Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 114: Green Forest
Huh, the wind in the sky rolled up tiny air vortices under the flapping of the huge red dragon's wings. The strong wind also pressed down the thick branches of the forest that were entangled by ancient vines.

The red dragon landed on a low hill in the forest accompanied by a strong wind, then sniffed around, and found no other scent or traces of invasion and destruction. Then it folded its wings and climbed over the top of the hill.

The red dragon scratched the stone wall of the low mountain with its four claws, lifted up the densely packed vines covering the cliff, revealing a wide and deep cave, and then crawled in.

Caedilos is the name of this red dragon. He has now passed the most dangerous period of the life of a five-colored dragon, the hatchling period, which has the highest mortality rate, and has entered the youth period, which has the second highest mortality rate in the life of a dragon.

The former is because they are weak enough. Although dragons are naturally superior to most other races, young five-colored dragons can be easily defeated by well-coordinated elite adventurers equipped with sophisticated weapons.

Even some powerful supernatural beasts can treat ordinary five-colored dragon cubs as prey. The dragon's might cannot scare those wild monsters.

The youth stage is due to recklessness. In this stage when the dragon's strength reaches a leap, many five-colored dragons that have reached youth have extremely enhanced self-confidence and greed as their body size increases rapidly, as well as the strong aggressiveness that belongs to the five-colored dragon.

Most of the victims of the many dragon-slaying tragedies on the continent of Ekania are adolescent five-colored dragons. According to incomplete statistics from those bored human wizards, only about one-fifth of the five-colored dragons in each generation can survive past adolescence.

Among this one-fifth, black dragons that like to hide in swamps and blue dragons that live in groups in deserts account for the vast majority, and green dragons that only like to stay in their own forests and act as twisted gardeners also account for a portion.

Red dragons and white dragons have the highest mortality rate, far exceeding the proportion of the other three colored dragon species.

It's easy to guess the reason for the red dragon's death. The red dragon, who loved to be a bandit, would be defeated by the swarming dragon slayer teams and adventurers after invading several human towns. Then, without even seeing the princess, it would become a trading item in the market and a collection in other people's treasure houses.

The white dragon, a creature that even if it hides in those deserted glacier lands and likes to dig its home in remote corners of the glacier lands, its life seems too humble.

There will always be countless dragon hunting teams and adventurers looking for trouble with them, pulling them out of their sleeping caves, and then slaughtering the white dragons like pigs.

This kind of dragon not only failed to gain the respect of other true dragons, but was also despised by other races.

When the red dragon Caedilos was driven out of his nest by his dragon mother in his youth, he passed by a polar glacier area far away from the grassland, which was covered with ice and snow all year round.

He used his own reasoning to convince a teenage female white dragon and enslaved the dragon as a slave. His daily activities were to enjoy the white dragon's prey and body, and his life was very comfortable for a while.

If the climate of the glacier was not unsuitable for the growth of red dragons and would have a negative impact on them, Caedilos would have wanted to build a nest on the glacier.

"Tsk tsk," the red dragon Caedilos showed an obscene smile on his face that only a giant dragon could understand, and he smacked his lips. His body, which had just passed his adolescence and had grown to more than 18 meters, swayed involuntarily, obviously recalling something beautiful.

"What a pity for that obedient white dragon dog. I shouldn't have eaten her to replenish the energy consumed during her dormant period," Caedilos muttered to himself, with bits of flesh and blood from the prey still hanging on his white fangs.

Solitary dragons always have various quirks. The red dragon Kedelos likes to talk to himself, so he is considered to be a relatively mentally healthy dragon.

"But there is more than one female dragon in that dragon group. Lord Caedilos can't wait to enjoy their wonderful taste!" The red dragon's deep red eyes revealed a strong possessiveness.

Wandering solitary dragons are always more cautious than dragon families that live in groups. The red dragon Caedilos has also developed this habit during his years of wandering solitary life.

Whenever he sets up a nest in a place, he will not live there for more than three to five years. Once it exceeds three to five years, the breath of the red dragon will leave a strong mark in that place, making it easy to track.

But it has been six years since Kaidilos came to this place to build a nest. The red dragon, who should have abandoned his nest and left, changed his mind when he entered youth. He felt that his strength was strong enough for him to become the lord of this place.

