Chapter 671: Mass Breeding Plan for Fire Dragons
"Roar...!"
The short-legged Dragon Turtle Black Armor charged at full speed to the front.
The reason he was so desperate, of course, was because of the promises made by Yaya and Matthew.
Two powerful True Dragons had made him a promise!
That's right, in Dragon Turtle Black Armor's perception, Matthew, this so-called "human," was also a powerful, mysterious, and terrifying True Dragon.
Of course, the promises of True Dragons were not always reliable.
Although he hadn't dealt with many True Dragons, the memories embedded in his bloodline mostly told the sub-dragons:
Stay as far away from True Dragons as possible!
The reason was simple: sub-dragons that encountered True Dragons usually ended up with only two fates.
One was becoming food, turned into nourishment for the other's growth.
The other was getting caught and becoming a servant.
A True Dragon's slave rarely had a good ending.
When Dragon Turtle Black Armor was caught by Bay Territory's adventurers and special operations unit, he wasn't too panicked.
Since they weren't in a hurry to kill him, there had to be a future path.
But when he saw Yaya and Matthew and used his innate ability to sense their true identities...
This dragon turtle, who had survived 300 years, nearly withdrew his head and limbs into his shell on the spot.
Fortunately, his strong survival instinct made Dragon Turtle Black Armor pretend nothing had happened and act just like the other sub-dragons.
He struggled fiercely at first, but when he saw he couldn't escape, he gave up the aggressive behavior.
Dragon Turtle Black Armor originally thought these two special True Dragons in humanoid form would play some underhanded tricks on them.
But what followed was completely beyond his expectations!
Yaya immediately revealed her true form, and with overwhelming draconic might and bloodline power, easily subdued all the sub-dragons.
Then she patiently conducted a deep "exchange" with each sub-dragon.
Yep, she beat the crap out of them all!
Because of his strong abilities, Dragon Turtle got beaten several times.
Later, when he thought he'd be used as a punching bag for the rest of his life, Dragon Turtle Black Armor suddenly sensed a terrifying memory from his bloodline.
A disaster no dragon species could resist.
A fear memory etched into their bloodlines by their ancestors with life and soul!
The Dragon Frenzy Cataclysm!
These terrifying memories warned all dragonkind:
Leave the dangerous material plane!
Or, leave behind as many offspring as possible!
Precisely because of this, dragons became more active during this period.
Many of them were looking for mates to quickly leave behind more descendants.
Their behavior inevitably caused all kinds of problems for other creatures.
So many intelligent species blamed the dragons' behavior on the early effects of the Dragon Frenzy Cataclysm.
It was precisely this almost desperate breeding that allowed most dragon species to survive.
However, these new generations of dragons, lacking parental guidance,
often couldn't properly develop their bloodline memories and abilities, making it hard to awaken their intelligence early.
As a result, these few generations had a higher mortality rate during their growth.
And because they seemed "stupid" and less "rational," they were seen as unintelligent brutes.
But in fact, dragons with high-purity bloodlines could never truly be stupid.
The reason they seemed average, even less smart than kobolds or gnolls...
Was purely because they lived too long!
With such long lifespans, they could at most reproduce two or three generations before the next Dragon Frenzy arrived.
Just when a dragon-blooded creature had started to grow, it would be wiped out by another deadly purge.
And so, dragon-blooded creatures were stuck in an endless cycle.
In this process, some talented dragons realized this deadly problem.
Unable to resist the Cataclysm, they tried all kinds of solutions.
Sadly, none were very effective.
In the end, they reluctantly accepted that fleeing the material plane or reproducing were the only two real options to avoid extinction.
This was why Dragon Turtle Black Armor felt so helpless and regretful.
Although he had lived a long time and survived the first Dragon Frenzy through special means...
Now he might not survive the next one because of his capture.
Dragon Turtle Black Armor was overwhelmed with sorrow!
But before he could sulk for more than two days, all the sub-dragons, including him, were relocated to the Catachan demi-plane.
