He could accept a grand, explosive death, at worst, even dying under torture was barely tolerable.
But he couldn't accept being toyed with and ridiculed to death by this pair of idiotic married couple. That would be a blow to his dignity as the second-in-command of the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan.
The dragon race's obsession with dignity was no less than their obsession with revenge.
"The former king did cooperate with humans for a period," said Augus sparingly.
Leon spread his hands, "And then? Why did they cooperate? Just to kill me?"
"Not just to kill you," Augus said indifferently.
"Then what else?"
"For a greater plan."
As soon as the words fell, a blazing dragon flame swept past Augus's cheek at high speed, directly piercing through the trunk he was leaning against.
Even Augus's face was burned by the high temperature of the dragon flame.
He covered his burning cheek, his brows furrowed in anger, about to shout.
But before he could speak, Rossweise interrupted him, "Don't answer one question at a time. If you keep this up, I swear, it won't just be half your face that's burned."
The queen's voice was icy cold, intimidating without anger.
She could tell this old thing, though claiming to cooperate, was still playing games with Leon.
Leon asked a question, and he'd answer it superficially, sometimes even just repeating the question back.
Like a lazy horse, move two steps when whipped, and lie flat when not.
On the surface, Augus seemed cooperative, but the information he gave was all useless.
After being threatened by Rossweise, Augus shrank back awkwardly, enduring the searing pain from his cheek, and said, "I don't actually know as much as you think. The former king's cooperation with the humans wasn't mainly to kill Leon. It's just that Leon happened to barge into the chessboard at the wrong time, becoming a piece neither side could control."
Leon frowned, "A chess piece neither side could control…"
Augus continued, "You were supposed to die three years ago. If you had, none of this would've happened. But who would've thought that idiot in charge of assassinating you back then would fail?"
"So, to clean up the mess, the empire had no choice but to have King Constantine use territorial expansion as a cover to kill you, who was then among the Silver Dragon Clan."
"As for everything after that… I don't need to say more."
Leon didn't immediately press on. He turned to look at Rossweise.
The couple exchanged a brief glance, then subtly nodded at each other.
Leon looked back at Augus and continued asking, "So you're saying, me being alive has delayed some original plan between the empire and the dragon race, is that right?"
Augus closed his eyes and remained silent, tacitly agreeing.
"What was the goal of this plan? Or rather, what were the human empire and the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan trying to gain from it?"
"That I don't know. The former king only told me that if the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan wanted to remain unshaken, we had to cooperate with the human empire."
Augus's tone didn't sound like he was lying.
This was reasonable.
Even if he was Constantine's trusted aide, that didn't mean Constantine would report everything about his cooperation with the empire to him in full detail.
After all, he was still a dragon king, he had secrets to guard.
Secrets that could be trump cards at a critical life-or-death moment, or perhaps the key to turning the tide.
Of course, reality was cruel. Constantine had taken those secrets with him to the grave.
"How long has this plan been going on?"
"The former king didn't tell me when it started, but it's been at least thirty years."
'Thirty years…'
Leon blinked, pondering the time gap.
For some reason, that thirty-year span sounded oddly familiar…
Leon didn't think too hard about it. Even if it was familiar, it likely had nothing to do with the interrogation at hand.
"Was Constantine the only dragon king cooperating with the human empire?", Leon locked eyes with Augus and asked the most critical question.
Augus's gaze slightly dodged. After a moment of hesitation, he replied, "Not just the former king."
As Augus said, if this was a grand game of chess, then the human empire and the dragon race were the players, and Leon was a rogue piece that had barged in.
And the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan, was already a discarded piece.
With King Constantine dead, the entire Crimson Flame Dragon Clan had lost its value to the empire.
So Augus no longer had any reason to keep secrets for the empire.
He could fully use these pieces of information to trade for a sliver of survival, or a quick death.
Augus was loyal to the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan and to Constantine.
As for the human empire?
Heh… what the hell did that have to do with him?
"Just the ones I know of, there are at least five dragon kings who've cooperated with the human empire."
'Five dragon kings, huh…'
Even though Leon had mentally prepared himself, hearing that number still startled him.
So in those dark corners he'd never seen, this conspiracy had already rooted itself so deep, so deep.
And if those remaining dragon kings were of the same caliber as Constantine, then that meant the empire really was planning something massive.
Something far beyond Leon's imagination.
In his surprise, a soft touch suddenly came from his shoulder.
