"Why are you all so quiet, you little devils?" the Little Red Dragon continued, indulging in her foolishness. "Don't you even have the courage to lead the way for me?"
Unas couldn't hold back any longer and said in a lukewarm tone, "No need for guidance. Just fly around Blackrock Spire a few times, Nefarian will be happy to come out and greet you personally."
"Nonsense!" the Little Red Dragon roared. "The Black Dragon is already the enemy of Dragonflight, why would he be happy to see me?"
"Because he desperately needs a fresh Red Dragon carcass, one that's alive and well, and of course, a female is best."
The Little Red Dragon was stunned for a moment before it reacted, "You weak reptile, how dare you look down on me? I'll tear you to pieces first..."
"Boom!"
The sudden loud noise outside the cave interrupted the Little Red Dragon's roar, and a dangerous aura rushed towards them. Several mages immediately raised their staffs, and Unas instantly drew his sword and shield, rushing towards the cave entrance.
The guards screamed at the same time. As Unas rushed out of the cave, the huge and wild body of a red beast filled his field of vision—another Red Dragon!
The guards were on the verge of attack, but the Red Dragon showed no sign of attacking. Unas raised his hand to signal a halt and asked loudly, "Who are you, Your Excellency...?"
"Valas, what brings you here?" At this moment, Alexstrasza rushed out of the cave, her questioning tone making it clear to those around her that the reunion with her people did not bring her any joy.
"My dear cousin, wasn't the distress signal I received sent by you?" The Red Dragon Valas lowered his massive head, scrutinizing the tiny figure on the ground. "When did you learn Polymorph, and even imitate Her Majesty the Queen to become Blood Elf?"
"None of your business!"
Alexstrasza then remembered that after the dragon eggs were lost, she immediately appealed to all her close kin for help, but not a single dragon came to her aid. And now, this annoying fellow had finally arrived. "You're too late, Valas. My children have been saved. You can leave now!"
"I'm so sorry, Alice. I was hunting a delicious Whitehorn Whale in the Western Ocean when I received your distress message," a red light suddenly emanated from the giant red beast's body. His body rapidly shrank and deformed within the light, eventually transforming into a tall, red-haired human. "Having flown this far, and finally finding this place through your faint scent, I at least need to know what kind of crisis you encountered."
"It's no big deal. Go back to the sea and eat your fish. We don't need you here!"
"Who says we don't need it?" Unas sheathed his weapon, the red dragon transforming into human form. Having expressed ample goodwill, he returned the favor. "Your Excellency Red Dragon, I am Unas, the paladin and commander here. Welcome. I can answer your questions."
"Who asked you to meddle? I haven't settled the score with you yet!" Alice shouted, turning her head.
Unas retorted, "Mind your own business? I was the one who helped you retrieve the dragon eggs, wasn't I? I was the one who used my life force to nourish your Whelp, wasn't I? Is that meddling?"
"You...!"
The monks had all emerged from the cave. Seeing this, Master Omar quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Arguing won't solve anything. Any disagreements can be discussed calmly."
"Hmph! I can't be bothered with you!"
The unhatched children of the Little Red Dragon still needed to be nourished by the Essence of Life within Unas's body, so they didn't dare to really turn against him. They simply raised their chins, turned their heads, and adopted a proud, swan-like posture.
Transformed into a red-haired youth, Valas scrutinized the Paladin and the mages behind him with the same scrutinizing gaze one would use to appraise a rival, then tilted his head slightly in impeccable human aristocratic manners to greet them, "Greetings, everyone. I am Vaelastrasz of the Red Dragon race."
"Your Excellency, there's no need for such formality. I know you must have many questions on your mind. Please come inside and we can discuss them in detail. I will answer them one by one."
The red-haired youth glanced at the still sulking little female dragon and nodded helplessly.
The group re-entered the cave. Unas briefly introduced the identities of the mages, but when he mentioned Rhonin, Vaelastrasz was shocked, his amber eyes widening as he asked urgently, "Rhonin? You're really Rhonin from Dalaran?"
Rhonin smiled slightly and took out a fiery red necklace from his pocket. "This was a gift from Queen Alexstrasza."
"Tear of Life!" Valas exclaimed. This was the Red Dragon Queen's treasure, a gift he'd heard had been given to the human mage who saved her as a token of gratitude. He no longer doubted it and bowed deeply. "My apologies, Archmage Rhonin. As a member of the Red Dragonflight, I offer you my highest respect."
Back then, the Red Dragon Queen was enslaved by the Dragonmaw Orcs who possessed the Demon Soul. It was Rhonin who found a way to destroy the Demon Soul, the artifact that could control the Dragon Kings, thus freeing the Red Dragon Queen. She then fought Deathwing with the other Dragon Kings and finally blasted him into the sea. Therefore, any Red Dragon who meets Rhonin must express its deepest gratitude.
Rhonin quickly stepped forward to help her up. "Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty."
"To recover from the trauma of that war, Her Majesty has been sleeping in the Ruby Sanctuary for the past few years."
Rhonin Ning nodded and wished, "In the near future, the Life-Binder will surely be able to soar through the skies once more."
Valas bowed again to express his gratitude, then said, "I apologize for interrupting your meeting with my Recklessness arrival."
"How could that be? We need your help right now."
Rhonin gave Unas a wink, and the latter nodded, briefly explaining Alexstrasza's predicament and their current predicament. Of course, he didn't mention anything confidential, such as Merlin's situation.
The red-haired youth hesitated for a moment, seemingly processing the information he had just received, before expressing his gratitude again, this time to Unas, "Thank you for taking care of Alice Knight, sir. In your human terms, she's still a child, so please bear with her."
"Hmph!" Another cold snort came from outside the cave; the Little Red Dragon, who had been eavesdropping, was expressing her dissatisfaction.
Valas gave a wry smile. "May I see that secret letter?"
Unas nodded and handed over the secret letter.
It turned out that this guy wasn't much better Alice; he was also semi-illiterate and couldn't offer any new insights after reading it.
To save face, Valas suggested, "You need parts of Black Dragon's body for your spellcasting, which is a great disrespect to Dragonflight. Even if the object is Black Dragon, any act of desecrating Dragonflight's corpse is forbidden. But let's make an exception this time. I can hunt a Black Dragon for Archmage Rhonin Unas Knight as a way of thanking you for taking care of Alice."
Another braggart? Are these siblings' bragging genes passed down through generations?
Unas questioned, "Do you have a goal?"
"We don't need a specific target. As long as I loiter around Blackrock Spire and deliberately leave some traces, Black Dragon will definitely be lured out. Then we'll set a trap and let it walk right into our net."
Luring the snake out of its hole—that sounds like a pretty good strategy.