# Chapter 17: The Death of Alfonso Carlos
Since arriving in Moldavia, Joshua had never restrained Surarno's freedom.
Nominally, the other was his prisoner, but in reality, the warrior simply treated him as an employee picked up from the battlefield, without even conducting an interrogation. Joshua was not at all afraid that Surarno would harbor resentment over being injured by him and seek revenge, because the warrior knew the other did not dare.
In truth, being able to use his injuries to escape the conspiracy-ridden Far South was a good thing for the Blue Dragon. Surarno had never intended to participate in something as insane as the Mad Dragon War from the very beginning. Although he did have some feelings toward Joshua because of his injuries, fear far outweighed resentment. Revenge was almost impossible; escape, on the other hand, was not entirely out of the question.
But even that fear gradually melted away due to the warrior's leniency.
Recently, Surarno had been staying near Winterfell Academy under the identity of "a special instructor personally invited by the Dean," taking care of the young dragons together with the academy's instructors. Aside from that, he occasionally went to the academy to substitute as a guest teacher, teaching students some rare magical techniques.
Any high-ranking adult dragon possessed profound magical heritage and an indestructible body. They were naturally born war fortresses and knowledge vaults. Dragon magic had always been heavily featured in legends and tales, and indeed, the special magical techniques Surarno taught were unheard of even by some instructors, possessing great research value.
The Blue Dragon, treated with courtesy, faced no harassment whatsoever but instead received much praise. Even the task of caring for the young dragons was not as troublesome as he had imagined. A human mage named Theodore had already taken over most of the work and refused to let go no matter what. Those young dragons, which in the mouths of single male dragons were as terrifying as war magic, became as docile as household dogs under this man's care—at most a bit like Huskies.
Now, Surarno only needed to take the young dragons for walks. Aside from not being able to fly freely across the world, his life was no worse than before, and even better in terms of meals. So after some thought, this Blue Dragon decided to come to the Lord's Mansion and voluntarily tell Joshua some secrets he had never asked about before.
Surarno could roughly guess that his nominal superior was a warrior dedicated to eradicating Chaos. He felt that Joshua would definitely need this information.
"As everyone knows, the dragons on the Mycroft Continent are divided into two types: Primordial Realm Dragons and Astral Dragons."
After thinking for a moment, the Blue Dragon spoke in a clear voice, unhurriedly explaining to Joshua: "Primordial Realm Dragons are various dragon beasts and descendants of Ancient Dragons naturally born in this world. Most of them lack intelligence and belong to uncivilized groups. Astral Dragons are what people commonly call the Five-Colored Dragons and Metal Dragons."
This was information known to anyone on the continent with even a slight understanding of dragons. Joshua nodded slightly—he naturally knew these things—but since he was somewhat interested in what Surarno was about to say, he patiently listened.
"Scholars among humans often say that dragons have a completely different body structure from the various races on the continent, with not even the slightest similarity. Even dragon beasts that look similar are fundamentally different inside. Therefore, dragons are actually not native to the Mycroft Continent." When Surarno reached this point, he shrugged: "They're right. Although the dragon race has never admitted it, the earliest batch of dragons had nothing to do with this world. They only temporarily settled on the Mycroft Continent."
Speaking of this, the Blue Dragon's expression turned serious, even somewhat self-deprecating: "According to the history passed down through our bloodline, we dragons were forced to leave our original world thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago because of a great disaster in our homeland, fleeing to other planes in the Void. In a sense, we are refugees."
"Is that so?"
Joshua raised an eyebrow. He had heard something like this before, but at that time, most people believed dragons were a race that colonized the entire Multiverse. He thought so too. But now, this matter seemed somewhat familiar.
Forced to flee because of a disaster in their homeland... wasn't this exactly like the elves of the Ilgena World, who fled with the Father of Nature? Could it be that the dragon world had also been attacked by Evil Gods back then?
It was indeed very possible. Joshua thought for a moment, then let Surarno continue.
"Since we are refugees, one thing becomes very clear." The blue-haired elven bard closed his eyes and let out a sigh: "There are always dragons who want to go home, and always dragons who want to stay. Although the dragon race lost its civilization, there weren't many natural enemies or powerful beings on Mycroft that could threaten dragons. After a period of recuperation, the dragon groups split. One group was determined to plunder the world's resources to return home—even if their homeland was destroyed, they wanted to see its remains. The other group decided to take root in this world and become part of the Mycroft Continent."
"The first civil war between the Five-Colored Dragons and Metal Dragons in the ancient era." Joshua's heart stirred. He seemed to understand what Surarno wanted to say.
"Yes, the Five-Colored Dragons and Metal Dragons split at that time." Nodding in agreement with the warrior's statement, the Blue Dragon continued: "The Five-Colored Dragons I belong to are the descendants of those who were determined to go home. That's why Five-Colored Dragons never consider themselves part of this continent. They disdain following any local rules and plunder whatever they want at will. The Metal Dragons, as those who assimilated, are naturally the opposite."
