Soul of Searing Steel

Ever since he arrived at Moldavia, Joshua had never restrained Suralno.

In nominal terms, the blue dragon was his prisoner. However, the warrior regarded him as an employee whom he picked up and brought back from the battlefield. The warrior did not even interview Suralno to decide if he was worthy or not to be ‘hired’. Joshua was not afraid that Sulrano might want to retaliate because Joshua had bashed him up pretty badly in the battlefield. The warrior knew that the blue dragon did not have the guts to do it.

In fact, it was a good thing for the blue dragon to be able to use his injury as an excuse to stay away from the far south, which reeked of conspiracy. Suralno never intended to participate in the insane war of the berserk dragons in the first place. Although he did hold a small grudge against Joshua because of his injuries, his fear towards the other dragons that was more than his grudge. So it seemed that retaliation was not going to happen. Perhaps he could flee. That should make more sense.

However, even though he feared the warrior, Suralno got used to the life in Moldavia for the warrior gave him all the freedom he needed.

Recently, Suralno was staying near Winter Fort Academy as a special tutor invited by the dean of the academy himself. He was tasked to nurture the baby dragons together with the other mentors in the academy. Other than that, he would occasionally assume the role as the replacement tutor on behalf of the other mentors whenever they were on leave. He even taught the students some rare Magic skills and techniques.

The adult dragons had deep magical inheritance and an indestructible flesh. They were basically naturally born war fortresses and secret vaults of knowledge. The magic of a dragon had always been significant in the legendary stories and often mentioned. The unique magic skills that were taught by Suralno contained extremely high research value even though those magic skills were never heard before by most of the mentors in the academy.

The blue dragon, who was present in the academy because of the warrior, did not suffer the slightest difficult there. Instead, he was receiving a lot of praises from the people in the academy. The nurturing task was not as hectic as he thought it was. A human mage by the name Theodore Drake, also one of the lecturers in Winter Fort Academy, had already taken care of half the workload for him. Theodore also expressed that he was not willing to let go of the job on nurturing the baby dragons. The baby dragons that sounded as deadly as the war-scale magic spells from the way Suralno described them to be were behaving like ordinary family dogs under the care of that man–they were like a bunch of Huskies.

Suralno only needed to take the baby dragons out for a walk on ordinary days. Other than the fact that he could not fly freely across the world anymore, his life in Moldavia was not half as bad as he imagined it to be. Perhaps his food source had become even better than before. The Blue Dragon thought about it and to come to the liege’s residence. He decided to reveal some secrets about the dragons before Joshua asked him.

Suralno was able to guess that his boss was in fact a warrior who was responsible for annihilating Chaos in the world. He believed that Joshua would definitely need the information he had.

“As we all know, the dragons on the main Mycroft Continent are divided into two types, the Original World Dragons and the Astral Dragons.”

The blue dragon began to tell Joshua about the history of the dragons with crystal clear voice at moderate speed, “The Old World Dragons are the descendants of the Ancient Dragons and all sorts of draconic beasts that were born. Most of them do not possess wisdom. They belong to races that are more primitive. On the other hand, the Astral Dragons are the Pentashade Dragons and the Metallic Dragons that everyone knows about.”

Those were information that most people on the main continent, who knew a little about the dragons, would know. Joshua nodded slightly. He naturally knew about all that. However, because he was interested in knowing about what Suralno was about to disclose, the warrior decided to be patient as he listened to the blue dragon telling his story.

“The scholars among humans often say that the body structure of the dragons and many other races on the main continent are completely different from each other. They might not even have a slight similarity between the structures. Even though the dragons seem a little similar to the draconic beasts, their natures are different. Hence, the dragons are not the primitive natives in the Mycroft Continent.” Suralno shrugged. Then, he continued, “They were right though. Although the dragon races have never admitted before, the earliest batch of the dragon race indeed had nothing to do with this world at all. They were just stopping by the Mycroft Continent.”

