Translator: AnubisTL
Garos's dragon claw sank deep into the Gluttony Demon's chest, the rhythmic thumping of its heart palpable beneath the scales.
Karu's black iron skin groaned under the immense pressure, a defiant roar rumbling in its throat.
It opened its cavernous maw, shark-like teeth clamping down on Garos's dragon arm. But the scales felt like biting into black iron, the impact jarring its teeth to the roots.
The Gluttony Demon thrashed wildly, desperate to break free from Garos's crushing grip. But the giant dragon's weight was like a mountain, its claw unyielding. With each struggle, the claw pressed deeper, crushing the demon's ribs with sickening cracks.
"I will give you two choices," Garos said, his voice low and menacing.
He leaned closer, his sulfurous breath scorching the Gluttony Demon's face. Slowly, his dragon wings unfurled, the razor-sharp wing bones pressing against the demon's neck, drawing a thin line of blood.
"The first choice is death."
Garos's eyes burned with lethal intent. "I will annihilate your clan, shatter every bone in your body, and carve out your heart. I will display it in my trophy chamber. My inheritance tells me that a Gluttony Demon's heart can survive independently—a perfect opportunity for verification."
"The second choice is submission."
Garos pressed his dragon claw against the Gluttony Demon's head, his voice low and resonant. "Become my chosen, pledge your loyalty to me. Once you've proven your worth through sufficient deeds, I will bestow upon you dragon blood, transforming you into a Dragon Vein Glutton. You will then be able to devour even more powerful prey without ever going hungry. Your clan will flourish under my dragon wings."
The methods by which dragonkind subjugates familiars can be summarized in four words:
Coercion and Enticement.
Pure coercion would drive them to self-destruction, vowing to fight to the death rather than surrender.
Pure enticement would be met with scorn, dismissed as meaningless.
But when coercion and enticement are combined—simple, direct, brutal, and effective—the results are undeniable.
For the monster clans of the wilderness, survival is paramount. Only intelligent creatures dwelling in prosperous lands and civilized nations can afford to consider concepts like dignity and freedom.
The Gluttony Demon gradually ceased struggling.
Under the threat of death, the fury that had clouded its mind began to dissipate, and it finally realized it was no match for Garos.
Even after abandoning his aerial advantage to fight on the ground, Garos had utterly overwhelmed it, leaving it defenseless.
Seven rounds of bombardment and a brutal beating had forced the Bonechewer Clan—and the Gluttony Demon itself—to acknowledge Garos's overwhelming power.
Garos released the now-submissive Gluttony Demon, gazing at it silently, awaiting its answer.
The Gluttony Demon staggered to its feet, then suddenly tore a chunk of flesh from its own body with its sharp claws. It knelt on one knee, collapsing before Garos.
Cupping the bloody flesh in both hands, it offered the dripping mass to Garos.
"Consume my flesh and blood," the Gluttony Demon rasped, "and accept my allegiance."
Offering one's own flesh and blood to a stronger being was the most ancient ritual of fealty among ogre clans, recorded in the dragon heritage. Moreover, the Gluttony Demon's flesh was not poisonous.
Garos accepted the flesh and swallowed it whole.
Seeing this, the Gluttony Demon knelt fully before him. "My name is Karu, King of the Bonechewer Clan," he declared. "From this moment forward, I pledge my fealty beneath your dragon wings, becoming your chosen."
With the clan leader's surrender, the other ogres ceased their resistance. Without dissent, they all knelt around Garos and the Gluttony Demon, swearing allegiance.
"Excellent. Rise," Garos commanded. "This will be the wisest decision you ever make."
His promise was no empty boast. The Gluttony Demon possessed exceptional talent, making him worthy of dragon blood transformation—though not yet.
With their allegiance secured, hostility vanished. The oppressive aura emanating from Garos dissipated, and the tense atmosphere relaxed.
Karu scratched his scalp, unable to suppress his drooling gaze toward Garos.
After a moment of hesitation, Karu mustered his courage and said, "Dragon Lord, may I taste your flavor?"
"I don't crave flesh or blood, hmm. You must shed your scales, right? Just a piece of your claw skin or foot skin would satisfy me."
Karu's mind was entirely consumed by thoughts of food, and he spoke his desires plainly.
Garos replied calmly, "I have no skin to spare, but I can offer you more of those explosive dragon scales, if you can stomach them."
Karu shook his head vigorously.
Those explosive scales were notoriously difficult to digest.
Even with his Gluttony Talent, Karu still felt a searing pain in his stomach—a lingering consequence of forcibly devouring the scales earlier, which had damaged his digestive system.
"The lizardfolk, hyena-men, and graymane werewolves," Garos asked, "What is their current status? Your expansion must have brought you into conflict with them."
The Gluttony Demon pondered for a moment, then grinned. "The lizardfolk's tails are quite delicious. We breached their territory, slaughtering most of them. The survivors scattered and fled. The hyena-men's meat is rather gamey, and they're quick runners. They abandoned their territory as soon as they detected our warriors approaching, so we only managed to catch a few. As for the graymane werewolves, we never encountered them—they fled in advance."
Garos pressed further, "Have you occupied Crescent Moon Valley and Howling Crag?"
The Gluttony Demon shook his head. "Our clan's numbers are limited. After we finished eating the remaining food in these places, we left. We didn't occupy them."
After further questioning, Garos pieced together the situation.
Due to their limited numbers, the ogre clan's expansion primarily involved savage raids and hunting, driven by their insatiable hunger. They had no ambition to seize the territories of other creature clans.
Faced with the initial ogre assault, the hyena-men and graymane werewolves fled.
However, given the hyena-men's cunning and the graymane werewolves' fierce protectiveness of their territory, they would likely scout their former lands afterward. If they discovered the ogres hadn't occupied the territory, they would likely return.
Wandering the wilderness and searching for new territory carried far greater risks.
There was also the situation with the Scaly Earth Rift Road.
According to the Gluttony Demon, merchant caravans had initially arrived regularly, "delivering" them plenty of food. But these visits had dwindled over time.
Garos easily understood why.
The ogres' excessive and unplanned raids had branded the Scaly Earth Rift Road as a high-risk route, deterring merchant caravans.
Moreover, garrison troops might be monitoring the Scaly Earth Rift Road, posing a potential threat.
Thinking this, Garos felt a surge of annoyance and a renewed urge to beat the Gluttony Demons into submission.
Their mindless expansion had disrupted his carefully laid plans to establish stable black oil supply routes.
But fate was fickle, and unforeseen events could strike at any moment. The world didn't revolve around Garos; six years was enough time for many things to change, making it impossible for everything to go smoothly.
Now that things had come to this, Garos would find another way.
When problems arose, he would simply devise solutions, refusing to be troubled by them.
If the hyena-men and graymane werewolves still exist, Howling Crag might be uncertain, but Crescent Moon Valley should have accumulated some black oil in recent months, he mused.
Scanning the scorched earth around him, ravaged by his bombardment, Garos turned to Gluttonous Demon Karu and said, "Rest and regroup with your clan. I'll return soon."
After a pause, he added, "No more raiding trade routes during this time. Wait for my orders."
Having given the Bonechewer Clan their instructions, Garos soared into the night sky, streaking through the darkness toward Crescent Moon Valley.
It had been over six years since he last tasted black oil, and he yearned for its flavor. He hoped Crescent Moon Valley still held some reserves.
(End of the Chapter)
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