The Red Dragon Just Wants To Do As It Pleases

The High Elves, so eager to return home at this moment, still did not know about the tragic cold reception their once-renowned fleet commander, General Ahmed, had received in the New Continent. He had donned a leather head cover and followed the Drow Kraidian, raising young dragons for nearly a year.

They also didn't know that what mostly awaited them on the other side was 'indifference' and 'cold-heartedness.' Under the combined pressure of the Elf King's decree and the Red Dragon's Dragon Might, few Elves would dare to openly accept these 'slain' Undead.

Of course, even under such circumstances, there likely wouldn't be many High Elves willing to return to the Old Continent to serve David; even one-tenth would be an optimistic estimate.

Most of them, according to David's prediction, would probably—like that Patrol Guard captain from years ago—smuggle themselves to the human nations of Central Earth with the secret help of their families and become mercenaries.

With their advantages in age and experience, these High Elf experts were often welcomed by mercenary groups.

That was the only slightly peaceful way out they might have.

But for David, it didn't matter at all; he truly intended to 'recycle waste.'

These High Elf prisoners of war were just eating up resources in the camp; any he could get rid of would be a gain.

The return of these unaccepted High Elves to the New Continent would surely add fuel to the already budding signs of civil unrest in Dewensen.

If this directly caused internal strife among them, making the High Elves fight one another, David figured he would wake up laughing from his deep slumber.

Of course, the possibility was still too low, and he could only entertain the idea in his mind for a bit of fun.

If the High Elves could really disintegrate over such a minor issue, they wouldn't have waited for David to take advantage; they would have been doomed long ago.

But whatever the outcome, it was a win-win.

For him, he had only cast out a few hundred resource-consuming prisoners of war.

He had struck a blow to those recently active Children of Battle,

And he had added a dash of red oil and cumin chili flakes to the already volatile situation in Dewensen.

Why not do it?

Just as David was about to finish dealing with camp affairs and preparing to meet Rosinde, the Barbarian who seemed to have something troubling to report, he noticed a pale, staggering figure out of the corner of his eye. The figure stood outside the Dragon Nest's cave, staring solemnly at him.

It made David, who was already feeling somewhat guilty, feel all his scales bristle.

It was deeply unsettling.

Because that was the Silver Dragon father, Attilicia, who had finally escaped the cave after the Dragon Mother Pafila had finally ceased her fury and entered slumber.

David initially wanted to pretend he hadn't seen him, to deal with the Barbarian's matter first and then face his Silver Dragon father, whom he had just betrayed.

And figure out a way to absorb and mitigate his father's raging anger.

However, Rosinde, the Barbarian whose lover David had revived using his divine power, used his now outstanding perception to notice the pale, miserable figure outside the cave, alerted by David's subtle expression. Who would dare to linger here at a time like this? He immediately said,

"The information I need to report is not urgent, so I shall withdraw for now and report to you later, my lord."

Damn it, David thought, unsure whether this Barbarian had actually learned to read expressions or was just truly oblivious. He flicked his tail, a headache forming.

Rosinde then breathed a sigh of relief and quickly left the place that could at any moment turn into a battleground between father and son.

Once the Barbarian left, the young Silver Dragon, six meters in length, his body covered with bite marks, his scales seemingly faded and no longer brilliantly shimmering, stumbled in.

The look he gave David was still full of a haunting emptiness, but just as he took a deep breath and was about to say something, his body suddenly stiffened.

Because his own Red Dragon son had taken the initiative to come forward and, unexpectedly, nuzzled his head against him!

His son was rubbing his face against Attilicia's cheek and neck, areas that still throbbed with a piercing pain.

With each rub, the welling anger inside the Silver Dragon father, ignited by his son's 'betrayal,' was extinguished significantly, as if doused by a powerful fire extinguisher.

"You've suffered, Dad. You've worked hard," David whispered, his voice filled with 'heartbreak,' close to Attilicia's ear-flaps.

It hit him like a psychic blast.

The resentment Attilicia held in his heart from being backstabbed by the Dragon he trusted most completely dissipated.

In its place came two streams of tears, instantly turning into icicles.

