r18novel Page 60
Page 60
Even Casalos, with his godlike perspective, could only deduce that "Taona" was Tarona Moramura based on the characteristic information.
Otaleria, who suddenly joined the Mystron adventure party, was an old friend of the Thinker… a long-time friend, with whom he had maintained a strong friendship for over eight hundred years. In other words, this female ancient silver dragon was the Thinker's childhood sweetheart, the kind of domineering older sister next door.
From their few awkward conversations, Casalos, his gossip-loving nature burning brightly, concluded that there must have been some kind of love story between them—a one-sided affair between the amorous silver dragon and the reclusive bronze dragon, after all. Anyway, it didn't work out in the end; the Thinker later went to hide in Waterdeep, while the silver dragon became an elf in Cyberholm.
These events actually had nothing to do with Casalos. What was truly relevant was that, upon learning that Casalos and his three dragon companions were preparing to enter the ruins of Mysdrano, the ancient silver dragon surprisingly decided to join them. Thus, a strange four-person adventure party was formed.
"Why bother with disguises?" Casaroz drew his greatsword from his back, casually swatting away a goblin that had crawled out of the ruins to ambush him, and sighed helplessly.
"Because many powerful beings reside in the ruins of the City of Songs."
Chapter 181
"By disguising themselves as humanoid adventurers, the risk of being noticed by those beings can be greatly reduced." The patient silver dragon took Casalos's exclamation as a question and explained it to her again—Casaros had uttered the same exclamation many times along the way, and while Shaving Tooth and The Thinker ignored this nagging, the silver dragon would each time answer and explain earnestly from a different angle. Because entering the ruins of Mysdrono in humanoid form was her suggestion.
Otaleia had many reasons. From the fact that the City of Song was originally built by humanoid beings, and its spatial layout was more suitable for humanoid exploration activities, and that humanoid forms could more easily avoid some of the distorted maze effects and the spell traps scattered throughout the ruins, to the fact that the four dragons entering the ruins of Mystron might attract the attention of the long-vanished demons, or provoke the hostility of the elves, etc. In short, each one sounded quite legitimate.
"No, do you think that, apart from me, the three of you combined can even come up with some characteristics of an adventurer?"
The silver dragon's new "excused" reason made Casalos speechless. It turned its head to look at the three people's spotless and luxurious clothes of different styles, then looked at the dilapidated city buildings, and the corpses of goblins, gnolls, ogres and other monsters that it had dealt with along the way, and asked in return.
However, Otalelia seemed completely oblivious to the sarcasm in Casalos's words, and replied earnestly, "Indeed, we don't seem like adventurers. Our group looks more like wealthy people and nobles who have hired a powerful warrior to venture into the ruins to visit this magnificent city's remains."
"Are there really guys this bored?" Casalos was even more speechless.
“Many elves began their great retreat a few years ago, and of course, once they entered the ruins, they never came out again, without exception. Gradually, most people lost the courage to try, and only one or two such groups appear occasionally each year.” The silver dragon analyzed with an air of seriousness: “The evil creatures we just encountered didn’t move in any organized manner; they were clearly acting impulsively after spotting prey. It seems that in their eyes, a group like ours poses little threat. This shows that our camouflage is very effective, and we won’t attract much attention in the short term… if you hadn’t killed so many goblin gnolls.”
"..."
“I think we can use magic to trap those evil creatures that are attacking us, or make them lose their memories, so that they won’t summon more monsters to besiege us. We can just keep facing these small groups of attacks until they reach some core areas.”
"Then didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Ha, you were so eager to fight when the first goblin appeared." Shaving Tooth grinned and stuck his head out to answer Casalos's question for the silver dragon: "I saw you were having a good time chopping them down, so I didn't interfere."
