Ashen Dragon

Chapter 255: 180: Olivia (IV)

Chapter 255: Chapter 180: Olivia (IV)
 

“Tiniya?”

Cassius turned his head, noticing the White Dragon entering the palace.

Tiniya briskly ran over.

She respectfully lowered her head to the Red Dragon and, following the courtly etiquette she had learned, softly said, “Master, you have awakened. You have… become even stronger.”

Tiniya’s slit pupils were full of worship and fanaticism.

Cassius gazed at the White Dragon in front of him, nodding slightly in surprise.

He didn’t expect the task he had given to Ramp to be completed so well. This White Dragon, who could be called Smarty, had learned to speak and mastered the basic etiquette in just three years.

Olivia, lying on the ground, barely opened her eyes. Seeing the approaching White Dragon, she weakly mocked:

“Tsk, you actually associate with the ‘White Beast.’ Truly, the five-colored dragons’ stench attracts each other.”

Upon hearing this, Tiniya was undoubtedly hit where it hurt. She spread her wings, arched her back, and growled from her throat.

“Awuuu——”

“Master, let me tear this damn Silver Dragon apart!”

Just as Tiniya was about to leap forward, Cassius grabbed her by the nape and easily lifted her back.

“Tiniya, do not act rashly. This Silver Dragon is still of use to me.”

“But Master, why? This Silver Dragon has been disrespectful to you!

“Aw! Let me rip her apart!”

Even while being held by the nape, this White Dragon flailed in mid-air, desperate to claw the Silver Dragon again and again until she was covered in wounds.

Cassius was rather speechless. It seemed that despite the meticulous education, her nature hadn’t changed much.

As expected, the old method was still necessary.

He casually tossed the White Dragon onto the ground and said coldly: “Obey my orders.”

Tiniya rolled across the ground several times before slowly getting up. She reluctantly stood behind the Red Dragon obediently, but her face already showed a hint of satisfaction.

She still glared menacingly at the Silver Dragon—if looks could kill, Olivia would have been slowly tortured to death several times already.

“Ugh…”

Olivia twisted her body again, her wings slightly unfurled, trying to break free from the array.

But it was all in vain; it only added a few more scorched wounds to her body, without any benefit.

Cassius looked down at her, his tone indifferent: “Silver Dragon, stop struggling like a trapped beast. Unless your life level reaches the Ancient Dragon level, all resistance is futile. Submission is the only shortcut.”

“The Kingdom needs Senior Spellcasters like you. Rather than the meaningless eradication of evil, your spells can make greater contributions. Think about it. You’ve already witnessed those mechanical factories. Spells can increase productivity, allowing citizens to fill their stomachs. This is the true justice in most people’s hearts.”

“Of course, I care only for my own interests, but this title is important to you rigid Metal Dragons.”

He let out a light, cold laugh.

“However, if you wish, perhaps you can stay here for another eight hundred years to escape.”

Thinking of her own hundred-year imprisonment, Tiniya stood behind the Red Dragon, sneering proudly: “Lowly Silver Dragon, this is the consequence of opposing the Master. You’ll never get out again!”

She had a rather smug demeanor, borrowing power to do evil.

In the greedy absorption of the array, Olivia’s vitality had already weakened to the extreme.

But her gaze still flickered with determination, showing no sign of submission. No one knew what secretly supported this young Silver Dragon.

“Impos…sible…”

“You’re delusional…”

Cassius seemed to expect this. He simply glanced at her and then turned to leave.

He left only one sentence:

“Then let’s wait and see.”

[Vagnard’s Dragon Binding Magic Circle] was the life-long masterpiece of the Dragon Fan Black Wizard, a vicious and ruthless spell that greedily absorbed a dragon’s vitality and converted it into its own magic power, keeping the trapped dragon’s life at the bare minimum but never completely killing it.

Under the influence of this array, Olivia’s body could not move, paralyzed entirely and closely adhered to the ground.

All the Silver Dragon could do was think; her actions were entirely restrained by the array.

Tears once again flowed from Olivia’s eyes, down her silver cheeks, and dripped onto the ground.

Olivia didn’t know how she got to this point or what sustained her until now. Even she was surprised by her inexplicable resilience.

But at this moment, she had already fallen into a desperate situation.

It was all too late.

Olivia couldn’t help but think again of her debate with Cassius.

She pondered over and over, wanting to find loopholes in his words, only to find that the Red Dragon might not have deceived her.

His words were completely different from the education she had received growing up, yet they were logically sound, forming their own coherent system.

From those words, the only thing she could feel was sincerity.

Yes, sincerity.

Even Olivia was surprised by this.

That Red Dragon seemed to disdain deceit; he rarely propagated vague ideals or engaged in cunning sophistry. He didn’t even sweet-talk but laid out the cold, hard reality.

And it was just this that left Olivia speechless.

“Maybe… he is right.”

Olivia often had this thought, but she would quickly discard it.

After all, she had witnessed the prosperity of Northwind Castle with her own eyes. She knew clearly the dark, bloody rule of Rackman and could even feel the rebirth of that serf, although she instinctively didn’t want to admit it all.

If things were really as Cassius said—

Then what was the death of Angel? A farce?

What about her efforts to fulfill a dying wish? A baseless folly?

Olivia knew that admitting to this would turn everything she persisted into nothing, and she herself would fall into the abyss of nihilism.

The “King of Ashen” was not as irredeemable as she had imagined.

He seemed not to be the typical, muscle-brained brutal Red Dragon nor the greedy tyrant. He was even more rational than most of the Northern Nobility she had met. All his actions had reasonable explanations and sufficient motives.

The only error was his identity as a Red Dragon, the head of the inherently evil five-colored dragons.

“No, he might be hiding an even bigger goal.”

“He might bring a catastrophe to the entire continent, and I must stop him.”

Olivia instinctively wanted to shake her head, only to find her neck already tightly bound by chains, unable to move.

“But… am I not just finding excuses for myself, with the most malicious speculations?”

“Angel, what should I do?”

Olivia let out a bitter smile and slowly closed her weary eyes.