Ashen Dragon

Chapter 248: 173 George's Ordeal (2)

Chapter 248: Chapter 173 George’s Ordeal (2)
 

George cast one last longing glance at the warm scene, then left the brightly lit street and turned into a dark, narrow alley—the only way to his residence.

Suddenly, a mysterious voice halted him.

“Wait.”

Cold sweat broke out on George’s face as he remembered some terrifying rumors: It was said that in the kingdom’s shadows, a “black market” existed where Ogres and Great Goblin clansmen secretly gathered to sell human organs and flesh for consumption. This was absolutely illegal in normal circumstances.

Was he running into one of those black market merchants?

George wanted to run, but his feet felt like they were filled with lead. He could only stiffly turn his head and stammer, “Don’t, don’t catch me.”

In a daze, he saw a robed figure not far away. It was hard to distinguish the person’s gender; their build was similar to his, at least not an Ogre or a Great Goblin.

George finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The mysterious voice was quite gentle, merely asking, “Don’t be afraid, I’m not a minion of the evil dragons. Are you a resident of Northwind Castle?”

George scratched his head in confusion.

“I suppose so. I live here every day. You know the ‘Giant Sage’ food processing plant in the Southern District, right? I work there.”

The mysterious person handed him a few silver coins and continued to ask, “Then can you tell me more about the situation here?”

Go to ?????.co

George was both surprised and delighted, his face lighting up with joy. He did not expect such a windfall.

He hurriedly stuffed the precious silver coins into his clothes, afraid the person in front of him might change their mind, and repeatedly said,

“Of course, of course.”

These were silver coins, worth his wages for several months!

If George could see through the robe, he would have been stunned by the exquisite features and elegant demeanor under the hood—this so-called mysterious person was actually Olivia, the young Silver Dragon Mage known as “Silver Star” from Melwood, and an organizer of the Arcane Priory.

Years had passed, and the Arcane Priory had grown, but she had never seen the Gold Dragon Anhel.

Though quite saddened, the young Silver Dragon Mage could only surmise that the righteous Gold Dragon might have been captured or even killed.

Olivia decided to first gather information and understand the situation in the city.

“Do you think your life is better or worse than before?”

George chuckled awkwardly.

“I don’t know. I used to be a peasant on Lord Brad’s estate. I never had enough to eat. My parents died early. A few years ago, our lord was overthrown. The kingdom’s people said it was His Majesty Cassius who ‘liberated’ us, so I came to Northwind Castle.”

At this point, George scratched his head in embarrassment.

“I guess it must be better now. I work at the food processing plant, and though I’m exhausted every day, at least I get enough to eat. Last winter, not a single worker in the factory starved to death. That was rare on the estate.”

“Hmm… You’re asking where the food comes from?”

“The kingdom’s important figures created something using amazing magic. They call it ‘energy filler,’ but we usually call it ‘paste.’ It doesn’t taste good, but it fills the belly. The first time I had a full meal was in the factory cafeteria.”

He thought of something and added in a joking tone,

“A coworker who recently escaped from the estate had never seen so much food before. The first time he came here, he ate ten pounds of paste, nearly burst himself to death.”

Olivia was somewhat astonished; this was quite different from what she had imagined.

In her envisioned scenario, Northwind Castle should have been filled with the cries of suffering and discontent by now.

With the greed and brutality of a Red Dragon, their ruling territories were generally subject to severe exploitation. And in the poems and novels of the Northern Nobility, the Ashen Kingdom was depicted as a demonic hell.

Even Olivia had some preconceptions.

As a Silver Dragon who lived long among humans in the North, Olivia was somewhat familiar with and critical of the harsh serfdom there.

But as an outsider, and under the elders’ admonitions, Olivia was not to meddle in human societies. She could only sympathize with those numerous “gray beasts” and occasionally offer charity.

She did not expect that this Red Dragon actually used valuable magical resources for production and even liberated serfs, which was unimaginable for Olivia.

Bahamut above, that was a Red Dragon!

As a racial enemy, Silver Dragons knew the terrifying five-colored dragons best.

Unlike Silver Dragons, who were close to humanoid beings, Red Dragons despised everything and often treated humans and elves as snacks. Even those under their rule were considered emergency rations and cannon fodder.

Olivia thought this “King of Ashes” might not be entirely hopeless.

But perhaps…

He had bigger schemes?

With this in mind, Olivia continued to probe for information.

“You mean His Majesty Cassius? I’ve never seen him. I heard he’s been sleeping recently, but I guess that’s normal for a giant dragon. There are some other rumors, but it seems he hasn’t eaten anyone. The rumor-mongers have been caught by Nocturne people.”

George couldn’t help but shrink his neck when mentioning Nocturne.

“We lowly workers aren’t sure about the important figures’ opinions. We mainly learn about His Majesty through the Kingdom Daily.” What does it say again?”

“Oh, it goes like this… ‘His Majesty Cassius is the great “benevolent father” of the nation and its subjects. He broke the old order with his colossal strength, creating a new order for the Ashen Kingdom. With an iron hand, he established the strict and rigorous Kingdom Code, giving all citizens equal status before the law and fostering harmony between humans and retainers, preventing the noble lords from oppressing us.'”

George almost recited it verbatim, fluently and rhythmically, as if delivering a line from a play.

After all, the Kingdom Daily repeated these praises for the Red Dragon almost daily, and various propaganda channels incessantly sang his praises.

George and his coworkers had heard those words so often that they could recite them by heart, almost reflexively.

Olivia frowned slightly.

It seemed that the Red Dragon’s rule had become deeply entrenched in this land, making resistance difficult. If she wanted to oppose, she could hardly find suitable allies.

“How can it be…”

Thinking of the missing Gold Dragon, Olivia felt a surge of righteous indignation: How could someone who harmed the righteous so cruelly be a qualified ruler?

Yet, hearing George’s sincere words, she was at a loss, unable to find anything to refute.

Even a Silver Dragon had to admit that for these tragically born serfs, the Red Dragon’s rule might have indeed improved their lives.

After hesitating for a moment, Olivia couldn’t help but ask,

“Isn’t anyone resisting him?”