Seeing a large group of dragon-blooded kobolds and gnolls using the teleportation array, Dragon Turtle Black Armor instantly understood Bay Territory's attitude.
Even the lowest-tier dragon-blooded kobolds and gnolls weren't discarded casually. Bay Territory was willing to pay a huge price to teleport them between planes to save their lives.
This showed just how well Bay Territory treated its own.
After realizing this, Dragon Turtle Black Armor was finally able to relax a bit, silently sighing:
"At least my life is safe."
But what happened next went far beyond Dragon Turtle Black Armor's expectations.
On his first foray into the perilous Catachan plane, he really did suffer quite a bit.
The terrifying strength of the Catachan demons left a deep impression on him.
But he soon realized that the sub-dragons had plenty of freedom in this region.
What tempted him most was the "guidance" and "instruction" from Bay Territory, which let him more quickly master and unlock the power in his bloodline.
Because of this, all the sub-dragons, himself included, became very "obedient."
Until Dragon Turtle Black Armor discovered Matthew's "true identity."
That terrifying hidden pressure!
Eyes that could see through everything!
A stirring from deep in his blood!
All convinced Dragon Turtle Black Armor of Matthew's real identity.
Because of that, like most sub-dragons, Dragon Turtle Black Armor chose to behave.
In fact, this year-plus living in the Catachan demi-plane had been the happiest time for all the sub-dragons.
No need to worry about food.
They could clearly feel their strength growing.
They could continually unlock their bloodline abilities.
Except for the occasional "training" sessions with Lady Yaya that left them sore all over...
The rest of the time was basically pure bliss.
However, for the sub-dragons who had already developed their strength significantly...
They had hidden worries too.
The reason was simple. Once their strength hit their bloodline's limit and they could no longer break through by unlocking it...
Would they still be allowed to stay in Bay Territory?
Would they be abandoned for losing their value?
With these worries, top-tier sub-dragons led by Dragon Turtle Black Armor spent a period of anxious days.
However, as they began to interact with the adventurers, they gradually let go of those worries.
"Bay Territory never discards the donkey after it's done grinding. Some of the veterans' retirement benefits are downright enviable."
"Yeah, if you want to rest, you can rest. If you want to do something, you can apply to the Ideological Education Institute and teach those guys who made ideological mistakes a lesson or two."
"No worries about food or clothing, and daily life is completely covered."
"Sickness, elder care, even more so. The new generation of domestic magic constructs serve you, and Druids or healers will treat you for free."
"And it's not just the elderly—other aspects are also impressive, especially when it comes to disabled or seriously injured soldiers..."
Soldiers?
Black-Armored Dragon Turtle naturally understood what soldiers were, and what their identity and duties entailed.
But in his eyes, the soldiers he had encountered were basically just valuable consumables.
Just like how he saw himself!
Maybe to Bay Territory, the subdragons were just a more valuable type of consumable.
What the adventurers said next completely shattered Black-Armored Dragon Turtle's assumption.
"Bay Territory lets most disabled soldiers undergo a powerful surgical transformation—the Dragon Warrior Modification."
"This procedure allows many physically disabled soldiers to regain their health, and those with good adaptability even gain incredible strength."
"Yeah, I heard even some powerful Professionals, even Legendary ones, are very interested in this procedure."
"Because if successful, those who undergo the procedure can gain extended lifespan—at least 100 to 200 years..."
"Unfortunately, this benefit isn't currently available to adventurers..."
Not open to adventurers?
"Then that kind of benefit surely wouldn't be available to us subdragons either!"
"That's just too cruel!"
"Maybe in the eyes of those two True Dragons, subdragons aren't even as important as dragon-blooded kobolds and gnolls..."
Back then, Black-Armored Dragon Turtle truly believed that!
But before he could react, the adventurers' conversation took a turn that left him stunned.
"That might not be the case. I heard Bay Territory recently announced that even non-members can undergo the Dragon Warrior Modification, as long as they meet the merit requirement."
"I heard that too. The merit requirement is higher than for members, but we still have a chance."
