Black dragons have a natural affinity for living in swamps and eating decayed, acidic food—habits that Muria found intolerable. He couldn't accept these dietary preferences, and as a result, all the black dragons in Synapse gradually changed their inherent behaviors to align with Muria's preferences. After an initial period of discomfort, the black dragons' attitudes shifted along with Muria's will. Thanks to their superior living conditions, they began to develop a sense of superiority, looking down on their kin who still lived in the wilderness.
They even despised the traditional black dragon habits of living in swamps and eating decayed food, viewing these as symbols of savagery and ignorance. In their eyes, a noble dragon should not live in a filthy swamp or eat such repulsive food.
So, everything was Tiamat's fault. She was the one who made black dragons naturally inclined to live in swamps and eat rotten, acidic food. As a result, with Muria's subtle guidance, the dragons of Synapse often cursed Tiamat whenever the topic arose. After all, she had given the Chromatic Dragons these disgusting instincts.
"Caesar!" The black dragon mother roared in anger when she saw her eldest son bringing back a black dragon as strong as a monster. Like most Chromatic Dragons outside of mating season, she didn't enjoy interacting with her own kind.
"What's with the shouting? You useless country dragon who can't even fulfill your responsibilities." Aelio Mandil, the black dragon, cast a disdainful glance at the mother dragon. As he spoke, sparks erupted from his mouth, leaving the mother dragon stunned.
"What… what kind of dragon are you?"
"Are you blind? I'm a black dragon!" Aelio Mandil replied, looking at the mother dragon as if she were an idiot.
"How can a black dragon breathe fire?" The mother dragon screeched, since breathing fire was a trait associated with red dragons, not black dragons.
"How ignorant. I can breathe fire, and I can also generate electricity!" Aelio Mandil sneered. As he spoke, he opened his mouth, and a massive arc of lightning shot out, vaporizing a large section of the swamp beside the mother dragon.
"Is that all it takes to scare you?" Seeing the mother dragon's dumbfounded expression, Aelio Mandil grew even more smug. "Let me show you something even more impressive."
Aelio Mandil closed his mouth, his throat bulging. When he opened his mouth again, a freezing mist poured out, and the entire swamp around them froze solid, enveloped in a chilling cold.
"What kind of monster are you?" The mother dragon couldn't help but take a few steps back, her worldview shattered by the sight of a dragon displaying three different breath attacks.
"I'm no monster; I'm a dragon—a true black dragon," Aelio Mandil solemnly declared. At his feet, the young black dragon Caesar was starstruck.
This was the kind of dragon he wanted to become! Compared to this monstrous black dragon, his mother seemed pathetic, utterly inferior in every way.
"How can there be a black dragon like you?"
"Anything is possible," Aelio Mandil said proudly. He was quite special even within Synapse, being the first dragon to voluntarily request body modification from human alchemists and warlocks.
Because he was the first dragon to make such a request, he didn't have to pay the warlocks anything. He only had to endure the pain of the modification process, and in return, he gained these incredible abilities.
"Alright, you crude country dragon, hand over your remaining children and all your treasures. Then clean yourself up and follow me. A dragon like you needs a proper education; you're a disgrace to black dragons."
"You can take my children, but if you want my treasure, you'll have to kill me first."
"Oh?" Aelio Mandil nodded and walked into the frozen swamp. His powerful, muscular body exuded immense pressure, causing the mother dragon to tremble. She backed away, spread her wings, and tried to take off, but Aelio grabbed her by the hind leg and slammed her onto the ice.
Bang! Bang! Bang! After a brutal, bone-crushing beatdown, the mother dragon, dazed and battered, finally submitted. This vicious male dragon hadn't treated her like a female at all.
"You worthless dragon, out of six eggs, you only managed to hatch three," Aelio Mandil muttered angrily as he retrieved all the treasures and the remaining two dragon hatchlings from the lair. He was so furious that he didn't even bother looking at the weapons and armor nearby.
