Beneath the Red Dragon

The massive head of Oblash gently nodded and then slightly shook, the voice of the Dragon echoing in the depths of the prison.

”Originally, your crimes were to be made public in the Imperial Judicial Court. Then, in front of the citizens of the Empire, the first execution of a death sentence carried out upon a Giant Dragon was to be performed,”

”But I sought out the Emperor of the Imperial, His Majesty Karon Gogomola. With my fealty, I have atoned for your crimes, so you have no need to fear the coming of death.”

Oblash said, ”As the starting point of this atonement, I shall serve as the vanguard officer of the Imperial southern campaign, marching south to sweep away those decayed and shadowed Nobility.”

The female Adult Silver Dragon was greatly shocked at these words and spoke anxiously, ”Oblash, my child, how can you bend to that wicked Red Dragon because of us? Whether Silver Dragon or Golden Dragon, before the justice we uphold, even death is nothing to fear.”

Mogusa Rabil, the Golden Dragon in his prime, also nodded his massive head and said in a deep voice, ”Your mother is right. Moreover, those southern Nobility are the embodiment of order. Without the restraints of the Nobility, how are the citizens of those realms to enjoy a good life?”

”Without the rule of the Nobility, those pitiful citizens would spend their days in chaos. Oblash, you are mistaken. We do not fear death, even if that Red Dragon has become king by virtue of his strength!”

Golden Dragon Oblash had once read many tales in the story collections circulating among the Imperial common folk, some of which spoke of the conflicts between ossified parents and children whose thoughts had developed in new directions, exploring the clash of ideas.

In the eyes of the Golden Dragon back then, such stories were laughable, for he felt such things had never happened to him. His parents had never opposed his opinions, so he believed the world was always like that.

But now he finally understood that the conflict and contradiction between ideas is far more complex and far harder to reconcile than conflicts of interest.

Mogusa Rabil, the Golden Dragon in his prime, furrowed the Scale between his brows and harshly reproached his beloved child: ”Besides, the Golden Dragon Race has always been the symbol of justice and benevolence. If you swear fealty to that Red Dragon of the Golden Empire and take the initiative to wage war upon those Nobility, you will not only destroy the reputation of the Golden Dragon Race, but also shatter the image of the Good Dragon as a lover of peace and maintainer of justice!”

Ancestral Golden Dragon Oblash possessed a profound understanding of the race into which he had been born. Though Golden Dragons were, for the most part, symbols of goodness and justice, in truth that was nothing more than a charitable kindness born of their own sense of superiority.

If one were to speak of true kindness, those Silver Dragons who were Holy Mother by nature were more worthy of that word than Golden Dragons.

Oblash, at ease, squatted down, gazing into the pupils of his parents, and only said softly, ”The order those Nobility represent—when it is destroyed, a new order will naturally arise to replace them.”

”The new order will not necessarily be better than the order ruled by those Nobility, but it will no longer be worse than those Nobility,” the corners of Oblash’s mouth revealed his fangs—that was a Dragon’s cold smile.

”As for your claim that I should not submit to Karon Gogomola?” Oblash said in a low voice, ”I simply do not wish to see your bones end up like that half-blood trash Erikson, like those two Titan surviving remnants, taken by the Imperial Magic Research Department to be turned into ’Titan’-class Golems.”

”Moreover, the justice and goodness represented by the Golden Dragon—who defined it? How can hypocritical goodness be called true goodness?”

Oblash watched the look of surprise appear on the cold faces of his parents and said with a careless smile, ”Is it defined in your lineage’s inheritance, or defined by the Dragon God, or perhaps defined by the world?”

”A True Dragon will not be defined by others and by the outside world. A True Dragon is a True Dragon; a True Dragon is only itself. A True Dragon does whatever it wishes and has no need to care about others’ doctrinalism and opinions,”

Oblash enunciated each word: ”That is what a true Giant Dragon is!”

”And besides, how is the justice you cling to necessarily true justice?” An obvious anger suddenly surfaced on Oblash’s face.

This made the cheeks of the Golden Dragon twist somewhat hideously. ”Even Karon Gogomola, the most brutal Red Dragon among the Colorful Dragon, understands that all other Giant Dragons are of the same race as he,”

”Even a single Colorful Dragon harbors the grand ambition of sheltering all Giant Dragons under heaven, and even a single Colorful Evil Dragon has never slain any Giant Dragon,”

Oblash bared his fangs, emitting a cold and baffled growl: ”How then do you dare to treat other Giant Dragons as Beasts, and for the sake of your own selfish desires, obstruct Karon Gogomola within the Imperial borders from bringing an end to the calamity of Dragon Madness.”

”But—but everything we did was for you!” The Adult Silver Dragon, unusually enraged, bared her fangs and growled low.

Mogusa Rabil, the Golden Dragon in his prime, had a dangerous light flicker in his eyes as he glared at his rebellious child, who had changed so much as to seem somewhat unfamiliar.

”It had better be for me,” Ancestral Golden Dragon Oblash suppressed his own baffled anger and slowly spoke: ”Therefore, my atonement is only natural. Though I made this choice passively, I am willing to bear the corresponding consequences. A True Dragon will not retreat because of reality.”

”Could it be that your mind has been bewitched by the Magic and words of the Gogomola Dragon Group? My child!” Mogusa Rabil, the Golden Dragon in his prime, asked coldly.

Unfortunately, the scapula of this Golden Dragon in his prime had also been pierced through by the Demon-Banning Shackles, so that not even a trace of Magic Power or Spiritual Power could be stirred. Otherwise, this Golden Dragon in his prime truly wished to use Magic to probe whether the Ancestral Golden Dragon before him was still the child he had once cherished the most.