Chapter 01: Casualty Count.

Part 01

A huge silver-scaled dragon watched helplessly as several Dragon Lords began to leave the compound as soon as he declared that the meeting was over. However, this behavior was not because they had other, more important things to do, but because they wanted to resume their deep sleep as if sleeping was the most important thing right now.

A few hours passed, but the dragon continued to observe the horizon with a bitter grimace that reflected his disbelief and apathy because he continued to understand the carefree attitude of his fellow men. If only he had his father's backing, they would have no choice but to obey him without squealing. But at this point, he had to admit his inability to take command. Even so, it was absurd that they were not able to realize the changes that had begun to occur over these nine hundred years since the last time the Dragon Emperor was last seen, whose present state was unknown even though some said that only was to sleep.

Tsar again meditated on the last time he saw his father... just the moment he handed him those rings, which took him a great effort and time to forge. At first, he thought he would be reproached by his father because a Dragon Lord did not need to craft enchanted items. In any case, the contraptions forged by his lackeys in veneration of his gods sufficed. However, he was not reproached and instead accepted the precious rings even though he had not fully verified his latent power. Perhaps the Dragon Emperor noticed a defect in those items because just at the moment he had them in his claws, his pupils narrowed giving out an unusual glow in those huge golden eyes.

It was likely that this unusual event was the result of the reflection of the sun at sunset, but that did not explain his sudden absence from that day. Tsar knew that the Dragon Emperor always awoke every hundred years for a big feast, but to see that this current routine event was a delay of nearly a millennium was beginning to create an ever-increasing feeling of concern. Therefore, he began to conduct a thorough investigation, to be able to understand the person responsible for the changes that this world was experiencing.

Tsar had devoted more than a century to the search for knowledge, coming to know stories about past events and behaviors he did not know of his race.

First, his father was once the definition of a tyrant, who by himself subjugated all the inhabitants of the world regardless of whether they were in the sea, sky or earth. Consequently, having no more enemies to face, his life became a monotonous, senseless and worthless cycle even though his existence was classified as that of a supreme being.

The Platinum Dragon Lord briefly considered how to see the world from his father's perspective. The deduction was that his father was evicted from a calm and relatively peaceful world. But "calm" was not the exact word to describe the unusual events in these times. It was nothing like the great demonic invasion, but it was also not a simple matter that descendant dragons could solve for themselves.

Second, the death of "minor" dragons was alarming. Although the ages of some far exceeded Tsar's, they would always be inferior compared to the Dragon Lords descendants of the Dragon Emperor himself because they could never cast wild magic. Nevertheless, the reason they died was not due to their age, but because they were killed by humanoids whose attack power resembled theirs, despite having no ability to cast magic.

The existence of such creatures was unheard of, but even the Stone Fire Dragon Lord told him that one of those beings had been immune to his petrification spell, but a blow from his tail was enough to tear him to pieces against a mountain. Obviously, Tsar called it nonsense, but he kept the information in his mind as a useful argument when it's time to create an alliance in case his new enemies increased in number. Although that would be the last thing he would do because that way of acting would only raise suspicions and elevate him to the status of an opponent for the status of the Dragon Emperor.

Finally, it was the appearance of huge monsters and aberrations never seen in this world. These beings commanded small legions of insignificant beings, which seemed to far outweigh the slaves of dragons. Tsar assumed that they arrived from other continents, but his long journey proved him completely wrong. Not to mention that they were able to withstand combined attacks from Dragon Lords for years until finally dying.

Even he remained incredulous when he received the first news of the great battle carried out, but the corpses, the strange articles watered by the area of the confrontation and the astonishing buildings erected at some point were evidence irrefutable even to the most skeptical of the Dragon Lords.

Also, he discovered something very curious about the time when the world was undergoing a great change, which happened every hundred years whether it was war, skirmishes within domains never disturbed and even the liberation of slaves.

But, at the end of the day... Regardless of the findings of his journey, Tsar's new beliefs or even the irrefutable evidence of an enemy never seen before...

He still did not count on the support of his fellowmen, not even his mother or his half-brothers showed a shred of interest in these violent changes.

For this reason, without giving up, the Platinum Dragon Lord had attempted to hold several meetings with other Dragon Lords to begin taking the first steps in its risky alliance. Unfortunately, he was again ignored despite ensuring recognition by the Dragon Emperor, even if this was a big lie.

"My Lord..." said a kneeling reptilian-looking creature. His body resembled that of an upright humanoid at least three meters high and huge wings, which ended in small sharp claws. However, that little appearance could do to get the attention of a colossus as Tsar was.

Obviously, the Platinum Dragon Lord had noticed his presence, but his reflections made him forget it for a while. However, it would be absurd to leave this creature waiting as he was one of his best informants.