Casalos opened his mouth but didn't utter a word. He simply swung his massive, door-like sword to the side, piercing the heart of an ogre that had crawled out of the rubble. Then, he leisurely walked over, stepped on the corpse, pulled out the sword, and wiped the blood off the ogre's belly. He was indeed having a good time hacking away, after all, he had accidentally discovered that in human form, the flames could extend to his weapon. In other words, kills in human form using weapons could also stack flames. Although the efficiency was extremely low compared to the densely packed monsters in the Dragon's Vault, it was still a real improvement, and he couldn't easily let go of such a rare and opportune moment.
"Now you're not afraid I'll attract a massive monster horde?"
“It doesn’t matter anymore. We’ve been targeted for a while now.” This time it was the Thinker who answered, pushing up its monocle. “Ten minutes ago, when you cut those two elite gnolls in half, a subtle spying spell enveloped us. Without being exposed, you’re our only front-line warrior. I think it’s good for you to warm up first.”
Casalos turned around and looked at the three guys who had somehow reached an understanding with a constipated expression.
In human form, its perception was already weakened considerably, and the twisted maze of Mystron further interfered with its detection of the magic network and arcane fluctuations. As a result, it was unknowingly used as a barbarian meat shield by these three "high-level spellcasters". Who can it complain to?
"I told you I hate humanoid forms!"
Watching the figures rustling and moving among the vines, pebbles, and trees, Casalos gripped the hilt of his sword tightly: Barbarians it is, I'll cut them down first.
108. Encounter Battle
The new wave of attacking monsters was not only more numerous but also more organized. Large, goblin-like creatures like ogres took the lead, while goblins and gnolls provided ranged support from the rear with short spears, longbows, and even crossbows, putting considerable pressure on Casalos. However, with the addition of three powerful spellcasters, the pressure quickly shifted back to the monsters.
Neither the silver nor the bronze dragons were particularly fond of killing. The Thinker and its old flame were casting spells that restricted wild monsters or buffing Casalos, greatly increasing the efficiency of its lying path. On the other hand, Razor was throwing out a multitude of colorful evocation spells into the monster horde, with fire, frost, storms, lightning, and rolling stones pelting the monsters, making them cry out in agony.
Even so, this strange four-person adventurer team didn't improve their monster-clearing speed much. There's no way around it; humanoid combat effectiveness is inherently low. Even with magic, there are very few large-scale destructive spells that can operate in open spaces—the most famous ninth-level large-scale destructive spell, Meteor Explosion, has an effective kill radius of at most a few dozen meters. This is the current magic system in Faerûn after the second-generation Magic Goddess locked the magic network. This severely limited spell range is only slightly improved by legendary spells, but it doesn't fundamentally change anything.
The immense power of high elf magic, capable of tearing apart continents through combined spellcasting, is no longer seen. The miracle of the Imasca civilization's mass production of artifacts has vanished. Even the super-ninth-ring spells of the Nesseril Empire, which are recorded, are no longer the power that the gods allowed "mortals" to wield.
Otherwise, the dark army would probably have been wiped out by a single combined spell from the high elf mages of Mysdrano long ago.
Perhaps only Asgrath's most powerful weapon, the breath attack, bestowed upon the true dragon, could still reproduce that magnificent magical power. In dragon form, Casalos could wipe out this wave of attackers with a single breath.
However, in human form, it was heavily buffed and, combined with its Razor Strike spell, hacked away for over ten minutes before finally defeating those dozens of monsters… If they were truly four humanoid adventurers who appeared strong on the surface, this wave would have left them crippled with no mana or stamina, and without a safe rest area, they would have no chance of continuing. But reality isn't a game. There's no difficulty setting deliberately controlled by the DM to ensure the safety of the team. There are no safe places in the ruins of Mysdrano, and the omnipresent monster hordes won't give any adventure team that enters any time to rest.
The commotion attracted an even larger horde of monsters, and a more dominant organizer emerged from within the horde. The four "people" who had just finished their battle casually cast a detection spell and discovered that the group was already surrounded in a hidden trap.
