Chapter 99: First-Night Rights, Lightning Evolution, Stone Golem

Within the Howling Moon Clan.

Garos summoned Chief Russell, told him about the purple copper ore, tasked him with overseeing the mining, then ordered him to begin contacting the Nick caravan to reestablish channels, and gave him many other instructions.

The next batch of trade, besides black oil.

Garos allowed his kin to profit for themselves, provided it did not affect his acquisition of black oil.

This could stimulate the initiative of his kin; they followed Garos in the first place for a better life and a brighter future, and Garos was no evil dragon; as long as they did well, he would grant them opportunities.

Additionally.

If he only wanted black oil, his behavior would appear abnormal.

There were many large black oil fields on the Bernardo Planet, so black oil reserves were extremely abundant, but this did not mean black oil was a resource that could be obtained casually, nor did it mean anyone could utilize black oil.

No nation would disdain having too much of its own black oil.

It was mainly used to power large alchemical artifacts such as alchemical golems; it was a strategic material and was therefore subject to certain controls.

Although there were official channels to purchase it, supplies were limited.

Merchants traveling through the Cael Wilds.

Often conducted private transactions with local oil field garrisons, transporting black oil south to the Southern Kingdoms, then transshipping and selling it to small nations that needed black oil but lacked sufficient resources of their own.

Purchasing black oil from the Southern Kingdoms and transporting it back to the Cael Wilds.

This kind of behavior was somewhat strange.

Why would a monster clan from the wilds crave black oil alone? Moreover, a continuous, large-scale demand? If this were noticed by someone with ulterior motives, it would likely invite unnecessary trouble.

"Dragon Lord, please accept this."

Russell presented a communication stone.

"This is something the caravan brought last time."

"Through it, when it is inconvenient for you to come, you can issue orders to us remotely."

He thoughtfully, though unnecessarily, explained a sentence to Garos.

"Next time, have the caravan bring more communication stones."

Garos took the communication stone and said.

Flapping his wings, he lifted buckets of black oil packed in iron-vine nets, preparing to take flight.

At this moment, Frost Fang happened to return; seeing his daughter approach, Russell recalled the clan's records on dragon habits, hesitated for a moment, then shouted to Garos: "Wait, Dragon Lord, please wait a moment."

Garos lowered his gaze to look at Russell.

"Is there something else?"

Russell pulled Frost Fang to his side and, under Garos's puzzled gaze, whispered: "Noble Dragon Lord, to celebrate your return, Frost Fang will offer her first night to serve you."

"If you are not satisfied, all the young werewolves in the Howling Moon Clan are at your disposal."

Garos widened his eyes.

As a young dragon, he did not quite understand Russell's train of thought at that moment.

Frost Fang stood obediently beside her father, showing no anger or dissatisfaction; instead, there was a hint of expectation in her eyes.

Garos fixed his gaze on this young female werewolf.

Her fur was lustrous, her teeth white, her eyes clear and sparkling; fine down covered her upright ears, her tail and limbs were slender, her body proportions were perfect; she was a beautiful female werewolf.

Dragons possessed eyes that could discover the beauty in all things.

Garos naturally appreciated Frost Fang's beauty.

But he still did not understand why Russell had suddenly said such a thing.

"Did I inadvertently display a lecherous side?"

Garos recalled carefully, remembering no such display from himself, so he directly asked Russell why he had such thoughts.

Russell stammered, and finally, under Garos's gaze, said hesitantly: "Our clan records state that male dragon lords demand the first-night rights of female kin."

"To increase your regard and favor toward the Howling Moon Clan, I thought I would offer it to you proactively, without waiting for you to speak."

Garos fell silent.

This really was not Russell's fault for having a twisted idea.

Because what their clan records stated was correct.

Evil dragon lords, such as red dragons, indeed liked to do this: engage in indiscriminate promiscuity, indulge in lust, directly breed dragon-blooded offspring with their kin, and then use such dragon-blooded offspring as their core personal guards.

As for reproductive isolation.

This did not exist in dragons.

Dragon bloodlines were fierce and domineering; combining with almost any creature could produce dragon-blooded offspring.

But.

Often, only when dragons reached adulthood did certain desires begin to sprout, leading to such thoughts.

At least for now, fourteen-year-old Garos had no interest in this, even though his young dragon body, long tempered by training, already far exceeded that of a normal young dragon.

Moreover, even if he were interested.

Garos, who had not yet mastered the transformation spell, could not practically do anything given the huge size difference between them.

The transformation spell was a technique all dragons mastered, normally awakening during adolescence.

Metallic dragons, especially gold dragons and silver dragons, liked to use the transformation spell to mingle among other intelligent races and play in the world, while evil dragons used the transformation spell often for indulgence in lust.

Frost Fang stammered: "Great Dragon Lord, I willingly serve you."

Combining with a dragon to bear dragon-blooded werewolves.

This would be a good thing for the Howling Moon Clan, allowing them to strengthen their bond with Garos.

Moreover, Frost Fang herself admired Garos's powerful strength.

That dragon body, filled with the beauty of power, mighty and strong, fierce and ferocious, attracted not only dragons but also made Frost Fang admire it across species.

"Let's discuss it another day."

Garos neither agreed nor directly refused.

After leaving those words, he soared into the air.

"Father, do you think the Dragon Lord will agree?"

Frost Fang blinked his eyes and asked Russell.

