The Red Dragon Just Wants To Do As It Pleases

With Attilicia becoming a variable, and David having accidentally revealed some secrets after being profoundly shocked, it didn't hinder his ability to harvest leeks. However, if he continued to delay, the Drow matrons—skilled in gathering intelligence—might confirm that the Silver Dragon in the Duke of Silver's territory some time ago was indeed "transformed" by him. After all, his fame as Saphistouin, the "Silver Dragon Alchemy Genius," seemed to have caused quite a stir in the vicinity of the Duke of Silver's territory at the time. By then, with Attilicia, his unwanted father, as a burden, it wouldn't be so easy to manage the Drow leek field he had painstakingly cultivated and brought under control. At least the Drow wouldn't be as obliging as they were now. They had directly offered Attilicia as an add-on to the compensation, merely begging that David's leek-reaping scythe would swing a bit more gently—to at least lessen their pain as they were being bled.

Eventually, as night fell, both parties settled on a compensation plan.

Yes, you read that right. Under David's unleashing of the Wrath of Tiamat, the once perilous, sprawling, and mysterious Spider Nest City had not only been one-third leveled, but the earth crust above it was also smashed open, creating a skylight. This spectacle was far more impressive than the Kola Superdeep Borehole drilled by the Russians on Blue Star, allowing the Drow, who had never seen daylight, to glimpse the changes from day to night on the surface through this deep shaft.

And David received the corresponding compensation: packed in three Portable Caves, it totaled nearly 5,000 pounds of gold—equivalent to the value of gold about three and a half times David's own body weight. This consisted of various gold, silver, and copper coins, gems, Magical Items, Alchemical Tools, and even Drow-style luxury goods. He didn't even spare the special implements adorned with precious metals that the Drow used when toying with their slaves.

Greed.

In short, anything that could be taken, was taken.

To gather this sum, the squabbling Drow matrons, in a surprising show of tacit agreement, scraped clean the remaining vast expanse of Spider Nest City once more. The fall of the Spider Temple was such a grievous mistake that these matrons, now matrons in name only, and the former Drow priestesses, would likely never dare to utter the name of the Spider Queen Rose again in their lifetimes. And without Rose's divine endorsement and support, they were doomed, never to rise again as Drow matrons. Being replaced by the rising powers of other city-states under the pretext of "purifying the divine side" was only a matter of time.

Since things had come to this, the twelve matrons, along with a retinue of former priestesses and confidants who could hardly shirk responsibility, simply became collaborators. Using the name of the Red Dragon, David Uthos, as a threat, they directly looted most of what remained of Spider Nest City to split the spoils. The lion's share of the visible spoils naturally went into the three Portable Caves held by the Red Dragon, whose claws wielded the despoiling blade.

As they watched the extortionate Red Dragon leave with the Silver Dragon—his bonus prize—departing from the half-ruined Spider Nest City, the surviving Drow nearly burst into a cacophony of gongs and drums, practically holding a grand, fireworks-lit procession to see him off.

「Then, it was time to move!」

They had to relocate overnight, at full speed. They had to act before other city-states in the Gloomy Region, having received the Spider Queen's divine decrees, arrived at Spider Nest City. Otherwise, once those despicable foreign Drow arrived, they would likely be fleeced yet again.

For creatures as strange as the Drow, their lives were filled with countless schemes, plots, falls from grace, and even utter ruin like this. But as long as they drew breath, they always believed they could forge endless possibilities. In a way, David "leaving" so many Drow of Spider Nest City alive could truly be considered sowing a deep poison, a disaster with endless consequences. If any righteous Metal Dragon were to switch roles with him and the news leaked, they would probably be instantly blasted to the top of the draconic community's trending topics, forever nailed to the pillar of historical shame.

For instance, Attilicia, the Silver Dragon father, followed silently behind David. Only belatedly realizing the situation, he wore an air of righteous indignation, as if ready to generously sacrifice himself for justice, and said, "Since you had the power to use the Chromatic Dragon Queen's strength to level that wicked city-state, why didn't you finish the job? Just for this filthy lucre?"

David paused mid-step, anger flaring. Turning his head, his Wrath surged as he retorted, "You have the nerve to talk to me about money! If you hadn't blown my cover, out of consideration for you, my teacher, I could have scraped up at least half as much compensation again—believe it or not!"

When Attilicia heard his Red Dragon son talk about nothing but money, devoid of the respect, kindness, or courtesy he used to show, his eyes immediately reddened. He slumped to the ground, refusing to move, and wailed to the heavens, "Money, money, money! That's all you care about! Do you have any idea how much I've lost because you summoned the will of the Chromatic Dragon Queen?! AHHHHH!!! My money! The treasures I accumulated over a lifetime, all ruined by a prodigal son like you! And to top it off, plundered by the Chromatic Dragon Queen herself!

"You might as well have unleashed the hellfire of Barto again and sent me off with it!"

David looked at this father he'd acquired, thrashing about hysterically. Having just swindled nearly an entire adult Red Dragon's hoard for practically nothing, he asked with a mix of curiosity and disdain, "Hah! A young Silver Dragon like you, bankrupt? How much could you possibly have lost? Fine, I'll compensate you... hmm... half of it."