"Tsk tsk, I heard some Legendary Professionals offered sky-high prices and still couldn't qualify for the surgery."
"Can't be helped. Bay Territory has its own criteria. Unless those Legendary Professionals are willing to obey and accept Bay Territory's training and guidance..."
"I heard some already succeeded, but they agreed to confidentiality under Bay Territory's terms."
"That's interesting. With that kind of ability, why keep it secret?"
"Maybe Bay Territory prefers to invest resources in those who follow orders."
"Makes sense. Like those murlocs—gotta admit, Bay Territory's murlocs are really something."
"Yeah, Bay Territory respects any intelligent being that obeys—no matter who they are."
"As long as they're obedient, Bay Territory provides them with a path to rise..."
Hearing that, Black-Armored Dragon Turtle had pretty much made up his mind.
Work diligently!
Follow orders obediently!
Stick with Bay Territory and rise up!
"We subdragons are intelligent beings too!"
"Yeah, of course we are!"
"We should talk more with adventurers and Bay Territory staff..."
"I think we should complete more missions and earn more contribution points."
"Maybe lay more eggs, raise more offspring?"
"Definitely! The more of us there are, the more valuable we become!"
"We could also ask if there are tougher missions that suit us."
"That's a good idea. It can raise our value and importance. And if Bay Territory's attitude toward us is genuine, then we'll have even more hope."
"Exactly. We gotta work harder. Be part of Bay Territory's development. Otherwise, kobolds and gnolls will end up ordering us around."
In their discussion, the subdragons redefined their identity and status in Bay Territory.
At the same time, to avoid the last situation they imagined, they all decided to respond more enthusiastically to Bay Territory's calls and demands.
Fighting?
"We're experts at that!"
Getting beaten up?
"After all the 'training' with Lady Yaya, our performance speaks for itself!"
Garrison duty?
"No problem. Just moving nests—we love burrow-building."
Breeding offspring?
"Don't even mention it. With our current living conditions, we owe it to the next generation!"
With these ideas firmly in mind, the subdragons threw themselves even more into the development of Bay Territory.
Thanks to the subdragons' help, Bay Territory was able to gather a massive amount of intel on the Catachan Plane and the Catachan Demons.
Using that intel, Matthew and the Bay Territory forces were able to quickly formulate a targeted battle plan.
And they succeeded in one go!
That's also why Matthew saw the "vitality" and "usefulness" of these subdragons.
He planned to have them play an even bigger "role!"
Subdragons at the Extraordinary peak tier were no longer enough to satisfy Matthew's attention.
He needed stronger subdragons!
Bay Territory needed stronger subdragons!
Thus, a significant portion of the resources obtained in the Catachan sub-plane were funneled to the subdragons.
While boosting their strength, their numbers were also increased.
Of course, Matthew wasn't just aiming to increase their numbers.
He had deeper reasons in mind!
Facing the Catachan Jungle, which now spanned the entire sub-plane, ordinary combat power was practically useless.
Even dragonkind who could alter terrain and environment barely made a dent.
But Fire Dragons were the exception!
Mighty Fire Dragons could be considered one of the strongest subdragons.
They had robust physiques, bodies similar to True Dragons, terrifying dragon breath, and mastery of flame-based magic.
Even some of their inherited traits were increasingly close to True Dragons—among the strongest draconic creatures below True Dragon level.
If it hadn't been for the Dragon Madness Calamity forcibly halting the Fire Dragons' bloodline development—
—they might've ascended to become a type of True Dragon, completing their bloodline evolution.
More importantly, Matthew had already found secrets and techniques to help Fire Dragons resist the Dragon Madness Calamity in the Fire Dragon eggs recovered from the Underdark nest.
That's why Matthew led Bay Territory's army, along with hordes of subdragons, on a hundred-kilometer dash deep into the heart of the Catachan Jungle to seize Aso Volcano.
At that volcano, Matthew could initiate the Fire Dragon mass production program!
One or two Fire Dragons might not make a difference in the Catachan sub-plane!
But hundreds or even thousands?