Evil Red Dragon

Alecto remained asleep for a full 1,234 days.

Over the course of those three years, his body underwent an astonishing transformation.

Its body length, which was originally just over ten meters, has quietly increased to twelve meters, its muscles have become more solid, and its bone density has increased significantly.

The metallic luster on the dragon scales became even brighter, and the crimson gold patterns spread from the wings to the neck and back.

The most noticeable change was in his dragon horns, which were already huge and thick, but had grown even larger and longer.

His dragon might also spread outwards from his slumber.

At first, it only made the trolls near the cave feel uneasy, but later, even the birds that lived around Red Peak spontaneously migrated away.

An invisible domain slowly formed around Alekto, enveloping Chifeng and a surrounding area of ​​nearly 100 meters.

Within this area, the activity of fire, metal, and earth elements is significantly higher than in the outside world, while other magical attributes are slightly repelled.

Oliveira was the first to notice this change.

One day she woke up and found that the touch beneath her had become unusually warm, as if she had returned to her mother's nest, feeling exceptionally comfortable.

Upon closer inspection, they also discovered that the air contained a large amount of pure fire element.

"Is Alecto changing the environment?"

She looked around in surprise.

The rock beneath Alexo, along with the cluster of white crystals, had melted at some point, forming a small pool of lava that submerged half of Alexo's body.

This change did not happen overnight, but rather gradually accumulated as Alector remained asleep for a long time.

At first, Oliveira just felt that she was sleeping more comfortably, but later she found that the temperature in the cave seemed to be rising little by little, and her control over the fire element was also a little smoother.

Although the improvement is minimal, it is real.

"Is this the embryonic form of the Dragon Realm?"

She recalled the vague records in the tradition.

A powerful true dragon's long-term dwelling place will be influenced by its body and soul, gradually transforming into a dragon domain that matches its attributes.

Within the Dragon Realm, the dragons' own abilities are amplified, while their adversaries are suppressed.

This is usually an ability that only middle-aged or even elderly dragons possess, but how old is Alekto?

He hasn't even fully passed through the fledgling stage!

"What a monster..."

Oliveira muttered under her breath, but her tail involuntarily wrapped around Alecto's neck, burying itself deeper into the gaps between the scales on the side of his neck.

The concentration of elements here is the highest, making her drowsy.

The changes didn't just happen inside the cave.

The troll camp at the foot of Chifeng Mountain was also affected.

One day, while practicing, Gru unexpectedly discovered that his perception of the earth had become much more acute.

Soon after, he was able to briefly manipulate the rocks, and there seemed to be signs of awakening magic...

While the other troll warriors did not receive Gru's dragon blood blessing, their long-term exposure to the edge of dragon's might had slightly enhanced their physique, accelerated their healing speed, and significantly improved their resistance to and absorption of fire elements.

Even more miraculously, a large patch of crimson short grass spontaneously grew on a piece of land near the troll camp after Alektor had been asleep for two years.

The grass leaves were shaped like dragon scales and were warm to the touch. Gru tried chewing one and immediately felt a warm current flow into his limbs, sweeping away his fatigue. It also contained a trace of pure fire element.

He quickly protected this area, named it Dragon Flame Grass, and regarded it as a miracle brought by Alekto.

Upon learning this, Oliveira immediately flew over, grabbed a handful, and popped it into her mouth to taste.

"Pah! Pah! Pah! It's so bitter and astringent!"

She threw it all up: "Besides feeling a little warm, it's completely useless!"

Even so, she still secretly hid a few plants in a corner of the cave.

What if it comes in handy later?

Time continued to pass.

As Alector entered his third year of slumber, the unusual phenomena on his body began to subside.

The overflowing dragon's might and elemental fluctuations gradually subsided, and the domain within the cave became more stable.

One day, Oliveira woke up and flew out to hunt. After leaving the Red Peak area, she suddenly felt a sense of detachment, as if she had jumped from warm water into cold air.

She then realized that she had become accustomed to the environment enveloped by a large amount of fire element.

"After my brother wakes up, will this place become a true dragon realm?"

She gazed down at the increasingly lush Dragon Flame Meadow, a sense of anticipation rising within her.

However, the dramatic changes in Chifeng have also attracted attention from the outside world.

Chifeng Territory is located on the southeastern edge of the Endless Mountains. Although it is relatively remote, it is not isolated from the world.

Because of the elemental anomalies caused by Alector's slumber, although most of them were concealed by the cave and Alector's own convergence, there were still some strange fluctuations that traveled far away.

Greystone Town is a border town between humans and Chifeng, about 600 miles away.

