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First Peak, Dragon Summit
As the nine dragon lords continued with their tribe’s agendas, they eventually excused the Witch Mother from their meeting.
“I apologize for asking you to return so we can continue our tribe’s meeting privately, Lady Ophelia. I will invite you to my peak and act as a proper host at a more opportune time,” Astarot promised.
“It’s fine, Lord Astarot.” Ophelia curtsied in her black dress with a slight smile and said, “I still have other matters to take care of, so this works fine for me.”
“Thank you for your understanding, Lady Ophelia.” Astarot nodded with acknowledgment before turning to the ninth dragon lord. “Send her back to her place, Lord Narvim. And be quick. We aren’t done here.”
“Alright,” Lord Narvim replied before he stood up from his dragon throne, made his way over to Ophelia, and ripped open a tear in space. Then he gestured, “After you, Lady Ophelia.”
Shortly after, Lord Narvim stepped inside the spatial tear and disappeared with the Witch Mother. Moments later, a new spatial tear appeared in the same spot before Lord Narvim calmly exited.
Nevertheless, the atmosphere suddenly turned solemn the moment Lord Narvim returned to the Dragon Summit without Ophelia Tempest.
“Recount everything that happened during your meeting with Lady Ophelia, Lord Narvim. And without leaving out any details,” Astarot strictly ordered.
“Alright, Lord Astarot,” Lord Narvim acknowledged with a nod.
He wasn’t allowed to return to his seat but was forced to stay on the center platform under the stern gazes of the other eight dragon lords like he was a criminal getting convicted.
Nevertheless, after the eight dragon lords finished listening to Lord Narvim’s recount, their gazes all softened with pity.
“You’ve lost your edge, Lord Narvim,” Astarot said with a sigh before mentioning, “You used to be the most arrogant, proud, and powerful dragon among the nine of us.”
“No one doubted your potential. Everyone strongly believed you had the greatest chance to achieve divinity and lead the tribe to greatness once more. However, you’ve completely changed after one mistake cost you your daughter.”
“You weren’t this conservative,” Astarot stated.
“That’s right, Lord Narvim,” Tyrvin agreed before adding, “Lady Ophelia’s threat wouldn’t have worked on you. Spreading the news of dragons would affect us, but not as bad as it would affect the Black Witch Society if we spread the news of their headquarters.”
“Furthermore, you had the absolute advantage in strength and magic. If you had really wanted to stop the spatial witches from escaping, you would have locked down the space and prevented them from even using spatial magic to escape.”
“But there’s no way you didn’t know this…” Tyrvin suddenly frowned before asking, “Why did you still lower yourself to make a deal with the black witches?”
“Perhaps he was afraid because Lady Ophelia was a Rank 6 being in her past life?” the eighth dragon lord, Khalessi, casually spoke with a look of indifference. “He does lack a spine these days.”
Narvim smiled wryly at his wife before returning his attention to the other dragon lords.
“I have seen the strength of the black witches. Although they are persecuted by most of the human countries on the continent, there’s no doubt that they are a force to be reckoned with among humans,” Narvim calmly mentioned.
“If we exclude the seven Transcendent Witches from the picture, then the Black Witch Society’s witches have made more progress than any other witch on the continent, thanks to Lady Ophelia’s knowledge, no doubt. Having them around will accelerate the progress of other witches.”
“Furthermore, if they can help us deal with Gehenna’s Great Devils, why should I wipe them out? I believe a win-win situation is much better than a situation where both sides lose,” Narvim stated.
“Is that your excuse for chickening out when you found out Lady Ophelia was a Rank 6 being that served the Storm Calamity Witch?” Khaleesi casually asked.
“That’s enough, Lord Khalessi,” Astarot ordered.
They had already heard Lord Narvim’s recount; he had made an agreement with the Black Witch Society before he even found out Lady Ophelia’s origins.
Thus, Lord Khaleesi’s words made no sense; she was simply speaking out of spite.
“Hmph,” Khaleesi snorted and spoke no further.
“Well, Lord Khaleesi isn’t exactly wrong.” Narvim wryly smiled before saying, “It’s true that I made a deal before learning about Lady Ophelia’s origins, but it was also true that learning about Lady Ophelia’s origins made me feel more certain of the choice I’ve made.”
“Lady Ophelia is an ambitious person. You would all be wrong to believe everything she said. Contract Magic is foolproof. There are always loopholes,” Narvim mentioned.
“Are you saying Lady Ophelia does have a way to contact the Storm Calamity Witch, who should be in Nightmare, a greater realm that is more powerful and distant than Gehenna, Lord Narvim?” Astarot asked with a deep look.
“Even if she doesn’t have a way to contact the Storm Calamity Witch, the Storm Calamity Witch must have a way to contact her,” Narvim stated before adding, “Otherwise, why would she let one of her close retainers reincarnate?”
“That makes sense. The Storm Calamity Witch is, after all, a Rank 7 being. There’s no way dragons of our level would know the extent of her capabilities,” Astarot nodded with acknowledgment before speaking, “Continue, Lord Narvim.”
“Furthermore, Lady Ophelia, herself, was a Rank 6 being. We would be too arrogant to say we understand what such a person could be thinking or scheming,” Narvim mentioned.
“However, I don’t believe an ambitious and knowledgeable witch like her would put herself in a disadvantageous position without anything to rely on. I am more willing to believe she had put herself in a vulnerable position to test us and see our stances.”
“If we had been hostile, perhaps it wouldn’t just be Gehenna that we have to worry about. No, it would become the least of our concerns. Nightmare would become the bigger problem,” Narvim stated.
“A sound argument; you’ve made your point, Lord Narvim. I apologize for reprimanding you earlier. After hearing your reasons, I believe you have made the right choice,” Lord Astarot acknowledged he was too quick in judging Lord Narvim’s decision. “Your claws might have lost their edge, but your mind has broadened, Lord—”
“Milords, there’s trouble!” a dragon suddenly flew to the Dragon Summit and interrupted the first dragon lord’s words.