"Subordinates have already sent people to pursue him, but...", The guard bit his lip, seemingly afraid to continue speaking.
Faced with such a sudden situation, Isa didn't make things difficult for him either, "It's fine. The Iron-Winged Dragon King's speed can even rival that of Little Rose's Silver Dragon race. It's normal that you can't catch up. You may leave."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The guard left.
Isa withdrew her gaze and murmured, "Why would the Iron-Winged Dragon King snatch Constantine's head... Could it be that he's connected to that mysterious organization you mentioned, brother-in-law?"
Upon hearing this, Leon drew in a sharp breath.
'How is this sister's ability to make connections so strong?'
'Not only strong, but also frighteningly accurate.'
'As expected of the woman who can go toe-to-toe with me in mini-games like 'Jump Seven',' Leon sighed inwardly.'
"Maybe... or perhaps he had some other purpose for taking Constantine's head," After thinking for a while, Leon gave a rather vague answer.
He couldn't say too much.
Tonight's situation was too chaotic, with one problem after another. Even Leon couldn't come up with a flawless explanation under these circumstances.
So he just muddled through, played dumb, and tossed out smokescreens.
Anyway, as long as Isa doesn't start connecting things back to the Empire, it's fine.
Isa let out a long breath, "Sigh, I don't even know when the world started becoming this chaotic."
Leon glanced guiltily at his elder sister, and answered inwardly, 'Since I married your little sister.'
———
The iron-blue giant dragon sped through the night sky, flapping his wings and triggering a deafening sonic boom.
Beneath his dragon claws was the head of a fellow kin.
The head was already in ruins, and its owner should have long been resting underground.
But instead, it had been turned into such a chaotic and pitiful monster by those old geezers in the Empire.
Fel didn't know how to describe his current feelings.
He wasn't sympathizing with Constantine, dragons rarely had such emotions for others outside their own kin.
He was just worried whether his own future would end up the same as Constantine's now.
Even after death, no peace.
"Maybe Ravi was right. Once you get entangled with the Empire, it's hard to pull out unscathed...", Fel silently recalled those days in the Far North, when Ravi had often talked with him about the Empire.
Essentially, the Dragon King Ravi, who was skilled in space magic, didn't trust the Empire.
But for various reasons, he still had to cooperate with them.
In the end... he died under his own out-of-control space magic.
And tonight, after witnessing the Empire's attitude and Constantine's fate, Fel became even more determined to pull out.
Only... he needed to quietly wait for an opportunity.
Otherwise, with the Empire's tactics, turning Fel into a public enemy of both humans and dragons wouldn't be difficult.
"I had only heard that the Iron-Winged Dragon King was fast, but I didn't expect to experience it firsthand," The human man on the dragon's back said leisurely.
"Mr. Scott, your highly anticipated reborn Constantine has once again fallen at the hands of Leon Casmodeous."
Fel reminded, "Mr. Elanti will surely care a lot about this, won't he?"
The underlying message: 'You little punk, don't act like it's no big deal here, think about how your boss will torture you when you get back.'
"Care? Hmm... He'll definitely care, but it's nothing major."
Scott felt a bit guilty but still pretended to be calm, "The reborn Constantine was just a test product for the fusion ritual. If he's gone, he's gone. Anyway, the Empire still has plenty of materials. Creating a few more such ultimate creatures is totally possible."
Fel knew what Scott meant by "materials."
Aside from organs from various dangerous species, there was also something critical, the dragons' Heart-Guarding Scales.
That was the key material used to perfectly integrate Constantine's dragon head with other dangerous species' organs. It not only unified the power from different bodies, but also eliminated organ repulsion.
To be honest, Fel hadn't even known that his kin's dragon scales had such a function before this.
All he could say was that those humans really were... more insane than dragons in some aspects.
Their thirst for power, from another perspective, was in no way inferior to that of dragons.
Cooperating with such a species... Sooner or later, he'd become nourishment for their power too, wouldn't he?
Fel was a smart dragon. Compared to the possible rewards in the end, the risks during the process might be something he couldn't bear.
So... when it came down to it, it was time to run.
On his back, Scott was still going on smugly about the Empire's upcoming grand plans, how the fusion rituals would be more refined, how with this experience, the next revived Constantine would surely kill Leon, and so on.
Fel was getting annoyed listening to it.
But suddenly, he sharply sensed a power fluctuation.
Fel looked down, then widened his dragon pupils in disbelief.
That power fluctuation... was coming from the head in his hand.
'Constantine... Could it be that you're still... alive...', What surprised Fel even more was that this internal question actually received some kind of response.
