Cold winds carried ice crystals, like countless tiny blades, scraping across the vast, desolate land.
The world was a sheet of white, with only the howling wind and snow dominating everything.
This was completely different from the bustling, thunder-and-charge-filled places the Blue Dragons were used to; this was The Borderlands, shrouded and swept by snowstorms.
A sizable group of Dragonkin was currently flying low over this unfamiliar snowy plain.
The snow reflected off the beautiful azure dragon scales of the leader, which looked like fragments of a clear sky—it was the Blue Dragon Zolaya.
Every flap of her powerful dragon wings broke through the biting cold wind, and following behind her were over twenty Young Dragons and Wyrmlings, much smaller than her in size.
Among them, Blue Dragons were the most numerous, with a few other types of Evil Dragon cubs mixed in.
They were all the new generation of the original Dominic Dragon Flight, and now they were the subjects that needed to be reshaped and branded with a brand-new mark.
These still-young Dragonkin flapped their tender wings with all their might, striving to keep up with the leader's speed.
The Young Dragons flapped their still-tender wings, their eyes filled with confusion and unease, as well as fear and trepidation.
The King of Molten Iron, the Dragon who Killed His Father, the King of the Borderlands... the owner of this series of titles had recently become a shadow hanging over the hearts of all the little dragons.
They all knew that the Heart of Thunder leader was dead.
And now, they were about to be sent to where the King of Molten Iron was, to receive his "brand-new" education.
Yes, education—Zolaya used this relatively mild-sounding term, but the unease in the Young Dragons' hearts did not diminish in the slightest because of it.
They almost unanimously believed that their future life would likely be even more miserable and unbearable than it had been in the Dominic Dragon Flight.
"I... I heard that the King of Molten Iron is heinous and vicious; he doesn't even blink when killing dragons."
A Blue Young Dragon lowered his voice, whispering to his companion beside him with a tremor, his body trembling involuntarily: "If we accidentally offend him, we might be killed by him directly."
Almost at the same time, another Red Young Dragon roared excitedly, his eyes burning with ambition inconsistent with his age.
"The King of Molten Iron? Hmph! Listen, one day, I will surely take his place!"
His words were ignored.
A timid female Blue Young Dragon also began to tremble.
"No... it's not just that he's cruel and vicious."
She said: "I heard he even eats Dragonkin! He is a terrifying dragon-eating Dragon!"
"We are being sent there, surely to be treated as reserve rations!"
Panic spread quietly among the group of dragons like a plague.
The little dragons began to stir, their eyes wandering, with a tendency to scatter and flee.
A clever little Green Dragon had even secretly slipped to the very edge of the formation, preparing to escape at the first opportunity.
Snap!
A emerald-green, living-like bolt of lightning suddenly shot out, striking all the little dragons who were whispering or showing signs of wanting to escape.
The intense feeling of paralysis made their bodies twitch violently, almost causing them to lose their balance and fall from the sky.
"Silence! No whispering, no spreading rumors!"
Zolaya's deep and majestic voice rang out, and all the little dragons instantly fell silent, not daring to make any extra sound.
After successfully intimidating these restless little ones, Zolaya's expression softened slightly.
She slowed her flight speed, letting her voice clearly reach the ears of every little dragon.
"Listen, there are no storms from Thunder Cliff here, and the environment might be harsh for you."
"But the cold can sharpen your will, and the silence can let you hear your own inner voice more clearly, rather than being forever drowned out by the outside clamor and the noise of the old order."
"Bringing you to The Borderlands is not to treat you as rations, nor is it for cruel abuse."
The Blue Dragon Zolaya continued in a deep voice: "The King of Molten Iron has given you the opportunity to survive and become strong, not destruction."
"You are lucky."
"Sending you here is in the hope that you can receive brand-new guidance, grow into stronger dragons, and possess a future different from the past."
Hearing these words, which were not threats but carried a hint of expectation, the restless emotions of the little dragons stabilized quite a bit.
Regarding the King of Molten Iron, whom they had never met, fear still occupied the upper hand in their hearts, but at the same time, a hint of irrepressible curiosity quietly sprouted—curious about just how strong he was, curious about what kind of majesty he possessed.
As for hatred? That was far from being the case.
In the social Law of Evil Dragons, the survival of the fittest and the respect for the strong were natural and right.
