Legacy of the Dark Sage

The Armakeans were so used to seeing Comodos as part of the Magical Beast Community that they had forgotten what they were originally referred to.

Earth Dragon.

Although their dragon blood had thinned over the years, they were still dragons.

There were dragons in Somuli, but as far as they were concerned, pure-blooded ones were in obscurity and would never show themselves to the public. They initially did not understand why a being looking like a humanoid dragon would appear and save the Eidums, but now they realized they misunderstood its purpose.

That being was here because he believed they were subjecting his kind to slavery. While it was not entirely wrong, Lady Chrysanthemum was the only one who tried controlling the comodo against its will.

Then it hit them.

Just now, the silver humanoid dragon waved his hand, and Lady Chrysanthemum disappeared. Could it be that she did not disappear but was obliterated? Did this mean his strange question was merely to gauge if she was a being capable of enslaving the comodo? They exchanged a few words they did not understand before the former made the latter disappear.

The thought sent shivers up their spine. Since the silver humanoid dragon knew they were allies with Lady Chrysanthemum, he viewed them equally guilty of enslaving the comodo.

No one in Somuli could blame the Armakeans for their current train of thought because dragons still existed there. However, they were unfamiliar with the intricate origin of dragons and Draconic magic. They only knew that dragons could shapeshift into figures similar to beast-likes or complete beings, depending on their age and magic level. The higher the magic level and the older a dragon was, the more its form could resemble a beast-like or a complete being. At least, that was what they learned from old lores.

The outsiders watching from afar, however, did not have the same thoughts as the Armakeans or even the Eidums had. They knew a humanoid dragon could only be found in the Higher Realm, and even their numbers were rare. For one to suddenly appear when several Sovereign factions from the Lower Realm were already eyeing the Somuli was a complete mystery to them, however.

These outsiders hastily left their posts to report this matter to their leaders. If someone from the Dragon plane showed interest in Somuli, trying to win over its Sovereign might be more problematic than they anticipated.

Sensing the prying eyes of the outsiders had gone, Kyran inwardly sighed in relief. Now that those people were gone, he did not have to put extra effort into acting.

An Armakean high-ranking officer close to the front line stepped forward, wanting to explain that everything was only a misunderstanding. He said,  “Please stay your hand, sir Lord Dragon.”

The other officers nearby looked at him as if he had gone nuts. They wanted to move away from him in fear of getting caught up in the crossfire if he happened to incur the silver humanoid dragon’s ire.

“Although we are allied with the Lady just now, we did not—.”

Flick!

Crackle!

Boom!

Kyran flicked his finger at the officer, and a crackling silver light streaked forward from the tip of his fingers toward the latter. In a blink if an eye, the officer exploded, sending blood, shattered bones, and flesh everywhere.

The officers nearby who got splattered by some of these wanted to move- either to wipe these off their bodies or to run. However, they had all gotten stiff and were unable to move.

The rest of the officers, as well as the knights, were also petrified. They knew a humanoid dragon was strong but did not expect it to be this strong.

It would seem the old lores that spoke about them had undermined their real strengths!

“Who’s next?” Kyran asked as he addressed the Armakean crowd once more. He appeared as domineering as ever, but in actuality, he reeled at the strength of that flick.

Honestly, he was afraid of losing control over his strength, which was why he only flicked his finger at the officer, hoping to send him flying. Alas, he underestimated the additional 1% of Draconic magic he could utilize and killed the officer in one flick.

It left Kyran reeling in fright at his own strength!

The Eidums, who were near enough to see what happened, were frightened. They were initially relieved that the silver humanoid dragon seemed interested in punishing the Armakeans only, but now they were not so sure. If he was here because they believed the Armakeans bullied one of his kind, would he think they— the Eidums— were victims or accomplices? It was good if it was the former, but what if it was the latter? Would the silver humanoid dragon be able to discern that the Armakeans and Eidums were at odds with each other?

Wait. The Comodo was still part of the Armakea forces. It might have been bullied into fighting, but it was still one of them. Would the silver humanoid dragon view the Eidums as an enemy?

From the top of the steel wall at the Eidum’s border, the Abbot and a few other healers cast sight enhancement spells to let them see the situation ahead. They were also frightened at what they had witnessed.

But unlike the rest, the Abbot sensed something different— or rather— familiar with the silver humanoid dragon. He could not put it into words, but for some reason, his instincts were telling him he knew that person.

The Abbot’s brow furrowed slightly as his head tilted slightly.

‘Was it his voice?’

It was slightly different. More profound and provocative, but his manner of speaking sounded very much like— ‘He’s… not the young man, is it?’

“Your Excellence, Supreme Lord Dragon Lord, please hear us out!”

Another high-ranking officer stepped up to try and salvage the situation.

When the Armakeans heard another voice speak, they cursed in their hearts and wanted to ask that person to shut up. However, when they turned to see who had spoken, they felt as if lightning struck them.

The person they unknowingly cursed at was the Commander.

Commander Gaham.

𝑜𝓥𝗅xt.𝔠𝗈𝓜

Kyran looked at a complete being in full gold armor and tilted his head. This guy did not strike him as one of the knights. It was not because the color of his armor was different but because the way he carried himself was a little different. It was apparent he was someone important.

If this was the case, Kyran did not want to kill him right off the bat because he might be useful.

“Please accept our apologies for taking advantage of your kind.”

Kyran did not respond and only tilted his head.

Seeing that the silver humanoid dragon did not kill him after saying that much, Gaham took this as the former’s consent to continue his explanation.

RAWRGH!

The Comodo, however, let out an annoyed roar as it made a threatening step forward.

Kyran raised his hand to stop the Comodo. He could sense the latter’s ire toward the complete being in gold armor and guessed he might be someone who had a hand in subduing him or something along that line.

Gaham immediately knelt in place, knowing why the Comodo reacted. Then he said, “I am one of the Armakeans who had forced the Comodo to come and fight the nation.”

Gaham was covered in a cold sweat as he admitted to this. Though he knew he could escape the silver humanoid dragon’s flick because he had a relic allowing him to swap his body into another, he would still die if he failed to anticipate the incoming attack. In any case, he believed that the silver humanoid dragon would not kill without reason.

The officer just now was killed because he tried to extricate themselves from the sin. Knowing the silver humanoid dragon possessed a moral code of some sort, he killed the officer simply because he disliked how he tried to pin the sin only to Lady Chrysanthemum. From this, Gaham believed that if he admitted to the sin, the silver humanoid dragon might be more receptive and listen to what he had to say. He also added the bit about forcing the Comodo to fight for the nation because he believed the silver humanoid dragon’s moral code would force him to keep his hand, knowing that they committed the sin for a reason.

“You are?”

“Gaham, Commander of the Armakean Border, Your Excellence.”

“I see you are at war with the people behind me.”

“Yes.”

“But I also see that they are clearly at a disadvantage.”

“That is…”

“You use your strengths to bully the weak and force the strong to submission.”

“T-That may be true. However, we are only doing so to survive.”

“Survive, huh? Aren’t we all? Striving to live and survive, that is.”

Gaham was rendered speechless. He had not thought through his response and did not know how to proceed.

“Forget it,” the silver humanoid dragon suddenly said.

Hearing this, Gaham raised his head and looked at him with renewed hope.

“Then do you mean to forgive our sin?”

“Forgive? You think saying sorry is enough? You are only a commander. You have a leader behind you. Bring that person to me.”