromatic Dragons as several Metallic Dragons were also dragged into the battle as well.

Even some of the players themselves were caught in the crossfire.

Staring at the smoke-filled Dragon Valley in shock, the silver dragon Agnés grabbed hold of her sister Tiberia, who’s about to participate in the chaos too.

“Don’t join in! I’ll protect our elven friends. Hurry and find Father… I mean, the Great Elder! Tell him to stop all this fighting!”

“Tch…”

Tiberia curled her lips in dissatisfaction.

Nevertheless, she obediently turned around and flew toward the basin.

However…

Once she left, she never came back.

“…Why isn’t she back yet? What’s taking her so long?”

Looking toward the basin, the silver dragon’s expression became increasingly anxious.

At that moment, however…

A faint aroma of roasted meat drifted over from the distance.

As soon as the players smelled that familiar fragrance, strange expressions appeared on their faces.

They… probably knew exactly why Tiberia had not returned yet.

༺⟐༻

Dragon Valley Basin.

Currently an enormous bonfire had been lit within the area.

Little Salty Cat, Ji Gang, All-Star Achan, and several other players had set up huge barbecue grills, busily roasting skewer after skewer of sizzling, golden-brown meat.

The rich aroma of grilled meat filled the air, making everyone’s mouth water.

Beside the bonfire, a neat row of juvenile dragons sat obediently in place.

They stared fixedly at the barbecue skewers turning over the flames in the players’ hands, where fat continuously dripped and sizzled.

Drool had already formed puddles beneath them.

At the very front of the young dragons’ line, however, sat two enormous red figures.

They were the Red Dragon King, Hertos, and Tiberia, who had supposedly come to fetch him.

“Hurry up! Isn’t it ready yet?!”

The Red Dragon King stared fixedly at the sizzling barbecue.

His saliva was practically about to form a waterfall.

Meanwhile, Tiberia had long since forgotten everything her younger sister had told her.

Her enormous dragon eyes contained nothing but the irresistibly fragrant barbecue.

“It smells so good… so incredibly good… Gulp…”

She swallowed hard.

Seeing the dragons staring so eagerly, the players tending the grills smiled from ear to ear.

While Demacia’s plans had some merit to it, at the end of the day, card games were nothing but a gimmick.

Artificial gemstones were expensive too.

For these gluttons, nothing solved problems better than barbecue meat.

And if one serving wasn’t enough…

Then simply grill a few more skewers.

“Don’t worry, calm down. Everyone will get some. They’ll be ready soon!”

Little Salty Cat said cheerfully.

Then she looked at the two gigantic red dragons, thought for a moment, and said,

“Your Majesty Hertos, Tiberia, your true forms are simply too large. You’d enjoy the barbecue much more if you transformed into your human forms.”

As soon as she finished speaking, both massive dragons obediently transformed in an instant.

One became a handsome middle-aged man.

While the other became a graceful young girl.

Both of them stared unblinkingly at the roasting meat as drool poured endlessly from their mouths.

A short while later, the barbecue was finally ready.

“It’s done!”

The Red Dragon King’s eyes lit up.

A burst of dragon’s might spread from him, intimidating the young dragons who were just about to rush forward.

Ignoring Tiberia’s resentful stare, Hertos laughed heartily.

“Respect your elders! I’ll go first!”

As he spoke, the Red Dragon King eagerly reached out toward the skewers.

But at that exact moment, a familiar furious roar echoed from the distance.

“Hertos! You lazy good-for-nothing! what are you doing here?! Dragon Valley is about to descend into total chaos!”

The voice was crisp and icy cold, filled with barely restrained fury.

The moment he heard it, the Red Dragon King instinctively shuddered.

His eyes widened and quickly grabbed a skewer, stuffed it into his mouth, then, under the players’ bewildered gazes, turned around and bolted.

Whoosh!

He disappeared in an instant.

Immediately afterward, another silver figure shot across from the opposite direction.

Whoosh!

It chased after the fleeing Red Dragon King.

It was Andrea, Hertos’ wife, the Mythical Silver Dragon.

