Chapter 485

You, and those others we haven't found yet, have been able to live so long because you transplanted the remains of those defeated Dragon Kings years ago...

Heart-protecting Dragon Scale.

Leon reached out, grabbed Voel's collar, and then slowly stood up, lifting his entire body up.

Voel's feet left the ground, his legs struggling, his hands gripping Leon's wrists tightly.

The old man's eyes widened in anger. Although his previous arrogant demeanor had softened, his words remained stubborn.

"I don't understand what you're saying."

"Don't understand? That's okay."

As he spoke, Leon reached out his other hand and slowly reached towards Voel's heart.

"Your secret to longevity should be hidden here, right? If I take it out... I wonder if you'll instantly turn into a pile of bones..."

Leon's tone was rarely so threatening and intimidating.

At that moment, Rebecca and the others waiting outside the cell heard the whole thing clearly.

"With the captain looking like that, it would be hard for someone who doesn't know the situation to tell who the real villain is," Martin said.

"That's how interrogation should be done."

Rebecca crossed her arms and said, "Back in the Dragon Slayer Army, the captain wasn't very good at interrogation because he couldn't play the 'bad guy.' But these past few years, it seems like the captain has learned a lot of new things."

"Oh yes, why is that?"

The twin-tailed girl scratched her forehead, thought for a moment, and replied.

"She probably learned it from her sister-in-law. I've always felt she's the kind of beauty who combines gentleness and cunning."

If Leon heard Rebecca's evaluation of the Dragon Queen, he would definitely give his gunner a thumbs up.

Your prediction of the dragon is incredibly accurate!

Inside the cell, Leon's hand drew ever closer to Voel's heart.

His face remained expressionless, as if removing a dragon scale from the heart of a living person was as simple as pulling a splinter from a finger.

In contrast to Leon's indifference, Voel was already covered in sweat.

His long life did not give him the courage to face death without fear.

A bead of cold sweat slid down his cheek.

Thump—

Leon's fingertips had already touched his clothes; it was very light, but it felt like a heavy blow to his heart.

Voel, trembling, finally broke down and begged for mercy.

"Speak! Speak! I'll talk!"

Thump—

As soon as he finished speaking, Leon released his grip, Voel fell to his knees on the weeds.

Leon withdrew his hand, put it in his pocket, and looked down at the old man.

Voel was panting heavily, as if secretly relieved that he hadn't had his heart ripped out by this madman.

Once he had calmed down a bit, Voel swallowed and said,

"I can tell you the Empire's detailed plan to collect dragon scales, but you must guarantee my safety."

"You have no right to bargain with me now. If you don't talk, you'll die immediately; if you do talk, you might not die. The decision is yours."

"..."

During the years he was in hiding Voel also relied on his informants and spies to gather intelligence on the Dragon Slayer Army.

He certainly knew who Leon Casmod was.

Honesty, courage, kindness, an ever-victorious general, an invincible legend, and...

The Silver Dragon's Captive—

However, despite all the labels attached to him, Voel had never heard that Leon was a ruthless person.

The old man felt a tingling sensation as he pinched the skin. He thought to himself, "I've never done anything to offend him, so why is he so ruthless?"

Pulling himself back to reality, Voel resigned himself to his fate, sighed, and said...

"Thirty years ago, the empire began to secretly unite with a group of dragon kings to control the course of this war."

"The plan was opposed by some members of the royal family at the time."

"Supporters and opponents each make up half."

"Until King Cantor said that we could seize the Dragon King's scales through war and thus gain the Dragon King's power."

Upon hearing this, Leon frowned, looked the dejected old man up and down, and then said...

"But looking at you, you don't seem like someone who has obtained the Dragon King's power at all."

Moreover, if so many people had truly obtained the Dragon King's power through the Heart-protecting Dragon Scale back then, then Leon's recent decisive battle with the Empire would not have been so smooth.

Voel nodded.

"The first person to successfully transplant the Heart-protecting Dragon Scale did not gain Dragon King level power after the surgery, but the sorcerers discovered..."

"His lifespan has been greatly extended."

"Furthermore, the body's self-healing ability and resistance have also been greatly enhanced."

"Only..."

Voel did not continue.

But Leon already knew what he was going to say.

"But after transplanting dragon scales, you will no longer be able to gather Magic Power, right?"

"That's right... This also made some military officers give up the idea of transplanting dragon scales, because they still need to go to the front line to fight. Once they lose their magic, they can only wait to die."

Voel continued,

"But another group of civil officials, including myself, could not resist the temptation of near-eternal life and transplanted dragon scales one after another."

It was pretty much what Leon had guessed.

