In the northern central district, the flow of people was still incessant, but a rapidly approaching carriage disrupted the original order.

Shena, Moran, and Evan hurriedly got off the carriage, striding toward this hastily constructed fortress-like building.

"Please, slow down."

The rat dragon commander Hil suddenly blocked the three of them, his expression somewhat unfriendly.

This was unprecedented - previously, whether Shena, Moran, or Evan coming to work daily, they had never encountered an interception.

But this fully armed dragon kin with baleful eyes gleaming clearly had full confidence. His sharp, cold gaze drifted along the edges of the trio's necks like a sharp sword's blade, causing Shena and the others to break out in a cold sweat.

"Respected Sir Hil," Evan stepped forward. "I come here to work every day. You've never obstructed my way before, so why won't you let us through today?"

"Because they're doing cleaning inside right now. You can't go in, so please leave," Hil said an excuse indifferently, his right claw firmly gripping the hammer-shaft at his waist. Shena couldn't help but tug on his son's clothes, signaling him to back down.

Evan was clearly unable to restrain himself, shaking off his father's restraint and getting somewhat agitated:

"Cleaning? How's that possible, are you joking?"

He pointed behind Hil to the constant stream of people - groups coming to get meals at fixed times every day, dwarves who had operated the "Grand Terra II" all day coming back to rest, patrol squads who had captured suspicious individuals coming to collect rewards, idle dragon kin leaning against walls chatting lazily.

This looked nothing like cleaning was happening, there wasn't even a single broom in sight.

"Did someone tell you something?"

Evan couldn't control raising his voice, attracting the attention of the crowd not far away.

Boom!!

A powerful shockwave slammed into the ground, causing those around to stagger from the shockwave's vibration, with the unsteady kobolds directly falling over.

Evan's face drained of color as he hurriedly backed up. Shena instinctively used his hand to pull him behind himself, looking at the approaching hammer drake with a horrified gaze and saying, "No problem, we're leaving right now, leaving right away."

Snort!

The hammer drake, larger than the entire hub building, exhaled two streams of white breath from its nostrils. Its four eyes locked dead on these few humans daring to defy its superior, the bloodlust and madness contained within leaving the trio with no doubt it would really resort to lethal force.

"Go," Shena urged the coachman.

But half a minute passed and he only heard the crack of the whip, the carriage unmoving.

"Hurry up!" Lord Moran shouted urgently, opening the small window to yell forward. But then he saw the coachman turn back helplessly shrugging his shoulders, shifting to show the two terrified black horses that had gone soft in the legs.

"Damn it! We really should have bought those black swifthorses back then! If the Karuk people's price wasn't five times the market rate, I never would have passed them up!"

Shena cursed, his hand movements unhurried as he quickly opened the carriage door, shoving Moran out and pulling Evan with him.

Since magical beasts innately contain tremendous power, they are unsuitable for civilian keeping. So in areas with large human populations, these creatures had long been driven away. At least in the Midgard region east of the lower Mordon River, magical beasts were nearly extinct, with only the weak, harmless magical pets remaining.

However, the Karuk region had vast primeval forests, and the unmapped Loga Peaks lay to the north where dragons even nested. So the Karuk people had geographic advantages, smuggling prized magical beasts to the high officials of foreign countries every year.

They had just gotten off the carriage when the hammer drake behind them evidently could no longer hold back - or perhaps received orders from Hil - beginning to slowly creep toward them on its insectile legs.

"Father! Look!" Evan felt the tremors underfoot, instinctively looking back to immediately spot that the war machine was secreting a fiery-colored powder onto its hammers.

"Just explosive powder, don't be afraid!" Shena pulled him hurriedly toward the manor district. "It's a secretion refined from fire-attuned dragon blood by the hammer drake's special organs. Unless it gets on you - meaning you get struck by its hammers - it won't explode. But even without powder, the sheer impact force alone would be enough to crush us into paste."

He reassured, "Don't worry, it's just trying to scare us off. If it really intended violence, the blood wyverns would have come to intercept long ago. How could they just sit and watch us leave?"

Just as Shena said, the hammer drake only wanted to quickly drive off the three of them, with no intention of giving chase. Seeing their figures recede into the distance, it returned to its position beside the hub building.

"But just what is going on here?" Evan couldn't help but voice this question once they had gotten far enough away.

