White Dragon Tereshi soared beneath lead-heavy clouds, raindrops constantly battering her wide wings.
Her gaze pierced through the curtain of rain, catching sight of the scene on the wasteland below.
Standing at the center was the Red-Iron Dragon, surrounded by four familiar figures—Heriam, Cahill, Ludwig, and Serafina.
"Why are they here too?"
A trace of doubt rose in her heart.
She thought to herself, "Could it be that the leader happens to be giving them some important mission?"
Ever since deeply understanding and practicing Niche Theory, Tereshi had been in a state of deep reflection for a long time. Her spiritual perception had become incredibly sharp, far surpassing that of an ordinary White Dragon.
For some reason.
At this moment, an indescribable sense of unease was quietly growing and spreading in her heart, as if something bad was about to happen.
Soon, the White Dragon arrived above her destination.
But she didn't land immediately; instead, she gradually slowed her flight, circling a few more times under the gloomy sky.
She was buying herself a little more time to think and observe.
Finally, she landed slowly in front of Garros.
"Noble King of Molten Iron."
Tereshi's gaze avoided the nearby Young Dragons, whose eyes were burning with intensity.
She focused on the Red-Iron Dragon, lowering her head in praise: "Every time I see you, I feel you are even more stalwart, more majestic and powerful than the last."
"Even these heavy dark clouds across the sky cannot obscure your grand and powerful dragon body."
As she spoke, she didn't dare delay, quickly taking out the packaged black oil crystals and handing them to the Red-Iron Dragon.
"The road here was not safe."
Tereshi exhaled a long breath, as if relaxing from tension, and said, "Although I encountered some minor setbacks on the way—for instance, a group of blind giant eagles tried to intercept me, and there was a sudden thunderstorm zone... none of it could truly block my path."
"Fortunately, I did not fail my mission and have delivered them safely."
In reality, her journey had been calm and unobstructed; she hadn't even run into a decent magical beast.
But to emphasize that her trip wasn't just a simple errand, but that she had undertaken risks and heavy responsibilities to show she wasn't insignificant, she told a small lie without blinking.
Garros collected all the black oil crystals into a spatial item.
"Mm, you came quite fast. Your efficiency is good."
He responded simply, his tone devoid of much emotion.
At this moment, Tereshi used her peripheral vision to quickly glance at the nearby Young Dragons.
This glance made her heart tighten suddenly.
She found that all four dragons had smiles on their faces that they could barely suppress. Moreover, their eyes showed an undisguised eagerness, focused dead-on her.
Oh no...
Tereshi instantly understood the source of her unease, and alarm bells rang in her mind.
"Since the supplies have been delivered safely, if you have no other urgent matters to command,"
The White Dragon blinked, making her tone sound natural and full of responsibility as she said, "I shall prepare to return to The Borderlands."
"Under my careful education and guidance, the little dragons in Dragon Valley are in a critical growth phase."
"They are thriving and becoming stronger every day. It won't be long before they can contribute to the tribe, but they still have much survival wisdom and many rules to learn. They cannot be without my guidance for even a moment."
Under Tereshi's nervous gaze, the Red-Iron Dragon slowly shook his head.
"No rush."
The corners of his massive mouth seemed to turn up slightly, as if he were smiling, as he said, "Heriam, Cahill, and the others are, in a sense, students you once taught."
"You haven't seen each other for a while. Since you've reunited today, you should have some things to talk about."
White Dragon Tereshi was silent for a few seconds, then she turned her gaze toward the Young Dragons, her chest and head puffing up accordingly.
"Heriam, Cahill, Ludwig, Serafina."
This time, she didn't immediately show her usual disdainful, contemptuous, or condescending gaze.
Instead, a warm smile appeared on her dragon face, which was covered in ice-crystal-like scales.
The White Dragon changed her usual behavior and said in a heartfelt tone, "Seeing how you are today truly makes me emotional."
"The four of you are undoubtedly the most outstanding and excellent students I have ever taught."
"In the past, to urge your growth to the maximum and stimulate your potential, I had to adopt some... well, perhaps extreme methods, doing many things that went against my own gentle nature."
"These actions may not have been understood by you at the time, and may have even caused you to harbor resentment toward me."
She shook her head helplessly and said, "However, seeing with my own eyes that you have gradually become indispensable pillars of the Molten Iron Tribe, playing increasingly important roles among the dragons, I am truly and deeply proud of you."
