Douglas raised the scales in front of him and took the first step towards the depths of Dragonpit.
The passage inside Dragonpit is wide and tall. There is an oil lamp at regular intervals on the rock walls on both sides. The flame is burning steadily in the passage, reflecting the dragon's breath from the depths into a floating warm-colored halo.
Douglas walked forward for a while along the main passage and stopped in an open cave.
The top of the cave was so high that it was almost invisible, and the ground was scattered with a few rocks broken by the dragon's claws.
Deep in the cave, in the darkness, something is moving.
The outlines of those things gradually appeared in the dim light, first a pair of golden vertical pupils, then a huge head, and then a neck covered with dark scales.
A Demon Dragon walked out of the shadows deep in the cave. It was smaller than Ehm, but a bit larger than the ordinary sub-adult Demon Dragon.
It lowered its head and brought its huge head close to Douglas.
Those golden eyes stared at the scales in his hands, and the hot wind blowing from his breath hit Douglas's face and body, blowing his hair and robes back.
Douglas's hand holding the scale did not tremble. He raised the scale a little higher, so that the golden pattern appeared directly in Demon Dragon's field of vision.
Demon Dragon stared at the scale for a few seconds, then slowly took a step back, with his head lowered and a low, submissive purr coming from his throat.
It turned around and walked deeper into the cave, walking slowly and heavily, leaving deep and wide footprints in the passage.
Douglas followed it and continued along the passage.
When he walked to the open platform deep in the cave, he saw more Demon Dragon gathering from different passages. They emerged from the darkness in all directions and stopped at the edge of the platform, lined up quietly, as if waiting for some kind of order.
The number of those Demon Dragon far exceeds the scale originally anticipated by Douglas.
There are many more Demon Dragons left behind in the underground Dragonpits than he thought.
Some of them are small in size and are not yet fully mature individuals; some are medium in size and can already participate in combat; and a few are close to Ehm in size, and the color and texture of their scales indicate that they have entered the mature stage.
After those Demon Dragon stood around the platform, their eyes fell on the golden scale in Douglas's hand.
The lines on the scales are flowing at an extremely fast speed, and the golden light alternates on and off on the surface of the scales, as if conveying some kind of message to all the surrounding Demon Dragons that only they can understand.
Douglas feels the gaze of those eyes. There is no hostility or aggressive signal in those eyes, only a kind of quiet waiting.
His hand holding the scales was still steady, but there was already a layer of fine beads of sweat on his back.
He has never faced so many Demon Dragon at such a close distance at the same time.
The breathing sounds of those giant beasts formed a continuous low-frequency echo in the cave, making the ground beneath their feet tremble slightly.
He took a deep breath, retracted the scales to the inside of the chest armor, then raised his right hand and made a brief and clear command gesture in the direction of those Demon Dragon.
That gesture was taught to him by Redd before setting off, and was used to convey "gather" and "follow" signals to Demon Dragon.
Those Demon Dragon raised their heads at the same moment when they saw his gesture, and made a low response in their throats.
The sound gathered into a continuous echo in the cave, spread along the passage toward the ground, and turned into a stream of air with heat at the Dragonpit exit, stirring the surrounding air and twisting it slightly.
Douglas stayed in Dragonpit for about half an hour and confirmed the formation and leader of fifty Demon Dragon.
He designated three of them, Demon Dragon, which were the largest and had the calmest eyes, as the main force of the formation. The rest were divided into batches according to their size and age to ensure that no physically exhausted individuals would appear during the long-distance flight.
Those Demon Dragons took off from Dragonpit one after another after receiving the formation order. They took off from the inside of the Black Wall of Volantis, circled over the port and then adjusted their direction and flew towards the inland direction of Free Cities.
Douglas walked out of the Dragonpit exit and stood on the ground below the Black Wall, watching those huge figures gradually unfold into a loose formation in the sky, moving in the direction he indicated.
He stood for a moment, then turned and walked towards the port, preparing to take the next ship to his first target in the plan, City-States.
He wants to go to Pentos first.
The Red God church has the most concentrated power in Pentos, which is also the core area for the spread of the Red God faith.
If the Red God church of Pentos can be eliminated quickly, other City-States will collapse under pressure, and at least in the short term they will no longer be able to organize effective resistance.
Douglas When we boarded the ship, it was already dark.
He stood on the side of the ship, watching the last few rays of light in the sky being swallowed up by the sea, then turned and walked into the cabin.
He pressed his fingers on the inside of the breastplate where the golden scales were, making sure it was still there.
Then he closed his eyes and let the rocking of the ship bring him into a shallow state of rest that could be interrupted at any time.
The fifty Demon Dragon had already taken off before him, and they would arrive in the sky near Pentos early the next morning, waiting for his arrival.
And he will complete the voyage before then, enter the inner harbor of Pentos by sea, and direct the operation on land.
He is not a person who is good at solving problems with fire and sword.
What he is good at is finding direction in chaos, maintaining rhythm under pressure, and making the decision to keep things moving forward when no one knows what to do.
He believed that Redd chose him to perform this task because of his abilities in these areas.
He also believes that although the Red God church has fanatical believers, in the face of absolute power, those beliefs and fanaticism cannot change the results they are about to face.
Fifty Demon Dragon are enough to turn any City-States sky into a sea of fire, turn any city wall into ruins, and turn any armed force into charred wreckage scattered on the ground.
He does not need to defeat the Mental Power power of the Red God church. He only needs to show those believers that the "Lord of Light" they believe in has no protection in the face of the Demon Dragon flames.
When they see their countrymen being swallowed up by Dragonfire, and their god sending no power to save them, that faith will begin to shatter from within.
Those remaining who refuse to give up will be physically eliminated.
That's Redd's solution. Simple, thorough, and doesn't require any debate or convincing.