"Wait, aren't we talking about Gorton? Why are you showing me this ball of meat that looks like a dragon-blooded pig?" Red Dragon Samantha wiped the saliva dripping from the corner of her mouth, her eyes filled with confusion.
Garros did not speak, but his mental fluctuations were not calm; he was clearly somewhat astonished. His body, which had been lying down to rest in Dragon Valley, sat up.
"He is Gorton," Iron Dragon Sorog said slowly.
"But he seems to have been treated as an experimental subject, suffering some kind of cruel torture, his body twisted and bloated into a ball."
Samantha was shocked and angry.
"How vicious! Damn it, to actually dare to turn a noble Dragonkin into a pig!"
Her roar echoed across the Black Iron Plain. The kinfolk on the surrounding alchemy assembly line felt their hearts tighten; not daring to be negligent, they sped up their work.
Garros: "Have you established a Blood Kin Chain with Gorton?"
Solrog: "I have. I asked him for the reason, but he kept silent for a long time. Perhaps he is too ashamed because of his current situation, his heart turned to ash."
Garros: "Contact him first, I want to ask about the situation."
Solrog: "Okay."
The Iron Dragon lay coiled on the high platform of the Steel Spike Outpost, eyes closed. Using himself as a hub, he sent a jolt of psionic energy, lighting up the Bloodline thread connected to Gorton and linking all the Blood Kin Chains together.
In an instant, the round, ball-like mental body appeared simultaneously in the mental fields of Garros, Samantha, and Solrog. Moreover, they could sense and communicate with each other, forming the Ignas Siblings 'chat group'.
"Wait until Solrog reaches a higher level."
"This Ignas Siblings group will one day become the Ignas Family group."
Garros thought to himself.
And when he personally perceived Gorton's mental state, even with Garros's Heart-Nature, his pupils shrank slightly.
Good heavens, he was truly fat and bloated.
In terms of sheer thickness, Gorton was already no less than him, perhaps even slightly larger. However, Gorton was covered in soft fat, greasy and obese, while Garros's body was like muscles cast from steel, majestic and extraordinary.
Meanwhile, Iron Dragon Gorton's mental body opened an eye that looked like a slit, observing and sensing the situation around him.
When he noticed Solrog, he didn't have much of a reaction, after all, he had just been in contact.
But when he discovered Garros, his small eyes immediately widened, and the waves of flesh on his body surged: "Gar... Garros?!"
"It's me," Garros said.
When Gorton saw the Red-Iron Dragon's rugged spines and streamlined muscles, his small eyes burst with almost pious envy: "This is the appearance of my dreams!"
A strong, powerful body.
A rugged, ferocious physique.
A temperament that commands respect without anger.
Ahhh! Why isn't it me?!
No, I can't go on like this, I must follow Garros's example!
In the palace, Gorton's main body subconsciously sucked in his belly, which was about to touch the ground.
He lowered his head and looked at his round belly, swearing for the thousandth time to control his diet, full of determination and lofty ambitions.
"Gorton, my stupid brother, haha, you are as fat as a pig. No, no pig could be fatter than you; you are a super pig wearing dragon skin." Samantha mocked him mercilessly.
Except when in front of Garros, her aggression was always very high.
Faced with this familiar flavor of the Red Dragon's mockery, Gorton wasn't angry; instead, he suddenly felt a sense of returning to the past.
"Red Dragon with a brain full of muscles, what do you know?"
He retorted, defending himself.
"I just have a larger stomach, not obesity! These are my strategic reserves; you wouldn't even have the chance to become like this if you wanted to."
He shook his body, letting the waves of flesh surge, and hummed muffledly: "If the two of us fought, I would let you hit me for ten minutes, and your claws and teeth wouldn't even touch my flesh."
The Red Dragon didn't get angry; instead, she laughed a few more times.
Gorton's counterattack and defense were too pale and lacked lethality.
"No more small talk."
Garros got straight to the point, asking unhurriedly: "Gorton, tell me, who turned you into this? What did you encounter?"
Gorton was speechless, not knowing how to put it.
"Maintaining four Blood Kin Chains at the same time is a high psionic drain for me." Solrog urged: "Gorton, if you have something to say, say it quickly, don't hesitate anymore."
After a few seconds of silence, Gorton flicked his short, thick tail and sighed dejectedly: "I really don't know where to start. It's a long story."
Garros asked: "Why are you within the Federation's territory?"