"Going forward, I will use you as role models to inspire and teach the younger dragons."
"I will have them all strive with you as their goal, and have them all be proud of you."
Hearing White Dragon Tereshi's heartfelt words, which were completely different from her past image, the four originally murderous Young Dragons couldn't help but freeze together, their faces showing a mix of shock and confusion.
Could it be... could it be that Tereshi's past insults and suppression were really all for their own good?
Was it a different kind of well-intentioned encouragement?
To be fair, without her past almost cruel and strict urging, they indeed wouldn't have trained so desperately, nor would they have become as powerful and resilient as they were now so quickly.
Could those unpleasant things that happened before really have been just one big misunderstanding?
Was her acting too good, or were they too narrow-minded?
The dragons subconsciously glanced at each other, and the originally intense malice and anger in their eyes dissipated and wavered quite a bit because of Tereshi's sudden revelation of true feelings.
Tereshi caught the loosening of their emotions and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
But in the next second, her heart instantly leaped into her throat.
Because the Red-Iron Dragon's voice rang out.
Echoing the White Dragon's words, he unhurriedly added, "Mm, in the arduous task of educating Young Dragons, I did indeed give Tereshi a lot of autonomy, allowing her to use the methods she deemed most effective."
"But even I did not fully expect it at the beginning."
"Her educational methods were so unique and the results so significant."
Garros's gaze swept over the four Young Dragons as he said, "Those repeated verbal insults, the relentless physical blows time and again, that unique education so strict it could be called torture and trampling..."
"You truly should remember it deeply, and you should thank her for it."
Each of Garros's words was like pouring a bucket of hot oil onto the Young Dragons' already slightly subsided anger.
The flames that had just dimmed in their eyes instantly reignited, becoming even more violent.
"Yes! Noble Pale Wing! We indeed... are. Ver. Y. Grate. Ful. for your teaching!"
Reminded by Garros, all the memories of past humiliations surged back like a tide. The four dragons practically squeezed these words through their teeth, gnashing and snarling.
Regardless of the intent, the White Scale's insults and trampling of them were real.
Tereshi's heart instantly turned cold.
"Ah! Damned Garros! I suspect you are just frantically fanning the flames!"
She really wanted to shout this at Garros regardless of the consequences, but facing the Red-Iron Dragon, whose niche was absolute and crushing, and who was unfathomable, she instinctively swallowed the words, and even her expression didn't change much.
"No... no need for thanks."
Tereshi maintained her calm facial expression and continued, "Although this was not my original intention, guiding and spurring you toward strength is my duty, something I must do."
However, the dragons opposite her remained unmoved.
Within the curtain of wind and rain, their voices converged, piercing through the sound of the rain as they said clearly: "Noble Pale Wing... Tereshi! Under the witness of the great King of Molten Iron! We challenge you!"
A satisfied look appeared on Garros's massive dragon head, as if this was exactly the scene he had been expecting.
He said, "Tereshi, as an experienced Mature Adult Dragon and their former teacher, by all rights and reason, you have no reason to refuse this respectful challenge."
Immediately, he turned to look at the four high-spirited Young Dragons.
"In what form do you wish to conduct this challenge?"
The dragons communicated briefly, and then Blue Dragon Heriam, acting as the representative, said in a deep voice, "One-on-one, challenging in turns!"
"We want to make her lose fair and square!"
One-on-one?
This was simply asking for trouble.
Although Tereshi was a White Dragon, universally recognized as the lowest among the Chromatic Dragons, she was after all a genuine Mature Adult Dragon. She was over two hundred years old, and her Life Level was steadily more than one level higher than these Young Dragons.
In a single combat, they had a probability of beating her, but it was absolutely slim.
However, to Garros's slight surprise, White Dragon Tereshi shook her head.
She spoke up, saying, "No, that wouldn't be fair to you."
"Since you want to challenge me, I hope to accept your challenge in a fairer way, just like when I taught you before. All four of you, come at me together."
In a one-on-one fight, she would most likely win.
But so what?
The strength gap between them was no longer that massive.
Even if she won, it didn't mean she could still insult them at will like before; instead, it would further escalate the conflict, causing the other party to accumulate deeper anger.
When they became stronger in the future, she would inevitably face an even more violent and merciless counterattack.
