Chapter 4: Mining

Iron Dragon Mother glanced at the two dumbfounded hatchlings.

From Garos’s words and gaze, she understood his intentions.

But she had no intention of stopping him.

For squabbles among her offspring, unless life or death was involved, she would not interfere in ordinary bullying or oppression.

Besides.

These two hatchlings ate and drank from her every day, gorged themselves, then wandered aimlessly around her territory doing nothing useful—they ought to do something worthwhile.

As for forcing hatchlings or young dragons to mine for her.

Iron Dragon Mother could not bring herself to do it; though evil and cruel, she upheld her own code.

But for Garos to do it was perfectly reasonable.

“The problem is, your ‘mining slaves’ live under my protection.”

Iron Dragon Mother’s eyes gleamed as she flicked her tail lightly.

Under her gaze, the young red dragon immediately said: “I’ll provide you with one additional ten-pound raw precious metal ore each month.”

“Agreed.”

After a few seconds of silent thought, Iron Dragon Mother nodded in acceptance.

“Thank you, Mother. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

“Go. Do what you must.”

Garos turned and walked toward the two hatchlings, stopping before them.

“Samantha. Gorton.”

Speaking the names of the red dragon sister and iron dragon brother, Garos narrowed his eyes and said: “Come with me.”

Both dragons eyed him warily, not moving.

“What do you want?”

They asked.

“Of course, to make you mine for me.”

Garos grinned.

“Why?!”

The two hatchlings refused fiercely, finally realizing that Garos’s earlier mention of “mining slaves” referred to them.

“Because I’m stronger than you.”

Before the words finished, Garos lunged at the brother and sister.

Boom!

A dragon charge—he slammed directly into the iron dragon brother, sending him flying.

As their scales clashed, dense sparks flew; Garos’s scales remained unbroken, while the iron dragon brother’s scales cracked and shattered, large patches tearing loose as he was slammed into the metallic cave wall with a dull thud.

The red dragon sister had just reacted.

Garos twisted his waist, his thick, long tail—covered in blade-like scales—whistled through the air and lashed out.

Boom!

The dragon tail struck the red dragon sister’s shoulder with crushing force, shredding a layer of her scales and flinging her away like a ragdoll.

“If you won’t obey, I’ll beat you until you do.”

Garos tilted his chin, looking down at the two hatchlings sprawled on the ground.

“Bastard Garos, you’ll regret messing with us!”

The hatchlings’ ferocity flared; their dragon bodies, tough and resilient, bore his attacks as if nothing had happened.

They roared in fury.

The two hatchlings, one year younger than Garos, lunged at him from left and right.

With a one-year age gap, it was normally impossible to fight two against one.

But.

Samantha and Gorton, unlike Garos, had no habit of self-training; like most hatchlings, they believed steady growth would eventually make them lords, so they lazily accepted their complacency, neglecting exercise.

And Garos.

After realizing dragons were not absolute overlords and that the world teemed with danger, he began consciously training to strengthen himself.

“Hey, let this be a lesson.”

Garos rolled his neck and charged toward the two hatchlings.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Muffled impacts of flesh against flesh rang continuously.

Just three minutes later.

The two hatchlings lay sprawled on the ground, bellies up, as if unconscious, their bodies covered in bruises, scales missing in patches, teeth knocked out, horns bent.

Garos hadn’t lost a single scale.

Aside from dust, his worst injury was a bite on his forearm from the red dragon sister—but his scales were so thick and hard that she bit until her jaws ached, barely piercing his armor, leaving only a row of tiny tooth marks with not a drop of blood.

Beneath the scales lay dragon hide.

The red dragon sister hadn’t even reached the hide before Garos grabbed her horn, yanked her head sideways, and pounded her face.

“My dear Garos, I look forward to your next performance.”

Iron Dragon Mother flicked her tail with a crisp snap, signaling her approval of Garos’s actions.

In truth.

She had always admired Garos; this hybrid dragon possessed greater innate talent than ordinary dragons, and his relentless pursuit of power showed great potential to become a great evil dragon.

Admiration aside.

She had no intention of feeding and sheltering Garos for free.

But now, Garos traded treasure for food and protection, and Iron Dragon Mother was quite pleased to witness his gradual growth.

As for the two hatchlings beaten senseless.

Iron Dragon Mother felt no pity; she thought they should examine their own failings.

“Thank you, Mother.”

Garos replied, then seized each hatchling by the tail and dragged them out of Iron Dragon Mother’s nest.

The two hatchlings were knocked unconscious, heavy and limp.

Carrying them by their tails, Garos flew to the center of the sinkhole lake and dropped them in.

Plop! Plop!

Water splashed everywhere, droplets glittering under the moonlight.

Garos hovered in midair, wings flaring, watching the lake below.

Only seconds later, two figures shot out of the water like they were on fire, instinctively flying in opposite directions, trying to escape Garos.

Garos flapped his wings.

Beneath the cold moonlight, his wings stretched wide and long, spanning twelve meters—twice his body length—tough membranes snapping loudly as they cut through air, edges razor-sharp, gleaming with metallic chill.

Whoosh!

The sound of his wings slicing air was a piercing shriek.

In an instant, Garos caught up to the red dragon sister, seized her tail, swung her around, and slammed her into the fleeing iron dragon brother.

Boom!

Both hatchlings crashed to the ground, kicking up rocks and dust, cracks spreading across the earth around them.

“Still running? I’ll let you run three seconds.”

Garos folded his wings and landed before the two hatchlings.

Samantha and Gorton wore expressions of utter despair, no longer daring to defy Garos.

Then Garos brought them to the place where he often trained on Rishan.

He had a keen sense for metal ores, and since he often came here, he sensed deposits deep underground.

He pointed in one direction and ordered them to dig.

The two hatchlings grumbled but, under Garos’s tyranny, submitted and began digging obediently.

Crack! Crack!

The sound of dragon claws digging into stone rose and fell.

Meanwhile, Garos repeatedly flew into the air, then folded his wings and let his heavy body free-fall, smashing into the ground and leaving one crater after another.

This was a more intense form of training than Rishan.

——Earth Impact.

If he misjudged the height, he risked crippling himself; he rarely trained this way.

But Iron Dragon Mother’s “expulsion” made Garos realize he would eventually face danger alone, and he craved strength even more.

The two hatchlings couldn’t understand Garos’s strange behavior; as they labored at digging, they comforted themselves.

Samantha spat out a stone, muttered: “Garos is stupid—he’ll eventually break himself falling, then we’ll be free.”

Gorton had just shattered a hard rock with his horn.

Shaking dust and fragments from his face, he agreed fiercely: “Not just free—we’ll force him to find ore and dig for us!”

Imagining their glorious future: tormenting Garos, making him labor to accumulate treasure for them.

The two digging hatchlings no longer felt tired; smiles curled their lips, and their claws dug faster instinctively.

(End of chapter)