The Red Dragon Just Wants To Do As It Pleases

According to the divine version of the Pauli exclusion principle, there might be similar or overlapping divine realms between different planes, but there will never be two divinities with the exact same quantum state.

In plainer terms, the divinities held by the gods are fixed and conserved. Although some might discover new divinities, an existing divinity would never spontaneously increase in value or duplicate—as in 'one becomes two'—for that would violate the law of conservation of energy.

But the current situation was that he, David, had forcefully seized the divinity related to the 'Hall of Valor' concept from Tempas, the War God.

Or more precisely, in terms of its manifestation on the material plane, he was 'in the process' of seizing this concept.

As a result, the rule within the 'Slumber of Battle' of Tempas, the War God—the rule belonging to the Hall of Valor concept—was collapsing.

Only this could explain why those Barbarians were either fearlessly reckless in battle or on their way to becoming so.

David even suspected that on other planes, this kind of Taliban-like behavior might be even more severe; full-scale wars might have already erupted in some forgotten corner of the cosmos.

After all, if the feasting hall of the Divine Realm was about to collapse, wouldn't the old War God want to swiftly harvest his due while he could!

Although without the Hall of Valor, the War God could still, like other gods, summon the Heroic Spirits of believers with the help of Divine Envoys.

But Divine Envoys were ultimately limited in number, and their workload was heavy. Otherwise, so many Divine Envoys wouldn't station themselves in the Hazy Dominion year-round, following the gods' will to periodically select these 'waterlogged souls' in batches and bring them back to the Divine Realm.

And once the believers—especially the Fanatical Believers who had always been convinced they could be promoted to the Hall of Valor by dying valiantly in battle—found out they had been 'deceived' by the god they had believed in all their lives, the consequences and impact would be far greater than the scandals of top-tier celebrities on the neighboring Blue Star.

Perhaps at this very moment, Tempas, the War God, was frantically searching the universe for the trail of this 'divinity thief.'

For a moment, David actually felt somewhat relieved by his previous 'caution.'

If he had recklessly harvested the souls of those Barbarians already worshipping the gods of the War God Faction, Tempas would likely have caught him red-handed by now.

If other dragons heard this thought, they would probably scorn him privately: You call that caution? You were just too stingy to spend the money!

It seems I must act swiftly and decisively, David thought.

However, he couldn't make a big move himself; attracting the attention of the War God's faction would also be troublesome.

Although the likelihood of this wasn't too high.

David immediately flicked his tail, lost in thought.

"I understand. You may go now."

"Yes."

What surprised both David and Rosinde was that before three days had passed, and even before the mixed combat battalions on the front lines could continue their push against the Barbarians, envoys from the Barbarians arrived first, bearing their 'king's' command.

What left David speechless was that the cause of such an impressive victory wasn't him, David Uthos, the Flame Steel Dragon.

It wasn't Nifadora, the Venomous Emerald.

Nor was it the mixed combat battalion under Rosinde.

It was those...

High Elf prisoners of war, their desire to return home surging.

That day, the Barbarians finally remembered the terror of once being dominated by the High Elves, and the humiliation of having their dignity and pride simultaneously trampled into the dirt, enduring one-sided exploitation.

These High Elf prisoners of war were all professionals and also constituted the core strength of the High Elves from Dewensen.

They were not weak by any means. Those who survived the nearly cataclysmic tsunami either possessed constitutions superior to ordinary Elves or had luck far exceeding the average person.

Otherwise, Yevgeny, relying solely on a guard unit, wouldn't have been able to force David, then in his Wrath, into a strategic retreat with Tania.

These over three hundred High Elf prisoners of war, re-equipped with their original weapons and gear and fueled by a sudden, fervent desire to return home, staged nocturnal raids that completely bewildered the surrounding Barbarians.

This was especially true for the sixty-odd guards originally under Ahmed, commander of Dewensen's Seventh Fleet. Once unified under Yevgeny's command and with personal direction from Hiatt, the Drow Shadow Dancer, this group of High Elves unleashed the Drow's sinister and vicious style that very night. They nearly assassinated 'King Jiral,' who was overseeing the front lines.

Realizing they had bitten off more than they could chew, these Elves—interested only in looting and collecting the heads of the 'Children of Battle'—scattered in all directions. They regrouped four miles behind the temporary camp of the Barbarian King Jiral to continue their sweeping raids.

The coordinated actions of these sixty-plus High Elf combatants alone proved more destructive to the Barbarian tribes than a rampaging juvenile Green Dragon.

Over three hundred High Elves, each with decades, if not centuries, of combat experience, went on a rampage. Like three hundred rabid dogs unleashed, they utterly looted the outposts and tribes they encountered, leaving chaos in their wake.

"That Flame Steel Dragon actually commands such a fierce troop of High Elves!"

Given this scene, and the continuous wails and pleas for help from the tribes behind them, no one associated this ferocious group—so unlike typical High Elves—with the 'Elf farmers' of recent years. Those 'farmers' would scatter like geese at the first sign of engagement.

In just three days, these over three hundred High Elf prisoners of war achieved a glorious record, one Rosinde's troops hadn't managed in a month and a half.

The key was that these Elves, having endured nearly three years of hardship under David, the Red Dragon, had their sharp edges smoothed and had long since shed the pride once characteristic of High Elves.

