The 3:00 PM sunlight slanted through the coniferous forest, casting fine, golden speckles onto the surface of the sulfur spring.
Samantha was sprawled lazily across a warm rock, the tip of her tail stirring the spring water. Her ruby-like scales shimmered with varying depths of mysterious light as the ripples danced.
Before her eyes...
...several small toys made of metal were engaged in a fierce, clattering battle.
The most numerous were the humans, their slender silhouettes formed from a few metal strips. Then there was a 'Red Dragon,' crafted with more detail, appearing as if cast from a single piece of metal with a layer of red paint-like substance plated on its surface.
Without exception...
...they all bore tiny Alchemy Runes that provided them with energy, allowing them to move.
Under Samantha's enthusiastic command, the 'Red Dragon' and the 'Human Legion' were locked in a desperate struggle.
The powerful 'Red Dragon' soared through the sky, sweeping aside the humble, tiny, and pathetic humans.
Fairy Dragon Vera, coated in gold powder, played the role of the Human Legion's 'Gold Dragon Ally.'
Whenever the pathetic Human Legion was on the brink of annihilation and in dire straits...
...the 'Gold Dragon' Vera would appear to engage the 'Red Dragon' in a heated battle.
This was a new hobby the two had recently picked up.
Ever since being inspired by Garros last time...
...Samantha had become more serious and focused on studying Alchemy. Although her level of diligence still couldn't compare to Garros, she no longer acted like an ordinary Red Dragon.
At the very least, she was no longer lazy; she would consciously and autonomously delve into her Legacy knowledge to study.
In her spare time...
...besides Alchemy, she would also exercise her body.
As the time she spent with Garros grew...
...though Samantha was a bit slow, she gradually realized that Garros's strength seemed to come from his non-stop, almost self-torturing training day and night.
That wasn't just a hobby.
She couldn't push herself to Garros's extent.
But simply saying goodbye to laziness and doing daily exercise allowed her growth to surpass that of an ordinary Red Dragon.
Ordinary dragons could also make progress and grow through training.
Especially for Dragonkin like Red Dragons who were known for their physical prowess; it was just that her rate of growth wasn't as high as Garros's.
Additionally...
...Samantha's Alchemy had improved by a level, allowing her to manufacture some simple, moving little things.
She had become increasingly keen on manipulating these little toys for games, and she looked down on Fairy Dragon Vera's childish behavior of playing with ants.
Not long after...
...the Faerie Dragon traded the requirement of addressing Samantha as the 'Great Red Dragon Queen' every time they met for the right to play the new game with her.
"Stupid Metallic Dragon, as a noble member of the Dragonkin, you actually allied with humans to deal with your own kind."
Samantha spoke in a low voice, manipulating the Red Dragon to pounce and kill the Human Legion:
"I will make you realize the painful consequences of making an enemy of a Red Dragon!"
The gold powder all over Fairy Dragon Vera's body shimmered in the sunlight.
She had cast an illusion on herself; at first glance, she looked exactly like a Gold Dragon, only her size was far too small.
"Evil Red Dragon Queen, you have committed every imaginable crime and are utterly heinous."
"I shall represent justice and bring you to judgment!"
The Faerie Dragon also pinched her throat to make her voice sound majestic and deep, solemnly meeting the enemy.
She sent the caught-off-guard 'Red Dragon' flying with a headbutt, leaving it sprawled on the ground, unable to get up.
At the same time, Samantha's ears twitched slightly.
She heard the sound of something approaching, which was why she had been distracted just now.
The familiar sound of wings breaking the air came from the distance, two sets in total, one after the other.
Samantha was very familiar with one of them, and then two dragon scents drifted in with the wind.
Similarly...
...Samantha was most familiar with one of them—a scent like steel yet also like blazing flames, smelling as if a Flame Monarch were seated upon an iron throne.
The other scent was much purer; it was the smell of an Iron Dragon, a scent of rust.
This rusty smell was somewhat unfamiliar at first.
But within that unfamiliarity, there was a faint, inexplicable sense of familiarity that left Samantha puzzled.
She lifted the Red Dragon's fierce and powerful head and looked toward the sky.
Two dragons came into view.
The formidable and strong black dragon silhouette soaring in front, tearing through the clouds, was one she knew all too well.
And behind Garros was another black dragon silhouette, its scales reflecting a dull, iron-gray luster in the sunlight, hard and cold.
"Samantha, look who I found."
Garros's figure swept over the treetops, the crimson scales on his wings looking like burning embers.
He folded his wings and perched before Samantha.
The other Iron Dragon landed somewhat staggeringly.
Samantha's eyes narrowed, like a feline seeing bright light, her pupils turning into thin slits, her gaze filled with surprise: "Sorog?!"
The Iron Dragon's gaze sized up Samantha.
It was also somewhat surprised; it hadn't expected Samantha to be following Garros as well.
Red Dragons were the most arrogant of Dragonkin; they believed they were natural-born rulers, and from the moment of their birth, the purpose of other creatures' existence was to listen to their commands and bow before them.
Red Dragons preferred to travel alone rather than live in groups.
If they absolutely had to live with other dragons, the Red Dragon had to hold the dominant position.
Unless, through certain events or influences, their temperament had undergone a significant change.
"Samantha, my dear sister, long time no see."
The Iron Dragon bared its teeth and said with a grin.
It noticed Samantha's shiny, flawless scales and her robust body, adding, "It seems the food in the wilderness is quite good; you're much sturdier than when you were young."
Hearing these words...
...Samantha couldn't help but recall the words the Iron Dragon had used to belittle her when she was only a year old.
"Samantha! My foolish and weak sister, a frail Red Dragon like you will definitely not survive past your juvenile period. Swear fealty and surrender to the great Iron King; I will lead you to the pinnacle of the wilderness."
The Red Dragon snorted red-hot sparks from her nostrils.
She reached out a claw and poked her brother's mangled wing membrane, her gaze sweeping over his body, which was somewhat swollen from injuries, as she sneered in mockery.
"Yes, the food in the wilderness is indeed good—you've gotten so fat you can't even fly properly."
Sorog's smile stiffened for a moment.
But to Samantha's surprise...
...this Iron Dragon brother of hers didn't get angry or fly into a rage. It was as if he had experienced even greater humiliation before; his expression only stiffened for a second before becoming natural again.
"To be precise, I was beaten up by Ogres."
Sorog shrugged his dragon wings and said.
He chose to face his failure directly rather than escape reality.
It felt like punching cotton; she didn't get the reaction she wanted.
Samantha gave a light huff and looked toward Garros.
Garros elegantly folded his wings and said, "This 'Iron King' has decided to join us and become one of us. He will assist me in managing the territory and our followers."
Amidst the rising steam of the sulfur spring...
...the shadows of the three dragons intertwined on the rock wall.
Just like the scenes in their nest when they were young, except now, every scale bore the tempered marks of time.