Translator: AnubisTL
The fairy dragon dragged its tail as it slowly shuffled toward Garos.
"I'm not going to eat you," Garos said.
The red-iron dragon folded its hind legs and settled into a crouch. "While I was asleep, did anything major happen in Dragon Valley?"
The fairy dragon nodded solemnly. "So many terrible things happened! Dragon Valley was almost destroyed!"
Garos's gaze sharpened, and he straightened his posture.
Ten years was but a fleeting moment for a long-lived race, yet it was enough time for the mortal world to be swept by tumultuous waves.
He had indeed ordered the Ironforged Clan to restrain their claws and fangs, but the spindle of fate never spun along a predetermined path. Unforeseen events could have easily altered the course of events.
"What exactly happened? Tell me everything."
The fairy dragon tilted its small head, its voice tinged with sorrow. "The Spirit of the Valley died."
Spirit of the Valley?
What is that?
Garos flicked his tail and pressed for details, finally understanding what the fairy dragon meant.
In Dragon Valley, there was a cave. Whenever the fairy dragon Vera played inside and shouted loudly, a peculiar echo would reverberate through the cavern, which she had always believed to be the Spirit of the Valley responding to her.
It began in the third year of Garos's slumber.
The Spirit of the Valley stopped responding to her, falling silent as if it had died.
In reality,
some changes within the cave had disrupted its echo structure.
Perhaps because she was born in the fae wilderness, where all things possess life and spirit, the fairy dragon's thought processes were somewhat unconventional.
After understanding the situation,
the red-iron dragon listened to the fairy dragon chattering about one "major" event after another: her beloved patch of Stardust Grass had mysteriously withered, terrifying thorns had sprouted in a hidden corner, and a few of her scales had faded slightly. The red-iron dragon remained silent, but his silence spoke volumes.
After a few seconds, he slowly shook his head, realizing he shouldn't have asked the fairy dragon for information.
Since I've only recently awakened, my mind still feels sluggish, and my thoughts are a bit dull, Garos mused.
However, through the fairy dragon's reactions, he could at least confirm that Dragon Valley hadn't been invaded. Otherwise, her stories wouldn't have been filled with such trivial matters.
For more detailed information about what happened during this time, Garos should ask Iron Dragon Solgorn, who was more reliable.
When Garos awoke from his slumber, he didn't sense Solgorn's qi. Clearly, the iron dragon had awakened before him and was no longer in Dragon Valley.
White Dragon Treacy and Red Dragon Samantha were also absent.
This made Garos somewhat uneasy, prompting him to question the unreliable fairy dragon nearby. If there weren't urgent matters to attend to, these dragons should have been guarding him in Dragon Valley, rather than leaving only the red-silver dragon and the fairy dragon behind.
After briefly licking some fairy scale powder, Garos's sluggish mind immediately sharpened.
As the powder's effects wore off and his senses returned to normal, his mind remained clear and alert, no longer clouded by drowsiness.
"First, I'll contact Solgorn."
Retrieving a message stone from his space ring, Garos called out to Iron Dragon Solgorn.
Soon, the stone glowed faintly, and Solgorn's joyful voice echoed through it: "Garos? My dear brother! Your dragon slumber lasted far longer than usual. I'm so glad you've finally awakened."
Ten years had passed.
The juvenile dragons of Dragon Valley had generally entered their adolescent phase, including Red Dragon Samantha. Though she had entered dragon slumber two years after Garos, she had awakened a year earlier, her slumber shorter than his.
With all three Ignis Brothers now adolescent dragons, the overall average strength of Dragon Valley had risen a tier, making them more powerful than before.
However, without Garos, their central pillar, the dragons lacked a true leader and a certain confidence. Only now, with his awakening, was Dragon Valley truly complete.
The Ironforged Clan, which had been lying dormant for so long, also opened its eyes with Garos's return.
"Did anything significant happen during my dragon slumber?" Garos asked.
"One thing. We've been trying to resolve it, but we haven't succeeded."
