Garros: "Do you have a concrete plan now?"
Hearing the Red-Iron Dragon's question, the Iron Dragon scratched his head.
"N-no."
He said awkwardly.
After a pause, his eyes suddenly lit up: "Garros, I once saw news about you in the Federation Daily. They call you the Death Omen Star and say you have the potential to become a Great Evil Dragon."
"And that was over ten years ago. Now, you must surely have your own territory in the wilderness."
"With the internal chaos in the Federation and various kingdoms revealing their ambitions to redistribute the resources of the Southern Kingdoms, they lack attention on the Serel Wilderness. You must be able to develop better and faster."
Gorton still thought the Red-Iron Dragon was in the Serel Wilderness.
To prevent this foolish Dragon from inadvertently leaking his own situation, Garros did not explain the current status and said: "It seems you are not completely useless, being able to see the current situation clearly."
"Make plans early and formulate a strategy, otherwise you might die in the turmoil of the Lothern Federation."
Hearing Garros's words, Gorton hesitated for two seconds, then immediately stated his true thoughts:
"Garros, my dear brother, can I take Elena to defect to you? When you come to pick us up, I will bring enough wealth to satisfy you as a reward."
Upon hearing the word "wealth."
Garros's Evil Dragon nature stirred, and he subconsciously wanted to agree immediately, but he suppressed it again. He could now swallow four Magic Gems in one breath, and his resistance to wealth had increased a lot.
"Fool, if the Federation falls apart, you bringing a princess with the Bloodline of the Lothern royal family over will only bring us destruction." Solrog spoke in a deep voice, saying seriously.
This was also the reason why Garros did not agree.
The Lothern princess was a hot potato. If the Molten Iron Tribe dared to accept her, a Legendary might come to kill them shortly after.
"Gorton's idea is immature. Not to mention whether the Lothern princess is willing to go with him, how to escape from the Federation to the wilderness or The Borderlands while surrounded by enemies is also a big problem."
"But in any case, as long as I haven't reached Legendary, it is impossible for me to harbor a Lothern princess in troubled times."
"Besides, the probability of the Kingdom of Lothern falling is actually not high. They might have a large amount of territory and resources divided away, but for the whole country to perish, that's not very realistic. After all, they have sat at the top of the Federation for hundreds of years and have deep foundations; they won't collapse easily."
Garros pondered silently.
Using Gorton as a fulcrum and the royal princess as a lever, perhaps he could extract unimaginable benefits during the Federation's civil strife.
After thinking for a moment.
The Red-Iron Dragon said: "Gorton, don't think about how to take the princess away from the Federation. That is unrealistic."
"The Federation's civil strife will come sooner or later, but it's not as serious as you imagine."
"Without the existence of the Holy King, this behemoth might fall apart, and the Kingdom of Lothern might suffer heavy damage."
"However, a magnificent kingdom that has enjoyed eight hundred years of resource tilting and has deep roots, even with many problems, will not fall immediately."
The Iron Dragon Sorog agreed and echoed:
"I think the Southern Kingdoms will reshuffle through war, and a new round of distribution of resources and territory will begin. During this period, the Kingdom of Lothern might fall from its core position and become an ordinary kingdom. There is also a possibility of destruction, but it is very slim."
Hearing the words of the two brothers, Gorton was stunned.
He hadn't thought of this point.
When he first heard the news of the Holy King's fall and heard Elena's resolute words about being willing to die for the country, his Iron Dragon Bloodline directly reacted. After a round of analysis, he concluded that the kingdom was about to collapse, which made him turn his anxiety into appetite, eating and worrying day by day.
But now, thinking carefully.
Elena's words at that time were actually a statement, not necessarily meaning she would really die.
The building of the Federation might very well 'perish', but the kingdoms that make it up, the duchies, not necessarily. Those kingdoms with deep foundations have a very low probability of perishing.
"I seem to have equated the Federation with the Kingdom of Lothern, but they are actually two concepts. Oh, damn Gorton, did you eat your own brain too?!"
"Wait, since that's the case, can I feel at ease and continue to eat, drink, and play happily? No need to worry about future things."
"No, no, what if the royal court is affected by the war? At the very least, I must be able to protect myself and Elena."
