readease Chapter 436 - 369: Your Excellency, Astra, I Have a Fortuitous Opportunity to Offer You
Chapter 436 - 369: Your Excellency, Astra, I Have a Fortuitous Opportunity to Offer You
Astra’s enormous head slowly lifted. Its massive eyes, like twin thunderstorms, locked onto the tiny human figure on the platform.
In that instant, a terrifying Dragon Mighty swept over him like a tsunami.
The air seemed to freeze. Countless tiny blue snakes of electricity materialized around Raylo, flickering and leaping wildly with a warning ZZZT sound.
Any being below the Domain Level would have been scared witless by this Dragon Mighty alone, forced to their knees in submission.
Yet Raylo just stood there quietly, his posture as straight and unyielding as a pine tree.
His gaze was calm as he met Astra’s stare without flinching.
He slowly began to walk, step by step, toward the center of the platform.
The Thunder Dragon Astra’s Dragon Mighty became a tangible, furious wave.
The free-roaming Lightning Elements in the air grew violent, morphing into innumerable fine blue snakes of electricity that crackled with a loud CRACKLE!
Moonlight, perched on Raylo’s shoulder, arched its back, its silver-white fur standing on end. A low, threatening growl rumbled in its throat.
Raylo raised a hand and gently soothed Moonlight.
His expression didn’t change in the slightest, as if the Dragon Mighty, powerful enough to crush mountains, were nothing more than a gentle breeze on his face.
Under Astra’s watchful gaze, Raylo continued forward.
He stopped when he was less than a hundred meters from the massive dragon’s head.
"Your Excellency, Astra."
Raylo’s voice pierced through the howling wind and the screeching lightning, reaching the Giant Dragon’s ears.
"I know of an opportunity to advance to the Catastrophe Level. I wonder if you might be interested."
As his words fell, the entire top of the tower fell deathly silent.
The wind stopped. The thunder ceased.
The terrifying Dragon Mighty, potent enough to make even a Domain Level Powerhouse tremble, vanished completely in that moment.
The storms in Astra’s massive eyes, which resembled thunderstorm vortexes, also began to subside.
Catastrophe Level.
Those two words held a fatal allure for any being at the Domain Level Peak.
It was the threshold to a higher plane of existence, a realm countless powerhouses dreamed of but could never reach in their entire lifetimes.
Astra had been trapped at this level for far too long—so long that it had nearly given up hope.
HUUFF...
Astra exhaled again, this time releasing a blast of scorching air.
Its mountain-like head slowly lowered, and its enormous golden eyes drew close to Raylo. The distance between them shrank rapidly until Raylo could clearly see his own reflection in its pupils.
Raylo did not shy away, meeting Astra’s scrutinizing gaze head-on.
After a long moment, Astra’s gaze shifted from scrutiny to inquiry.
It didn’t ask a question, but its meaning was perfectly clear.
"Three months from now, in the Jade Swamp adjacent to my Black Stone Territory, the Heart of a Catastrophe Level Magical Beast will emerge."
Raylo said.
"With Your Excellency’s accumulation at the Domain Level Peak, that Heart of the Giant Beast has an extremely high chance of helping you take that final step."
Astra’s pupils contracted sharply.
The Heart of a Catastrophe Level Magical Beast!
It knew, of course, what that meant.
It was one of the world’s greatest treasures, enough to drive every powerhouse on the Continent mad. And yet, this young man before it had revealed this information so easily.
It didn’t believe this was an act of selfless goodwill.
A Giant Dragon’s life is long. It had seen far more conspiracies and plots than any human King.
Raylo seemed to see through its doubts.
"Of course, I have my own motives,"
he admitted candidly.
"I hope to earn your friendship. Also, after you advance to the Catastrophe Level, I will have need of your help."
’In my opinion, as someone in the Thunder Dragon Duchy, my greatest obstacle to securing the position of Crown Prince—or even one day ruling the entire Thunder Dragon Duchy—isn’t my younger brother Arthur, nor the covetous neighboring countries, nor the distant Holy See.’
’The one who can truly decide my fate is the Thunder Dragon Duke, my father in name.’
’The Duke’s mind is as deep as the sea. He will always place the Duchy’s interests first, which means any candidate for succession is merely a weight on his scales.’
’Rather than waste enormous effort trying to persuade a perpetually calm politician, it’s better to take a different path and secure the Duchy’s "nuclear weapon" directly.’
’Astra, the Guardian Giant Dragon of the Thunder Dragon Duchy. Its existence is inextricably linked to the Duchy’s fate.’
’In a way, its will is even more important than the Duke’s commands.’
’If I can help Astra advance to the Catastrophe Level, then the favor it owes me will be stronger than any blood pact.’
’At that point, Astra will be my staunchest ally.’
’With a Catastrophe Level ally, my position as Crown Prince will become unshakable.’
’As for the act of poaching from my own old man, I don’t feel the slightest bit of guilt.’
’There has never been room for sentimentality on the political chessboard.’
Astra remained silent, the light in its enormous eyes flickering as it clearly weighed the pros, cons, and authenticity of Raylo’s words.
It could sense that the human before it was not lying.
That kind of confidence and candor couldn’t be faked.
This deal held an irresistible attraction for it.
Finally, its massive head gave a slight nod.
A simple gesture, signifying that an alliance had been formed.
"Three months. Black Stone Territory."
Raylo nodded back in response, finalizing the agreement with Astra.
His objective achieved, he didn’t linger and turned to leave.
As for the Heart of the Giant Beast that was about to emerge, Raylo already had a plan.
’It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered keeping it for his own dragon.’