Fortunately, for dragons, the magic and stamina they had just fought were only about the same as a warm-up, so they could keep fighting like this.
"Does this really have to continue?" Casalos asked again, unwilling to give up. It increasingly felt that its choice to team up with the two metal dragons was a mistake.
"Just bear with it a little longer. I have a feeling the main character will show up soon." The Thinker tried to calm the increasingly impatient Casalos. "Or something else entirely."
The gentlemanly bronze dragon warlock with the single eye turned his head to the southeast, where something seemed to be attracting him. Razor cast a group invisibility spell, concealing everyone in the shadows of the bushes, while the silver dragon, while shielding himself from detection spells, repeatedly cast spells on everyone.
Chapter 182
Three different short-duration, high-efficiency speed-up spells.
Casalos understood, and with a flick of his greatsword, he charged in the direction the Thinker's gaze indicated, the other three dragons following closely behind. Powered by immense strength and magic, they moved like lightning, yet caused little disturbance.
The monster army continued its covert encirclement, using the terrain for concealment. Several goblins, their bodies covered in branches, quietly peeked out from behind the rubble. Instead of launching an attack, they observed the battlefield left by the previous battle like scouts. The ground was littered with the corpses of monsters shattered by greatswords and spells, but the perpetrators were nowhere to be seen. This caused the goblins, whose brains weren't quite sharp, to hesitate, and they didn't report the situation to their command in time.
The brief delay created a gap in the monster army's movements, allowing the four dragons, disguised as humanoids, to rush into the army's temporary frontline "command center."
A red dragon, slightly smaller than Casalos and with only one wing folded behind its back, stared in disbelief at the four people who rushed out of the shadows, surrounded by four ogres. Its orange vertical pupils, which had not yet been stained by the elements into the shape of lava balls, suddenly shrank into narrow slits.
"Stop them!" it roared, taking a deep breath, lowering its body and tail, spreading its single wing and raising its scales to enter a battle stance.
Four ogres, each carrying a steel battle axe and clad in armor, received the order and laughed wildly as they approached Casalos and his group. They were completely unaware that the red dragon, who had just prepared to unleash its breath and charge with them, suddenly leaped back several body lengths, using its four legs and one remaining wing to slither into the depths of the jungle.
"Cersita?!" Casalos asked uncertainly, leaping over the head of the ogre wielding the battle axe without slowing down. In mid-air, he reverted to his dragon form, powerfully ascending to a height of tens of meters before swooping down to pounce on the one-winged female red dragon boy who had nowhere to escape.
The sharp whistling sound of its wing membranes tearing through the air during its dive alerted the red dragon to the attack from the sky. Without turning its head, it rolled to the ground, its limbs swinging out in the air, and it caught up with the young iron dragon that was pressing down on it. It crashed into bushes and rubble and rolled a long way before stopping.
"Damn it, where did you come from, you little iron dragon brat? How do you have such strength!"
Casalos pinned the red dragon beneath him, its tail coiling around the dragon's waist, its hind legs clamping down on its hind limbs, its forelegs dislocating its front paws, its sharp big toes pressing against the dragon's eye sockets, and its massive mouth biting into the dragon's slender neck, its sharp beak already piercing beneath the dragon's neck scales. Sparks of dragon breath crackled and leaped, rendering the dragon immobile, only able to roar with its foul mouth reeking of sulfur.
Casaroz pulled open the trachea under the red dragon's neck, smashed its head into the dragon's head, creating a small crater in the ground, then twisted its hips until they dislocated. Only then did Casaroz roll to the side, using its free hind claws to step on the red dragon's head to free its mouth, swallow the dragon breath that had been activated as a safety measure, and ask again.
"You're Cecita? If you keep yelling instead of answering my questions, I'll snap your neck right now."
109. A Miserable Childhood
Cecita has been having a bad time lately.