He wanted to build a monster kingdom of his own, enslave all creatures he saw, exploit all slaves, and vent his animal desires on all females. This was the idea of most red dragons, and Caedilos was no exception.

However, before Caedilos could start his journey of conquest, his territory was invaded by other dragons.

The dragon territory belonging to Karon has expanded too fast in the past two years. In the past few years, Caedilos was still in his adolescence, so he was relatively low-key and did not border the dragon territory, so neither side discovered each other's information.

But now, Karon's dragon group has gradually expanded to the doorstep of the young red dragon Caedilos. Although a dragon does not need to sprinkle dragon urine on the edge of the territory to mark its territory, the black dragon Rosani and the white dragon Kamide have done this many times.

These two nasty guys marked the entire edge bordering the red dragon Caedilos's territory with the smell of urine.

Fortunately, the red dragon Caedilos's brain has not been completely filled with magma. When he occupied a territory in his adolescence, he did not dare to mark the territory carelessly, but tried his best to hide himself. How could these weak young dragons dare to come out alone to mark the territory.

The red dragon used his not-yet-fully-solidified brain to guess that there must be a family of giant dragons behind these young dragons. Perhaps behind the family of giant dragons was an adult blue dragon. Only those guys liked to pick up the eggs laid by giant dragons of various colors, hatch them, and then raise them up.

But in his subsequent observations, he found that the most powerful dragon in this dragon group was just an adolescent blue dragon. As the leader, the blue dragon was quite diligent and would fly over the dragon group's territory every few days to patrol their territory.

Among the scents that marked the territory, the scent of this adolescent blue dragon was the most intense, which proved Caedilos's idea.

"Tsk, let's observe for a few more days. If we are sure that the leader of that group of dragons is the weak blue dragon, then this group of dragons is not worthy of occupying such a vast territory. They should all become powerful red dragons and vassals of me, Caedilos. Only great red dragons are worthy of owning those beautiful and coquettish female dragons and that fertile territory."

The red dragon Caedilos still maintained the caution of a solitary evil dragon. He narrowed his eyes quietly and muttered, "Should I challenge that weak blue dragon directly and become their leader, or should I just rush in and knock them all down? Let me think about how to act more majestically and show the demeanor of Caedilos, the great red dragon!"

The red dragon smacked his lips, and his mind jumped to the dilemma of which female dragon to go after first.

"Even so, I won't take the risk easily. It is very dangerous to rashly enter other planes," Charon shook his head. Although dragons are naturally good at adapting to the world, they will hardly be severely suppressed or affected when entering other planes.

But Charon never thought that dragons were invincible. What's more, he was just a young dragon with a lot of room for growth and a bright future. There was no need to take risks for some lost magical knowledge. The benefits gained were not proportional to the risks faced.

If the benefits were far greater than the risks, Karon might have considered it for three more seconds before refusing, but now, Karon rejected the opinion of the squinty-eyed wizard Xiuser without even thinking about it.

"Karon, we certainly won't ask you to rashly enter those powerful, dangerous planes. In fact, we have mastered the coordinates of many planes based on some historical relics we have recovered."

"After our sorting and analysis, the planes represented by these plane coordinates have been roughly recorded and divided into danger levels. We will first explore the planes with the lowest energy level, and we can also share this knowledge with you."

The wizard Xiusser began to talk. The red dragon is a natural conqueror with an endless desire to conquer. Although Charon is not driven by the will of the red dragon, the instinct of desire always exists, unless Charon is not a red dragon.

"And the first target of our exploration was chosen specifically for you, Caron," Xiusier tried to open his narrowed eyes wide, trying to show his sincerity.
"We named this plane 'Green Forest'. Due to the restrictions of the Green Forest native plane, this plane has almost never produced a strong person like the Saint level since the Magic Empire explored it. It belongs to the lowest level of energy and danger among all the plane coordinates."

"In theory, you mages can easily explore such a plane. You have quite a few high-level mages, so you can do whatever you want in that plane. The high-level mages shouldn't be under much suppression," Karon narrowed his eyes slightly and found a loophole in the mage's words.

The squinting wizard shook his head and said, "Although that plane is very small and its strength is average, almost all of the land on the plane is covered with dense forests. The number of natives in the forest is almost endless. Those natives are all variants of the original elves born from the plane, and their strength in the forest has also been increased to a certain extent."

