Translator: AnubisTL
"Wait, weren't we talking about Gordon? Why are you showing me this dragon-blood pig of a meatball?"
The red dragon wiped the drool from the corner of its mouth, its eyes filled with confusion.
Garos said nothing, but his spirit fluctuations were far from calm. Clearly astonished, his body—which had been resting in Dragon Valley—pushed itself up into a sitting position.
"That is Gordon," Iron Dragon Solgorn said slowly.
"But he seems to have been used as an experimental subject, subjected to some kind of cruel torture. His body has been twisted and fattened into a sphere."
Samantha was both horrified and enraged.
"How vicious! Damn it, how dare they turn noble dragonkind into swine!"
Her roar echoed across the Black Iron Plains. The familiars working on the nearby alchemy production lines flinched, not daring to slacken their pace as they quickened their movements.
Garos asked, "Have you established a Chain of Kinship with Gordon?"
Solgorn replied, "I have. I asked him why, but he remains silent. Perhaps he is too ashamed of his current state, his heart completely dead."
Garos: "Contact him first. I'll ask what's going on."
Solgorn: "Alright."
Iron Dragon Solgorn lay coiled on the high platform of the steel spike outpost, eyes closed. Using himself as a hub, he pulsed his spirit energy, lighting up the bloodline thread connecting him to Gordon and forging the Chain of Kinship between all of them.
In an instant.
The round, ball-like mental body appeared simultaneously in the mental vision of Garos, Samantha, and Solgorn. They could now sense and communicate with each other, forming the "Ignis Brothers' Chat Group."
Once Solgorn reaches a higher level, Garos thought, this Ignis Brothers group will one day become the Ignis Family group.
When Garos personally sensed Gordon's mental state, even with his own level of composure, his pupils constricted slightly.
Good grief, he really is a fat, bloated thing.
In terms of sheer bulk, Gordon was no less substantial than Garos—perhaps even a bit larger. However, while Gordon was covered in soft, greasy fat, Garos's body was forged from steel-like muscle, imposing and powerful.
Meanwhile.
Iron Dragon Gordon's mental body opened an eye as narrow as a slit, observing and sensing his surroundings.
When he noticed Solgorn, he didn't react much, having just met him.
But when he spotted Garos, his small eye immediately rounded significantly, and the waves of flesh on his body surged: "Ga-Garos?!"
"It's me," Garos said.
When Gordon saw the red-iron dragon's towering thorn spikes and streamlined muscles, a nearly pious envy erupted in his small eye: "This is the... look I've always dreamed of!"
A powerful, strong body.
A towering, fierce physique.
An imposing aura that commanded respect even without anger.
Ahhh! Why isn't it me?!
No, I can't go on like this. I have to catch up to Garos!
Inside the palace, Gordon's main body unconsciously sucked in his belly, which was almost touching the floor.
He looked down at his own round stomach and swore for the thousandth time to control his diet, filled with determination and ambition.
"Gordon, my foolish little brother, haha, you're as fat as a pig. No, no pig could ever be fatter than you. You're like a super pig wrapped in dragon skin."
Samantha's mockery was merciless.
Except in front of Garos, her aggressiveness had always been formidable.
But Gordon didn't get angry at the red dragon's familiar taunts. Instead, he suddenly felt as if he had been transported back to the past.
"You muscle-brained red dragon, what do you know?" he retorted, defending himself. "I just have a larger stomach, not fat! This is all strategic reserve. You wouldn't even have the chance to become like this if you wanted to."
He shook his body, causing ripples of flesh to surge, and grumbled, "If we fought, I'd let you have the first ten minutes. Your claws and fangs wouldn't even touch my flesh."
The red dragon didn't get angry. Instead, she burst into laughter again.
Gordon's retort and defense were too weak, lacking any real sting.
"Enough small talk," Garos cut to the chase, his voice calm and steady. "Gordon, tell me, who turned you into this? What happened to you?"
Gordon fell silent, unsure of what to say.
"Maintaining four Chains of Kinship simultaneously is draining my spirit energy," Solgorn urged. "Gordon, speak up. No more hesitating."
After a few seconds of silence, Gordon flicked his short, thick tail and sighed with a troubled expression. "I honestly don't know where to start. It's a long story."
Garos asked, "Why are you within the Federation's borders?"
Though he felt a twinge of shame, Gordon answered the red-iron dragon's question truthfully: "I was captured by humans and taken there."
With the prompt, he finally opened up. "At the time, the princess of the Kingdom of Lothurn wanted a dragon as a companion, so I was sent to the royal court."