As the only offspring born to a mother dragon in the late stages of the Elder Dragon era, seizing her last opportunity, she should have had a wonderful childhood—due to physiological factors, Elder Dragons experience a surge of maternal instinct. Even the most irresponsible and violent red dragons, under the influence of their endocrine system, gradually transform into exemplary mothers during this special period, unusually nurturing and educating their offspring. In fact, although Cecita didn't know who her father was, she did indeed experience over ten years of an atypical red dragon family life characterized by maternal love and filial piety.
Until her mother, the ancient red dragon Nargarsera, transcended the ancient dragon stage and became an ancient red dragon during a slumber!
Her mother seized the last chance to reproduce far too late; so late that Cecita had not yet reached the age to be driven out of the territory when Cecita entered the ancient age.
The transition from Elder Dragon to Ancient Dragon represents a significant hurdle. If the mother dragon in her Elder Dragon stage represents a rare period of maternal love in a red dragon's life, with her endocrine system and psychological state roughly corresponding to the state of an older mother in humans, then the dragon in its Ancient Dragon stage corresponds to menopause. Irritability, anger, and stubbornness are excellent descriptions of this period in humanoid species, let alone a red dragon.
Cecita's miserable days began from that moment on. She was suddenly demoted from the beloved little princess and darling of the powerful Daenerys Targaryen to the last offspring of the evil dragons, who hated her intensely. She went from being the spoiled little tyrant of Mysdrano, pampered by the ancient red dragons, to becoming the most unpopular "servant" under the command of the ancient red dragon Nargarthala.
Of course, this feeling of being the least popular is just Cecita's subjective feeling.
Although Nargarthra had ruled the ruins of Mysdrano for centuries, commanding countless powerful and evil monsters, and Cecita's strength was indeed beneath her notice, Cecita was, after all, Nargarthra's only offspring. The ancient red dragons were still restrained by the Lady of Mercy, and no matter how much they disliked her, they wouldn't directly target her. Furthermore, the other dragonflights dared not openly bully or oppress her. As for the more dim-witted creatures like goblins and ogres, most were still quite willing to continue obeying her commands, even if it meant exploiting her power.
If Cecita hadn't brought this upon herself, she would have at most lost some "motherly love" and returned to the life a young red dragon should have... No, even so, she would have been much more comfortable than other red dragons. At least as an only child, she didn't have any brothers or sisters who might kill her at any time. The ancient red dragons' control over the ruins of Mysdrano was also more absolute. She wouldn't even encounter those adventurers, the "dragon-slaying teams," who loved to cause trouble for young red dragons and uphold justice.
But from Cecita's perspective, it's a different story... Dragons, you know what I mean. What really makes the situation serious are the cunning drow under Nargathera's command.
Upon noticing the change in the ancient red dragon's attitude towards their offspring, the drow immediately distanced themselves from Sersita. Without the drow strategist's advice, Sersita's actions became extremely prone to angering the ancient red dragon... and red dragons, after all, always seem to dislike one another.
The drow are naturally inclined to cause trouble. Not only do they stop helping Cecita to please Nargathra, but they also secretly devise various ways to lure Cecita into angering the ancient red dragon, even though they gain no real benefit from it.
Worse still, as the most powerful and well-educated species in the Prime Material Plane, Ceresita possessed the intelligence to perceive the drow's treacherous schemes. However, the red dragon's volatile nature made her helplessly fall into their traps. Three minor beatings a day, a major beating every three days—this was a true reflection of Ceresita's recent miserable life. In the past month alone, her six limbs had been broken no less than ten times by the enraged Nargathra. Every day, every inch of her dragon skin beneath her scales was covered in bruises, never truly healed.
A few hours earlier, Nargathella had sent out her top henchman, Dorisis, to completely sever one of her dragon wings.
