Evil Red Dragon

Alecto, who was fast asleep, had his eyelids tightly closed. At a certain moment, they suddenly twitched slightly, and a faint aura rose from his body, spreading like flowing water. This was the dragon's might, a powerful weapon used by dragons to intimidate the weak and deter the strong.

Within the area covered by the dragon's might, enemies with weak wills will be mentally restrained and intimidated, making it difficult for them to act independently, and they may even collapse. Enemies with strong wills will also be subjected to continuous oppression.

Alector, who was just awakening from his slumber, was not yet able to control his dragon might freely, which alarmed Oliveira and Cinsera.

This slumber lasted much longer than Alecto had anticipated, as all the nutrients and energy were likely used for the conditioning and transformation of his body. So, sixty days have now passed since he entered the slumber.

Fortunately, Oliveira and Cinsera were also true dragons, and the dragon's might did not suppress them as severely as it did other races, but the awakening of Alector still made them feel uneasy.

Although Alekto, still a fledgling dragon, was slightly inferior in size to the red dragon girl deep in the cave, the full, bulging muscles in his limbs and chest demonstrated his formidable strength, far surpassing that of other evil dragon species.

His two pairs of dragon horns became exceptionally large, making him look majestic from afar.

The neck is quite different from the elegant and slender neck of a regular red dragon. It is only half the length of the neck of a red dragon of the same size, and it is unusually thick with bulging muscles, highlighting an explosive sense of power.

Even the most powerful gold dragon among the metal dragons in the benevolent dragon camp, under the same age conditions—no, even a young gold dragon two stages older—would not be stronger than Alecto at this moment in a simple contest of strength.

Moreover, golden patterns began to appear on Alekto's broad and sturdy wings, and they were showing a tendency to spread to the dragon scales all over his body.

This means he has awakened his own magic.

These patterns are born of magic, which will allow the dragon's magic to flow faster, its control to be stronger, and its spells to be more powerful.

However, these patterns do not appear on every dragon, just as not every monkey is born with intelligence.

Even Cinsera, who possesses magical talent, has not yet developed any obvious magical patterns. It may take her several years, or even decades, to completely cover her entire body with magical patterns.

Alekto's scales, which were gradually turning deep red, became thicker and tinged with a metallic sheen. The center of each scale changed from smooth to convex, maximizing its defensive capabilities.

The dragons' inheritance tells them that these anomalies indicate that this red dragon has awakened other special talents.

Red dragons are natural rulers of fire and lava, but they also have the potential to control earth and metal.

Alecto slowly opened his eyes, his pupils swirling with crimson-gold light, like surging lava.

He propped himself up, stretched out his limbs and wings, and his joints made a series of cracking sounds, like a bowstring being taut and then released.

"Sixty days...no wonder he was so hungry his stomach was practically sticking to his back."

He muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping over the nest.

Oliveira and Cinsella were watching him warily; they had also grown, but it was negligible compared to Alecto's changes.

Oliveira is nearly four meters long, Cincel is slightly larger at about five and a half meters, while Alector... has already broken the ten-meter mark!

This is no longer the size a fledgling dragon should be; people would believe it if it were a young red dragon.

"Brother, you're awake!"

Oliveira was the first to react, immediately adopting a fawning posture and jogging over:

"You've been asleep for so long this time! Cinsera and I were so worried. Look, we specially saved some food for you..."

She pointed to a corner where several dried-out magical beast corpses were piled up, mostly low-level level one or two magical beasts.

This is what they ate after returning from hunting while they were asleep in Alectu.

Cinsela snorted coldly and didn't move closer.

She despised Oliveira's attempt to curry favor with Alecto by using their food, but dared not object.

Ignoring Oliveira's nonsense, Alector walked straight to the pile of food and swallowed all the remains in a few gulps.

This little bit of food isn't even enough to fill a tooth gap, but it's better than nothing.

"Is Mother still not awake?"

He turned to look into the depths of the lair, where it remained dark and silent.

"no."

Cinsera gave a brief reply, but her gaze involuntarily fell on the golden patterns on Alekto's wings:

"You've awakened your talent?"

"Obviously."

Alecto raised one of his front paws, and a cluster of crimson flames ignited in the center of his paw.

