Chapter 51: The Price of Fearing No Death

The moonlight was bright, coating the inside and outside of the coniferous valley, surrounded on three sides by mountains, with a layer of radiance.

Mobei carried the charred corpse of his deceased old father back to the nest where the violent bears dwelt, and with a thud, threw the charred body onto the ground.

However, the violent bears' gaze was not on Mobei.

They looked up as if facing a great enemy, their pupils reflecting the figures of two dragons circling in the sky.

Skipping past the pure-blooded red dragon, they were all looking at the other dragon.

The Red Iron Whelp's scales were like cast steel; streaks of sparks erupted from its huge, broad dragon wings, and the shadow it cast, blocking the moonlight, nearly encompassed and covered all the violent bears present.

With Garos backing him up.

Mobei straightened his chest, his thick Xiong Zhang slamming heavily against the ground, sending up a spray of gravel.

He scanned the bears, his voice loud as thunder:

"Open your bear eyes wide and look!"

He pointed with his claw at the charred corpse on the ground: "This is the fate of those who resist the great Dragon Lord!"

Under the moonlight, the alchemical runes on Mobei's body shimmered, adding several degrees of intimidation to his imposing manner.

He walked slowly toward the center of the Xiong Qun, every step causing the ground to tremble slightly.

"How many years has Old Gor ruled you, to the point where even the right to mate depends on his whim?"

Several low sounds of agreement rose from the Xiong Qun, especially from those young male bears who had long harbored resentment toward the old leader.

Seeing this, Mobei immediately raised his volume: "And now!"

He spread his arms wide.

"On behalf of Lord Garos, I promise you—all male bears will obtain the right to mate! And you need not worry about being expelled!"

Of course.

As the leader, I will be ranked before all male bears, enjoying first priority.

He added silently in his heart, chuckling low.

This declaration caused a stir among the Xiong Qun.

The eyes of several female bears clearly brightened.

It was not only the male bears who were dissatisfied with Old Gor's dictatorship; the female bears were also tired of this aged violent bear leader. Compared to the old bear, whose fur was already gray and withered and whose strength was failing, they preferred young male bears with glossy fur; otherwise, they would not have repeatedly stolen mates.

"Not only that."

Mobei continued to incite.

"The Dragon Lord will also bestow power upon us!"

He displayed the glowing runes on his body: "Look at these! Did that stingy and tyrannical old thing ever bestow any gifts upon you?"

In the sky.

Garos listened quietly to Mobei's speech.

He unexpectedly discovered that this cowardly violent bear indeed possessed considerable talent in leadership, and his intelligence was a tier above that of other Earth Violent Bears.

Thinking back carefully, it made sense.

When he first encountered him and realized he was no match, he could instantly drop his bear face to curry favor and flatter him; this speed of adaptation was extraordinary.

At this moment, the vast majority of the violent bears had been swayed by Mobei.

But there was still one male bear, fierce and unruly by nature, who had received much care from Old Gor in the past; he stepped forward and roared:

"Mobei, say no more! This is a shameful betrayal! You actually led a dragon to kill our leader! You even attempt to make us submit, to make us abandon the glory of the bear race!"

The words had just fallen.

Accompanied by a piercing whistle.

A tremendous pressure descended from the heavens.

This male bear looked up and saw a dragon-like creature rushing toward him at extreme speed like a crimson meteor; the courage he had just mustered vanished in an instant, and frightened, he closed his eyes.

Whoosh!

The wind pressure pressed his fur tight against his skin, yet the expected death did not arrive.

He opened his eyes.

The male bear's field of vision was almost entirely filled.

Garos spread his wings, hovering in mid-air with his dragon wings extended, his deep, dark black dragon eyes looking down upon this male bear.

"Evil dragon! I, Paris of the Earth Violent Bears, have never feared death!"

Enduring the dragon aura, the male bear trembled all over as he roared at Garos, baring his teeth and lips, assuming an attacking stance.

Unlike the male bear's appearance of facing a great enemy.

Garos tilted his head slightly, seeming somewhat puzzled.

"You have never died, so how do you know you are not afraid?"

He asked.

Not afraid of death?

That statement was far too simple.

Garos felt that he himself was very afraid of death, so afraid that he wanted to eliminate all dangerous factors that made him fearful and uneasy.

Even I am afraid, yet you are not? Could it be that you are more powerful than I am?

Survival and continuation are the instincts of living beings; this sentence was like a spear, piercing through the male bear's psychological defenses, and the fear of death submerged him like a tidal wave.

His eyes became hesitant, wavering between submission and resistance.

Submit?

The dragon-like creature before him was not even an adult dragon.

To submit to such a juvenile dragon would damage his dignity as an Earth Violent Bear.

But on the other hand, the fact that this young dragon could kill the leader meant it was stronger than ordinary dragons, possessed excellent potential, and seemed worth following.

The male bear thought as it struggled.

Garos was unaware of the male bear's inner thoughts.

Even if he knew, he would not have cared.

He did not like being seen as an evil dragon, nor did he like being resisted; he had no intention of sparing the violent bear before him.

Garos opened his dragon maw, and a surging torrent of flame dragon breath erupted from his mouth, engulfing the still-hesitant and fearful male bear.

Accompanied by several wails and roars that gradually weakened, he burned it to charcoal.

"Those who submit live; those who resist die."

Garos raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the Earth Rampant Bears one by one, and spoke with concise words.

Boom!

The red dragon Samantha landed on the ground at the same time, scanning the bears with a predatory stare, while brilliant flames brewed between the interlaced sharp teeth of her dragon maw.

Mober shouted at the right moment.

"Choose! Do you want to turn to ash like old Gor and this foolish violent bear, or follow me and enjoy the Dragon Lord's bounty?!"

The Xiong Qun grew restless.

Under the threat and inducement, very quickly, the first violent bear prostrated itself on the ground.

For the creatures in this wilderness, what they pursued was nothing more than two things.

Survival, continuation.

Better survival, better continuation.

If it were truly as Mober said, submitting to the dragons would be better than living under old Gor's autocratic rule.

After the first violent bear, the second, the third, and finally, all the violent bears lowered their heads; under the moonlight, the entire violent bear tribe knelt and prostrated themselves in waves, one after another, to show submission to the dragon shadow in the half-air.

The second day.

The sun shone high, and golden sunlight sprinkled over the inside and outside of the conifer valley.

Garos summoned several sub-adult male bears with heights between six and seven meters and led them to an open space.

"Dragon Lord, do you have any orders?"

One violent bear asked cautiously.

Because they had just submitted, they were still unclear about Garos's temperament; moreover, the sight of Garos directly burning a defiant person to death without a word had left a shadow in their hearts, so they appeared uneasy and cautious before Garos.

Garos had the several violent bears form a circle around himself as the center.

"Come, hit me."

He said.

Upon hearing this, the several violent bears all widened their eyes, as if they had not heard Garos's words clearly.

"You, what did you say?"

One violent bear scratched its scalp, doubting it had heard wrong, and asked in confusion.

Garos patiently repeated it and added: "I said, let you attack me, attack me with all your means; for any attack that makes me feel pain or feel threatened, I will grant you priority mating rights."

The violent bears looked at each other.

After hesitating for a few seconds, seeing Garos's expression gradually become somewhat impatient, one violent bear tentatively extended its Xiong Zhao and patted Garos.

More accurately, it was like touching him.

With absolutely no force.

(End of this chapter)