Inside the gradually improving and now small-scale Alchemy Workshop in Coniferous Valley.
Samantha was holding a glass test tube made from fired sand with her claws, her dark Red Dragon pupils staring intently at the boiling liquid inside.
"Add another small pinch of Pyrite Powder."
She muttered under her breath, using the tip of her tail to pick up the mortar and pour the metallic-lustered powder into the test tube.
Boom!
The test tube shattered, and pungent smoke instantly filled the Alchemy Workshop. Samantha was choked into sneezing three times in a row, then waved her dragon wings to disperse the smoke.
"Failed again!"
"I clearly followed the ratios in the Legacy; where exactly did it go wrong?"
The Red Dragon lashed her tail in annoyance.
Those Ogres of the Bone-Chewing Clan were constantly expanding with fierce momentum.
Although they hadn't probed into Coniferous Valley yet, Samantha already felt the threat.
In the third year of Garros's dragon sleep, Samantha also began her dragon sleep. After the two-year sleep ended, she thought Garros should have awakened and returned as well.
As it turned out, another three years passed, and then another three.
It had been six years, and Garros still hadn't returned.
Samantha lost the reliance she had grown accustomed to. Furthermore, as a Red Dragon, she would not submit to any creature other than Garros. Thus, she temporarily took over Coniferous Valley, becoming the backbone for the Faerie Dragon and the Great Bears.
But this position was not an easy one to hold.
Especially now, with the danger from the Bone-Chewing Clan being almost imminent.
Samantha had to pull herself together.
To fulfill her promise of guarding Coniferous Valley, she attempted to create an Alchemical Item that could arm her subordinates—the Flame Bead.
This was a single-use Alchemical Item; as long as it was thrown, it would create a violent explosion with immense power.
If she could stockpile a large number of Flame Beads, she could hold out a bit longer against the Ogre invasion.
Yes, hold out a bit longer, rather than achieve victory.
To better manage the territory, Samantha forced herself to think in Garros's way, trying not to be so arrogant and conceited. She even followed Garros's habit of first consuming some of the Faerie Dragon's scale powder to boost her own wisdom.
And then.
She clearly realized that the Gluttony Demon of the Bone-Chewing Clan—who rose to power six years ago, almost right after Garros went into dragon sleep—was not a formidable enemy she could defeat.
And it wasn't just the Gluttony Demon.
Due to years of extensive hunting and abundant food resources—perhaps also stimulated by some of the Gluttony Demon's leadership skills—the level of the Ogres in the entire clan was rising. The number of brawny Ogre elite warriors was increasing, and more than one Warlock had been born.
The Bone-Chewing Clan was flourishing like the sun at noon.
Their territory was constantly expanding, and their numbers were steadily increasing.
No matter how arrogant a Young Dragon was, she wouldn't believe she could take this Ogre clan as subordinates.
In this situation, what Samantha had to do was wait for Garros to wake up and return, and until then, try her best to guard Coniferous Valley.
If it really didn't work out, she could only lead the Faerie Dragon, the Great Bear groups, and her own monster subordinates to retreat.
—Samantha had personally subdued a group of Giant Fire Ants and a group of Fire Lizards.
Being forced to abandon territory by Ogres was a great humiliation in the eyes of a Red Dragon, but she couldn't lose her life over it.
On the surface, Samantha looked down on Garros's caution and protectiveness of his life.
But sometimes, when she thought about it carefully, she felt Garros's words made a lot of sense. Deep down, she actually took Garros as a role model and was subtly learning from him.
"I can't fail again."
"Calm down, calm down, Samantha."
"Let your mind be rational; don't be nervous."
Samantha took a deep breath and continued trying to manufacture Flame Beads.
Time passed slowly. Not long after, an unremarkable, pitch-black bead with a few dark red patterns on its surface appeared in Samantha's claws.
"As long as the first one is successful, the rest will be easy."
Her efforts were rewarded. A pleasant smile appeared on Samantha's dragon face, and her tail wagged.
Just then.
A heavy Dragon Might carrying a sense of pressure approached from afar.
Samantha's dragon pupils constricted, and the dragon scales on her body almost stood on end. The Giant Fire Ants lying around the workshop let out sharp hisses one by one and shrank back underground in fear.
She rushed out of the workshop and looked up at the sky.
In the dark sky.
It was as if a comet was streaking across the heavens, getting closer and closer to Coniferous Valley.
No, it wasn't a real comet.
It was a dragon trailing comet-like traces behind it, moving at an unimaginably fast speed!
As the distance closed, Samantha caught a familiar scent. Her eyes widened, and the wariness and tension in her gaze vanished in an instant.
Although his appearance had changed somewhat.
She still recognized Garros at a glance.
"Garros, my dear brother, welcome back to the waking world!"
Samantha flapped her wings, feeling as if she had suddenly shed all her burdens. Her body felt light as she flew into the sky to greet Garros.
The billowing streams of flame behind the dragon wings gradually dissipated.
Garros slowed down, feeling a bit hungry again.
Growth and evolution consumed too much energy. He hadn't eaten his fill after waking up, and he had flown toward Coniferous Valley as soon as he wasn't starving.
He could have flown back unhurriedly.
But because he had just gained a new skill, he was like a child with a new toy and couldn't resist trying it out. So he used the Jet Acceleration, experiencing the sheer thrill of soaring through the sky at extreme speeds.
"There seem to be no problems in the territory."
"I'll have to go on a good hunt and feed later."
Garros flew over Coniferous Valley and saw Samantha flying toward him.
He slowed down a bit more and looked at Samantha.
This once immature Red Young Dragon was still immature, but she had also grown.
Samantha's body length was nearly ten meters. She also had more spines on her body, and thick, long fangs protruded from her mouth. Her scales were like quenched steel, shimmering with a dark red metallic luster under the moonlight.
Garros sniffed.
From Samantha, he smelled a pungent sulfur scent—like volcanoes, like lava. This was the body odor of a Red Dragon, which would gradually intensify with age.
Because of his own Bloodline, Garros didn't dislike this smell; instead, he found it rather pleasant.
"Samantha, you've grown quite a bit too."
He said.
"Of course! We share the same Bloodline; I won't be any worse than you."
Samantha didn't speak of the hardships, struggles, and psychological pressure of this period. She only displayed her original confidence belonging to a Red Dragon.
The two dragons landed together in Coniferous Valley.
The Faerie Dragon Vera came rushing over with a cry, then suddenly stopped in front of Garros. She blinked and said, "Garros, your current appearance looks even more ferocious than before."
The formidable Explosive Scales.
The massive, weapon-like Wings of the Heavenly Comet.
The increasingly prominent dual characteristics of the Red Dragon and Iron Dragon Bloodlines.
All of these made Garros's appearance sharp and aggressive. He looked more ferocious, more like an Evil Dragon, and possessed more of a sense of oppression.