The dwarven delegation was almost completely wiped out.

That was the news brought back by Heki Stone, who had narrowly escaped death.

The dwarven vampire appeared before Ambrose with a face completely drained of blood, so close to dawn that the first rays of sunlight nearly roasted him alive.

The annihilation of the dwarven envoys was an outcome Ambrose had never anticipated.

He had been so focused on protecting the elves that he had overlooked the fact that the dwarves might also be in danger. In hindsight, the harsh winds and sands that gave the dwarves their rugged appearance had led Ambrose to subconsciously assume they were better at protecting themselves.

Judging others by their appearances really could get people killed.

When Ambrose asked about last night's battle, Heki Stone said with a trembling voice, "It was a dragon! I swear I didn't see it wrong. It was a real dragon!"

Ambrose frowned. "You're a legend, aren't you? No need to be this scared."

Heki Stone grew agitated. "You have no idea how terrifying a dragon is. My magic couldn't even scratch its scales. Its strength and speed were far beyond mine. It was a monster you simply can't fight."

His face was filled with panic. Just recalling the scene made his whole body tremble. The dreadful dragon had circled in the sky while the dwarven Ironguards below waited to be slaughtered like chickens, swallowed whole one after another. Heki Stone had poured everything into his blood magic, but to the dragon it had been no more than a mild itch.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he thought he could sense fighting spirit flowing around the dragon's body, like that of a pugilist. Dragon-scale defense layered with pugilist-like fighting spirit gave rise to a creature that was nearly immune to magic.

The moment Heki Stone realized how wrong things were, he decisively chose to run.

The legendary vampire had slipped directly into the shadows, preparing to flee toward Ambrose to beg for help.

After hearing the account, Ambrose felt a headache coming on. Dragons were meant to be ancient legends on this continent. Where had this one come from?

Could the dragon clans overseas, unwilling to stay dormant, have prepared a counteroffensive?

That would be truly terrifying. Could the Nine Kingdoms withstand a dragon invasion?

Ambrose had no choice but to pull out the Necromantic Codex and send a message to Alabastra.

The dragon clans had been driven overseas. Even the Dragon Graveyard had been relocated. Though they were undead, bone dragons were still closely tied to dragonkind and would be the most likely to be in the know if something had come up.

Alabastra's reply came quickly. [Pale Little Skeleton: I've already checked. No dragon has returned to the continent. Not even a single whelp is missing. We have no plans to settle old scores either.]

[Megaman Tiga: Can you ask again? I've heard that some dragons are particularly… licentious. What if some dragon left an illegitimate kid behind?]

The dragons' propensity to mate was common knowledge. Otherwise, there wouldn't be dragon-blooded sorcerers even among kobolds.

Alabastra seemed to find Ambrose's speculation reasonable. If some illegitimate offspring really were to exist, no one was likely to fess up. And if it truly carried dragon blood, it had to be retrieved. Leaving it unattended could cause misunderstandings.

She left a final message and went offline. [Pale Little Skeleton: I'll ask again.]

Ambrose continued to wait.

Things had become troublesome. The elves had barely been secured; now, disaster had struck on the dwarven side.

Hoffmann Ironfist was the King's Hand. His death would shatter the negotiations entirely. The dwarves might march to war immediately, and peace talks would be out of the question then.

"You should return to the desert first," Ambrose said. "Help stabilize the Dwarven King and persuade him to delay mobilization. I'll deal with the dragon. Take the elves' terms back as well and see if you can sign a contract directly."

At this point, all Ambrose could do was minimize the damage. The terms had already been mostly settled, and the Dwarven King would likely accept them. At worst, they could renegotiate about the price.

The real problem was the dragon. Deal with that, and at least the dwarves would get some closure.

After seeing Heki Stone off, Ambrose was about to consider how to track the dragon when a thunderous roar echoed from outside the castle.

"You've got to be kidding me. It's already here?!"

The dragon's brazenness caught Ambrose off guard.

He flew out of the castle and looked toward the source of the sound, only to see a massive red dragon circling in the sky.

From head to tail, it was nearly thirty meters long. Its wings were even larger, spanning at least fifty meters when fully spread.

Though it looked somewhat grotesque and disproportionate, the overwhelming draconic might radiating from it could be felt from kilometers away.

Heki Stone hadn't been lying. This was a true dragon. Draconic might couldn't be faked. To lesser beings, it would represent absolute suppression: weaker creatures couldn't even move in its presence.

