Not satisfied with the result. Razor continued, "Didn't you hear of the news yesterday? A band of 2000 Camelot soldiers defeated an invading hoard of 5000 Barbax soldiers.
"After that, they advanced into Barbax territory and took down the entire north-east wall of the Barbax kingdom. A wall that measured almost 4 kilometres in length.
"How unbelieveable is that? And after the wall was taken down, an earthquake struck the entire Barbax kingdom. Doesn't it sound like fiction?
"I want you all to tell me: What kind of explosive can cause an earthquake to rock an entire kingdom?"
More people became more or less convinced that the emperor was the Red dragon. But they still held their doubts, waiting for confirmation.
Emperor Gerald smiled and proudly spread his arms sideways. He said, to everyone's hearing,
"This man speaks the truth."
The instant the emperor ended his speech, his whole body became a humanoid flame ball. The people were awed. Razor laughed like a mad man because he was proven correct by the subject himself.
The flames on the emperor's body suddenly vanished, and he was back to his normal self. He asked Razor,
"Did you just come here to prove that I'm indeed the Red dragon?"
Razor replied, "No and yes."
Emperor Gerald impatiently said, "Half breed, I don't have time."
A corner of Razor's lips arched up. He said, "There it is. The arrogance of a dragon. This is the flaw that may lead to the downfall of Camelot."
The people gasped in horrific realisation. Anxious murmurs erupted.
Emperor Gerald firmly said, "Camelot will never fall. Instead, we will continue to grow, expand, and conquer more territories."
Razor said, "I am tempted to call you an arrogant fool
As a soldier tugged on the hilt of his sword, he interrupted Razor, saying, "I dare you to say that."
Razor ignored the soldier and continued, "But your men would pounce on me.
"I want an honest answer. How do you expect a city on the border to protect itself from a rank-A beast barrage when you aren't available?"
Emperor Gerald calmly replied, "There are able soldiers on the walls armed with efficient weapons and brains to take out a beast barrage."
Razor said, "Then, why weren't they capable of vanquishing a lone dragon?"
Emperor Gerald said, "I assure you that without my arrival, the soldiers could have slain the beast."
Razor said, "At the expense of how many people and soldiers? More properties would be destroyed, and costs would be incurred."
Emperor Gerald said, "Do you have any idea what we could do to boost our defences?"
Razor said, "Legalise the ownership and sales of guns in the border cities. This would mean that regular citizens would rise up to become backup soldiers when things went south."
The people had heard about guns and their awesome destructive capability. They chorused in agreement with Razor's speech.
Emperor Gerald waited to see if Razor would speak more, but he didn't. The emperor said,
"I knew you looked familiar. You are Razor, the popular arms dealer in this region of the continent."
Razor jerked in surprise. He regretted his action immediately. He wished he had controlled himself better.
Emperor Gerald said, "You are just a selfish man. All you want is to make money. You don't care about what will happen after gun sales. You select your words, making it seem like you have a good intention.
"For those who don't know, your business isn't making a surplus profit as it used to because gun use is losing popularity. Also, the territories you sell have put in strict gun control laws. You want to sell in Camelot because you know that people in this continental region copy every trend in this nation.
"You want Camelot to give you an endorsement boost so that your business will resume making large profits."
Razor was flushed with shame as he was caught and exposed in his act.
Emperor Gerald said to the bunker guard, "Show me to the next bunker."
The bunker guard respectfully gestured forward, saying, "This way, my lord."
Razor made way for the Emperor to walk by.
The emperor, the bunker guard, the scout soldiers, and the soldiers from Brave City walked through the crowd as they headed for a portal on a wall at the end of the cabin.
####
Location: Mana Land.
Time: During the period when the emperor was fighting the invading dragon,
Prince Zheng furiously stared at the Dream Bison as it grazed close to the tree line. Meanwhile, the prince cuddled a pink orb between his left hand and left thigh. He remembered the orb and raised it up to look at it.
He said to the Red-back hyena inside the orb,
"You are going to suffer after I get home."
Zheng wore a ring on his right ring finger. The ring was made of gold and bore the badge of Camelot's royal family on its face.
He raised the ring to his eye line and said, "Aperta."
Zheng's ring was an interspatial ring. Aperta was the magic word to activate the ring. After it was activated, a dimensional rift appeared before Zheng. He threw the orb into the rift. He clapped his hands once, and the rift disappeared.
Zheng lay down on the floor and looked at the sky. He did this to fall into thought. This was fueled by his desire to make good use of his stay in Mana land. He wanted to think about what to learn now that he was here.