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Chapter 148 — Part 2

Ever since the destruction of Arcadian, the biggest concern was confirming any changes in the Three Dragon Emperors, and now that the Celestials have been destroyed, they are currently the biggest threat.

The calm, hatred-filled smile Shuu had on his face until now disappeared, and he just glared at the image of the shining golden dragon, just standing in the middle of empty space.

「I remember, I remember you, golden dragon.

I remember as if it were just yesterday, when you blew up my fortress on the planet of Polaweera, and burned 100,000 of my warships to ashes. I remember it all, damned Golden Dragon Gorberum!!」

The Golden Dragon Emperor, Gorberum.

He is an old dragon who has been sitting on the throne for a very long time, and he participated in the Intergalactic War together with the younger Ryoukichi and Conquestor, and many other older Dragon Emperors as well. He is one of the many mortal enemies who left the Federation in pieces, forced to lick their own wounds with unspeakable bitterness.

Neutron beams, positron guns, and dimensional vortex cannons were fired across 18,000 Teorals in a rush to strike down the 1,200 meter tall Gorberum. And in the next moment, they were pulverized by golden lightning that shot out from the giant dragon in all directions.

Even so, the bombardment from the fleet did not relent, and countless torpedoes and mini battleships took off. The photon torpedoes capable of creating micro black holes, and beams with output power of many terajoules of energy all hit Gorberum’s massive body, adorning him with explosive light.

「Hmm, I thought I sensed a disgusting presence, and when I came out to find out what it was, it turns out it was just a bunch of losers who were scattered by the Celestials and the inhabitants of other planets, and were sent running home with their tails between their legs!

I don’t hate people with enough guts to not give up, but if you never learn from your mistakes, then you’ll shorten your lifespan. More importantly, I have an audience with a very supreme ally coming up soon. So that you people don’t taint his heart, I’ll have you all return home now!!」

In response to the ineffective attacks of the fleet and all the warships surrounding him, Gorberum did not hide his irritation as he let out a loud roar that resonated through space. And with just that roar, eighty percent of the nearby warships were pulverized, their protective barriers smashed, and their scattered remains were lost in the sea of stars.

The layer of lightning covering Gorberum’s scales worked as a defensive barrier against the warships’ attacks, and breaking through it was impossible. As he continued to block the attacks, he became more and more displeased, and he opened his mouth and began to unleash even more violent lightning from deep within his throat.

「Energy response from Dare 1 — from Gorberum, increasing further! Estimated level, over 20!!」

「Prepare the Planet Buster, hurry! We have to fire before he does!」

Shuu’s mind was overflowing with impatience as he ordered the preparation of the celestial destructive weapon, which was stronger than the main guns.

It’s true that the Federation’s technology is not as good as it used to be, but even so, it is precisely because it was judged that they have a good chance of winning against the Three Dragon Emperors, that the plan for the intergalactic military expedition was approved. However, they never expected this!

As if to mock the Federation’s predictions made in advance, Gorberum fought without any restraint, and had become far stronger than he’d been during the Great War. In his heart, the battle was already over, and he was only thinking about what would happen in the aftermath.

In any case, he’d been contacted by Ryoukichi, asking if he would like to meet the old Ancient Celestial Dragon, otherwise known as Dran now, and a message discussing the exact date and time of the meeting was delivered to him. He had received that message.

It was a meeting with the Ancient Celestial Dragon, a dragon of immeasurable superiority, who should be revered as a transcendent being that stands far above all as the strongest.

The only ones who weren’t nervous about meeting him were Conquestor, who has a good grasp on how gentle and friendly Dragon actually is, and Ryoukichi, who has already gotten well acquainted with him. Although all the other Dragon Emperors consider this meeting as the ultimate bliss and honor, at the same time, they are experiencing a nervousness and anxiety that they’ve never felt before.

It would be presumptuous of them to even think of comparing Dragon to themselves. Even though they are the Seven Pillars who rule supreme over the dragons, and they are the only remainder of the Ancient and True Dragons of old, their strength has deteriorated quite a bit.

Although it was what the First Dragon wanted, they were born mixed into the primordial chaos, whereas Dragon was one of those who were the First Dragon’s pure inheritors. Then Dragon reincarnated as a human. And now, they could finally meet him.

Not to mention, the other Seven Dragons who live in the Dragon World, consisting of the Ancient Celestial Dragons and the Ancient Dragon Gods, will also be visiting.

It is an unprecedented event for the dragon species that live on this planet. In such a situation, even Gorberum, who is known for his boldness, would get cold feet.

「In the unlikely event that your presence does cause trouble for him, then even your deaths would not be enough to atone.

If you people had just kept on living quietly on your own planet, or if you’d come to to join hands with us in peace, then our response would have been different!」

Gorberum spread his wings and sent out his fighting spirit in a roar toward all directions. Matching golden lightning shot out faster than the speed of light, moving as if they had a life of their own, and attacked the remaining fleet warships.

All the Federation warships were equipped with all kinds of barriers, including energy shields, but Gorberum’s attack was enhanced by the spiritual power of the Golden Dragon Emperor, and possessed a destructive power that defied the laws of physics. Even though the armor of the ships were strengthened down to the atomic level, they were pulverized into tiny particles.

