"You, actually."
Alberto stared at the brass-silver dragon and demanded, "A Brass Dragon mixed with a Silver Dragon—why are you here consorting with the fiend dragons?! Even joining them in attacking your own kin—were you coerced, or seduced into this?"
Seeing reinforcent from kin that turned out to be a backstabber.
The gold dragon who had been ambushed was in no mood to be pleasant.
"Hey! Stinky, overbearing gold dragon, what the hell are you screeching about here?!"
The instant Alberto's words fell, a sharp voice laced with provocation rang out. The faerie dragon Vira shot in front of Deborah.
Her colorful wings beat rapidly; her tiny, delicate body straightened with effort, claws on hips, striking a haughty pose.
"Look closely—this is the convergence lands, the territory of our Ignas Dragon Cluster!"
"You have no right to let your stinky foreign dragon self run wild here! If you dare speak to us in that tone again, if you dare put on that vile face—"
Vira's voice shot higher, revealing pointed teeth. "Be careful or Lady Vira will stuff your noble gold dragon backside full of explosive fruits and let you taste so serious heat."
Dinsional dragons... this land truly hid dangerous and remarkable beasts.
Before seeing it himself, he could hardly have imagined that this borderland, considered desolate, could gather so many differently shaped dragons with such unique bloodlines.
He drew a deep breath and steadied himself.
He did not get angry at the faerie dragon's taunt; he simply kept his gaze on the brass-silver dragon, waiting for her reply.
Under Alberto's scrutiny, Deborah furrowed the skin above her brow and said coldly:
"Alberto, put away your prejudice and try using that brain you have—less sensible than a hundred other dragons—to think carefully."
"What kind of fiend dragon can take a land that was originally chaotic and survival-of-the-fittest and govern it in an orderly way, building stable systems?"
"What kind of fiend dragon, when holding absolute advantage, would choose to show rcy instead of wrenching the head off your skull filled with 'conquest' and 'order' and smashing it to pieces?"
Deborah's words were sharp and pressing.
She left not a shred of face for Alberto, the noble gold dragon.
Alberto was left speechless, utterly silenced.
Deborah did not pause for his silence.
She looked down at his battered gold kin below and snorted through her nostrils.
"From where I stand, it's you—who barged into another's territory and used force to fabricate reasons for extortion and plunder—who looks more like a fiend dragon in golden scales!"
As Alberto's throat worked, instinctively readying a defense for his motives and actions,
Deborah, as if reading his thoughts, cut him off sharply before he could speak: "Save your excuses."
"We're all tal dragons. I know what you're thinking."
"You are nothing more than a prospect for wealth accumulation on this land, or soone coveting the land itself as it blossoms."
"Thus you manufacture grand-sounding reasons—those 'innocent' river beasts, our 'evil' rule—as a pretext to topple the existing lord of this place, and then conveniently take everything for yourself!"
"Am I right?!"
The gold dragon Alberto breathed violently, his fractured chest heaving.
He was silent for a few seconds, then said, "You're not wrong, but I don't see anything wrong with that."
He turned to the red iron dragon and stated unequivocally, "My only mistake was underestimating the strength of this land's lord, and being too proud to start a fight without knowing the facts."
Alberto was an intensely self-centered gold dragon.
He would not be swayed by Deborah's words.
From the perspective around Deborah, Garoth had grown up amid prejudice and discrimination yet had not acquiesced or been warped; he fought injustice with a positive, upward spirit.
But from the gold dragon's, or more broadly the bystanders' view,
the Iron King of the Molten Iron Tribe was an undisputedly oppressive fiend dragon—an iron-blooded dictator ruling the convergence lands.
"Alberto... your thoughts are not without reason."
"From what you just said, I can feel your domineering intent; I understand your ambition."
The red iron dragon suddenly spoke, saying, "Such heartfelt truth not being recognized shows precisely that this world has many diocre people and few who are clear-sighted."
Alberto's golden dragon pupils contracted briefly; his massive body shivered.
Unexpected!
Completely unexpected!
The red iron dragon who had defeated him and pinned him down...
at this mont not only did not mock his arrogance or sha his failure,
but actually recognized a path that countless kin had denounced as heretical and extre?
Few—no, almost no dragon—had ever so bluntly validated his way.
In an instant, the oppressive red iron dragon before him beca strangely appealing in Alberto's eyes; even the pains from broken bones and flipped scales seed to lessen.
"We may have a bit of a misunderstanding."
Alberto nodded earnestly, then said, "You are a mixed-blood fiend dragon, but I can feel you are different from other brutish, savage fiend dragons—you have unique insight and understanding."
Sensing the reduction of hostility from the gold dragon,
Garoth barely perceptibly nodded.
Accustod for years to being unrecognized and surrounded by doubt and reproach,
Alberto pretended not to care about other dragons' attitudes, but he also longed for acceptance; the more heretical and obstinate he was, the more he craved recognition at his core.