The blue dragon stiffened up and sounded much more serious than before. He sounded a little sarcastic, “According to the description in the history of my bloodline, we dragons were forced to leave our initial world thousands of years ago or earlier, because our homeland was hit by a great disaster. We had no choice but to leave our homeland and flee into the void. In certain ways, we were actually refugees.”

“Do you think that is still true?”

Joshua raised his eyebrows. The warrior had heard a little about this before. However, most of the people during that time believed that the dragons were the type of race that could migrate from one multiverse to the other. He was also convinced. However, the situation mentioned by the blue dragon was a little familiar.

Because the homeland of the dragons was destroyed by a calamity, leaving them no choice but to flee… That situation was just like back in the world of Illgner. The dragons were just like the elves that were brought by the Father Nature when it fled into the world of Illgner. Could it be that the Evil Gods also invaded the initial world of the dragons?

It was possible. Joshua thought about it then gestured Suralno to continue telling him more.

“Since you are all refugees, then it explains one thing very clearly.” The blue-haired elven bard shut his eyes and sighed. “There were dragons who wanted to go home. And there were also dragons that wanted to stay. Although the dragons had lost our civilization, there were not many nemeses and powerful beings in the Mycroft Continent that threatened the dragons. So, after a period of time of resting, the dragons were divided. Some dragons wanted to plunder the resources of this world and use it to go home. Even though the homeland was destroyed, they were determined to see the wreckage of their homeland. The rest of the dragons decided to stay in this world and lay roots in the Mycroft Continent. As time passed, they had completely become part of the great Mycroft Continent.”

“During the ancient times, the Pentashade Dragons and the Metallic Dragons had the first civil war.” Joshua suddenly understood something. He seemed to have understood what Suralno was trying to tell him.

“That’s right, The Pentashade Dragons and the Metallic Dragons had been divided among themselves during that time.” He nodded to agree with the warrior’s words, the blue dragon continued, “I sided the Pentashade Dragons. So I am one of the descendants of that side where all of the dragons had been committed to going back to their homeland. Hence, the Pentashade Dragons had never considered themselves a part of the continent. They are not willing to obey any rules set by the natives of the continent. Instead, they are only committed to getting home so they continue to do everything they deemed necessary for their cause. The Metallic Dragons became a part of the continent. So naturally, the two sides are enemies, now that their goals are completely different.”

“The two factions had been struggling against each other. Because of that, both sides failed to accomplish their goals in the end. The Pentashade Dragons failed to gather enough resources to travel across the void. The Metallic Dragons were doubted and blamed because of the bad names brought by the Pentashade Dragons for the evil deeds they have done across the continent. After thousands of years, both sides had even forgotten their initial goals. They were fighting each other out of their hatred towards each other. During the recent Dragon’s Calamity, because the Metallic Dragons were defeated by the Pentashade Dragons, the Metallic Dragons were forced to avoid from joining the war by going to the distant South.

Suralno told the warrior many things. Because of that, the warrior was able to understand the history from a completely different perspective—according to the blue dragon, the Dragon’s Calamity this time was actually part of the efforts to prepare themselves for their grand quest to go back to their homeland. The vast wealth and resources that were snatched from the far south kingdoms and the elves were sent to a hidden settlement of the Pentashade Dragons that even the blue dragon had no knowledge over in order to make preparations. There was also another explanation as to why the Pentashade Dragons wanted to attack the kingdoms in the distant South and the Church of the Seven Gods.

“The berserk dragon army could have attacked anywhere in the Mycroft Continent. Apart from the troublesome Northern Empire located at the northernmost of the region, the Western Mountains and the Eastern Plains are easier targets than the distant South where it is surrounded by dense jungle. However, according to the Blue Dragon’s Chieftain, the Legendary-tier Dragon Verdia, the main reason why the Dragon God had chosen Far South as the battlefield was because we needed to find something first.”