"The two sides fought each other until neither could achieve their goals. The Five-Colored Dragons couldn't smoothly gather resources and launch Void voyages, while the Metal Dragons were questioned because of the bad reputation the Five-Colored Dragons brought. Over thousands of years, both sides even forgot their original goals, simply fighting each other over past grudges. This Dragon Calamity is precisely because the Metal Dragon God lost to the Five-Color Dragon God in the civil war, so they had to retreat from the Far South and not participate in this war."
Surarno spoke slowly, and many things took on a completely different perspective when told from his mouth. According to the Blue Dragon, this Dragon Calamity should actually be part of the preparations for the journey home. The vast wealth and resources plundered from the Far South Kingdom and the elves were sent to a Five-Colored Dragon gathering place he didn't know about, preparing for travel through the Void. And the reason for specifically attacking the Far South and the Church of the Seven Gods also had a different explanation from human understanding.
"The Mad Dragon army could attack any part of the Mycroft Continent. Except for the Northern Empire at the northernmost end, which is somewhat troublesome, the Western Mountain Region and the Eastern Plains are better targets than the Far South with its dense jungles. But according to the Blue Dragon clan chief, the Legendary Dragon Retia, the Dragon God chose the Far South as the battlefield because we need to find something."
This was undoubtedly top secret. Surarno said this was hidden information only Ultimate-rank dragons could know, and Joshua had indeed never heard any similar rumors in his previous life. For the first time, curiosity and doubt appeared on the warrior's face: "What thing? Something that makes the Five-Colored Dragons willing to wage all-out war against the three major forces of the Holy Mountain, the elves, and the Far South Kingdom?"
"I don't know... Retia didn't say much. It just repeatedly emphasized that this has a great relationship with the Five-Colored Dragons' journey home."
Surarno frowned. The vertical pupils in his eyes contracted for a moment, then returned to normal: "But I vaguely remember, when it was talking to itself and conversing with other Legendary Dragons, it mentioned a peculiar ritual robe from the Church of the Seven Gods, once collected by a large elven tribe, then passed to the Far South Kingdom."
"They said it should be a supreme treasure belonging to the dragon race, because only beings with dragon bloodline could use it. It recorded the secrets needed for the Five-Colored Dragons to return home. That's why, after attacking the elven tribes and the Far South Kingdom, the Mad Dragons besieged the Holy Mountain."
"But I don't believe it." The Blue Dragon shook his head: "Since it's a ritual robe, it should be for humanoid beings to use. What does it have to do with us dragons? Ever since Keano returned from the Void and became increasingly strange, the upper echelons of the Five-Colored Dragons have always been this chaotic." He warned: "But even so, the Mad Dragon army is an unavoidable danger. Recently, Retia has been summoning Blue Dragons worldwide through bloodline resonance. I think they definitely haven't given up and want to do something—like opening an Abyss Gate or something."
When he said this, Surarno's expression was serious, not like he was joking: "Believe me, they would do it."
"Whether it's true or not, this information is very useful." Joshua didn't pay too much attention. He nodded in praise: "Even if everything else is false, just knowing the general goals and recent movements of the Five-Colored Dragon clan is enough to put the Holy Mountain on alert. Surarno, very good."
"It is my honor to be of help to you."
The blue-haired elf bowed slightly. He had finished what he came to do, so he took his leave. With a fluctuation of teleportation, Surarno left the Lord's Mansion. The warrior continued to stay in the tower, but he was indeed completely uninterested. Alfonso Carlos was the manager he had appointed. This experienced Northland Chamber of Commerce President knew what to do, and in fact, he did it very well. The funds of the Moldavia Territory were abundant, far better than before, allowing Joshua to freely develop the territory, establish academies, and rune factories.
"What happened to him?"
Thinking of this, Joshua asked in a deep voice. Number 3's expression and tone made him feel something was wrong, making him eager to know what kind of news it was.
But Number 3 was not disturbed by the warrior. She continued speaking softly: "Originally, Mr. Carlos would report the week's work situation and data every week. This was usually handled by Lin and me, so he would specially greet us at the end of his letters... Mr. Carlos was a very punctual person. Even if occasionally delayed by accidents, he would quickly make up for it a few days later. But in the past month or so, the reports he sent were not only untimely but also full of errors and contradictions. This 'Mr. Carlos' didn't even know that Lin and I were the ones handling these matters."
Joshua's brow quickly furrowed, then immediately relaxed. He was silent for a moment, then said in a light tone: "It seems the problem is serious."
"Yes." The Artificial Intelligence girl nodded slightly: "If we only look at the reports, ordinary people might be fooled by him. But I can detect every slight irregularity in his handwriting and differences in his word usage habits... If not for the funds continuing to arrive normally, I would have told you a few days ago. After all, there's also the possibility of him being unwell and temporarily handing work to others. Last time, he also mentioned wanting to train his eldest son to take over part of the work."
"And now?"
"Now, all contact is cut off."
Speaking of this, Number 3's tone paused slightly. The Artificial Intelligence girl's voice turned cold: "I suspect that Mr. Carlos has long been dead."