He snapped out of his thoughts and looked up, it was Rossweise.
The queen gently patted his shoulder, signaling him not to get flustered by the current information, and to continue the interrogation.
Leon nodded, then took out a piece of paper and pen he had prepared earlier from his pocket.
"Write down all the names of the dragon kings you know."
Augus took the pen and paper. After a slight hesitation, he began writing.
Leon wasn't worried Augus would write fake names, nor did he fear he'd try to frame other dragon clans.
Because there was no need for that anymore.
Leon wasn't going to go down the list and "unbox" each dragon king one by one. Not to mention his current magic reserves couldn't support such action, the risk level alone was unacceptable.
And the empire still held the initiative. Leon had far too little intel to launch any offensive.
Augus surely knew that too, which was why he didn't bother with scheming.
A moment later, Augus finished writing and handed the paper back to Leon.
Leon looked at the names on it, just as expected, "Ravi, Bly, Jaggs… three dragon kings skilled in space magic."
Rossweise's grandmother had recently warned the couple that these three dragon kings had mysteriously vanished, but it hadn't caused any commotion within their clans. So they must've left secretly after making proper arrangements.
There are no coincidences in the world. Three dragon kings proficient in space magic leaving their clans at the same time, and they all happened to be the ones cooperating with the empire.
It wasn't hard to guess, the empire probably gathered them together to deliver a massive "gift" to General Leon.
There were two more dragon kings on the list:
Warhammer Dragon King · Adam.
Radiant Star Dragon King · Star.
Likewise, Leon had never heard of these dragon kings before, not even their names.
He put the list away, then stood up and looked down at Augus from above.
"Do you have anything else to add?"
Augus slowly closed his eyes and gave no answer.
Leon didn't ask further.
He had already asked everything he needed to know.
Leon looked up and gazed at the firelight growing closer in the distance, it should be the pursuers from earlier.
He looked back and said to Augus,
"Looks like your fate is sealed, Augus. You won't see the end of this game."
With that, Leon turned around and walked toward the edge of the forest with Rossweise.
But before he could take more than a few steps, he suddenly heard Augus shout behind him,
"Leon Casmodeous!"
Leon stopped and turned back.
He saw the old man's eyes wide with fury, half his scorched face making him look even more hideous, like an aging lion, roaring at Leon,
"You picked the wrong opponent. You have no idea how powerful the enemies you're about to face are."
"They'll stop at nothing to kill you and strip everything from you!"
"Killing Constantine wasn't your first step to victory, it was your final moment of glory."
"So… Leon, cherish your last moments!"
"You can't withstand the true counterattack of the dragon race!"
"Crimson Flame Dragon King · Constantine—eternal and everlasting!"
With that final roar, Augus clenched his fists, the magical circuits under his skin glowing deep red, as if molten lava flowed through his veins.
The next moment, Augus's chest exploded, and a column of flame shot into the night sky.
The blast wave and heat rushed forth. Rossweise spread her dragon wings, shielding herself and Leon within.
"Self-destruction, huh…"
"Yeah. Proud dragon race, how could they allow themselves to be trampled to death?"
From that moment on, the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan had no hope of revival within a century.
And in that dazzling firelight, Augus's final roar to Leon still seemed to echo—
'You can't withstand the true counterattack of the dragon race.'
'Just what… does that mean?'
———
Late at night, Leon leaned on the balcony railing, gazing into the distant mountain forest.
In his hand was the list he had obtained from Augus a few days ago.
On the list were the names of the five dragon kings who had cooperated with the human empire.
Just like Constantine at the beginning, throughout Leon's military career, he had never crossed paths with them. Not even heard their names.
Not even the textbooks had any records of them.
However, after learning that these dragon kings were secretly colluding with the empire, Leon didn't find it strange.
Who would write their "cooperation partners" into their own country's books for anyone to read?
It seemed the empire thoroughly understood the principle that the more you say, the more mistakes you make.
After reaching cooperation with these dragon kings, they erased them from all documents and textbooks, to the point that even General Leon, who frequently swam freely in the ocean of knowledge, had never heard their names.
Leon sighed and unconsciously tightened his grip on the list in his hand.
In fact, he didn't really care which dragon kings had cooperated with the empire.
If those guys were all on the same level as Constantine, then they were not much to fear.
What he cared more about were the last few words Augus said before he committed suicide:
("They will stop at nothing to kill you and take away everything around you.")
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