That being the case, she might as well take this opportunity while their claws and teeth weren't sharp enough and their strength hadn't completely surpassed hers to let them vent their accumulated anger all at once!
Getting a beating was better than being held in a grudge for a lifetime.
Wait, maybe I misunderstood Garros. He organized this challenge now for my own good, Tereshi thought.
"Fine!"
The Young Dragons, in their fit of anger, only thought about clearing their humiliation and didn't think through the calculation behind this at all.
Hearing that the White Dragon actually took the initiative to request a one-against-four, they only felt that the other party still looked down on them. Their anger flared up even more, and they directly agreed without hesitation.
Still too young, easily manipulated by this cunning White Dragon, Garros thought, shaking his head slightly from the side. He noticed that Tereshi had become increasingly clever since understanding Niche Theory.
However, he didn't intend to continue interfering deeply.
His small act of fanning the flames to push things to this point was already the limit. Since Tereshi could come up with a clever way to respond with her own wisdom, as the leader, he shouldn't over-interfere in the grudges and grievances between them.
"Then, I and this sky full of wind and rain shall together bear witness to your challenge."
The Red-Iron Dragon's voice cut across the sky.
He spread his giant wings and took to the air, circling high in the heavens, looking down at the battle about to begin.
On the ground, with White Dragon Tereshi at the center, the four Young Dragons of different colors slowly spread out, surrounding her from four directions. Dragon fear permeated the air, and even the falling rain seemed to shy away from it.
"Begin."
With Garros's brief command from the sky, the four Young Dragons were like four arrows leaving the string, instantly tearing through the wind and rain, charging simultaneously from different directions toward White Dragon Tereshi at the center.
The fastest was Blue Dragon Heriam, his wings flashing with piercing lightning.
With a crackling boom, jumping arcs of electricity surrounded him, and he almost instantly flickered into existence at the White Dragon's side. Highly compressed lightning energy gathered on one of his claws, tearing through the air as it struck viciously toward the side of the White Dragon's head.
White Dragon Tereshi reacted extremely quickly.
She immediately raised her massive front claws, cold air surging out instantly to condense into ice armor on her forelimbs, meeting the Blue Dragon's lightning claw strike.
Bang!
Claws and ice armor collided violently; with a tooth-aching sound of shattering, the ice armor broke apart inch by inch. The White Dragon's massive body was shaken back several steps, her forelimbs numbed.
Immediately following that, a draconic shadow, blazing like a fiery meteor, slammed into her with brute force.
It was the Red Dragon Cahill. Relying on her wild charging momentum, she slammed solidly into the White Dragon's body. The immense force sent the unsteady Tereshi flying off the ground, rolling backward.
Just as she landed heavily and before the White Dragon could steady her dizzy body, the ground beneath her feet suddenly churned violently.
Countless thick, python-like vines burst from the soil, flexibly and swiftly entwining the White Dragon's limbs, neck, and wings.
At the same time, on the other side.
Accompanied by the heart-palpitating sound of bone friction, pale bone spears condensed out of thin air. With shrill whistles, they shot toward the temporarily bound White Dragon.
Whoosh!
Tereshi violently flapped her wings, whipping up a biting icy wind mixed with countless sharp ice blades.
The ice blades spun and sliced, severing the vines entwined around her body one after another. Simultaneously, they met the incoming bone spears, successfully intercepting and shattering most of them mid-air in a series of crackling collisions.
Boom!
Just as she was dealing with the frontal attack, a brilliant bolt of heavenly lightning brazenly split the dark clouds and struck White Dragon Tereshi's back.
This was the lightning strike guided by Heriam.
"Ugh!" Tereshi let out a pained groan. Her massive body trembled violently as dazzling electric snakes coursed over her, her movements instantly becoming stiff and sluggish.
The Blue Dragon Heriam seized this opportunity and swooped in once more.
His claws, flickering with thunderous light, tore toward the White Dragon's face.
Still paralyzed, Tereshi barely managed to lower her head, narrowly avoiding a claw strike that could have disfigured her. However, Heriam, missing his first strike, swung his dragon tail in stride. The tail tip, wreathed in lightning, lashed against Tereshi's back like a steel whip.
Sizzle! The ice armor shattered, scales flew, and several charred scars with torn flesh were left behind.
Whoosh—!