"I had expected the court to be a dangerous place, but to my surprise, those humans showered me with affection and granted my every whim."
"Especially Princess Elena. She even cut back on her own expenses just to ensure I had the best possible care."
Silence.
Garos, Solgorn, and Samantha—all three dragons fell silent after hearing the fat iron dragon's tale.
The bloodline network went utterly quiet.
Under the silent gaze of his compatriots, Gordon broke the silence. "You might think I've become a pet of the royal court, a shame of dragons."
"But I don't see it that way."
"After all, I don't have to do anything every day, yet those humans unconditionally support me. They use giant whale essential oil to maintain my dragon scales and feed me delicious, rare delicacies. They're more like my servants."
"Yes, that's right, they're all my servants."
At that moment, Garos understood.
This bastard Gordon hadn't been tortured by experiments; he'd simply been pampered too much. Being naturally lazy and gluttonous, he'd literally eaten himself into this shape.
He probably hadn't tasted a single day of true hardship since leaving the Heavenly Pit Territory.
Damn it!
Damn it!
Damn it!
The red-iron dragon's eyelid couldn't help but twitch a few times.
The Kingdom of Lothurn, the federal core—even if its foundations were crumbling, it was still the wealthiest kingdom, enjoying the resource tilt of the entire federation.
Even a lazy bastard like Gordon had been force-fed into such a plump figure.
If the resources he enjoyed had been given to Garos...
Garos couldn't imagine what heights he would have reached by now.
It was hateful to see a brother suffer, but it was even more heartbreaking to see a brother succeed.
This time, it was the juvenile dragons of the Frontierlands who fell silent.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Gordon asked after a few seconds.
Garos took a deep breath, calming his mind.
There's nothing to envy.
If fate doesn't favor you, then rely on yourself. Rely on an indomitable will, on day-and-night accumulation, and take everything you want step by step.
"Gordon, I remember you always dreamed of going south. You've finally fulfilled your wish."
The red-iron dragon reminded him, "The Holy King has fallen, and the Lothurn Federation is already churning with undercurrents. A storm is coming. As an iron dragon, you should be well aware of the current situation."
Hearing this, Gordon sighed.
"I know. The atmosphere in the royal court has been growing increasingly tense lately."
He continued unilaterally, "But Princess Elena and I are deeply in love."
"I already have a princess of my own. This is the first step to becoming a super evil dragon. No matter what, I must find a way to protect Elena in the upcoming chaos. She is my most precious treasure."
Evil dragons and princesses had always been a perfect match.
Over their long lives, the most powerful evil dragons had almost all snatched princesses. They would either keep them as mates or use them to extort wealth, luring and slaughtering adventurers who came to rescue the beauty.
What do you mean, "the princess and I are mutually in love"?
Garos sized up Gordon's "plump" figure, disbelieving.
Red Dragon Samantha immediately locked onto her target and launched a dragon-body attack at Gordon. "A princess would actually fancy a pig-like creature like you? Even a human peasant girl would turn and run the other way at the sight of you!"
Iron Dragon Gordon snorted. "You brainless Red Dragon, what do you know? I'm not wasting my breath on you."
If he were in human form, his fat appearance might indeed be reviled.
But he was a dragon, and plump dragons were actually quite beloved by humans. In the royal court, Gordon was practically a "socialite." Countless nobles took pride in being able to feed him.
A mere viscount wasn't even worthy of seeing him.
"Heh heh, not to mention anything else, Gordon, you can probably only roll around in your current state. Can you even fly?" Samantha continued her taunts.
With Gordon's appearance, Samantha felt her intelligence soar. Finally, she was no longer the dimmest of the Ignis Brothers.
"That's why I'm telling you, you just don't understand," the fat iron dragon said, flapping his small wings, which were wildly disproportionate to his massive body. "The court's top spellcasters personally inscribed magical runes onto me. I have so many permanent spells—Flight, Levitation, Haste—I can't even count them all. I can definitely fly much faster than you."
The red dragon snorted in disbelief.
"Alright, both of you shut up. Let's get to the point," Garos interrupted Gordon and Samantha.
He turned to Gordon. "Since you're staying at the Lothurn Royal Court to protect the princess, do you have a specific plan yet?"
(End of the Chapter)
---------------------------
📖 You are reading [200] Chapters behind.
🔥 Read up to Chapter [450] now, only on 𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝕞.
📚 Read upto [12,000+] Chapters on Site with [9,900+] Free Chapters!
🚫 Also get FREE lifetime ad-free and join the giveaway by joining our Discord!
---------------------------