The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 956

The Dragon's Sanctuary.

Though it was a cave deep within the mountains, the interior was as bright as midday. Moreover, parts of it were carved out of pristine white marble, resembling a sacred temple.

“This place is also known as the Dragon's City. Originally, it was the area directly facing the dragon lord’s lair.”

While Elder Marin maintained a friendly demeanor, Opal and Kaiser exchanged expressions as though witnessing something bizarre.

“Wow... It’s so beautiful...”

The three elders led the way, with the five full-fledged dragons guarding them while Rudel and Sapphire trailed behind them. In the distance, young dragonlings—who still seemed like mere children—peeked their heads out to observe the bizarre scene.

Their faces were a mix of curiosity and confusion, wondering why humans were in their home.

“My lady, just in case, don’t stray from my side. This place may look straightforward, but it’s a labyrinth. A single wrong turn, and you could get lost.”

“Hmm... It’s so pretty.”

“Pardon?”

“This place—it’s stunningly beautiful.”

“If you wish, perhaps you could live here someday.”

Rudel knew no one could shoo away an ancient dragon, especially since the current dragons revered such beings as equivalent to gods.

Sapphire sighed quietly as he watched Rudel explaining so many things to Evangeline.

“Hey, Sapphire,” someone suddenly called out.

A female gold dragon approached him cautiously.

“What’s going on? Has Elder Marin lost his mind?”

“No, you fool. And how many times do I have to tell you to address me as your elder brother?”

“Just because you were born a few years earlier doesn’t make you my elder! You must’ve gone crazy while you were out.”

“Ugh, that tone of yours... seriously.”

The full-fledged dragons seemed somewhat perplexed, while the elders appeared rather angry.

Finally, as they reached a massive round table, Elder Opal took a seat right next to the dragon lord’s chair and spoke coldly.

“Sit.”

At his icy tone, Elders Marin and Kaiser took their seats along with all the others.

“Well then. I hope you have a convincing reason for this blasphemy, Elder Marin. Even as an elder, you’ve gone too far this time!”

His face was brimming with fury, as though he were ready to pounce at any opportunity to strike.

“Before that, how is the lord?”

“He still has not awakened.”

“That’s... not good.”

“Stop changing the subject!” Opal shouted in response.

“Do you recall those five from the fallen ones, who moved on their own and attacked Rudel?” Marin asked calmly.

“Yes. I heard they disappeared without a trace. There were no signs of battle, either.”

“To put it bluntly, they’re all dead,” Marin said.

Murmurs erupted among those gathered.

“Dead? But there were not even traces of a fight. Are you absolutely certain? Lies cannot be tolerated...”

“They are dead. I personally confirmed it, seeing their extracted and lifeless dragon hearts.”

The room fell silent at the revelation.

All five dragons had been wiped out without leaving a single trace?

“H-How is that possible? Who could have pulled off such a thing? Rudel, don’t tell me—did you do it? Did you break the rules?!”

“Speak the truth, Rudel. Was it you?”

“It wasn’t me—even if I chose to break the rules, I couldn’t easily defeat someone like Karrella.”

Karrella.

Hearing her name, both Opal and Kaiser fell silent.

“Then who could have...”

“That would be this individual here.”

Elder Marin spoke respectfully, gesturing toward Davey.

“A human? You think you’re making any sense right now? He’s just a human—one without even a trace of mana, to boot!! You’re claiming that this random human eliminated five full-fledged dragons, including the powerhouse Karrella, in an instant? Don’t spout nonsense!”

His fury made Marin let out a weary sigh.

“I thought the same at first. But it seems Heins Territory actually houses an individual far beyond what we could have imagined.”

“An individual?”

“Yes. An individual strong enough to crush five full-fledged dragons without breaking a sweat. I’m telling you the truth.”

Opal turned to Davey with a look of disbelief.

“Is what he’s saying true, human?”

“No matter what I try to say, it doesn’t seem like you’re inclined to believe me.”

“You insolent—!”

“So what? You want to fight me or something? I only helped because someone asked me to, but all this grumbling is getting on my nerves. Is the dragon race always so have-it-my-way when it comes to asking for favors?”