David trailed off, then, with some reluctance, offered only half of what he initially intended. He considered it payment for the care this unexpected father had shown him in the Duke of Silver's territory, like an advance on the profits from that batch of goods. Once those goods were sold, David's own fortune would expand by more than half.

Little did he know, the Silver Dragon Attilicia reacted with equal disdain. Although he didn't know exactly how much David had plundered from the Drow of Spider Nest City, he was confident it couldn't compare to what he, an Alchemist, had amassed over his lifetime. He took a deep breath and announced with his head held high, "Probably about 65,382 pounds of gold."

"Hah, you're just blowing smoke!" David instinctively scoffed. Anyone can boast.

Nearly thirty tons of gold, just like that? Why don't you just claim you can touch the sky? he thought. Back in his previous life, the entire US Federal Reserve's gold reserve was only about 8,133.5 tons, and his own country had only about 600 tons stored there. Those were the reserves of global superpowers! And you, a mere young Silver Dragon, have the gall to spew such numbers!

"It's true! Why would I lie to you? Think about what your old man does for a living..." As Attilicia recalled it, he was overcome by such a paroxysm of pain that he nearly suffocated.

Reminded by his supposed father, David also felt a suffocating wave of realization. Indeed. He himself had only stayed half a month in the Duke of Silver's territory and had brokered a deal for goods worth nearly two thousand pounds of gold—almost half the wealth of an adult dragon. Granted, that was a special circumstance; Century Aroma only bloomed once a year. But this was Attilicia—the inventor of the Sobering Potion, the Duke of Silver's chief Alchemist and personal magic advisor. Even the Elf King Ailiando had to beseech this Water Prayer Dragon King to summon rain. How could such a dragon possess meager assets?

Then he finally remembered: when the Wrath of Tiamat had struck the location of the Spider Temple, it had clearly been losing momentum. Yet, suddenly, as if it had consumed an aphrodisiac, it had surged and severed the Spider Queen's divine power connection. Initially, he'd assumed he'd accidentally hit the Drow matrons' treasury. But now it seemed he had also vaporized his old man's hoard. Even now, he couldn't figure out how his so-called father had managed to carry all that treasure around. If the offered treasure hadn't been so overwhelmingly abundant, perhaps even exceeding Tiamat's own expectations, would that notoriously greedy Chromatic Dragon Queen have been so 'kind' as to grant him the Protection of Tiamat in that situation? Probably not.

"Wait a second, how much did you say?" David felt as if his ears had been ringing before.

"65,382 pounds. Of gold," Attilicia repeated, his voice wooden.

"..." David himself felt like he'd turned to stone.

So, not only had he sacrificed half of Spider Nest City, but he'd also offered up a Dragon's Treasury worth thirty tons of gold. He had once boasted to his Dragon Mother, Pafila, that upon reaching adulthood, he would gift her his own weight in gold—the equivalent for an adult Red Dragon—to repay her for her protection. With that much gold, even if he ended up a bit overweight, he could have bought his freedom twice over and still had plenty left! His mother would surely have agreed to ransom his sister along with him, and would have sternly admonished him not to dare go back on his word!

An overwhelming sense of loss washed over David. He felt an urge to go and throttle that whelp Tiamat, but right then, he could only vent his frustration on his father, demanding, "You're so damn rich! Why didn't you say so earlier?!"

Attilicia, having regained a sliver of paternal dignity through his earning power and his now-vanished, substantial wealth, suddenly found his backbone and retorted furiously, "How the hell was I supposed to know you'd show up in Spider Nest City right then?! And then you go and attract the Chromatic Dragon Queen there! You're asking me?! Who the FUCK am I supposed to ask, HUH?!"

"..." David, feeling as though he'd just missed the winning lottery ticket that would have made him a second-generation millionaire, stared blankly ahead.

Attilicia, having vented his spleen, also fell silent, his expression turning wooden once more. They stared at each other, their irritation mounting with every passing second.

"It's all your fault!"

"My money! All my money! AHHHHH!!!"

With these cries, like two enormous cats finally losing their tempers, they pounced on each other and began to wrestle wildly, sending dragon scales flying.

Perhaps David's Wrath, after the intensity of battle had passed and he'd experienced an 'overnight windfall', was finally subsiding, causing his previously extraordinary combat strength to wane. This time, father and son actually fought to a standstill. It was hard to say which of them should have been more embarrassed by this outcome.

"Stop fighting! Please, stop fighting!"

"Old Master! Young Master! Please, calm down! Money lost can be earned again!" Alianna, the Drow slave who was part of the spoils—and who had been practically invisible due to the oppressive atmosphere throughout the journey—spoke up, her face a mask of bewilderment as she desperately tried to mediate. Such was the simple yet resilient worldview of a Drow.

The grappling dragons, however, turned on her almost in unison.

"It's not for a Drow like you to make such glib remarks!" Attilicia snarled.

"Earn it back, my ass!" David added, much more crudely.