Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 250 Found it

"I am Lena, the hero Lena."

The little girl looked at the tall man and was momentarily dazed.

Not long ago, there were two identical people, opposing each other, with seemingly identical compositions.

I was much stronger back then than I am now, but I was also much more powerless.

But now is not the time to think too much.

"My lifespan is quite limited; perhaps you can accept that."

Above her outstretched hands was a pale red glow.

"what is this?"

Rean calmed down. Even if Lena returned, he could still be morally justified. He wasn't the one who tricked her back then, so he had no reason to feel guilty.

At worst, it's just a fight. Don't you already have enough undeserved debts on your head?

“A memory, my memory, is what the ‘snake’ took back from ‘He’, the truth you’ve been searching for.”

Lena's eyes were fixed on Rean. Despite having the exact same appearance as Lana, they were clearly two completely different people, as if Lena was seeing another "being" through Rean.

Was it a contingency plan left by the snake? Perhaps it deserves some trust, but Rean...
Did you write that note?

Rean thought for a moment, then asked what seemed to be a trivial question.

The note appeared in the living room that day, but the maids were completely unaware of it, not even the magical trap that Sallyman had set up.

This person is either a master who can easily defeat Suliman, or an inside agent.

Rean initially thought it was a trap set by Rosalind, but according to Hela's account, Rosalind herself was unaware of these things.

The origin of that delicate handwriting is quite intriguing.

Upon seeing "Lena," Rean suddenly realized that when he was investigating, the city lord had mentioned that the former hero, Lena, had also investigated.

If she had intelligence and was certain that she was also investigating, then it would seem plausible that she would give it to herself.
"It was me. But I didn't find the underground monster at the time; I only found information on the Whisperers, and used that to find the truth."

Lena noticed that Rean's expression was becoming increasingly subtle; this was not a pre-arranged trap.

In fact, the information and scrolls related to the Whisperers are all hidden in the secret compartments of those bookshelves. If Rean searches diligently, he will find those things sooner or later.

As a result, his investigation into evil led him to discover the underground monster first, completely causing the situation to spiral out of control.

Upon hearing this, Rean suddenly realized that it made sense.

If Lena had also encountered that monster back then, regardless of the outcome, the monster wouldn't still be lurking there.

"Through the power of the Whisperers, I found something, and this is part of it."

The light spot was still flashing on his outstretched right hand.

It seems that this is the answer to everything.

This time, it was Rean's turn to hesitate, wondering whether he should accept it all.
Everyone knows it's foolish to eat anything indiscriminately, especially since this person tricked him before. Rean wanted to ask him about it.

What answer did you get from the Whisperer?

"At first, I wanted to find that big red dragon. But that answer would require my entire life, and the priest's condition was unstable at the time, so the answer he gave might not be accurate."

The brave Lena indeed set out to find the great red dragon that would destroy everything.

In their view, that might be the root of everything.

But this answer, from the very beginning, exceeded the cost of life. Considering the characteristics of the Thousand-Faced Dragon, even if she paid the reward, she most likely wouldn't get the correct answer.

"So, I only asked about the direction the great red dragon left in."

"This actually works?!" Rean thought about it and realized that it might actually work.

This is not a direct reconnaissance of its coordinates. Anything with form will naturally leave a trace. Wherever that high-temperature red dragon reaches, even without eyewitnesses, there will be traces of cloud, air, and atmospheric temperature.

Asking only for "direction" should minimize the consumption of resources.

“My soul was ‘single-minded,’ which was very helpful in searching for the target, and I asked three times during the pursuit, each time using up twenty years of my lifespan.”

In fact, it was this pure "persistence" that led him to ask about the goal he longed for.

The Whisperer's object of trade is merely "life," but the "Priest" has the authority to adjust the specific type of life and how it is traded.

After obtaining the data and intelligence, Lena apparently trained a "priest" and bound him to serve her. She sacrificed more than half of her lifespan, solely to pursue the truth.

And now, the truth that has been found is in the girl's hands.

Despite her young age, she looked exhausted, as if saying these words had drained her energy.

"I reject."

After some deliberation, Rean finally began to export.