Cecita was powerless to resist. Firstly, the power of the Doris legend was beyond her ability to withstand head-on. Secondly, it was far better to have a lackey do it than to be clawed at by the ancient red dragon herself. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, she could only endure her adolescence in this resigned manner, waiting for Nargathera to fulfill the final rule a red dragon mother should abide by, banishing her from her territory. At that time, the sky's the limit, and Cecita would surely be able to claim her own mountain, build her own army of servants, and fleece anyone who passed by.
She's still just a young dragon; she has a long life ahead of her. As long as she keeps a close eye on the area around the ruins of Mysdranor and waits for her poor mother to grow old with the passage of time, won't her vast inheritance, that enormous treasure trove from the high elves, ultimately belong to her?
No, it doesn't need to wait that long.
Chapter 183
of.
On the continent of Faerûn, countless individuals are eyeing the ruins of Mysdrano. Cersita knows every twist and turn of the labyrinthine maze of Mysdrano and everything about Nargarthra. All she needs to do is lure promising adventurers into Mysdrano and, at the opportune moment, give them specific hints, thus continuously creating serious but not fatal trouble for her mother, Nargarthra, gradually weakening her and causing her to prematurely age in her ancient years—the mindset of a red dragon educated by an ancient dragon is different from other red dragons. A normal red dragon at this age would probably only think of using its power to burn, kill, and plunder, only to have its head hung in the square of a nearby major city by an adventurer's dragon-slaying party.
Ambitious dragons like Cecita have begun to consciously restrain their red dragon nature and plot against their own mother. Just a few more years of patience and Cecita will be free, allowing her to begin her long and grand plan of plundering wealth!
But these days were truly unbearable. Cecita had to find some way to vent her anger, otherwise she was afraid that one day she would fall into an uncontrollable dragon's rage and launch a one-way death charge against Nargathera, at which point everything would be beyond redemption.
Fortunately, the ruins of Mysdrano will never lack things for the red dragon to vent its anger on. Wild dark creatures can be found everywhere in the twisted maze, the idealistic little group with pointed ears who want to reclaim Mysdrano, and the adventurers who covet the endless treasures in the ruins of Mysdrano are all excellent sources of amusement.
Sure enough, before her severed wing wound had even scabbed over, a warrior led three reckless "tourists" into the area of the maze...
110. Do you like this kind of food?
A self-proclaimed experienced warrior, accompanied by three or five wealthy or noble individuals lacking self-awareness, stumbled unprepared into the ruins of Mystron.
Cecita hadn't seen a combination like this in quite some time.
She couldn't help but recall how, in the time immediately after her birth, such small groups frequently appeared in the ruins of Mysdrano. Her first successful intimidation, her first taste of human terror, even her first gold coin… all came from these visiting "bosses." The bosses brought much amusement to Ceresita, who was then the darling of the ancient red dragons, but as time passed and the humans who migrated to the valley gained a deeper understanding of the dangers of the ruins of Mysdrano, the fun dwindled.
Years later, such a group reappeared in the ruins of Mysdrano, offering some solace to Cecita's wounded heart, who had just lost a wing, especially since one of them was a beautiful female wood elf.
"I'll capture them all, then slowly bite off that warrior's limbs in front of them, enjoying their terrified screams as I empty the treasures of those two seemingly wealthy fellows, then kill them one by one, and finally devour the delicious elves!" She fantasized, summoning the dark creatures who still obeyed her commands to form an encirclement, completely unaware that the low-ranking drow who had reported the arrivals to her turned around, revealing a smug smile of triumph on his face.
Cecita, being a well-educated red dragon, remained wary of her childhood plaything. She first dispatched scouts to investigate, and her organized "army" of dark creatures was ordered to maintain distance and concealment, perfectly setting up an encirclement during the encounter between the newcomers and the monsters. It wasn't too surprising that the encounter revealed the spellcasting abilities of the wealthy and elves; elegant and mysterious magic was always popular among rich young men and nobles. Regardless of their own talent, learning a few tricks could always satisfy their vanity at the right time.
