"Garros, you look even more ferocious now than you did before."
The words of Fairy Dragon Vera reached his ears.
Garros was left speechless.
The Faerie Dragon was telling the truth; he indeed looked more and more like an Evil Dragon, which was not Garros's original intention.
While he felt his current appearance was cool and fierce, it was also a bit too conspicuous, clashing with Garros's inherently cautious and careful style.
Unfortunately.
Whether it was the dual Bloodline of the head of the Chromatic Dragons and the head of the Ferrous Dragons, or the traits he had evolved himself, they all possessed a strong, sharp sense of aggression and invasiveness.
These were traits typically found in Evil Dragons.
Kind or neutral Dragonkin, such as Metallic Dragons and Gem Dragons, had fewer sharp spikes and lacked dragon wings or tails that looked like lethal weapons at first glance; their overall style leaned toward being 'majestic'.
"With my current appearance and posture."
"Once organizations on the side of justice or order discover my existence, they will surely shout for my death and try to subjugate me on the spot."
Garros shook his head, thinking to himself.
Although he still didn't consider himself the Evil Dragon of public impression, Garros no longer felt troubled by it.
He had come to terms with it.
Whether he was an Evil Dragon, a good dragon, or treated as some other monster didn't matter; in the end, this world was one where fists and power did the talking.
As long as they didn't disturb him or pose a threat to his life, they weren't worth worrying about.
Conversely.
Once Garros felt his life was threatened.
He would find any way and use any means necessary to erase the threat; otherwise, he could not rest easy.
"Why am I not a Hybrid Dragon?"
Samantha's gaze landed on Garros, sweeping over his formidable and ferocious spikes, dragon wings, and tail, her eyes filled with longing and envy.
In the eyes of a Red Dragon.
'Ferocious' was an absolute compliment.
According to Dragon aesthetics—it was hard to say for Metallic Dragons, but for Chromatic Dragons or other Evil Dragons—Garros undoubtedly possessed the 'visage of an ancient ultimate evil.' Once he reached young adulthood and hit sexual maturity, he would only need to emit a signal for mating, and no female dragon would be able to resist his charm.
"Samantha, it seems you've managed the territory quite well during the time I was away."
Garros's tail lightly tapped the ground, kicking up a few sparks.
As he circled down to land, he noticed that Coniferous Valley had changed.
Defensive fortifications had been added to the outskirts, including deep trenches where lava flowed slowly, an Ironwood Pine defense line studded with metal spikes, and sentries patrolling key locations.
Samantha tilted her chin and gave a pleasant hum.
Two plumes of sulfur-scented smoke puffed from her nostrils as she said, "Did you think I was the kind of lazy bug who only knows how to sleep? No, I am now a dragon as diligent as you, having subjugated two monster vassal clans of my own."
"The Fire Salamanders can spit lava, and those trenches were dug into shape by the Giant Fire Ants."
She pointed a claw toward the Alchemy Workshop.
"In terms of Alchemy, I've learned to manufacture Flame Beads. The instantaneous explosive power can blow away a Giant Rhino."
Glancing at Garros, Samantha added, "The number of Flame Beads isn't many, and the Materials I've collected are limited, so they can't be used recklessly. For example... for smashing randomly against one's own body."
As she spoke, her gaze was somewhat wary, as if she were guarding against Garros.
It was obvious.
Samantha didn't want Garros using her Flame Beads to satisfy his personal eccentricities.
She had previously guessed that Garros might have become stronger through those exercises, but looking at Garros now, Samantha instead dismissed the idea. If one could obtain Garros's power simply through various exercises or self-mutilating behaviors, then Dragonkin would have long ago ruled all planes and worlds.
She attributed Garros's strength to a positive mutation resulting from being a hybrid, rather than accumulated daily training.
Garros didn't mind this misunderstanding.
Flame Beads that could blow away a Giant Rhino? He wasn't interested, unless they could blow away a dragon.
Garros looked at Samantha thoughtfully.