「Of all the times for you to attack, it’s unfortunate that it had to be now. Or maybe an Evil God somewhere just wanted to curse you. Either way, I won’t show mercy」

Gorberum, whose entire body was fully electrified, rested his gaze on the sight of the fleet, which had now lost 95% of its ships. At this point, the remaining survivors of the Federation were nothing more than a wreckage.

「Go back home and never forget your foolishness in trying to attack this planet. Your hatred toward us may be carved deep into your bones, but it’s not the same for us.

To be clear, we don’t care. As long as you don’t get involved with us, you can do as you please, whether you end up getting destroyed, or finding prosperity」

Gorberum is strong and prideful, and he also has a personality of absolute strength that tolerates no complaints. Shuu watched him from the bridge of his ship, unable to hide the annoyance in his own face.

「Damn you, damn you, you mean to say that if all the ships that were sunk just now had been unmanned, then there wouldn’t have been any casualties!? Golden Dragon Emperor, you, you, you would take pity on us, you would let us escape, you would dare look down on us!」

Gorberum said he wouldn’t show mercy, but this was a sign of mercy, in his own way. But he wasn’t concerned about whether or not it was conveyed clearly to the other side, nor did he have any intention of telling them.

For Gorberum, the moment he shows mercy, the story is already over. It wouldn’t matter whether his opponent accepts the mercy, or rejects it.

Off the battlefield, Gorberum is an open minded dragon who doesn’t sweat the details, but when it comes to battle, he sticks to his values and tends to act in a cruel and heartless way.

Gorberum had been prepared to retreat without being pursued, but from behind the smoke and flames of the countless destroyed warships, he saw the remaining survivors of the fleet racing toward him with reckless abandon, without any care toward their own wellbeing.

「Ha, so you are fools who would give up your own lives. Given the right time, place and reason, I would do the same, but I wouldn’t necessarily do it under unfavorable circumstances, you fools!!」

Concluding from the bottom of his heart that they were fools, Gorberum once again released fierce lightning from his whole body. Shuu glared at him through the monitor and screamed. It was a blood curdling scream. It was a scream that came overflowing from the deepest depths of his heart, and wrung his soul dry.

「Try and repel us, if you can. Our hatred has not gone away, our resentment has not died. The hellish sight that was burned into our eyes and souls has never faded, not for a moment!

After all this time, we don’t need your mercy, we don’t need our lives. We don’t even need a future. We’ll make you see a future in which there is no outlet for your resentment, and you’ll despair from the pain of living!!

If not, if not, then…」

None of the other crew on the bridge of the ship, nor any of the survivors on the other ships, raised any objections to Shuu’s scream, and then all the remaining warships were swallowed up by Gorberum’s lightning breath attack, and they were destroyed down to their atoms.

And in that moment, Shuu was finally allowed to find release from his unending hatred and resentment.

「Hmph, so you would throw away your lives. Or did you do it on purpose? It seems to be the latter, it could be they were looking for a place to die, or they were just tired of living.

It sure is troublesome to be dragged into this! Also Conquester, sorry about asking you to take up the rear. It turns out you never got a chance to show up」

Gorberum turned around, and found the White Dragon Emperor Conquester floating in space with the planet Arcadian in the background.

Boasting a huge frame that is just as big as Gorberum’s, he is an old dragon covered in pure white scales with a long beard growing from his chin. Just about a year younger than Gorberum, Conquester answered calmly.

「Don’t mind it, Gorberum. They seemed to be descendants of those who came from a different galaxy, but they were still boiling with a desire for vengeance」

「It wouldn’t be strange if it were just one or two generations, but for such a deep-seated grudge to be passed down for tens or hundreds of generations, that’s a bit much.

At that rate, it seems like they would have started messing with other planets too, but it wouldn’t have resulted in anything good. Now then, shall we go home? The bliss of being granted an audience with Lord Dragon is so close now, I can hear its footsteps approaching」

「Gorberum, Dragon is not someone who appreciated being treated in that way. You seem to have developed a little too much respect for him. Though that isn’t exactly a bad thing」

For all the dragon species, there is a strong tendency to hold pride for the Ancient Celestial Dragons and all the other dragons living in the Dragon World, with Vaje and Gorberum being prime examples of that.

Conquester had secretly judged that the only ones who could handle Dragon without batting an eyelid were himself and Ryoukichi, and he was now convinced that Fuka, Engulzard, and Gorberum would be overkill.

He quickly turned his back, shifting his gaze from Gorberum back to their home planet, then calmly whispered.

「No matter how much of an inspiring existence you are, you yourself never realize it…」

He was also convinced that Dragon had watched them fly out into the sea of stars, and beat back the invaders from the foreign galaxy.

「Nevertheless, it’s fine as long as it’s not a problem for you, Gorberum」

Conquester let out a quiet grumble, as he thought about the others left waiting on the planet, like Fuka, Kourin, and Engulzard, who were probably excessively nervous right now, and worry began to spread through his heart.