The empire's manipulation of the Human-Dragon War for personal gain couldn't have been solely driven by war tax revenue; there must have been something else that attracted the selfish desires of those in power.

So the Heart-protecting Dragon Scale can grant one a lifespan like that of a dragon king...?

"No wonder Claudia said that a dragon king who loses its Heart-protecting Dragon Scale will have its lifespan greatly reduced..."

Leon slowly raised his hand and touched his chest.

What made this heart, which should have died, beat again was the dragon scales of Losweiser.

She not only gave Leon a second life, but also... prolonged it.

"But transplanting dragon scales also brings some troubles. For example, when we reach a certain age, we have to hold a funeral to show the outside world and the public, so that they won't suspect anything."

The person is still alive, but the funeral has already been arranged.

Why does something so abstract sound so familiar?

General Leon seemed to smell the aroma of grilled steak.

He shook his head, banishing the jumbled thoughts, and continued asking.

"So, the previous King isn't actually dead yet; he's hiding in some corner, barely surviving, is that right?"

The master said that the empire's ruling style was exactly the same as that of the previous King, which meant that Cantor really was a puppet King.

The one who truly rules this country is the former King, who has received the Heart-protecting Dragon Scale and gained a hundred years of life.

When this was mentioned, Voel hesitated for a moment.

But considering that he was now powerless and had no other choice, if he dared to lie or say nothing, he had no doubt that the man in front of him would give him a "heart-chilling" experience.

"The former King... did indeed have Heart-protecting Dragon Scale transplanted, but I'm not sure where he is now."

"In fact, after Cantor took the throne, no one knew where the former King had gone. He seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace," said Voel.

"But he still rules the country, manipulating everything in the shadows," Leon said coldly.

Voel bit his trembling lips and nodded.

"That's right... Cantor is just a puppet put into the open; the one who controls this puppet with strings is still the previous King."

Leon didn't ask any further questions.

He has already obtained the two most crucial pieces of information:

1. Using the Heart-protecting Dragon Scale to extend lifespan was the true purpose of the royal family back then;

2. Cantor is indeed a puppet, and the previous King is still alive.

This is enough for Leon to proceed with the next phase of his investigation.

As for that old guy, Voel, since he's been captured by Nacho and his men, he's probably just a pawn. That's all the information he knows, and you won't get anything more out of him if you keep asking.

Leon let him off the hook for the time being.

"Someone else will come to interrogate you later. Tell me everything you know without missing a single word, or else... you know what will happen."

Voel quickly clutched his chest and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I know."

Leon didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

But just as he reached the cell door, he heard Voel ask him from behind,

"Etc..."

"Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"No... I wanted to ask you, why do you know so much about the Heart-protecting Dragon Scale?"

Leon was slightly taken aback, his heartbeat seemed to skip a beat for a moment.

He lowered his eyes and replied calmly.

"What I know is not dragon scales."

Rather, it is the owner of the dragon scales.

56 General Leon's Former Residence

Leon walked out of the cell, Rebecca and the others immediately surrounded him.

"So? Did you get anything out of them?"

Nacho asked urgently, "This old man is very stubborn. We've tried many methods but haven't been able to get him to talk."

Leon nodded and recounted the information and clues that Voel had just revealed to the others.

Whether it was learning that the Empire's Royal Family's true purpose in deliberately delaying the Human-Dragon War was to seize dragon scales and thus gain a lifespan of nearly a thousand years, or that the former King had been controlling the country from the shadows all along, both of these things were enough to leave Nacho and his companions speechless with shock.

Leon, on the other hand, appeared much calmer.

Having been betrayed and framed by the empire himself, he knew all too well that this group of people had no bottom line or morals and were capable of anything.

What's so special about Heart-protecting Dragon Scales?

Leon showed some humanity by not using human lives to prolong his own.

"Shouldn't we have some Sorcerers with the Perception type in our Lionheart Society?" Leon asked.

"Yes, I do. What's wrong?"

"Over the next few days, I will teach them the techniques to sense the power of dragon scales. Besides Voel, there should be some other former Empire's Royal Family members who didn't manage to escape. Finding them and piecing together clues should be helpful in our investigation of Queen Elizabeth and Lord Shadow."

Because his body contains his wife's Heart-protecting Dragon Scale, Leon is also able to sense the power of dragons to some extent.

To be precise, they are dragon scales.

He planned to pass on these skills to trusted perception sorcerers within the Lionheart Society, so that everyone could help as well.

As the saying goes, many hands make light work.

Moreover, Leon is, after all, the Queen of the Lionheart Society. He can't do everything himself. For things like this that require a lot of manpower and time, it's perfectly fine to let reliable subordinates do it.