Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon's Might-Chapter 29 - Postwar

Unexpectedly, the Annis Hag was so formidable, but in the end, he was superior.

The weird feeling that mixed the residual fear and the excitement of victory gradually settled, and it was then that Leon finally remembered something important.

He had defeated such a powerful Annis Hag but hadn’t heard the familiar ding-dong noise.

It had already been several years since he last received any rewards, after acquiring the Samadhi True Fire.

That Golden Finger was getting slightly lax.

Without any moves from Golden Finger, there was nothing Leon could do.

He turned his head to look at the charred remains he had just torn into…

All the strange ornaments made of the Annis Hag’s bones, teeth, and wood were burned to ashes by the Samadhi True Fire, not a single one left.

Another disadvantage of the Samadhi True Fire: its power is simply too great, you should use it carefully unless you don’t want any loot.

Leon decided to go check out Aunt Peggy’s cottage; he suddenly found that the little girl the Annis Hag had prepared for him to enjoy was unharmed during the battle, her luck was a bit good.

No matter how other Red Dragons viewed humans, Leon, for his part, did not accept cannibalism; he didn’t forget his roots.

He didn’t know Healing Magic, so he carefully picked up the girl’s leg and shook it, then saw a strange black ball fall out of the girl’s mouth…

Was that the poison the Annis Hag had hidden in the girl’s mouth, prepared for him?

If he had eaten the girl, he would have had to fight the Annis Hag while poisoned.

The little girl showed no signs of waking up, so Leon carelessly placed her aside, crawled to the front of Aunt Peggy’s cottage, stood up and lifted off the roof.

He had just taken a glance and had yet to move to grab anything when he saw a horde of rats frantically fleeing and a blanket flying up, wrapping around his hand.

Suffocating Blanket, something apprentice thieves and careless adventurers overlook when searching enemy territory; underneath their feet the Activated blankets might envelop and suffocate them tightly to death.

The Annis Hag can be called an enemy, but the Suffocating Blanket is hardly worth mentioning.

Leon grabbed hold of the Suffocating Blanket and with a little force tore it in two, then felt a bit of regret, not knowing if he could have taken it with him to use as a trap in his own lair.

Moldy vegetables and fruits.

Cheese swarming with maggots.

Leon did a quick search, but saw nothing of value.

“Aunt Peggy.”

“We’re back!”

A call from a distance was suddenly heard drawing near.

Leon turned his head to see, and it turned out to be Aunt Peggy’s two enforcers returning.

Just two Ogres, not enough to warrant Leon getting edgy.

His mind was completely on scavenging for war trophies, uninterested in two buffoons; he stretched out his hand, summoning the sword to his grip, and shouted: “Aunt Peggy is dead, do you want to avenge her?”

“Revenge,” said one Ogre.

“Who killed Aunt Peggy?” asked the other Ogre.

“I did, I killed Aunt Peggy,” Leon roared at the two Ogres, raising his sword and swinging at them, “Come at me if you want to die.”

“Don’t want to die,” one Ogre said holding his head, “Ap doesn’t want to die.”

“Fanke doesn’t want to die either,” said the other Ogre.

“Then scoot.” Leon flapped his wings, stirring up a gust of wind that whipped up dust and fallen leaves.

“Scoot, we will scoot right now, don’t kill us.” Two ogres really started rolling on the ground, one rolling over and over, the other rolling forward.

Ogres are infamous for their sudden fits of rage, where insulting them or simply addressing them by name could instantly ignite their fury.

At the same time, they are legendarily foolish, unable to count to ten even if they used both hands.

However, it was clear that an ogre’s rage varied from one to another, and only the foolish ones would not realize how formidable the giant dragon that had beaten and cursed their ‘Aunt’ Peggy was.

Before the ogres had disappeared, Leon turned and continued to loot.

Tabletops, bookcases, cupboards, wooden chests…

Leon searched every nook and cranny of the hut, finding a pile of potions he couldn’t recognize, alchemy materials that were foreign to him, dead birds, desiccated toads, dried-up child’s arms with unknown uses – a chilling sight to behold.

Is this all there is?

An Annis hag who has been in business for years surely wouldn’t be this stingy.

Nodding to himself, Leon turned to search for a hidden door or a cellar near the hag’s hut.

Footprints and the unnatural sway of the weeds betrayed a cave hidden behind an illusion.

Leon crawled into the cave and made his way through a long tunnel overgrown with mushrooms, leading to a spacious and filthy cavern at the end.

An activated set of empty plate armor started to make a ‘clack clack clack’ sound as it moved.

Loyal and obedient, this terrifying armor seemed to be crafted by the Annis hag and placed there as a guard.

In combat, the terrifying armor fought with the mind of an experienced martial artist, but being a construct, it lacked sufficient intelligence and the ability to perceive and improve its own circumstances.

Leon found it easy to knock down the terrifying armor, but thoroughly destroying it took some effort.

Leon began to loot once again.

A large cauldron containing a questionable liquid that emitted a pungent smell.

Bones of unrecognizable animals and repulsive fur.

Leather made from human skin.

Thick, dusty books filled with tiny, almost illegible handwriting detailing events that occurred in some village.

Rotten meat.

Cages containing black cats, crows, and spiders.

Jars filled with strange specimens and eyeballs.

And skulls that emitted odd shrieks.

…

After looking around, Leon found all sorts of creepy stuff, none of which he took with him.

He even smashed a shrieking skull with his fist and tore down a picture that seemed to be looking at him.

The only loot he considered of any value were a few potions he didn’t know the use for, some gold coins, and gemstones that he found in a corner.

Stepping out of the cave, Leon realized that the unconscious little girl was gone.

Judging by the tiny footprints, she probably woke up and snuck away.

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He didn’t pay it much mind; he wasn’t sure what to do with her in the first place, and now that she fled on her own, it worked out perfectly.

Leon packed all the loot he had gathered into a chest, bit into the hilt of his sword, wrapped his arms around the chest, and flew off with a great flap of his wings.

Thinking of Aunt Peggy’s hut, the hidden cave, and a plethora of items he disdained, Leon landed near the Kobolds’ nest, letting them go and see for themselves.

As for the Kobolds who scampered over, the treasures they found in the hut and the cave—kettles, iron pots, wooden spoons and bowls, bone chopping knives, and other things worthless in Leon’s eyes—were considered valuable to them, praising Leon’s generosity profusely and becoming even more entangled with him, but that’s a story for another time.