CHAPTER 492: CHAPTER 484: RETURN

The massive form of the Ancient Green Dragon soared across the sky of the Divine Country, quickly catching up with Leon.

Of course, the main reason the Ancient Green Dragon could catch up with Leon was that Leon deliberately slowed down, waiting for Tiamat to call him back, much like a customer feigning departure when negotiations fail. Otherwise, with a Long Rainbow Escape, even Tiamat herself couldn’t hold him back.

"Your Majesty Leon, please stay." The Ancient Green Dragon finally learned how to address Leon properly.

Leon was already prepared, flapping his wings with enough speed and efficiency to halt his forward motion and circle in place, quietly watching the Ancient Green Dragon.

"This is for you from His Majesty," the Ancient Green Dragon opened his gigantic claws, and a red scale flew gently from his grip towards Leon, "While His Majesty is indeed trapped in Aphnas, He can send avatars to the Material Plane, and His power can also be transmitted there."

Leon lightly waved a claw, securely catching the red scale in his hand, a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips. Without mocking Tiamat, he calmly said, "Thank you."

"His Majesty also supports you in becoming a Dragon God. You can go ahead and pursue what you desire," the Ancient Green Dragon continued conveying Tiamat’s decree with an almost imperceptible tone of reverence in his voice.

"And what else?" Leon gently nodded.

"His Majesty invites you to reside in His Divine Country for a while," the Ancient Green Dragon said, "and you may visit His palace at any time. This is your privilege."

"No need for that," Leon shook his head, telling a white lie with his eyes wide open, "You know, I have a kingdom to manage, countless tasks await me every day."

"Understood," the Ancient Green Dragon’s demeanor was exceptionally humble, without a hint of arrogance or haughtiness, "Lastly, His Majesty wants me to remind you that doing what you’ve been doing, combined with the support from Lord Bahamut and Him, becoming a Dragon God may not be difficult, but keeping that position won’t be easy."

"I understand," Leon said solemnly, recalling that Bahamut had also reminded him similarly.

"I’ve delivered His Majesty’s message. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way," the Ancient Green Dragon said, preparing to turn around and leave.

"Wait," Leon suddenly called out, flicking a gold coin, "This is a reward for you."

Leon didn’t quite know why he had a whim to reward the Ancient Green Dragon with a gold coin; he just felt that without a reward, it wouldn’t be perfect. Anyway, it’s just a gold coin, nothing big.

The Ancient Green Dragon caught the gold coin, somewhat astonished but not at all humiliated. Although he owned a treasure vault worth millions of gold coins, each coin was important, especially a coin from a Red Dragon.

With the departure of the Ancient Green Dragon, Leon no longer stayed, vigorously flapping his wings past Dragon Cliff, leaving Tiamat’s Divine Country.

Having met Bahamut and now Tiamat, Leon was somewhat bewildered at this moment. He didn’t know whether to return just like that or to take the opportunity to visit a few other layers of the Nine Prisons, like Dis, which resembles a Maze Canyon; the fetid bogs of Minauros; the scorching Flagesos... The layer where Asmodis resides, Nessus, requires more caution.

Leon didn’t dwell on it too long and quickly decided to return because he had no pursuit of a divine position. His goal was to live freely and leisurely as a Loose Immortal. Even as a Dragon God, he wouldn’t need to stay in the Divine Country and worry about not being able to travel after becoming a Dragon God.

With increased use of the Plane Talisman, Leon had become quite adept at it, never encountering teleportation errors again. With a flash of light, he once again successfully returned to the Volcanic Island.

Volcanic Island isn’t a place you can casually teleport into; one can only come and go through a permanent Teleportation Array set beside the Mage Tower in Tassera, each with its own rune sequence - a series of magic runes arranged in a specific order - thus, Tassera was the first to notice Leon’s return.

Just as Leon’s figure materialized in the Teleportation Array, Tassera sensed it keenly, left the Mage Tower, and came to the Teleportation Array, eyes filled with concern, gently asking, "How was it?"

"Fairly well," Leon, back in human form, gently patted the dust off himself, "Tiamat’s true form has quite the presence. Had it not been for my victory over the Ocean Goddess, which bolstered my confidence and prepared me mentally, I might have been intimidated into submission."

"After all, she is the Queen of us Colorful Dragons," Tassera’s eyes flashed with a hint of reverence.

"I have met both Bahamut and Tiamat, and they both support my becoming a Dragon God," Leon took a deep breath, "So what should I do now?"

"Wait?" Tassera tilted her head, "I’m not quite sure, either."

"Oh, right," Leon remembered suddenly, "They both reminded me... the general idea is that my current foundation isn’t deep enough, and forcibly becoming a Dragon God might invite trouble."

"I have been on the Blood War Battlefield, killed tens of thousands of demons, drove the demons out of Aphnas, and even defeated the Ocean Goddess, isn’t that enough?" The more Leon spoke, the more indignant he became, finally raising both hands in protest.

"You have been to the Blood War Battlefield, killed many demons, but did you kill a Demon Lord? I heard you slapped Zarriel into the Nether River, but you didn’t kill her," Tassera said, "You drove away the Ocean Goddess, but that was just a Saint Avatar of the Ocean Goddess; her church still exists."

"When you put it that way... it seems like I haven’t done anything extraordinary indeed." Leon slumped his shoulders, nodded thoughtfully, then shook his head, "I did personally kill the Flame Divine Successor, without external aid, and I also killed the Neser Brain."

"The Flame Divine Successor is significant, but the Neser Brain is not much. It had just become a Neser Brain and was killed by you before it could do anything," Tassera said unhurriedly, "In short, your current rivals are divine successors, Demon Lords, Great Devils, Titans. When you become a Dragon God, your rivals will be gods."

"What you have done is nothing to the gods. They might not fear you; they can do it too," Tassera said seriously.

Leon’s expression became grave.

"But don’t worry too much. What you’ve done, even the gods must take seriously," Tassera comforted, "Both Your Majesties are just reminding you, not suggesting that danger will definitely occur."

"So, what should I do now?" Leon asked, "Challenge a god or two to make an example?"

"How about accumulating strength properly?" Tassera suggested, "As long as you are strong, you’ll fear no one."

Leon nodded, then exhaled as if he had made a firm decision, "Take this opportunity to let Sharon govern the kingdom. If she can manage without problems for a few years, she should ascend the throne as the Queen. To be a Dragon God, I can’t cling to the position of King and let others see me as a King."

Tassera listened, looking sideways, pursing her lips, and said, "I’m pleased you’d let our daughter inherit your kingdom, but she’s just entered her youth, still a child."

Leon crossed his arms, habitually talking about the past like all parents do, "Back when I was young..."