Translator: AnubisTL
The moon shone brightly, bathing Needleleaf Valley and its surrounding mountains in a silvery glow.
Mobel returned to the Earthstorm Bears' den, carrying the charred corpse of his father. With a thud, he tossed the body onto the ground.
But the bears' attention wasn't on Mobel.
They gazed upward in alarm, their pupils reflecting the silhouettes of two dragons circling in the sky.
Their eyes swept past the pureblood red dragon, focusing entirely on the other dragon.
The red iron young dragon's scales gleamed like molten steel. Sparks crackled from its massive, thick wings, and the shadow it cast blotted out the moonlight, enveloping nearly all the Earthstorm Bears below.
With Garos backing him, Mobel puffed out his chest and slammed his massive paw against the ground, sending pebbles scattering.
He surveyed the bear clan, his voice booming like thunder:
"Open your bear eyes and see!"
He pointed a claw at the charred corpse on the ground. "This is what happens when you defy the great Dragon Lord!"
Under the moonlight, the alchemical runes etched into Mobel's fur shimmered, amplifying his intimidating presence.
He strode slowly toward the center of the bear clan, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly.
"How many years has Old Gor ruled you? He even controls your mating rights!"
A low murmur of agreement rippled through the bear clan, especially among the young males, who had long harbored resentment toward the aging leader.
Seeing this, Mobel immediately raised his voice. "And now!"
He spread his arms wide.
"On behalf of Lord Garos, I promise you—every male bear will have the right to mate! And you'll never have to fear being driven out again!"
Of course, he added mentally with a low chuckle, as the new leader, I'll be first in line, enjoying absolute priority.
The declaration stirred the bear clan into a frenzy. Several female bears' eyes lit up visibly.
It wasn't just the males who resented Old Gor's tyranny; the females were equally weary of the aging, tyrannical leader. Compared to the old bear with his graying, withered fur and failing strength, they preferred the young males with their sleek, glossy pelts—otherwise, they wouldn't have repeatedly stolen mates.
"But that's not all!" Mobel continued to incite the crowd. "The Dragon Lord will also grant us power!"
He displayed the glowing alchemical runes on his body. "Look at these! Has that miserly, tyrannical old fool ever bestowed such blessings upon you?"
In the sky above, Garos quietly observed Mobel's speech. He was surprised to discover that this cowardly Earthstorm Bear actually possessed remarkable leadership skills and intelligence far surpassing that of other Earthstorm Bears.
Come to think of it, he mused, it makes sense.
During their first encounter, when it realized it was no match for me, it instantly abandoned its ferocious facade and began flattering me. Its adaptability was truly extraordinary.
By this point, most of the Earthstorm Bears had been swayed by Mobel's words.
However, one particularly fierce and defiant male bear, who had received special care from Old Gor, stepped forward and roared:
"Mobel, enough! This is a shameful betrayal! You led a dragon to kill our chieftain! And now you try to make us submit, to abandon the glory of the Earthstorm Bear Pack!"
The words had barely left his mouth when a piercing shriek filled the air.
A crushing pressure descended from the sky.
The male bear looked up and saw a dragon, like a crimson meteor, hurtling toward him. His earlier courage vanished instantly, and he squeezed his eyes shut in terror.
Whoosh!
The wind pressure flattened his fur against his skin, but the expected death never came.
He opened his eyes.
The male bear's entire field of vision was filled.
Garos hovered in the air, his dragon wings fully extended, his deep, obsidian eyes gazing down at the bear.
"Evil dragon! I, Paris, Earthstorm Bear, fear no death!"
Paris, trembling under the dragon's might, bared his fangs and snarled at Garos, assuming an attack stance.
Unlike the male bear's desperate posture, Garos tilted his head slightly, as if puzzled.
"You've never died before. How can you be so sure you're not afraid?" Garos asked.
Not afraid of death?
The words were too simplistic.
Garos himself was terrified of death, so much so that he wanted to eliminate every dangerous factor that made him anxious.
If even I'm afraid, how can you not be? Are you stronger than me?
Survival and continuation were biological instincts. This single sentence pierced the male Earthstorm bear's psychological defenses like a spear, and the fear of death flooded its mind like a tidal wave.
Its eyes flickered with hesitation, wavering between submission and resistance.
Submit?
The dragon before it wasn't even a fully grown adult.
Submitting to such a juvenile dragonkind would tarnish its dignity as an Earthstorm Bear.
But on the other hand, this young dragon had killed the leader, implying it was stronger than ordinary dragons and possessed exceptional potential. Perhaps it was worth following.
The bear struggled with these conflicting thoughts.
Garos remained unaware of the bear's internal turmoil.
Even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared.
He disliked being seen as an evil dragon and loathed resistance. He had no intention of sparing the Earthstorm Bear before him.
Garos opened his dragon's maw, and a torrent of flaming dragon breath erupted from his mouth, engulfing the still-hesitant and terrified bear.
With a few fading roars and howls, the Earthstorm Bear was reduced to charred remains.
"Submit and live. Resist and die," Garos declared, his gaze sweeping across the remaining bears with concise authority.
Thump!
Red Dragon Samantha landed beside him, her crimson eyes glaring at the bears. Between her jagged teeth, a dazzling inferno brewed.
Mobel seized the moment to shout, "Choose! Will you become ashes like Old Gor and this foolish bear, or will you follow me and receive the Dragon Lord's blessings?!"
The bear clan stirred restlessly.
Under this combination of intimidation and enticement, the first Earthstorm Bear soon prostrated itself.
In this wilderness, creatures sought only two things: survival and continuation.
Better survival, better continuation.
If Mobel's words held true, submitting to the dragons might indeed offer a better life than enduring Old Gor's tyrannical rule.
After the first bear bowed, a second and third followed. Eventually, every Earthstorm Bear lowered its head. Under the moonlight, the entire Earthstorm Bear Pack knelt in waves, their prostrations a testament to their submission to the dragon shadow looming overhead.
The next day, the sun blazed high, its golden rays bathing Needleleaf Valley both inside and out.
Garos summoned several juvenile male Earthstorm Bears, each standing six to seven meters tall, to a clearing.
"Dragon Lord, do you have any instructions?" an Earthstorm Bear asked cautiously.
Having just submitted, they were still unfamiliar with Garos's temperament. The memory of him burning dissenters alive with a single word had left a lingering shadow in their hearts, making them feel uneasy and wary in his presence.
Garos instructed the bears to form a circle around him.
"Come on, attack me," he said.
The bears' eyes widened, as if they hadn't heard him correctly.
"Y-you mean... what?" one bear stammered, scratching its head in confusion, wondering if it had misheard.
Garos patiently repeated his command, adding, "I said, attack me. Use every means at your disposal. Anything that causes me pain or poses a threat will grant you priority mating rights."
The bears exchanged bewildered glances.
After a few seconds of hesitation, noticing Garos's growing impatience, one bear tentatively extended its claw and tapped him lightly—more like a gentle touch than an attack.
It exerted no force whatsoever.
(End of the Chapter)
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