“Y-You insolent—!!”

Just as Elder Opal began drawing on his mana, Davey slightly clenched his hand.

“Stop! The conversation isn’t over yet!” Elder Marin urgently shouted.

Opal gritted his teeth, but reluctantly backed down.

“So, is this why you brought them here? Just to tell us something so trivial?”

“I’m getting to the main point,” Marin continued. “It would seem that the fallen one’s sovereign—the monarch—has awakened. And I am certain we have a traitor among us. There’s no other way they could've been tracking our movements and objectives with such eerie precision.”

The atmosphere in the room turned icy at his words.

“What? Is that true?!”

Elder Kaiser widened his eyes as he demanded an explanation. Marin nodded gravely.

“My conclusion stems from the resurrection of Karrella.”

Resurrection.

Even for the powerful dragons, reviving a dead dragon was supposed to be impossible.

“Her dragon heart carried the authority of the monarch, so we were caught off guard and fell victim to it. It drained all of our mana—mine, Rudel’s, and Sapphire’s—completely. Using that power, Karrella resurrected right on the spot within the territory.”

If she had taken the mana of two full-fledged dragons and an elder dragon... it wasn’t something that could be taken lightly.

“But how could...”

“From there—”

As Marin was about to continue—

Boom!!

A massive explosion thundered from the distance. Everyone turned their heads sharply in the direction of the noise. At the same time, a tremendous, oppressive wave of mana enveloped the area, making everyone present freeze.

“This mana... could it be...?”

“The gold dragon Kardkiel...”

Once an elder who served the moderate faction’s dragon lord, Kardkiel had betrayed his kin during the civil war, siding with the fallen ones and slaughtering countless dragons.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

He had returned, accompanied by numerous full-fledged and elder dragons.

“Damn it! We’ll finish this conversation later!”

Opal shot to his feet, his mana blazing. Elder Kaiser and Marin followed suit, as did the five full-fledged dragons, all moving to confront the intruders who had invaded the Dragon’s Nest.

Left behind, Davey noticed Rudel looking his way.

“So, what will you do?” Rudel asked quietly.

“Well, it seems like the discussion won’t happen for a while now. Since I’m already here, I might as well wander around and take in the sights.”

After all, that had been his plan from the start.

“Again, if you just give the word, I can end this war,” Davey added.

Rudel fell silent.

For some reason, Davey felt that he had an inexplicable barrier between him and other humans. It was different from how things had been with Evangeline. As Davey pondered possible reasons, Sapphire abruptly stood.

“I’ll go join my father in the fight. Rudel, you must not leave this place, no matter what.”

“...”

Sapphire immediately used Blink and vanished, leaving Rudel to mutter softly, “Lady...”

“Hm?”

“I will guide you. Don’t worry—I doubt they’ve come here to fight.”

At those words, Evangeline nodded quietly in agreement.

“Rinne, go follow them.”

Rinne, face expressionless, slightly opened her mouth as if to protest. Davey sighed and pulled out a bar of chocolate he had brought from Earth. Tearing open the wrapper, he shoved it into her mouth.

“Mmph... mmph mmph!”

She started to try to say something, but soon enough, Rinne had disappeared silently.

* * *

The Dragon’s Nest—or the Dragon’s City[1], as some called it—was the lair of the moderate faction’s dragon lord.

Its vastness was incomparable to any ordinary dragon lair, making it impossible to explore in its entirety within a short amount of time.

Knowing this, Rudelite offered to give them a simple tour of the open spaces nearby.

“There’s a lot of marble here,” Davey remarked, glancing around.

“My mother had a particular fondness for marble,” Rudelite replied.

Looking at the pristine temple-like structures, Davey nodded silently, thinking that dragons didn’t necessarily have to prefer jewels after all.

“So, your mother is your faction’s dragon lord?”

“Yes. She possessed extraordinary strength from a very young age and quickly ascended to the position of lord, surpassing the other elders.”

“Becoming the lord, huh...”

“My mother and I are similar in that regard.”