On the other side, the Red Dragon Cahill's flaming breath was finally ready! A crimson torrent capable of melting metal and stone evaporated all the rain along its path, heading straight for the staggering Tereshi with terrifying heat.
"These little brats... they really don't know how to hold back. They don't know how to respect their elders at all!"
Tereshi cursed inwardly, but on the surface, she appeared to have difficulty moving after being numbed by the electricity.
It wasn't until the flaming torrent was almost upon her that she, who had just seemed paralyzed and stiff, suddenly appeared to have a burst of potential. She violently spread her wings and kicked off the ground with her limbs, narrowly taking to the sky and clumsily dodging the path of the Red Dragon's breath.
However, just as she ascended, another precise bolt of lightning descended from the sky.
Boom!
Struck squarely by lightning once again, Tereshi let out a wail. With black smoke rising from her body, she fell crookedly from the low altitude toward the ground.
The other dragons were not about to let such a golden opportunity pass; they all roared and rushed in for close combat.
The glow of Spell-like abilities shone, and skills from various pathways were unleashed frequently.
Sharp claws and teeth, powerful dragon wings, hard tails... every part that could be used for attack became a weapon, falling upon the White Dragon like a torrential storm.
Relying on their numerical advantage and coordination, the Young Dragons soon had White Dragon Tereshi completely suppressed.
Bang!
The Blue Dragon's tail, entwined with eye-searing lightning, lashed against the White Dragon's ribs like a steel whip, sending her flying to the left.
Smack!
The Red Dragon's massive claws, carrying scorching flames, slammed down like a battering ram, sending her rolling to the right.
Squelch! Squelch!
The Black Dragon and the Green Dragon took the opportunity to pin her down with their bodies, using their weight and sharp teeth to bite and crush her back and wing roots.
The scales of victory were tilting rapidly.
The White Dragon, being ganged up on by the four dragons, looked incredibly wretched. Her scales were broken, she was covered in bloodstains, and her white dragon scales were stained filthy with mud, scorch marks, and blood, making her look exceptionally pathetic.
However, while those involved were confused, the bystander saw clearly.
Garros, watching the battle calmly from the sky, saw everything very clearly.
Although Tereshi's flesh was torn and she looked miserable, most of those were insignificant superficial wounds and surface-level appearances.
She very cunningly offered her strongest and thickest parts for the Young Dragons to attack. As for the attacks that could actually cause her serious harm—such as those aimed at her eyes, throat, wing membranes, or soft belly—she either concentrated on blocking and defending or twisted her body to precisely avoid vital points in a way that seemed clumsy but was actually accurate.
She had now almost completely given up on counterattacking, letting the Young Dragons vent their anger on her body.
Furthermore, from beginning to end, she had not uttered a single plea for mercy, nor had she surrendered.
As time passed and sharp teeth and claws left increasingly dense wounds on the White Dragon, the long-accumulated anger and resentment in the Young Dragons' hearts finally began to subside with every strike.
They began to feel that beating an opponent who couldn't fight back and was just passively taking the hits wasn't that interesting anymore.
After their anger subsided, they gradually began to feel a bit bored.
Finally, when White Dragon Tereshi was nearly covered in wounds, drenched in blood, and standing there panting as if she couldn't even stand steadily.
"White Scale! Do you see clearly now? You are no longer our match!"
Blue Dragon Heriam stopped his attack, bared his teeth which were stained with a bit of blood, and said in a low voice, "In front of us, take back all your past pride and contempt! Acknowledge our strength!"
With that, he was the first to leap back, stopping his attack.
The other dragons also panted, throwing out harsh words like "Show some respect in the future!" or "Don't let us hear any more insults from you!" After a round of verbal abuse, they also stopped one after another.
Throughout the entire process, White Dragon Tereshi just kept her head lowered.
She put on a complete act of submissiveness, accepting the beating and the verbal abuse as if she had thoroughly admitted defeat.
No matter how they hit or scolded her, she just took it.
In any case, the injuries weren't serious, and to her, the curses and insults were like a gentle breeze brushing past her face.
"Alright, that's enough."
The Red-Iron Dragon's words fell, drawing a conclusion to this challenge: "Your previous grievances are settled from this moment on. I don't want to see any internal strife within the dragon flight because of this matter in the future."
A short while later.
The several Young Dragons, satisfied and feeling they had finally vented their frustrations, departed to return to their posts and continue fulfilling their duties.
