Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 478 For Glory
In the empty courtyard, the children, who had grown up together, were far apart from each other.

Like every patriarch, Rean's father had several wives, and when Rean left, the number was probably just over double digits, not including concubines and maids.

As the "real lord" of the desert kingdom, this was something Rean knew by habit, and at least half of them were marriages arranged for various political reasons.

Within a large family, each next generation member is surrounded by interest groups, and even if the children don't want to compete, they may still fight among themselves. In desert nations that revere the strong, there is an even stronger culture that encourages infighting.

On the riverside dueling grounds that every oasis has, the blood of brothers is inevitably spilled amidst the yellow sand.

However, the premise for tacitly condoning internal strife or even clandestine killings is that it does not affect the interests of the entire family, and especially does not tarnish the family's reputation.
“I despise you from the bottom of my heart. You clearly have talent and potential, but you refused to show it before. This is a huge waste of family resources, or even a betrayal. For this reason alone, as your elder brother, I have the right to challenge you to a life-or-death duel. However, I will not collude with outsiders to kill you because I despise you.”

Huh? Are you speaking human language? Does this logic make any sense?
Rean was stunned. He couldn't make sense of the logic for a long time. You were willing to die at my hands (the duel was assumed to be Rean's victory), yet you were unwilling to collude with outsiders and even sneered at those conspirators as peasants from the periphery.

So, are you really planning to win?
“Nobles have their own rules. Even a second son without inheritance rights is an extension of the family. If he is really stupid enough to betray the family for personal gain, the entire circle will look down on him. We can talk about it if he can gain inheritance rights because of it.”

But even for personal grudges, labels like "shortsighted" and "shameless" can be incredibly damaging.
Rean Sudar, who had absolutely no interest in the games of the nobility, couldn't understand it at all; he genuinely couldn't comprehend this kind of logic.

They can fight each other outrageously in private, but they must protect the interests of their family. He also suspects this is some new type of fraud.

"For nobles, reputation is everything. If he loses his reputation, the entire circle will ostracize him. He already had no right to the inheritance, and if he were to be burdened with a rumor of dishonorable murder, it would be tantamount to cutting off all his future."

Suliman could understand, but she was also a little surprised.

"But he was exiled, yet he still acts like this. Only old nobles who are very particular about certain things would care so much about so-called family honor. His descendants may not even be able to use the name Sudar."

After a pause, Sallyman said with a half-smile.

"The relationship between you brothers is something he values ​​more than life itself, but it's probably worthless to you. And this 'arrogance' and 'difference' will make it impossible for you to like each other."

Do we value things more when we lack them?

Rean couldn't understand it. He was a typical pragmatist. Why was this second son, who had no right to inherit the family business, a poor guy who had been "exiled," so concerned about so-called family honor? Shouldn't this be hatred? The monkey that was thrown out of the monkey mountain was expressing respect for the monkey troop. Was he really sick?

“Probably, this is all he has left: the honor of being Sudar.” Salman understood. She had seen too many once-powerful families go bankrupt. Even though their meager assets could have maintained a decent life, the heirs would not hesitate to “burn” them all to maintain the face of the great nobility.

I will not ride in any carriage that is not pulled by four horses, and all my clothes, bags, and furs can only be used once.

Rean shrugged, offering no comment. He really didn't understand anything about nobility and honor; he just thought they were outdated.

Can honor be obtained simply by bloodline? Shouldn't it be earned through personal effort?

Even if your ancestors' efforts put you at the starting line of others, you can't possibly trace back to your ancestors for generations. Besides, do their achievements—being a warlord, a big merchant, or a lord—consider them contributing to the country?
"I can't understand it, and I don't want to understand it."

Rean was too lazy to think about it anymore. Since Suliman said the logic made sense, he believed her.

Since the sources of information can be consulted (Rean still doesn't trust Kane), the key point remains how to deal with it.

"The only possible location for the attack was underground."

On the ground, if Rean is attacked, as long as he can delay for a while, reinforcements will arrive immediately. Not counting the hidden forces of his alumni association, even his publicly known "Archmage Mentor," "Dark Elf Goddess Companion," "Half-Elf Ally," and "Royal Knight Ally" will come to his aid.

More importantly, given the terrain on the ground, if Rean, who already has dragon wings, were truly in danger, he would definitely take off and run away without hesitation.

"Whoever wants to kill me is irrelevant; we don't need to consider that."

There were too many possibilities; in fact, there was no need to think about them anymore. Even disregarding the enemies Rean had offended, the mere fact that Rean was in his way and an eyesore was enough to cause his bounty to skyrocket in certain areas. "I must demonstrate my strength."

To dispel the inexplicable hostility of some people, while demonstrating personal strength, it may also be necessary to cut off those who reach out.

Rean returned urgently via a Mirror Demon space jump after receiving an emergency contact from Suliman, while the rest of the team were still undergoing acclimatization training in the Underdark. Everyone was preparing for this hunt, but now the plans seem to have to change.

"Originally, I planned to hunt just one mutated wyvern, but now..."

Not only to intimidate, but also to draw out weaknesses and lure fish into the trap, both require bigger and stronger prey.

But is it really enough to rely on just a few people?

"Perhaps we can ask that blue dragon for help."

While making plans, Rean considered it for a moment and decided to invite Kane to lunch.

On the one hand, it gives the other party the opportunity to "poison" them; on the other hand, since the other party has expressed goodwill, there's no need for us to be so arrogant.
"It seems that the etiquette of aristocratic dining has been completely lost. The way the napkins are placed and used is also wrong. Good heavens, they actually wiped oil on their collars."

However, this "friendliness" probably only lasted for the first three minutes.

The conflict began the moment the older brother pointed out in a sarcastic tone that his younger brother had forgotten dining etiquette.

In Kane's view, it was just the most basic quality. Whose son could be carrying a big piece of meat in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, stuffing the meat directly into his mouth and drinking a whole bottle of wine in one gulp?

"Ha, aristocratic etiquette? Oh, I just found out, Kane, you're actually a nobleman. By the way, I recently became a baron, what about you?"

Don't hit someone in the face? No, when both sides get emotional, they naturally start targeting each other's weak points.

Rean, who was easily provoked, also realized that something was increasingly wrong with him.

“At least I, Rean Sudar, am not as indifferent as I seem.” Rean vaguely sensed that he also felt genuine impatience and disgust towards this “cheap older brother.”

Perhaps this is the result of years of accumulated pressure and frustration.

But to be fair, their argument might have made this "drama" of brotherly conflict even more realistic.

“There’s no need for acting, it’s real.” Sallyman rested her chin on her hand, watching their conflict.

She was somewhat happy to see the man, Rean, who was different from usual. He had never been so impatient before. It seemed that his past "lonely life" had left some traces on him.

For the first time, he seemed less mature and acted childishly, which actually made Suliman feel more at ease.

"Idiot, you like whatever he does, don't you? Stop making excuses for yourself," one of the snakeheads said.

"Uh, it seems to be true." The other snakehead was a little confused.

Obsessed with love, she seemed to see Rean more and more as a perfect match, feeling that everything Rean said was right.

The snake woman's dual personality is becoming more and more stable. Influenced by Rean, she is also preparing for the advancement of the "two-headed snake" into a being like the Hydra, which appears more frequently in history and in the depths of time than the multi-headed dragon.

Perhaps, before long, Rean will be able to see two identical fiancées.

(End of this chapter)