The adventurers' guild branch's detection array in this area has recorded faint high-energy magic signals several times in the past two months, pointing directly to Chifeng.

The mage in charge of monitoring initially thought it was a coincidence of a magical beast advancing or a small elemental tide generated there.

These kinds of things happen countless times every year, so there's really no need to worry about them.

However, the signal continued to appear in a fixed location, which aroused the interest of the guild's higher-ups.

A report labeled "Suspected magical mineral vein or high-level magical beast lair" was sent to the mayor's desk.

After discussing the matter, the town mayor, the head of the guild branch, and several local businessmen decided to organize a reconnaissance team to investigate.

If it is indeed a mineral vein, it means wealth.

If it is a powerful magical beast, the threat needs to be assessed in advance.

Meanwhile, some entities deeper within the mountains also sensed the anomaly.

A level-six magical beast, the Thunderwing Python, which lived in a dark valley three hundred miles away, unexpectedly sensed the aura of a dragon coming from the southeast while returning to its nest after a hunt.

This scent both disgusted and craved it.

It hovered high in the sky, its vertical pupils gazing towards Chifeng, hissing and flicking its tongue, but ultimately suppressed the urge to immediately go and investigate.

That aura exuded a terrifying power that made its heart tremble.

But I'm really unwilling to give up...

The Thunderwing Python rolled its eyes and turned to fly towards its nemesis's lair.

Elsewhere, in a migrating orc tribe, their high shaman saw in a dream a blurry image of crimson peaks and molten gold eyes.

Upon waking, the high shaman regarded it as a revelation from the ancestors and instructed the chief to go in that direction.

That was their tribe's chance to become great again!

These undercurrents remained unknown to Alector, who was still asleep.

Oliveira learned from Gru's patrol reports that strange human footprints and traces of feces not belonging to local magical beasts had recently appeared on the edge of the territory.

She became more vigilant and ordered Gru to increase patrol density, especially on the southeast side near areas of human activity.

"Brother, you'd better wake up soon..."

She whispered in Alecto's ear:

"Things seem to be getting tense outside."

As if hearing her whisper, Alecto unconsciously twitched his claws while he slept, and his tail swept gently, creating ripples in the water.

At dawn on the 1235th day, a strange red cloud gathered in the sky above the summit of Chifeng.

Inside the cave, Alecto's breathing suddenly became heavy, each breath drawing together the surrounding elements.

The crimson-gold patterns on his body lit up on their own, startling Oliveira awake. She scrambled off Alecto's back and stared at him nervously.

"Is he waking up? Is he really waking up!?"

Alecto slept for so long this time that she herself fell asleep several times, only to find Alecto still asleep, showing no signs of waking up.

She could now sense the immense, suppressed energy within Alecto, like lava beneath a volcano, about to erupt.

The cave began to tremble slightly, and Alexios's body shone brightly with red light, illuminating the entire cave as if it were hell, with lava splashing everywhere.

The red clouds outside slowly rotated and converged towards the top of Chifeng Peak.

Gru and the trolls also sensed the disturbance and came out of their stone houses, looking up at the Red Peak in awe.

Just as the first ray of sunlight pierced the clouds and shone on the summit of Chifeng—

Alecto opened his eyes.

The dragon's eyes surged with golden light like lava, as if they contained an entire burning world.

The dragon's might surged into the sky, sweeping across the entire Chifeng like a tidal wave.

The air trembled, the earth hummed, and the trolls prostrated themselves, trembling.

Inside the cave, Oliveira, who was closest to Alecto, was forced to retreat repeatedly by the sudden pressure until she could barely stand up when she hit the rock wall.

Her eyes widened as she watched Alector slowly rise from the lava pool, her heart pounding wildly.

"Brother...brother?"

Alecto slowly stepped out of the lava pool, lava sliding down his scales and sizzling on the rocks, leaving charred marks.

The fire element rejoiced as if welcoming its king.

It is twelve meters long, more than five meters tall at the shoulder, and its wingspan covers half of the cave when fully extended.

The dragon's horns extended backward like a crown, their tips gleaming with a cold light.

Oliveira was stunned.

Although she had expected it, seeing Alecto standing in front of her still made her feel suffocated.

This is hardly a fledgling dragon anymore.

This is clearly a red dragon that has entered adolescence and is approaching youth!

"How long did I sleep?"

Alecto looked at Oliveira, the golden light in his eyes slowly fading.

"Three, more than three years..."

Oliveira stammered, "About 1,200 days... I can't remember..."