Although it felt a bit shameful, under the inquiry of the Red-Iron Dragon, Gorton still said honestly: "I was captured by humans."
With the guiding questions, he opened the floodgates and continued: "At that time, the Princess of the Kingdom of Lothern wanted a Dragon as a companion, so I was sent to the Royal Court."
"I thought the Royal Court would be a dangerous place, but I didn't expect those humans to favor me in every way, granting my every request."
"Especially Princess Elena, she would rather cut her own expenses than give me the best care."
Silence.
Garros, Solrog, and Samantha. Upon hearing the fat Iron Dragon's account, all three Dragons fell silent.
The Bloodline network was quiet.
Under the silent gaze of his siblings, Gorton broke the silence and said: "You might think that I have become a pet of the Royal Court, a disgrace among Dragons."
"But I don't think so."
"After all, I don't need to do anything every day, and those humans unconditionally provide for me, using giant whale essential oil to maintain my Dragon scales, and giving me delicious, rare delicacies. They are more like my servants."
"Yes, that's right, they are all my servants."
At this moment, Garros understood.
Gorton wasn't tortured by experiments; he was simply fed too well, and being lazy and gluttonous by nature, he had eaten himself into this state.
He probably hadn't suffered any real hardship since leaving the Sinkhole Territory.
Damn it!
Damn it!
Damn it!
The Red-Iron Dragon's eyelids couldn't help but twitch a few times.
The Kingdom of Lothern, the core of the Federation, even if the building was about to collapse, it was still the wealthiest kingdom, enjoying the resource allocation of the entire Federation.
A lazy fellow like Gorton could be force-fed to such a bloated size.
If the resources he enjoyed were given to Garros...
Garros couldn't imagine what heights he would reach now.
A brother suffering torture is hateful, but a brother's success is even more heart-wrenching.
This time, it was the turn of the Young Dragons in The Borderlands to be silent.
"Why aren't you talking anymore?" A few seconds later, Gorton asked.
Garros took a deep breath, calming his mind.
There was nothing to be envious of.
Since there is no favor from fate, then rely on yourself, rely on a tenacious will, rely on the accumulation of day and night, and get everything you want step by step.
"Gorton, I remember you used to dream of going to the south; you can consider this a wish fulfilled." The Red-Iron Dragon reminded: "The Holy King has fallen, the Lothern Federation is already surging with undercurrents, and a storm is coming. As an Iron Dragon, you should be very clear about the current situation."
Hearing this, Gorton sighed.
"I know, the atmosphere in the Royal Court has been getting tighter recently."
He said unilaterally: "However, Princess Elena and I are in love."
"I already have my own Princess; this is the first step to becoming a super Evil Dragon. No matter what, I must find a way to protect Elena in the coming chaos. She is my most precious treasure."
Evil Dragons and Princesses are always a perfect match.
Those top-tier Evil Dragons basically all had the experience of snatching Princesses during their long lives; they would occupy Princesses as companions, or use them to extort wealth, or lure and kill adventurers who wanted to be heroes.
What do you mean by the Princess is in love with you?
Garros looked at Gorton's 'rounded' body, not quite believing it.
Red Dragon Samantha instantly locked onto the target and launched a physical attack on Gorton: "A Princess could fancy a pig like you? Human village girls would turn and run at the sight of you."
Iron Dragon Gorton hummed and said: "Brainless Red Dragon, what do you know? I don't bother talking to you."
If he were in human form, his fat appearance might be disliked.
But he was a Dragon; a chubby Dragon was actually very beloved by humans. He, Gorton, was practically a'social butterfly' in the Royal Court; he didn't know how many nobles took pride in being able to feed him.
Viscounts of that level didn't even have the qualification to see him.
"Hehe, let's not talk about anything else, Gorton, you can probably only move by rolling now, can you even fly?" Samantha continued to mock.
Once Gorton appeared, she felt her IQ soar; she was finally no longer the bottom of the Ignas Siblings.
"That's why I said you don't understand."
The fat Iron Dragon patted his small wings, which were disproportionate to his body, and said: "The Advanced Spellcasters in the palace personally inscribed Spell runes for me—Flight, Levitation, Haste... I have so many solidified Spell effects on me that I can't count them all. I fly at least much faster than you."
The Red Dragon scoffed, not believing it at all.
"Alright, you two shut up first; now let's talk business."
Garros's words interrupted Gorton and Samantha.
He asked Gorton: "Since you want to protect the Princess and are therefore staying in the Lothern Royal Court, do you have any concrete plans now?"