"You can talk."

"I have news. A few days ago, there was an attack near the territory of the Sea Dragon Lord in the West".

"..." Tsar ran out of words. This event had happened a little earlier than planned. However, he did not want to respond after that statement, since there was a possibility that the following information would alleviate his growing tension.

"I sent my subordinates to collect objects, but they found nothing but demi-human corpses and some dragons"

"..." The informant began to tremble unintentionally because his master merely looked at him and breathed profusely as if he were waiting for his report to conclude with good news. Therefore, he had to continue to exhibit his findings, as he wished to satisfy his master and preserve his life.

"We... We... We also discovered that several prisoners were released, although it appears that the attackers only singled out the savage elves and most humans"

The Platinum Dragon Lord thought for a moment. It was not the first time these species of prisoners had been released, as something similar happened during the attack that occurred a hundred years ago in a human demi-human kingdom under the control of the Mist Dragon Lord. For him, the release of humanoid races, especially humans, was already a trend, especially humans, in any case, it would be appropriate for him to analyze what the specific release of those races ensued.

In any case, what did these special races have? He considered them inferior beings who served as food and labor under the yoke of the dragon lords and their direct subordinates. and concerning the elves, the treatment they were treated was similar. Creatures devoid of magical talent, but with a long-life expectancy they rated among the slaves as the most useful.

"My Lord?"

"Hmmm, are you sure your father wasn't responsible?" The whole body of the human demi shook for a few seconds because the figure of another dragon lord pierced his mind provoking memories that he would rather forget. However, on this occasion, he was sure that the Dragon Lord was not responsible for this attack. Well, the last thing he knew about him was that he had burned down a forest south of this location a few months ago in order to kidnap most of the females, who had been gathered in a fortress to give a big feast to the human demi of the region. For this reason, the dark elves, who were the superiors of these insignificant beings, were angry with the Shining Dragon Lord even though they were mere existence of life. However, their opinion was considered among the Dragon Lords because they were excellent subordinates to fulfill administration, food, and offering roles.

"If I may have an opinion, he was not. My reports say that..."

"Stop, I believe in you. In any case, I'll go personally see what happened in that place. Give me the exact spot. Then continue researching the region and if you find any articles do not hesitate to bring it to me here"

"As you command, my Lord"

Tsar took advantage of travel time to continue to meditate on the strange flow of events but could not come to a different conclusion than he had before, as the release of slaves only created more problems than solutions for the alleged attackers.

Maybe these peace offenders were human? No, he rejected the idea by shaking his head. There was no possibility of a slight change from the hierarchy of power in this world. It always remained constant, unless a Dragon Lord interferes with some race by offering him an invitation or mixed offspring, although dragons would remain at the top forever regardless of species crosses.

So, what was the motive? Maybe they wanted to mate with these creatures? Would they be used as a sacrifice for a ritual? Or was it a minor power struggle to win the favor of one of the Dragon Lords in charge of the region?

Once again, the Platinum Dragon Lord was beginning to get lost in his thoughts, but the smell of wood-burning and the columns of smoke returned him to the real world causing his brain to quickly analyze the new information. That was supposed to be the place described by your informant! But why did it keep burning?

The body of the Platinum Dragon Lord began to fall into freefall as his appearance shrank greatly into a powerful Dragon Lord to a kind of place humanoid wrapped in armor made from its scales. His body emanated a great glow when the transformation ended just a few meters away from impacting the ground. However, at the time Tsar contacted the floor there was not a single speck of dust, which has shifted from its original position.

The steps he took were long and firm as if walking in this way was something natural. However, Tsar was uncomfortable being forced to shrink, but he had to do so to find any clues or traces his agents had not discovered. He continued his path around the area of the alleged confrontation. On the walls, you could see marks of sharp weapons used to free the chained slaves. For him, it was amazing that there were weapons capable of breaking the mithril without breaking in the process. Perhaps the responsible were the ones who worked with more exotic minerals... If that was the case, he would probably visit them after finding the answers he wanted.

Suddenly, his refined senses perceived screams and scorched flesh. The annoyance was caused by a pair of regular Fire Dragons, who were burning some probably inhabited huts. Tsar moved in that direction hastily, for it was stupid to get rid of witnesses before being questioned.

For the dragons causing the agony over the human demi, this act of violence was justified under the pretext that it was a lesson, although the truth was as simple as saying that they were only doing this for fun. Also, an unspoken purpose was that his sadistic act would eliminate any evidence of his ineptitude. or that's what they thought.

Tsar applauded once to remove flames from all nearby enclosures. Some bodies located on the darkened edges fell like dolls with their strings cut, while the rest of the survivors tried to clean the ash that covered their furs.

