After a moment of nostalgia, Leon returned the family photo to his master. His master, who had risked his life for the empire, always carried this photo with him.

Undoubtedly, the old man must have been quite fond of his two granddaughters whom he had never met.

Unfortunately, Leon hadn’t had the chance to take some photos of his newborn daughter before coming back to the empire to assist his master.

Otherwise, he would have shown the little girl to his master as well. When one reaches a certain age, they don’t just consider themselves or the next generation, but also the generation after that, even the generation beyond that. It’s all about that distant familial connection.

Teg safely stowed away the photo and returned to the main topic, “You mentioned Constantine invading the Silver Dragon Clan?”

Leon nodded, “Yes, I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or something else, but Constantine seems to attack the Silver Dragon Clan when Rosvitha is at its weakest. I don’t have much information on hand, so I dare not speculate further. But Rosvitha did remind me of one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Constantine seems to have been engaging in widespread activities within the Dragon Clan, creating wars and conflicts about a year ago, which is also around the time you returned to the empire, Master.”

Leon’s expression grew solemn. In fact, he had already begun to think along these lines when Rosvitha reminded him.

It’s just… he was somewhat hesitant to pursue this inference further because the ultimate result of the investigation might be something Leon couldn’t accept.

Seeing Leon’s expression, Teg also vaguely guessed what his disciple wanted to say, “Are you suggesting… there’s a cooperative relationship between the empire and Constantine?”

Rebecca raised her hand, “Wait a moment, wait a moment, you two are jumping too quickly from clues to conclusions. Isn’t there any reasoning process in between? I don’t understand.”

“How does Master Teg returning to the empire a year ago relate to Constantine stirring up trouble among the Dragon Clan?”

Leon looked at Rebecca, patiently explaining, “Constantine’s manufacturing of wars and conflicts is merely a smokescreen. His true goal isn’t to annex other dragon clans; from the beginning, he aimed for the Silver Dragon Clan. Even before the formal assault on the Silver Dragons, he deployed some troops near the Silver Dragon’s kin, the ‘Red Dragon,’ pretending to cause trouble with them.”

“While everyone thought Constantine was just a mad dragon causing trouble everywhere, he suddenly assembled the elite forces of the Flame Dragon Clan to launch a lightning-fast assault on the Silver Dragons, even personally leading the charge, all to completely conquer the Silver Dragon Clan.”

“When I confronted him, he recognized my human identity. But within the entire dragon clan, only Rosvitha knew I was human. She couldn’t have told Constantine, it just doesn’t make sense.”

“So if nobody in the dragon clan besides Rosvitha knows this secret, then it’s only… the empire.”

“During the Silver Dragon War three years ago, I was framed by a traitor, severely injured, and left for dead. After the war, everyone probably thought I wouldn’t survive, even my master, his wife, and even myself, believed so.”

“But who would have thought, not only did I survive, but two years later, I managed to contact my master.”

“After learning about my whereabouts, my master returned to the empire to clear my unjust treason charges. However, the empire insisted that ‘dead men should just shut up and take the blame,’ and even falsely accused my master of murder.”

“So, as my master just said, over this past year, he has been constantly pressuring the empire, attempting to force them to concede. But the people of the empire aren’t fools. An old man who had already seen through the world’s vanity and secluded himself in the mountains wouldn’t suddenly develop an obsession with clearing his disciple’s name.”

“So, they might have already guessed that I, who was abandoned in the Silver Dragon Clan three years ago, might not have died, so they sent Constantine to cause chaos among the dragon clans, ultimately ambushing the Silver Dragons, aiming to completely eliminate me.”

“And after I killed Constantine, the empire had to become nervous. They had to quickly eliminate my master as an internal threat, even resorting to unleashing their dangerous creations. Because they knew that once I returned to the empire and found my master, I might uncover their dirty secrets.”

“So, to summarize:”

“First, the empire has a cooperative relationship with the dragon clans, and Constantine is one of them, but it’s uncertain if he’s the only one.”

“Second, the traitor who framed me three years ago was most likely instructed by the empire. Just using ‘dead men to take the blame’ isn’t enough to make them go to such lengths to kill me.”

Leon neatly summarized the events of the past three years, while Rebecca slowly digested and understood.