Based on the red dragon's keen perception of magical fluctuations, Cecita concluded that, apart from the incredibly wealthy and obese man, the other nobleman and the wood elf didn't seem to possess particularly strong spellcasting abilities. They hadn't even unleashed a single powerful spell, instead relying on props and low-level scrolls to cast largely ineffective auxiliary spells. The warrior, on the other hand, seemed quite formidable; no wonder he dared to bring the three bosses into the ruins of Mysdrano even now. He wielded his greatsword with the agility of dragon wings, hacking the monsters to pieces.
If it weren't for that warrior holding the line, these guys would probably have been torn to pieces by the dark creatures long ago.
Huh? What's this? Where is everyone?
While Cecita was still assessing the strength of her prey, the prey, having cleared out the monsters, suddenly vanished in a strange magical fluctuation. The boy's female red dragon was momentarily distracted, and the prey bypassed her layers of "dark army" defenses, revealing itself before her.
"Pretending to be a lamb to eat a dragon?"
Having endured the tortures of the drow for so long, she immediately realized the gravity of the situation. Feigning a charge to trick her most loyal "guardian" into taking the lead, she slipped away on all fours. Regardless of who the newcomer was or what their purpose was, she had already used her two-legged sheep's movement spell; she couldn't possibly outrun a four-legged dragon. As long as she could reach the direct perception range of her mother, the ancient red dragon Nalgarthala, she would be safe!
No matter how much Nargathera disliked his daughter, he wouldn't allow an enemy to bully Cecita; that would be slapping the red dragon in the face... Wait, what's all this noise?
“Cersita?” A dragon’s voice came from behind, followed by the whooshing sound of a large dragon’s wings gliding and diving at low altitude—a sound she knew all too well—there was a dragon among these guys!
Having lost a wing and the ability to fly, she couldn't expose her back to a flying dragon. Listening to the whistling air, she estimated the distance and rolled just before contact, her four claws reaching out to seize the swooping dragon of the same size: Let me see what kind of dragon dares to fight a red dragon of my own size... In the roll, Cecita felt she wasn't holding another dragon, but a dragon-shaped steel golem. The red dragon's pride in its strength suddenly became useless; in the first roll, her limbs were easily seized. In the second roll, her tail was forcibly dislocated, and a tail almost as thick as her waist was wrapped around her abdomen...
When the spinning stopped, she finally saw clearly the creature that had subdued her. It was an iron dragon, a young iron dragon that still had the appearance of a big-headed baby.
What?! Iron Dragon, who's seen the devil, was bigger and stronger than me even as a child?!
She couldn't help but roar out the question in her heart, and the answer she received was an iron beak that bit through the scales on her neck and a breath of sparks filled with deadly energy...
"Yes, I am Cecita."
Thinking of her own life, Cecita forcibly suppressed the raging rage within her, calmed herself down, and slowly, proudly, and "seriously" answered Iron Dragon's question: "I didn't expect my reputation to have spread beyond Mysdrano. Where did you hear my name? Was it from the ogres who attacked the valley, or the goblins who wandered out of Mysdrano?"
Practice has proven that overwhelming the dragon with absolute power before negotiating is an effective strategy for establishing meaningful communication with chromatic dragons; otherwise, they are unlikely to engage in any serious and meaningful dialogue. A normal young red dragon would be utterly powerless against the current young Casalos, let alone the crippled creature it now subdued. Under this deadly threat, the red dragon's desire for survival and will to live finally overwhelmed its chaotic nature, but certain things etched deep within its dragon soul remained unchanged.
“Unfortunately, no one has heard of you. I only know of you because I conducted a thorough reconnaissance of the ruins of Mysdrano beforehand.” Casalos glanced behind him; the three men had already subdued four ogres and were now watching. He needed to find a suitable reason to reveal his knowledge of the dragons within Mysdrano.
