Chapter 3: Negotiation

The giant dragon's scales were thick and layered, deep iron-black in color, their surfaces covered in fine serrated textures resembling forged metal billets, as if cast from steel and iron; bony, exoskeleton-like metallic protrusions marked its joints, and a row of heavy, shark-fin-like spines ran along its back.

It sat motionless upon the high platform.

Its wings and limbs were not fully extended, its massive form held in a state of restraint.

Yet even so,

an overwhelming, sky-covering pressure surged toward them.

The destruction and devastation such a giant dragon could unleash in anger was enough to send shivers down one's spine at the mere thought.

The giant dragon was gazing at Garos with black dragon eyes identical to his own.

It was none other than Garos's mother—the Iron Dragon Mother, Leticia.

"Mother."

The young dragon lowered its head and greeted the giant dragon on the high platform.

The Iron Dragon Mother was a very traditional Iron Dragon, believing in no dragon gods, lawful evil in alignment, holding efficiency and pragmatism as her highest principles, adhering to a life governed by rigid hierarchy, and yearning to build a world dominated by dragons and ruled by Iron Dragons, possessing a strong sense of class consciousness.

In her eyes, even offspring could not overstep too far.

They must obey her rules and show her respect and awe.

"Garos, my child, the crystallization of flame and steel."

The Iron Dragon Mother lowered her gaze to look at Garos and spoke in a cool, magnetic voice: "Six cycles of the moon phases are enough for a hatchling to shed its soft scales; now, your armor is as hard as iron."

Her voice was like sandpaper rubbing against a steel ingot, every syllable causing the metallic particles in the air to hum in resonance.

Garos nodded, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

According to age, dragons were divided into many age groups.

For instance, ages one to five were hatchlings; during this period, hatchlings received protection from their mothers, including food, shelter, and defense.

Beyond that, ages six to twelve were the young dragon stage.

Evil dragons had rather indifferent feelings of kinship and little interest in raising their offspring.

When their offspring reached the young dragon stage, evil dragons would often choose to expel them, forcing the offspring to leave their territory and live alone outside.

Garos had an older dragon brother who had been expelled two years ago; his current fate was unknown.

As for himself, Garos had long anticipated this day, though he had not expected it to come so soon.

This magical world was not safe; supernatural beings were not limited to dragons, and magical power was not unique to them either. Moreover, because every part of a dragon's body consisted of top-tier materials, they were highly coveted.

Adult dragons were fine; they possessed immense power and could protect themselves.

But young dragons?

Compared to humans, a young dragon was equivalent to a toddler who had just barely learned to stand, stumbling with every step; for a young dragon living alone outside without protection, danger lurked everywhere, and survival was extremely difficult.

The mortality rate for evil dragon offspring before reaching adulthood was exceedingly high.

Expelling young dragon offspring to live alone seemed highly unreasonable to Garos, and it was no wonder the dragon race was gradually declining.

Furthermore,

he reasoned that it was precisely because of the extremely harsh struggle for survival in their childhood that evil dragons developed such violent and ferocious personalities upon reaching adulthood.

"When I was your age, my claws and teeth were not as sharp as yours."

The Iron Dragon Mother continued: "My scales were not as sturdy as yours, yet I had already left my mother's protection and possessed my own territory."

When speaking of her territory, her eyes flickered, and her tone carried a hint of falseness.

The so-called 'territory' was merely a foul-smelling ditch.

The Iron Dragon Mother's face was covered in steel-like fine scales; her skin was thick, and her expression remained unchanged.

She tilted her massive body slightly backward and said, "Garos, you must leave here and begin your own life."

"Before dawn tomorrow, your scales should no longer be stained by the dust of this place."

As expected, she intended to expel me.

This was a damn bad habit; just because one has been caught in the rain does not mean one should tear down someone else's umbrella, Dragon Mother!

Hearing the Iron Dragon Mother's words, Garos felt a chill run through his heart.

At the same time, two suppressed, low laughs came from behind.

