Translator: AnubisTL
Frontierlands, Dragon Valley
It was deep into the night. News of the Venomtail Tribe's submission after being severely beaten had reached the red-iron dragon. Iron Dragon Solgorn also informed Garos of the specific details through their bloodline link.
"Well done," Garos praised mentally.
Since becoming a mind mage, the iron dragon's thinking had grown increasingly meticulous and his actions more thorough. He was gradually proving himself a capable proctor for the Ironforged Tribe, effectively becoming Garos's "external brain." Garos preferred to delegate the tedious tasks he didn't want to waste time on to Solgorn.
"As before, disperse the Venomtail Tribe," Garos instructed.
"Divide the serpentman warriors, sorcerers, and shamans into different battle groups based on their specialties, retaining only the ordinary serpentmen without combat skills."
The Ironforged Tribe was an integrated entity comprising multiple clans and tribes, with no remaining internal clan divisions.
The major battle groups were mixed based on capabilities, not race.
However, due to the vast differences in the habits of various creatures, it was difficult for ordinary members to live together normally unless they were in a military environment. As a result, commoners gathered in tribes named after their species, such as the Ogre Tribes and Centaur Tribes, which served as logistical hubs and sources of population.
"Understood," the iron dragon replied curtly, preparing to end the communication.
But just then, the red-iron dragon's voice, laced with mischief, chimed in with a curious question: "What did the Serpent Woman taste like?"
The iron dragon:
He recalled his earlier praise of the red-iron dragon's unwavering will, as strong as steel, and his detachment from base desires. He fell silent, wishing he could retract his words.
Ignoring the vulgar question, the iron dragon abruptly ended the conversation.
"Garos, come play riddles with me," the red-silver dragon's voice drifted over from nearby.
Garos had just finished a training session and was resting. He had wanted to clear his mind and be alone, but considering the metallic dragon had recently gifted him two dragon blood potions, he couldn't afford to be too dismissive.
"Alright, you go first," Garos said.
The red-silver dragon, as if prepared, immediately stated without hesitation:
"I was born deep within the earth, my body forged by raging flames; I dim in darkness, yet I blaze in light."
"Kings embed me in their crowns, and poets call me the Eternal Tear; those who touch me are either rich or noble, and those who lose me are left with only sorrow."
After a pause, the red-silver dragon asked expectantly, "—What am I?"
It was a straightforward riddle.
"A gem," Garos replied.
"Correct! You've answered correctly!"
The red-silver dragon cheered, then spread her claws and extended them toward Garos.
The red-iron dragon blinked in confusion. "Is something wrong?"
The red-silver dragon snorted, reminding him, "My gems—the gems you promised me—you still haven't given them to me."
Garos had promised the red-silver dragon ten gems as payment for guarding the Dragon Valley during the war.
"Ah."
The red-iron dragon's expression cleared as if he'd suddenly remembered. "My apologies, I'd forgotten."
He retrieved ten magic gems of various colors from his space ring. After a moment's hesitation, he gritted his teeth and handed them to the red-silver dragon.
Seeing the red-silver dragon joyfully accept the gems, Garos felt a pang of loss mixed with a surge of satisfaction. The depletion of his wealth instinctively pained him, yet the ability to give away ten gems at once signified progress in his resistance to wealth.
Still, ten gems didn't seem to be her limit.
Taking a deep breath, Garos, with trembling hands, retrieved another gem and offered it to the red-silver dragon. "Those were promises. This one is a personal gift, a small token of appreciation."
Before he could finish speaking, the red-silver dragon coiled her tail, snatched the gem, and rubbed it against her cheek.
"Ah, what a beautiful little thing! I love it so much," she purred, her voice filled with contentment.
Garos took several deep breaths, gradually calming his mind and suppressing the urge to snatch the gem back. His thoughts settled, and he asked, "Deborah, you possess many precious items. Why are you so obsessed with gems?"
He recalled the dragon blood potion Deborah had given him earlier. Though less appealing to dragons than gems, its true value undoubtedly surpassed ten magic gems.
"It's different. My parents wouldn't just give me treasures."
She winked playfully. "Besides, the gems I earn myself are even more beautiful. Heh, especially those I take from hybrid evil dragons like you—they're the most beautiful of all."
Back when she was with her metallic dragon parents, Deborah had stubbornly defended the red-iron dragon, insisting he wasn't evil.
Yet in private,
She often called Garos an "evil dragon."
These contradictory words didn't bother Garos. He paid them no mind, letting her use the title freely.
After taking Garos's gems,
The red-silver dragon conjured a bracelet of tiny, shimmering ice crystals, stringing the gems together before sliding it onto her wrist. As she turned her arm, the gems refracted dazzling light under the moonlight.