On the empty wasteland, only the scarred White Dragon Tereshi and the slowly descending Red-Iron Dragon remained.
"I understand... I've realized it!"
At this moment, Tereshi stretched her wings and twisted her neck.
The previous weak and wretched appearance vanished, replaced by a look of sudden realization.
You've realized something again?
What have you realized?
Garros tilted his head slightly, looking toward White Dragon Tereshi.
Tereshi said, "Whenever the little dragons grow to a certain point and their wings start to get strong."
"Before I truly can't beat them, I should proactively organize or induce them to launch a challenge like this, and then let them insult me to vent their accumulated anger and negative emotions."
"In this way, the counterattacks I receive are controlled within a predictable and easily bearable range."
"The price of this bit of physical pain is simply insignificant compared to the uncontrolled revenge I might face in the future."
As she spoke, she looked at the silent Red-Iron Dragon beside her, her eyes filled with sincere gratitude.
"Thank you so much, Garros!"
Tereshi said in an admiring tone, "You must have predicted all of this long ago, which is why you facilitated today's challenge."
"This was to enlighten me!"
"Without this reminder and arrangement, I would never have thought of this. Your wisdom is as deep as the abyss; I truly look up to you!"
Garros was silent for a few seconds before finally nodding slowly.
That's right, he had actually predicted it.
Facilitating this battle seemed like it was for fun, but in reality, it was to take the opportunity of the White Dragon coming over to eliminate the grievances between her and the Young Dragons in advance, lest it become even harder to handle later.
Garros thought the White Dragon wouldn't see it, but he didn't expect her to be so much smarter than before. She could actually think at this level and even extrapolate from it to how she should handle similar matters in the future.
"Tereshi."
Garros thought of a question and asked, "After experiencing this counterattack today, will it make you change your mind and reduce the intensity of your 'encouragement' for the other Young Dragons in the future? Will you become more gentle?"
Upon hearing this, White Dragon Tereshi immediately grinned, showing a proud smile.
"Of course not!"
She answered decisively, "Quite the opposite! Just like Heriam and the others! No matter how powerful they become in the future, whether they become a Dragon King ruling a region or even a high-and-mighty Dragon God, they can never change one established fact."
"They! Have all been repeatedly insulted by me and repeatedly educated by me."
The more Tereshi spoke, the more proud she became, her chest puffing out again. "The higher they climb in the future and the stronger they become, the stronger my sense of accomplishment and honor will be."
"So, you can rest assured!"
"Faced with the other little dragons in Dragon Valley, I will likewise spare no effort, do my best, and give them the most profound education as always! I'll ensure they grow up strong!"
Garros was completely speechless.
Looking at this White Dragon with her peculiar way of thinking and who clearly enjoyed it, he had to admit in his heart that, to some extent, Tereshi might truly be a one-in-a-million peerless Genius among White Dragons.
A short while later.
White Dragon Tereshi, feeling good about herself, flapped her wings with satisfaction and returned to the Dragon Valley in The Borderlands to continue carefully teaching her new generation of students.
Meanwhile, Garros remained where he was, preparing to continue his high-intensity inhuman training.
However, just as he had restarted his Frenzied State and golden lightning appeared around his body, a transmission from Charles interrupted his movements.
"Lord Garros."
Charles's voice sounded directly through the communication item, saying, "Beneath the lowest level of the Worm Waste Pit, through exploration, a lost dungeon has been discovered. From the architectural style, it should be the Marnes Dungeon."
After the battle with the Lich ended, Garros had instructed Charles to send some elites to explore the abandoned mines.
And now, the exploration had yielded results.
"A dungeon actually exists..."
Garros was momentarily stunned.
To be honest, he hadn't expected the map to be real. He had only sent his subordinates to explore with the thought that it was better than nothing.
The result, however, exceeded his expectations.
"In that case, is that Legendary item also hidden somewhere in this dungeon?"
"It seems my luck has finally been good for once."
Garros took a deep breath of the rain-scented air and gave Charles a low-voiced command: "Personally select and lead a team of elite, reliable explorers to continue exploring the Marnes Dungeon. Notify me immediately of any developments."
Alchemy was very developed on this planet, and Alchemical Items were countless.
But even so, items or equipment that could reach the Legendary rank were still incredibly precious and rare.
If he could truly obtain one, regardless of its specific effect or type, it would inevitably possess extraordinary and immense value.