Beneath the Red Dragon-Chapter 101 - 50: Sea Dragon
The strong centaur warrior Chiron, accompanied by the former ogre leader who had awakened the ancient demigod sea demon bloodline, Ogre Giantess Fafnir, climbed toward the Dragon Nest Mountain Range from the foot of the mountain.
The mountains where the Dragon Group built their nests are changing daily, with the giant dragons using their powerful abilities to flatten the chosen mountain peaks for spacious activity grounds, almost leveling the mountain peak halfway.
On this flattened mountain top, the first castle belonging to the Dragon Group will be established, serving as the group’s council hall and King’s Castle.
The tall ogre slaves, under the direction of several former human noble stonemasons, are processing the stone materials excavated by the giant dragons from the leveled mountaintop.
They use newly forged iron chisels, round-headed hammers, and mallets to chip away chunks of stone from the massive stone veins, then meticulously cut those suitable for castle foundations into neat square stones.
At present, the mountain top wide flat area is covered only with flat stone slabs and pervasive dust, making the clanging sounds especially noisy.
The earth dragons and reindeer, enslaved and tamed by the Dragon’s Beloved, drag wooden carts loaded with discarded stones up and down the mountain, guided by kobolds and green-skinned goblins.
These domesticated animals are relatively docile, with excellent load-bearing capabilities, making them excellent transportation tools within the giant dragon territory.
Unfortunately, these ogre slaves were not skilled in excavation and construction, leading to inefficiency. If there were a more construction-proficient race among the Dragon Group’s Beloved, the castle construction speed could be significantly faster given enough stone material supplies.
However, centaur warrior Chiron and Ogre Giantess Fafnir did not tread this mountain; instead, they ascended an adjacent peak along a winding and broad mountain path carved by ogre slaves.
This peak, close to the Red Dragon’s lair and located at the windward side, remained unaffected, where the giant dragons gathered to rest.
Already from halfway up, one could see that the peak belonging to the Red Dragon was clearly growing taller, with unceasing molten lava flowing and spilling out, blending with dried earthy dust to form new rocks on the Red Dragon’s summit.
The flowing lava even spread to mid-mountain, covering the upper half of the peak and forming a mountain body with dark red and gray-brown intermixes. Centaur warrior Chiron and Ogre Giantess Fafnir could feel the steaming heat emanating from it.
Even though the centaur warrior now possessed power to challenge a typical young giant dragon after experiencing bloodline radiation, Chiron couldn’t help but feel awestruck by the giant dragon’s unique strength.
In his eyes, even many creatures more powerful in strength than the giant dragons would find such feats difficult to accomplish. This was the innate talent of these near-perfect beings, the giant dragons.
Fafnir’s gaze, water rippling, also gleamed with brilliance. She had awakened the ancient demigod sea demon bloodline, possessing a soul and spiritual power that ordinary creatures could never reach.
Adult giant demons could easily influence adult giant dragons, but even if she grew further, she’d still be far from achieving the impact the Red Dragon could now exert.
"I greet you, my great master."
"I greet you, great master. Your humble female slave Fafnir extends greetings to all true dragons."
Centaur warrior Chiron and Giant Demon Fafnir, upon reaching the mountain top, met the active Dragon Group. The Red Dragon was conversing surrounded by other young dragons, the commanding and vigorous dragon body clearly standing out even among the surrounding dragons, overshadowing even the adolescent Blue Dragon Akzhi.
"It seems the master has grown considerably during this time," Centaur warrior Chiron and Giant Demon Fafnir both harbored this mutual thought as they prostrated on the ground.
However, neither harbored any fear, for the Beloved of the giant dragons hoped above all for a more powerful master.
Furthermore, Ogre Giantess Fafnir was now more than just a nominal slave of the Red Dragon; her soul was controlled by the Red Dragon, her life linked to the Red Dragon’s hands. She would only wish for the Red Dragon’s strength to grow, for the more she gained from the Red Dragon’s favor.
Moreover, being drawn to strength is a nature present in all creatures, not just giant demons but dragons too.
Seeing that the centaur warrior and ogre giantess had arrived, Karon nodded, motioning them to wait aside with his gaze, while he looked towards the opposite blue dragon. Blue Dragon Doss was reporting the investigation findings, with Red Dragon Kleyna nestled beside him.
