Maou-sama no Machizukuri! ~Saikyou no Danjon wa Kindai Toshi~ Vol 8 Chapter 18

The 3 strongest Demon Lords had come to my casino . It wasn’t just to hang around though . Their real purpose was…

“Hey, come on now . This is the true dragon squadron and the true [Dragon Emperor] we’re talking about . Be more excited . ”

Of course, I knew of his true dragon squadron . During the campaign to rescue Marcho, Astaroth had used this group to attack the [Black] Demon Lord’s holy capital .

It was an elite force that was comprised of one S rank monster and 19 A rank monsters .

The absurd strength of an S rank monster didn’t need any further discussion, but the strength of the other 19 was beyond the norm too .

First off, each of the 19 were made to be able to level up . Upon leveling up to their fullest, their base capabilities were comparable to an S rank monster .

Each of them was also made using the [Dragon] medal, which meant they had the skill [Berserk] . Essentially, [Berserk] had the tremendous effect of raising a monster’s stats by one rank, but it was at the cost of the monster’s sanity, turning it into a broken being that attacked anything it saw .

However, thanks to the S rank monster in the group, Caesar the Emperor Dragon Typhon, this drawback was rendered null . His skill, the [Dragon Emperor] allowed him to subdue any dragon in the same army, even if that dragon was under the effects of [Berserk] . It also allowed him to strengthen the dragons he commanded to the utmost .

As a whole, there might not be a fighting force that could rival their might . Even if the Avalon-Ritters were assisted by the Darkness Dragons, they would most probably be annihilated pretty easily .

“Ast, I’m grateful for the offer, but I don’t think I’m qualified to receive your dragons . I mean, I’m neither your child nor part of your faction . ”

Inheriting such things would surely make me powerful, but I wasn’t convinced that I should .

“Fumu, maybe I didn’t explain it well enough . I can entrust my true dragon squadron only to Stolas and you . No one else . After all, without [Dragon Emperor] to control the dragons, the squadron will just go wild and make one’s army collapse from within . ”

Such was the horror of [Berserk] .

A monster possessing such a skill was borderline unusable . Normally, Demon Lords would keep such a monster in their [Storage] and release it only in situations where it could attack more foes than allies . In the middle of enemy territory, for example .

In fact, Enlil was constantly kept in Stolas’s [Storage] until [Rebirth] was used on him .

“But shouldn’t inheriting the monster that has [Dragon Emperor] along with the rest solve the issue?”

“It should solve the issue, but that’s not going to happen . You see, Caesar, the one with the skill, has expressed his desire to go to the afterlife with me . According to him, he’ll use his ability to turn into a spirit and follow me after my death . At any rate, when the time comes, the other dragons will need looking after . For that reason, I turn to the two of you and your dragons . It’s still undeveloped right now, but both Duke and Enlil do have the skill [Dragon Emperor] . ”

Duke definitely had the skill, and according to Stolas, Enlil too .

Perhaps it’s a skill that S rank dragons have?

“Ast, what exactly is [Dragon Emperor]? As far as I can tell, it’s just a strengthening skill that works toward dragons . ”

In numerous occasions, I had tried to verify what the skill [Dragon Emperor] actually does .

The degree to which it strengthened dragons was pretty insignificant, so it didn’t strike me to be an excellent leadership skill .

I had thought it to be a dud skill .

Moreover…

“I want to know too, Astaroth-sama . Enlil has it too, but it’s not as strong as Caesar’s . I don’t think Enlil’s can suppress the dragons under the effects of [Berserk] as much as Caesar’s either . ”

Stolas shared the same sentiments .  There has to be more to it . It can’t just be a dud .

“Well, that’s because [Dragon Emperor] is a skill that grows . When an ally dragon falls or when the skill-holder kills another dragon, the strength of that fallen dragon’s soul is consumed to make the skill grow stronger . Caesar has seen tens of thousands of dragons fall, making his skill far different from a fledgling’s . ”

I see . So, that’s how it is, huh .

Duke has never had a chance to kill a monster from the dragon race, nor has he been in the unfortunate situation to see a Darkness Dragon fall . Due to those reasons, his [Dragon Emperor] has never grown stronger .

Enlil was in the same boat .

After all, meeting a dragon in itself was quite rare .

As for Astaroth, he was operating a proper dungeon, so he was using his monsters as bait to lure in adventurers . Throughout the many years, he doubtlessly had lost a lot of monsters . And because he was the [Dragon] Demon Lord, many of those monsters were likely to be dragons, making Caesar’s skill grow stronger .

If I were to make Duke’s skill grow stronger, I could make him purposefully kill some Darkness Dragons . I didn’t want to do it that way, though . I just couldn’t .

But then, if I was really unwilling to improve Duke’s skill by ourselves, the only alternative I could see was to steal an already fully improved [Dragon Emperor] .

“Ah, I see now why you’re asking the two us… You want our dragons, Duke and Enlil, to defeat Caesar and take his [Dragon Emperor] for themselves . And then, whoever gets the true [Dragon Emperor] shall be the one entrusted to lead your elite dragon force . ”

If it was impossible to consume the souls of ten thousand dragons, then one should aim to consume the soul of one that had already consumed that amount .

That sounded straightforward enough, but because none of the Demon Lords in his faction had a monster with [Dragon Emperor], Stolas and I truly were the only candidates .