"Three years..." Alecto murmured the number.

It took longer than he expected, but the results far exceeded his expectations.

He could sense that his life level had stabilized at the peak of level five and could break through to level six at any time.

His control over the three elements of fire, metal, and earth was effortless, and the formation of the nascent Dragon Realm was an unexpected delight.

He walked towards the cave entrance, flapped his wings, and stirred up a scorching stream of air.

Oliveira quickly followed.

The sight outside the cave startled Alecto slightly.

The troll camp at the foot of Chifeng has more than doubled in size, with simple stone houses neatly arranged, and a thick totem pole standing in the central square, with a crudely carved dragon shape on the top.

Even more striking is the crimson meadow next to the camp.

The Dragonfire Grass swayed in the sunlight, emitting faint fluctuations of fire element.

"This is……"

"It grew on its own while you were asleep, brother!"

Oliveira rushed to explain:

"Gru said this is called Dragon Flame Grass. Eating it can restore stamina and increase affinity for fire elements... although I think it tastes terrible."

Alecto's gaze swept across the camp.

Gru had already led all the trolls to kneel in the square, their foreheads pressed to the ground, not daring to raise their heads.

They could sense that their master was more than ten times stronger than before he fell asleep.

The sudden increase in dragon might made them, who were gradually adapting, tremble with fear.

"Gru".

Alecto stopped in the square.

"Yes, Master!"

Gru suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with fanaticism.

"Stand up and speak."

Gru scrambled to his feet and looked up at Alecto:

"Master, you've finally woken up! For the past three years, we've followed your orders, patrolling day and night, eliminating threats, and even repelling several intruders..."

"Oh?" Alekto raised an eyebrow slightly. "Tell me more."

Gru reported on the Moon Bear attack, the ogre harassment, and the recent discovery of human footprints on the edge of the territory.

Alecto listened quietly, his eyes gleaming.

It seems that the three years he was asleep were not peaceful in Chifeng Territory.

And humans... have arrived so quickly?

Sure enough, these guys are like cockroaches, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, spawning in various places at any time, and always managing to bring you a surprise.

Good or bad, don't worry about it, as long as it exists!

"Well done, Gru."

Alecto nodded: "I have seen your loyalty and hard work. As a reward for your three years of perseverance, I will bestow upon you my bloodline."

Gru trembled, and exclaimed excitedly, "Thank you for your grace, Master! This is the greatest honor of my life!"

"Okay, then get ready, the transformation ceremony will begin tomorrow..."

Alekto pondered for a moment, then said, "You can also select a few promising members of your tribe to undergo the conversion together."

The power of Chifeng Territory is too weak, and now that a storm is coming, every successful conversion of a dragonborn is a ready-made help.

He then looked at the other trolls:

"The same applies to you; the loyal will be rewarded."

"From this day forward, the flag of Chifeng is officially raised."

"I will protect you and give you strength and glory."

"And you must fight for me, until your deaths!"

The trolls roared in unison, pounding their chests:

"Fight for our master! Until death do us part!"

Oliveira stood to the side, lost in thought.

It's a pity Cinsera isn't here to see this scene; she must be incredibly envious.

She's probably wandering alone now, probably still struggling to find food...

But I don't need it!

"Olivera." Alecto suddenly turned to look at her.

"Here!" Oliveira jumped.

How much have you improved in the past three years?

"Uh..." Oliveira shrank back, "I...I've passed Level 4..."

"Level four?" Alecto's dragon eyes narrowed slightly. "Three years, and you only advanced from level three to level four?"

Oliveira panicked immediately:

"I... I tried my best too! I even helped Gru fight off the Moon Bears! I also supervised them mining for treasure! I'm not like you..."

"Enough," Alecto interrupted her.

"From today onwards, you will train with me. I will personally supervise you until you can hunt level 5 magical beasts independently."

Oliveira's vision went black.

Alone, hunting level 5 magical beasts?

That would be worse than letting her die!

"Brother~~~ We are red dragons, we don't need training..."

She tried to be charming and to reason with him.

"If you haggle any further, it'll be level six."

Alecto said coldly.

Oliveira shut up instantly, on the verge of tears.

Alecto ignored her and flew towards the summit of Red Peak.

He wanted to re-examine the territory to see if he could encounter any of the humans.

Humans, monsters, orcs... all forces are converging on Chifeng.

A storm is coming.

And Alector will be at the center of this storm.

At this moment, he was gazing towards the direction of the human town in the southeast.

"bring it on."

His dragon-like mouth split open:

"Let me see what kind of legends the people of this land can give birth to."