The thing that they needed to find was definitely heavily classified. Suralno mentioned that only Supreme-tier dragons were aware of the secret news. Joshua had also never heard of any similar news in his past life. The warrior was curious and doubtful for the first time, “That’s strange. What exactly is that thing then? Why is it so important that the Pentashade Dragons had to go to war with the Sacred Mountain, the elves and the Far South Kingdom no matter what? Those three forces are the most influential and powerful forces in the entire continent.”

“I have no idea… Verdia did not say too much about it. She only stressed that it has a great influence on the path going back to the homeland.”

Suralno furrowed his eyebrows. His pupils shrunk in an instant. After that, everything returned to normal again, “However, I vaguely remember that she was muttering to herself. The other Legendary-tier dragons had also mentioned it before during their conversations with each other. It is a unique robe belonging to the Church of the Seven Gods. It was once kept secretly in some large tribe of the elves. After that, it was passed to the Far South Kingdom.”

“They said that it was a treasure that belongs to the race of the dragons. Because only the beings with the dragon’s bloodline had the right to wield it. The secrets needed for the Pentashade Dragons to return to their homeland is rumored to be recorded on that. Because of that exact reason, the berserk dragons had raided the tribes of the elves and the Far South Kingdom before they moved on to the Sacred Mountain.”

“But do not believe it,” The blue dragon shook his head as he spoke the common language of the dragons out of habit. “Since it is a robe, then it should be used by any human creature, right? So what does that thing have to do with them dragons? Ever since their return from Anos, they behaved strangely after, the higher power of the Pentashade Dragons had become much chaotic ever since.”

Seemingly having thought of something, Suralno immediately reminded the warrior, “But even so, the berserk dragon Army remains an unavoidable danger to the world. Recently, Verdia had been resonating through her bloodline to summon all of the Blue Dragons across the world. I believed that they definitely have not given up on their goal. They seem to be preparing to do something–perhaps they are trying to do something similar to activating the gate to the Dark Abyss.”

When Suralno said that, he was dead serious. He was not joking at all, “Believe me, they are capable of doing that.”

“Regardless of whether it is real or not, the information you just gave me is very useful,” Joshua did not bother himself too much with it. He nodded and praised Sulrano. “Even if the news is fake, as long as we can roughly estimate the targets and motives of the Pentashade Dragons, we will be capable of warning the Holy Mountain based on everything we know. Suralno, this is really good.”

“It’s my pleasure to be able to help you, my lord.”

The blue-haired elf bowed at the warrior slightly. Since that he was done, he decided to leave the liege’s residence. With a teleportation wave rippling from the dimension in the air, Suralno left the liege’s residence in a blink of an eye. The warrior stayed on top of the tower, deep in thoughts on the matter he just found out about.

“… Robe…” He frowned as he stared at the streets that were gradually getting merrier by the seconds. Slowly, his eyes seemed to drift away as he thought deeper about the matter, “A robe that has something to do with the Church of the Seven God… I had always felt like I have heard this from somewhere.”

Joshua’s instinct felt that this might not be a fake information. Even if that robe turned out to have nothing to do with the homecoming route of the Pentashade Dragons, the information could still confirm their next target. However, identifying the truth of the information seemed to have gone beyond the capabilities of the warrior.

Before Joshua could think further on that matter, another faint rippling waves of Magic Energy emerged right behind him.

Joshua turned around and saw long hair floating in the air. The magic projection of 03 appeared in front of him.

“Joshua” After the projection was completely formed, 03 opened her eyes and greeted the warrior casually. “Breakfast is ready. Do you plan to wait for everyone to arrive first or do you plan to go to the dining hall now?”

“Just a while more,” The warrior responded. “What have you been up to these days? I have barely seen you around recently.”

