Ashen Dragon

Chapter 373: Chapter 297: Dragon Pact Warlock (Part 2)

Hearing this, Cassius slightly twisted his neck and asked, “Then why do you think… I would help you?”

Misha answered seriously, “Because you are a good person.”

“A good person?”

“Hahahahaha!”

Cassius immediately laughed, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

But Misha’s tone was clearly not joking.

In the ten years since he came to this world, he had been called many names—Red Dragon, Butcher, Tyrant, Destroyer, and even Deity, but no one had ever called him a “good person.”

The Red Dragon stood up, shook his broad wings, and looked at Misha with interest, continuing to ask, “Why do you say that?”

“Aren’t you afraid I might be someone like Leo Boske?”

Misha was a little panicked but still answered, “No, you wouldn’t be like that.”

“You… you are different from them.”

“How are you different?”

Cassius continued to ask.

Misha thought for a moment before continuing, “My grandpa, Old John, once told me that you are the best lord in all of Anzeta. Although you are a dragon, you’re more of a good person than those nobles.”

“Oh?”

The Red Dragon tilted his head.

“He often told me that under the rule of the Northern nobility, he couldn’t get enough to eat and constantly worried about freezing or starving to death in winter. But in your territory, he was able to get enough to eat and had enough to feed me as well.”

“And also, if it weren’t for you, I might have already become a slave to those nobles and wouldn’t have been adopted by him.”

Misha’s words were simple and sincere.

The Red Dragon nodded, his expression somewhat intriguing.

Cassius actually didn’t have much sympathy for the Northern People. He just thought that establishing such a new order would be more beneficial for him to seize power and develop his forces.

And now, its benefits seemed to be showing up.

Cassius took a few slow steps forward and said, “Misha, I admire you a lot.”

“So… what do you want? The power to kill Leo Boske?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I want to kill him with my own hands.”

Misha said forcefully, her brown eyes flickering with flames again.

But the next question caught her off guard.

Cassius looked at her with those pale gold pupils:

“Then… what’s next?”

“After you have your revenge, what will you do?”

“I, I…”

Misha was suddenly a little dazed.

She was, after all, a child. Despite being clever and mature for her age, she hadn’t seriously thought about her future life.

Misha fell into deep thought, scenes from the past flashing through her mind like a revolving lantern.

—Being taught how to speak by Old John, playing in the streets and alleyways of Northwind Castle, going to temporary schools set up by the Kingdom, witnessing Old John’s death in the Magur Incident, receiving help from Prime Minister Ramp, and finally meeting the King of Ashen.

She began to wonder, if she had indeed been sold as a slave back then, what kind of experiences would she have had? Given her understanding of the nobles, it would probably have been extremely painful.

Misha suddenly realized that the Red Dragon and his Kingdom had changed her life.

If Old John were still alive, he would probably have had her make a living in the Kingdom as well.

“May His Majesty Cassius bless us for a smooth trade…”

“May His Majesty Cassius bless us in the war…”

“May His Majesty Cassius…”

Old John’s murmuring voice seemed to appear in her mind, and the laughter of the uncles in the caravan echoed in her ears.

She had once been abandoned, sold.

And Old John was her only family, the Kingdom her only home.

Thinking of this, Misha raised her head firmly and said in her immature voice, “Your Majesty, I, I am willing to always be loyal to the Kingdom to repay your kindness.”

“Including Old John’s share.”

Misha added silently in her heart.

“Very well, Misha.”

Cassius nodded again, spreading his wide wings, casting a vast shadow.

“I am not stingy about granting power to anyone loyal to the Kingdom, especially to a genius like you.”

He ordered in a low voice, “Close your eyes.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Misha obediently closed her eyes.

The Red Dragon let out a light roar, his mouth filling with scorching white smoke.

Brilliant flames erupted from the pores on his neck and tail, and the Dragon Crystal in his chest released an incredibly dazzling light, causing the air in the hall to become hot and distorted.

For this rare legendary talent, Cassius naturally wanted to pour more power into her, creating a new faction subclass.

[Bloodline Gift]

A flow of terrifying energy, like a glowing thread, flowed into Misha’s small body.

The seed representing the power of the Ancestral Dragon flowed into Misha’s blood vessels, gradually merging into her blood, bringing the most profound elevation of her life level.

At the same time, it connected the Red Dragon’s power with hers, forming a contract-like effect.

“Ah…”

Misha’s face turned pale, her whole body sweating profusely, which was then evaporated instantly.

Although she had the special constitution of a “Child of the Elements,” she still found it somewhat overwhelming facing the Red Dragon’s scorching flames.

Cassius did not dragonify Misha. She was, after all, just a child, and her body and will were too fragile to withstand the pain brought by full dragonification.

Besides, Cassius also wanted to make some changes for the new occupation.

So he manifested the gifted power internally, transforming Misha’s blood vessels into magic-infused arteries, turning her heart gradually into a hot, life-filled Dragon Heart.

And with the transfer of power, a scarlet contract book gradually surfaced on Misha’s back—formed naturally by the Magic Web.

“Ah—”

Finally, those magic patterns suddenly lit up.

With a sharp cry, Misha’s whole body ignited in scorching flames, the power contained within her innate talent thoroughly unleashed under the stimulation of dragon blood, displaying the terrifying might of the former “Fire Witch.”

If not for Cassius’ control and suppression, these flames might have spread hundreds or thousands of meters, enough to burn down a city.

This gift lasted nearly thirty minutes, during which Misha fainted from the pain, lying helplessly on the ground, her clothes all burned to ashes.

Misha’s appearance was inevitably affected by the Red Dragon Bloodline.

—Her originally brown eyes turned into dark golden vertical pupils, faint traces of scales appeared at her temples, and two small dragon horns the size of thumbs grew on her head.

Complex scarlet patterns appeared on her back and neck.

Fiery colors also appeared around her eyes.

Despite the drastic change in essence, she still retained a generally human appearance, more so than those Half-Dragon Red Scale Conquerors by human standards.

Cassius folded his wings and quietly watched the unconscious Misha.

“This feeling…”

“It’s like forming some kind of pact.”

[Faction Advanced Sub-occupation Construct Completed.]

Occupation Advancement Requirements:

Join the [Ashen Kingdom] faction and become a retainer of Faction Leader [King of Ashen, Cassius].

Possess a certain degree of dragonkin bloodline, be at least Level 3 Magician or Pact Warlock, and have ordinary or higher fire elemental affinity.

[Please name the Faction Sub-occupation—]

Cassius looked at the scarlet contract-like patterns on Misha, feeling the sensation of power granted through the pact.

[Name it: [Dragon Pact Warlock]]