“Correct . Like I said earlier, I originally wanted to entrust this to just Stolas . However, I’m afraid Enlil alone is not capable of defeating Caesar . Enlil and Duke together might be able to, though . And before you ask, yes, Caesar has to fight with all his might . Otherwise, his [Dragon Emperor] cannot be transferred . That is where Dan comes in . If you undertake the trial in his [Time] arena, even if your dragons get injured or worse, get killed, they will be just fine afterward . That sums up the gist of the Dragon’s Trial . ”

I gulped down at the prospect of fighting one of three strongest Demon Lord’s trump card . Even if there was no other benefit, I might have wanted to give it try anyway .

“Then, I’d absolutely like to give it a go . How about you, Stolas?”

“Of course, me too . I want to preserve as much of Astaroth-sama’s legacy as possible… but that’s not the only reason I want to do it . I want him to know just how strong I am . As his child, I am going to give my all in doing this trial . ”

Looking pleased with our answers, Astaroth nodded .

“There you have it, Dan . We’re going to be inconveniencing you . ”

Astaroth said so to his close friend and then chuckled .

In response to that, Dantalian smiled wryly .

“Geez… if only you’ve accepted my offer of using my [Time] on you, you’d be living longer and you won’t be pushing this bothersome business to me . Why, Why does my friend have to be this stubborn and shameless?”

“And yet you agreed anyway . That is so you, Dan . ”

“Because I owe you a favor and this seems to be the only chance I’ll ever get to repay that . Bothersome indeed . ”

I was late in realizing this, but Dantalian was actually a good guy . Deep down .

Due to his [Time] ability, Dan was going to live much longer and won’t disappear anytime soon .

Considering those things, I wanted to build a better relationship with him .

“Procell, you’re quite cunning, so you might have already thought that with my [Time] powers, even if you fail the trial, you can simply try again, right? Or better yet, once either Duke or Enlil has received the true [Dragon Emperor], they can just fight Caesar again so that the other dragon can receive it too . ”

“Yeah, I have thought that . ”

It was the first thing that popped into my mind . It was the [Time] arena, so it was certainly plausible .

“Don’t expect that to happen because the trial can’t be done again . Once a fight between dragons that have [Dragon Emperor] has concluded, the strength of the loser’s [Dragon Emperor] shall be absorbed by the winner . Once absorbed, it is impossible for the loser to get it back . Not even Dan’s [Time] can restore it . ”

It was an all-or-nothing fight . Once we lose, it was over, our dragons could never attain [Dragon Emperor] this way .

The thought of that sent shivers down my spine .

It wouldn’t have been exciting otherwise anyway .

“Stolas, let me tell you this in advance: whichever dragon receives the true [Dragon Emperor], don’t be upset . ”

“I know that, Astaroth-sama . Looking for a way to get ahead will just get both our dragon killed . By themselves as they are right now, neither Enlil nor Duke stands a chance against Caesar . Cooperating—and cooperating fully at that—is our only chance . ”

It was exactly that .

From the tales I had heard from Marcho, Caesar was that much of a monster . Two above average S rank monsters on our side and we only barely stood a chance .

“Ahh, how nice it is to be young . Go and dazzle us, eh?”

Astaroth said so before laughing heartily, kakaka

Like that, it was decided that we would undertake the dragon’s trial . Also, it was revealed to us that the trial would take place one month later .

Until then, strengthening Duke should take top priority . To that end, we could enlist the help of the Darkness Dragons and the Tempest Wyverns .

Getting Duke to learn how to fight with Enlil should be a priority as well .

I’m sure that these two can do it .

At any rate, it seemed like today’s agenda had been dealt with .

Ast and Dan gave off the feeling that they were readying to go back home .

“If this discussion is done, then let’s change venue, shall we? You’ve come all this way to Avalon, you deserve some more fun . There are a lot of other interesting things outside of the casino, you know . Come, let me guide you . ”

However, I wouldn’t let them go home just like that .

I only had so much time left to be together with Astaroth, so I should strive to entertain him to the utmost each time we meet . That was the least I could do as someone who owed him a debt of gratitude .

“Fumu, yes, let’s go, let’s spend all this money I’ve won . As usual, my son-in-law is very thoughtful . Oh, how it gives me peace of mind to entrust Stolas to such a person . ”

“…enough with the son-in-law stuff please . ”

“You don’t have to be so rigid . By the way, have you and Stolas done it yet?”

Not matching his calm demeanor, Astaroth made a vulgar gesture .

“Astaroth-sama!!”

Bright red, Stolas shouted so .

Seeing that, I as well as the other Demon Lords laughed .

“Astaroth, like we’ve been saying, Stolas and I are just friends . We don’t have that kind of relationship . ”

……even though I told her that ridiculous thing yesterday .

“What? How boring . Stolas, as a Demon Lord, you’re top-notch, but it seems in these kinds of things, you’re a bit inept . You should be more aggressive . Why not try pushing him down sometime soon? See what happens . But, bah, whatever . The two of you are young . You have time . Perhaps taking it slow is indeed the way to go . ”

Towards the end of his speech, his facial expression made me feel the weight of his experience . The weight of his years .

And so, to the best of my ability, I guided and entertained them . After that tour around Avalon and a dip in the hot spring, I saw them off .

I had received an unforeseen chance from Astaroth .

I should do whatever I could to succeed .

I must also do whatever I can to repay him for this favor and all that came before it . Perhaps the best way I can accomplish that is by protecting Stolas even after he’s gone . I should also continue to collaborate with her . And grow with her too .

Chapter end