Mining

Iron Dragon Mother glanced at the two foolish dragonlings staring blankly at each other.

From Garos's words and expression, she understood his intentions.

However, Iron Dragon Mother had no intention of stopping him.

Regarding conflicts between her offspring, she would not intervene in ordinary bullying or oppression unless it involved life and death.

Besides.

The two dragonlings ate and drank her supplies day after day, wandering around the territory once they were full without doing any proper work; it was high time they did something useful.

As for the matter of driving hatchlings or dragonlings to mine for her.

Iron Dragon Mother could not bring herself to do it; while she was evil and cold, she also strictly adhered to her own code of conduct.

However, it was reasonable and appropriate for Garos to do it.

"The problem is, your 'mine slaves' also live under my protection."

Iron Dragon Mother's eyes gleamed as she gently swayed her tail.

Under her gaze, the Red Iron Dragonet immediately said, "I will provide you with an additional ten-pound piece of precious metal ore every month."

"Very well."

After a few seconds of silent contemplation, Iron Dragon Mother nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Mother. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave."

"Go, and do what you must."

Garos turned and walked toward the two dragonlings, stopping in front of them.

"Samantha, Gordon."

As he spoke the names of the Red Dragon Sister and the Iron Dragon Brother, Garos narrowed his eyes and said, "Follow me."

Both dragons looked vigilant and did not move.

"What do you want?"

They asked.

"Naturally, I want you to mine for me."

Garos grinned.

"Why should we!"

The two dragonlings refused with intense tones, finally realizing that the mine slaves Garos had mentioned earlier were, in fact, them.

"Because I am stronger than you."

Before the words had even faded, Garos lunged at the dragon brother and sister.

Boom!

With a massive dragon charge, he slammed directly into the Iron Dragon Brother.

Dense sparks erupted where their scales collided. Garos's armor was sturdy and remained intact, while a large patch of scales on the Iron Dragon Brother cracked and even shattered, his entire body slamming into the metallic cave wall with a dull thud.

The Red Dragon Sister had just reacted.

Garos twisted his waist and spun around, his thick, long tail—covered in blade-like scales—whipping through the air with a piercing whistle.

Boom!

The dragon tail struck the Red Dragon Sister's shoulder with immense force, tearing through a layer of her scales upon contact before sending her flying like a discarded sack.

"If you won't listen, I will beat you until you do."

Garos lifted his chin, looking down at the two dragonlings he had just knocked over.

"You bastard Garos, we'll show you what we're made of!"

The ferocity of the two dragonlings was ignited. Their tough, strong draconic bodies allowed them to withstand Garos's previous attacks as if they were nothing.

With a roar, they lunged at Garos from left and right.

With a one-year age gap, it was difficult to win a two-on-one fight under normal circumstances.

However.

Unlike Garos, the Red Dragon Sister and the Iron Dragon Brother lacked the conscious drive to train at a young age. Like the vast majority of dragonlings, they believed that by growing up step-by-step, they would eventually become overlords, so they remained lazily content and neglected their training.

But Garos.

After realizing that dragons were not absolute overlords and that the world was actually fraught with danger, he began to consciously train to strengthen himself.

"Heh, let me teach you a lesson."

Garos rolled his neck and met the two dragonlings.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of dull thuds from flesh colliding echoed incessantly.

Just three minutes later.

The two dragonlings lay sprawled on the ground, bellies up as if they had passed out. They were covered in the marks of Garos's beating; their scales were missing in patches, they had lost a few teeth, and even their horns were crooked.

As for Garos, not a single scale had fallen off.

Aside from some dust, his most significant injury was on his forearm, where the Red Dragon Sister had bitten him viciously. But because Garos's scales were exceptionally thick and hard, the Red Dragon Sister had bitten until her teeth ached, only managing to barely pierce his scales and leave a row of small indentations without even drawing a drop of blood.

There was still a layer of dragon hide beneath the scales.

