Chapter 837: The Debate in the Council Hall
“How pitiful.” Christina stepped forward, then sat down provocatively behind the Seleucus nobles, legs crossed, a silk fan raised to cover half her face. Her voice dripped with mockery. “You’re nothing but a pack of stray dogs—homeless, powerless, lacking even the will to rebel. You cling to the Empire like beggars, begging for scraps of your lost homeland, yet still bark at your saviors? How utterly laughable.”
Haliid’s face flushed crimson. His grip on the Silver Sword trembled, veins bulging along his temples. “What right do you have to speak? You’re nothing but scions of Tiamat! You’ve conspired with the Dragon Worship Church—your crimes are legion. You are the failed attempters in this war! House Faria—you must pay the price for your sins!”
Before he could finish, Haliid swung the Silver Sword wildly, aiming to cleave the chair in front of him into splinters.
But Dolo, seated behind, merely watched with amusement, sipping tea calmly. “Viscount,” he said, “these furnishings are now public property of the Allied Forces. Damage them, and you’ll be expected to pay for it.”
Haliid froze. His home had been taken by the Blue Dragon, reduced to a beggar’s rags. He could only stomp the ground in silent fury, his rage boiling over.
The other Seleucus nobles erupted in outrage. Christina’s acid words had struck their deepest wounds. They surged to their feet, surrounding the young Blue Dragon in a human wall.
“Damned evil dragon!”
“Revenge!”
“If not for you filthy reptiles, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”
“We should seize this beast right here, skin her alive, behead her—execute her on the spot! Only then can we avenge the souls of our people devoured by dragons!”
Brimming with numbers, they roared like a storm, spittle flying, their voices shrill and venomous.
At that moment, Christina lowered her fan.
Her ocean-deep eyes flashed with electric sparks. A crackling, icy sound—like lightning striking stone—rippled through the hall, sending shivers down every spine.
Her voice was colder than winter. “You call this intimidation? A rabble like you? Can you truly frighten me?”
The once-fierce nobles recoiled instinctively. Some stumbled backward, one even fell hard to the floor. The invisible weight of dragon power forced them to remember: once, they had trembled beneath the shadow of the Blue Dragon Sect’s leadership—cowering, begging for mercy.
Only now did they truly grasp it: the beautiful woman before them was no mere human. She was an authentic dragon.
If she chose, she could shatter them all in an instant—tear them limb from limb, with a single thought.
“Amanata above… she wants to kill us!”
“Damned—this evil dragon has finally revealed her true face!”
“Empire, now is your moment! I knew it—this blue beast is our enemy!”
“Marshal Dolo! She’s trying to murder us right before your eyes! Seize her—no, use your weapons to blast her to pieces!”
Christina covered her mouth and laughed—mocking, sharp, like silver bells. “Ah, so this is the famed vengeance of the proud Seleucus? How fascinating. You’ve been reduced to quivering wrecks by a single glance.”
“Enough with the evasion,” Haliid snapped, still standing firm, his face twisted with fury. “No matter how you twist the truth, one fact remains: in this war, House Faria was the enemy of the Allied Forces. You are war criminals—shameful, traitorous beasts. And you’ve yet to face justice!”
Christina feigned surprise, fan half-covering her lips. “You’re making things up. Do you have proof? We House Faria have always been loyal allies of the Empire. I personally visited King Kai Xiusu, the great monarch himself, years ago.”
Haliid slammed his fist on the table. “Proof? Do you need proof that the Blue Dragon Church and the Blue Dragon Clan are one and the same? They are one! If you still deny it after this, then let me show you the irrefutable truth—Gorazdra, the so-called ‘Thunder Tyrant,’ bears the surname Faria!”
“Yes! You damned blue dragon—admit it!”
“Blood for blood!”
“Avenger the fallen warriors of the Allied Forces!”
The nobles surged forward again, their voices a storm of fury and accusation.
But Christina remained calm. She took a slow sip of tea. “That was Gorazdra’s own doing. It had nothing to do with us, nor did our clan support it. Her actions caused countless casualties among the Blue Dragons. There are many within our clan who oppose her—many who hate her. They simply fear her power too much to confront her openly.”
“Still just excuses!” Haliid growled. “Gorazdra was your Grand Elder. Her actions could not have happened without your support. And we saw Blue Dragons on the battlefield—many of them!”
Christina suddenly smiled—a dazzling, chilling curve of lips. “Ah… now, tell me—do you know where Gorazdra is now?”
Haliid glared. “Of course I do. In the Battle of the Locke Rift, Emperor-King Kai Xiusu of the Ashen Empire fought her and finally killed her. She met her just end.”
“Perhaps the outcome was correct,” Christina said, pausing deliberately, “but the story is entirely wrong.”
She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Let me tell you the truth. In that cataclysmic battle, King Kai Xiusu destroyed her physical form. But as a divine entity, her spiritual soul was free to flee. She escaped in the chaos. Not long after the war ended, she returned to her nest, seeking a new body. And it was our Faria family—acting with honor and sacrifice—that delivered her to the Empire.”
“Impossible!” Haliid gasped, disbelief etched across his face. “You betrayed your own ancient dragon? You’d sell out your kin to survive?”
He turned to the head of the hall, eyes pleading for confirmation. Dolo gave a slow, knowing nod.
“Yes,” Dolo said. “Christina speaks the truth. They did help us capture Gorazdra.”
Haliid ground his teeth. “Then what about the other Blue Dragons who fought in the war? None of them were from your family?”
