"Besides this, what else can we do?" Milmos didn't see any problem. "Even if the master's power can radiate from Pillar Mountain all the way to the human cities in the south, it doesn't mean we can possess all of that."

It tightened its grip on the iron staff and paced a few steps. "You don't think the humans have really submitted, do you? We conspired with the ambitious ones among them in advance, coupled with the foolish lingering of the Morey people, and the dragon kin patrolling every day to divide the solidarity among the humans. That's how we barely managed to control them."

"Maintaining the current order is difficult enough, what else is there to discuss?"

Alvis shook his head. "Is that so? But there is one fact you should be clear about - this world is in motion, and there can be no such thing as an absolutely independent space. All things are constantly influencing each other. The closed kingdom you hope for is simply impossible to achieve."

He went after Milmos and walked up in front of him, still staring intently into his eyes. "The current brief peace is built solely on Raphael's overwhelming deterrent power. The dwarves, dragon kin, and humans are not the absolute reasons. It's because of your master's overwhelming power initially that these peoples remain calm, willing to barely scrape by without causing trouble. Otherwise, do you not believe it would have descended into chaos long ago?"

"You're right about that, but my master is just that powerful. He can exist pressing down the spring until the end of the world!" Milmos angrily roared. Of course it knew that Pillar Mountain and Erl were currently sitting on a powder keg. It was just that the power Raphael had previously displayed deterred the outside world from rash action. They needed time to accumulate strength for an all-out effort to resolve this problem.

This time for accumulating strength was the reason for Erl's current peaceful appearance.

"You're deluding yourself," Alvis said with a cold laugh, completely abandoning his former cautious demeanor to take a radical stance. "The dragon scholars have been telling us in all kinds of magical creature science magazines that even the longest-lived gigantic dragons only reach around 2,500 years old on average. Your master won't live past that!"

"So what? Two thousand years is enough to change everything! By then neither you nor I will still exist! But my master's offspring will inherit this great empire, carrying on his will until the end of time!"

Milmos started raving somewhat maniacally, because Alvis's words were hinting at a fact it was unwilling to admit - that Raphael's power was insufficient to counter the future invasion force.

Although he had told Milmos he was just escorting Nana back, the beast suspected the red dragon had probably gone back to summon reinforcements, because through its oblique probing it realized that not a single one of the four dragon slayers had died. Although their quest for vengeance had destroyed a mighty city, they ultimately failed to eliminate their enemies.

This also revealed certain limitations to the red dragon's power - it was not all-powerful.

This left Milmos at a loss, as its reason for existing and the source of its self-confidence was standing behind what it believed to be the most powerful huge dragon.

This unmatched power had been conveyed to it through the dragon's blood, making Milmos extremely proud and sweeping away the indignity of its former life as a human.

The dragon's blood had purged its debased bloodline mixed with forest guardians and peasant daughters, transforming it into a noble, perfect dragon kin…even if its appearance was a bit off, the evolution to a higher life form was obvious.

One could say Raphael had become the existence supporting Milmos's normal personality. Any insult or belittling of him would touch its sensitive nerves.

Now it absolutely could not accept that the king, parent, and deity in its heart could be destroyed by the very weak humans it had once belonged to. It stubbornly believed that as long as Raphael existed, Pillar Mountain would be as secure as a fortress.

Alvis shook his head as he watched the bizarrely manic Milmos. "So this is the reason the dragon kin are so loyal? Indeed, from the physical blood connection to the question of whether an individual's value exists at all, no dragon kin can betray their mighty dragon master."

He placed his right hand on Milmos's shoulder and spoke in a more gentle tone of persuasion:

"But subjective beliefs cannot override objective reality - this is a fundamental law of the world's existence. You should be very clear about this subconsciously. Raphael is not a god. He has downturns, worries, quirks, makes mistakes. You can't ignore his path to the end, can you?"

Milmos stopped swaying his body, but two trails of tears were slowly flowing from his eyeless red eyes, clearly having struck a nerve.

"Did you know? I've actually been tormented by immense pressure this whole time."

It began to pour out its troubles. "I wanted revenge on the humans. I couldn't accept how prosperous they were when they had refused to share even a shred of happiness with me before. So I took the risk of instigating my master to invade this place. But after that, I suddenly realized this was a huge trap - my master had been seduced by the outside world's riches and was willing to protect these things with his life and everything he had!"