"Don't flaunt your wealth," Garos warned. "Deborah, you're being too ostentatious. Be careful of being robbed."
The red-silver dragon hummed happily, her simple words chilling: "Anyone who dares steal my gem bracelet will get a face full of magic scales."
With the gems secured, the red-silver dragon lost interest in playing riddles with Garos.
With a flap of her dragon wings, the red-silver dragon flew to a patch of flowers and woke up Fairy Dragon Vera, who was sleeping among them.
"Vera, Vera, do you think my scales are fading a bit?"
The red-silver dragon extended her wrist, bringing it almost face-to-face with the fairy dragon.
Vera rubbed her eyes groggily.
"Your scales are fading? Let me see."
The moment Vera saw the gemstone on the red-silver dragon's wrist, her voice caught in her throat. She swooped forward, but the red-silver dragon was quick to grab her by the tail, preventing her from getting close to the gem-encrusted bracelet.
After a brief glance, Garos averted his gaze from the ostentatiously preening red-silver dragon.
He then took out an expensive, advanced message stone and asked, "How is the preparation for the monastery in the Kingdom of Lothurn coming along?"
A reply came quickly.
"The basic framework is complete. It should be finished soon."
The voice belonged to Nick, chief of the Gemstone Merchant Guild.
Since waking, Garos had frequently contacted Nick, instructing him to act on his behalf in the Federation nations.
Now, Nick rarely handled merchant ship transport himself. That duty had been delegated to his former apprentice, Cole, while Nick primarily carried out Garos's commands within the Federation.
"Take in homeless orphans and give them a proper environment to learn the dragon stance," Garos instructed.
Over a decade ago, Garos had ordered Nick to work for him in the federation, secretly establishing organizations to recruit intelligent creatures who admired dragonkind or were innately drawn to dragons.
Initially, the Gemstone Merchant Guild invested considerable wealth to vet members. But as the organizations grew, they became self-sustaining through member contributions, and their scale continued to expand.
Moreover, after Garos contacted Iron Dragon Gordon, he instructed Nick to purchase land in the Kingdom of Lothurn. There, they established a monastery to shelter orphans and beggars, and Divine Dragon Martial Monks from the organizations were tasked with teaching them the knowledge and skills of the Divine Dragon Path, while fostering a reverence for dragons.
Currently, these young Divine Dragon Apprentices could not assist Garos directly.
But this was a long-term investment.
Humans matured far faster than dragons, and the Martial Monk class didn't demand exceptional innate talent. With diligent effort and adequate resources, their progress in the martial monk path would be rapid.
It wouldn't take long.
By the time Garos reached his youth, he might have a group of Divine Dragon Martial Monks under his command. Situated in the heart of the southern region, these monks could later become a crucial foothold for him to seize benefits from the federation.
"Dragon Lord," Nick responded, "the Divine Dragon Martial Monks in our organization awakened after witnessing dragonkind in combat by chance."
"Even with the guidance of Divine Dragon Martial Monks, those children would struggle to achieve their class without first learning the dragon stance."
"Don't worry about that," Garos replied. "A dragon will soon visit the monastery to observe his posture and comprehend the profound mysteries of dragonkind. With a true dragon as a mentor, becoming a Divine Dragon Martial Monk will be no problem."
Could Garos really summon a true dragon to the Kingdom of Lothurn?
Nick was somewhat surprised by Garos's extraordinary influence, but not entirely unexpected.
The call ended quickly.
As for the dragon Garos would summon—there was no doubt it was his iron dragon brother.
Gordon wasn't treated as a caged beast in the Kingdom of Lothurn.
He enjoyed a degree of freedom and even held a nominal noble title. Many citizens of Lothurn knew the court kept an iron dragon, whose status surpassed that of some nobles.
Gordon himself preferred the pampered life within the palace to venturing outdoors.
"However—"
Thinking of Gordon's corpulent physique, Garos couldn't help but feel some apprehension. "If the Divine Dragon Martial Monks take office by imitating Gordon's posture, will there be any issues with their future development?"
"The inheritance mentions that observing dragons aids the Divine Dragon Sect in taking office, but subsequent development has little to do with the specific dragon observed. It should be fine. Besides, we have no other options right now."
"...I hope it goes smoothly."
The red-iron dragon focused his mind and began a new round of training under the moonlight. Day after day, he accumulated strength, preparing for his return to the Sierre Wilderness.
(End of the Chapter)
---------------------------
📖 You are reading [232] Chapters behind.
🔥 Read up to Chapter [500] 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!
---------------------------