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In dragon domain.

Raphael flew off in an irritated fury towards the Strongspine Mountains, the howling winds offering scant solace to his brooding thoughts.

Nana's mother's suspicious hostility and disdainful taunts proved more than he could bear. Had it been any other dragon treating him so, he would have attacked without hesitation.

Yet as Nana's matriarch responsible for treating her grievous wounds, Raphael could only depart abruptly without even a farewell.

"Well…perhaps it's better this way. With Nana removed from the brewing territorial conflicts and Strongspine, I need not divide my focus. "

Shaking off the lingering vexation, Raphael turned his thoughts to future strategy.

From a pragmatic standpoint, the humans dispatching an elite dragon-slaying squad must represent their final gambit to swiftly resolve this calamity through minimal losses - decapitating the crimson dragon's leadership before a full invasion aided by dissident former Vogcity populaces to purge the draconic scourge.

Their failure guaranteed heightened vigilance on Raphael's part, making further assassination attempts increasingly futile sacrifices.

Only an overwhelming military offensive remained viable - marshaling superior numbers to crush his ground forces while Dragons and Griffins engaged the aerial threat, extinguishing this menace once and for all.

"Indeed, after witnessing my path of destruction towards that defiant citadel, they possess but a single recourse - unprecedented total war!"

Raphael deduced their forthcoming onslaught yet had no intention of relinquishing his hard-won dominion. Any who dared challenge his conquest would face interminable volleys of dragonfire until obliterated.

His course was resolute without compromise - only brute force could annihilate all opposition.

Assessing his own military assets was the next critical consideration.

"My personal power remains supreme, aided by dragon kin…though no more than three thousand could deploy as active combatants while others safeguard territories, production and reserves."

While over ten thousand servitors populated Raphael's domain, he could never fully mobilize their entire population.

Some had to remain behind for homeland defense and sustainment lest all resources be invested on the frontlines, leaving territories defenseless against enemy sabotage and deprivation of vital supply lines.

Additionally, Raphael required a strategic reserve in the catastrophic event of ambushes obliterating all initial dragon kin vanguards. Committing his full might could prove a Pyrrhic victory devoid of any remaining governance.

Most crucially, these vassals formed the socio-political foundations of Raphael's dominion serving multifaceted roles well beyond expendable shock troops.

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"Three thousand is my utmost deployable limit - only the kobold elites, select blood wyrms, and all hammer drake who could only actualize their battlefield roles."

Raphael calculated grimly, assigning all other subordinates to logistics and support.

"As for human…no, let's move on." He swiftly dismissed that potential allied force.

Compelling his once-subjugated former Morrian citizens into armies pitted against their ancestral kindred was neither logical nor ethical. Raphael would not tolerate such a handicapped liability within his own ranks.

"It seems the mercenary companies mentioned by Scher represent my only outside forces. Still, rather limited combat strength to invest…"

Upon reviewing his martial assets, Raphael realized his seemingly formidable regime relied overwhelmingly on personal power with only the suicidally devoted warhammers proving truly trustworthy as elite shock troops.

"The human kingdoms will undoubtedly muster everything in a cataclysmic offensive aimed at my utter eradication within the shortest timeframe possible. Vast armies, armaments…and no doubt many of those golden dragons who nearly slew me last time."

The swifter this extraneous conflict concluded, the better for restoring stability and normality.

Rather than piecemeal half-measures courting prolonged quagmires, an unstinting commitment of elite forces could deliver a single decisive hammer-blow ending the bloodshed rapidly if brutally.

Raphael strategized how to neutralize the aerial draconic threats first before descending to the terrestrial campaigns, his own apocalyptic breath weapons ensuring inevitable ground supremacy.

Yet could his kin and mercenary vanguard endure that long? Raphael knew all too well the relentless professionalism of human military juggernauts perpetually blooded against the bestial warrior hordes year after year.

"They may even retain surplus forces to reinforce dragons, ambush my rear echelons or sever supply lines - in which case I would have to singlehandedly contend with all enemy forces once terrestrial armies are spent."

Raphael recalled ancient illustrations of primordial dragons effortlessly decimating entire barbarian hordes, systematically dismantling bestial empires through solitary might.

Yet modern human civilization eclipsed those ancient savages just as Raphael's own prowess potentially fell short of those mythical titans'.

"The ancients…wait, they cooperated against primordial threats! Could I perhaps seek aid elsewhere?"

He suddenly recalled the expansionist Prulis faction who had intimated offering assistance when Raphael petitioned the dragon council for territorial claims.

"…"

Raphael's wingbeats slowed as he pondered deeply.

Entreating the Prulis radicals' support would likely succeed…but at what insidious price? There were no free rewards in this world without grand concessions made. Raphael would inevitably need to compromise certain principles or cooperate towards unknown, potentially compromising ends that undermined his core endeavors.

To behave dishonorably and renege would leave him utterly isolated once human forces inevitably resumed their campaign of extermination.

"I understand not the Byzantine internal power struggles within the dragon council itself. This 'Prulis' faction I know only to be extremist radicals…yet their underlying currents remain a mystery…" Raphael yearned for outside reinforcement given his presently limited personal forces.

Yet he also feared stumbling blindly into obscure pitfalls through ignorance, those ancient sages endlessly philosophizing within their circular architecture not to be underestimated. His previous bravado stemmed from self-assured martial supremacy combined with having nothing to lose at that stage.

"It seems I must return home…perhaps my father can advise me."

Raphael's gaze turned northward, recalling his parents.

Nearing two thousand years old, Robert lurched towards the end of his lifetime, a vast ocean of accumulated wisdom and secrets unfurling from experiences spanning epochs.

"Though reluctant to burden them anew, I must seek parental counsel for my territory's sake."

Raphael angled his flight towards the northern realms where the twin crimson patriarchs dwelled, the familiar volcanic terrain and surface thermals soothing his restless thoughts upon returning home that evening vastly preferable to frozen tundra.

As Raphael soared inside, an aged red dragon stood facing away from his arrival point.

"Fath…wait, who are you!?"

The instant greetings died in his jaws as Raphael realized this wizened male was not his esteemed patriarch.