"Lord of the dark trinity... are you alright?"
"Get to the point." Caesar lowered his voice, maintaining his cold and aloof persona.
"Yes, my lord!" Otto immediately reported. "The entire city is under martial law. That Red Dragon is currently at the City Lord's Mansion, conducting a massive investigation into our the Cult under the identity of a 'Dragon Clan Envoy.' And... and the Paladin Order has also taken that 'Saintess' to the City Lord's Mansion!"
To this day, Otto still thought the "Saintess" was a pawn Caesar used to draw fire, believing this information would definitely be useful to the lord of the dark trinity.
Caesar felt a bit of a headache after hearing this.
That idiot Cecilia has such terrible acting skills; could she really fool that Red Dragon named Fafnir?
What's the difference between that and throwing a husky into a pack of wolves?
"Understood."
Caesar hung up the communication and quickened his pace.
A few minutes later.
He pushed open a manhole cover in a remote alley and climbed out.
It was already dusk.
Patrol guards were everywhere on the streets, and a tense atmosphere filled the air.
Under the cover of the covert cloak, Caesar moved quickly through the shadows of the buildings and soon reached the vicinity of the city gate.
He didn't approach rashly but instead hid at the top of an abandoned bell tower, looking out from a distance.
A convoy was slowly driving out of the city gate.
Leading the way were a dozen fully armed Paladins, with a luxurious carriage in the middle bearing the emblem of the Church.
Beside the carriage, a red-haired young man riding a tall horse was particularly eye-catching.
It was none other than the Red Dragon Fafnir.
This guy had actually changed into new clothes, looking every bit the dragon, with no trace of the disheveled state he was in from the explosion earlier.
Caesar narrowed his eyes and immediately activated "Kotodama: Kamaitachi." Although they were far away, the wind carried their voices to him.
"...Thank you for the escort, Your Excellency True Dragon."
It was the High Paladin's voice, sounding extremely respectful. "With you here, this journey to the Capital City will be absolutely foolproof."
"It is my duty," Fafnir's voice was cold. "How is the Saintess's condition?"
Caesar withdrew his gaze and leaned against a pillar of the bell tower, letting out a sigh.
This is troublesome.
Fafnir is actually escorting the carriage.
He had originally planned to fish Cecilia out once the heat died down, but now it seemed he would have to fight this Red Dragon again.
And most lethally, behind this guy stood a Legendary Red Dragon.
The very same one he had offended.
Although Viola was also a Legend and had even torn a Soul fragment from the other party through the spiritual connection before, Caesar didn't think Viola's current state could win a real-life True Dragon PK against them.
Most importantly, if the opponent could project themselves once, they could do it a second time. Recalling the image of that claw tearing through space made Caesar's scales feel cold even now.
To provoke them again would be pure suicide.
Well then.
It seems I'll have to let Cecilia suffer for a bit.
Caesar watched the Holy Pilgrimage convoy slowly start under the night sky, taking the main road toward the Capital City, and eventually chose to follow from a distance.
"I thought you would abandon her," Viola's soul fire floated beside him.
Caesar knew this fellow was referring to when he had absorbed elemental energy from Cecilia while she was sleeping.
He asked back, "Do I look like such an unrighteous dragon?"
"At first, I thought you valued loyalty and wouldn't break a promise," Viola's voice was calm. "But facts have proven that someone like you, who crawled out of an environment like the Earth Dragon Clan, will always prioritize yourself."
"All living beings are selfish. Even if you kept your promise, in my eyes, you are still an unrighteous dragon."
"And you seem to loathe this part of yourself as well." Viola's soul fire flickered. "You are greedy, unable to control your own desires, yet you hate yourself for it... You are a contradiction."
Watching the dust kicked up by the convoy in the distance, Caesar fell silent for a moment.
"Have you ever heard of 'lying flat'?"
"A type of Sleep position?" Viola asked.
"No, it's an attitude." Caesar's voice was soft. "I once couldn't muster interest in anything because I saw no possibility of rising. In that environment, no matter how hard you worked, you were just mediocre."
"It wasn't until the external environment changed that I realized I was actually so selfish and possessed such extreme double standards."
"I am exactly the kind of unrighteous dragon you despise."
Viola's soul fire burned quietly, saying nothing.
"You want to do as you please?" it finally asked.
Caesar looked into the distance, an unprecedented light flashing in his eyes:
"I shall do as I please."
Since things have reached this point, I might as well maximize the benefits.
Caesar was no longer in a hurry to show up and rescue Cecilia. Instead, he took out Otto's communicator again—
What he wanted to do was stir up a storm!
"My lord, what are your orders?"
"Use our the Cult's encrypted channel to spread a piece of news to the Capital City of Lorderon," Caesar commanded in the raspy voice of the "the dark trinity."
"Say that the True Dragon Imperial Court has reached a secret alliance with the Church of Light and is preparing to join forces to wipe out all other small sects and underground organizations within the Empire."
Otto, on the other end of the communicator, gasped.
If this news got out, the entire underground world of Lordaeron would explode!
Those cults, gangs, and assassin organizations that were originally hostile to each other would definitely strike back frantically to save themselves, or completely muddy the waters.
"Do it."
Caesar commanded coldly.
"Yes... yes! My lord!"
Hanging up the communication, Caesar toyed with the metal disk in his Shadow Claw.
When the Capital City turns into a mess and all sorts of shady characters emerge, only then will he, the "the dark trinity," have a chance to make an appearance.
As for Cecilia... "I'll have to trouble you to be bait for a few days."
Caesar leaped and disappeared into the vast night—
Destination: Capital City of Lorderon!