Milmos pointed a sharp claw, and Alvis followed the gesture to the vast sea of gold that was Erl's central treasury below.

"So my subconscious has been constantly whipped. I dream that the dragon's blood within me is starting to reject me, wanting to separate from someone who exploited my master like this. So I could only deceive my brain, saying it was those old dragon kin sabotaging me."

"At the same time, I've been working tirelessly to prove to my subconscious that I'm still loyal to my master. But you're telling me all that effort was useless - I'm still just a burden to Him!"

Alvis heard the dazed Milmos actually use the pronoun "He" to refer to Raphael. The fine scales on its body were also starting to take on a dangerous deep red hue.

"Calm down! Calm down!"

He hadn't expected a few questioning remarks to provoke such a huge reaction from Milmos.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"I can feel my blood boiling! They're trying to leave me!"

Milmos suddenly threw down his iron staff and collapsed to the ground, repeatedly rubbing his body with his claws. His long maw opened wide, revealing four tight rows of razor sharp teeth, and his body began to convulse.

"Hey! What's wrong with you?!"

Alvis rushed over and crouched down, attempting to heal Milmos with crude healing spells while shouting loudly:

"What's this supposed to accomplish? Dying solves nothing! If you truly regard Raphael as your deity, then even if you've done wrong, you should wait until making amends before perishing! Otherwise, not only has your master suffered losses, but he has no one to hold accountable - he'll just have to swallow this dumb loss!"

Perhaps his words had an effect, as Milmos gradually stopped convulsing. His deep blood-red scales began to fade back to their normal pale hue.

He then slowly sat up, and Alvis quickly retrieved the iron staff and handed it to him to help him stand.

But as he withdrew his hand, Alvis was surprised to find it covered in blood.

"What…?" Alvis couldn't help but extend his hands, coated in the viscous fluid.

"I told you…the dragon's blood is leaving me…" Milmos said weakly after glancing over.

"What's going on?" Alvis was puzzled.

"The dragon's blood is an instrument of supervision. It provides me power, but also monitors my mental state. Just now, when you suddenly said those things, I unintentionally believed I had 'betrayed' my master. So it no longer obediently remains within me, instead returning to its origin." Milmos leaned heavily on his iron staff against the wall as the bleeding from the gaps between his scales stopped.

"But the kobolds and blood wyverns can't be considered loyal either, can they? They never have issues like this."

Alvis couldn't help but recall the many incidents of embezzlement he discovered when the rat dragons reported to Raphael during his time as Interior Minister.

"That's not considered betrayal," Milmos said with a wry laugh. "In the end, it all comes down to self-awareness. If a blood wyvern subjectively believes stealing some things or taking bribes doesn't count as betrayal, then it's no problem at all. But if an extremely narrow-minded kobold believes putting their left foot forward first betrayed their master, and firmly believes it, then it will become a desiccated corpse."

"There are such arcane secrets?" For the first time, Alvis marveled at the mystical power of the dragon's blood.

"So it all depends on the dragon kin's own loyalty? If they're unscrupulous, does that mean they can embezzle and extort without consequence?" Alvis extended the logic. "While an extremely loyal one like you could be driven to death by the slightest mistake."

"Correct," Milmos nodded. "So my master had to rely on intimidation through force initially, dispatching the rat dragons for supervision. Not only does this impose a psychological leash on the old kin, but also ensures the ability to physically eliminate pests."

Suddenly, he reached out with his slender claws and pulled Alvis's head close, his face a complex mix of extreme excitement and restless anxiety.

"Let me tell you a secret I've been holding in for a long time. I've never dared tell anyone else, especially not the Lady."

Alvis raised an eyebrow. "The Lady? The blue dragon Nana? Why her specifically?"

Milmos licked his upper and lower jaws anxiously, heavily swallowing a mouthful of saliva before leaning in close to Alvis's ear to say seriously, word-by-word:

"I…I…I love my master…"

...?!

Alvis went as still as a stone for a long while, the expression frozen on his face that of intently listening.

"I'm only telling you this because our interests and ideas align. Don't you dare spread it, not even to your family!" Milmos sternly warned.

