Translator: AnubisTL
"Little one, protect Deborah. I'm entrusting her to you."
The red copper dragon Serena's voice suddenly echoed, landing as lightly as a feather in the depths of Garos's consciousness.
The red-iron dragon's neck scales trembled slightly as he nodded imperceptibly.
Turning his head, he saw Deborah murmuring complaints about her mother not informing her of her arrival, completely oblivious to the brewing crisis.
The red copper dragon's unusual request confirmed his suspicions: a storm was likely brewing within the Dragon Realm. This summons of all adult metallic dragons was far from ordinary.
However.
This wasn't his concern.
When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. If trouble strikes the Metallic Dragon Realm, it's not his place to worry.
The silver dragon turned to Deborah and instructed, "I've established a barrier around Red Maple Valley.
"Except for you, other creatures will find it nearly impossible to breach. I'll be alerted immediately if it's attacked. If you encounter any mortal danger, remember to use your magic scale to protect yourself, then flee to Red Maple Valley."
What a perfect place.
The red-iron dragon, shamelessly bold, asked, "Can I go there too?"
"It's not for any particular reason," the red-iron dragon said, "mostly because Deborah is lonely being the only dragon here. I can keep her company."
The silver dragon remained expressionless. Suddenly, its sharp claws flashed out and struck the red-iron dragon's thick neck with tremendous force, nearly knocking him over.
Is this old fool losing his mind? Garos thought angrily, only to notice a rune had appeared on one of his neck scales. It flickered briefly before vanishing into the scale, becoming invisible to the naked eye.
"This is the rune key to enter Red Maple Valley," Serena, the red copper dragon, explained.
"Fairy Dragon, have you made up your mind?" the silver dragon asked, shifting its gaze to Vera, the fairy dragon, who was nervously plucking petals from a cornflower amidst a patch of the blossoms. "Will you come with me to the Boiling Sea Dragon Domain, where I can help you return to your homeland, or will you remain in the Material Plane?"
Hearing the silver dragon's words, Vera replied, "Wait, let Vera use this flower to decide. The last petal will represent my choice."
"Go back... don't go back."
"Go back... don't go back."
"..."
The fairy dragon murmured to herself, plucking a petal with each repetition. As the petals fell, the flower quickly became bare, until only a single petal remained.
"Let's go home," Vera said as she plucked the last petal from the flower.
After a moment's hesitation, she curled her tail around another flower, murmuring to herself as if explaining to the silver dragon, "No, no, that doesn't count. The flower wasn't vibrant enough. I didn't like it. It can't make a decision for me. I need to choose a new one."
Seeing this, the silver dragon didn't press her. He already knew the answer.
He turned to the red-silver dragon and the red-iron dragon, warning Deborah, "Your mother and I won't be in the Frontierlands. If you encounter danger, we won't be able to return immediately. Don't cause trouble. Don't act rashly."
After a pause, he addressed Garos:
"When I return from the Dragon Realm, I expect to see the Frontierlands in perfect order."
The red-iron dragon replied, "I will do my best."
Deborah playfully wagged her tail, grinning. "Cause trouble? Do I look like a dragon who causes trouble? I'm the most well-behaved one here!"
She waved a claw at her parents. "Go on, don't worry about me. I'm almost a young dragon now. I know how to take care of myself. I know what I should do and what I shouldn't."
Serena gazed at the red-iron dragon, her eyes brimming with satisfaction.
"Hey, little one," the red copper dragon suddenly said, gently patting the red-iron dragon with her wing membrane. "Next time, remember to play riddles with me for a while."
A familiar glint of cunning, reminiscent of Garos's own slyness and Deborah's occasional mischievousness, flickered in her eyes.
"Lady Serena, it would be my honor. I would be delighted to keep you company," Garos replied, a smile spreading across his draconic face.
He could sense that Serena harbored little hostility toward him, unlike the old silver dragon, whose eyes remained perpetually guarded.
Slick-tongued, cunning evil dragon! the silver dragon grunted, falling silent.
After a brief exchange of farewells, the silver and red copper dragons spread their wings and soared skyward. As a radiant glow shimmered across their scales, their massive bodies gradually twisted and vanished.
They had activated an invisibility spell, one that went beyond mere visual concealment. Instead, their scales refracted the sky's shifting hues, blending seamlessly into the azure expanse like a drop of water merging into the ocean.
The fairy dragon blinked, staring blankly in the direction the two mature dragons had departed.
Snapping out of her daze, she tossed aside the bare flower stem, her tiny wings fluttering in a frantic arc. "Wait! The last petal said it wanted to go back!"
She shouted at the sky, but received no response.
Only a few leaves, scattered by the dragon wings, drifted slowly down from the heavens.
"Fine, then I'm stuck in the Material Plane."
The fairy dragon sighed dramatically, then quickly perked up, flapping her wings and darting off to play pranks on the Earthstorm Bears.
"Garos."
The red-silver dragon's slender tail twitched as he murmured, "I was just getting into the rhythm of my training when we were interrupted. Please continue guiding me now."
The training was just an excuse.
The real reason was Garos's "guidance."
The red-silver dragon couldn't help but feel a tingling, itchy sensation beneath her scales at the thought of Garos's massive, powerful claws touching her body.