Especially with field instruction from Hiatt, the Drow Shadow Dancer, they refused to engage in positional warfare or evenly matched encounters, opting instead for guerrilla tactics everywhere.

Their motto became: fight if you can win and loot along the way; if not, scatter without hesitation.

Thanks to the excellent physical fitness they had honed over three years, combined with the natural agility of High Elves, their guerrilla warfare took on aspects of a blitzkrieg.

Greatly alarmed, King Jiral finally decided to capitulate.

「Half a month later.」

Upon receiving the message, David—accompanied by his father, younger sister, and Nifadora with her draconic kin—finally descended into the valley demarcated by Crimson Ash. The Barbarians, who had been anxiously awaiting them, watched with a mixture of relief and cautious vigilance.

Seeing seven massive dragons—two Red, two Silver, one Green, one White, and one Brass—arrayed atop the cliff, the bustling Barbarians couldn't help but gasp.

They knew the Crimson Calamity's offspring commanded several dragons, but they hadn't expected him to have six accompanying him!

What particularly perplexed them were the two Silver Dragons. They could somewhat understand the Brass Dragon, whose mouth seemed to be gagged with a special muzzle, but Silver Dragons? What were they doing there?

One of them was even a young Silver Dragon!

Since when did noble Metal Dragons stoop to consorting with Red Dragons?

As the Barbarians stared, Tania, the Silver Dragon, didn't seem to mind. In fact, she rather enjoyed the novel thrill of flaunting borrowed power beside her brother.

Her father, the other Silver Dragon, had much thinner skin. Forcibly dragged from their Dragon Nest by David to 'assist' under a 'cooperation agreement,' he averted his head like a bashful maiden, his shy demeanor paradoxically alluring.

Ah, the Barbarians finally 'understood'! They surmised that David Uthos, the Crimson Calamity's offspring, had taken a captive bride—the adult Silver Dragon—and her child!

Dragons certainly have their ways!

Eventually, the somewhat composed King Jiral stepped forward and loudly proclaimed his intentions to the mighty dragons led by David:

"Your Majesty, David Uthos, the Flame Steel Dragon, I am King Jiral, chosen leader of the eight Barbarian tribes in this region.

"I come bearing apologies for the offense we caused by the seashore.

"I come with sincerity to negotiate peace.

"I hope you can extinguish your wrath, which burns like the Katjana volcano.

"Please recall your kin, who share your fiery fury and are currently rampaging through my territory.

"We Barbarian tribes have no intention of being enemies with a being as powerful as you."

Quite eloquent, for a Barbarian, David mused. No doubt from admiring and covertly learning High Elf culture.

David chuckled internally, his expression unchanging. He tilted his head back slightly and said, his voice laced with Arrogance:

"I am aware of your intentions. But I need to see your sincerity."

"Of course! Of course!" King Jiral, who was well-prepared, knew exactly what these dragons meant by 'sincerity.'

At King Jiral's gesture, hundreds of Barbarians began pouring out 'treasures' bundled in large and small leather sacks into the valley.

However, this scene, which would normally dazzle dragons, barely earned a glance from the dragons on the cliff. They had already been awestruck by the treasure David had brought back from Spider Nest City and quickly resumed their arrogant posture.

Even Mofei, the White Hatchling Dragon, who was the least worldly among them, reacted similarly.

After all, while the hoard looked abundant, apart from some sparse nuggets of gold, it wasn't very valuable.

All of it combined was, at best, barely worth a thousand pounds of Gold.

That was less than one-fifth of what had been brought from Spider Nest City, and that was after Tiamat herself had plundered it.

It couldn't be helped; Barbarians were poor.

Every time they managed to accumulate some savings, it was traded away or extorted by the High Elves who came to 'spread civilization' with an air of bestowing charity.

Seeing the dragons not even blink, King Jiral's heart sank. He knew this was not good.

As expected, David seemed faintly dissatisfied and declared in his deep voice:

"It is not enough. Your sincerity is insufficient."

A 'Child of Battle' standing next to King Jiral, his body adorned with tattoos of various animal spirits, furrowed his brows but ultimately refrained from any rash action.

King Jiral, possessing some cunning, seemed to sense something. He patted the warrior's shoulder reassuringly before promising David:

"I will gather another treasure of equal value, but I require some time.

"In return, I hope Your Highness, David Uthos, will grant a small request from our Barbarian tribes."

"Speak," David said, already knowing what the other party wanted.

"I have heard that Lord David Uthos has opened a route to the New Continent. I wish for all my people to once again bask in the light of civilization.

"I hope Lord David Uthos will take the place of the former High Elves, restore trade with us Barbarians, and establish markets here."

Agreed, David thought. Just as expected. This aligns perfectly with my plans; it merely needed a little nudge.

If they were willing to deliver wealth to his doorstep, it was far easier than plundering it himself.

Besides, if he continued to plunder, he feared these Barbarians might simply pack up and relocate.

However, David hadn't anticipated King Jiral proposing another, unexpected condition at this juncture:

"Also, we have another minor request.

"We hope to obtain the routes to the New Continent and the technology to ensure safe passage."

David almost laughed out loud from disbelief but asked out of curiosity:

"What would a band of Barbarians like you do on the New Continent?"

"Pillage," King Jiral declared, his voice firm and resonant.

David's pupils instantly narrowed to slits.