Everything today had been so strange - the dragon nest clan leader from Pillar Mountain suddenly descending, followed by contact with the dwarven king, and the monopolistic structure created by the twelve noble houses already showing signs of collapse less than a month into operations.

"It's quite clear that dwarf must have used some means to strike a deal with certain dragon kin clans, prompting them to start restricting our three's movements," Shena said with a cold laugh.

Evan was even more perplexed: "But what about that rat dragon? We left the palace citadel before they did, so how could they have reacted that quickly?"

"Probably communique orbs," Lord Moran said. "But those are just minor details. The critical thing now is to analyze the crux of the matter."

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He boldly hypothesized, "I don't think this was the red dragon's intent."

This conclusion invigorated the other two.

Evan asked urgently, like a drowning man grasping at a lifeline, "How so, Uncle Moran?"

"If this was the red dragon's will, it wouldn't need all these convoluted maneuvers. It could have flown here itself, or freely commissioned an ordinary blood wyvern to simply inform us. Why bother delegating to a powerful clan member? And create all this unnecessary trouble?"

Shena nodded. "You make a fair point. Raphael is the de facto ruler of Erl. If it wanted to restructure internally, no one could stop it. To sideline the clan imprisoning Naisa, it only needed to activate the dwarves. Engaging in all these superfluous actions, is it playing games with itself?"

The more Evan listened, the more sense it made to him. Excitedly pounding his right fist into his left palm, he said, "Exactly! This was all that dwarf's own idea! He used to be a regent vassal, only put forward as a public scapegoat and to ensure legitimacy on your advice, Father. He must have colluded in secret dealings with the dragon kin he's familiar with - the regent itself is completely unaware!"

As long as Raphael itself had not taken action or directed Milmos, then there was ample room to maneuver.

Naisa and the dragon kin clan acting up alone was not enough to make Shena and the others back down. Because currently in Erl's political environment, Raphael reigned supreme as the sole draconic power. With this dragon's deterrence, internal conflicts could not escalate into violence, since Raphael itself was the greatest force.

The dragon kin could not deploy unauthorized violence, or else they would be little different from humans. Red dragons had never practiced "favoritism", but rather "the strong take precedence".

Shena and the others had not committed any grave transgressions. Why would Raphael simply revoke their authority without cause?

This was also the reason Milmos urged his master Alvis and the others to wait until Raphael returned before taking action. In Erl's political arena, the sole path to victory was to obtain Raphael's orders - or rather, a blank sheepskin emblazoned with the firebird crest. With that, the entire systemic apparatus would begin operating to execute the red dragon's commands - which were effectively your own will.

"That's right, it is so."

Recalling the oppressive bluster of the blood wyverns in the palace citadel and the hammer drake's bravado, the three sharp-minded individuals saw the truth ever more clearly.

First: Raphael was definitely unaware, for there had been no sheepskin decree from start to finish. Red dragons, unlike green dragons, did not play mind games - conspiracy theories could be ruled out.

Second: The dwarf and certain clans exploited the vague areas of authority, maneuvering to bypass the red dragon and use information asymmetry to create a false impression externally, deterring the humans from acting while insidiously wresting control of Erl from human hands.

"Their process and aims were probably along those lines," Moran said after analyzing, sinking into thought. "But this plan has a flaw - the red dragon itself. Sooner or later, it will discover the dwarf it ordered imprisoned has regained power. Given the red dragon's nature, the dwarf could still judge this a desperate gambit. But why do the clans fear no reprisal?"

"False accusations," Shena said those icy words.

Moran turned back. "You mean they'll preemptively slander? But calumnies only work coming from favored ministers. We're unfamiliar with the dragon kin's internal factions to judge who."

"No more on that, our priority now is defense." Shena stopped. "We must do three things. First: dispatch people to closely monitor the dwarven settlement, especially those elder-level figures."

"Second: tighten military preparedness in case of contingencies."

"But I can't access the central hub anymore," Evan interrupted. "So I can't use the patrol squads."

Shena shook his head. "I mean the manor district's guards. Thurio!"

He looked to Lord Moran. "You have the broadest connections and respect within our group. Call a meeting excluding the Amelia and Komo houses to explain the crisis and secure command of the guard forces."