"Cry, cry your heart out. It will feel better,"

David didn't offer any explanation, just soothed him with those words.

Attilicia finally couldn't hold back anymore. He practically threw himself at David, knocking his son to the ground, and then collapsed onto David's warm chest, bursting into a tempest of tears,

"WAAAH!!! Oh, son, your dad's fate is as bitter as a tragic song! I've suffered so much! SOB SOB SOB SOB!"

He wept with the bitterness of a soul unjustly condemned, a sorrow so profound it felt as unnatural as snow in the heat of June.

But at this moment, even though his son hadn't explained anything, Attilicia gradually 'understood' everything:

Yes, at that time, David Uthos was just a child.

Facing a legendary Red Dragon, who was also his mother.

Even I, an adult Dragon, was intimidated into such an embarrassing state; what more could David, still a young Dragon, have done?

Especially since he also had to protect his Silver Dragon sister, who was in an even more difficult situation.

Under those circumstances, maybe what he did was already the limit of his abilities.

At least with those actions, Pafila's punishment, though shameful, didn't leave him as broken as he was ten years ago, unable to even crawl.

Moreover, he now remembered that, before they returned to the Old Continent, David had also strongly opposed his coming back.

It was my own stubbornness and wishful thinking that caused our current predicament.

Not only did I fail to rescue my children, but I also dragged myself into this mess!

A failure like me, what right do I have to blame my 'naive' son!

At this moment, the more frustrated Attilicia had felt before, the guiltier he felt now!

How could I blame everything on my son!

Attilicia! You're simply not a Dragon! You're just a useless beast!

After what felt like a long while, Attilicia's weeping finally began to subside.

David, from beginning to end, did only one thing: he constantly stroked the back of the Silver Dragon father with his tail, listening to his outpourings and gently agreeing with him.

However, the tail is still too sensitive for Dragons, and after rubbing on the smooth back of the Silver Dragon for so long, the hard and stiff tip of his tail became a bit numb.

Fortunately, the Silver Dragon father's emotions finally eased, and not until this moment did David finally speak again,

"Do you feel better now, Father?"

"Ngh..." Attilicia grunted, springing up as if he'd received an electric shock.

To have sobbed like that in his son's embrace...

Truly... too shameful for a Dragon.

"So Father, how much debt do you owe Mother?"

Now that Attilicia's emotions were soothed, it was time to address the core issue.

David cut straight to the heart of the matter.

"Adding the 30,000 pounds of Gold from ten years ago, plus accumulated interest, to the cost of the Ring of Regeneration and those dozen or so Regeneration Spell scrolls you consumed, your mother rounded it all off. She gave me a ten-year term to repay treasures equivalent in value to 60,000 pounds of Gold."

"HISS..." David drew a sharp breath. That's truly a Dragon-sized demand! He felt his scalp tingle at the immense sum.

"And you? How much have you agreed upon with your mother?" asked Attilicia.

"She didn't mention a specific amount. According to Mother, I just need to present treasures that match my own value. I figured I'd need to offer Gold equivalent to my own weight to be considered matching. Let's see... by the time I'm fully mature, an average adult Red Dragon weighs around 20,000 pounds. I've always been on the heavier side, so I'll probably be around 30,000 pounds by then, right?"

"HISS..." Attilicia listened, his mind going numb. That's truly a Dragon-sized demand!

If Tania's share was added, the three of them would need to amass treasures equivalent to 120,000 pounds of Gold just to earn their freedom from this Crimson Calamity...

That's almost twice my entire previous savings!

Ten years?! That's an impossible task!

This clearly showed just how 'cunningly malicious' Crimson Calamity Pafila was.

David, however, didn't take it seriously at all; it was purely to give his father, who had been twice humiliated by the Dragon Mother, something to aspire to. As for himself, it didn't matter; adulthood was still far off.

But Attilicia took it very seriously and immediately proposed a partnership to David,

"Son, let's partner up!"

"Partner up for what?" David was bewildered.

"We'll go to the New Continent together and make some money by producing and selling Anger Potions."

"What?" David was utterly confused.

Dad! Are you still the self-proclaimed just and kind Silver Dragon?

Damn it, Dad! You're falling from grace way too fast!