The Iron Dragon Gorton's left and right brains fought each other, and his thoughts were chaotic.
Until Garros's reassuring words sounded from the bottom of his heart.
"Gorton, my dear brother, I know you are feeling chaotic right now."
"But don't worry, I will be your solid backing and will guide you to make the right choices."
Garros coaxed: "You and I, brothers, are located inside and outside the kingdom, and we should join forces, work from the inside and outside, and rise rapidly during the upcoming Federation civil strife to create a country ruled by Dragonkin."
A Dragonkin country?!
Gorton's pupils suddenly became vertical, and his breathing became much heavier.
[Dragon Taming Art · Iron Dragon Chapter]
[All Iron Dragons covet establishing a country ruled by Dragonkin. To gain the trust and recognition of an Iron Dragon, it is best to communicate around this point.]
"I have countless servants providing for me within the Federation, but establishing a Dragonkin country openly is a bit too difficult."
The Iron Dragon Gorton was not overly confident and said in a low voice.
Hearing this, the Red-Iron Dragon laughed, then said solemnly: "Then let's start from the wilderness!"
"I can operate better in the outside world and am also determined to build a Dragonkin country."
"Gorton, you and I have similar blood flowing in our bodies, and we have the same surname."
"One day, when the Dragonkin country stands on the earth, wantonly enjoying the illumination of the sun—my brother, I will share this light and glory with you."
Whoosh!
Gorton's spiritual body ignited directly! A layer of illusory flames surrounded it.
This was his ambition, condensed into substance.
The Iron Dragon's eyes were bright, and his gaze was unprecedentedly firm: "Garros, tell me what to do!"
Good, very spirited.
Garros nodded with satisfaction: "Tell me about this Princess Elena—how much resources does she hold in her hands? To what extent can she do things for the Kingdom of Lothern?"
The fat on Gorton's belly trembled slightly with his thinking, and he said: "She is the most favored pearl of the royal family."
"She is the last child of the current king, has extremely high magic talent herself, but does not have much ambition. She is usually obsessed with magic and does not fight or grab."
"But because of this, she enjoys the king's favor and has quite a few fiefs and various properties under her."
"I don't know the specific amount, but just what I know, there are three fiefs that produce Magic Gems, shares of three royal alchemy factories... In any case, she is at least richer than ordinary princes and princesses."
Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to afford to raise this lazy foodie.
"She told me that she wants to coexist and perish with the Kingdom of Lothern and will never survive by being cowardly."
Hearing the last sentence, Solrog couldn't help but ask: "Wait, this contradicts your previous description. This princess has a strong personality, so how would she be willing to escape the Federation with you?"
"This... I plan to catch her off guard, knock her out, tie her up, and take her away directly."
Solrog was silent for a few seconds, then said: "In the royal court, which is heavily guarded and where even an Ancient Dragon wouldn't dare to rush in rashly, knock out a princess and tie her up? Are you serious?"
Gorton nodded guiltily.
He was serious, but he had never thought through his plan because he subconsciously felt it was unlikely.
"Gorton has stayed in the royal court for a long time, his situation is comfortable, so it's normal for his ideas to be ill-considered."
The Red-Iron Dragon continued to ask: "Does Princess Elena have any manifestations or reactions recently because of the Federation's affairs?"
Gorton said: "She has been tearing the edges of her magic books recently. This is a small tic of hers when she is anxious. A few days ago, she even ran to me to confide, saying that she wanted to help the kingdom but was protected as if she were a fragile object."
The relationships between royal family members are not close.
Elena does not like the hypocritical smiles of those brothers and sisters, nor does she like the flattering compliments of the nobles. When she has worries or feels distressed, she often confides in the Iron Dragon Gorton.
Therefore, Gorton knows her thoughts and situation very well.
Immediately after, Garros asked many questions in all aspects, basically all about Elena.
From the princess's daily routine to her dealings with other princes, princesses, or nobles and lords, etc., it was meticulous.
This princess concerns whether he can get a share of the pie during the Federation's internal turmoil, so he sees her as very important and wants to understand her as comprehensively as possible.
Eventually, with Gorton's description, Elena's image became clearer in Garros's mind.
—A magic flame protected by a crystal cover, eager to start a prairie fire but unable to find a fuse.