Asking about a killing technique from another dragon's legacy like that was clearly presumptuous. Even someone as composed as Hidorivi was left somewhat at a loss for a while.
In the end, he refused.
Ferrum did not mind. After nodding in acknowledgment, he turned and left.
Only after returning to his lair and fully relaxing did Ferrum's expression finally change. The tiny bony spikes unique to a Chrome Dragon trembled faintly all over his body, while his scales flared open, releasing wisps of heat like a human drenched in sweat.
He released, one by one, the shock and pain he had forcibly suppressed during the battle.
Thinking back on the fight, although Ferrum had appeared effortless, he had not truly been at ease.
After half a year, this was his second challenge against one of the powerful dragons in the group. Hidorivi's attacks had been as aggressive as fire. Both his strength and physique were exceptionally formidable, and the pressure he placed on Ferrum had been anything but insignificant.
The reason Ferrum had been able to win was not entirely due to superior strength. He had exhausted Hidorivi's stamina until Hidorivi could no longer hold on.
There had also been an element of luck in Ferrum's ability to evade that terrifying killing blow at the end.
"Phew..."
The Chrome Dragon drew in a huge amount of air with a long breath, then exhaled it as slowly as possible.
Even so, he did not belittle himself. Compared with his crushing defeat half a year ago, whether he won or lost this time, he had fought Hidorivi until the very last moment.
That was progress.
Growth was not a race between a tortoise and a hare. Hidorivi would not stand still and wait for him. Half a year had passed, and that guy had become the second-strongest Iron Dragon, every movement carrying the bearing of a Higher Species.
Yet Ferrum had still caught up head-on.
After this battle, he had successfully established his position in Ochre Valley and formally entered the ranks of the dragon group's powerful members.
"...These Iron Dragons really hit hard."
Ferrum let out a low hiss, feeling the pain in his right wing.
It looked fine on the surface, neither broken nor bleeding. But after Hidorivi had seized it, twisted it, and snapped it, the entire wing bone had been broken. Ferrum held it tightly against his back.
Even with a Heavy-Metal Dragon's regenerative abilities, it would probably take a week to heal.
Still, he was ultimately suffering happily. Defeating Hidorivi had been a goal Ferrum had set half a year ago. Now that it had been accomplished, he naturally felt both exhilarated and fulfilled.
"Now it seems that burying myself in training alone won't do. I need to fight more of the other powerful dragons."
Ferrum lay curled up in his lair, thinking slowly. "Strength and reactions can be trained, but combat awareness, intuition, and instinct cannot be developed by climbing rocks and wading through water."
Jelierion lay coiled in the shadows of an abandoned mine, deep in thought.
He had not gone to watch the fight. Jelierion never watched other dragon hatchlings brawl. The gap between dragons was too great; as the strongest among the Iron Dragons, most hatchling battles looked like childish play to him.
Rather than waste energy on childish play, Jelierion preferred to coil up and spend his time studying and contemplating his legacy.
He had an excellent younger brother, Hidorivi Ember Scar, the second-strongest among the dragon hatchlings after himself.
This younger brother carefully selected opponents for him. Only those who defeated Hidorivi qualified to challenge Jelierion, yet so far, not a single hatchling had managed it.
But today seemed to be an exception.
Jelierion stared at his brother's body. Hidorivi looked as though he had been judged by blades, wounds crisscrossing his body like ravines. Some unknown violence had sliced through his iron scales, leaving fissures deep enough to expose bone.
The torn muscles and tendons stabbed at Jelierion's eyes like daggers. The scales on his face twitched faintly, revealing a trace of genuine anger.
Yet although Hidorivi seemed somewhat listless, his expression remained calm. He had openly admitted his defeat earlier, and now he appeared equally unconcerned by these injuries.
"How did you lose?"
Jelierion asked bluntly. Iron Dragons had no need for consolation, and the brothers had no need for empty courtesies between them.
Hidorivi reclined beside him, licking the blood from his body as he recalled and described the battle. His voice was calm and unhurried, offering as many details as possible, from beginning to end without omission.
Jelierion narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, as if the exchanges were replaying across his own body.
Only when he heard that Hidorivi had used a killing move and his opponent had teleported away without warning did the scales on Jelierion's brow gradually furrow. His expression became grave, as though he had encountered a puzzle he could not immediately solve.
"By the end, the outcome was already decided. Then he suddenly said he wanted to learn Wedge Form. That really caught me off guard."
Hidorivi thought for a moment, then smiled. "These Chrome Dragons are rather lively."
Jelierion smiled as well, though his smile was noticeably colder. "Dream on."
"I refused at the time too, but thinking about it now, there is no reason not to. If he wants to learn, then teach him."
Hidorivi pulled fragments of scales from his body, then lifted his head toward a corner. "Leijie, you go."
"I..."
Leijieduolei, crouched in the corner, hesitated. After that battle, Hidorivi was covered in wounds, as if he had been cut by countless blades. Leijieduolei himself had also been beaten up by Moqi, and the thought of it left him frustrated and furious.
But now Hidorivi seemed entirely unconcerned with the defeat and openly wanted to deliver the killing technique to the Chrome Dragon himself. Naturally, Leijieduolei could not understand it. He was both unwilling and unconvinced.
However, his two elder brothers had been powerful from birth, mature and wise from an early age. Over their daily interactions, they had long established immense authority. Before them, Leijieduolei had no room to speak at all.
