Translator: AnubisTL
The iron dragon maid glanced at the two foolish hatchlings staring blankly at each other.
She understood Garos's intentions from his words and expression.
However, she had no intention of interfering.
She never intervened in disputes between her offspring unless they involved life and death. Ordinary bullying and oppression were beneath her concern.
Besides, the two hatchlings ate and drank her fill daily, then wandered aimlessly around her territory, doing nothing productive. They deserved to be put to work doing something useful.
As for using hatchlings or young dragons as her own personal mine slaves...
The iron dragon maid herself wouldn't do such a thing. While she was evil and ruthless, she still adhered to her own code of conduct.
But for Garos to do so was perfectly reasonable.
"The problem is, your 'mine slaves' live under my protection."
Her eyes gleamed as she gently wagged her tail.
Under her gaze, the red iron young dragon immediately replied, "We'll provide you with an additional ten-pound ingot of precious metal ore each month."
"Agreed."
After a few seconds of silent contemplation, the iron dragon maid nodded in approval.
"Thank you, Mother. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
"Go. Do what you're supposed to do."
Garos turned and strode toward the two hatchlings, stopping directly in front of them.
"Samantha, Gordon."
He spoke the names of the red dragon sister and the iron dragon brother, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Follow me."
Both young dragons eyed him warily, refusing to budge.
"What do you want?" they demanded.
"To make you dig in my mines, of course," Garos grinned, his teeth bared.
"On what grounds?!"
The two hatchlings rejected his demand fiercely, finally realizing that Garos's earlier mention of "mine slaves" had referred to them.
"Because I'm stronger than you," Garos said.
Before he could finish, he lunged at the dragon siblings.
Boom!
A giant dragon's charge sent the iron dragon brother flying backward in a straight line.
The collision of their scales sent a shower of sparks flying. Garos's armor remained intact, not a single scale falling, while the iron dragon brother's scales cracked and shattered, large pieces flying off. The entire creature slammed against the metallic cave wall with a dull thud.
The red dragon sister had only just reacted.
Garos twisted his waist and swung his thick, blade-scaled tail through the air.
Whoosh!
Boom!
With a powerful sweep, Garos's tail struck the red dragon sister's shoulder, tearing through a layer of her scales and sending her flying like a rag doll.
"Disobey, and I'll beat you into submission."
Garos lifted his chin, looking down at the two fallen hatchlings.
"You bastard, Garos! We'll show you our power!"
The two hatchlings' ferocity was ignited. Thanks to the dragonkind's resilient and robust bodies, they seemed unfazed by Garos's earlier attack.
With furious roars, the two hatchlings, a year younger than Garos, charged at him from left and right.
Under normal circumstances, their age difference would make it impossible for them to take on two opponents at once.
But.
Unlike Garos, who had begun training diligently at a young age, the red dragon sister and iron dragon brother were like most hatchlings. They believed that simply growing up would eventually make them rulers, so they contented themselves with idleness and neglected their training.
As for Garos...
After realizing that dragonkind were not the absolute rulers of this world and that dangers lurked everywhere, he had begun consciously training to strengthen himself.
"Heh, let's give you a lesson to remember."
Garos shook his neck and met the two hatchlings' charge.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The air filled with the dull thud of flesh against flesh.
In just three minutes, the two hatchlings lay sprawled on the ground, belly up as if knocked unconscious. Their bodies were covered in bruises from Garos's beating, their dragon scales were chipped in places, several teeth were missing, and even their dragon horns were bent askew.
Garos, on the other hand, hadn't lost a single scale.
Aside from a coating of dust, his most significant injury was a bite on his forearm from the red dragon sister. But Garos's scales were exceptionally thick and hard; the red dragon sister's teeth had ached from the effort, and she had barely managed to pierce the scales, leaving a row of tiny tooth marks that didn't even draw blood.
Beneath the scales lay a layer of dragon skin.
