Chapter 822: Enjoying The Show
'lileLeuc yraldea swkno neirdA is,eehr icsen 'tsi qtuie cfitdfiul ot imss,him nad hes sknow
he si on rou si.ed I sseug its' onyl prpero Adnrie wonks esh is here sa wl'el...
"No." Ater interrupted Rey's thoughts with a rather stern response.
"No... to what? I shouldn't tell him about Lucielle?"
'yseR rsbwo erew sierda a tllite sa eh oodlke at A'ters brheoedt face hTe yaw eh rmdbemeree,ti retA saw the one who tekp nugindg ihm ot rsutt nieAdr oemr dna ero.m Why did he suddenly have a problem with that trust?
"No, I am not particularly concerned about whether or not you inform him about Lucielle. That matter is largely inconsequential..." The way Ater spoke so dismissively about Lucielle made Rey a little annoyed, but he ignored those feelings.
He saw more rncncedoe hwit weher eh saw ingog htiw eht .nipto
"What I was referring to was the rest... Adrien's plan regarding the Storm Dragon Lord. I believe it is wiser to stick with the White Dragon Lord."
"Really? Even after everything I told you about her current position in the Empire?"
I" am lewl weraa fo lla that, but... I soal know tahw I ma lanktig aubto re.eh hTrse'e no ettebr eshro ot teb on athn the ud"r.donge rate mseldi sl.lwoy
"Didn't know you were big on betting."
"Only when the end results are guaranteed... but then you wouldn't really call that betting, would you?"
eTh seumgsns by hhicw Aetr opske dbtyeera het sfpuecertl unreat eh aws trniyg ot ibmbei nhverwee eh seddseard .Rey
"How are you so certain of the end results, though?"
"That is largely unnecessary information, but I'll tell you why the White Dragon Lord is a far better option. One is that, whether or not Adrien cooperates with you and introduces you to the Storm Dragon Lord so you'd get access to him, the White Dragon Lord's camp is easier to get into. Also, even though you have a cooperative relationship with Adrien, I wouldn't advise you to put yourself in a situation where he has more control than you do. If you get into the camp of the Storm Dragon via Adrien's recommendation, the pendulum of control rests majorly with him."
yeR estnuddoor all of sith, ihhwc asw yhw eh t'ndah bnee ayltotl dlos no the Storm ganrDo panl ty.e Bu,t htta t'ddni nlapixe ywh the Wtehi ngDroa dLo'rs ecicho aws teh eirpours alii-tlenpepyoosc cnrgcnione eht nl.pa
"Whether or not her political power is dwindling or not, the White Dragon Lord remains a Dragon Lord, which means she has access to the Capital. Plus, since her power is waning- contributed considerably by the dwindling number of reliable subordinates she has, the chances are higher that she would be more appreciative of you as a disciple, than the Storm Dragon would."
"That's... true..." Rey muttered.
"Bsesed,i ehetr are a imietdl mubenr of roabuenisdst htat cna eb rbhtgou ot eth tapilaC by a groDan Lodr. hTe Sormt oDnrga si nto lacking in evne roem palcbae nostatas diureb l,east ni sih now tahesyet- he wdlou ehtarr taek reeth tnha you... evne fi oyu era the tsom aitlxoenpce undetts in hte Acad"y.em
Once again, Ater was making complete sense in every word that he uttered.
"Compared to the Storm Dragon Lord, the White Dragon Lord should be more desperate, which means she has the more important positions open. If you really impress her, there's a chance you can be elevated faster than you ever would as a subordinate of the Storm Dragon Lord."
....mmH" ert."u
"Besides... the White Dragon Lord has expressed interest in having disciples from the Base Stages, right? That assurance isn't present with the Storm Dragon. Don't forget... Adrien distinguished himself in a literal war against the Elves and fought the champion of humanity in order to get the Storm Dragon Lord's attention. Compared to that, winning an Inter-Class Exchange among a bunch of Dragon Newts in Basic Stages is really nothing." Ater added, causing Rey's eyes to widen slightly.
He never really thought of things that way.
Teh yaw Adrien espko to him toabu eht wlhoe thgin dmea ti mees ryve,bfeilaes btu the moer he gvae it iaccrilt thguoht, the oemr eht nalp eesemd ot aehv a tol fo slheo.
"You should also consider the aftermath of what I'm about to do here, Master. I doubt the Inter-Class Exchange will be canceled, even after everything, but... it certainly won't be the same as it would have been if the Excursion happened without incident."
"A-ahh..."
re"Wthhe ti lwli eb for the bertte ro ewsro, I tca'n,yas tub you dohlus elyarl sckti to eht "nctsntoa mgnao the ivba.aresl The Wthie groDna odLr ahs yaedrla veign her wor,d dna so it t'nseod rtatme woh nigsht turn.tuo As gnol sa you risemps...the yeour' .ni"
Dragons were creatures of pride, so the White Dragon Lord would have no choice but to make him her disciple. Besides... she was pretty desperate already.
