Chapter 295: Chapter 290: Tiamat
Leon snapped back to reality, realizing he was standing amidst an endless expanse of darkness.
Thanks to the Heavenly Eye Technique granting him true sight, he could actually see that he was still inside Tiamat’s temple. Just two steps back would take him out of it, and one blast of Samadhi True Fire could burn away this entire darkness.
Indeed, this was the Material Plane. Even soone as exalted as Tiamat, the Evil Dragon Queen, could not act without restraint here. For her incarnation to fully descend, she would need a devout follower brimming with power and rage, offering up a treasure vault as opulent as those of the Ancient Dragons, to let her wrath pour into this world.
At this mont, faint rolls of black clouds were visible in the darkness. Thunder roared within the clouds, the ground began to tremble, and the air grew thick with the choking stench of sulfur and scorching heat…
Five dragon heads slowly erged: the red dragon head wreathed in Fierce Fla, the blue dragon head crackling with Lightning, the green dragon head surrounded by poisonous mists, the black dragon head dripping with corrosive acid, and the white dragon head exhaling frost. Finally, accompanied by an earth-shaking roar, an imnse five-headed dragon, as imposing as a mountain, materialized from the shadows.
Watching Tiamat stretch her wings, blotting out the sun, each flick of her tail stirring up cyclonic winds and clouds of dust as if threatening to tear the world asunder, Leon’s heart skipped a beat. But only for a mont, before it returned to normal.
Leon was far from a pushover now. In the Bottomless Abyss, he could be a Demon Lord; in the Nine Prisons, a Great Devil. While confronting Tiamat’s true form was beyond him, a re projected illusion of her was not enough to scare him.
Projected illusions were spells that created an illusory replica of oneself anywhere within range where one had been before. While lacking physical form, such illusions looked and sounded exactly like the caster. If the illusion took any damage, it would vanish, ending the spell.
Leon instinctively licked his dry lips.
Yes, this was a projected illusion. But the entity behind the illusion was an actual deity—not frightening, yet undeniably sothing to be wary of.
Leon remained silent.
“My child, why don’t you say sothing? Is there nothing you wish to share upon eting your mother?” Tiamat broke the silence, speaking through her nacing red dragon head. As the creator of Colorful Dragons, she had every right to call herself the mother of any such dragon.
Dragons, by nature, held no interest in religion. They required no external forces to grow into so of the most powerful beings in the multiverse. From the mont they hatched, they learned self-sufficiency and self-interest, never seeking aid or rcy from divine existences.
Leon had been taught from an early age the philosophy of rebellion, the belief that rulers and kings were not born superior. His pragmatic stance towards deities was: pray if they’re useful, ignore them if not. Left eye twitching wealth, right eye twitching misfortune—just like no one could resist Sun Wukong’s rampage in Heaven.
In this context, not even facing Tiamat in person stirred the impulse within Leon to kneel. He simply remained vigilant, studying her.
“No,” Leon shook his head, suddenly breaking into a grin. “Hello?”
He couldn’t help but admire his own audacity.
“Hello?” Tiamat, surprisingly, did not erupt in anger, despite her infamous temper surpassing that of any dragon. “My child, you won’t even address as ‘Your Majesty’?”
Leon quickly realized that while he could be indifferent to gods, it was unwise to provoke them without reason. Tiamat deserved the title of Majesty, and a confrontation was unnecessary. He bowed slightly and said, “Greetings, Your Majesty Tiamat… May I ask why you’ve summoned here?”
“Naturally, to et my child,” Tiamat gazed intently at the red dragon.
She recalled the first ti she saw this red dragon—then rely a young dragon—who could hunt down elite Hunting Demons, unyielding even against a mature red dragon like Angmog. And yet, now this youth had grown into a young dragon capable of killing her treasured green dragon priest, an oversized elder green dragon.
“Is that all?” Leon asked, “Not here to hold accountable for killing your priest?”
Despite his words, Leon was well aware that Tiamat wouldn’t care about such trivial matters. Dragons constantly killed each other over territory and treasure, and she had never been known to stop them. With her retinue of Ancient Dragons and Prival Dragons, an elder green dragon was nothing.
“An elder dragon unable to best a young dragon—do you expect to clean up after him?” Tiamat’s five heads lood toward Leon. “You killed him; his position is yours. Rejoice.”