This answer is not necessary for me; on the contrary, knowing too much might trigger some terrible mechanism.

Lena sighed, her spirits visibly dampened.

She was disappointed, but seemed to have no intention of persisting.

Just as she seemed about to transform back into Lana, and she was about to retract the "spot of light" in her hand.
"give it to me."

Seeing that Lena didn't insist, Rean accepted it instead.

It seems that in just a moment, he changed his mind again.

Lena glared at him angrily, but still let the ball of light drift over slowly. Clearly, this man didn't trust her at all; this was still just a test.

If you force it on him or insist on giving it to him, he will refuse without hesitation.

But I really didn't have any ulterior motives; in fact, some of the details of those motives have already been revealed.
"Actually, I'm the victim."

As the sphere of light unfolded, a girl's low, aggrieved voice accompanied it, and a "past" slowly began to unfold in Rean's mind.

The constant dripping of water seemed to remind us that we were deep underground, and a deep male voice echoed in the underground world.

"The duration of that evil dragon's existence is unknown, but it is at least longer than the entire history of the beastmen."

"Our history spans over seven thousand years, and it still exists in the poems of our long-lived ancestors who witnessed the growth of the orcs. Even in the murals from the previous era, which were unearthed more than thirteen hundred years ago, the great red dragon still exists."

"'The red tyrant tore through the clouds, his scorching breath ripped apart the kingdom.' This is not just a description; one can see the old capital of the Kingdom of Aetherine, the chasm that ripped the city apart, still burning like lava. It is said that it was caused by just one of his breaths."

In the large underground cavity, the peaceful sound of reading echoed.

The most direct description here is "magnificent" or "glowing with gold coins".

The earth was covered with ancient gold coins, and priceless treasures were casually placed.

In the very center of the dragon's lair, a man with black hair and black eyes was slowly reading aloud.

It, or he, or Him, happily turns the pages of the book, reading aloud about himself in the history books.

"'The Calamity of Red Valley,' 'The Great Red Dragon Solgalion,' 'The Shadow Instigator of the History of Disasters,' 'The Source of the Bloodline of the Calamity Beasts'—although many scholars have questioned its existence, believing that the ancients attributed many calamities to anthropomorphic beings, the natural disaster that nearly destroyed the kingdom fifteen years ago undoubtedly proclaims that it not only truly exists but has always been a huge threat to the entire world. It has always been watching us from the shadows."

Upon reaching this point, the man put down the book, somewhat curious.

"Putting aside the fact that this book portrays me as a voyeur, reminding me of some old friends with a perverse sense of humor, do you know that every time I'm awakened, it means utter destruction? Should the kingdom still have a breath left, just thinking about complete annihilation?"

He took a sip of black tea and asked with a smile.

The person he was asking was the dragon-slaying hero who had brought him these books after he had just been woken up.
At the very least, he was a dragon-slaying hero who failed in his attempt.

The female warrior is bound by suspended black shackles.

The crown of heroes bestowed upon her by the kingdom was twisted into handcuffs and shackles that bound her, the cat's-eye gems that symbolized courage now dulled, as if mocking her powerlessness and foolish solitude.

Her beautiful face was bloodless, and the constant rise and fall of her chest not only accentuated her curves but also revealed her overwhelming emotions.

Wrong, everything is wrong. Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar face of the evil dragon before her, the young female hero fell into despair.

But where exactly did things go wrong?

Did it begin with accepting the kingdom's commission to hunt down the red dragon that destroyed the capital? Or did it go even further back, from the moment he heard the story of the hero Ryan from childhood, idolized the perfect man who once defeated the demon king and saved the world, and followed in his footsteps to become the new generation's hero?

Or perhaps, I was truly foolish enough to attempt to backstab the sleeping red dragon with the Hero's Sword, only to find it completely unbreakable from the moment I did so.
"Great Red Dragon Solgalion. No, former hero Ryan, why is it you?!"

When she finally faced this man, the fog of perception she had been carrying was shattered, and she was the first unfortunate one to find out everything.

Having given half her life, she found the dragon, but also the legendary hero.

Or rather, the dragon found her!

(End of this chapter)