Moreover, their living environment in the Dominic Dragon Flight was never good to begin with, suffering from the bullying of older Dragonkin and top-down oppression.
In the past, what supported them in staying in the flight was nothing more than the greater dangers outside, and the expectation that once they became strong, they could in turn oppress other dragons.
Just at this moment.
Behind the curtain of snow in the distance, the hazy outline of a huge valley gradually became clear.
Dragon Valley, the destination of their trip, and the beginning of their unknown fate.
"We have arrived."
Zolaya said coldly: "Put away your fear and unease! Remember, cowards will not receive the slightest attention or respect in any flight!"
She did not want the timid and terrible performance of these little ones to affect the reliable image she had built in Garros's mind.
As time passed, the Young Dragons and Wyrmlings got closer and closer to the valley entrance.
They saw the dense sentries and defensive structures towering around the valley, felt the scrutinizing gazes cast by powerful, fully armed guards, and the disciplined Wyvern Swarm circling and patrolling high in the sky.
Especially eye-catching was a dark red fortress that seemed to be burning quietly in the snow.
It stood tall, exuding a magnificent and glorious Aura.
Here... it looks much more imposing and strictly guarded than Thunder Cliff... many little dragons had this thought simultaneously.
The Dominic Dragon Flight's scale of dependents was not enough.
The guards at Thunder Cliff were also mainly responsible by Dragonkin, looking not as strict and powerful as here.
Besides the initial unease and curiosity, a hint of indescribable expectation gradually grew in the hearts of the Young Dragons and Wyrmlings.
Not long after, the Blue Dragon Zolaya led this group of dragons and officially arrived inside Dragon Valley.
Rumble! Bang!
Dull crashing sounds came from not far away, incessant to the ear.
The little dragons widened their eyes, looking in the direction of the sound.
They saw that in a wide area specifically cleared out, a towering and mighty Dragon was ignoring the wailing and begging of the prey under its feet, training a Metallic Dragon that looked like a half-blood in a highly oppressive manner.
"It... it is the powerful King of Molten Iron himself!"
"My god! He is actually torturing a Metallic Dragon prisoner?! He must be the Evil Dragon among Evil Dragons, our role model!"
"I want to be like him in the future!"
"One day I will take his place!"
"..."
The commotion brewed again among the Young Dragons and Wyrmlings, they couldn't help but shout and scream, stretching their necks one after another, wanting to see the scene in the distance, full of power and deterrence, more clearly.
Just at this moment.
A clear vibration suddenly came from the ground!
Their vision was instantly completely blocked by a huge wall covered in White Scales.
More accurately, it was a very strong White Dragon.
Her muscle lines were bulging and solid; although the overall sturdiness might not match a Red Dragon of the same size, she was definitely far superior to an ordinary White Dragon, covered all over with snow-white, thick scales, and exuding a fierce and biting Aura from her whole body.
It was the White Dragon Tereshi.
Ever since she learned that Dragon Valley was about to welcome a large batch of little dragons, she had been waiting excitedly for a long time.
If it weren't for carefully creating an entrance impression that was sufficiently majestic, she would have probably been unable to wait to welcome them halfway.
"They are handed over to you."
Zolaya said to the White Dragon; she knew this was the nurturer of Dragon Valley.
The Blue Dragon couldn't wait to flap her dragon wings, passing Tereshi, and flew towards the area where the King of Molten Iron was.
The White Dragon Tereshi's gaze was cold as a knife, sweeping one by one over every little dragon present, her mouth slowly widening, revealing a joyful smile that made all the Wyrmlings and Young Dragons feel a chill down their spines.
"Reptiles."
She spoke slowly, saying: "From today on, I, Tereshi, am your instructor in Dragon Valley! All of you dragons must unconditionally obey my orders!"
Just a mere White Scale.
A Blue Young Dragon approaching 12 years old, considered older in the group, couldn't help but mutter in a low voice, his dragon face full of defiance and contempt.
In the class system of the Dominic Dragon Flight, White Dragons were always at the bottom of the oppression chain, an existence they looked down upon.
Even if the White Dragon in front of them was larger and older, it couldn't immediately reverse their deep-rooted prejudices.
Tereshi's dragon head turned suddenly, her gaze instantly locking onto the Blue Young Dragon who was muttering in a low voice.
Unexpectedly, she didn't get angry; instead, the smile on her face became even more joyful.
Whoosh!