Unlike the dragon's breath, the flames were not violent; instead, they were unusually restrained and solid, with a temperature so high that they distorted the surroundings.

"Not just the flames, but also this."

He pressed his other paw on the ground, his mind stirring slightly.

Click, click...

On the hard volcanic rock surface, several sharp stone spikes slowly rose up, and then the surface of the stone spikes gleamed with a metallic luster, turning into a texture like black iron.

"Earth element and metal element..."

Cinsela was dumbfounded.

Red dragons do have the potential in this area, but that's usually something young red dragons start to explore.

And how long has Alector been born?

"Looks like the Shadow Blade Panther wasn't a waste of food."

Alecto withdrew his claws with satisfaction, and the stone spikes shattered.

He could feel his magical power surging, and his affinity for the elements of fire, earth, and metal was frighteningly high.

The inherited memories vaguely record that some red dragons exhibit elemental control talents that surpass those of their kind even in their fledgling stage. These red dragons are called the Seeds of Tiamat, and all of them become legendary figures who dominate the world after they grow up.

Am I one of those people?

"But now is not the time to study this."

Alector shook his head, bringing his attention back to reality:

Is there any food left?

Oliveira quickly replied, "No, the prey in the forest have become smarter. We've had very few successes on our recent hunts, and besides..."

She hesitated for a moment and looked at Cinsella.

Cinsela picked up the conversation, her tone grave:

"And we encountered other predators, not monsters, but humans."

"They were wearing leather armor and carrying weapons, and they were operating outside the forest. We almost got spotted by them."

Alekto's dragon eyes suddenly shrank.

Human? Adventurer? Or native?

Neither of these is good news.

Dragon hatchlings are a mobile treasure trove for any intelligent species; once discovered, the consequences could be dire.

"Specific location? Number? Strength?"

He asked a series of questions.

Cinsera recalled, "Near the river valley to the south, there were probably only hunters from the indigenous tribes."

"But they were very wary, and we didn't dare get too close."

Indigenous tribe? Well, thankfully, they're not a professional dragon-slaying team.

But this also means that this area is not an untouched wilderness.

Where there are indigenous people, there may be large tribes, priests, warriors... and even spellcasters.

"We can't delay any longer."

Alecto made up his mind:

"From today onwards, double the hunting frequency and search deeper into the mountains."

Cynthia frowned and said, "What if we encounter another high-level magical beast? Last time, the Shadow Blade Leopard almost wiped out our entire army."

"Times have changed."

Alekto spread its wings, and crimson gold patterns flowed in the shimmering light of the lava:

"I am now confident that I can handle a level 5 magical beast alone, and..."

He looked deep into the lair, in the direction where the Dragon Mother slept:

"I suspect my mother is about to wake up. What she said last time might have meant that when we grow up to a certain point, she would immediately expel us. Otherwise, she wouldn't have ignored us until now."

Oliveira's scales all stood up:

"No, no way? We're less than a year old!"

"Your mother won't talk to you about time."

Alecto said coldly:

"When she thinks you're ready, she'll immediately kick you out."

He glanced meaningfully at Cinsella, then looked at himself.

Cynthia's talent awakens, and he grows even more dramatically, which will undoubtedly greatly shorten Daenerys' patience in raising her child.

The five-colored dragons didn't have any grand wish for their offspring to become successful; they only hoped that their cubs would become independent as soon as possible and stop bothering them.

"So what should we do?"

Oliveira was completely disoriented.

"Become stronger, then leave."

Alecto spoke calmly:

"But before we leave, we need to do something here."

"Making something?"

Cinsela was puzzled.

Alecto explained, "This is a volcanic region, rich in precious metal ores and gems underground, and I can now sense their approximate locations..."

As Alector spoke, Cinsela and Oliveira's eyes sparkled.

No dragon dislikes those cute, sparkly little trinkets, let alone them.

"Those metals and gems can accelerate our growth. If you can dig them out, I can give you a small portion."

Oliveira's eyes lit up: "Brother is wise!"

Cinsela immediately asked, "How much is a small portion?"

Alecto interrupted her:

One-tenth!

Cinsela and Oliveira protested in unison, "That's too little!"

Alector scoffed and asked:

"How many do you want?"