Alvis's lips moved wordlessly as if in the midst of a whirlwind of thoughts. Finally, he managed to say:

"If you and Emilie switched roles, I wouldn't have any psychological burden. But you…"

"It's precisely because of love that I cannot tolerate even the slightest mistake. Do you understand?"

"I understand…"

It took Alvis a good while to process this unpalatable fact.

He then collected his thoughts to return to the main topic:

"Alright! You've admitted that sitting idly is just waiting for death, so listen to my suggestions."

Milmos looked at him. "And what would those be? You just want us to take the initiative and start a war, right? Leave this place for field battles. An unguarded Erl would quickly be overthrown by the unrestrained human populace."

"So I'm saying your thinking is flawed," Alvis said with a smile. "War is the ultimate political tool - it has continuity and functionality. No one would wage war just for the sake of waging war. You keep hoping a single battle will make the humans give up on retaking this strategic ground. Have you considered that they'll never let go of this crucial position?"

"Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine the pivotal location of Pillar Mountain occupied by an evil dragon hostile to humans, with its innumerable wicked minions. Their greed and desires are immense - wouldn't they constantly attack the soft underbelly of human civilization from the south? Even if they don't attack, their fortified high ground would spread terror through the entire region. The economy would be devastated, farmlands laid to waste, famine and plague soon rampant."

"No one could endure the constant threat of sudden death here. The populace would migrate en masse to the east, placing great strain on law and order that would torment the administration. These detrimental effects are far worse than continuously waging war until the evil dragon is completely driven out."

Alvis waved his arm towards the southeast. "You're facing all of humanity. They won't give up - not after one battle, two battles, a hundred battles, or even ten thousand!"

Milmos shuddered at this terrifying depiction, instinctively asking: "Then what should we do?"

"Of course there are solutions, given Raphael's immense power and aptitude for war," Alvis said in a more soothing tone, recalling how the red dragon had been quite interested in the theories of warfare he discussed back in the desert cave, able to extrapolate further.

"Force can provide some security, giving us room to maneuver. We'll need to apply pressure both internally and externally for any hope."

"Externally, we can only play defense for now. But we can't just defend - we need strategic concepts from the grand perspective of ensuring this regime's sustainable existence and creativity in securing living space."

"Internally, allow me to speak bluntly - this is not a nation at all, but an anomalous amalgamation of a dragon's slave-owning domain, a monopolistic oligarchy kingdom, and a mobilized conscript army."

Milmos shook his head. "I know there are huge internal rifts in Erl, but I have no ability to properly govern so many humans. I'm also afraid reckless actions could disrupt my master's plans."

"But you can't just sit idly by!" Alvis insisted. "At minimum, you need to build a complete centralized system, and lay the philosophical groundwork for the future. Then, leverage victories in external wars to rally the populace and reinforce their consciousness of being governed. Only then will you have a foundation for establishing a nation. As is, what's the difference between here and a giant concentration camp? You completely lack the ability to replenish your own ranks - the humans will inevitably bleed you dry."

"You're right about all that," Milmos nodded. "But we'll have to wait for my master's return. I'll introduce you to meet with him in person, and as long as he agrees and grants you real authority, I'll fully cooperate with you."

"That's too slow! Matters like this are a race against the clock! Don't you know that in war, being late to deliver hot meals to frontline soldiers could lead to the next battle being lost?"

"This isn't war, it's domestic politics - there's no relation," Milmos disagreed with acting immediately, not wanting to take any risks after the dragon's blood incident.

"This is war!" Alvis's eyes suddenly flashed with an intimidating light that made Milmos flinch - it was the only look he had seen when Raphael was about to undertake some major endeavor or unleash slaughter…the savage, merciless, and greedy heart of an evil dragon.

"From conscripting the populace, to training them, growing food for them to eat, to opening up alchemical plants for manufacturing their weapons - it's all about the people's livelihood, but inextricably linked to war. Just like a high-rise building, if you don't lay a solid foundation, how many floors can you build?"

Milmos fell silent, looking quite hesitant.

"You don't want the old Morey nobility to keep encroaching on public wealth forever, do you? Don't tell me you haven't hoped to gain authority over millions of subjects," Alvis delivered the final line.

Milmos's inner desire for power was piqued. Though he had just professed his love for Raphael, he had never abandoned his pursuit of revenge against the humans and lofty status.

"Fine!" He ground his teeth and nodded in agreement.