CHAPTER 476: CHAPTER 281: HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO HOLD HER BACK?

Lizrite’s mother, Flameclaw, had made her nest in a territory close to Katjana, near The Dark Mountains. This area served as the border region between David’s old home and the Dwarves’ Eight Peaks Mountain.

Since it was located in a contested warzone, and Lizrite, the Old Continent’s ’unschooled’ young Red Dragon, couldn’t provide exact spatial coordinates, they had to resort to stratospheric stealth flight. Even if they encountered Griffin Knights patrolling the sky, the absolute altitude difference would make it difficult for the knights to spot them. This was the absolute advantage that had once allowed the Dragon Race to dominate the Continent: an unshakeable command of the skies. In the past, Giants repeatedly faced setbacks in the war for continental dominance, often due to this seemingly simple reason. This highlighted the importance of intelligence and mobility in warfare.

However, such high-altitude, extreme-environment flight was also quite torturous for Lizrite, a Red Dragon. When she thought about facing her mother, who had once haunted her dormant nightmares, her expression grew even more dismal, and she remained silent throughout the journey. Alicia seemed to notice the change in her mood and chose not to appear overly eager, considerate of her companion’s feelings. Nevertheless, having never left Dragon Island due to her status, Alicia found the vast deserts and the desolate coniferous forests of the Old Continent along the way filled with wonder.

「A week later」

Looking at The Dark Mountains, which felt somewhat familiar, Lizrite finally spoke, "We’ve arrived."

Lizrite instinctively wanted to swoop down but was intercepted mid-descent by David’s tail.

"Wait."

Lizrite, her scales and head numb from the cold, suddenly found herself pressed against David’s still fiery body. Should I act all coy and show off our ’old married couple’ affection in front of Alicia, the Silver Dragon? she wondered, just as she saw David close his eyes and do nothing.

More precisely, David was amplifying his perception. After confirming there were no bipedal lifeforms in the vicinity and no significant Mana Energy emanations from beneath the earth, he reopened his eyes and said to a somewhat disappointed Lizrite, "It seems your mother is still alive."

Lizrite opened her mouth, not quite sure how to feel at that moment, when she heard David continue, "You stay in the sky. As soon as you see High Elves approaching, send us a Magic Message and immediately ascend to leave. Do not come down, understand?"

If a fight with Flameclaw were to break out, the commotion would inevitably attract the attention of the High Elves.

"I..." Lizrite felt a sudden surge of immense frustration at his words. She had prepared herself to confront her mother, yet David was telling her to do nothing. Besides, Alicia could easily do the lookout job, couldn’t she? But she also knew David was making these considerations to ensure her safety, so she sullenly agreed, "Alright. You... you be careful too."

In her memory, her mother had always been a nearly invincible presence, so she couldn’t help but feel David’s plan was somewhat... unreliable.

Little did she know, David simply tilted his head back, an expression of Arrogance on his face, and said, "Don’t worry. Just watch how I hammer your mom and then return to you a mother who’s clear-headed and obedient."

"..." Lizrite felt strangely out of sorts listening to his words, but thanks to David, the inherent tension and fear she held towards her mother indeed vanished.

Then she saw David and the Silver Dragon princess plunge downward. "Alicia, prepare your Psychic Ward. Let’s go," David called.

For a moment, she felt a tinge of envy.

In order to guard against failing to steal the Magical Secret Treasure—suspected to be the ’Dragon Mad Lock’—from the mother dragon’s claws, and thus getting thrashed himself instead of thrashing his mother-in-law, David had used Festanterriles’s Portal in advance to leave an escape route outside the cave. Then, with Alicia, who had already activated her Psychic Ward, he snuck into the Dragon Nest.

Unlike ordinary dragon nests, this cave was extremely deep and vast, but the walls, originally sparkling with various precious gemstones, were now covered in dust. In the central area of the Dragon Nest, a mature mother dragon was coiled, her scales looking dim and lusterless under the unstable light. Her body was abnormally contorted yet robust, her dragon claws tightly clutching a metal fragment made of Mithril. The fragment was covered in cracks, but some Dragonic inscriptions were still clearly visible, and at its center, a large Ruby was embedded.

To David and Alicia’s eyes, it clearly resembled the pupil of an ancient Red Dragon, flickering with a dangerous and manic red light.

The next moment, the Psychic Ward on Alicia’s chest activated.

Wrath

Jealousy

David and Alicia exchanged a silent glance. Although they couldn’t confirm if this object was actually the High Elves’ ultimate Magic Enigma Lock—the Dragon Mad Lock—they could at least affirm that it indeed affected the sanity of living beings.

Especially David. His eyes revealed a flicker of desire, his heartbeat accelerated, and his footsteps involuntarily quickened. What a magnificent item! David thought. It can stir my emotions enough to make my Authority trigger consecutively, yet it doesn’t drive me to the brink of madness like directly facing The Slaying King Star... If Flameclaw and I could just hug this thing to sleep every day, we could grind so much Seven Sins Authority...

Greed

CRUNCH.

David abruptly snapped back to reality at the sound of his own footsteps crushing rocks beneath him, his scales standing on end. Indeed, this silent, insidious infiltration is far more dangerous, he thought. I nearly fell for it.

"David, be careful!" Alicia’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind—a tense, telepathic warning.

David’s pupils suddenly blazed with burning red light in the darkness. When his newly awakened gaze met the mother dragon’s eyes for the first time, the air seemed to freeze.

"Damn it! She’s actually awake!"

It was most likely because the ’greedy thoughts’ that thing induced in me were too intense, causing our emotions to resonate through that peculiar Magic Gemstone. No doubt about it! Even if this thing isn’t the Dragon Mad Lock itself, it’s definitely related to it! This trip was worth the price of admission, at least! David realized.