As Ambrose observed more closely, he sensed the aura of Hell. This dragon was somehow connected to the infernal worshipers. Judging by its actions, it seemed to be summoning a Hellgate.

"…Looks like we won't be waiting for the dragon clans' reply."

Ambrose couldn't allow the ritual to be completed, especially not this close to his castle.

But according to Heki Stone, the dragon was nearly immune to magic. A direct confrontation between a mage and a dragon would only end badly for the mage.

While Ambrose was pondering how to deal with it, Catherine appeared beside him.

She was riding a giant eagle in midair. Her long dress had been replaced by form-fitting emerald-colored leather armor, making her look like a hero out of legend.

Catherine had flown out after hearing the dragon's roar. She stared at the red dragon on the horizon.

She asked in surprise, "This dragon… Whom are you trying to make gold off of this time? You even dragged a dragon into things?"

Ambrose: "…"

The elven queen had developed a certain impression of him. Any chaos automatically became attributed to his trying to make a profit.

"This dragon has nothing to do with me," Ambrose said helplessly. "It wiped out the dwarven delegation…"

He quickly explained the situation. Catherine's mouth fell open as visions of dragons returning to the continent and provoking a second Dragon War flooded her mind.

"Then what do we do now?" she asked anxiously.

"We have to kill it, of course," Ambrose replied. "Whether it's someone's illegitimate offspring or not, this lizard absolutely cannot be allowed to live."

His objective was crystal clear. The dragon had to die for two reasons: to give the dwarves closure for what had happened to their King's Hand, and to prevent the Lyon Empire from finding an excuse to intervene in Alkhemia's chaos.

For historical reasons, dragons ranked even higher than undead on the Lyon Empire's kill-on-sight list.

If news of a dragon appearing in Alkhemia reached Lyon, they would send troops without hesitation, making the situation far more complicated.

"Catherine, it's up to you. Go kill that dragon," Ambrose said.

"W-What?" Catherine stared at him in disbelief. Why should she be the one to slay a dragon? This wasn't even elven territory.

"Didn't you hear? That thing's magic resistance is maxed out. A mage like me would be useless up close," Ambrose replied. "You're a legendary ranger. Dragon-slaying suits you perfectly."

Catherine said seriously, "An adult dragon is beyond the realm of legend. What makes you think I can kill one so easily? Dragons aren't just highly magic-resistant. Their scales are incredibly resistant to physical weapons too."

Ambrose said with absolute confidence, "I've already buffed you. Relax. You'll be fine."

He had already woven her future of perpetual overtime. Catherine was guaranteed not to die until then.

Given that, why should Ambrose risk himself?

He looked at Catherine sincerely. "Trust me. You can do this."

Catherine didn't fully understand the situation, but when she looked back at the red dragon, she felt the unmistakable aura of Hell.

The Hellgate under the dragon's control was slowly opening. Hellfire began to spread across the distant ground.

The moment she saw this, Catherine's eyes turned red.

So it had been this dragon all along. The ambush on the elves had almost succeeded because of that Hellgate. This was a grudge she would not forget.

And the grudge of a legendary ranger was dangerous indeed.

Catherine drew her enchanted longbow and loosed an arrow at the dragon. Brilliant starlight gathered around the shaft, causing it to break the sound barrier.

The red dragon sensed the attack and beat its wings furiously to dodge. Yet the arrow curved in midair, as if bound to the dragon itself. No matter how it attempted to evade, the starlit arrow would strike home.

This was a legendary ranger's "bane" at work. Rangers who declared a foe as their enemy would gain powerful countereffects against it. Auto-locking ranged attacks were only one aspect of this ability.

Most rangers could declare only one such bane in their lifetime. Only a legend like Catherine could change that designation, though with restrictions in place.

Once she had marked the dragon as her bane, her attacks could not miss.

However, the starlight dissipated the moment it touched the dragon's scales. The arrowhead pierced through, but not deeply. It amounted to little more than a superficial wound.

Catherine frowned. She hadn't held back at all. How could this be the extent of the damage?

Something was very unusual about this dragon. Its defenses were absurdly strong.

Even Ambrose found the outcome unbelievable. He had seen the power of that starlight arrow before when it one-shot a balor. What was up with this dragon? Even true dragons weren't this tough.

The dragon didn't immediately charge in after being hit. Instead, it used its claw to rip the embedded arrow from its chest and continued its ritual.

A few seconds later, the Hellgate fully opened, and countless demons poured out.

Then Ambrose watched as the dragon plunged into the demon horde and began devouring them in huge bites.

With every mouthful, the dragon's body grew larger.