A sudden, violent icy wind swept through, curling the insolent Blue Young Dragon away from the group.
The next moment, the White Dragon Tereshi's huge dragon claw had already reached out, grabbing him in mid-air, and then mercilessly stepped on him heavily, ravaging him downwards with her cold claws.
"Very good."
"It seems there are still some little ones among you who haven't grasped the situation."
Tereshi smiled brilliantly and said, "Then, next, I will use the most direct way to teach you the most important and fundamental lesson in your dragon lives."
"——Recognize your own Niche!"
What she loved most was training these self-righteous, arrogant, yet incredibly weak dragons, making them deeply understand Niche Theory, and teaching them to maintain the proper awe and respect for beings of a higher Niche.
On the other side.
Blue Dragon Zolaya stood quietly at the edge of the training area, looking forward expectantly, watching the King of Molten Iron, who was training intensely while also drilling the Red-Silver Dragon.
She did not make a sound to disturb him, just waited quietly, like the most patient spectator.
Under Zolaya's gaze, the Red-Silver Dragon, who had already felt exhausted, let out a few muffled groans. Seemingly stimulated by some invisible sense of competition, she gritted her teeth and continued to persist, showing greater resilience than usual, until she finally lost all strength, collapsing onto the ground, exhausted, her chest heaving violently as she could only gasp for air.
Garros saw this and temporarily stopped his rigorous training of her.
Zolaya seized the opportunity, approached at the right moment, and whispered in a gentle tone, "My noble and mighty Dragon Lord, because of your prestige, our Dragonkin's expansion process in the central region is going very smoothly; we have encountered almost no decent resistance."
She briefly reported on the recent situation in the central region.
"Hmm, well done."
Garros nodded, indicating his approval.
His gaze fell upon Zolaya's beautiful and unique forked dragon horns, and he suddenly said, "Use your most powerful skill to attack me."
Hearing this, Zolaya raised her head in surprise.
Meeting the Red-Iron Dragon's calm yet unquestionable gaze, she immediately realized he was serious, so she said solemnly, "As you command, Dragon Lord. However, please be careful; my attack is not simple lightning-type damage."
After speaking, she took a deep breath of the cold air and raised her slender neck high.
Crackle—Crackle—!
Arcs of electricity, unlike those of ordinary Blue Dragons and appearing emerald green, leaped and flickered between her scales, rapidly converging toward the tips of her forked dragon horns.
Finally, between her two horns, an unstable, pulsating thunderball shining with a dangerous emerald light condensed.
Whoosh!
The emerald thunderball vanished in a flash, as if teleporting, and the next instant, it had already struck solidly against the Red-Iron Dragon's broad and solid chest.
The moment the thunderball hit, Garros did not feel the strong physical impact he had expected.
His body did not even sway in the slightest.
However, the moment it made contact, the thunderball exploded violently, turning into countless fine, spiderweb-like emerald electric arcs, crackling and spreading wildly across his body surface, as if weaving into a highly corrosive net of lightning.
These electric arcs carried a strong energy-corrosive effect.
They actually penetrated Garros's dense dragon scale defense and seeped deep into his body.
Besides bringing waves of faint paralysis and needle-like pain, Garros also clearly felt a sudden sense of dizziness, an uncontrollable itch deep in his throat, and waves of cramping pain in his abdomen... all sorts of negative status effects assaulted him simultaneously.
The area of scales directly hit by the thunderball even began to show traces similar to pustules.
He felt as if he had been instantly struck by some powerful compound toxin, and a strong sense of discomfort surged throughout his entire body.
"No wonder it could affect the semi-elementalized Heart of Thunder; it was indeed not simple."
He thought to himself.
However, for Garros, this discomfort spreading throughout his body brought an alternative, twisted sense of relief.
"It feels not bad."
The Red-Iron Dragon gave Zolaya an approving look.
His poison resistance primarily came from the poison of the Cliff Serpent Dragon he had absorbed in his early years.
But that was a long time ago.
As his Life Level continued to rise and his body grew stronger, Garros's poison resistance was actually increasing passively, but compared to other resistances like fire, lightning, and ice, the increase was relatively limited and was gradually failing to keep up with his overall defense level.
Zolaya's poison could just help him make up for this shortcoming and conduct targeted resistance training.
Blue Dragon Zolaya was slightly stunned for a moment, then her eyes flashed keenly, capturing the genuine interest in the Red-Iron Dragon's eyes.