"It's too complicated to explain in a few words. Since you're awake, come here. Seeing it firsthand will make it clear."
The iron dragon spoke quickly.
"Where?"
"Fertile Plains, where you killed Chieftain Bloodhoof."
With that, the iron dragon ended the transmission.
Garos was puzzled. Fertile Plains was already Ironforged Clan territory. Could they have been invaded or attacked by another clan?
This speculation was not without merit.
Since defeating the Bloodhoof Clan, the Ironforged Clan had essentially occupied the southwestern corner of the Frontierlands.
However, this was merely a remote corner, with limited and barren resources—hardly desirable territory. In other directions lay more fertile lands and more powerful clans.
Garos was no newcomer to these lands.
Before his slumber, he had thoroughly surveyed the power dynamics of the Frontierlands.
Excluding individually powerful ferocious beasts and demonic beasts that carved out small territories, the Frontierlands boasted four dominant intelligent creature clans.
Given their scale, they would be more accurately described as tribes—larger units formed by the unification of multiple clans.
The Ironforged Clan was now approaching tribal status, a significant step beyond clan size.
The Four Great Tribes of the Frontierlands were primarily composed of serpentmen, orcs, gnomes, and humans.
The presence of humans here might seem peculiar, but it was a natural phenomenon.
Just as there were stark differences between gold dragons and white dragons, the disparities among humans were equally vast.
Humans from the Kingdom of Lothurn or the Holden Empire, though of the same species as those in the Frontierlands, had experienced vastly different upbringing, worldviews, and access to resources.
To the citizens of the human kingdoms, the humans of the Frontierlands were merely "primitive people," considered a separate species.
Returning to the main point, the Four Great Tribes were constantly at odds, yet maintained a tenuous alliance, ruling over the Frontierlands' most fertile territories.
The Fertile Plains lay at the heart of the southwest.
The Bloodhoof Clan had originally occupied the Fertile Plains, intending to use it as a base to expand their control over the entire southwest, develop into a true tribe, and gradually gain the strength to rival the other four clans.
However, their ambitions were thwarted by the Ironforged Clan, who migrated from the Sierre Wilderness and descended upon the plains.
"According to White Dragon Treacy and Red-Silver Dragon Deborah," Garos mused, "the Four Great Tribes of the Frontierlands have accumulated deep reserves of power over many years. Each clan boasts formidable leaders and bosses comparable to young elder dragons or even fully grown elder dragons."
Garos considered the situation.
Now was not the right time for Dragon Valley to confront the Four Great Tribes. Only when the Ignis Brothers had matured into young adult dragons would they be able to face the tribes without fear of the risks.
But this was beyond his control.
If one of the tribes discovered the rising power of the Ironforged Clan and launched an attack to crush them in their infancy, Garos would never sit idly by. He would not abandon his foundation here unless absolutely necessary.
"Things are different now than they were in the wilderness," the red-iron dragon mused, his eyes gleaming.
"The tribes of the Frontierlands aren't like the nations of the Lothurn Federation. They're not a unified alliance."
"Even when facing Dragon Valley, they still guard against each other, making it difficult for them to commit their full strength. I don't need to overly fear the threat of the Frontierlands' Four Great Tribes, but I can't let my guard down either."
As the red-iron dragon's gaze flickered, a surge of ambition stirred within him, fueled by his growing age and power. A primal desire for dominance began to take root.
Defeat the Four Great Tribes and become the king of the Frontierlands!
The thought reverberated through his mind.
Hoo— Garos inhaled deeply, refusing to suppress his ambition. Instead, he focused on rational analysis, determined not to let his ambition cloud his judgment.
After all, this wasn't an impossible goal, and the potential rewards were immense.
Weakness is the greatest risk.
This was a principle Garos firmly believed in.
He avoided pointless risks and dangerous ventures that offered no benefit.
But to escape the perils of weakness, to grow stronger, and to secure more resources for advancement, he was willing to take calculated risks for high returns. He would strike proactively rather than passively endure.
(End of the Chapter)
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