But at that moment, the eyes of the mother dragon, now wide open, blazed with an unnatural light. Without a word, every inch of her body emitted an unmistakable threat. Her expression was filled with fury and coldness as she rose from her pile of treasures, her stance shifting to full alert. Her tail beat incessantly against the floor of the cave, emitting a heavy warning thud, her wings partly spread as if ready to take flight or unleash flames.

"Despicable thieves! You shall not covet my treasure!" she growled, her voice echoing through the cave. Her head leaned slightly forward, revealing sharp teeth, her eyes firmly fixed on the two intruders, David and Alicia.

For an instant, David had the surreal sensation of having stumbled into an alternate-world version of ’The Lord of the Rings,’ encountering a Red Dragon Gollum. Though their physical forms were vastly different, the madness induced by Magical Items was strikingly similar.

"Run!!!" David made a split-second decision. Time for the backup plan! If we can’t steal it stealthily, we’ll have to take it by force!

ROAR!!! came from the mother dragon as she lunged, spewing frenzied Dragon Breath.

David flicked his tail, grabbed Alicia, and ’burrowed’ through the wall to escape.

As a Red Dragon, I’m naturally not afraid of Fire Dragon Breath, but she’s dug too deep here. This depth is enough to bury Alicia alive. The only option is to retreat to the Teleportation Gate at the cave entrance and use the Fortress’s ignition effect to enter a Legendary Critical state for a head-on clash. But the timing has to be perfect. If we fail to subdue Lizrite’s mother before the critical state wears off, or if we attract High Elf legends before we’re done, we’ll just be doing all the work for the Elves to reap the rewards. So, the key right now is... speed!

The next moment, Lizrite, who had been circling in the sky wallowing in self-pity, perked her ear-frills abruptly as if sensing something. Then, it was as if the ground suddenly softened, beginning to ripple. An instant later, it was as if a volcano erupted from the cave entrance. Hundreds of tons of rock and molten stone from the tunnel were blasted into the sky.

In the midst of this cataclysm, David and Alicia were blasted out like field mice flushed from a mine by dynamite. David flung Alicia skyward while using the innate engines in his wings to reverse-thrust himself into the pre-prepared Teleportation Gate. And, just as I expected, the mother dragon charged out and prioritized chasing me!

「Inside the Fortress」

Dragon Dad Attilicia was conducting routine experiments with his Neisser apprentices to maintain the Fortress’s operations when he saw a bedraggled David tumble out of the glowing Teleportation Gate.

"Why are you back already?"

Dragon Dad Attilicia was still puzzled when a flood of red-hot lava, much like a mudslide, poured in. This was the result of David intentionally setting up the Teleportation Gate at the cave entrance in advance. However, the entire Tokamak Fortress still began to shake violently.

"PTUI! PTUI! PTUI! Ignite! Quickly, ignite it!" Leaning against a wall, David spat out mouthfuls of charred volcanic rock and yelled himself hoarse.

Just as the Teleportation Gate was about to close from the impact of the explosion, a pair of crimson dragon claws suddenly stretched out from behind it, forcibly stabilizing the collapsing portal. A Red Dragon’s head, mouth full of furious flames, burst through next, pinning David—who hadn’t yet reached the Fortress core—against the wall. Dragon flames gushed out, rapidly heating an entire metal corridor cherry-red.

"Dad... Dad! Cover for me for a while!" David’s voice came continuously from within the dragon flames.

Pinned to the spot by his irate mother-in-law after his ’advance on dowry’ gambit failed, David was helpless. He could only prop open the mother dragon’s sulfur-reeking Abyssal Maw with his forelimbs while frantically kicking at her jaw and neck with his hind legs, like a cornered cat. For a moment, crimson scales scattered throughout the tunnel, only serving to further enrage the already frenzied mother dragon.

Attilicia, galloping on all fours, was also at his wits’ end. I haven’t even reached Legendary rank yet! This is a prime-aged, Legendary Red Dragon—Flameclaw, infamous on the Old Continent for her ferocity! What am I supposed to use against her?!

Even though he was panicking internally and felt completely helpless, Dragon Dad still commanded the Neisser Arcanists to guide the Blue Dragons in igniting the Fortress’s defenses, then, like a reckless youngster, he charged forward without a second thought.

This action immediately provoked a reaction from the mother dragon. She finally loosened her bite on David, only to snap at the charging Attilicia. Attilicia hadn’t even managed to exhale his frosty Dragon Breath before Flameclaw clamped down on half of his head, preventing him from opening his mouth at all.

... Attilicia wanted to scream for help.

AHHH!!! And then, the mother dragon flung him thousands of miles away, back through the Teleportation Gate.

While the mother dragon dealt with Attilicia, David, finally free from her grasp, reached the Fortress core. He watched the shadow of Flameclaw rushing towards him down the tunnel.

"Ignite!" David commanded.

The next moment, a torrent of Mana Energy particles, heated to hundreds of millions of degrees, surged forth. David’s pupils shone as brilliantly as molten lava.

As the Fortress gates reopened, David, spewing six streams of crimson flame, pounced on the mother dragon. She was charging on all fours, wings splayed, like some frenzied beast. Together, they tore through the tunnel, leaving a trail of sparking scorch marks, and under the composed gazes of the Neisser apprentices, plunged back into the rapidly closing Teleportation Gate.

「Back in The Dark Mountains」

David landed and rose, feeling the surging Mana Energy within him. He watched the equally battered mother dragon struggle to her feet and unleash a heavenward roar. A fierce grin spread across his face.

One minute and forty-six seconds, eh? Seeing the duration had increased again, David’s confidence swelled. To tame this exceptionally fiery mother-in-law of mine... more than enough time!