The Red Dragon Just Wants To Do As It Pleases

How could David possibly fail to understand this Barbarian retainer's simple thoughts? It was nothing more than concern for the casualties among his own people and the Monado tribe. The group of High Elf prisoners under David's command was now nothing but a showpiece. Lizrite and Mofei, the two young dragons who had not yet fully grown, were fine when bullying common Barbarians, but they proved to be of little use when facing tougher opponents. Even though the mixed battle group of Rosinde's tribe and the Ogres had been achieving remarkable victories lately, war invariably led to casualties, no matter how brilliantly one fought, especially in these small-scale 'skirmishes.' With less than a hundred people combined in the two tribes, a battle today could lead to a dozen dead or injured. An encounter tomorrow might bring another dozen casualties. After a few consecutive battles, they would need to rest and recuperate.

This was still against ordinary Barbarian tribes. If they had directly faced the professional Children of Battle, as they had last time, it would have been hard to say who would have won or lost had the Green Dragon Nifadora not intervened in time. Even if they had won, it likely would have been a bitter victory.

But for David, this offensive could not be stopped, no matter what. This was especially true considering his plans to reopen markets to the surrounding Barbarian tribes, imitating the High Elves. Peace, after all, was always won through fighting, not simply by talking, particularly in a wild and backward social structure like that of the Old Continent. If you haven't subdued the other side, why should those Barbarians give a damn about you? Sure, you Dragons are powerful, but what if we move our entire tribe far away? Isn't that enough to avoid you?

This was a time when a modicum of balanced wisdom was needed. David wasn't particularly adept at this, but he was self-aware! He planned to have Nifadora intervene if he got too carried away in the heat of battle.

Yet, David's orders, which seemed almost 'cruel,' were causing Rosinde, an honest man, some pain. The ideal situation, of course, was for his entire tribe to convert to the faith of their Dragon Lord. But ideals are ideals, and reality is reality; the truth was that long-held beliefs from childhood didn't change so easily merely through words. Even Rosinde himself had almost failed to convert when he was near death. Even if one did change faith and enter the Dragon Lord's "Hall of Valor," according to his understanding of the Dragon Lord or Dragons, when a person's value did not measure up to the cost, a Dragon would definitely not spend the equivalent of eighteen pounds of Gold to revive an insignificant Barbarian.

Another harsh reality was that David, at this stage, had no intention of collecting faith on a large scale. He was still a young Dragon, not even having reached the Master level, with a long journey ahead. With the Authority of the Seven Deadly Sins in his hands, he was powerful. However, he also had too many shortcomings. If his true nature was discovered and he was targeted, it would be easy for him to fail. If he started harvesting souls recklessly at this stage, it could easily attract the attention of deities. Unless David was willing to become a Demigod directly under the Chromatic Dragon Queen Tiamat. Then, Tiamat would probably laugh her teeth off. Without knowing the specific costs and benefits, David was really not keen on effectively gift-wrapping himself for express delivery to Tiamat. At least from his Dragon Mother Pafila, there had never been any suggestion that he should believe in the Chromatic Dragon Queen Tiamat. Cooperation was cooperation; faith was faith.

On the other hand, the Barbarian Rosinde dared not defy the resolution of his Dragon Lord.

"...I will follow Your will, my Lord."

He could only suppress the unwillingness in his heart and report another anomaly:

"It's just, my Lord, I wish to report an anomaly we've detected during battle."

"Speak," David said nonchalantly, his gaze fixed on the sand table before the Dragon Nest. Nifadora had already updated it, and he was considering which Barbarian tribes to raid first.

"I've found that those Barbarians, especially those Children of Battle, seem... excessively fierce, to the point of being fearless in the face of death. I've dealt with them before. At the very least, they used to not seek a meaningless death so readily. This is very abnormal."

"Oh? Not afraid of death?" David finally raised his head, his interest piqued by the Barbarian's words.

Yet he thought to himself, when did I ever see them not fearing death?

When David had just returned from the New Continent, he had encountered and burned a band of the Children of Battle to death. But those fellows, far from being fearless, had scattered like mice at the sight of a cat upon seeing him.

"Yes, on the battlefield, in the midst of combat, they are fearless in the face of death," the Barbarian said. Seeing his Dragon Lord hadn't quite grasped the severity, he stressed his point again, choosing his words carefully.

[Fight! In battle, show the most fearless courage and the noblest qualities, and you might be chosen by Odin's Valkyries to ascend to the Hall of Valor. There, you will join other valiant warriors in a grand feast...]

For some reason, David suddenly recalled the background narration from a game called Hall of Valor he had played in his past life.

His eyes finally narrowed slowly into vertical slits.

In this world, it seemed the War God Faction was playing a similar game. They led warriors to believe that if they demonstrated a warrior's courage and honor, and performed brilliantly in battle, they would have a chance, upon dying in combat, to be directly chosen and ascend to the Divine Realm of the War God Tempas: [Warrior's Rest].

From what David knew through the Dragon's Inheritance, this might indeed be a chance for the faithful to avoid the Styx River and descent into the lower planes after death, but it was just a chance, nothing more.

When did the opportunity to ascend to a Divine Realm become so 'cheap'? So much so that the followers of Uthgar, the Father of Battle, had started to actively seek out and create battlefields, just to die in droves and ascend to a Divine Realm?

HISS. David began to forcefully recall a memory that had become blurry and buried deep in his thoughts. A few abstract images, twisted due to dimensionality reduction, flashed through his mind.

That was... the scene he glimpsed in the Pantheon, located in the outer reaches of the Outer Planes, when he had inadvertently connected to the Seven Deadly Sins in the New Continent and briefly "ascended to godhood" with the help of Authority.

He finally remembered. He finally knew from whom the divinity he had unintentionally devoured through Gluttony had come.

It was the very god of [Battle], [Warriors], and [War], known as the Hammer of Foes, the War King—Tempas!

'Damn, don't tell me I'm the one who caused this mess.'

The more David thought about his 'cinematic version of the Hall of Valor,' which was automatically under construction...the more likely it seemed!

In the Dragon's Inheritance, an ancestor who had once embarked on the path of the Deification Dragon had penned a treatise speculating on divinity.