This was true. Because her true body was a runic crystal core, her appearance was just a projection of magic energy. Initially speaking, 03 was basically everywhere within the main city of Moldavia. She could even observe every single pedestrian on the street and their behaviors at the same time while she was communicating with Moreila through long-distance communication in order to exchange alchemy and runic information with the old dwarf. She even could give instructions to the maids and servants back in the liege’s residence at the same time–03 could even help Ling in handling official business, help Ling tidy up the library, and even capture four to five cultists at the same time while she was performing everything else.

However, ever since Joshua had gotten back from the war, he could sense that 03’s existence had weakened a little—if not needed, for example, to inform him to have his meal, the Artificial Intelligence would rarely appear in front of him.

However, that was not an important matter. Joshua spoke casually as he also stopped thinking. 03 did not answer him though. She just remained silent before she spoke seriously, “Joshua… There’s one more thing I need to notify you.”

“What is it?” Joshua was curious. This morning, Suralno came up to him and bombarded him with a lot of interesting information. And now, 03 had something to tell him as well. Joshua was a little amazed by the coincidences.

“I’m not sure if you still remember Mr. Carlos …” 03 spoke calmly. “This news is about him.”

“Alphonso Carlos?” After hearing a familiar name, Joshua swiftly recalled the man. “The man who took care of my family’s business in the Imperial City? Of course I remember. I had always stayed and rested at his place every time I traveled to the Imperial City. I still contact the man through letters.”

The Radcliffe Family sold superior quality mining rocks. An arm holding onto a sword symbolized the largest premium ore supplier across the entire Northern Empire. Because of the direct support from the Imperial Kingdom, the Radcliffe Family also supplied exclusive raw material to the Five Armies. And because of that, Joshua was able to join the Black Raven and become the captain of the frontal army.

Recently, the Radcliffe Family’s business had gradually changed. Due to the cooperation they had with the Northern runic dwarves, the entire family began to integrate the entire industry into one. In other words, they were also selling mining ores, smelting, casting, and selling forged weapons and armors. Although Joshua did not know anything in that regard of business, he was sure as hell that he was not interested in that regard at all. Alphonso Carlos was the person he appointed to take care of his family’s business. That man was the experienced president of the North Chamber of Commerce. He always knew what he needed to do. In fact, he did very well for the warrior. The resources and wealth of Moldavia were far better than before, allowing Joshua to focus on developing his territory. He even founded and built an academy and a rune factory.

“What happened to him?” Joshua asked 03. 03’s expression and her tone made him feel that something was not right. He could not wait to find out what happened.

03 continued to speak, “Initially, Mr. Carlos would report in once every week to notify us about the industry and the data on the industry. It has always been Ling and I who handled the raw data he sent to us. And he would always greet us warmly at the end of transmission… Mr. Carlos had always been a punctual man. Even if there were some delays, he would notify us about it and report the information a few days after. However, it has been more than a month now. Not only did he not report like he always had, the raw data and information he sent through the transmission contained too many errors and mismatch to be ignored. That ‘Mr. Carlos’ did not even know that Ling and I are the ones who handle the information sent to us.”

Joshua furrowed his eyebrows. However, he immediately put himself at ease again. He remained in silence for a brief moment then spoke again coldly, “It seems like a big problem.”

“That’s right.” The Artificial Intelligence lady nodded her head slightly and said, “If it was just reporting, ordinary people might have been tricked. However, I can detect every single trace of differences in writings and word choices in both of the new reports and the old reports. There were too many… If the money and the resources did not flow in like they usually do, I would have informed you about it a few days ago. After all, it was possible that Mr. Carlos might not be well. He was a human being after all. He might have found a replacement to take over his job momentarily until he could recover. Previously, he had mentioned before that he might need someone to replace him in that position because he needed to take care of his elder son.”

“So what happened?’

“Now, the information has been completely cut off.”

03 paused for a brief moment. The Artificial Intelligence lady sounded a little cold when she spoke again, “I suspect that perhaps Mr. Carlos is already dead.”