Guiding the red-silver dragon's training was a form of relaxation for Garos himself. He nodded. "Alright. Your physique isn't weak, but it's far from robust. You definitely need proper training."
He stepped forward and squeezed the red copper dragon's tail.
"The tail is one of dragonkind's most frequently used weapons. Let's start here."
Feeling a tingling numbness in her tail muscles, Deborah's silvery-white scales flushed with a faint pink hue, and she murmured in agreement.
Afterward, the red-iron dragon trained himself while simultaneously guiding Deborah, teaching her various movements he excelled at.
As time passed, the sun slowly climbed into the sky and then gradually sank toward the horizon.
By dusk, as twilight deepened, layers of crimson clouds blazed across the sky like flames, erupting in a dazzling display of vibrant colors.
The red-silver dragon lay limp, her body as soft as molten silver.
She collapsed on the ground, every muscle aching, not even wanting to lift the tip of her tail.
Garos, however, remained vigorous and energetic.
His explosive power was formidable, and his stamina and endurance far surpassed those of ordinary juvenile dragons.
Moreover, over the course of the day, the wounds he had sustained during their "sparring" had healed more than halfway.
Though the injuries had never been severe, such rapid recovery in just half a day exceeded his previous healing rate.
My regenerative abilities have improved significantly, the red-iron dragon thought to himself.
Ultra-high-speed regeneration was a trait Garos desperately desired. Currently, only his thorn spikes possessed this ability, regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye when severed.
Even with just the thorn spikes regenerating, they could cause considerable trouble for his enemies.
Combined with his already formidable physical attributes, full-body ultra-high-speed regeneration would elevate him to an entirely new level of power.
As for how to achieve adaptive evolution for ultra-high-speed regeneration, the theory was simple: sustain injuries and recover.
However, the reality was far more complex.
While minor injuries healed slowly, deliberately inflicting severe wounds solely for the sake of adaptive evolution—with no guarantee of success or timeframe—carried unacceptable risks. The potential gains simply didn't justify the gamble.
Such experiments might be feasible with powerful backing, but Garos lacked such support. He had to carefully weigh the risks before acting, unable to afford reckless gambles.
"Besides," he mused, "my regeneration rate has been steadily improving through gradual adaptation."
"There's no need to rush or deliberately harm myself."
"Ultra-high-speed regeneration might evolve naturally, just like my thorn spikes did, at some point in the future."
Garos thought to himself.
His strength came from years of relentless effort, not from a sudden burst of power. He had always been remarkably patient.
After devouring a hearty meal and gulping down copious amounts of black oil, the red-iron dragon continued his training under the cloak of night.
Deborah had also eaten some food and now lay curled up against the cliff wall, her silvery-white chest and abdomen rising and falling gently with each breath. Her dragon eyes reflected the red-iron dragon's leaping figure under the moonlight, a hint of admiration flickering in her gaze.
She had previously watched Garos train daily, never imagining the sheer difficulty of such relentless dedication.
Now, having tried it herself, she understood the immense challenge of maintaining such unwavering commitment day and night.
His impenetrable scales, his steel-forged muscles, and his formidable physique were all the result of painstaking refinement, not merely innate talent.
He deserved his innate talent, and he deserved his strength.
Garos remained unaware of the red-silver dragon's thoughts.
Had he known, he would have wholeheartedly agreed. Exactly! His current strength was entirely due to his own sweat and hard work. Even if he was a white dragon by birth, he refused to be inferior to other dragons.
At that moment, moonlight cascaded like liquid silver down the cliff walls of Dragon Valley. Garos slowly folded his dragon wings, bringing his prolonged training session to an end.
A profound silence enveloped the world.
This was the perfect moment for reflection and planning the future.
After awakening from his deep slumber, Garos had contacted Nick and learned of the Holy King of Lothurn's demise and the turmoil brewing within the federation.
Now, as he pondered the situation, he realized that internal strife within the Lothurn Federation presented a once-in-a-millennium opportunity for his own rise to power. He had to seize it firmly; the potential gains far outweighed the risks.
"The federation is like the Wall of Sighs, stretching across the border of the Sierre Wilderness—a colossal barrier even ancient dragons must deliberately detour around when they spread their wings."
"Its existence has always weighed on me like a mountain, filling me with constant unease and vigilance, day and night."
The red-iron dragon's eyes flickered as he pondered.
The Lothurn Federation, which had always hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles, had robbed countless creatures like Garos of sleep and peace of mind. Every action required careful consideration of the federation's potential reaction, burdened by endless anxieties.
Garos had always lacked a sense of security.
And the Lothurn Federation was a major source of his inner turmoil.
His retreat to the Frontierlands had been driven by fear of the federation, not by the foolish human viscount.
If the Lothurn Federation had remained a monolithic entity, Garos would have considered abandoning the Frontierlands after exploiting its resources, seeking a safer place to develop and grow.
But now everything had changed.
The Holy King had fallen, and chaos was brewing.
As the federation began to fracture, who among the power-hungry elites vying for the throne would notice a red-iron dragon rapidly rising to prominence?
Garos silently pondered, his thoughts growing clearer.
He must seize the Frontierlands swiftly, consolidate its resources to amass strength, build a formidable army, and then patiently await the federation's collapse.
(End of the Chapter)
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