White Dragon Gomot and Camid surrounded his left side, with Black Dragon Rosani and Green Dragon Antajena across from him, next to Blue Dragon Doss. Little Elf Pik lay on Green Dragon Antajena’s spiny crown, tending to the dragon’s scales.
The Little Elf Pik had by now become friends with all the dragons. Even the Green Dragon, who liked to treat forest elves as food, no longer saw Riven as prey; instead, they got along well, with Little Elf Riven no longer fearing the Green Dragon.
However, Green Dragon Antajena developed a habit of holding the Little Elf Pik in her claws and licking it under the guise of fostering affection. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
While in the magical world, some races expressed care for the weaker by licking, Karon had found no such behavior in the inherited memories of dragons. Evidently, this behavior didn’t exist among dragon species.
However, Karon didn’t mind. His Dragon Group was unlike ordinary evil dragons. Although Green Dragon Antajena still reveled in manipulation and intrigue as a Green Dragon species, she at least was not malevolent towards her friends.
"The trench where the Shahua Fishman Tribe resides is very deep, about five hundred miles from the land. I followed the tracks of the released fishmen and found about hundreds of fishmen still existing in the trench," Blue Dragon Doss reported the findings of his and Akzhi’s investigation one by one.
"On the way back, I also discovered traces of Deep Sea Naga. They seem to be in an adversarial relationship with this Shahua Fishman Tribe, spying around the fishman tribe’s residence. Perhaps once they realize the Shahua Fishman Tribe’s main force was eliminated by us, they might attack the fishman tribe,"
The young dragons nodded. In the domain of the sea, Shahua Fishmen and Naga were mostly in opposition due to the squeezing and collision of living space. Occasionally, they would cooperate but such partnerships were usually short-lived.
"Akhzi also detected the presence of aquatic dragon auras in the sea, possibly Sea Emperor Dragons. We didn’t get too close, lest we were noticed by them."
"Sea Emperor Dragons? I’m tempted to see these Sea Dragons," Black Dragon Rosani’s eyes lit up, her tail swayed involuntarily.
Sea Emperor Dragons and Black Dragons were often natural enemies. Sea Emperor Dragons hated Black Dragons, for Black Dragons were the worst opponents for them.
Sea Emperor Dragons usually live in water, and though they can leave it for a while, doing so is unnecessary. Yet, the Black Dragons, fond of corrupting and polluting water and charming underwater crawling creatures, are at the top of their hit list. Naturally, all evil dragon species are on Sea Emperor Dragons’ target list, with Black Dragons at the forefront.
Black Dragons also love to disgust and attack these dragons residing in the sea. Cruel and malevolent Black Dragons indulge in this, with some even deliberately running into Sea Emperor Dragons’ territories to pollute the water, leaving after the deed even if it meant getting beaten numerous times.
"Hmm, you were right to do so," Karon commended the Blue Dragon’s caution, "The Sea Emperor Dragons often ally closely with the Bronze Dragons, and discovering traces of the Sea Emperor Dragons might mean there are nearby one or even a brood of Bronze Dragons."
"We still can’t concern ourselves with sea territories. Let’s put the treasure vault of these Shahua Fishmen aside for now. There’s no need to take risks for some treasure,"
Karon gave the young dragons a final conclusion, "Our focus should be on the forest, ensuring the protection of the land-clearing citizens and territory so they can plant grains for the Dragon Group with peace of mind. This will serve as a prosperous granary for the Dragon Group."
"Only with sufficient grain can the Dragon Group expand and consolidate the territory. Otherwise, relying solely on hunting will always limit the Dragon Group’s scale to a certain size."
"Exceeding a certain scale in Dragon Group territory would only plunge them into an endless cycle of malicious expansion, which is disadvantageous to our current strategy of steady expansion."
Karon gradually felt the pressure surrounding the Dragon Group territory. In the past, the Dragon Group’s territorial scope wasn’t broad, so the monster and other race’s power bordered with the territory weren’t strong.
But now, the Dragon Group’s territory is several times the initial size. Many monsters and tribes nearby are starting to worry about further growth in the giant dragon’s power, leading to continuous probing. The contradiction over living space is irreconcilable and might soon lead to conflicts and wars with the giant dragons.
The other dragons nodded. They had no objections to the Red Dragon’s decision. Although they wanted to plunder the Shahua Fishman’s treasure vault, these dragons now wouldn’t let their greed land them in danger.
Karon withdrew his gaze from his companions and turned towards the centaur warrior and ogre giantess standing by.