"As you wish, my Dragon Lord, my King."
She no longer held anything back and began to accumulate energy with all her might, with one emerald thunderball after another continuously bombarding Garros's magnificent body.
Time passed unhurriedly.
When Zolaya's energy was almost completely exhausted, the Red-Iron Dragon's entire body was completely wrapped in dense, impenetrable emerald electric arcs, and the crackling explosions were incessant.
His body was covered with obvious signs of poisoning, and there were traces of severe corrosion on his scales.
But he still stood tall, as if these negative status effects, which would have been enough to make other dragons collapse in pain, were just another form of baptism for him.
At this moment, Zolaya panted and whispered, "The physiques of the dragons under your command are all very excellent, and you yourself are incredibly strong."
"May I implore you to guide me in my training? I also want to learn your training methods and long to become as strong as you."
Every time she came, she could almost always see the Red-Iron Dragon training tirelessly.
Therefore, she played to his preferences and made this request.
"Hmph, scheming dragon!"
The Red-Silver Dragon, who was paralyzed on the ground, snorted coldly in her heart, forced herself to prop up her body, and squeezed out a slightly stiff smile at Zolaya.
"Want to learn? I can teach you the basics for Garros first."
She did not want to let this Blue Dragon monopolize the opportunity to interact with Garros.
Zolaya clearly felt the hostility coming from the Red-Silver Dragon.
She did not mind, however, and returned a gentle, harmless smile, saying, "Okay, that would be my honor."
After a pause, a look of concern appeared on her face as she looked at Deborah: "However, you seem to be very exhausted. Do you really not need to rest well for a while first? I can wait."
The Red-Silver Dragon did not say a word, directly took out a bottle of potion capable of quickly restoring physical strength, and swallowed it.
"No need, I am fine. We can start now."
She struggled to stand up completely and signaled Zolaya to follow: "There isn't enough space here to perform; follow me, let's go to another area, and I will teach you properly."
She deliberately emphasized the word "teach," and then led the Blue Dragon Zolaya away from Garros, heading to the other side of the training ground.
The entire Dragon Valley, under the influence of Garros's leading by example, seemed to have turned into a giant training ground filled with the scent of sweat and fire.
After the Blue Dragon and the Red-Silver Dragon left, Garros was single-minded and continued to focus on his own training project.
Subsequently, he set aside some time, flapped his wings to fly high into the sky, and focused on flexibility training amidst the howling wind and snow.
Alberto, who was tinkering with his dragon horns in the valley below, saw this scene and paused his actions.
"Garros, take this!"
Upholding the persistent belief of "failing repeatedly, but fighting repeatedly," he let out a spirited dragon roar, once again soared into the sky with great enthusiasm, and flew toward the high altitude.
Then, as usual, he was whipped around in the air like a golden top.
And Alberto seemed to never tire of this, just gritting his teeth, persisting through blow after blow, trying to find an opportunity to counterattack or improve.
Meanwhile.
A slender dragon figure clad in radiant golden scales had already quietly streaked across the high sky.
She crossed the turbulent Estonia Great River, entered the airspace of The Borderlands, where the wind and snow were becoming increasingly dense, and continued to soar in the direction she perceived.
Along the way, Golden Dragon Natasha's heart was filled with surprise and uncertainty.
Since stepping into the territory of The Borderlands, she had noticed monster outposts and patrols with a unified style distributed throughout the land.
All these signs indicated that this vast region had a single lord.
And, it was highly likely to be a dragon of the Evil Dragon faction.
The most critical thing was that the positioning signal of her troublesome brother, Alberto, also pointed here.
As the distance closed, Golden Dragon Natasha could already clearly smell the rich scent of Evil Dragons permeating the air.
The number was far beyond her expectations.
Fortunately, most were relatively young; their ages should not be high.
"Could my stupid and arrogant brother... have been captured by the lord of some Evil Dragon group?"
Although she had often taught Alberto a lesson herself and quite enjoyed the process, this was mainly because he was truly asking for a beating.
She would absolutely not allow other Evil Dragons to bully and trample on her kin.
This was the untouchable bottom line of the Golden Dragon clan!
Using the thick wind and snow as natural cover, Nasha, with a serious expression and sharp eyes, continued to quietly sneak toward the direction where Alberto was located.
She wanted to see exactly what kind of Evil Dragon lord would dare to detain her brother.