Chapter 796: Manina's Deception
Chapter 796: Manina's Deception
Plante activated the mech's "Zoom Module," magnifying the communication interface a hundredfold and directing it toward the cluster of colossal dragons atop the Linlong Mountain.
Let Manina explain this to the giant dragons himself!
"Your Highness, Queen of the Red Dragons, Your Majesty, Dragon Emperor, and all friends of the dragon race, please believe me, I truly had no knowledge of this matter!" Manina pleaded innocently in the video call. "I believe everyone is aware that the people of the Sunlit Empire have always held the giant dragons in the highest regard.
"Every year, we hold the Linlong Ceremony, where the finest Skrull individuals form bonds with the dragon race. Our collaborations with the dragons have always been mutually beneficial.
"If I had discovered the dragon corpses, I would have immediately transported them to Dragon Island as per the treaties we've signed. How could I possibly hide such a thing from you all? Am I right, everyone?"
"Ugh!" The Red Dragon Queen in the mountain's belly spat a stream of dragon breath, having grown tired of dealing with this despicable liar.
If it weren't for the knowledge of the 'Blood Curse,' she would have believed the Sunlit people were good! The Dragon Emperor and the other dragon kings were also seething with anger. They had overestimated the Sunlit people, and only now did they realize just how despicable they were!
In the video call, Manina continued his "heartfelt" performance: "However, I must also blame myself. Such a significant incident occurred in my domain, and I was completely unaware. This is a grave dereliction of duty on my part as an emperor.
"Give me half a month, and I will thoroughly investigate this matter! I will personally bring the head of the mastermind to Dragon Island to atone for the crime.
"All illegal earnings of the organization behind this, as well as our empire's reparations, will be brought to Dragon Island.
"I deeply regret this matter, and I will do everything in my power to make amends for my dereliction.
"I will severely punish the mastermind and provide a proper response to the deceased Red Dragon King!"
Manina's words were filled with self-criticism and anger toward the mastermind, as if he genuinely had no knowledge of the matter.
As for Manina himself, he remained in a large city in the southwestern part of the empire, not returning to the capital.
Manina was no fool. While long-distance communication was still possible, he feared being torn to pieces by the enraged dragons if he returned.
...
Seeing Manina's deceptions, the Dragon Emperor Cadrigus and the five dragon kings were boiling with rage.
Who would believe Manina's claim of non-involvement? How could dozens of giant dragon corpses be transported into the capital and hidden in a mountain belly just tens of kilometers from the palace without his knowledge? Do they think the dragons are fools?
But the Dragon Emperor and the five dragon kings also understood that this wasn't the time to expose the Sunlit people.
There were five and a half months until the final battle between the Skrulls and the Blue Stars.
If they broke ties now, the Sunlit people could focus on the dragons during these five and a half months.
Not to mention, with Manina's three generations and Plante leading over twenty seventh-rank powerhouses of the entire Sunlit Empire, this force alone could flatten Dragon Island and annihilate the dragon race, with minimal losses to the Skrulls.
Dragon Island's strategic depth was too small to withstand such an assault.
So, as Zhongfeng said, the dragon race could only suppress their anger, bury their hatred deep within, and wait until the great battle to settle their grievances with the Skrulls.
...
In the mountain's belly, Dragon Emperor Cadrigus took a deep breath, suppressing the raging fury in his heart, and coldly said, "Manina, this matter truly has nothing to do with your royal family?"
“
100% No Connection, I swear by my honor! I had no idea about this, so how could I be involved?" Manina loudly protested in the video call. "If you don’t believe me, you can search the 'Lindragon' Institute. I will grant all the dragon clans access to the Sunflame Palace, and you can also search my residence.
If you find any concrete evidence of collusion between the royal family and the 'Lindragon' Institute, I will commit suicide to atone for my sins!"
Manina's tone was sincere, and he felt calm inside.
In fact, he had to thank the human from Blue Star who had infiltrated the palace two days ago.
After that incident, the royal family realized the archives in the palace were not secure.
To prevent the human from coming back, they had already moved all the top-secret information to other locations outside the palace.
Now, if the dragon clans searched the palace, Manina was confident they would find no solid evidence, only wasting their time.
"You said it yourself!" the Black Dragon King shot out of the mountain's belly like a sharp blade, flying straight up.
"Brothers, let's go!" He called out to the swarm of black dragons, and they all sped toward the palace.
The Black Dragon King was well aware that since Manina was so confident, they likely wouldn’t find any concrete evidence in the palace.
But who cared!
His current goal wasn’t to find evidence but to cause destruction!
Given the size and clumsiness of dragons, it was only natural for them to destroy parts of the palace while searching for evidence.
The black dragons, known for their formidable physical destruction abilities, would take charge of wrecking the palace!
...
The black dragons flew angrily toward the palace, while other dragon clans, led by their respective dragon kings, scattered to other parts of the city to search for evidence (or cause destruction).
The 'Lindragon' Institute was the largest dragon research institute in the Sunflame Empire. Since it was the largest, there were bound to be a second and third largest.
The second and third largest dragon research institutes just happened to be in Sun City, along with over a dozen smaller ones.
The Green Dragon King led the green dragons to systematically destroy these institutes.
For these various institutes, the dragons killed all the researchers, destroyed all the data, regardless of their innocence.
Following the principle of "better to kill the wrong ones than to let any slip," they carried out a thorough physical annihilation.
The White Dragon Queen did not lead the white dragons to cause destruction in the city.
She stayed by the side of the Red Dragon Queen to comfort her friend and stabilize her emotions, preventing her from acting rashly and attacking the Scryl people.
While the White Dragon Queen stayed put, the white dragons independently dispersed throughout the city to "search for evidence."
Some went to the city museum, others to the monster garden, and some used their mental powers to scan the city back and forth.
Whenever they found a suspicious spot, the dragons would charge in without hesitation to investigate.
And all the dragons, regardless of their clan, shared a surprising consistency—searching for evidence was secondary, while causing destruction and venting their anger was primary.
Before long, the entire Sun City was devastated by the enraged dragons.
(End of Chapter)
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