Chapter 1965

Kraugel looked quite tired. The last few days' journey had not been easy.

"It looks like these things have some sort of tracking function."

Kraugel pulled out a wooden object—an ordinary nameplate with someone's name on it.

"Ever since I killed the first cultivator I encountered, I keep running into these guys. They all had this thing on them."

More than a hundred nameplates spilled onto the table.

"Since I had to deal with a lot of enemies who reached the level of nascent soul or soul transformation, I realized that there is a considerable skill difference between cultivators who are on the same level realm-wise. Just as some skills are better suited for PVP, the cultivators' skills have also been greatly influenced by the techniques they have learned. For example, cultivators who are in the late stage of nascent soul might be stronger than the ones who are in the early stage of soul transformation. Those who have learned PVP-appropriate techniques generally fought a lot more battles. It might simply be a matter of combat experience."

"So, just like us. Having a higher rank doesn't always make you stronger."

Grid picked up a nameplate and checked the item information. There was only one line of information.

[This is a nameplate that proves one's identity.]

Just in case, he tried to infuse it with mana, spiritual energy, Annihilation energy, and even divinity, but nothing worked. Grid thought that there must have been a 'ban' on it.

"I received a call from Lauel," Grid said. "Turns out that many of the nameplates taken from the prisoners were found among the belongings of these invaders, meaning they belong to the same group. There is a tracking function embedded in these nameplates, and that is why they have been heading to Reinhardt."

"Do all nameplates look the same?"

"Not at all. It seems that the shape is different depending on the cultivator's affiliation. The ones who chased you and the ones Zik took care of belong to different affiliations."

"How has the investigation of the overall performance of the soul transformation realm been going?"

"The people who have reached that realm are unmistakably Transcendents. If they are in the late stage of the soul transformation realm and are skilled in combat, they are just as powerful as the four apostles. Turns out there are people stronger than the apostles after all."

"Since you mentioned it... Let's say a cultivator is in the late stage of nascent soul realm. If they live long enough, can they become stronger than someone who has reached early soul transformation?"

"Who knows? I learned this by fighting more than a hundred cultivators, but it is impossible to defeat them with skills alone. You also have to be lucky. In particular, a person I talked to learned the art of body refining and had a harder time raising his realm. Ah, body refining is..."

Kraugel already knew a lot more things about cultivators than Grid. he was the number one ranker after all. He had fought many cultivators who were nascent soul or above, so he had captured and interrogated many of them. Knowing Kraugel, he must've already mastered the Golden Soul Technique and Memory Searching Technique.

Grid listened to Kraugel's story in silence and a smile gradually spread on his face. In retrospect, spending time with Kraugel had always been beneficial, including the curry with bracken incident. Because of the events of that day, he'd had to spend some quality time at the villa with Yura and Jishuka to heal properly.

Kraugel finished the report and got up. "...You might already know most of what I just told you, but you can cross-check it and use it as reference to determine if what I said is true."

"I'll take a break for now. I need to practice the techniques I have acquired so far. I'll take a look later and send you any information that can be of help."

"Thank you."

Grid didn't bother suggesting he take a break. How could he hold back a man who had so much enthusiasm?

After Kraugel left, Grid turned to look at Navaldrea.

"Excuse my rudeness. I had things to discuss with my guest. You haven't eaten properly in a few days. Should we head to the dining room?"

"Thank you for your consideration, but dragons don't need to eat."

"Really? Nefelina complains every few hours how hungry she is..."

"You mean the daughter of the insane dragon? I heard about her from Kraugel. A dragon only requires nutrition when they are a hatchling."

It was said that even Raiders only woke up once every one hundred years to eat, but that was just his hobby as a gourmet.

Grid nodded and brought out tea made from tea leaves personally picked by Irene. A soothing fragrance filled the air, making Navaldrea feel less tense.

"This is my favorite tea. Please try it. I am honored to have the opportunity to entertain my benefactor's daughter."

"Are you talking about me?"

"Should I say benefactor dragon instead of just benefactor? You might not know, but your mother has helped me tremendously."

"There is no need to save face. I naturally know a lot of things because I am a dragon. I know that the truth is actually the opposite of what you're saying."

"What do you mean by the opposite?"

"My mother isn't your benefactor. You are my mother's benefactor. You gave her a horn."

Grid cocked his head.

"I only managed to make a 'model' of the horn. In return, the Crazy..."

He got the nickname of Crazy God... This wording seemed quite problematic, so Grid corrected himself.

"... I became the Dragon Knight. I made it that far because of that power. Therefore, I am greatly indebted to your mother."

"No amount of strength or qualification can guarantee success. The achievements you have accumulated are purely because of your luck and hard work. However, my mother regained her strength for a moment thanks to the horn and managed to severely wound Trauka. This revenge wouldn't have been possible without your help."

"......"

Grid didn't refute it any further.

Residual Fire Navaldrea. A beautiful woman with bronze skin, red hair, and a sharp personality. Appearance wise, she looked so much like Jishuka, they could be considered sisters. However, her personality was the polar opposite of Jishuka, who had an obedient side.

Grid nodded and shut his mouth. 'If I keep talking, the atmosphere will only get worse,' he thought to himself.

This caused Navaldrea to furrow her brow. She paused for a moment before lowering her head.

