Chapter 50: Those Who Uphold the Way Find Many Allies (Please Keep Reading)

The Great Benefactor Dragon?

Linde was still savoring the title the other party had used to address him.

Meanwhile, Hewer had already taken two steps forward, cast a smug glance at him, and cleared her throat.

"Ahem, is the 'Great Benefactor Dragon' referring to Us?"

"Uh..."

The little burrowing dragon muttered with a hint of hesitation.

This one looks white too. What should I do?

A few days ago, the astute white-necked crows flew about spreading news, telling everyone that the red dragon had been heavily wounded and knocked down into the canyon. They mentioned two key elements: one was that the human king who heavily wounded the red dragon was named Linde, and the other was that the opponent was white.

Neither the chieftain of the burrowing dragon tribe nor the elderly and respected elders knew what kind of dragon a human king was, and they had never heard the name Linde before.

So they had no choice but to search for a dragon named Linde based on the other piece of information: that the opponent was white.

Since the opponent could heavily wound the red dragon, there was definitely hope of defeating it.

To this end, their tribe was willing to do their humble best to help.

After all, the burrowing dragon tribe had been driven almost to the brink of extinction due to the annual tributes.

Driven by various factors, the burrowing dragons began searching the Migar River Valley for a newly appeared white figure.

Moxi, the little burrowing dragon, never expected that on his very first outing to search, he would find two of them.

After a brief thought, he beckoned to Linde and the others, "Come along. The chieftain will invite you to a grand feast."

With that, Moxi half-submerged his body back into the earth, leading the way for them as he dug forward.

At this moment, Linde turned his head to look at Hewer and teased, "Shouldn't our illustrious Lord of Dark Destruction be focusing on causing destruction? How did you end up becoming someone's Great Benefactor Dragon?"

"Verbose! I destroy when I want to destroy, and protect when I want to protect. You have no right to boss Me around, servant."

Hewer let out a cold snort and, with a haughty air, followed closely behind the little burrowing dragon.

Linde smiled silently and, bringing Sirona along with him, followed as well.

***

When they reached a sprawling, open meadow, little Moxi stopped, sniffing the air repeatedly to identify which of the surface burrows truly led to the underground space.

Upon finding the genuine entrance, he called out behind him, "Please wait a moment. I'll invite the chieftain out, Great Benefactor Dragon..."

He suddenly remembered there were two white figures, and wondered if addressing only one might be impolite, so he hurriedly corrected himself, "T-two Great Benefactor Dragons."

Following that, he eagerly plunged headfirst down the hole.

Taking advantage of this interval, Linde nudged Victoria with his elbow and tried to persuade her, "You can go back to being the Destruction Dragon after we return. Can you please turn back into a cute gem dragon for now?"

"No."

Hewer's reply consisted of just that single word.

Seeing how stubborn she was, Linde shook his head helplessly.

Just wait until their chieftain comes out. I'll spare your pride and hold off outside, but you're in for it once we get home.

Before long, an older burrowing dragon, about three times the size of the little one, emerged from the hole and slowly crawled toward Linde and his group with a lowered posture.

Its eyes were not particularly large, and around its eye sockets were several silver-gray crescent-shaped marks, like records of its advanced years.

When it was about five meters away, the old burrowing dragon stopped, lifted its head, and swept its shrewd gaze across the three of them.

Hewer stealthily took a step forward, unfurling her wings just a fraction with calculated cunning to make herself look more imposing.

Even so, the old chieftain ultimately bowed toward Linde, who stood in the middle:

"Might you be the esteemed Lord Linde?"

Linde raised an eyebrow and nodded in acknowledgment.

He hadn't expected the old chieftain to have such discerning eyes.

Despite all the little antics of the dragon beside him, it hadn't affected the elder's judgment in the slightest.

Upon receiving a affirmative reply, the old chieftain brought its front paws together, lowered its head to rest against them, and said respectfully:

"On behalf of the burrowing dragon tribe, I thank you for your heroic feat."

"Ah, there's no need to be so formal. I was merely doing what was expected of me."

"It is not suitable to talk at length out here. I have already prepared fruits and delicacies inside the cave. I kindly ask Lord Linde to step inside for a conversation."

"There's no need to keep saying 'you'—it feels rather awkward to my ears. Let's just treat each other as friends and converse normally."

"This... please forgive my discourtesy."

The old chieftain looked at Linde's expression, hesitated for a few seconds, and then slowly nodded.

Only then did it turn its gaze toward Victoria, who had been eager to make an impression, and asked tentatively:

"May I ask the name and title of this noble dragon?"

"She...?" Linde slanted a glance at Hewer and said with a curl of his lip, "Her title is quite grand. She is the legendary Dark Des—Ugh!"

Before he could finish his sentence, the young dragon hurriedly clamped a paw over his mouth and pulled him close into her embrace.

"Ahem, greetings, venerable burrowing dragon elder. My name is Victoria. I am a gem dragon who loves traveling around in search of treasure, and I aspire to become a great treasure hunter."

"At the same time, Linde and I are the closest companions, deeply devoted and living in perfect harmony."

"When the decisive blow was dealt to the red dragon, although my contribution wasn't as prominent as Linde's, I did everything in my power to assist him in a successful retreat, preventing him from lingering in battle and risking a fatal counterattack from the desperate red dragon, which could have led to unfavorable consequences."

"Coming here today, we also hope to consult with you and the burrowing dragon tribe you represent, to strategize and plan our next steps for the counterattack against the red dragon."

After the young dragon finished speaking, Linde, whose mouth was still covered, felt his eyeballs practically bulge out of his sockets.

Wait, who even are you?

Keep showing that chuni side of yours! Announce yourself as the sole descendant of the Lord of Dark Destruction and proudly state your formidable title!

Why are you acting so modest?

Putting on such an obedient act in front of a dragon you've just met—you flip your face faster than turning the pages of a book, you little dragon.

Pah, utterly nauseating.

The old chieftain was visibly stunned. Having initially judged from the dragon's previous little antics that she was a fiercely competitive and aggressive sort, it never expected her to be so reasonable and articulate.

It seemed his own judgment had failed him after all.

*(PS: Extra chapter tomorrow)*