As night fell, the centaur tribe's camp came alive with excitement.
The blazing campfire in the center of the camp ignited the passion of these centaurs, who were always in a combat state. Many female centaurs leaped around the campfire like mountain deer, their nimble bodies performing a dance of untamed wildness woven differently than humans, their round and full bodies attracting the male centaurs.
The male centaurs displayed their robust bodies without holding back. Some beat their strong chest muscles and danced with the female centaurs they fancied, while others picked up their battle lances, striking sturdy shields, and danced a war dance around the female centaurs.
Some male centaurs engaged in full-blown fights, vying for the favor of the female centaurs, stripping their upper bodies to reveal carved-like muscles, wrestling without any concern for others watching.
Many centaurs who couldn't join in simply sat on the long low tables at the outermost circle, gobbling food with wide mouths while howling incoherent songs, the atmosphere growing more fervent.
Karon, however, squatted among the outer circle of centaurs, having a table all to himself, not due to any special treatment from the centaurs, but because his size wasn't exactly small.
To Karon's surprise, the food prepared by the centaur tribe was quite good. In front of him was a dinner that wasn't extravagant but substantial. Spices from the forest were evenly sprinkled on large pieces of charred meat, a pot of thick white mushroom soup mixed with appropriately sliced meat, and a large barrel of honey cassava mead.
Gurgling, with his appetite whetted, Karon downed a large chunk of meat and lifted the big pot, drinking the entire mushroom and meat soup like water. A satisfying sound rose from Karon's stomach and emerged from his throat. He hadn't eaten such a fitting meal in a long time, having spent days consuming either raw prey or his own cooking, at most with an extravagant layer of honey. Even a dragon could get tired of adapting to most of the world's food.
Karon put down the wooden basin, intending to wipe his shiny mouth with his claw when the centaur maiden Suniya sitting near him quickly put down her food, picked up a clean beast hide from the table, and wiped the mouth of the giant dragon. The fullness held by cloth strips gently brushed against Karon's side during the action.
Nearby, the centaur leader Kali wore a smile of approval for this child's understanding, casting a sidelong glance at her mate Zogo, who was busy eating, before shaking her head again.
"Ahem," experiencing a young master's treatment for the first time, Karon grasped what humans would call a bucket of honey cassava mead, took two sips to moisten his parched throat, and said, "Suniya, does your centaur tribe have a dedicated chef? The cooking skill here could likely open an inn in the Human Empire."
Having finished wiping the dragon's mouth, Suniya returned to the table, holding a deer leg and gnawing at it energetically. Centaur maidens, unlike human maidens, were unconcerned with table manners or modesty. She raised her head, her mouth bulging with food, and mumbled incoherently.
"We centaurs only know how to hunt and fight; cooking isn't our skill. These dishes were made by a half-elf slave captured by my mother. These half-elves are very skilled, capable of creating many delicious foods."
"Half-elf," Karon's eyes lit up. Half-elves, a small and intelligent humanoid race, are usually about half the height of normal humans, hence the name. Most half-elves are simple by nature, extremely passionate about and enjoy food, hence they are also fond of creating fine cuisine, capable of sophisticated culinary techniques to produce delicious food.
This single half-elf made it all worthwhile. Karon's appetite for gourmet cuisine was already suggesting he find a way to make this half-elf chef his personal cook.
In the future, he could tell the half-elf what he wanted to eat, and have them research and create it, like various stir-fries and hot pots, or all kinds of desserts and cakes.
Thinking this, Karon's eyes roamed the camp shiftily, not drawn by the centaurs dancing wildly around the campfire, but by those hidden in the shadows, passionate and eager centaurs.
Like humans, centaurs can also experience hormonal heat at any time, but unlike humans, they lacked moral ethics and relative order during these times. The best concession they made was not mating in the bright space before the campfire. Of course, some would on a whim, want to get on a horse directly, yet they would generally be kicked away by other centaurs annoyed with their obstructions.
Thanks to the giant dragon's superb eyesight, Karon could clearly see every move of the fiery centaurs, their wild and unrestrained postures subtly changing Karon's slit pupils to round ones. There's no need to worry; dragons possess the magical ability to freely adjust their pupils, allowing them to gain a more expansive view.
Karon wasn't being lecherous. He was merely remembering the words of some famous person, maybe that famous Person named Zhou, a Treeman, who spoke of, "Always maintain the heart of an apprentice." Tonight, Karon was diligently studying those gestures, never before seen or heard, oh yes, knowledge.
Why hadn't he seen this knowledge in the Dragon Race's heritage? Perhaps the knowledge wasn't accessible to him because of his age? Karon mused, rubbing his chin with a dragon claw, considering whether to include this knowledge in the heritage later; it seemed quite interesting.
Of course, he didn't forget to disguise his intentions. His occasional sweeping gaze appeared to oversee the scene, but only when he lifted his cup would his eyes stay fixed, though such concealment revealed nothing to anyone. As it turned out, Karon spent the entire night finishing just one cup of this honey cassava mead; its potency was indeed intense.
Due to Karon's size, the centaur tribe didn't have any wooden huts suitable for him to reside in. The largest building was the place for venerating ancestors and fallen heroes, and it wouldn't be right for him to occupy their ancestor's resting place upon arrival. Thus, the centaur tribe had to temporarily construct a tent using various beast hides as a canopy to accommodate the Red Dragon's rest.
Inside the tent, the ground was covered with various soft beast hides, some of which were luxurious furs from powerful monsters previously hunted by the centaur tribe, stacked to form a warm bed where Karon could detect the scent of many fierce beasts.
Karon was very satisfied with this bed, the gentle texture offering a pleasure different from lying on gold coins. The dragon's excellent control of his body prevented concern that long occupancy might ignite these precious furs.
Still, he felt regret that his transformation skill was yet to be mastered, thwarting his thoughts of rolling on the ground and burying his whole body in the bedstuff.
But Karon contentedly lay down on his bed anyway. This warm bed was much more comfortable than his Dragon Nest; dragons enjoy warmth and heat. He yawned wide, ready to rest, but his open mouth didn't shut as he asked in surprise, "Suniya, why aren't you resting? What are you doing here?"
The centaur maiden's face bore a certain resolute look as she knelt and said, "The centaur tribe is now the beloved of Lord Karon. I was chosen to serve Lord Karon."
Gah, Karon watched the centaur, whose resolute face suggested some sort of sacrifice, imagining black lines appearing over his head. Heaven bless, his interest in centaurs was purely curiosity and a thirst for learning, not attraction.
But he understood this as the centaur tribe's way of appeasing him; the centaur maiden was essentially a hostage of sorts, so he couldn't outright refuse. He raised his chin and gestured, indicating she could stay elsewhere in the tent.
However, the centaur seemed to misunderstand, her resolute eyes extending her hands over.
"What are you doing? I'm just a juvenile dragon; your actions are like an old horse eating tender grass." The Red Dragon's scales nearly stood on end in fright as he hurriedly stopped Suniya from coming closer.
"Ah," the centaur maiden, a strong warrior, was blushing at this point, awkwardly explaining, "I'm barely an adult myself, only in my early twenties."
"All the more reason no," Karon exclaimed, sweeping his tail to push Suniya to the corner of the tent, "You just stay there!"