Battle Imminent

The Kingdom of Donagunov, capital city

Royal Palace, Council Hall

"Prime Minister, is what you're saying true? Has Cuiyi'aorshu really transferred away the two most elite divisions of the Western Border Army?"

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely true! What's strange is that at the same time as transferring those two divisions, they also transferred a knightly order to the Western Frontier Army!"

"Oh?"

Irene frowned. She was genuinely confused about what her old neighbor was up to. Irene shook her head and then said to the Prime Minister, "Prime Minister, you have instructed General Feld is stationed at the border, to keep a close watch on the movements of the Western Border Army. Report any unusual activity immediately."

"Yes, Your Majesty! This old minister will immediately inform General Feld and tell him to be careful."

Having just finished dealing with matters on the eastern border, Irene suddenly thought of the ally she had recently formed. She then asked the Prime Minister, "Prime Minister, has anything happened in Fostadu recently?"

"Your Majesty, I have indeed discovered something strange regarding Fostadu!"

"Oh? Tell me about it!"

Thinking of the interesting dragon she had parted ways with not long ago, Irene suddenly became interested and immediately stood up from her throne, staring at the prime minister with shining eyes.

"Does Your Majesty still remember Prince Sordil and Princess Diphiya who left the palace in haste not long ago and returned to Fostadu?"

"Of course I remember! Did something happen to them?"

Upon hearing the Prime Minister mention Sordil and Diphiya, Irene instinctively assumed that something had happened to the two of them and said with some concern.

"Your Majesty need not worry, these two are fine. What I want to tell you is an interesting story I heard from a caravan from the Kingdom of Tsuyioru Xiu."

"Oh? What interesting thing happened?"

"I heard from the owner of that caravan that Duke Gould of the Kingdom of Tsuyioru Xiu and a beautiful young woman named Diphiya from the Western Continent are about to get engaged. The young woman's brother was even appointed as a major general and staff officer by 'that person' and was later assigned to manage the knightly order on the northwestern border of the kingdom."

"That girl's name is also Diphiya?"

"Yes! Your Majesty, don't you also find this matter interesting?"

Upon hearing the name Diphiya, Irene felt that things weren't so simple, but she couldn't immediately figure out the connection between the two Diphiya. Seeing Irene's conflicted expression, the Prime Minister was puzzled. It's just two people... no, it's just one person and one dragon with the same name, right? Is it really necessary to be so conflicted? Just as the two were silently pondering this, a violent tremor suddenly came from the ground beneath their feet.

"Your Majesty, the Wise Dragon Belserion has returned!"

Seeing the guards rushing into the hall and kneeling at the foot of the steps, Irene immediately dismissed her questions and hurried out of the hall. The Prime Minister's expression also relaxed considerably, and he followed closely behind Irene to welcome the kingdom's other pillar. When Irene and her entourage saw Belserion, they were all speechless with shock. The once invincible Wise Dragon Belserion was now covered in wounds, and a trace of blood remained at the corner of his mouth. Not only that, but several of Belserion's scales had fallen off, and the exposed, bright red flesh was torn open.

"Don't worry, this kind of wound won't kill him. He'll recover in a few days with rest!"

Just as Irene was worried about Belserion's injuries, a loud voice came from behind Belserion. Only then did Irene realize that there was another white dragon standing behind Belserion.

"Irene, he's right. These wounds won't kill me, so you don't need to worry about me!"

Hearing Belserion admit that there would be no serious problem, Irene breathed a sigh of relief, then pointed to the white dragon behind Belserion and asked, "Belserion, who is this...?"

"Oh! You mean him? His name is Acnologia, and he's my friend. Like me, he went to the Western Continent to investigate after hearing about the activities of the dragons Western Continent. We met Western Continent and traveled together."

No sooner had Belserion finished speaking than Acnologia hurriedly interjected, "Don't listen to this guy's nonsense! I didn't travel with him; he's the one who's been pestering me relentlessly!"

"Will you die if you don't sabotage me?"

"You won't die, but you'll suffer a fate worse than death!"

"So what if I accidentally stood you up back then? Is it really worth holding a grudge for so many years?"

"You dare bring this up again? I sacrificed so much for you back then, and you actually..."

"Damn it! Don't talk nonsense, you'll give people a misunderstanding!"

Standing at the "shipwreck site" of the giant oil tanker Friendship, Irene and the others, drenched in sweat and exasperated, watched the two giant dragons arguing incessantly, unsure how to resolve this major problem. As their argument grew increasingly heated and dragged on, Erin knew that if she didn't intervene, this silent battle would veer completely off course. Therefore, Irene had no choice but to bite the bullet and intervene in the public opinion war between Belserion and Acnologia, attempting to mediate a "truce" between them.

"Um... could you two please cease hostilities for a moment and let us understand the situation in the Western Continent?"

Upon the intervention of the 'mediator,' the two finally stopped arguing, snorted at each other, and then turned their heads in different directions. Belserion regained his usual calm and collected demeanor, looking at Irene with a dejected tone, and said, "Irene, based on what we've gathered this time, the situation is worse than we initially anticipated! The dragons of the Western Continent are no longer scattered in their secret realms; they've come together under unified command, and every action they take is meticulously planned. It's more accurate to call them a dragon kingdom than a dragon race!"

"That's right. They are just like your human army, swift in action and highly disciplined. Moreover, the battle to unify the dragon race has made them even stronger."

Upon hearing the mention of the dragons of the Western Continent, Acunologiya's expression instantly darkened. He abandoned any further argument with Belserion and instead brought up what Belserion hadn't mentioned. After Acunologiya finished speaking, Belserion said gravely to Irene, "Even more unfortunately, the dragons of the Western Continent have decided to attack Ishgar in six months, to make this their territory as well! Irene, our time is running out. You must immediately inform all the humans on Ishgar of this bad news so they can prepare for war!"