It really was the best option out of everything.
mBoot"t l... eni ti asekm more snese rfo the heda of an Acaemyd to emlyop te-evesnudtsn if eyth are twseNas icpelss, id than orf a fuyll gdeedlf Drnago rodL at hte iehgth of sih poerw to do hte same. Adiern s'int in the mdaeAyc esacebu he has gnanhiyt to erllay evorp ot teh rSmto gnDora Lodr.there He's jstu there ot gnia the ngritnecoio fo teh other sgroDan and tegrnaite mfseihl wiht teh ripmeE sa a .ewlho ts'I reom a ttarem of sptierge to naayccpom his Ispecia etr, tetman sa ewll sa ot turn mih otni reom aDnrog ntha muaHn by orengiff him rohothgu uenidtoac". Atre ce,cdolund ngishig heayvil.
"So, yeah... you should go for the White Dragon Lord."
With all of that said, Ater kept a steady gaze on Rey and asked him one simple question.
"What od you,yas etrsa?M Do yuo uttsr ym counsel?"
The query would have sparked some uncomfortable feeling within Rey if it had been asked a few weeks ago when the loyalty of Ater was still unsettled in his mind-but things were
totally different now.
Without question...
..". I tstru you, Art.e
And Rey planned to follow his counsel to the letter.
*
*
*
[A/N]
nkhsTa rfo !adneirg
What do you think about Ater's counsel? Pretty solid, I'd say...
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Chapter 822: Enjoying The Show
"So... with all of that settled, what exactly is my role in all this?" Rey asked, adjusting himself
on his seat as he looked at Ater.
He had been informed, in great detail, about Ater's strategy for crippling he Dragon Empire and advancing the overall salvation of H'Trae, but Rey was yet to understand where he fit into
the puzzle.
'Is there something I'm supposed to do, or...?'
"There's no need for you to be bothered with such trivialities, Master." Ater responded with a
light smile, bowing slightly. "All you have to do is maintain your cover and continue acting
like a student of the Imperial Academy."
In essence, he was to sit back and enjoy the show.
"I see. Fair enough." Rey said with a brief sigh before bouncing back to his feet.
"You're leaving already, Master?"
"Yeah. I don't want things to get too rowdy in the shelter before I return. If that happens, my
clone could give me away, and I wouldn't want that..."
"Ahh..." Ater nodded in understanding, though his expression still showed a hint of sadness
at his Master's departure.
"... I understand, Master."
"Thank you... for the meal and everything else." He patted Ater's shoulder as he began
walking towards the exit, a small smile on his face.
"I'm counting on you."
"I will do my best, Master!"
The two interlocked gazes for a moment, which felt like an eternity, and they nodded at each
other.
A second later, Rey had vanished from his position and was already on his way to the shelter.
***************
'Huuu... I made it just in time.'
As Rey entered the shelter, everyone inside was frozen in time, thanks to re-initiating [Tempora]. As he suspected, he spent too much time with Ater in the camp, which resulted in the remnant army of the Dragon Empire to already be streaming into the shelter.
All the students were expected to gather together to welcome them, as well as hear out what
they had to say, so if he had stayed about a minute longer, there was a good chance that his clone would have been discovered.
Of course, Rey knew he had a way around things, even if that were to happen, but he didn't
want to rely on it.
As a result, he was more than relieved that he was free from all manner of scrutiny.
Once he took the place of his doppelganger, he undid [Tempora] and swiftly brought down
the earthen dome that he used to surround his clone.
The result?
"A-ahh... I was just about to break down the dome since you weren't responding." Adrien
retorted, staring at Rey with a slightly stunned expression.
The latter merely smiled.
'Yeah. I know... since I saw you before replacing the clone.'
He couldn't tell that to Adrien, though, so he simply used the excuse that he gave him before.
"I was asleep. What's going on?"
"Well, we're all supposed to gather together. As in, all students... for the surviving soldiers
that just returned from the battlefield."
Rey also knew about that, but he acted oblivious.
"I see. Alright then... let's go."
Adrien made a face that showed he felt Rey was acting strange. However, with no way to prove
it or justify his suspicion or confusion, he had to just go with it.
"Okay. Let's do that."
**************
[Moments Later]
'This is crazy...'
Rey's eyes widened as he counted the number of Dragons that stood before the students. Back
when he was rushing to get to Ater, and then return to the shelter, he didn't bother counting
them.
But now that he had more time on his hands, he was able to.
... And their total number shocked him.
'Just this few survived?!' There were less than five thousand Dragons standing before them, and most of them were
Dragon Soldiers. A few Commanders were sprinkled among the group, and only one General
was left.
The General that they first encountered was nowhere to be seen.
'So he's already dead, huh?' Rey thought to himself as he laid eyes on the female Dragon General that stood before the students and the rest of her fellow officers.
She was currently the highest-ranked Dragon in the Southern Continent, which meant she was
under a great deal of pressure.
No one wanted to die, but not everyone could live.
Even the rations in the shelter could hardly be enough for a few nights, talkless of a whole ten