He listened carefully to the whispers of the dead.
As a fellow kin, even if there was no need for sympathy, a small favor, why not?
'I understand now, Constantine. I hope you can complete your revenge,' The iron-blue figure pierced through the night sky, heading straight toward the human Empire.
———
[Imperial Capital, Fusion Ritual Laboratory]
Scott hurried over.
His heart was filled with tension and unease.
When he brought Constantine to the Red Dragon Sanctuary, Lord Elanti hadn't pressured him, only saying that this time they didn't necessarily have to eliminate Leon, just treat it as a test.
But Scott knew that it was best to only believe half of what the boss said, otherwise he'd get in trouble afterward.
So he had gone with the mindset of "must kill Casmodeous."
But now not only was Leon perfectly fine, he even left Old Con with only a head.
At the same time, they lost so many high-grade dangerous species' organs, and the dragon scale was gone too.
This level of loss was quite severe. Given Elanti's terrible temper, he might really tear into him.
But then again, maybe not. After all, Elanti had said from the beginning this was just a test.
'A test... Isn't some loss normal?'
So when Scott saw the boss later, he planned to report the good news from the Red Dragon trip first, then the bad news.
Though there wasn't much good news... if you squeeze hard enough, there's always something.
Finally, after intense mental struggle, Scott stood in front of the lab door.
He pressed his lips together, raised his hand, just about to knock, when Elanti's voice came from behind the door.
"Can someone tell me what the hell happened here!!"
"If I don't get a clear explanation tonight, all of you can look forward to visiting the gallows tomorrow morning!"
That voice didn't sound like Elanti, but like a raging bull.
Scott's knees began trembling uncontrollably. He could already imagine the expression Elanti wore while cursing out the Royal Magi.
But what the hell happened?
It was serious enough to involve the gallows?
Whatever happened, Scott now felt it was best to run straight home and come back in a couple of days to report on Constantine.
But just as he turned to leave, the lab door suddenly opened.
"Scott?"
Like death's whisper, made Scott feel a chill down his spine.
He swallowed hard and turned around with a trembling voice, "M-My lord."
"When did you return?"
"Ah, I was—"
"How did it go?"
Scott's eyes flickered, stammering, not daring to answer.
Seeing his evasive eyes, Elanti coldly snorted, "Useless fool. Where's Constantine? Did you bring him back?"
"Constantine... I brought back his head, but not the rest," Scott answered tremblingly.
Elanti frowned, "What do you mean you didn't bring back the rest?"
Scott scratched his forehead, then clapped his hands.
Immediately, two attendants came over pushing a cart carrying Constantine's head.
Seeing this, Elanti helplessly covered his face, "You've got to be fuck*ng kidding me..."
Elanti now had the urge to bring Nacho back.
He and Scott might both fail, but at least Nacho wouldn't fail this comically.
"What about the dragon scale? Did you bring back Bly's Heart-Guarding Scale?", Elanti asked with some urgency.
Scott leaned back slightly, "Ah, about that... the Heart-Guarding Scale was also blown up by Leon."
"Blown up?"
"Yes... He seemed to use some kind of long-range magic to directly blow up Bly's Heart-Guarding Scale, and then Constantine just... fell apart."
Scott paused, then quickly added, "B-But, my lord, I risked my life to get Constantine's head back! As long as we have his head, plus the other Heart-Guarding Scales in the warehouse, we can still keep creating stronger fusion beasts, right? Next time, we'll definitely—"
"There is no next time, Scott."
"W-What? My lord, you, My lord! Have mercy!"
Before Scott could finish, the tall and burly Elanti grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into the lab.
Once inside, Elanti threw Scott to the floor.
"What Leon Casmodeous blew up wasn't just that one dragon scale."
Scott slowly lifted his head and looked at the stone platform where the Heart-Guarding Scales had been stored.
Now, it had already turned to ash.
Elanti's tone grew colder and colder, as if dragging people into an ice abyss.
"He blew up the other five Heart-Guarding Scales you brought back last time too. And the chain reaction from the explosion also destroyed the rest of the scales in the warehouse."
"In just an instant, that bastard destroyed years of the Empire's hard work."
"If before, he was merely an unpredictable variable who jumped off the chessboard..."
"Then now, he's overturned the entire chessboard."
"Leon Casmodeous will never know what kind of existence he has enraged."
"From now on, the Empire will stop at nothing to kill him."
"Until... his bones are crushed to the point that not even scraps remain!"
[T/N: And what will Leon do? He will fu*king fu*k his wife rather than retaliate or train himself to take out the root. Pathetic Leon]
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