Lone Red (23)

Faced with such a blunt threat, Dragon still smiled brilliantly, showing his back teeth.

It was not an act. He truly did not fear death.

He was a great leader who had built his ideals upon his own survival. If he wanted to live, it would only be for those ideals. If they would be better off without him, he would rather die!

But no one dared let Dragon die now.

A secret execution was never an option. "The world's worst criminal" had to be publicly executed under the judgment of Marine justice on the day his reprieve ended!

So Ron dispersed the lightning around him, had the dog-man lie on the ground as a chair, sat on his back, and lit a cigar.

"Want a puff?" "Thanks, but no."

"Boring..."

Shaking his head, Ron bit down on his cigar, pulled his right leg up, and lazily blew out a smoke ring.

"Seriously, Dragon, you're not saying anything, and that makes us Marines look bad in front of the government... The Five Elders don't have much time left. For the sake of the two favors I once did for you, how about giving me a useful piece of intelligence?"

"Heh heh..." Dragon smiled. "This matter really was my fault, Vice Admiral Azure Dragon."

"However, asking me to betray my comrades to repay a favor... forgive me, but I can't do that. And..."

Dragon's gaze drifted toward a nearby cell. "Aren't you afraid those words will reach the Five Elders' ears?"

A little trick involving self-inflicted suffering could not fool Dragon, a former Marine vice admiral.

The plot of A Deadly Secret was not some special case. On the contrary, many people understood that a strong fortress had to be broken from within. To gather intelligence as thoroughly as possible, tricks