Chapter 184
He brushed off the matter of the name: "Although there is a distorted barrier to conceal it, and your mother has set up a decent anti-detection magic trap, unfortunately I also have my own unique methods. I advise you to answer every question I have from now on properly, because no lie of yours can fool me."
"Tsk, another adventurer, huh? Perfect cannon fodder." The heavily pregnant woman with shaved teeth rattled off a string of words: "You tricked us into coming to Mysdrano for this little dragon girl, didn't know you had a thing for this kind of thing?"
111. Purpose
Casalos opened his mouth, but couldn't find any reason to refute it.
In a sense, it was indeed there for Cecita, but certainly not for the reason of shaving teeth and making empty promises. It doesn't have that function now, and even if it did in the future, due to the inherent prejudice of iron dragons against red dragons, it wouldn't develop any sexual interest in red dragons.
Its purpose in seeking out Cecita was simply to ensure the sustainable and harmonious development of its own territory.
To this day, apart from Isis, a young girl who is deeply trusted by her followers and half a disciple, no one knows that the vast area of the Eastern Plains of Tindor is actually under the control of Casaloz. The apparent lord of the plains has always been the red dragon Sersita—this was just one of the identities it disguised to infiltrate the Dragon Cult.
By now, the people of the steppes had grown accustomed to the rule of the red dragon Sersita, for compared to the lords prevalent in Faerûn, Sersita had done a remarkably good job. The steppe people now wholeheartedly acknowledged and accepted this new red dragon as their de facto lord, for the dragon had transformed their lives: they no longer needed to live a precarious, nomadic existence struggling for survival amidst the monster-infested plains. The monsters of the steppes had all joined the red dragon's ranks, trained as soldiers, and no longer plundered and pillaged the herders; instead, they provided them with protection and a new order. The lives of the steppe people gradually became more stable, and then, driven by the red dragon's port commerce, they began to prosper.
The nomadic tribes transformed into peaceful towns, people filled their pockets with gold, ate and drank their fill, and no longer constantly worried about their safety. Naturally, they supported the red dragon's rule... well, there were some fools who thought the red dragon had robbed them of their nomadic nature and freedom, especially given the relatively high tax rates set by the lords. The Tindor "royal family" also didn't want their territory taken by the dragons; the dragons wouldn't pay them tribute like the steppe tribes. Unfortunately, Casaloz wasn't a silver dragon and would never tolerate such scoundrels.
The dragon servant army, composed of monsters such as goblins, kobolds, large goblins, bear goblins, and ogres, was always hoping for a few troublemakers to pop up and give them a go. After hundreds of "righteous" rebels and a few clueless adventurer teams were skinned alive by half-dragon kobolds and their skins hung on poles in the grasslands outside the gates of Sindar, the royal family of Tindor openly acknowledged the existence of the Red Dragon Lord.
In short, Cersita the Red Dragon's rule over the eastern side of Tindor has become increasingly entrenched, and Casalos has no need to start over under a different identity. Doing so would not only greatly diminish the initial success of his rule but also expose his core base of operations.
Besides, its original identity is now set to cause trouble everywhere, and it's not a good thing to provoke a powerful enemy for Longling.
Continuing to maintain Dragonridge's rule as the Red Dragon Sersita is an excellent choice.
The problem is that the real red dragon, Cecita, is currently swaggering around in the ruins of Mysdranor, relying on the power of her ancient red dragon mother. This is a problem that must be solved, otherwise, when Cecita or her red dragon mother hear that she has built such a large and prosperous territory on the Thurte Peninsula and come to claim it, how will Casalos prove that he is the real "Cecita"?
Kill the red dragon? Most of the current inhabitants and servants of Dragon Ridge don't even recognize it, and it will take a lot of effort for it to regain its dominance. The best solution, of course, is to deal with the ancient red dragon and Sersita…