Dragon Gods Reign

Chapter 232: Desperate end

[Ouroboros' End]With a flick of his arm, Darganth flung the dead aura user from the claw, not deeming her mana to be worth being devoured as most of it had already escaped her body with the destruction of her heart. Though to outsiders, or at least to those who couldn't read the expression on his draconic facial features, the disappointment he held over this miscalculation of his only made him seem even more dismissive of his enemies.

And from what he saw when he swept his gaze across the gathered crowd a moment later, there were certainly a few among the remaining enemies that caught his expression. In response, they unconsciously backed off, with Darganth even sensing one of the two men who had survived the earlier eruption relatively unharmed trying to break out into a sprint and run away, only for the other one to catch him before he could.

Ignoring these two men behind him, Darganth turned to what he guessed was the highest-ranking person left among his enemies. Briefly gauging the mage in question, he found himself surprised when the man found the courage to conjure a pillar of rock and rise to eye-level with him.

“It is quite foolish to cast magic for something so insignificant when I could’ve struck you down the moment I saw your mana flare.” Darganth said.

Letting out an amused huff in response, the man was just about to retort something when Darganth spoke again, “Don’t take that as an invitation to speak. You’ve made the mistake of harming my sister, and I’m very protective of my family, so in my eyes, you’re all dead men walking. For most of you, that will soon also be reality, as any mercy I have for you will depend on the information you provide about your boss and organization. And you’re lucky, because you’re the first one to get the chance to prove your worth.”

With the end of those words, Darganth slowly let more and more of his presence leak into his surroundings. At the last word, he then abruptly flared his mana, shattering the stone pillar before him and sending the mage back to the ground where he, along with his colleagues, was forced onto both knees by the dragon’s fear that suffused Darganth’s presence.

“Now then, what will you share with us?” Darganth asked, his lips curling up in a dangerous grin.

In the brief moment the mage before him hesitated, various shouts came at Darganth from all sides, “You want to conquer the wilderness, right? I know who the predominant power is. I can even show you where you can find them.” “The outposts. How about a list of our outposts? They are fortified encampments we use to store some of our wares.” “Forget about them, I and I alone can tell you about the artifacts our boss wields.” “Forget about that liar, nobody knows that. I, on the other hand, I...uh...I can give you a list of our upcoming shipments.”

Grinding his teeth as the chaotic hail of words reached his ears, Darganth lifted one of his front legs, raising it just enough to ball the fingers on its claw to a fist and slam it onto the ground.

“Enough!”

With his shout, the chaos around him immediately ceased. In the ensuing silence, Darganth swept his gaze across the crowd, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he studied every individual smuggler.

“I’m glad that all of you want to make yourself useful. As such, let me ask, would one of you happen to know the true purpose behind your attack? Maybe you’ve heard something about a distraction, or…” Having kept a close eye on the smugglers during those words, Darganth trailed off at the end as he caught what he was looking for.

Immediately committing the four men whose expressions changed to fear instead of confusion or surprise to his memory, Darganth didn’t even bother letting them explain. By knowing that their force was only a distraction and hiding it even after his offer, any chance for mercy they might’ve had evaporated.

The three men and one woman in question seemed to recognize this a short moment later. And though all four flared their mana the moment this fact settled, two of the men had reacted ever so slightly too late and were still caught in it as a pillar of flames shot up from beneath each of their feet.

Meanwhile, the other two managed to avoid at least this first attack. Though before they could get far, their bodies stiffened and sank to the ground, their eyes open and their mind awake, but their body unable to listen to their commands.

Turning toward Venrie, Darganth smiled slightly as he saw her raised hand pointing in the rough direction of the two. When she then met his eyes, they communicated wordlessly, with but a nod from Darganth being needed for Venrie to understand his intent. Watching her then twist her wrist in an abrupt motion, he only briefly turned to the two smugglers to watch their life-force being wrung out of their bodies and seep into the ground, draining them of life and giving rise to a field of rapidly growing flowers in the meters around their bodies.

Afterward, Darganth turned his attention back to the crowd, “Now then, does anyone else have any information about harm that might befall my family or friends?”

To his surprise, his question was met with laughter from the mage. Though intermixed with the pained coughs due to the harsh landing he had suffered after Darganth shattered the pillar on which he stood, his amusement was clearly audible.

“To think you’d still think about that proves that you have no idea of the situation you’re in. Whatever happens with our boss’ plans, none of us will live long enough to see whether they succeed or fail. So spare yourself the trouble of interrogating me, because I know that you can’t promise us our lives, not with the commotion our fight has caused and the savages roaming nearby.” The man said, his tone completely carefree despite the dire words.

Surprised and intrigued by what he had to say, but also recognizing that the mage wasn’t likely to give him further answers, Darganth let his gaze wander over the rest of the crowd as he spoke, “This is the easiest way to a chance at survival you’ll get. What is he talking about?”

Whether it was the promise of survival or his tone, Darganth’s words immediately received the reaction he had wished, “It’s ogres, they attacked us just a few hours ago. They constantly roam the wilderness, avoiding only conflict with very few tribes and beast herds. We’ve lost many outposts to them, and even the boss gets beaten back by them regularly ever since the hooded man joined them a few years ago. That’s all I know lord dragon, I swear.”

“Not so hard, is it?” Darganth said to the mage before turning back to the man who had spoken, “Fine, you can go. Just know that if you so much as bother me again, I’ll have your head.”

Briefly showing a hint of surprise on his face, the man in question only hesitated for a brief moment before jumping to his feet and backing away. At first keeping his head lowered toward Dargant as he walked backward, he turned around near the edge of the clearing and sprinted into the forest. during the fight. Instead, she was already preparing the clearing for the arrival of the ogres their enemy had spoken of. To that end, she was manipulating the grass and other small plants that covered the ground to sprout up, causing wooden pillars to grow skyward while interwoven blades of grass gathered between them to form a temporary palace.

Once this building was taking shape, Darganth slowly walked toward it. Shrinking down even further until he stood at merely ten meters long, he vanished into the palace.

Following after her husband, Allaire too joined him and Venrie in the interior a few moments later. Finding Darganth lying down at the far end of the building with his front legs folded before his torso and his head raised, she was briefly surprised that he seemed to be intent on staying in his true form for these negotiations.

Spotting her confusion and correctly guessing its source, Darganth explained, “Ogre culture is pretty straightforward in some regards. They value power, mainly in the form of physical strength, and see size as an indication of it, so my true form will help us to be taken seriously without us having to demonstrate our power in a fight first.”

“Refreshingly simple way to avoid trouble.” Allaire said before letting her gaze trail up and down his form, “And honestly, I could get used to seeing you hold court in your true form. It’s imposing.”

Walking closer to him as Darganth let out a small chuckle in response to her words, Allaire took her seat on one of the thrones to his side. Relaxing into it, she started stroking across the membrane of Darganth’s left wing that was lazily placed against the side of his body. Like that, she then prepared herself for the wait until the ogres arrived.