A Treacherous Courtier Manages the Empire Well

69 – Let’s Die Together

I was now looking down at the dragon.

The handsome man, trembling in fear with a cloak wrapped around him, stared at me with eyes full of dread while looking at Karia.

Beside me, Karia sat in a chair, pulling out the Holy Sword, looking at the handsome man.

It was like a scene of a gangster interrogating a debtor who had been swindled by a loan shark, with a baseball bat. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Nice to meet you, Red Dragon. I am Elond Byungbaek of the Aylam Empire.”

Threats also had their roles. If Karia played the frightening role, then I played the role of threatening with a smile. I put on a smile like a mask, the exclusive trademark of a con artist. The Red Dragon shivered and nodded.

“Nice to, meet you.”

“Our Dragon. Did you come to destroy our Aylam? Calling forth hordes of monsters. Calling forth many companions. Paladin. In your eyes, we must have been like insects, right?”

I didn’t stop smiling. I continued speaking in a teasing tone with a smile on my face, but it seemed to have a more terrifying effect on the dragon.

“What will you do with me! Try to kill me! If you die here with your neck in Karia’s hands, other dragons will remember you as a bastard who got killed by humans and mock you, not someone who vowed revenge, right?”

The Red Dragon closed its mouth as if struck.

Egomaniac.

Endless arrogance.

Beings who could casually take the lives of tens of thousands of humans just for fun.

That’s why there was no sense of unity among dragons. While they might join forces for a common goal, they never sacrificed themselves or vowed revenge for someone else.

The Red Dragon probably knew this better than me.

“What to do. The Dragon Lords seem determined to kill us. Might as well go down in history. Wouldn’t it be cool to leave a legacy as Dragon Slayer?”

As I spoke, Karia stood up from her seat.

The Holy Sword began to glow.

“Shall I kill him?”

In that moment, the Red Dragon screamed and grabbed my sleeve.

“P-please, spare me!! I don’t want to die!! Spare me!!!!!”

Terrified and out of his mind, the Red Dragon wailed like a madman. Still smiling, I gently stroked his head.

“I won’t kill you if you agree to one condition.”

“W-what is it.”

“Please use a Command Spell. It’s a vow of oath.”

The Red Dragon’s face twisted at my words.

What was a vow of oath?

It was the oath between the first Guardian Dragon of the Aylam Empire and the first Emperor.

One of the most powerful Command Spells of dragons.

An unbreakable promise engraved in the soul.

A magic with such compelling force that it could enforce promises and rules so strong that they could be enforced on paper or stone.

Of course, it was not intended for use between humans and dragons, but rather an item used when dragons made deals or promises with each other.

“T-that’s a bit…”

“Karia. Kill him.”

Still smiling, without any hesitation, as I said that, Karia, as if understanding, raised the Holy Sword with exaggerated posture and action.

Neither of us had any intention of truly killing the dragon.

If we were to actually kill it, in a final act of defiance, using a spell of compulsion before dying, not only Karia and I, but also all the Imperial soldiers in the vicinity could end up as a whole barbecue.

As I struck a pose as if to threaten, the red dragon, looking like a frightened child, started to panic.

“I’ll do it!! I’ll do it!! Damn it, just do it! So put away that holy sword!! Put it away!!!!!!!”

Upon hearing this, Karia immediately raised her sword.

The red dragon, breathing heavily, looked at me.

“Well, what is it! What is this oath you desire?”

“It’s simple. Become a citizen of the Empire.”

“What?”

“Swear to uphold the Empire’s Constitution by becoming a citizen of the Empire. Just this one simple thing, and there will be no need for you to die or get hurt.”

“…….Just that?”

I chuckled and nodded.

“Yes. Just that.”

The red dragon looked suspiciously at me. But now was not the time for beating around the bush.

“Swear within 3 seconds. Otherwise, well, you’ll die anyway. Either become a Dragon Slayer or perish. 3!!!!!! 2!!!!!!!!”

My sudden high-pitched scream and Karia raising the sword in unison.

In this fantastic combination, the red dragon had no choice left.

“I’ll do it!! Just swear! I’ll do it!!!”

“Right now!!!”

“Right now!!!!”

Shouting in agreement, the red dragon, filled with fear, began to cast a spell of compulsion.

[I swear as a citizen of the Ailam Empire to uphold and abide by the Empire’s Constitution!!!]

After the peculiar voice that resonated in my head passed, I finally relaxed and could sit back in my chair.

“I thought I was done for.”

The moment when the red dragon, overwhelmed by fear, could have gone berserk and caused everyone to perish. Fortunately, it passed without incident.

Now that the oath had been sworn, this guy would not act recklessly in the future.

“Good job, Randor.”

“Thank you, Karia. I didn’t expect this to work.”

Luck, bold challenges, Karia and the Blood Legion, the Empire, and me.

It was a result that all of us barely managed to achieve by joining forces.

After wiping off the cold sweat, I looked at the red dragon.

It was slouched with a defeated expression.

“Me, I… I…”

“Welcome to being a citizen of the Empire.”

“Damn it!! To think I’ve made such an oath!! To be bound by the laws of mere humans!!”

Dragon flames erupted with a roar. Seeing me frightened, Karia drew her sword.

