Profiting and Sharing the Spoils

Dragons were greedy creatures.

Dragons loved gems, gold, and everything of value.

As long as something was valuable, a dragon would store it in its most secret treasure vault.

Faced with Aierde's apology, Wentesi felt much of his hostility subside.

For one thing, the man was an expert the Great Tree Sage had invited to deal with the Abyssal Rift, a friend rather than an enemy;

For another, a mighty Sanctuary expert was willing to lower himself and apologize to him, which showed considerable sincerity;

Moreover, the background the man had mentioned-the Church of Light-was backed by immense power and influence. There was no need to make an enemy for no reason.

But the disappearance of his hostility didn't mean Wentesi had forgiven him.

A loss of hostility did not equal forgiveness. It was an inequality.

"So you can't deal with the Hairy Head Sun Law Power!"

He saw at a glance that even if this Sanctuary expert used the power of his domain, he couldn't get rid of the Hairy Head Sun Law Power invading Aila's body.

He wanted to rely on Wentesi, its original owner, to deal with it.

But he expected Wentesi to act for a few words of apology?

Impossible!

Wentesi had to squeeze them for all he could.

Chances to extort a Sanctuary expert didn't come often.

Wentesi lowered his head slightly, fixed his crimson-gold vertical pupils on the powerfully imposing old man before him, and bared two rows of sharp dragon teeth as he sneered:

"Human expert, so that's how it is...

If you hadn't told me, I would have thought I'd run into some monster from an evil faction, acting on a whim and hurting dragons as it pleased!"

Aierde remained silent and did not retort.

There was a saying in the cultivation world: an honest gentleman could be taken advantage of.

It applied just as well to a Western fantasy world.

In this matter, Wentesi had right on his side and Aierde did not, so Wentesi held the upper hand.

The advantage is mine!

But Aila was still in pain, so Aierde could only apologize to the red dragon Wentesi:

"Regarding this matter, Your Excellency the red dragon, I am truly sorry. I offer you my sincerest apologies."

As he spoke, Aierde bowed once again, seemingly hoping to show his sincerity through the gesture.

Then Aierde said heavily:

"My disciple is in great pain right now. Please, Your Excellency, let her go and give her a chance to turn over a new leaf."

Hearing this, Wentesi looked at Aila, who was still breakdancing on the ground, and nodded.

"Indeed, your disciple is in great pain."

With that, Wentesi shut his mouth, showing no intention of doing anything further.

The more anxious Aierde grew, the less anxious Wentesi became. He would simply run down the clock and see who could outlast the other.

Time was not on Aierde's side; it was on Wentesi's.

"Ugh! It hurts!"

Even Aila, who had always been able to endure pain, couldn't take it anymore. She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Watching his disciple grow increasingly frantic, Aierde grew truly anxious and opened his mouth to speak.

He wanted the red dragon Wentesi to hurry and save her.

But Wentesi beat him to the question:

"I'd like to ask where the Great Tree Sage went. You said the Great Tree Sage invited you here to help deal with the Abyssal Rift.

But now I don't even know where the Great Tree Sage has gone. Does that make sense?"

Wentesi could sense no trace of the Great Tree Sage's presence among the ancient trees around them, not even in the largest one at the center.

Wentesi wanted to stall for time with questions. The longer he dragged things out, the more it would benefit him.

He was determined to extort them thoroughly.

At the same time, Wentesi slowly controlled the Hairy Head Sun Law Power with his mind, keeping it from pressing too hard inward.

Instead, he sent it roaming ceaselessly across the surface, darting back and forth.

That way, he could avoid endangering the life of the Sanctuary expert's disciple and keep the Sanctuary expert from flying into a rage and retaliating.

He could also make Aila's apparent pain even more intense!

Sure enough, Aila's screams grew shriller, and her expression became more and more distorted.

Hearing his beloved disciple's cries of pain, Aierde felt increasingly tormented.

"The Great Tree Sage sent his mind a thousand miles away. He's contacting the experts of the Wilderness and gathering them together to prepare a joint defense against the Abyssal Rift."