A dragon who bore the mark of the Primordial Dragon within their heart. In other words, one of the very rare dragons who inherited the power of ancient dragons.

Though the ancient dragons had gone extinct long ago, their bloodline hadn’t completely vanished. It had continued to flow, faintly and gradually, in the current generation of dragons.

“Rudel!!”

At that moment, a small group of dragonlings peeked out from behind a distant corner.

The children, dressed in vibrant dresses and adventurous outfits, hesitated briefly before cautiously approaching.

“So, you’ve all woken up too,” Rudelite greeted them warmly.

“Yes! But... is that really a human?”

Evangeline tilted her head slightly at the question.

“Hatchlings can’t leave the lair, so it’s probably their first time seeing a human,” Rudelite explained.

“Ah, I see,” Davey murmured.

“Hey, you human! State your name! I am Kachas of the red clan!”

He approached Evangeline boldly, speaking with a touch of arrogance.

“Huh? I’m Evangeline.”

“H-Hmph... I see. Humans are... really pretty,” Kachas stammered, extending his hand toward her.

“Well... would you, perhaps, come to my lair and be my guardian when I become a full-fledged dragon?”

“You idiot, Kachas! Humans don’t live that long. By the time you become a full-fledged dragon, she’ll already be dead!”

A blue dragon girl scolded him, making him grimace in frustration.

“Ugh...”

Kachas quickly turned red as Evangeline smiled brightly at him.

“Tch!”

At that moment, a young gold dragon girl timidly tugged on Davey’s sleeve.

“Um... H-Human...”

“Hm?” Davey looked down at her.

“That sweet-smelling thing from earlier... Can I have some too?”

Judging by her appearance, she was still very young—likely a dragon who had only recently learned to polymorph.

Dragons typically learned to polymorph through dragontongue magic after living for about a hundred years. Of course, unlike humans, dragons found such a thing to be an insignificant achievement.

“The chocolate?”

The little girl from the gold clan nodded eagerly, her innocent face beaming with curiosity.

Davey reached into his Pocket Plane and pulled out some snacks, chocolate, and finally, the highlight of the collection: soda.

“Wow, so much! What’s all this stuff, human?”

The girl fidgeted with the crinkly snack bag before grabbing the soda. Her eyes were full of wonder.

“That’s cola,” Davey said.

The girl studied the bottle with fascination before placing her lips on the lid.

“Hmm... It’s not coming out,” she mumbled.

“You need to open the cap first.”

Taking the bottle, Davey twisted the cap off. The sound of carbonation escaping filled the air.

“Whoa...”

“Want to try some?” he poured the soda into a paper cup and offered it to her.

The little girl hesitated, staring intently at the drink in the cup.

“It’s... It’s not poison, right?”

“There’s no poison in it. I swear. Go ahead and try some.”

Still uncertain, the girl glanced over at Rudelite, who nodded silently. Finally, the little girl took the cup and drank it.

“Eek! It’s all bubbly and popping!” she said while frowning.

The fizziness of the soda was a completely foreign experience for her. She glared at the cup with a mix of confusion and tears.

“What is this?!”

“It’s tasty, isn’t it?” Davey asked, amused.

The girl stood frozen for a moment, then cautiously took another sip. This time, her expression was resolute.

“Wow...”

She made a face of amazement as the combination of fizz and sweetness won her over. Her eyes sparkled as she quickly gulped down the soda and held the empty cup out toward Davey.

“Give me more!”

“You forgot the magic word.”

“P-Please give me more!”

‘Ah, caffeine truly is a magical substance.’

Watching her become instantly hooked on the drink made him smile.

Her innocent, eager behavior reminded him of Red Ribbon, Blue Ribbon, and even the toddling Darian back home. The scene was heartwarming, stirring a sense of nostalgia in him.

When Davey poured her another cup, the golden-haired girl grabbed it and gulped it down, as if afraid someone might try to take it from her.

“Runia, that’s not fair! I want some too!”

Soon, the other children also rushed over, wanting a taste of the drink the human had brought. Davey pulled out a few more cups and handed them out with a smile on his face.

1. It seems the place has three names. ☜