"During these six years, did Coniferous Valley encounter any danger? Did you run into powerful Vicious Beasts or monsters, or were you discovered by an intelligent clan, or was there a subjugation attempt by adventurers?"
He asked.
If she hadn't felt danger, given a Red Dragon's lazy habits, why would she focus her mind on territorial defense?
Garros had a keen mind and had detected an anomaly.
Fairy Dragon Vera flew in a circle around Garros, stopped in front of him, puffed out her chest, and said proudly, "A group of big Ogres is expanding. Vera was the first to discover them when I was out playing!"
Fairy Dragon Vera was indeed the first to find traces of the Ogres.
After she told Samantha, Samantha flew high into the sky to investigate, only to discover with alarm that the Ogre tribe was expanding at a staggering speed. Looking down at the wilderness from high above, one could clearly see that the Ogres' range of activity was growing almost every day.
"Ogres."
Garros was initially a bit puzzled, but his mind quickly turned. He asked, "Is it the Bone-Chewing Clan?"
Before he went into hibernation, the Bone-Chewing Clan had been acting strange, with all the Ogres gathering in their territory as if they were up to something. Garros had originally intended to investigate, but the sudden arrival of his dragon sleep period had changed his plans.
Now hearing the Faerie Dragon's words, it wasn't hard to link the Ogres to the Bone-Chewing Clan.
The Red Dragon nodded solemnly.
"In just six years, this clan has expanded at least threefold."
"They have now occupied the Thunder-Horn Sheep Pastures to the east, which isn't far from Coniferous Valley."
Ogres had excellent strength, stamina, and defense, but they weren't fast. Even so, it would only take a three-day march for the Ogres entrenched in the east to reach Coniferous Valley.
Garros was silent for a moment, then suddenly bared his fangs in a grin.
"Interesting."
The Thunder-Horn Sheep herds, the Steel-Mane Thorny Beast herds, the Armored Giant Rhino herds... these groups of Vicious Beasts and monsters around Coniferous Valley were, in Garros's eyes, his own pastures and part of his territory.
It wasn't a dragon, it wasn't a giant, and it wasn't a formal army.
A bunch of Ogres were coming to snatch his territory? Did they really think he, Garros, was some easy-going good dragon?
Immediately, the thought of flying over and killing all these Ogres sprouted in Garros's mind.
This dragon sleep had made Garros even more powerful, and it had also caused the intense emotions stemming from his Red Iron Dragon Bloodline to grow.
Whoosh!
Taking a few deep breaths, Garros's gaze gradually calmed down. He skillfully suppressed his arrogance and restlessness, beginning to think more coolly and rationally.
"The Bone-Chewing Clan's sudden savage expansion must have something to rely on."
"I'll scout the specific situation first before making a plan."
As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.
Garros did not fight battles he wasn't sure of winning.
Through six years of growth and evolution, he was much stronger than before and had more confidence in his survival, but that didn't mean he could run rampant in the wilderness. He still needed to be cautious and couldn't let his skyrocketing power go to his head.
"Samantha, you've done well."
Garros gave the Red Dragon a slight nod and said, "Continue to reinforce the defensive works of Coniferous Valley and arm your vassals with Alchemical Items to prevent any Ogres from approaching for a sneak attack."
"What about me? What about me?"
The Faerie Dragon spun in circles, asking excitedly.
"You assist Samantha."
Garros grinned and said, "Don't you two like playing games? This game called war, called survival, will be a thousand times more exciting and interesting than playing with ants."
After obtaining the information Samantha possessed.
Garros swept his dragon wings and took to the sky, charging into the clouds and quickly disappearing into the night.
Descriptions from the Red Dragon ultimately weren't as real or specific as seeing it with his own eyes and investigating personally; Garros always trusted himself the most.
But there was no immediate rush.
Garros first hunted in several nearby pastures, eating quickly to gradually fill his body and bring his post-awakening state to its Peak. Then, he soared toward the territory of the Bone-Chewing Clan in his memory.