Red Dragon Cahill finally lowered her head.
Fifty years—this duration is not long for Dragonkin. Her life is far more precious than fifty years, and besides, if it were any other great Evil Dragon, using a life-saving grace as leverage to demand five hundred years of loyalty might be considered light.
Compared to what she gained.
This small sacrifice could be called negligible.
In the eyes of an Evil Dragon, it was practically charity.
If not for the fact that the dragon before her possessed sharp, aggressive features that undeniably revealed his identity as an Evil Dragon, Cahill would have suspected him of being some kind of Good Dragon.
She felt that she had profited.
Little did she know, Garros was thinking the same thing.
As everyone knows, free things are the most expensive. The moment Red Dragon Cahill agreed, it was destined that she would pledge her life to Dragon Valley and serve Garros.
"Now, tell me how you ended up in your current situation."
"It's a long story. It wasn't caused by just one thing." Cahill scratched the scales on her neck, her expression becoming complex.
She was merely a Young Dragon under 20 years old.
How much experience could she possibly have?
The Red-Iron Dragon's gaze swept over the scars on Cahill's body: "Then start from the beginning."
Immediately, Cahill braced herself against her fatigue and said: "I am a lone dragon now, but in reality, I was not surviving on my own."
She quickly recounted the events that had occurred recently.
From the ambition she held when leaving the Cliff Strait, to the silence and reserve after being struck down in the Serel Wilderness, and then the regret and anger when being hunted. Garros could feel the changes in her emotions from her description.
Among them, what interested Garros the most was this.
It turned out there were other dragons.
There was more than one dragon currently in the Serel Wilderness; a total of three dragons had been captured by the Blackrock Dwarves.
As for the dragons that had died according to Cahill's description, Garros did not say much.
The survival environment for Evil Dragons is harsh; although Evil Dragons that manage to grow up are generally much stronger than Metallic Dragons of the same age, the price paid is extremely high.
In Garros's view, Cahill and her companions had stepped into almost every trap possible.
Perhaps because they were born into a Blue Dragon community, including the two Young Dragons, they lacked experience in wilderness survival, were not cautious or steady enough, and encountered too many avoidable troubles.
"The Serel Wilderness is a hellhole. Even when we wanted to lay low and develop, to just barely survive, various dangers kept coming one after another, killing our companions, and in the end, we couldn't even escape the wilderness."
Cahill whispered and cursed.
Upon hearing this, Garros narrowed his eyes and said seriously: "Born as an Evil Dragon, every place in this world is fraught with danger and filled with malice."
"Laying low? Weakness is always the greatest danger. Blindly hiding and enduring will only ensure you never raise your head."
He had always been cautious in his actions, but he was far from being a coward.
He knew very well that his identity as a Red-Iron hybrid destined him for conflict; even if he hid in the darkest corner to survive, even if he did nothing, sooner or later, adventurers or the like would come to his doorstep to crusade against him.
At that time, if he were weak, he would certainly die.
Therefore, after careful consideration each time.
When he could determine that the benefits of a certain action outweighed the risks, Garros would always strike decisively to secure resources and an environment for his own development.
"Garros, according to what this Young Red Dragon said, there are three more dragons trapped in the wilderness, captured and imprisoned by the Blackrock Dwarves."
Solrog's voice rang out in his mind, saying: "Blue Dragons are naturally skilled at managing territories and subordinates. I lack such an assistant. Besides, the Green Dragon and Black Dragon also have their own unique traits, which would be beneficial for the development of the Molten Iron Tribe. I suggest we rescue them."
As a standard Dragonkin supremacist.
The Iron Dragon Sorog was very willing to save more Dragonkin, to build a Dragonkin Empire capable of ruling the world, and eventually, have the Ignas Siblings rule over the other dragons.
"Please rescue the Blue Dragon captured by the dwarves."
Cahill's whispered request sounded at the same time. This proud Red Dragon lowered her head and said: "He is the same age as me, but possesses strength on par with mine. He is worth your investment and cultivation."
Red Dragon Samantha let out an 'eh'.
"A Blue Dragon. And there is also a Green Dragon and a Black Dragon. Why not mention them?"
She asked.
Upon hearing this, Cahill sneered and said: "The green-skins and black-skins can be called dragons? They are only slightly better than White Scale, but still useless. They were beaten and captured with almost no resistance. It's simply a disgrace. If they had been even a little bit useful, we could have broken through the dwarves' blockade at the time."
Well said!
As a Red Dragon supremacist, Samantha gave Cahill an appreciative look.
At the same time, Garros was thinking quietly and did not answer immediately.
"The capture of the Young Dragons happened recently."
"They were captured after being heavily wounded, but their lives should be out of danger. A living dragon is more valuable than a dead one."
"Besides, although the Serel Wilderness has the Thousand Snake Scars road network, transporting dragons is not something that can be done in a short time. They are likely still at the Blackrock Duchy station."
He pondered in his heart, his sharp claws lightly tapping the ground.
The Blackrock Duchy, a part of the Lothern Federation, a Duchy composed of dwarves, is not a vassal of any kingdom. Its own military strength is average among the federation duchies, considered a mediocre level.
The problem now is this.
Weighing the risks of raiding the Blackrock Duchy station against the benefits of rescuing the dragons.
However, this was not a very complicated problem.
A dozen seconds later, the Red-Iron Dragon lifted his head inch by inch, looking towards the direction of the Serel Wilderness.
"Solrog, Samantha, how many years have we been away from the wilderness?"
He asked.
"Fourteen years."
The two did not hesitate and answered instantly.
As a long-lived species, Dragonkin are not actually sensitive to the passage of time. The reason they could remember it so clearly was simply because they were driven by strong emotions.
"Yes, fourteen years."
The Red-Iron Dragon said in a faint, unhurried tone: "Unknowingly, fourteen years have passed."
He remembered very clearly that it was exactly when he turned eighteen that he was forced out of the Serel Wilderness and forced to flee to The Borderlands. Now he was thirty-two; fourteen years had passed.
After a few seconds of silence.
The Red-Iron Dragon grinned, revealing his fangs, his sharpness fully exposed.
He asked: "Are you eager to return to the wilderness?"
Solrog and Samantha exchanged a glance, then nodded heavily, excitement flashing in their eyes: "Every moment, we have been thinking about letting those vermin feel the fear of being dominated by the Ignas Siblings."
Defeated by a strong enemy, driven away.
Returning after growing up, taking revenge.
Although more Dragonkin die prematurely along the way, stories like this are not uncommon in the Dragonkin Legacy.
Raiding a federation outpost was not the first time they had done it.
After careful consideration, Garros decided to take action himself, to fight quickly and decisively, to raid the Blackrock Duchy base, rescue the dragons, and then have them pledge loyalty to Dragon Valley as repayment for the life-saving grace.
The Blackrock Duchy was not much stronger than the current Molten Iron Tribe.
Their main base was in the south; in the Serel Wilderness, they only had some garrison troops, with perhaps only two or three resource points in total.
Even if, after being attacked, the Duchy was furious and wanted to crusade against the Molten Iron Tribe.
They would have to consider whether their legions could safely pass through the Serel Wilderness, whether their supplies could support such a long-distance war, and whether they could fight a grueling battle against the Molten Iron Tribe in The Borderlands.
Besides.
The number of Dragonkin in the Serel Wilderness was not small, and if attacked by Dragonkin, it would be difficult to directly trace it back to The Borderlands.
Most importantly, the Molten Iron Tribe would march into the wilderness as soon as the flames of war were ignited. Before that, Garros wanted to test what kind of reaction the Federation would have after one of its internal members was attacked.