The Red Dragon Sister and the newly arrived Iron Dragon Brother, two five-year-old hatchlings, looked at Garos with gleeful, schadenfreude-filled eyes, their tails swishing behind them, clearly in high spirits.

Driven by the nature of evil dragons, the two had frequently provoked Garos in the past, only to be beaten by him time and again.

They both hoped Garos would be expelled.

"Two fools; do they not realize that I am what they will be in one year?"

Garos shook his head slightly, unwilling to bother with fools.

These two hatchlings cared only for the present, giving no thought whatsoever to the future.

Raising his lowered head, Garos looked at the Iron Dragon Mother and said, "Mother, I hope to stay in your territory for a while longer; I am not yet prepared."

The Iron Dragon Mother spread half of her wings, and the shadow instantly swallowed half of the nest.

She refused with absolute firmness: "No."

Garos had anticipated this situation, so he sighed and said, "I originally intended to trade treasures for food and protection; since Mother's decision is so firm, then let it be."

As his words fell, Garos shook his head, turned around, and prepared to leave.

Treasures?

The Iron Dragon Mother's pupils instantly turned vertical.

"My dear Garos, wait!"

Normal dragons could not refuse treasures.

Garos knew this well—treasures were the weakness of almost all dragons, and the Iron Dragon Mother was no exception.

Her personality was rigid and traditional; she believed that six-year-old young dragons should live alone, but then again, every rule had exceptions. The Iron Dragon Mother was also a standard pragmatist; if Garos could bring her treasures, she would not mind continuing to shelter this offspring.

The cold, hard expression softened considerably.

The Iron Dragon Mother spoke kindly, asking, "Where did you get these treasures, and how much are you willing to exchange for food and shelter?"

Garos sat upright on the ground with his limbs drawn close, looking up at the massive Iron Dragon, and said calmly, "I possess a keen perception of minerals, especially precious metal ores; my perception of them is quite clear."

"I can guarantee you at least three pieces of precious metal ore weighing over ten jin heavy every month."

"In return, you must provide me with shelter, as well as high-quality blood meals as usual."

The blood meals the Iron Dragon Mother could provide were all from high-level demons, which the current Garos would find difficult to obtain on his own.

Garos desperately needed high-quality blood meals; his Adaptive Evolution talent did not come from nothing, and the evolution process required sufficient energy replenishment.

Hearing Garos's words, the Iron Dragon Mother nodded slightly.

Reasonable.

Dragons possess a talent for sensitivity to metal ores, though this talent rarely appears in young dragons.

"Are you willing to go mine?"

Dragonkind is naturally proud; tasks like mining, which servants and slaves do, are generally beneath dragons to perform personally.

When discussing treasures, the Iron Dragon Mother changed to a calculating expression and said, "If you wish to requisition my servants to mine for you, you must pay extra; the specific amount to add will be discussed in detail based on the level of the servants you wish to requisition."

Level refers to the creature's biological level.

This is the most direct reference method for distinguishing individual power tiers; for instance, Garos's current biological level is 7, a tier that rivals even Gold Dragons among young dragons of the same age, and even surpasses ordinary Gold Dragons.

Whether Red Dragons or Iron Dragons, under normal circumstances, they are weaker than Gold Dragons at the same age.

Switching to the White Dragon among the Five-Colored Dragons, the average biological level at six years old is only around level 3.

"No need, I have two mining slaves I can command, and with my personal urging, their mining efficiency should not be low."

Garos rejected the Iron Dragon Mother's proposal.

Two mining slaves? The Red Dragon Sister and the Iron Dragon Brother looked at each other in surprise.

"When did Garos get two mining slaves?"

The Red Dragon Sister lowered her voice and asked the Iron Dragon Brother beside her.

"I don't know either."

The Iron Dragon Brother shook his head, his gaze clear.

The two young dragons stared at each other, racking their brains, truly unable to figure out where Garos found two mining slaves.

(End of this chapter)