Chapter 355: In-depth Investigation

In the vast majority of worlds, Giant Dragons are synonymous with power and strength. They are inherently different from other life forms; even their lifespans are on a completely different scale from the longest-lived humanoids. And within the Dragon Race, the most famous groups are undoubtedly the Colorful Dragons and Metal Dragons—with Black Dragons, of course, among them.

Although among the Five-Colored Dragons, the strength of Black Dragons is often considered only slightly greater than that of White Dragons, their ferocious appearance, violent tempers, and vile nature are in a league of their own. Taming and commanding them is a task likely no less difficult than taming a Red Dragon—an almost impossible feat.

"Tiamat spent the most time creating Black Dragons. I was shocked by her results and gave a ton of suggestions for revisions, but sometimes, once a project is done, it’s done." Even the great Fitzben had nothing good to say about Black Dragons in his Book of the Giant Dragon. As for Tiamat’s other creations, Fitzben described Blue Dragons as "a dragon I’d be happy to become, besides a Platinum Dragon," and Green Dragons as "the most ’draconic’ of dragons, besides Tiamat herself." Among the Colorful Dragons, only the "unbearably foolish and ignorant" White Dragons disgusted the Platinum Dragon God more.

And here, there was a living, breathing Black Dragon—even if it was a Young Dragon—obeying Ron’s every command?!

Aron and the others watched as the Black Dragon, now grown to nearly six meters long, slowly descended and landed behind Ron. When Ron reached out his hand, the Black Dragon’s skull-like head instinctively moved closer. It wasn’t so much that Ron placed his hand on its head, but rather that the dragon proactively guided Ron’s hand to rest upon its head!

"This—" Even the most stubborn of the Dwarves was stunned by the scene. This Black Dragon was clearly young, so how did this Lord of mysterious origin make such a fundamentally vile Dragon Species so obedient? ’Could it be that he isn’t human, but an adult or even ancient Black Dragon?!’

The Dwarf shot an inquisitive look at his companions but received a negative response in return. Unless all four of their Divine Perceptions were failing, Ron was definitely not a creature of an evil alignment, even with such a group of subordinates gathered around him.

And strangely, when the four of them extended their Perception, the alignments of the Vampire Descendant and the goblin were unmistakable, but the Black Dragon unexpectedly gave no similar reaction. On the contrary, they even sensed a faint, subtle aura of order from the dragon.

’A Black Dragon... with an aura of order?’ The four Priests from the Molten Iron Barrier saw the shock in each other’s eyes.

"Look all you want; the result will be the same," the young Black Dragon opened its mouth and spoke in fluent Common Language, the words tumbling out in a rapid-fire stream. "If you want to accuse us on grounds of ’order’ or whatever, go right ahead. I believe in the Lord of the North Wind. We’d be in the right even if you took this matter all the way to the Sevenfold Heaven."

As it spoke, the Black Dragon raised a foreclaw, and the energy of Arcane Magic coalesced before it into the profile of a silver dragon’s head—a common symbol used by believers of Bahamut. As it made the gesture, a faint silver light shimmered across the scales on the Black Dragon’s body.

When this symbol was flawlessly depicted by a Black Dragon, and actually received a response, Aron and the others realized they were destined not to fight to the death today.

"If you don’t mind my asking, how did you come to convert your faith?" The Chief Judge, a man known throughout the Religious Order for his lack of facial expression, gave a rare, wry smile. "If I don’t explain the reason, the Archbishop will never believe such a story."

"Do I have to talk about it?" Aiksuuri’s body trembled slightly. He truly did not want to recall that part of his past—it was an indelible shadow from his childhood.

"He met a ’Canary’," Ron sighed. "I trust you can imagine the process based on the cause and effect."

"That... of course."

No one would believe that any Druid possessed the incredible power to force a Black Dragon onto a righteous path, which meant that "Canary" could only refer to a specific class of being.

"You see, we don’t actually intend to be your enemies, nor do we have any reason to be," Ron said, spreading his hands. "If I truly wanted that, this situation would look very different."

"I understand," Aron said, sheathing his sword. "But we serve the Religious Order, and we still have a duty to report what has happened here to the Grand Judge and the Archbishop."

"Miss Victoria’s faith remains steadfast. The Lord here is generous and benevolent. The Delusional Land poses a significant threat. And..." The Chief Judge glanced at the goblin and the Vampire Descendant. "There are powerful evil forces here that have entered into a cooperative relationship with the Lord."

"Don’t you know what consequences that could lead to?!" Silvia’s eyes narrowed. "Are you asking us to let you go back, knowing we risk being attacked by your entire order?"

"If we don’t make it back, the outcome will only progress in the direction you just described, Vampire," Aron snorted. "As for the consequences, we are soldiers. The thoughts of our superiors are not our concern. We are only responsible for delivering the information we’ve obtained, completely and accurately."

Raymond Aron, of course, knew what consequences this might lead to. But his faith and his duty allowed him neither to conceal the truth from his superiors nor to lie to the people standing before him.

"Raymond, Raymond, will you just listen to me for a second?" Seeing the situation grow tense again, Pergrande quickly stepped forward to mediate. "You’ve basically hit your career ceiling for this lifetime, so you don’t need to worry about this stuff, but I do! I’ve been nominated for Bishop for seven consecutive years, remember that?"

"Priest Pergrande, this is no time to be a peacemaker!" Aron retorted sternly. "Are you planning to abandon your creed?!"

"What kind of talk is that!" The female Priest put her hands on her hips. "Judge Aron, if you insist on doing things by the book, then I’m going to have to raise an objection against you!"

"This is merely the border of Lord Ron’s territory. From the information we’ve gathered so far, they didn’t refuse us entry because their lands are barren, and they haven’t shown any proactive malice. Under these circumstances, you, Judge Aron, are preparing to leave without conducting a thorough investigation, preventing the Archbishop from obtaining more information about this place. Is that not a dereliction of duty?!"

"Raymond Aron! Taking such an action would be difficult to justify, whether before a military or a religious tribunal!"

Pergrande’s words silenced Aron. Seizing the opportunity, the female Priest turned to Ron. "Lord, may I request your permission to stay here for a few days to conduct a more in-depth and comprehensive investigation, so that we may fully understand the dire situation you face and clear up this misunderstanding?"

"Pergrande, I don’t see the need for that," the Dwarf said stiffly, tugging his big beard. "If you don’t want to fight, then step aside. We will fight them to the bitter end! You just have to resurrect our bodies after—OW!"

Pergrande’s mouth twitched as she kicked the Dwarf hard in the rear. She bent down, grabbed one of his ears, and twisted him to the side. "Are you stupid or what?! They said they have Resurrection Magic because they actually have it!"

"When we were coordinating earlier, didn’t you notice my remaining Spell Slots? I can’t cast Resurrection Magic anymore!"