Not long afterward, the earth in that direction shook violently, followed by a dragon’s miserable wails which echoed through the valley like ghosts crying in the night.

A short while later, the murderous-looking silver dragon Andrea returned.

She was dragging the battered Red Dragon King back toward Dragon Valley by one ear while a crowd of juvenile dragons watched with admiration.

The unfortunate Dragon King had been beaten until his face was swollen and bruised.

Even so, he was still chewing on the barbecue in his mouth.

As he chewed, his eyes remained fixed longingly on the remaining skewers.

“My barbecue…”

Hertos muttered softly.

Andrea’s expression darkened as she tightened her grip.

“Owowowowow!”

The Red Dragon King clutched his ear and let out a string of agonized cries.

“Eat, eat, eat! All you ever think about is eating! If you’re not eating, you’re just playing around! Are you even still worthy of being the Great Elder?!”

Dragging the Red Dragon King away as though hauling a dead dog, Andrea’s voice gradually faded into the distance.

The juvenile dragons looked at one another.

Then they all lowered their heads and happily devoured their barbecue.

Tiberia was among them.

Her face was filled with pure bliss.

She paid absolutely no attention to the fact that her parents had just left.

Three years!

After three whole years…

She had finally gotten to taste the elves’ delicious barbecue once again!

༺⟐༻

The players remained on Dragon Island for a full half month.

During those two weeks, they successfully became close friends with the dragons of Dragon Island.

Among all their contributions, the greatest credit belonged to barbecue and artificial gemstones.

It is worth mentioning that although Demacia’s “Peaceful Duel” plan had failed spectacularly, the card game he designed still became surprisingly popular among the dragons, especially the Metallic Dragons. While it never replaced fighting, it gradually became one of their favorite forms of entertainment.

Clearly, there was still plenty of business potential to his idea and this realization left Demacia grinning from ear to ear.

Even so, the dragons’ greatest favorite thing was still the barbecue skewers.

Relying solely on this signature culinary specialty of the Elven Forest, the players exchanged for an astonishing quantity of magical materials from the dragons in only half a month.

Not gemstones.

Not Divine Artifacts.

But mountain after mountain of dragon scales.

Dragon scales of every imaginable variety.

Chromatic Dragon scales.

Metallic Dragon scales.

Low-quality scales.

High-quality scales.

Scales from juvenile dragons.

Adult dragons.

Legendary Dragons.

Even Mythical Dragons…

They had them all.

Every day, the barbecue area was packed with dragons drawn by its growing reputation.

As time passed, more and more of these gigantic food lovers came to enjoy the feast.

Eventually, even several Mythical Dragons began showing up.

For a time, the elves’ reputation across Dragon Island soared dramatically.

The dragons found the players increasingly pleasant to be around.

Of course, every day the players also witnessed the lazy Red Dragon King Hertos being dragged back by his wife Andrea to Dragon Valley, where yet another spectacular lecture awaited him.

It turned out that, just as Tiberia had said…

Scenes like these were simply everyday life on Dragon Island.

Meanwhile, as time went on, Demacia’s Yu-Gi-Oh! cards became increasingly popular throughout Dragon Island.

Although they never replaced real duels, they had firmly established themselves as one of the dragons’ favorite pastimes.

Every day, the players lived fulfilling lives.

They grilled barbecue.

Made new friends.

Explored Dragon Island under the dragons’ guidance.

Hunted magical beasts for ingredients.

And even earned plenty of experience points along the way.

Perfect.

During those two weeks, the dragons carried the players across every corner of Dragon Island, allowing them to admire one breathtaking landscape after another.

The Dragon Island videos recorded by Li Mu became explosively popular on the video-sharing platform.

Overall, every player who participated in this diplomatic mission made numerous dragon friends during their stay.

Some dragons even expressed their desire to accompany the players back to the Elven Forest once they departed, simply to have a look around.

And so, day after day passed.

At last…

The time for parting had arrived.

The mission to visit Dragon Island had been completed.

It was finally time for the players to return home.

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