"Y-You..."
The remaining three were so shocked by the sudden turn of events that they couldn't even speak.
Of course, the boiling blood raging through their bodies was probably another reason they found it difficult to open their mouths.
"How terribly weak."
Rhys looked at the three people still barely managing to remain suspended in the air with a hint of pity.
Weakness was the original sin.
When faced with an external force of destruction, they possessed almost no ability even to converse with it.
Back in the magical world of England, if the four of them had not existed, perhaps they too would have been just as powerless against the Norse gods as these people were now.
Had these alchemical lifeforms ever interfered with Rhys's life?
Not really.
But once Rowena had asked for his help, he had come to bring them destruction and death.
Of course, even without Rowena's request, once he learned that the inhabitants of this world possessed knowledge of the "Great Calamities," he would still have slaughtered them without hesitation.
The enmity between both sides had long since become irreconcilable.
"So, you call that dragon just now the Starfall Dragon King? It's quite an appropriate name. I originally thought it had hidden here to recover because it was weak. I didn't expect that, compared to all of you, it was actually one of the strongest beings around."
Rhys's words filled the three with fury and humiliation, yet they could offer no rebuttal.
After a long while, they finally managed to calm the turmoil within their bodies and regain the ability to speak.
"Does Your Excellency not fear divine punishment for acting in such a manner?"
"The Imperial Court Mage Corps is filled with countless experts. People like me are as common as cartloads of grain. The law of the Empire is merciless. Your doom is inevitable!"
"Your Excellency bears neither old grievances nor recent enmities with us. Why have you suddenly resorted to such slaughter?"
Rhys snapped his fingers.
Immediately, the three felt their tongues stiffen, rendering them unable to speak.
Although they had regained the ability to talk, the blood within their bodies was still in violent turmoil, consuming almost all their concentration. Merely staying airborne required their full effort. They had no ability whatsoever to resist Rhys's Tongue-Tying Curse.
"One at a time. I'll answer your questions in order."
Since the three before him had passed his "test," they had earned the right to converse with him.
Naturally, he would answer their questions.
"I have never feared so-called gods. If they are willing to appear and punish me, that would be wonderful."
Rhys reasoned that if they were truly called gods, then they must have accumulated a tremendous amount of Authority.
Killing one such alchemical lifeform would surely yield hundreds or even thousands of times the benefits of killing ordinary people. Perhaps one god would be worth ten or eight Starfall Dragon Kings.
If the gods of this world were willing to come to him on their own initiative, it would save him an enormous amount of time.
Rhys removed the Tongue-Tying Curse from the man dressed as a priest and asked him very seriously whether he could communicate with the gods.
If he could bring down divine punishment upon him, then he should hurry.
The priest: ...
He felt that he had truly encountered a madman today.
"Only His Holiness the Pope can communicate directly with the gods. An ordinary bishop like myself receives very little favour from the divine."
The priest's answer greatly disappointed Rhys.
Still, at least he had pointed him towards a possible lead.
After silencing the priest once more, Rhys turned to the second person, the one dressed as a mage.
"The Imperial Court Mage Corps? Compared to the Dragon King, how strong is your Chief Court Mage?"
The court mage was momentarily stunned by the question.
However, from the exchange between this man and Bishop Carter, he had vaguely realised that this person seemed eager to fight powerful opponents.
A true lunatic.
But perhaps this was also an excellent opportunity for revenge.
He could lure this madman into a trap.
Thus, he honestly gave his evaluation of the Chief Court Mage.
"It's difficult for me to answer. The Chief has never fought the Starfall Dragon King and has never experienced a Great Calamity, so it's impossible to assess his true strength. However, he once joined His Imperial Majesty in slaying the Lord of the Northern Seas and the King of the Lava Giants. Therefore, I believe that he and His Majesty possess power not inferior to that of the Dragon Kings."
Rhys's eyes lit up.
Just from the title alone, it was obvious that the Chief Court Mage occupied the same place as the Emperor.
Wouldn't that mean he could kill two birds with one stone?
"You've mentioned Dragon Kings several times. Aside from the Starfall Dragon King, are there other Dragon Kings?"
The mage looked at Rhys as though he were an idiot.
He couldn't understand how someone who had reached such a level of power could remain so ignorant and naïve.
No, even children should have heard the legends of the Dragon Kings.
Still, considering the overwhelming strength of the person before him, he decided to answer seriously.
And perhaps he could direct this lunatic towards the Dragon Kings as well.
"There are countless dragons throughout the eight directions of the four realms, but only four are worthy of the title of Dragon King: the Wind Dragon King, Starhowl; the Earth Dragon King, Starfall; the Fire Dragon King, Flame-Devourer; and the Water Dragon King, Tidebreaker. Although there are other dragons who call themselves Dragon Kings, their strength is not on the same level as these four."
A thoughtful look flashed through Rhys's eyes.
"Among the Four Dragon Kings, the Wind Dragon King, Starhowl, is the oldest and strongest. It has survived seven Great Calamities without perishing. Next come the Fire Dragon King and the Earth Dragon King. Both survived three world-ending catastrophes. However, compared to the Starfall Dragon King, the Fire Dragon King is somewhat stronger, because it never had to retreat into seclusion to recover from its injuries."
Rhys's expression darkened.
"So the Water Dragon King is the weakest?"
"Naturally."
Rhys snorted.
Just as expected, Rowena loved taking advantage of him in these tiny details. How childish.
Perhaps it was because she had never managed to surpass him in terms of intellect.
For once, however, Rhys had misunderstood Rowena.
She genuinely hadn't considered one-upping Salazar in this regard. In truth, the order in which the Dragon Kings had been created was closely related to the type of magic Rowena herself specialised in. Her greatest speciality was wind, which was why the Wind Dragon King was the oldest and strongest.
The Water Dragon King had been created shortly after the Wind Dragon King. The reason the current Water Dragon King was the weakest was simply because it was a second-generation Dragon King. The first-generation Water Dragon King had failed to survive one of the world-ending catastrophes that Rowena herself had previously unleashed.
"Tell me where the other Dragon Kings are."
The court mage couldn't have been more delighted by the request. He immediately marked the locations of the remaining three Dragon Kings on a map.
After finishing his conversation with the court mage, Rhys turned to the third person.
This man was also dressed as a mage, though he wore none of the numerous heraldic ornaments that adorned the court mage.
"Because you were trying to stop those dust clouds."
Rhys's answer left all three of them completely bewildered.
"I want to study the effects that blocking out the sun with massive quantities of dust will have on the ecosystem. This is extremely valuable and rare experimental data, so I cannot allow anyone to interfere."
The three: ???
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI