Omni-Mastery

'That needs to be settled first.'

Although I still planned to go out myself and see if there are any Dark Gates that may have yet to fall into the demons' grasp, I skipped this part away and went directly into the more urgent question.

Just where was the Dragon that the Dragon Clan was hiding?

'I need to know if we can rely on external help.'

Since we were supposed to discuss the battle plan for the war to come, I needed to know the possibility of a hidden 'Boss' character appearing to save the day at the last moment and back us up.

Regardless of the growth stage of the Dragon that was targeted, he was bound to be of great help in some way or another, even simply manipulating the terrain or the weather according to their attribute could change the situation of any large-scale battle!

Taking Sky as an example, even if he was only capable of exhibiting just a tenth of the weather manipulating ability he showed at the Lightning Capital, that alone would give us a great head start when dealing with the 'mob' soldiers. Unfortunately, he was still hibernating, only waking up under certain circumstances.

As such, I had to at least know of this Dragon's status so I could consider whether he could be included in the battle plan or not.

"Well… You do have the right to know. Unfortunately, even I don't know the specifics. I only know of some hints that were kept in the Clan Leaders' record. They simply warned of an occurrence similar to what happened to you and stressed their will not to let the spreaders of Corruption step into this stronghold."

The Dragon Clan Leader had a bitter smile on his face. From his minute expressions that I observed unless he was a master of deception, he appeared to be telling the truth.

'As expected…'

Despite hoping that it would be the opposite of what I deduced, it seemed like the situation was more or less what I already had in mind.

Even if the Dragon Clan Leader was simply lying, his words pointed towards one undeniable truth, the Dragon hiding in the Clan was unable to make a move!

Just taking the demon's bold attempt to kidnap a 'Dragon' into consideration, it was obvious that there was something wrong with this Dragon…

The countless possibilities ranged from hibernation similar to Sky's case all the way to being 'dead' and having reverted to the form of an 'Egg'. At the very least, the unknown Dragon was in a state where he wouldn't be able to resist the kidnapping of a single demon.

Most importantly, while some other Dragons may choose to mind their business and ignore the danger that threatened the domain, this particular Dragon was most unlikely to do so. 

After all, not only was the 'Dragon' clan that seemed to be related to him facing the danger of extinction, but he also made it so his hiding place was a natural safe zone of sorts to protect them. If he was able to do something, he would already have done so!

'Back to square one.'

It didn't take a genius to figure this out, but I had a slight hope that the Dragon was simply lying low to lure the enemy in. So now that I threw the corpse of the demon in front of them, I was waiting for the big 'reveal' to take place, but…

"It's not impossible to find an answer..."

Just as I started to feel disappointed, the silent Great Elder spoke out, kindling the fire of hope in my heart!

'Could it be…?'

"However, that would only be possible if we are to overcome the danger that's looming over the domain. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to guide you to the place where you will find the answer to your question." 

'Great…'

Being given a hook like that before being hung dry made me suddenly feel like an ignorant websurfer who had just got click-baited…

Nonetheless, I still felt slightly better than at the beginning when there were no clues. After all, it wasn't necessary for the Dragon to participate, but I at least wanted to meet him for various reasons.

While a Dragon was similar to a cheat card in a large-scale battle, I still had enough confidence in winning with enough preparations even in his absence. However, not meeting the Dragon at all was worse to me who had never physically met a Dragon before. Besides, I had more than a few questions that I really wanted to ask.

"I see, that's a shame, but I will trust your judgment."

As a person who used his brain before using his fist, I naturally didn't plan to 'force' the information out of them.

Needless to say, while I had indeed taken a hit for their sake, it was all due to my own actions, whether that was my interference in the Nature Domain or my decision to go to the stronghold. Carelessly throwing away the blame wasn't something I would do when I was completely sane.

Following my abrupt closure of the topic, I simply planned to skip into talks about initial planning, but the Great Elder had more to say…

"With that being said, it's still true that you have suffered a lot for our sake. According to what I know of the place you should have been at, most people don't even last a few days there, let alone manage to get out in one piece. To have endured so much, I believe you deserve to be rewarded."

"Hmm?"

Feeling slightly confused by the unexpected continuance, I stared at the Great Elder who took a small box out of nowhere before approaching me.

"You should already have an impression of this. Although it isn't much, just accept it as a small token of appreciation for now. If we do manage to survive this ordeal, you shall receive the reward that you truly deserve."

Still in a slight daze, I subconsciously accepted the small box and opened it…

[ A compatible bloodline source has been detected! Do you wish to absorb and fuse? ]

Only for the confusion to turn into surprise!