“His position? What position, a priest?” Leon suppressed a laugh. A broken-down priest role? Let soone else take it. “Apologies, I have no interest in becoming a priest. You’ll have to find another candidate, Your Majesty Tiamat.”
“You dare reject ?” Tiamat snarled, her voice rumbling like thunder.
Leon wasn’t intimidated. Inhaling deeply, he stared her down. He hated beating around the bush, and judging by her character, she wouldn’t like it either. “Slankus was your priest, but after I killed him, you never once intervened. So tell , what’s the point of serving as your priest?”
Tiamat knew her children well. Each one, greedy and self-serving, offered no loyalty without visible gain. But that suited her just fine; she had no interest in obedient, docile children. “Do you think that green dragon, even as an elder, reached gigantic proportions on his own?”
“Do you think, as a young red dragon, you could defeat Slankus on your own? Do you think your talents were cultivated without assistance? Whose blessing do you think granted you your abilities?” Tiamat’s voice suddenly rose in intensity.
By this point, Leon truly started to find Tiamat’s claims ridiculous. Her argunts were far-fetched.
He knew well his skills weren’t entirely his own achievent; that much self-awareness he had. But they certainly weren’t her blessings. If he weren’t so familiar with his Golden Finger, he might have believed her lies about powers like Samadhi True Fire or the Soul Summoning Mantra coming from her.
“If Your Majesty Tiamat is displeased with , by all ans, feel free to take back those so-called blessings.” Leon smirked lazily.
“What’s given cannot so easily be taken away. I’m not that petty,” Tiamat replied, studying Leon closely. It crossed her mind that this red dragon lacked the faintest trace of faith in her. If not for his presence in her temple at this mont, she would have no way of contacting him. It was as if he weren’t her descendant at all, only wearing a shell of red dragon scales.
“Fine. If you’re unwilling to beco my priest, so be it,” Tiamat said after a pause. “But why isn’t there a temple in your territory dedicated to ?”
“I do not forbid any god’s faith in my land,” Leon replied, “provided they abide by the rules I set.”
Leon didn’t want hostile relationships with gods, particularly in a world brimming with divine beings. Banning faith entirely was infeasible, so he restricted public preaching, barred devout believers from serving in governnt roles, and marginalized them instead.
“Such a rebellious child,” Tiamat remarked, seeing that Leon wouldn’t easily yield. “Still, you are a rebellious child of mine, and I am a generous mother. I support you in building a Dragon Country and will have others assist you.”
At that mont, she was too young to understand that every gift from fate cos with a hidden price tag. Leon dared not accept Tiamat’s offerings; she wouldn’t help without demanding a return. Whatever she gave now, she would undoubtedly reclaim with interest later.
Leon was about to decline but stopped, smiling slyly. “I don’t need much help; my subordinates are already exceptional. But if Your Majesty Tiamat has any servants without a purpose, I wouldn’t mind taking a few. Just consider it a favor owed to .”
Tiamat stared at Leon, the calm before a storm. Yet Leon remained steadfast, unflinching.
Leon’s defiance didn’t lessen Tiamat’s amusent. She suddenly laughed—a deep, thundering laugh—for standing before her was a beloved red dragon, not just another blue, green, black, or white dragon. Moreover, he was a spirited and proud young red dragon. She couldn’t expect too much from soone so young.
There was no hurry. She would simply wait a few centuries until this restless youth grew into a mature, seasoned red dragon—after setbacks tempered his resolve, he would naturally return to her fold.
A few hundred years was more than enough ti for him to recognize the vast gulf between them. Indeed, he could now slay an oversized elder green dragon, but such a dragon was insignificant before her. Forget courting her favor; simply earning an audience would be an imnse privilege.
As long as the red dragon remained red, he could never escape her grasp. Whatever he did, whether consciously or unconsciously, would only bolster her influence, spread her renown, and enhance her Divine Power. Because she was Tiamat, the Evil Dragon Queen, creator of the Colorful Dragons, and the embodint of all evil dragonkind’s sins.
Tiamat vanished.
Leon left as well, pondering Tiamat’s words. Perhaps he truly could establish a Dragon Country. That would certainly earn him a Golden Finger reward—and a high-level one at that.
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