Algiers was blindfolded and turned left and right in the passage.
When the black cloth was removed, he was in front of a spacious cave. In the center of the cave, the Red Dragon lay on a huge rock, its eyes slightly narrowed, seemingly resting.
The Goblin pushed Algiers forward, forced him to kneel, and then respectfully said, "Master, I have brought this human."
The Red Dragon in front of him lazily opened its eyes and casually said, "Well done, you may withdraw now."
Algiers could even feel the sulfurous hot breath exhaled from the Red Dragon's mouth.
"Yes, Master."
The Goblin respectfully withdrew.
Algiers struggled to stand up from the ground, gritted his teeth, and said word by word, "Evil Dragon, no matter what your conspiracy is, I will not let you succeed, even if it means death!"
After speaking, he closed his eyes, straightened his back, and prepared to face the Red Dragon's wrath.
Whether he was about to face scorching flames or sharp claws, he was fearless.
Unexpectedly, the Red Dragon's tone showed no anger, only asking, "Why did Brad Lakeman send you?"
Algiers kept his eyes tightly shut, as if he hadn't heard, and refused to budge.
Seeing Algiers' reaction, combined with the timing, Ke Xiu Si roughly guessed his mission this time, which should be the infamous "Tiefling Camp Massacre" from his previous life.
Hundreds of Eagle Guards searched for traces of Tiefling, and once found, they immediately launched a massacre, regardless of old or young, women or children, leaving no one alive, directly burning the scene, and destroying all surrounding witnesses.
Originally, this operation should have gone smoothly.
Unfortunately, they encountered Ember Nest.
Thinking of this, Ke Xiu Si looked at Algiers, who refused to budge, and asked mockingly, "Algiers, do you know how your parents died?"
As soon as these words came out, Algiers' face suddenly changed drastically, his most secret wound in his heart was brutally torn open, and he couldn't help but open his eyes and loudly said:
"This is impossible!"
"Why do you know!"
Seeing Algiers open his eyes, the Red Dragon unhurriedly said, "You don't need to know why, you just need to answer truthfully according to what you know."
Ke Xiu Si repeated once more:
"Then tell me, how did your parents die?"
"They were…"
However, Algiers did not notice that a subtle red light flickered in the Red Dragon's vertical pupils, and so it was in his own eyes.
"They were sacrificed to devils by those damned Tiefling bastards!"
Algiers thought of those painful memories, and his eyes instantly turned red, gnashing his teeth.
Ke Xiu Si casually asked, "Then who told you this news?"
"It was… it was… the Duke."
"Then why is it not so, according to what I know?"
"What do you know?"
"What I know is that your beloved Duke, in order to seek eternal life, in order to become an immortal Bloodline, exchanged the lives of thousands of people in the city, including—"
Ke Xiu Si's tone paused.
"—including your parents."
The Red Dragon in front of him was like a devil from hell, luring the human's thoughts step by step with cunning words.
"No… impossible!"
"You are lying!"
Algiers cried out, his voice trembling.
However, under the Red Dragon's deliberate guidance, he still couldn't help but think of this terrible possibility—his benefactor, his godfather, the Duke to whom he had sworn lifelong loyalty, was precisely his enemy.
Ke Xiu Si pressed closer, slowly spreading his wings, enveloping Algiers in a vast shadow, looking down at him from above:
"Think carefully, has your beloved Duke ever left Lakeman Castle?
"Has he ever bathed in the sunlight, rather than being shrouded in shadow? Even when giving those grand speeches."
"You are perceptive, have you ever heard the wails of victims from the backyard of Lakeman Castle, or smelled the scent of blood mixed in the soil?"
"When you massacred innocent beings, did you ever know that they would serve as sacrifices, becoming the pathetic materials for the Duke's eternal life?"
As Ke Xiu Si's words fell, the scene of raging fire reappeared before Algiers, and in the flames were wailing children and mothers holding their babies.
"No, no, I didn't…"
"I didn't."
Algiers retreated repeatedly, shaking his head incessantly.
He felt dizzy and had a splitting headache, every detail in his memory became so clear, seemingly able to prove all of this.
"No…"
"You are lying, you are bewitching me."
"I will not believe your slanders, the Duke clearly…"
Algiers collapsed to the ground, shaking his head and muttering incessantly, his eyes clouded with an unyielding gloom.
After a long time, a trace of clarity returned to his eyes, and he said with a trembling voice, "Evil Dragon!"
"You, what did you do to me?"
Ke Xiu Si looked down at him indifferently and said, "Just a small trick to make you accept the truth."
"Besides, after doing these things, what right do you have to call me an 'Evil Dragon'?"
"No, I don't believe it."
"This must be your conspiracy!"
"You are deceiving me, right! You misguided me with magic! I, I will not believe your slanderous words."
"Your schemes and tricks are nothing in front of the loyal North Wind Eagle Guard!"
Algiers forced himself to stand up, trying his best not to dwell on those terrifying words, but his explanations were so pale and powerless.
"I have no need to deceive you."
"And… you will know soon."
Ke Xiu Si did not entangle with Algiers, he simply lay down calmly, narrowed his eyes to continue resting, and at the same time summoned the Goblin at the door.
"Take him back to the dungeon and lock him up."
"Yes, Master."
Three long-waiting Goblins stepped forward and forcibly dragged away the struggling Algiers.
As he was being led away, he was still agitated, muttering continuously.
"Evil Dragon, you can't trick me!"
"You wish to slander the Duke!"
"You and those devils are in cahoots!"
Years of loyalty education within the family had long instilled in him the principle of absolute obedience; he was merely a sharp blade of the family, and a weapon has no good or evil.
Not to ask why, just to execute.
This is what the old drill sergeant often said.
Therefore, as a competent Eagle Guard, Algiers often emptied his mind, trying not to think about right or wrong, habitually deceiving himself—especially during slaughter, when facing unarmed refugees.
And now, Algiers was uncharacteristically thinking about all of this.
As long as he was made to do this, his psychological defense line would show a crack, and with just a little more incentive, it would completely collapse.
Ke Xiu Si's goal had been achieved.
The perspective will return in the next chapter