The silver moon of the Goddess Selune on the dark blue canopy gradually faded, as the bright sun, representing light and life, slowly rose from the distant horizon.
Carrying a body covered in scars, the Red-Iron Dragon returned from the Quenchfire Highlands to the Coniferous Valley and landed on the ground.
"Garros?!"
Samantha and Vera exclaimed at the same time, their eyes sweeping over the Red-Iron Dragon's body, seeing the shocking scars all over him.
The bleeding had stopped, but those cracked dragon scales, broken dragon horns, and somewhat unnaturally twisted claws all manifested the intensity of the previous battle.
"You are injured, seriously injured."
Never having seen Garros so seriously injured, both dragons felt alarmed.
"This is a price that can be endured."
Garros waved his claw dismissively and said.
His physique was stronger than that of ordinary Dragonkin. Injuries that appeared serious in the eyes of Samantha and Vera were not yet at the level of critical wounds for Garros, though they were quite close.
"Although the process was somewhat twists and turns and difficult, I achieved the final victory."
Garros took out the Diamond Crystal Core and displayed it before the eyes of the two dragons.
His Heart-Nature was steady, but winning this war and securing his territory and foundation made him inevitably joyful, even giving him the slight urge to show off his spoils of war.
Garros also possessed the vanity inherent to Dragonkin.
It was just that in normal times, he would suppress such emotions as much as possible.
At this moment, a ray of morning light shone into the Coniferous Valley and onto the Diamond Crystal Core, plating the already sparkling core with a layer of golden light, making it shine even more brilliantly.
The Faerie Dragon and the Red Dragon were both dazed, staring obsessively at this shiny treasure.
"So beautiful."
The Faerie Dragon praised from the bottom of her heart.
The Red Dragon seemed to have lost her senses, walking toward Garros like a marionette, reaching out her claw to take it, but she suddenly snapped awake when she met Garros's gaze and gave a sheepish smile.
"My dear brother, let me touch it, just once."
Samantha pleaded.
Garros opened his mouth and swallowed the Diamond Crystal Core, storing it in his stomach space.
Their gazes and senses gradually returned to normal.
Samantha regained her composure, her gaze falling once more on Garros's scar-covered body. Coveting the spoils of war, she said, "You should have taken me with you for the war against the Stone Giants. I am a powerful and noble Red Dragon, a natural-born warrior."
"My claws and teeth can tear those stones to pieces."
"If I had been there, I guarantee you could have won much more easily."
For the raid on the Stone Giant camp, Garros had not taken the Red Dragon; to be precise, he had not taken any subordinates or followers from the Coniferous Valley side.
Garros's territory was no longer what it used to be.
The pastures, ore veins, river channels, and other resource points under his command were more than one, and he also controlled an entire trade route.
The problem lay in...
How to hold onto them and continue to develop.
Garros knew clearly that with the changing of centuries and the passage of time, the era of giant lifeforms like Dragons and Giants had long since ended. Now was the era dominated by small and medium-sized lifeforms, such as Humans and Elves.
They were numerous, filled with powerful experts, and possessed great creativity and growth potential.
Even Dragonkin were mostly forced to live in remote places like the wilderness or the ocean. Standing on the Prosperous Continent were the Human Empire, the Elven Empire, and the Dwarven Empire, not a Dragon Empire.
Dragonkin were like fallen 'nobles'.
Indulging in the brilliance of ancient times, reminiscing about past glory, they still maintained an aloof and arrogant appearance.
And this...
Was also one of the key factors that made it difficult for Dragonkin to rise again.
Failing to recognize the current situation, they were blindly conceited.
If it were a Red Dragon like Samantha, after having a territory of Garros's current scale, she would inevitably become extremely inflated, strutting with an arrogant gait, thinking she was invincible, and then provoke a powerful existence, leading to her own destruction.
Garros was constantly fighting against the arrogance and conceit within his dragon nature.
He knew very well that the more it was such a time, the more he could not relax.
He was not yet powerful enough to ignore risks and act willfully.
Danger in the wilderness was still omnipresent.
