Strength and Ambition

Jose closed his eyes, consciously gathering the surrounding fire elementals and guiding them into his heart.

Half an hour later, he suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils filled with surprise. His heart felt like a bottomless pit, absorbing a massive amount of fire elementals without any change.

No change was the biggest change. His intuition told him he was on the right track, so he continued to guide fire elementals into his heart.

A day passed, and his heart felt slightly warm.

Three days passed, and his heart felt like a hand warmer in winter, but it was far from reaching its limit.

A week passed, and Jose felt his entire body burning hot, as if he were on fire.

At this point, he was close to his limit. He stopped absorbing fire elementals and opened his eyes, seeing the flames dancing on his body.

"They're really burning!"

Mirror Image!

Mirror Image could create a perfect replica of the caster. Although the mirror image had no physical form, it could perform various actions, making it difficult to distinguish from the real one by sight alone.

This magic was generally used to disrupt an enemy's judgment, but in special circumstances, it could also be used as a mirror.

Just like now, Jose watched his mirror image with amazement.

The mirror image was clad in a fiery aura like a phoenix. The air around the crimson flames was distorted by the intense heat. Compared to the distortion above lava, the temperature on his body was likely even higher.

There was also a small, sun-like golden-yellow area on his chest. Originating from the sun, irregular golden cracks spread outwards, covering his entire left pectoral muscle, appearing mysterious and dangerous.

"The appearance is quite cool. I wonder how effective it actually is."

After a series of experiments, Jose was ecstatic.

"Excellent!"

Jose left the underground lava cave and returned to the dragon's lair. At this moment, the flames on his body and the golden sun on his chest had all vanished. The violent fire elemental energy was locked within the [Phoenix Heart], leaking not even a trace.

He lay on the ground, lost in thought. His eyes, in the dim cave, resembled two burning fireballs, fueled by ambition.

All intelligent beings with self-awareness possessed ambition, differing only in its magnitude.

A kindergarten child performing well in hopes of receiving an extra candy from the teacher was ambition. A corporate employee working diligently for a promotion and raise was ambition. A leader meticulously planning to accumulate more wealth was also ambition.

Jose had always harbored ambition, and it was considerable. If his strength allowed, he wouldn't mind holding the entire world in his grasp.

However, when his familiar suggested attacking the Graytail Centaur Tribe and seizing their accumulated wealth, he refused.

This was because he understood a fundamental principle: ambition needed the support of strength; otherwise, it would only lead to ruin.

In the past, he lacked the strength to conquer a medium-sized centaur tribe.

But now, he had it.

After careful consideration, Jose abandoned the idea of annexing the Graytail Centaur Tribe.

The power dynamics on the Great Prairie were complex, and it was possible the Graytail Centaurs had powerful backing. Even though he was no longer the same as before, his identity was sensitive. Before understanding the opponent's comprehensive strength, including their network of connections, it was best not to act rashly.

"Develop low-key, no reckless plays!"

Moreover, there were plenty of delicious, weak, and easily obtainable prey nearby – the indigenous tribes of the forest.

Conquering prey didn't always require force; persuasion, temptation, and intimidation could all achieve the goal. The ability to use one's brain was perhaps the biggest difference between Jose and other red dragons.

He recalled the distribution of forces introduced by his familiars. Kobolds, gnolls, and goblins were the main inhabitants of this region.

Many of the surrounding kobolds had split off from the Bloodtooth Tribe. Under the oppression of external races like the gnolls, they still maintained some connections with each other, and he could try to win them over. Goblins were very weak and lacked organized tribes. The only troublesome ones were the gnolls.

Nearby was a medium-sized gnoll tribe called Mosshide. Before the Bloodtooth Tribe split, the Mosshide Gnolls were fierce rivals of the Bloodtooth Kobolds. Having stood their ground for decades, they were likely on par with the Graytail Centaur Tribe, perhaps even stronger.

However, there were several buffer zones between the Mosshide Gnoll Tribe and the Bloodtooth Tribe, so he didn't need to worry about them for now.

Jose's mind stirred, and through the mental connection of the Familiar Contract, he checked what his familiars were doing.

Through visual sharing, he saw Ergou directing kobolds to climb trees and pick pinecones. The kobolds, with their clawed fingers and toes and light weight, climbed trees with incredible speed.

Pinecones were thrown down, landing on the soft soil. Young kobolds scurried beneath the trees, picking up the pinecones and placing them into woven vine baskets. Three kobold warriors armed with spears stood guard around the gathering team.

"Looks like the efficiency is quite good."

His gaze shifted to Sorda. The muscular kobold leader was drilling warriors in the cave.

On a spacious training ground, selected kobold warriors sparred with each other using cloth-wrapped spears, each blow delivered without mercy, causing their opponents to grimace in pain.

At the edge of the training ground, new kobold recruits practiced thrusting their spears at wooden stakes.

All of this was progress brought about by ample food. In the past, kobolds busy with survival had no time for training.

Jose nodded repeatedly as he watched. Both his familiars were fulfilling his will admirably: hoarding provisions and sharpening their weapons.

"Come to my residence."

Upon receiving the message, Sorda immediately put down what he was doing. Not long after, he arrived at the red dragon's cave.

"Master."

"Sorda, I heard that many kobolds split off from the Bloodtooth Tribe decades ago. Now, do you have the confidence to gather them all back?"

Sorda lowered his head and pondered for a moment before looking up. "Yes, thanks to you, Master. The Bloodtooth Tribe has found new mineral deposits, has ample stored food, and most importantly, has you, the Great One, overseeing us. I am confident I can persuade them, but..."

"Just what? Speak directly."

Sorda guiltily looked up at Jose. "Master, the leaders of those tribes are not weaker than me. I'm a bit worried I won't be able to keep them in line."

Jose smiled faintly. After observing for more than ten days, while not enough to see through a sentient being completely, he had gained a better understanding.

Of his two familiar brothers, Ergou was intelligent but easily satisfied, while Sorda, as the leader, was competitive and power-hungry.

Any animal with independent will had its own selfish desires. Jose wasn't so narrow-minded as to lack the capacity to tolerate this. On the contrary, he believed desire provided motivation, and it was good for his familiars to be competitive.

"If you can persuade them to join, you will be the greatest contributor. I support you becoming the Great Chieftain."

Sorda's face lit up. "Thank you, Master."

"Right, what's the situation with my brother now?"

"Lord Kashi dug a pond in Living Area Number Five and then fell into a deep sleep. He only came out once to eat."

"Is there any pressure on the meat supply?"

Each of the two True Dragons consumed half their body weight in food during each meal, roughly four to five thousand pounds of meat. Even if they only ate once every ten days, that still required hunting four to five hundred pounds of meat daily on average. For the Bloodtooth Tribe, with a population of only a few hundred, this was no small task.

"Please don't worry, Master. There are many roe deer, deer, and wild boars in the mountains, and the Bloodtooth warriors are brave and fearless."

He paused, and Sorda's brow furrowed slightly. "However, Master, winter is coming in two months. I'm worried the heavy snow will block the mountain passes, and our warriors won't be able to find enough prey."

After speaking, Sorda looked ashamed. As a familiar, his master had helped solve his tribe's food crisis, yet he himself couldn't hunt enough blood food for his master.

Jose pondered, stroking his chin. "Perhaps we could stockpile a large amount of fodder and capture some young herbivorous beasts to develop animal husbandry."