[Dragon Taming Technique · Gold Dragon Volu]
[Gold Dragons are traditional and stubborn; accepting that they are unrecognized can make them view you differently]
However, Alberto's case was special; whether this applies to other gold dragons remained to be proven... Garoth thought inwardly.
Through Deborah's words and Alberto's own speech and behavior,
Garoth had already sensed that this gold dragon differed from typical gold dragons—sowhat heretical, possibly misaligned with his faction—which ant there was a chance to recruit him.
Regardless of Alberto's temperant,
his innate identity as a gold dragon—symbolizing justice and order—served as an extrely valuable shield.
If he could bind a gold dragon to the Molten Iron Tribe's war chariot and let him charge into battle, the results for the tribe's cause would be outstanding.
The Oath of Conquest Alberto had sworn could be used to carry out Garoth's conquests.
The Crown Oath could be used to guard the Iron King's crown; paladins who swore the most Crown Oaths were already guardians of royal courts.
If he successfully recruited Alberto,
with a double-oath golden saint dragon's might, there was no doubt Alberto would beco Garoth's primary "fearso general."
As for the brass-silver dragon,
Garoth still relied on the magical dicines and tools of old silver father Edri; unless she herself requested to be sent, Deborah would be kept from the front lines and assigned tasks more fitting for defending the rear.
"Misunderstanding..."
The red iron dragon's massive head dipped slightly, as if weighing the heft of that word.
Then his deep voice broke the brief silence: "I don't deny that."
His gaze turned to the young gold dragon; the understanding in his eyes slowly withdrew.
"Alberto, defeated one, let's discuss compensation now."
To recruit did not an indulgence without principle!
Dealing with an arrogant and self-important gold dragon required firmness. Only by making him pay would he recognize boundaries, and any subsequent "collaboration" might be built on a stable footing.
"I can return the wealth taken from your stronghold."
Alberto bit his teeth and said.
Making a dragon disgorge wealth already swallowed into his hoard was like cutting a piece of flesh from a dragon's heart, but he knew he was at fault and had to part with it.
"I will return in full the wealth that rightfully belongs to the Molten Iron Tribe."
"Then we'll pretend nothing happened?"
"Where in the world are there such easy, good deals?"
The red iron dragon fixed his gaze on the young gold dragon and enurated the offenses.
"First, due to your unilateral provocation that sparked this battle, you caused significant damage to my Molten Iron Tribe's territory—land torn, riverbanks collapsed, territory hard."
"The repair costs must be borne by you."
"Second, your previous unrestrained intimidation and extortion of my people have terrified those poor weak children, who can no longer sleep from fear and have suffered serious collective psychological trauma, directly affecting our normal trade order and wasting precious ti to earn wealth."
"That loss must also be compensated by you!"
"Finally, acts of looting and extortion seriously violate the laws and rules of the convergence lands and require punishnt."
"Based on all of the above, Alberto, you must pay punitive compensation."
Hearing this, Alberto's tail tensed; his eyes resisted.
"Red iron dragon, don't go too far." The scales at his neck glowed faintly as he stated resolutely, "If I decide to retreat, you cannot stop ."
To prevent this stubborn offspring from committing so evil deed,
the protective spell-inscribed scales left by his elder could be used three tis and were not highly offensive—mainly defensive and speed-boosting. Though it would waste a usage, he was confident he could use it to break through the encirclent.
"Retreat... is obviously cowardice."
The red dragon Samantha snorted sparks from her nostrils and chuckled.
The proud gold dragon shot Samantha a glare and ignored her words.
The path to conquest would never be smooth.
To wear the crown is to bear its weight.
He had long foreseen that the journey to realize his dragonlife's value would be fraught with hardship, thorns and mud; he would not be disheartened by a montary setback.
A few fiend dragons slowly advanced, circling the gold dragon.
The atmosphere stiffened again; Alberto prepared to activate his spell-inscribed scales at a mont's notice.
Then the red iron dragon waved a claw, signaling his companions to relax.
Seeing this, the gold dragon's pupils contracted once more.
Those fiend dragons—who should have been arrogant, ferocious, at odds and untamable—stopped their pressing steps at a single gesture from the red iron dragon and calmly halted, only staring coldly at Alberto.
Then,
Garoth's gaze studied the gold dragon carefully, as if reassessing him, and a subtle, inscrutable smile twitched at the corner of his mouth.
"I am not a petty dragon."
Garoth's voice suddenly grew unusually calm and generous.
"The rule violations and damage you caused in the convergence lands are essentially trivial matters."
He said, "Since you ignore rules and refuse punishnt and act like a fiend dragon, I don't mind overlooking this affair; I could even treat you as an ally."
Hearing these friendly words, the gold dragon's expression changed.
"All beings must bear the cost of breaking rules."
Alberto said in a deep voice.
The red iron dragon waved off his concern: "Let's end it here, brother gold. This was rely an insignificant misunderstanding."
The gold dragon stubbornly shook his head.
"No—you must punish !" he said with absolute firmness.
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