Perhaps his territory was flourishing today, but tomorrow it might be targeted by a greedy adult Evil Dragon or the Lothern garrison, who viewed Evil Dragons as targets for crusade, falling into an extremely dangerous situation.
Therefore.
He always left himself a way out.
For example, none of the subordinates of the Molten Iron Clan knew that there was another group of Garros's followers here in the Coniferous Valley, nor were they clear about Garros's daily movements.
In the eyes of the Molten Iron Clan's subordinates.
Garros was always elusive and mysterious, his whereabouts hidden, and no one knew when he would suddenly appear.
In the future, if he accidentally attracted the attention of a powerful enemy and the Molten Iron Clan was attacked and investigated, they would be unable to expose Garros's true whereabouts because they didn't know where Garros actually was either.
"Samantha's Red Dragon Bloodline is acting up, making her unable to be satisfied with a peaceful life. This is a hidden danger."
In the eyes of a Red Dragon, scars were merit and glory. As Red Dragon Samantha grew, she increasingly craved battle and bloodshed. Her usual game of playing with ants was actually to satisfy this psychological need.
"Should I expel Samantha?"
Garros shook his head slightly.
He was not an absolutely heartless Evil Dragon; after all these years together, some affection had developed.
More importantly, Samantha could refine black oil for him.
The black oil Garros drank during battle, after being further refined by Samantha, was of higher quality and could be more quickly converted into energy after ingestion.
There was an Ogre Alchemist in the Molten Iron Clan.
But it only knew how to manufacture weapons and armor, using Alchemy to augment and strengthen them.
Unless there were large-scale Alchemy Golems, normal biological clans did not need black oil, and Alchemists would not deliberately learn the skill of refining black oil.
If he expelled Samantha, Garros would have to learn Alchemy and black oil refining himself.
It wasn't impossible.
But such repetitive and boring tasks would distract his time and energy.
The sorcerers under his command did not have magic and learning talents comparable to Dragonkin and could not be counted on in the short term.
Furthermore, he could not allow the Red Dragon to become a liability.
"Garros, I want to fight, I want to bleed, not stay in the rear doing Alchemy all the time!"
Samantha said complainingly.
Garros thought for a moment, then looked at the Red Dragon and asked, "Samantha, do you like fighting?"
The Red Dragon snorted flames from her nostrils and nodded without hesitation.
"For what?" Garros asked again.
Samantha thought for a moment and said excitedly, "For glory! To make my name echo through the clouds!"
Red Dragons were arrogant and conceited, with strong self-esteem and the strongest vanity among Dragonkin. Samantha's answer was as Garros expected.
Garros blinked and said as if realizing something, "You mean, you want to gain a reputation that is known far and wide."
"Yes, Garros, you understand me well."
Samantha said approvingly.
Of course, although I am not an Evil Dragon, I understand Evil Dragons very well... A barely perceptible curve appeared at the corner of Garros's mouth, and he said, "In that case, you should delve deeper into Alchemy rather than being obsessed with making a name for yourself through fighting."
A look of suspicion appeared in the Red Dragon's eyes.
"Garros, are you trying to fool me? I am very smart, full of wisdom, and have my own thoughts. I won't fall for your tricks again."
She said.
Garros's expression remained unchanged as he asked, "Almost all Red Dragons are good at fighting. Compared to other Red Dragons, where do your strengths lie? And how can you ensure that you can stand out among the many Red Dragons and be remembered and feared?"
Samantha opened her mouth, speechless.
"Yeah, yeah, Samantha, what are your strengths?"
Fairy Dragon Vera chimed in from the side, asking curiously.
Garros stepped forward, patted the Red Dragon Sister's shoulder, and said with earnest and sincere words, "My dear sister, your strength lies in your wisdom! You are the smartest Red Dragon I have ever seen! Your talent in Alchemy leaves me in awe, and your wisdom is far beyond my reach."
Opposite him, with every sentence Garros spoke, Samantha's head lifted a bit higher, and her tail swayed from side to side with increasing frequency.