At the same time, the fire dragons became aware of Tsar's presence, so they quickly assumed a total submission pose without hesitation. Anyone who had seen this scene would have been surprised that a pair of dragons over 30 meters high were paying respects to such a tiny being, but for the Platinum Dragon Lord, this gesture was the slightest courtesy they were supposed to offer.

"Can I know what they're doing?" Tsar said with evident anger at the tone of his voice.

"We are punishing the inept who hid instead of fighting"

"Get out of here. I'm going to interrogate them."

The dragons soon took a flight to take the maximum distance as they did not want to be the victims of such increasing anger in Tsar. However, they were also not allowed to leave the area as they oversaw monitoring the place and even giving their lives in the hypothetical event that Tsar is attacked.

He watched both dragons leave when by sheer chance he heard a conversation that should not be possible.

"Don't push me"

"Get away with it! Stop pressing my wound"

"I'll kill you if they don't kill us now"

"Then let's fight"

It was fooling for two lackeys to argue in front of a Dragon Lord like him, but the most absurd thing was for the two species to communicate. How could a two-headed ogre engage with a centaur? While ogres with two heads possessed a great intellect by the standards of human demi, that ability did not go so far as to be able to learn another language. Tsar wanted to start questioning himself, but with these two presents at last someone else could answer his questions.

"You..."

"..." All the human demi prostrated the way on the ground as soon as they heard that voice of authority. However, he had no time to waste enough to enjoy the fear of the present lackeys.

"Come on, both of you."

Some demi-humans looked at each other, but they all started shaking even louder. That was good, he said to himself.

"Can you understand what I'm saying?" The question was intended to be a question mark but ended up feeling like a threat. He was exasperated to see so many incompetent lackeys, so he preferred few intelligent and useful subordinates… ... Not garbage like the ones in front of me. Resigned, the Platinum Dragon Lord had to resume his trek to the two human demi who continued their dispute as if he were not present. When they both realized the presence of the dragon, they were thrown out of the charred dwelling.

"How come you can start a conversation?"

"eh?" They both looked confused, as they had no idea how to respond.

"How can you understand what the other says?" None knew which to respond since they felt that their interaction was so natural, even though a few hours ago they could only communicate with gestures and growls. Or was it possible that they always communicated in this way?

"Have I been underestimating them?" Tsar said bewildered almost like a whisper, but the two human demi closest to him were able to hear his words. He paid no attention to him and at that moment decided to return to his original form, to see if with his true appearance they would stop the fools and begin to answer their questions.

Everyone gasps, even the smaller dragons who were watching the whole show from a hill a couple of miles away.

Already with his restored form, he analyzed the small interactions between the rest of my humans in the hope of deciphering whether they communicated, or it was their abilities like Lord Dragon that played a bad joke on them in these tense times.

"Shut up, you'll make him kill us."

"You shut up; your whispers are very loud"

"Mother I'm afraid"

"Quiet, everything will be fine"

"Your son looks appetizing, why doesn't he offer it to the dragon?"

"That will happen on my corpse"

"Disgraced Dragons, they only know how to abuse us"

"Silence, if we give him a tribute, if we give him a tribute he'll let us live"

"As if those things happened"

"It was your fault for not setting off the alarm before the attack"

"It was your fault. My turn was over before the attack"

"I think I'll be able to escape while I'll kill you"

"I'll grab your leg if you try, fuck you caben"

Tsar was surprised, it seemed that they could understand each other's words despite being of different species. Was it the work of some dragon lord? I had not felt in offering a support spell to insignificant creatures. Besides, he didn't remember a skill capable of making that effect possible or that's what he believed because he hadn't felt in developing such a useless spell. Moreover, this knowledge was acquired naturally over the centuries.

"Were any of you blessed by a Dragon Lord?" The Platinum Dragon Lord exclaimed as he began to advance toward the demi-humans like a predator about to jump over his prey. Perhaps the threats would offer him the right answers, but for the moment it seemed that no one would dare speak.

"Then did anyone cast a spell upon you?"

my humans looked at the dragon-like I was crazy. This discourtesy was probably because they were on the doorstep of their deaths or because that question was so absurd.

"Magic?" Said one of the demi-humans.

"Yes, magic"

In response, the demi-human bowed his head as if he were trying to shake his head in an attempt to remember the meaning of the word. Tsar breathed in relief, as the new change seemed to be limited only to the ability to communicate with each other. You should study them later to see if the effect was permanent or limited to a period. If necessary, he would have to tear them apart and apply all kinds of spells to them until he found out exactly what had happened. would even resort to torture in search of answers.