Then to his son: "You'll represent House Vattier and attend, then rein in your brother."

"Third: Control every living thing in the Amelia and Komo houses - and I mean every single living thing! Including servants, cooks, gardeners, sex slaves, pets, every miscellaneous creature. We must control at least one of Amelia or Komo themselves - that's the bottom line."

After the instructions, Moran approved of Shena's decisive measures and asked, "And you?"

Shena's face darkened. "Defense alone cannot secure victory. Though directly trying to clarify with Raphael would be fastest, I aim to promptly end this extremely passive situation - I'll use the void gate transport array to guide Unchained Wing mercenaries from the Battleplains, hastening their arrival."

"Thurio," Shena said gravely, hand on Moran's shoulder. "I should be able to bring them in two days' time. You'll be the helmsman until then. The situation will be changing by the minute - I can't give you any brilliant strategies. Just one key about the red lines for our side and theirs."

He swallowed difficultly. "No bloodshed at all costs! Not even within our own ranks! No exceptions, not even small animals! Especially not birds like ravens!"

Shena exhaled deeply, looking to the towering Pillar Mountain. "Blood stimulates the nerves of all creatures. Even the bodily fluids of a crushed insect could become tinderbox fuel. Once blood is drawn, there's no telling what the dragon kin, dwarves, or our own people might do - and our overall strength would only be diminished, increasing our odds of eventual defeat."

Moran nodded gravely. "No problem, leave it to me."

Shena managed a strained smile. "Good. You've served as a high official in Morey before with no small achievements. I trust your grasp of the situation."

The manor district's details gradually came into view - long hedgerows blocking prying outside eyes, numerous lower-ranked guards patrolling in groups of three or four, laughing and smoking pipes.

"Let's begin."

Shena parted from the other two, heading alone toward the distant Vattier estates, while Moran and Evan went straight to the nearest noble house.

"It was just like that."

...

Milmos was still in the palace citadel, with Alvis and Naisa beside him.

"Hil drove off those three humans. They showed no rash actions, obediently complying."

It exhaled in relief. "That's for the best too, avoiding any incidents that would make me the scapegoat. Now tell me, what are your plans for colluding with the dwarven elders? What are the specifics of the process?"

Alvis interrupted, "Something's not right. I suspect the old Morey nobles have discovered the truth."

"What do you mean?" Neither Milmos nor Naisa possessed anything like a "sixth sense" or awareness to sense danger beforehand.

"Raphael is unaware," Alvis enunciated precisely. "You were too rash. Even if we came to see the dwarven king, that could be understood as following orders to inspect the imprisonment situation. But you directly barred their access to the administrative hub - that's a naked power grab signal. Combined with the background, it clearly wasn't Raphael's intent. It has no need for such superfluous maneuvering."

Alvis pointed at Naisa. "So you're the one scheming."

Milmos was stunned speechless for a long while before starting to mutter curses. "Then everything's ruined! My master will immediately learn of my actions. Even if I can deceive myself this time, I'll just be directly annihilated by its draconic breath!"

"Why were you in such a hurry! I told you to wait for our master's return, then explain it to them yourself! With a single command, all demons and monsters would vanish. Landing yourself in this inescapable situation is sheer suicidal folly!"

Only now did Naisa realize Raphael had no intention of releasing him, that even Milmos was unwilling - this was all that human's doing.

He vaguely sensed this was the original human regent, someone he had never met in person.

But at this moment, he had to tie Milmos to his own war chariot, or else his situation after this incident would only worsen.

"So long as I can regain control! Lead my clan freely as before, I swear on the name of the former king - the Lorin dynasty will strive to satisfy Your Excellencies' every desire for as long as I live!"

Naisa made a vowed oath, even offering to enter a spiritual pact. But Alvis only laughed scornfully in refusal:

"Milmos, Raphael is still in the dragon domain and never initiates communication with you. If you don't speak up, it could remain completely oblivious to the current situation - this window of several days. Move swiftly enough and a major event could be a foregone conclusion before the dust settles."

"As for His Majesty the King, I never said I'd rescue you. I only said I'd 'reclaim the authority from the old Morey nobles' - but I didn't specify for whom."

Milmos and Naisa looked at the utterly resolute Alvis, a chill rising within. So he aimed to directly ascend from a nameless commoner under the dragon!