Chapter 19: The Dragon Returns Home
"Roar——"
With a thunderous bellow, the Red Dragon unfurled its vast wings and swept over Rockfort.
Below, the Ogre Guards brandished their wooden clubs in jubilant frenzy. At the gate, the Two-Headed Dragons stretched their long necks, lifting their heads high and howling in unison—welcoming the return of their Nest’s sovereign.
When Kai Xiusu finally landed within the Giant’s Maw Cavern, even the Chimera approached with respectful deference, trembling with awe.
"Lanpu," Kai Xiusu asked, "how have things been while I was away?"
Before him stood the Cannibal Magician—now sporting a delicate silver-rimmed pair of spectacles, somehow salvaged from who knew where. The tiny glasses strained against his massive skull, creating an absurdly comical sight.
Lanpu adjusted the spectacles with deliberate flair, then unfurled a scroll and scanned it carefully.
"Currently, Ashen Hollow holds thirty-eight Ogres, four hundred thirty-five Goblins, twenty-six Dire Wolves, twenty-seven Bear Goliaths, one hundred twenty-one Goblinoids, and fifteen Two-Headed Dragons."
He paused meaningfully before continuing.
"Three days ago, Troll Chieftain Dolo dispatched twenty-seven Wolf Cavalry to the Lost Mine. The outcome was catastrophic—only six riders returned. Three were wounded. The remaining twenty-one are missing."
"Where is Dolo?"
"He’s still at the Goblin Encampment," Lanpu replied with a sly grin. "The encampment overlaps with the Goblinoid Nest. He’s overseeing the demolition of their nests—right now."
"Ah," Kai Xiusu murmured. "Continue studying your spells."
The Red Dragon’s tone betrayed nothing.
"Dolo, sir!" the Goblinoid chieftain—his mouth lined with a gold tooth, Jinya—called out, grinning up at the towering Goblin. "You can’t destroy our nest! We’re still planning to lay eggs here!"
"Move aside, you filthy vermin!" Dolo snapped, waving him off with a dismissive flick of his hand. "Don’t hinder us."
Jinya hesitated, then stepped forward again, still grinning. "Sir, we reported this to Lanpu, the head manager—he approved it! Changing course now… wouldn’t that be unfair?"
To the war-loving Ogres, the Goblinoids were nothing—worthless, barely fit to serve as cannon fodder. And their intelligence had indirectly cost Dolo dozens of Dire Wolf riders. Now Lanpu mocked him at every turn.
Fuming, the Troll Chieftain’s already reddish-brown face flushed darker. He kicked the Goblinoid aside with a brutal force and spat venomously.
"Lanpu! Lanpu again! What’s an Ogre worth?!"
"If it weren’t for your face-saving act before the master, and your name being recorded, I’d have taught you—"
He was about to kick again when a sudden shadow fell over him. The ground beneath the Goblinoid shimmered with relief.
"Teach me what?" the Red Dragon’s voice cut through, cold and unyielding.
Dolo’s expression instantly shifted—his face crumpled into a sycophantic smile as he spun around.
"Master! You’ve returned! I— I was just… not at the gate to greet you. My apologies! I was merely… attending to matters here."
Jinya dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "Master! You must protect us, the Goblinoids! Dolo may mean well, but without a Nest, we have nowhere to go!"
Dolo glared at him, then turned back to Kai Xiusu, his voice dripping with false humility. "You misunderstand, Master. I was merely supervising the construction progress of the encampment. I saw these Goblinoids causing disruption—so I—"
Kai Xiusu could no longer bear the farce. He cut in sharply.
"Enough. Dolo. Leave the Goblinoids’ Nest untouched. No further incidents."
Jinya beamed, his flattery spilling forth in a torrent. "Oh, mighty master! Your mercy and justice are unmatched! Your power, your wisdom—"
"Go. Finish building your Nest."
The Red Dragon didn’t even glance at him. He turned his gaze toward the large Goblin. "Bring me the surviving Wolf Cavalry. I want to see what could have cost them so dearly."
The Goblin’s face paled. He hesitated, then nodded, relieved that the master wasn’t enraged.
Moments later, the air filled with the howls of Dire Wolves. A dozen riders emerged from the camp, their mounts bearing them down before the Red Dragon in trembling submission.
Six Goblins sat atop the beasts—pale, terrified, most of them wounded. One had been dragged from the battlefield, his body charred and wrapped in healing herbs, barely clinging to life.
Dolo gripped his whip, voice rising in fury. "Speak! Tell the Master what happened!"
"One… one terrifying Monster," stammered a Goblin.
"It… ate everyone," another added.
"It was… Shadow."
Again, the same story—some nameless, devouring horror, a shapeless black mass in the dark depths of the Mine Shaft. Impossible to see clearly. But immense. Overwhelming.
"Is there nothing useful?" the Red Dragon demanded, his tone sharpening.
Seeing the master’s growing irritation, Dolo cracked his whip with a sharp crack, roaring, "Your cowardice has already shamed the master! Now you have a chance to redeem yourselves—so why can’t you do anything?"
The Goblins trembled, but they knew nothing. Their minds were too simple to fabricate lies, let alone useful information.
Dolo looked up at Kai Xiusu, his expression shifting once more—suddenly earnest. "Master, trust me once more. I’ll make these failures count. Next time… next time, I swear—"
Just as Kai Xiusu began to lose hope—
The wounded Goblin atop the Dire Wolf weakly opened his eyes. His voice was broken, ragged.
"I… I saw it… Lightning… it… it could summon Lightning… Blue."
His words were faint, his mind slipping into delirium.
But the word had landed.
Lightning… Blue?
A Blue Dragon?
Yet Kai Xiusu shook his head. Blue Dragons dwelled in deserts, not in the shadowed depths of a mine. Their pride was legendary—no way would they tolerate Goblinoids or humans trafficking through their territory.
And yet… something about the description didn’t fit.
No. This wasn’t a dragon.
Not one from the known world.
This was something else.
It has to be seen with my own eyes.
The Red Dragon’s gaze hardened.
At this point, sending more followers would be suicide. Based on the Wolf Cavalry’s report, even a Wyvern would be slaughtered without a chance.
But the gold—so close, so tempting.
Kai Xiusu would not let it slip through his fingers.
(End of Chapter)
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