"He will, he will."

Russell whispered, "The Dragon Lord has at least half Red Dragon bloodline in his body. The clan's records say male Red Dragons are extremely lustful."

Majestic, swept-back dragon horns.

The faint, lingering scent of sulfur and flame on his body.

A powerful physique.

Massive tusks protruding from his upper and lower jaws.

Dense, sharp spines.

These are all characteristics of Red Dragons. Although Russell didn't know the situation of sub-species like the Iron Dragon, he had a certain understanding of the famous Red Dragon kind. He could tell that Garos possessed Red Dragon bloodline.

It is said.

Human armies are most reluctant to campaign against male Red Dragon lords.

On one hand, Red Dragons themselves are formidable.

Another reason is that male Red Dragons are indiscriminate in their desires, almost constantly in heat, and possess extremely strong fertility, with a vast number of dragonborn offspring under their command.

"I want to give birth to a litter of wolf pups with dragon scales."

Frost Fang said wistfully.

Next, time slowly passed with the alternating days and moons of the wilderness.

Garos cast the minor incident of the Howling Moon Clan aside, not caring too much. He subsequently reappeared at the Howling Cliffs to the Red Eye Clan, consolidating the gnolls' loyalty to himself.

No accidents occurred during this period.

Blood Fang's rule over his clan was very stable; six years had not aged him, and he was in his prime.

It is worth mentioning.

A gnoll warlock was born in the Red Eye Clan; it was the gnoll scout who had fainted directly upon first seeing Garos.

At that time, Garos felt that this scout's perception was quite outstanding.

Being able to awaken the power within his bloodline to become a warlock was not unexpected.

In monster clans on the wilderness, as long as there is a certain scale, there will likely be a warlock, shaman, or priest-like existence within; this seems to be some kind of survival mechanism formed during the process of racial evolution.

There are also the lizardfolk of the Rending Claw Clan.

They suffered the greatest losses in battles against ogres. Seeing that a dragon kind was willing to protect them, they were desperate to kiss Garos's toes on the spot, choosing to pledge loyalty to Garos immediately.

The four clans of the Scaled Earth Rift.

Garos unified them all under his command, but did not let them live mixed together. He only issued some rules to them to avoid overly intense conflicts with each other, and to ambush and plunder on the trade route in a more orderly and sustainable manner.

Regrettably.

Because the ogre clans had plundered too frequently and without restraint during these six years, there are now almost no caravans passing through the Scaled Earth Rift; if there are any, they are exceptionally large caravans with garrison guards.

But this is only temporary.

Garos has already had the wolves contact Nick, asking him to spread the news that the Scaled Earth Rift is gradually becoming safe and returning to calm, and to set an example by going to the Scaled Earth Rift himself.

When Nick returns fully loaded next time.

It will surely re-stimulate the greed of other merchants.

Several clans are all under his control.

Garos's days gradually became calm and stable.

With the reserves of Black Oil, the efficiency of his daily training became higher; he took the opportunity to try using Black Oil and Fairy Scale Dust simultaneously.

The result was exactly as he had guessed.

Relying on the Fairy Scale Dust's enhancement of mental reaction, he could master the extreme speed amplified by Black Oil for a short time.

Combined with the Blood Explosion Technique attached to the Horn Ring.

Garos in a fully explosive state would see his overall combat power rise to a brand new intensity.

Garos did not indulge in the improvements brought by external items; he knew deeply that these were trump cards that could not be used casually, and only strengthening the foundation was the most critical.

Under the night sky, the Shattered Spine Hills.

Zzzt! Zzzt!

Garos stood silently in the center of several warlocks, letting the ogre warlocks use their Chain Lightning skills to attack him.

Dense arcs of electricity coiled around his body.

Garos felt his whole body tingling; under his scales, muscles constantly received electric shocks, a sensation of being electrified, which stimulated them to swell and contract, the feeling becoming increasingly clear.

Moreover, when being struck by lightning, some arcs also escaped from the gaps in his scales.

Dense, thick, and bright.

Like a mane woven from lightning.

Garos had a strong premonition.

His next evolution might be related to lightning.

Coincidentally, the ogre warlocks knew how to use Chain Lightning; the direct attack effect was better than the enchantment attack of the Lightning Tail Ring, so he frequently used this for training, improving his lightning resistance, and looking forward to the next evolution.

Very quickly.

The several warlocks who had exhausted their mana collapsed all over, and were carried away by ogre warriors.

Garos was still unsatisfied and called out to the Gluttony Demon who was eating, asking him to stop first.

"Karu, come over and play with me."

He had the Gluttony Demon wrap lightning tail rings around its arm to train with him for a while longer.

A few minutes later.

Garos's training was not yet over.

An ogre sentinel suddenly hurried over at a brisk pace.

"Reporting to the Dragon Lord: a Shi Ju has arrived at the outskirts of the Bone-Chewing Clan and wishes to meet the leader."

The sentinel spoke in a low voice.

A Shi Ju? Where did it come from?

Garos's gaze sharpened.

"Karu, prepare to receive him. Inquire about his purpose and origin, and do not reveal my presence."

Garos did not take to the air; he crawled along the ridge of the hills into a barely perceptible slope hollow, spread his wings, suppressed his aura, and blended almost completely with the night, save for a pair of dark, deep eyes quietly watching the territory of the Bone-Chewing Clan below.

(End of this chapter)