Chapter 703: Conversation
{Child of man, do you understand what you are asking of us? Why should I agree to such a thing? There is nothing we can gain by battling the Gods.}
Frieda already expected that answer from Mitera, so she wasn\'t that rattled and already had a reply in mind.
"I see, I apologize if I have offended you with such a biased offer. Asking you to fight with us without offering anything in exchange was bad. I hope that the mother of all dragons can forgive me."
{Child there\'s no need for apologies. I understand why you have acted in such a way.}
"Thank you, I understand that you won\'t help us if we don\'t give something in return. I will once again apologize for my ignorance so please tell me what we can offer so that you may help us in our battle against the Gods."
{I already told you child there\'s no need for continuous apologies. If you keep on apologizing then the act itself becomes meaningless.}
"I see..."
{Now to answer your question, I don\'t think there is anything humanity can give that can convince me to join your war against the Gods. We might be a prideful and powerful race but that doesn\'t mean we are fools. Even though an adult dragon can easily kill several Old Gods, to fight against the Ancient Ones only the most powerful of my children can fight against them.
As for the strongest of the Ancient Ones only I am capable of fighting him. A war against the Gods even if won will only lead to many deaths of my children, not to mention that I\'m not in peak form.}
Frieda gritted her teeth, she knew that this negotiation was going to be very difficult as she knew almost nothing about the Dragon race. Since the beginning, she knew that this negotiation was doomed to fail but still, this was something she needed to at least try. It was at this moment she remembered what Schlau said before they lost communication.
...
"Leader after you try your best and you cannot convince the other party to join our cause, then how about you let Erste handle the negotiations?"
"Huh, you want this guy who uses force most of the time to handle negotiations?"
"I\'m with Frieda on this one I don\'t think you want me to do any talking."
"Don\'t worry Erste trust me you\'ll do fine."
"... Alright, so what do you want me to say?"
"Oh, you misunderstood Erste, I don\'t have any lines to give you."
"Then what do I say?"
"Say whatever you want, do whatever you want."
"Wait a minute! Are you sure about this Schlau?"
"Trust me, leader, this is a good bet. Also if the dragons don\'t help us we will lose eventually, so even if we piss them off it just changes who\'s going to kill us from Gods to the Dragons."
Hearing that response Frieda could only sigh as she mostly agreed with what Schlau said. She just hoped that it wouldn\'t get to that point.
...
\'I guess it\'s do or die now.\' After remembering that conversation with Schlau, Frieda had a firmer resolve as he looked at Erste and gave him a signal. Seeing the signal Erste was at first surprised then he showed that vicious smile on his face.
"So that\'s it what a disappointment. Prideful Dragons? That has to be a joke right, all I can see are cowardly snakes."
The very second Erste finished his words a suffocating killing intent had locked itself on him. A pressure like no other wanted to make Erste kiss the ground, this was the same move he used on the generals but was way more powerful. Still, despite such powerful pressure and killing intent aimed at him Erste did not kneel and the vicious smile on his face never faded.
"Heh, it might be a good thing for us that you\'re not willing to help. If I trust my back to such cowardly snakes I might not know what killed me. The Dragons in my imagination are better than you guys. Humans have imagined you guys to be this powerful, prideful race that would never spout such weak sentiments.
You\'re avoiding war against the Gods because they\'re just an annoyance to you right now, but tell me what do you think those Gods will do once they get bored of hunting down humans?"
{Child do not be presumptuous. You seem to think that I do not understand what those Gods are thinking. I have lived for eons, I have existed since the birth of the prime universe. Aside from the ORIGIN, I am the oldest living being in existence. Do you think that I have not already foreseen the ending that even a child like you can see?}
"Hoh, well that\'s interesting so you have seen the ending but you still choose to do nothing?"
{Sometimes child, doing nothing is the best option.} Even though there was still this majestic feeling in her voice there was also a hint of sadness that affected even Erste\'s soul.
"So you gave up?"
{I did not give up child, I simply accepted what was to come.}
"That\'s the very definition of giving up! Isn\'t it better to fight than to just wait for the end to come?! Mother of All Dragons I won\'t promise you victory or anything extravagant like that, but I can promise you a worthy death if you join us in battle."
Mitera did not respond but her blazing eyes were always on Erste. Even though she was staying here in the area close to the sea of chaos, she had observed humans, Dragons, and Gods but the human before was different from all she had seen. Despite the rude exterior and the obvious warlike presence, there was something in him that inspired others into battle.
Even her child Tenma seems to be affected by what Erste is saying.
{Very well, Child, if you\'re able to complete one task for me I and the entire Dragon Race will fight alongside you, be it to victory or eternal demise.}
When Frieda heard Mitera\'s reply she looked at Erste dumbfounded. She could not understand how Erste was able to convince the Mother of All Dragons, despite insulting and antagonizing the other party. How did that foul-mouthed guy convince such an ancient being?
"Heh, that\'s what I\'m talking about. So what task do you want me to accomplish?"
{Ages ago before you humans were even created when I was still at my peak I was ambushed by several Ancient Ones. The battle we had lasted for millennia but in the end I had killed half of them while they managed to steal one of my hearts. After that battle due to my missing heart, I could no longer use all my power. So the task I wish for you to accomplish is to retrieve my stolen heart.}