Before the red dragon sister could sink her teeth into the skin, Garos grabbed her horn, yanked her head back, and began pummeling her.
"My dear Garos, I look forward to your future exploits," the iron dragon maid said, flicking her tail with a crisp clack to signal her satisfaction.
In truth, she had always admired Garos. As a hybrid dragon, his innate talent surpassed that of normal dragonkind. Moreover, his relentless pursuit of power and his unwavering dedication to growth showed great potential for becoming a formidable evil dragon.
Admiration aside, the iron dragon maid wasn't willing to let Garos grow up under her care for free. However, now that Garos was trading treasures for food and shelter, she was quite pleased to witness his gradual growth.
As for the two hatchlings who had been beaten so badly, the iron dragon maid showed no pity. Instead, she felt they should look more closely at their own flaws.
"Thank you for your concern, Mother," Garos replied. Then, with one claw on each tail, he dragged the red dragon sister and the iron dragon brother out of the iron dragon maid's nest.
The two hatchlings, knocked unconscious by Garos, were dead weight.
Carrying their tails, he flew to the lake at the center of the Heavenly Pit and tossed them in.
Splash! Splash!
Countless water droplets scattered, shimmering like crystals under the moonlight.
Garos circled in the air, his wings beating rhythmically, his gaze fixed on the lake below.
In less than ten seconds, the two figures shot out of the water as if their tails were on fire, fleeing in opposite directions in a desperate attempt to escape his grasp.
Garos flapped his dragon wings.
Under the cold moonlight, Garos's pair of dragon wings stretched long and wide, their span reaching a full twelve meters—twice his body length. The wing membranes, tough and resilient, cut through the air with a sharp, whistling sound, their edges as sharp as blades and gleaming with a metallic sheen.
Whoosh!
The sound of the wings slicing through the air was a piercing shriek, grating on the ears.
In an instant, Garos caught up to the red dragon sister, seizing her tail in his claw. He swung her in a wide arc, smashing her against the fleeing iron dragon brother.
Boom!
The two hatchlings plummeted to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and gravel. Cracks spiderwebbed across the earth around them.
"Still running? I'll give you three seconds head start."
Garos folded his wings and landed before the two hatchlings.
The red dragon sister and iron dragon brother, their faces devoid of life, no longer dared to defy Garos.
He led them to his usual mountain training grounds.
Garos's senses were keenly attuned to metal ores, and having frequented this area, he sensed the presence of mineral deposits buried deep within the earth.
Pointing in a direction, he ordered the two hatchlings to start digging.
Reluctantly, but cowed by Garos's imposing presence, they submitted and began digging obediently.
Clack! Clack!
The sound of dragon claws digging through rock echoed continuously.
At the same time, Garos repeatedly soared into the air, then folded his wings and let his massive body plummet freely to kiss the earth, smashing one deep crater after another into the ground.
This was a more brutal training method than climbing Mount Sun.
—Earth-Kissing.
If he misjudged the height, there was a risk of crippling himself, so Garos rarely practiced this exercise.
But the iron dragon maid's "banishment" made Garos realize that he would eventually have to face danger alone, fueling his desperate desire to grow stronger.
The two hatchlings couldn't understand Garos's strange behavior. Gritting their teeth as they dug, they tried to console themselves.
The red dragon sister spat out a pebble and muttered, "Garos is an idiot. He'll cripple himself sooner or later. Then we'll be free."
The iron dragon brother had just shattered a hard rock with his horn.
Shaking the dust and debris from his face, he chimed in, his voice full of malice, "Not just free! We'll force him to find ore for us and mine it for us!"
The thought of tormenting Garos in the future, forcing him to dig mines and hoard treasures for them, filled their minds with a beautiful vision.
The two hatchlings, engrossed in their mining, felt no fatigue. A happy smile curled their lips, and their claws instinctively dug even faster.
(End of the Chapter)