The master’s expression was solemn as he silently stared at the fire, contemplating something.

Leon let out a slow breath. He thought that speaking out would ease his burden, but it didn’t. These were just conclusions drawn from existing clues, merely the tip of the iceberg. Countless questions remained unanswered.

Why did the empire collaborate with the dragon clans? What were their goals? Why did they insist on killing Leon, and so on? So many questions weighed heavily on Leon’s mind.

He adjusted his mindset, glanced at Rebecca, then at his master, and said, “So, my next step is to first uncover the traitor who framed me back then and see if I can get some clues about the empire’s internal affairs from him.”

Teg naturally had no objections, “Sure, whatever you decide to do, I’ll support you.”

“Oh, I thought you were going to say from now on, you’re no longer my master, and I’m no longer your disciple. If I get into trouble in the future, don’t use your name—ouch!”

Teg kicked over the small stool Leon was sitting on, laughing as he scolded, “You think I’m helping you? I’m helping myself. If something happens to you, your master will tear me apart. And most importantly—”

Leon sat on the ground, raising an eyebrow, “Most importantly?”

“If you die, who’s going to nail horseshoes for the donkey?”

“…Well.”

Okay, so Leon’s position in the human side of the family hierarchy is like this:

Master’s wife > Donkey > Master > Leon

And at the bottom of the food chain, you have these two, one is henpecked, the other is in a long-distance relationship. It’s quite amusingly abstract.

After the small joke, Leon looked at Rebecca.

The master could help him because they were as close as father and son, so it was only natural for the master to support him in the empire’s dual hierarchy.

But Rebecca was just Leon’s former teammate.

Although they had faced life and death together many times and had defeated countless monsters and dragon clans, this time, they were facing a darker abyss.

Once they fell in, there would be no chance of recovery.

Responding to Leon’s gaze, Rebecca also guessed what he was going to say. Before he could speak, the girl with twin tails spoke up first.

“Captain, I already told you during the day. Three years ago, I left you, but three years later, I won’t abandon you again. So, for this reckless endeavor, don’t even think about kicking me out.”

Leon smiled helplessly, “But this is really dangerous, much more dangerous than any fight we’ve encountered before.”

He could tell that this crazy girl had been feeling guilty about leaving him in the Silver Dragon Temple all these years.

Even after three years, she still held it in her heart. So now that Leon had returned, she wanted to do everything in her power to make up for her guilt towards him.

It didn’t matter what Leon thought. Despite Rebecca’s usual quirks, once she made a decision, not even eight horses could pull her back.

“No, Captain, I think hanging around in the patrol team every day, waiting to die, is the most dangerous.”

Rebecca had a serious expression on her face. “Take me with you. I promise I won’t leave you again.”

Teg glanced at the girl, seeing her earnestness, he leaned close to her ear and whispered in a low voice, “Your captain is already married with kids. Don’t use these cliché lines and dramas.”

Rebecca frowned, made a disapproving noise, then promptly elbowed her dad, “This is the bond between friends!”

Teg clutched his chest, sheepishly retreating, “Okay okay, the bond between friends. When the time comes, you can shout about bonds and friends as you go up and kill that dog emperor, and I’ll cheer you on from below.”

“Hmph, childish old man,” Rebecca gave a cutting remark.

After a bit of playful banter, Leon suddenly remembered something, “Oh right, there’s one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“I can’t use magic anymore.”

Teg and Rebecca were both startled. “What do you mean you can’t use magic? Did your magic circuits burn out?”

Leon shook his head, holding his chest, “I’m not sure of the exact reason, but I can’t gather magic anymore. I can only refine some magic during normal times and store it in… um, store it in some magic array on my body. But the efficiency is very slow, and I’ve already used up the magic I saved recently during tonight’s breakout with my master.”

Rebecca’s mind stirred slightly. Amidst all the things the captain said, she only caught one keyword, “some magic array on your body… Captain, why do you seem a little shy when you mention this thing?”

“Ah… shy? No, not at all. It’s just a magic array, nothing to be shy about.”

Rebecca narrowed her eyes slightly, slowly raising her hand and pointing at Leon’s chest.

“Then what does it mean when there’s a purple light flashing on your chest right now?”

Leon: Σ( °△°|||) What?!

Oh, great dragon ancestors! What are you doing?!