"Please excuse me," she said. "It might be because I've been on my own without my parents around ever since I was a hatchling, or it might be because I am of Trauka's bloodline that I lack social skills. I apologize if I offended you with my needless stubbornness."

Grid's heart sank. "Well... You did nothing wrong. You don't have to apologize to me."

He wondered what type of mindset Huroi had when he mentioned other people's parents so carelessly.

Grid cleared his throat and changed the topic. "Kraugel probably already told you this, but Fire Dragon Trauka died at my hands. Trauka said that since you are his only blood relative, there is a risk that you might become the next Fire Dragon. I summoned you to prevent that from happening."

Navaldrea's pupils constricted.

"Me? Become the Fire Dragon? Would I inherit it from the old dragon? Being an old dragon isn't about status. They are beings who have existed since the beginning and have steadily accumulated power, right?"

Grid explained, "If you, a dragon, doesn't know this, then I don't know the details either. But I don't think Trauka would've lied. I think the foreign god might give you the role..."

Navaldrea sneered. "...Being an old dragon gives you an instinct that you can't resist? It's disgusting that a monster who has eaten dozens of his flesh and blood would justify himself using such a method. When it was time to die, he suddenly wanted to regain his honor." She paused for a bit. "If I get a chance to become an old dragon, I don't want to turn it down. At first, the cultivators tracked us down because they wanted revenge. Now, they want my bones and skin. I need strength to protect myself from them."

Her words were plausible, but Navaldrea's red eyes were dripping with desire. She wanted to be powerful. Perhaps this was because she had been hiding from Trauka all her life, but she seemed tired of being an underdog.

Grid nodded.

"I understand how you feel. I actually also hope you will become an old dragon. The fact that you've come all this way means that you are willing to cooperate with me, right? If I have an old dragon on my side, then I will welcome it. However, I don't think it is necessary to inherit the Fire Dragon position."

"If you are worried about me becoming a second Trauka, don't worry. I don't know what will happen if I have a child, but right now, I have no kin left to eat anyway."

"How can you guarantee that? Maybe you will want to become a mother someday."

"Um..."

Fortunately, Navaldrea wasn't extremely stubborn. Despite already making up her mind, she still tried to listen to what the other person had to say.

"It's hard denying it. I respected and loved my mother. Maybe one day, I will want to be a mother just like Ifrit. It would be horrible if I was blinded by instinct and devoured my offspring at that time. But is it possible to become an old dragon without becoming the Fire Dragon? As I said before, the old dragons are beings that can only achieve completeness after living for a long time and accumulating power."

Grid gave a simple answer, "You just have to live for a long time and become stronger. Stay in the empire and gain experience until you become an old dragon one day. You will have the empire's support."

Navaldrea couldn't hide her outburst at Grid's absurd proposal. "That's a lot of nonsense. Human nations rise and fall in less than a thousand years. They can last maybe ten thousand if they're lucky. It will take more than that for me to become an old dragon."

Humans and dragons viewed time quite differently. Therefore, the premise that they should support one another wasn't really feasible.

Grid cocked his head. "Can the empire be considered simply a human nation since I am a God?"

Navaldrea's face turned red. "Ah..."

She looked at the man in front of her. In terms of appearance, words and deeds, he was no different from an ordinary human, but he was actually an Only One God.

"You are saying that you will personally take care of me for the rest of your life. I didn't expect you to do that and spoke rashly. I'm sorry."

Grid didn't understand why Navaldrea suddenly blushed. "...Okay? Well, as long as you understand our intentions."

There were many Absolutes and gods in the empire. There were also some Transcendents who aimed to one day become Absolutes. Thanks to this update, they had plenty of opportunities to build up their status.

Grid had no doubt that the Overgeared Empire would last forever. He hoped that Navaldrea would join them in defending this ideal.

'It will be easy to gain status as long as one hunts some high-level cultivators.'

Grid appreciated the update once again and stood up.

"Let's go. I have a lot of people I need to introduce you to."

"Of course."

That was the day when the last red dragon joined the Overgeared Guild. An image of Cranbel appeared in Grid's mind as he cheerfully looked at Navaldrea, who paid attention to him surprisingly well.

'It would be reassuring for him to be an ally as well. He will be safe, right?'

Unfortunately, Grid's predictions were often wrong.

***

"Where do you think you're going?"

The world plummeted into chaos as everyone was trying to find the location of the erosion ritual and put a stop to it. Cranbel, who should've been in his lair to heal from the wounds inflicted by Kubartos, was being chased by a large group of humans on the outskirts of the continent. These people were just as powerful as an Absolute, making it difficult for Cranbel to deal with them in his current state.

'They seem to be newcomers from the world of the foreign god.'

Was the foreign god working on eradicating traitors?

Just as the enemies caught up to Cranbel—

Flash!

Streaks of gold and lights fell from the sky. A wave of immense magic spread in layers, inflicting devastating damage on the enemies.

[Why are you...]

Cranbel was surprised. The ones who helped him were the old dragons, Raiders and Nevartan.

Raiders replied casually and fired a golden Breath at the enemy, [A divine message has been received, telling us to act freely.]

When he attacked in the past, he couldn't fight back because he couldn't afford to act rashly. However, it would be different now.