Even if he was a hundred times unwilling, he did not dare make a sound now.
"It's only a Chrome Dragon. So what if he beat you? Are you going to try to win him over instead?"
Fortunately, the eldest, Jelierion, spoke up. "Rest for a while. Let that Chrome Dragon rest for a while too. After some time, I'll go find him and pin him to the ground to vent your anger."
"That isn't quite it."
Hidorivi shook his head. "His technique is very good. It is clearly a secret art from his legacy, and it follows the path of explosive power. It has great reference value for us. Trading Wedge Form for it would not be a loss."
Jelierion, who was lying coiled up, narrowed his eyes and was just about to speak.
But Hidorivi continued, "We are still far from Ladon. That monster can no longer be described as a dragon hatchling. If you truly wish to challenge an Archaic Species, then you must do everything possible to increase your strength."
"Since we have discovered that the Chrome Dragon possesses such a secret art and can trade for it, we should not let the opportunity pass."
Jelierion fell silent. Leijie in the corner did not dare say anything either, and for a time, the mine was quiet except for the faint sound of teeth grinding.
After a while of silence, Hidorivi finally turned to look at Leijieduolei, who had been quietly grinding his teeth. "Leijie, I told you to find Ferrum. Do you have something to say?"
"...Yes."
Leijie finally had a chance to speak. Gathering his courage, he said, "I... I don't want to go."
"Why?" Hidorivi asked.
"Your reason is that he possesses a secret art worth trading for, which is why you want to contact and win him over. But while Heavy-Metal Dragons with secret arts in their legacy are not many, there are not few of them either. Must we seek each of them out to trade?"
Leijie objected, "If we give away Wedge Form now, will we have to give away Chain Form and Axe Form in the future as well?"
Hidorivi tilted his head, seemingly finding the question baffling. "So what?"
"The dragon hatchlings of Ochre Valley are all family members. In the future, they will become our arms."
Even Jelierion, the eldest, said, "As long as they are loyal to the family, there is no need to keep such things hidden."
Leijieduolei thought for a long time, then lowered his head.
"But I still do not want to see that Chrome Dragon..."
He spoke softly. "That guy sounded perfectly calm when he spoke, but I feel like he looks down on me. I do not want to humiliate myself."
"Heh."
Jelierion gave a cold laugh. "Do you think we look up to you?"
"It's different."
Leijie argued, "We are all Iron Dragons. You two brothers are powerful, and you both bear the name Ember Scar. If you look down on me, I can accept it. But he is a Chrome Dragon, a Lower Species who does not even know where his parents are, born to serve as a blade for us. What right does he have to look down on me?"
Jelierion and Hidorivi exchanged a glance. They were much larger than Leijieduolei, and the shifting light in the mine made their faces appear equally uncertain between brightness and shadow.
A soundless silence.
After a long time, Hidorivi finally spoke. In an unusually chilling tone, he said slowly and clearly, "You truly are an utterly hopeless fool."
Leijieduolei was completely stunned. Though they had all been born from the same clutch, the differences in talent, temperament, and strength meant that his two elder brothers had always looked down on him somewhat. Leijieduolei knew that.
But he had never heard his brothers judge him like this, their words containing immense disappointment, contempt, and disdain.
"Our god is dead. The ability of Heavy-Metal Dragons to grant Dragon Legacy to their descendants is rapidly degenerating. Much important history, knowledge, and secret arts have been lost as a result. Perhaps in a few hundred years, we will completely lose the Dragon Legacy and become an inferior breed of Lesser Dragons that merely resemble metal."
"Chromatic Dragons and Exotic Dragons fear our resurgence. Even now, they continue to hunt the powerful Heavy-Metal Dragons of the Star-Sea Realms. Metallic Dragons are no longer our allies either, coldly watching the catastrophe our Heavy-Metal Dragon race has endured."
Hidorivi looked at Leijieduolei, nearly enunciating each word. "As Iron Dragons, we are born with the duty of reviving our race. Every Iron Dragon across the realms struggles through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, climbing step by step with claw and fang, hoping to become a new Supreme, seize divine authority once more, turn the tide with unmatched power, and restore the Heavy-Metal Dragon race to its supreme glory."
His gaze was sharp as a blade. Leijieduolei avoided his brother's eyes, not even daring to meet them.
"What we discuss is power, and what we pursue is power. It is the only thing capable of saving Iron Dragons and the Heavy-Metal Dragon race. Yet when we speak of how to gain power, you come to us talking about your bloodline."
"You are a pure-blooded Iron Dragon, yes. You bear the name Ember Scar, yes. But so what? Once you reach the outside world, you will find that Chromatic Dragons and Exotic Dragons do not care who you are. They only want to peel your skin and drink your blood. Even those Short-lived Species dare slit your throat with a knife while you sleep."
"You say that Chrome Dragon looks down on you. Why should he think highly of you? If that had not been play just now, but a fight to the death, you would already have died at his claws twice over, reduced to a heap of flesh rotting in the dirt. Should he respect a corpse lying on the ground?"
"Look at what you have been doing, Leijieduolei Ember Scar. Every day, you mingle with those Nickel Dragons, climb to the mountaintop, roll down like pigs, and swagger about in crowds bullying Lesser Dragons. You have disgraced us Iron Dragons completely, yet you are still agonizing over whether a Chrome Dragon respects you."
Hidorivi's face twitched as he revealed a savage expression. "If I hear you say such stupid things again, I will crush every bone in your body."
Before you continue