Aierde answered Wentesi's question at breakneck speed.

"Red dragon..."

Aierde opened his mouth.

"Hmm, I have another question. Is the Abyssal Rift still three years away?"

Wentesi continued questioning him.

"Two and a half normal years. You slept for half a year!"

Aierde once again answered quickly.

Aierde had figured it out: the young red dragon before him had no intention of lending a hand to save his beloved disciple.

He was plainly trying to stall, yet his beloved disciple couldn't afford to wait.

Just as Wentesi was about to ask another question, Aierde spoke gravely:

"Your Excellency the red dragon, I deeply apologize for my disciple's attack on you.

But she has suffered enough pain! Please stop tormenting her!"

His tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

"If you want compensation, you may name it. As long as it is reasonable and just, and does not violate morality, I will certainly not refuse."

Those are the words I've been waiting for!

Wentesi immediately put on a troubled expression:

"Well... human expert, is that really the kind of dragon you take me for?"

"To tell you the truth, the power contained in the breath I spat out is too overbearing. Even I can't completely remove it, and trying will cost me a great deal of vitality!

Afterward, I'll need to draw on my own reserves to recover over a long period!"

Wentesi laid out the pros and cons and waved his dragon tail, expressing his helplessness.

"Remove as much as you can, Your Excellency. Please hurry, or my disciple won't be able to hold on.

Whatever payment you want, just name it."

Aierde urged Wentesi on.

"I want three thousand pounds of gold, twenty-four magic gems, a tenth-level magic ring with an invisibility effect, thirty high-grade blank scrolls, and fifty bottles of life-restoration potion."

Wentesi finally dropped all pretense and named his terms.

His asking price was sky-high.

"I am an ascetic monk of the Church of Light. I have no treasure, magic gems, magic scrolls, or life potions, and your price is far from reasonable."

Aierde's voice was low as he answered.

Wentesi didn't mind.

"Then what can I get?"

Even if you're an ascetic monk, I'll squeeze a few drops of oil out of you.

Aierde closed his eyes and said helplessly:

"Provided it does not violate the eight commandments, the nine moral standards, fairness, or justice, I can act on your behalf once."

A chance to have a Sanctuary expert act on his behalf!

Even with restrictions, it was still incomparably precious.

"Thirty times!"

Wentesi bargained without hesitation, greed welling up in his heart.

"No. Hurry, my disciple can barely hold on!"

Aierde's patience ran out. Wentesi was far too greedy, and his own disciple was still there wailing in pain. It truly pained him to watch.

His hands began to itch, and he longed to step in and teach Wentesi a lesson.

"Human expert, I told you, even if I remove it, it'll still cost me a great deal of vitality. How about this? We each take a step back. Three times?"

Wentesi spoke with feigned anguish and raised his dragon wing high, signaling Aierde to agree.

Aierde answered with silence.

Sometimes silence meant refusal, and sometimes it meant agreement.

Wentesi immediately flew in front of Aila and opened his dragon mouth.

"Suck!"

In one breath, Wentesi sucked away most of the Hairy Head Sun Law Power wreaking havoc inside Aila's body.

But he deliberately left a small portion behind as a backup.

The instant he drew it out, Aila's complexion improved considerably, and her wailing stopped abruptly.

Aierde checked on Aila with his domain and finally relaxed.

Just then, the Great Tree Sage's voice rang out suddenly.

"Wentesi, you've finally come."

Wentesi looked back and saw that a face had appeared on the giant tree at the very center of the grove at some unknown point. It was the Great Tree Sage.

"Wait, what did you just do?"

The Great Tree Sage, having just appeared, keenly sensed that something was off about the atmosphere.

Wentesi said with a smile:

"I had a little tussle with the Sanctuary expert's disciple just now. Nothing serious.

Great Tree Sage, why don't you tell me why you asked me to come?"

The Great Tree Sage skipped over the matter and answered:

"Well, I invited you here to share the spoils."

"Share the spoils?"

Wentesi was puzzled.

"The spoils from the Abyssal Rift."

The Great Tree Sage put on an air of mystery as he spoke.