“Quiet down, Mr. Dragon. People around here are affected by your flames.”

Upon hearing this, the red dragon, overwhelmed by fear, closed its mouth.

However, the frustration of surrendering to humans and the agony of having to live a life abiding by the laws made by humans seemed to drive it to the brink of madness.

I patted the red dragon’s shoulder to console it.

“Do not worry too much. Just think of it as prolonging the game.”

“Damn it……..”

“And there is no time to lie around like this. We must depart to have other dragons swear the oath as well.”

Suddenly, a spark appeared in the eyes of the red dragon, who had been despairingly bowing his head.

“Make the others swear the same oath as me?”

“That’s right. Since others also attempted to annihilate humans. We cannot ignore the danger, can we? Now that you have become a citizen of the Empire, you have a duty to serve for the Empire’s safety.”

The red dragon began to smirk wickedly at my words.

“You want to turn those bastards who abandoned me into something like me?”

“Yes.”

“Take me with you. As you say. Now, I am also a citizen of the Empire, so shouldn’t I serve for the Empire as well?”

Bullsh*t.

It’s a look that says we can’t let just me get screwed over; let’s all get screwed over together.

Yes. That’s the attitude. That’s how a selfish dragon should be.

I smirked wickedly.

Karia also smirked wickedly.

The red dragon also smirked wickedly.

“hehehe.”

We all burst into wicked laughter together.

“Damn it, the holy sword! The holy sword!!!!!”

The white dragon, deeply entrenched in layers of defensive magic, trembled as it stared at the sword. The sword of dragon slaying.

To humans, it might be a myth from ancient times spanning thousands of years, but to dragons with perfect memory, it was as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.

The sight of a green dragon, who had been off guard, having its neck cleanly cut by the holy sword and falling to the ground, like a nightmare, remained particularly clear in memory.

Although the possibility was very low, just the fact that there was a possibility left the white dragon unable to sleep due to fear.

“It won’t work. I have to take action sincerely. I must persuade the other dragons to sweep humans off the continent.”

Of course, even if you kill them as much as possible, those wheelbarrow-like humans with their robust vitality will probably start swarming the continent again after a few hundred years, but then killing them off again would be the end. The white dragon was preparing to go out to persuade other dragons.

But it turned out there was no need for that.

“What? My spell?”

With a sudden exclamation, the dozens of layers of defensive spells he had set up were all shattered and broken.

It was an action that could never be done unless they were of the same dragon race.

At the moment when he wondered who could do such a thing.

As the last defense spell was broken, the barrier of the white dragon burst open entirely. Through the gaping hole, the identity of the intruder came into the white dragon’s view.

“Red dragon? And………Eek!!”

The worm-class guardian dragon and Karia riding on top of it.

And a dragon twice the size of the worm-class, the Ancient Dragon, flapping its wings in the air, looking down at the white dragon.

Naturally, Karia held the holy sword in her hand.

“What, what is this? Red dragon! Why did you destroy my barrier?”

“You traitorous bastard. How dare you leave me to fend for myself while I’m being attacked with a sword?!”

The furious voice of the red dragon could be heard. The white dragon looked up at the red dragon, looking bewildered.

“Do I have to judge your circumstances?”

It was a statement befitting a selfish dragon.

And the response to that question was also a very selfish, dragon-like response.

“Thanks to you, I have made a pact with humans and sworn an oath! I am now bound by the foolish laws of humans! It’s all because of you! So, you should help me make it.”

“What did you say?”

In response to the baffled White Dragon’s question, Karia infused energy into her Holy Sword and said,

“If you want to fight, go ahead. But if you do, you’ll have to face me and the Red Dragon at the same time.”

In rage at Karia’s words, the White Dragon roared in anger.

“How can a fellow dragon do this!!! How can a dragon take the side of humans as if they’re one of them!!”

“Talking nonsense about being fellow dragons. Do you think I’m a pushover? I can’t die alone. You too need to bear the same shackles as me to find a bit of happiness.”

“You damn piece of sh*t!!!”

“Shut up. We will make a pact or we won’t!!!!!!!”

Though the White Dragon was raging, facing both the Red Dragon and just the Holy Sword alone was enough to be risking death.

The White Dragon had no choice from the start.

“Damn it!! Damn it!!!!”

The White Dragon had no option but to make the same pact as the Red Dragon.

And as soon as the pact was made, the White Dragon swiftly changed its stance, faster than lightning.

“I can’t be the only one doomed. I know the rare location of the Green Dragon. Let’s make it swear an oath too.”

So, the Red Dragon, White Dragon, Karia, and the Guardian Dragon went to find the rare location of the Green Dragon.

“We will make a pact or we won’t!!!!!!”

“Damn it!! Damn it!!”

The Green Dragon also made the pact.

And right after making the pact, the Green Dragon, too, swiftly changed its stance, faster than lightning.

“I can’t be screwed alone. I know the rare location of the Blue Dragon.”

Thus, the Red Dragon, White Dragon, Green Dragon, and Blue Dragon went to find the rare location of the Blue Dragon.

And then what happened?

The same scene repeated several times.

Eventually, by the end of the day,

all 7 Ancient Dragons had become citizens of the Aylam Empire.