Christina’s smile widened, her gaze sharp with cunning. “Of course there were. But before the war, we had already signed an Alliance Pact with the Empire. Our people deliberately underperformed—while also providing vital intelligence. So tell me, Viscount—what contribution did House Faria make to the Allied Forces?”
She paused, letting the silence build.
“We provided the intelligence that exposed a massive hidden threat—and we eliminated it.”
Slowly, Christina rose to her feet. She fanned herself, her gaze sweeping the room, her voice laced with a smile.
“Tell me—what contribution have you made, gentlemen? Sitting here shouting in the square?”
Haliid seethed. “We fought bravely on the battlefield, fearless of death! We are warriors—better than you, traitorous dragons who consort with the Dragon Cult!”
Christina covered her mouth again, laughing softly. “I’ve heard the Empire maintains a Department of Enemy Casualty Inspection. Can your battle results even account for one-tenth of their data? You call yourselves war heroes? To me, you’re just scavengers trailing behind others—snarling, barking strays.”
“Damned blue dragon!”
“How dare you humiliate us!”
The nobles roared again, but Christina merely tilted her head, unbothered. “I’m only stating facts. Who’s the one with their wounds exposed?”
“You—” Haliid’s eyes burned red. Blood surged to his head. He panted, drawing his sword again, ready to cut the dragon down where she stood.
The air thickened. Tension crackled like storm clouds.
Then Dolo sipped his tea—slow, deliberate.
“Gentlemen,” he said, “remain reasonable. Calm yourselves. We are all allies. No need for pointless losses over words.”
His words were like cold water poured over Haliid. The sword froze mid-swing.
The Dragonblood Goblin smiled faintly. “Christina, I must also chide you. You’ve gone too far. The Seleucus nobles are part of the Allied Forces. Their value cannot be measured solely by battlefield results. Such words risk tearing the alliance apart.”
Haliid opened his mouth to speak—
But Christina spoke first.
“I apologize, Marshal Dolo. I let anger cloud my judgment. For House Faria, unity with the Allied Forces is paramount.”
They played their parts—mocking regret, shared harmony. Yet Haliid felt only a crushing weight of rage, trapped beneath silence.
Nearby, Adrian frowned, a barely perceptible sigh escaping his lips.
And Dolo’s face—hidden behind calm—bore the quiet triumph of a plan executed perfectly. He had long conspired with Christina. The goal: humble these uppity Seleucus lords, remind them of their place.
At that moment, a messenger burst into the hall, breathless, voice urgent.
“Marshal!紧急 intelligence from the South—Red Dragon Sect is moving! Massive action underway!”
Dolo’s expression shifted instantly. “Speak. We are all allies here—no secrets.”
The messenger hesitated. “Sir… our reconnaissance units have detected a massive volcanic eruption in Southwestern Seleucus. Magma has flooded nearly two hundred kilometers of land—almost entirely destroying the northern region of the Red Dragon Sect’s leadership. And the ash… it’s spreading uncontrollably. It has crossed our border and reached the southern edge of our occupied zone. We’re evacuating and relocating civilians in the affected areas—immediately.”
“Amanata above!” gasped the room.
Panic spread like wildfire.
But the most stunned of all was Christina.
Her breath hitched. Her voice trembled as she whispered, almost to herself:
“When lava covers the earth, when ash swallows the sky… the Mother of Monsters descends. Old eras end. New ones begin.”
Her eyes widened, fear raw in her voice—no longer the composed, calculating dragon.
“Kazul… the ‘Deep Crimson Embers’… he’s awakened. He’s taken the final step.”
The name—Kazul—sent a wave of dread through the room. The Seleucus nobles paled, as if gripped by an unseen shadow.
Dolo’s voice was grave. “Christina, you seem to know something of this?”
Christina drew a sharp breath, then nodded, forcing calm into her tone. “Yes, Marshal Dolo.”
The Five-Colored Dragon Queen had already discovered their rebellion. Since then, Christina and her kin had been plagued by nightmares—echoes of Tiamat’s most cruel, merciless curses upon the rebels.
She knew—she knew—from the moment they betrayed Gorazdra, there was no retreat.
With a flick of her slender hand, a magical image flared in midair. A colossal, terrifying crimson dragon filled the space—vast, ancient, radiating pure destruction. Unlike Kai Xiusu, this dragon exuded a malevolent aura, a harbinger of annihilation.
“This is Kazul—Deep Crimson Embers, Lord of Destruction, and consort of the Five-Colored Dragon Queen. In the teachings of the Dragon Worship Church, he is the terminator of the old era. This ancient red dragon will flood the world with magma and ash, allowing the Mother of Monsters to descend upon a scorched earth—ushering in an age where dragons rule the world.”
“Kazul has slept for ages. I believe he has already established his own church—become a semi-god. Now that he’s awakened… he may be only one step from true divinity.”
“God… is this the demon that buried tens of thousands?”
“Too terrifying…”
“Can King Kai Xiusu defeat him?”
The hall fell into stunned silence. Even Dolo’s face hardened with dread.
The Dragonblood Goblin rose, his gaze sweeping the room with cold finality.
“This war is far from over. Our only objective now is to unite every possible ally—at all costs—and destroy the Red Dragon Sect. This is our last hope. Set aside your personal ambitions. Choose wisely.”
With that, Dolo turned, flanked by Imperial officers, and strode out without looking back.
Christina followed, her fan still in hand.
Left behind, the Seleucus nobles stood in stunned silence—lost, bewildered, utterly at a loss.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