Before the Red Dragon Sister could reach the hide, Garos had grabbed her by the horns and beaten her senseless.

"My dear Garos, I look forward to your future performance."

Iron Dragon Mother flicked her tail with a crisp sound, indicating that she was quite satisfied with Garos's performance.

In truth.

She had always appreciated Garos. This hybrid dragon possessed greater innate talent than normal dragons, and he was exceptionally serious and persistent in his pursuit of power, showing great potential to become a great evil dragon.

Appreciation was one thing.

But Iron Dragon Mother was not willing to raise Garos for nothing.

However, now that Garos was trading treasure for food and protection, Iron Dragon Mother was quite happy to witness his gradual growth.

As for the two dragonlings who had been beaten so miserably.

Iron Dragon Mother felt no pity; instead, she felt they should reflect more on their own shortcomings.

"Thank you for your concern, Mother."

Garos replied, then grabbed the tails of the Red Dragon Sister and the Iron Dragon Brother, dragging them out of Iron Dragon Mother's lair.

The two dragonlings had been knocked unconscious by Garos and were dead weight.

He flew to the lake in the center of the sinkhole while holding their tails and tossed them in.

Splash! Splash!

Countless water droplets scattered, shimmering with a crystalline luster under the moonlight.

Garos hovered in mid-air, wings flapping, watching the lake below.

After only a dozen seconds, two figures shot out of the water as if their tails were on fire, flying in different directions with tacit understanding, attempting to escape from Garos.

Garos flapped his dragon wings.

Under the cold moonlight, his pair of wings were long and wide, with a span of a full twelve meters—twice his body length. The wing membranes were incredibly tough, snapping loudly as they cut through the air, their edges as sharp as blades and gleaming with a cold, metallic luster.

Whoosh!

The sound of his wings slicing through the air was like a piercing, ear-splitting shriek.

In the blink of an eye, Garos caught up to the Red Dragon Sister, grabbed her tail with one claw, and swung her around, slamming her into the fleeing Iron Dragon Brother.

Boom!

Both dragonlings fell simultaneously, crashing into the ground and sending gravel and dust flying as cracks spread across the surrounding area.

"Still running? I gave you a three-second head start."

Garos folded his wings and landed in front of the two dragonlings.

The Red Dragon Sister and the Iron Dragon Brother both wore expressions of utter despair, not daring to defy Garos again.

Immediately, Garos brought them to the place where he often practiced "mountain-hitting."

His perception of metal minerals was sharp, and because he came here often, he had sensed the presence of metal ores, though they were buried very deep.

Pointing in a direction, Garos ordered them to start digging.

The two dragonlings were reluctant, but under the pressure of Garos's might, they yielded and began to dig obediently.

Clack! Clack!

The sound of dragon claws digging into rock echoed back and forth.

At the same time, Garos flew into the air again and again, then folded his wings, letting his heavy body free-fall to kiss the earth, smashing one deep pit after another into the surface.

This was a more intense training method than mountain-hitting.

—Earth-hitting.

If one failed to gauge the height correctly, there was a risk of crippling oneself, so Garos did not perform this training often.

But this "expulsion" by Iron Dragon Mother made Garos realize that he would eventually have to face danger alone, so he was even more eager to become strong.

The two dragonlings could not understand Garos's strange behavior, and while digging the mountain bitterly, they comforted themselves.

The Red Dragon Sister spat out a pebble and whispered, "Garos's brain isn't working right; he'll cripple himself sooner or later, and then we'll be free."

The Iron Dragon Brother had just used his horns to shatter a piece of hard rock.

Shaking the dust and gravel from his face, he chimed in, saying viciously, "Not just free—when that happens, we'll force him to find ore for us and dig for us!"

Thinking of the wonderful future where they would torment Garos and make him dig for treasure on their behalf.

The two dragonlings digging the mine didn't even feel tired anymore; the corners of their mouths curled into pleasant arcs, and their claws subconsciously began to dig even faster.