"With such a terrifying number, even a high-level mage would be killed by sharp arrows and spears coming from nowhere if he is not careful. After all, a mage's magic power is not infinite, and his mental strength will also be depleted."

Karon nodded. This situation was indeed very troublesome. Even if a Saint-level wizard went there, it would be useless if he could kill hundreds or thousands of indigenous creatures with one spell. Unless he had the power to suppress the entire plane, the endless consumption would be enough to cause these wizards a lot of trouble.

In such a situation, dragons and their minions have a great advantage. As long as the dragon's minions are covered with fine iron armor, they can slowly sweep away the indigenous residents one by one. With the blessing of the spells of these mages, they don't need to be afraid of the spellcasters born among the indigenous residents.

As for the dragon, if it was really as the wizard said, the arrival of the dragon would be no different from the arrival of a war machine. The scales on Kalon's body were so defensive that even his own claws had to expend a lot of effort to cause damage, and this was because the dragon's attack was naturally endowed with the same magical properties as its bloodline.

Moreover, the surface protection of the red dragon is not just the layer of scales that look like works of art, but also an elemental protection layer and a spell shield, which are the qualities that a dragon that delve into magic should have.

There is also the red dragon's breath and spells, which are naturally restrained by this forest environment.

Of course, what actually makes the red dragon a little excited is the almost infinite indigenous population of that plane. What the dragon territory lacks most now is population. A sufficient population is the foundation for the development of the territory. Without a sufficient population, any idea is just empty talk.

But the wizard's next words instantly made Karon's heart beat.

"The most important thing is that that plane is a paradise of forests and plants, so many trees of life were born there. There is about a tree of life growing every five or six hundred miles. And those trees of life, Karon, we can give you all of them. You only need one as research material!"

The wizard spoke words that were as tempting as the devil, and Karon instantly felt his heart beating faster.

The Tree of Life is a sacred object unique to the elves. There is no need to consider other benefits. Simply by planting these trees of life, the entire dragon territory, the area that can be affected by the tree of life, will become a prosperous place.

Not only will crops grow prosperously and produce more harvests, but even the newborns in the territory will become smarter, stronger, and have a higher survival rate. This is simply the best aid for the development of the territory.

The elves' use of the Tree of Life was simply a waste of resources. They were obsessed with the leaves, branches and water of life all day long. In Karon's opinion, those elven tribes were just another form of living off their parents, but they were living off the Tree of Life.

Tuk, Tuk, Tuk,
Karon's red claws tapped on the hard stone table. If the situation in that plane was the same as what Mimiyan said, then he could indeed find an opportunity to go there.

All the original capital accumulation was accumulated by plundering others. It would take a long time to slowly develop the dragon territory by relying solely on it. Although Kalon is a giant dragon and an immortal species that mortals look up to, he will not refuse a shortcut to development.

And if they can successfully gain a foothold in the Green Forest, they can then use the resources of the entire plane to support the dragon's territory.

It would have been better if Kalon hadn't made a decision. Once he made the decision, his ambition would not be so limited. He would not be satisfied with just the knowledge and heritage left behind by the magic empire, as well as the indigenous elves and the tree of life.

He even wanted to swallow up the entire plane and treat the entire Green Forest plane as the back garden of his territory and a resource reserve base.

"I have to say, Squinty Eyes, you have convinced me and you have successfully touched my peace-loving heart," Caron said with a smile, not knowing how to write the word shameless.

"That's great. With your cooperation, our exploration will be smooth!" The mage Xiuser was overjoyed. At this moment, he didn't care about the three words "squinting eyes" in Karon's words.

"But I have two requests," Caron raised two fingers and said with a faint smile, "The first request is that the location of the plane portal must be chosen by me, and the departure time is the same."

"That's no problem," the wizard Xiuser readily agreed to the condition. The wizard came here sincerely to seek cooperation and did not care about the details.

"The second requirement is that after entering the Green Forest plane, every exploration activity and behavior of all of you must be approved by me. I don't want to be dragged down by stupid pig-like teammates!"

"That's no problem," the mage Xiuser agreed without hesitation. These cooperation conditions were not harsh, which made the mage, who was ready to be slaughtered, secretly relieved.