The two dragons then said in unison, "Half!"

Alekto was instantly enraged, and his dragon might surged:

"You only have a tenth of what you want when you think about beauty. Take it or leave it. If you're so capable, find it yourselves, dig it up yourselves!"

These words stung Cinsela. Although she was dissatisfied, she knew that Alecto was right.

She is currently unable to find and excavate those metals and gems buried deep underground on her own.

She gritted her teeth and said, "One-tenth it is!"

Alecto nodded in satisfaction.

"Remember, there is no mercy or charity in the world of the Red Dragon."

As for Oliveira? Her opinion doesn't matter; take it or leave it.

"So what should we do first?"

Sincera suppressed her emotions and got straight to the point.

Alector pointed directly to one side of the cave:

"Let's mine first. About fifty meters down from here, there's a small iron ore deposit with a small amount of brass mixed in. It's probably not very valuable, so Daenerys didn't bother with it."

He looked at the two sisters:

"You guys, go! I'll be there to supervise and give you directions."

There is no room for negotiation.

Oliveira sighed, looking at her delicate claws, and resignedly walked towards the rock wall.

Cynthia, on the contrary, did not object, because she knew that Alecto was right and that Daenerys would most likely drive her and Oliveira out of the lair when she banished Alecto.

Whether you chase one or two, it's all the same, so what's the point of leaving one? Let them all get out of here!

These compromises now are all for the sake of survival in the future.

It didn't go smoothly at first.

Their claws dug into the hard volcanic rock, making slow progress.

The nest echoed with scraping sounds and panting.

Alecto offered no help, merely observing coldly and occasionally offering a word to correct their direction.

This is also a way to force them to quickly adapt to using their own power.

The Red Dragon's power grows rapidly, but how to use it efficiently requires real combat and this kind of hard work to hone.

Time slipped away amidst the tedious digging.

About three days later, they finally broke through the surface rock, revealing the mineral layer below, and pulled out large chunks of ore with a metallic sheen.

"I've got it!" Oliveira exclaimed excitedly in a low voice.

Cinsela also perked up and increased her efforts.

Alecto leaped into the pit, picked up a piece of ore with his claws, and crushed it with a little force, revealing specks of iron and brass inside.

He nodded: "Continue, in this direction, the purity will be even higher."

With initial results achieved, the two dragons' enthusiasm has increased considerably.

Alecto decided to join them in the harvesting himself.

With Alector's addition, the mining speed increased dramatically.

He was like a living tunnel boring machine; the hard rock layers were incredibly fragile in front of him, as fragile as paper that could be pierced with a single poke.

Oliveira was also tirelessly digging, moving the gravel and low-grade ore aside.

Cincera, on the other hand, manipulated the earth element with greater precision, not only reinforcing it but also attempting to subtly vibrate the rock layers to make the veins easier to peel off.

Several hours later, a pit about 55 meters deep began to take shape.

The amount of ore piled up beside them was increasing, and some of it already showed obvious metallic veins.

Alecto stopped them: "That's enough, let's stop here for now."

"As agreed, one-tenth of these belong to you."

He set aside a small pile of ore and pushed it in front of them.

Although the quantity was small, the shimmering particles inside were enough to make the fledglings' hearts race.

"As for these..."

Alecto gathered most of the ore around himself: "It's more useful for my current growth. I'm going to eat it to strengthen my scales and bones again."

"You've done a great job digging; next time we hunt, I'll give you a bigger share of the game..."

Cinsera looked at the meager amount of ore, then at the ore beside Alexo, gritted her teeth, and stopped arguing.

She knew that without Alecto's perception, they wouldn't even get this much.

Oliveira, meanwhile, was happily pawing at her own piece, clearly delighted.

She's a dragon with treasure now, so happy!

After Alecto finished speaking, he lay down beside the pile of ore and ate it all, bit by bit.

As he swallowed the last piece of ore, the metal and rock slowly melted in his stomach, transforming into pure earth and metal elemental energy that nourished his body.

He could feel his defenses slowly increasing, and the metallic luster on the dragon scales became more and more obvious.

Oliveira and Cinsera each swallowed a portion of the ore they had received. Although the amount was small, the satisfaction of consuming metal still made them squint their eyes.