"Well, that's good. However, I recently want to build a laboratory for performing magic experiments. I have no experience, but I don't feel comfortable leaving the territory before the laboratory is built," Caron sighed softly.

"Here it comes. As expected, we can't overestimate the moral standards when doing business with dragons," the squinty-eyed mage Xiuser's brows jumped. A mage's laboratory is not cheap. If a laboratory is built with perfect configuration, even these wealthy mages will be shocked by the speed at which those shiny gold coins disappear.

"Well, of course, we will help you, Charon," the wizard Xiuser gritted his teeth and agreed to the red dragon's 'polite request'.

"Very good. Happy working with you then!" Caron clapped his hands with a smile, stood up and prepared to leave.

"Wait, Caron, Lord of Dragons," Countess Batholi, who had been listening quietly, stood up and stopped Caron from leaving. She held her head high and strode to Caron.

A height of nearly 1.8 meters is considered a good height among humans, and stands out among women. But in front of Caron, who is about 3.5 meters tall, the countess can only look up.

"Oh, do you have something to talk to me about too, beautiful lady?" Caron stopped and looked at the plump lady in front of him, his eyes openly admiring the unique plump beauty of women.

Countess Bathori raised her head, her short hair falling back, revealing a pair of white and round ears like ingots. She said, "I hope to pledge my loyalty to you. As a token of my sincerity, I can lead all the soldiers and people in the earldom who are loyal to me to submit to you. I hope to gain a certain status under the command of the dragon group!"

Karon raised his brows. He actually didn't understand why Bartoli, as a human noble, and a count of a great noble family, would give up everything to be loyal to him. Even if the Red Dragon was confident, he didn't think that these humans would be as easily submissive to the Red Dragon's majesty as those monsters.

So Caron asked, but the answer he got was unexpected.

"She has fallen into the brink of nothingness in her life and is sliding towards it. It's because she is not smart enough but likes to fantasize. So she needs another kind of life to seek the meaning of life. In short, she is just too full!" The wizard Xiuser spread his hands helplessly and answered for the countess first.

Bartoli smiled, revealing her crystal white teeth. Her eyes, like rippling water, revealed a hint of madness. She whispered, "I like an exciting life and hate a boring life, but I am unwilling to give up my noble dignity and become one of those dusty adventurers!"

"Okay," Caron nodded. He was very familiar with the idea of doubting the meaning of life. He was in this situation for a while when he first came to this world. It was not until his free will gradually became firm that he abandoned those negative thoughts, and a more determined goal was born in his heart.

"Perhaps I will have a war group composed of women under my command in the future," Karon thought to himself. In the northern countries that advocate bravery, those women are not weak. Ordinary thieves who dare to despise these women will have their brains flipped out by these fierce women.

The situation is even more so in the dragon territory. Not only are there many female adventurers and powerful female warriors, but the monster tribes also never deliberately distinguish between males and females except for reproduction.

"But I don't need you to bring back all the soldiers and people who are loyal to you. You should bring back those who are neutral and against you," Caron raised his mouth at a strange angle. He looked into the short-haired earl's beautiful green eyes and said, "When you bring those people back, it will be time for them to swear allegiance to me!"

Count Bartoli obviously did not expect Caron's request. Although his big eyes were a little puzzled, he still lowered his head slightly, revealing his white and slender neck, "Yes, I will do as you wish!"

Charon turned around, spread his wings behind him, leaped into the sky, then released his dragon form in mid-air and transformed into a huge red dragon again.

Hulong,

The strong wind created by the red dragon's wings bent the fruit trees in the orchard. His body swept over the foot of the mountain and over the heads of the newly formed guards.

These tall imperial guards were all wearing iron armor, with even their heads covered in sealed helmets, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed.

The weapons they carried were also heavy broadswords. The Imperial Guards stood at the foot of the mountain, watching every creature that tried to approach the dragon's nest. Although they were few in number, they had a standing aura.

"Bring Yougu to see me," the red dragon's low dragon voice swept past with his huge body, and then rose up and went straight to the top of the mountains. The noisy wind blew the red cloaks behind the imperial guards, like fluttering red flags.

"Yes," the Imperial Guards knelt on one knee with their broadswords in hand, and shouted in unison amid the clanking of armor.

(End of this chapter)