"Alright, little ones, uncle is taking you to a good place. Don't struggle." After scolding the crying mother dragon, Aelio Mandil scooped up Caesar and the other two hatchlings and took to the sky. He then turned to the teary-eyed mother dragon and shouted, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and follow me!"
These dragon hatchlings and wild dragons were considered merits under Muria's regulations, and capturing them could earn substantial rewards. The dragons of Synapse were now frantically competing for these merits.
Under Muria's targeted measures, the wild Chromatic Dragons within the exploration zones suffered greatly. Whether they were hatchlings, young dragons, adult dragons, or elderly dragons, they all became targets for capture. Any resistance was met with a beating, and if the attackers couldn't win, they would call for reinforcements to ensure victory.
Every day, more than five wild dragons were sent to Synapse. In addition to the dragons, a large number of dragon eggs were also sent there, all entrusted to the care of the meticulous cloud giants. Based on the ages of these captured wild dragons, Muria separated them for different educational programs, while the eggs were concentrated in the dragon hatchery to be incubated. The newly hatched and young dragons were then sent to the newly established Dragon Academy, where they received the dragon education Muria had designed.
...
"I've found a green dragon settlement. There's an ancient green dragon there, likely a legend. What should we do?" Cynthia, the red dragon, stood on a hill, surrounded by fifteen other Chromatic Dragons who had grown up with her under Muria's care.
"What else? Call for backup," Auston yawned. "It's a legend, so we can't beat it. But if we call all the Chromatic Dragons over and attack together, we might have a chance to win. But if we do that, the casualties will be too high, and Muria would probably kill us for it."
"Who would do something that stupid? Of course, we need to request support. The question now is, which legend from Synapse should we ask for help?" Cynthia scratched her neck.
"Should we ask Muria to help? Or maybe our ancient green dragon elder, Fiona, or another legend?"
"Are you out of your mind? If we ask Muria, we won't get anything. He could wipe out the green dragon settlement by himself, and by the rules, we wouldn't get a share."
"So should we ask the green dragon elder Fiona?" a young black dragon asked cautiously.
"Why bother with her?" Cynthia sneered. "We only need a legend to hold off that ancient green dragon. We don't need someone too strong, just the weakest legend will do. That way, after we deal with the other green dragons, we can team up with the legend to take down the ancient green dragon, maximizing our gains."
"If we're looking for the weakest legend, that would be the dragonblood warlock, the old white dragon who pulls Muria's chariot, or the Shadow Slayer, Sylvan."
"Let's go with Sylvan! The dragonblood warlock is busy right now and probably won't pay attention to us. The white dragon is too weak, and on top of that, he's been castrated."
"Actually, there's another legend. I heard the alchemists found a mate for Sylvan, and she's awakened. Supposedly, she's a legend too, but a bit weaker than Sylvan."
"Don't joke about that. I've heard she has a lot of issues and needs to soak in a nutrient tank regularly. It'd be better not to invite her. If she breaks down in the middle of a fight, it could get us all killed."
"Poor Sylvan! If his mate breaks down while they're trying to produce offspring, that would be hilarious. Just thinking about it makes me laugh."
"Alright, let's go with Sylvan!"
...
"These guys are getting bolder. They're daring to target an ancient dragon now." Muria sighed as he inspected the newly established Dragon Academy. As the true ruler of Synapse, he had immediately received Cynthia's request for support.
"Young master, an ancient dragon is beyond their capabilities. If they keep this up, something bad will happen sooner or later," Mia said with concern, her nature leaning toward caution.
"What are you worried about? As long as we're keeping them in check, let them make a ruckus. I'm curious to see just how many dragons are hiding on this continent." Muria replied calmly, gazing at the dragon eggs soaking in the liquefied elemental pool in the dragon hatchery.
The area the Chromatic Dragons were exploring was expanding outward from Synapse in a fan shape, but the region they had covered was less than one percent of the entire subcontinent. Despite being such a small area, Muria had already collected nearly three hundred dragon eggs. The density of dragons here surpassed any continent he had previously been on. This fascinating situation was enough to keep him interested for a long time, as he intended to explore it thoroughly.
Just as there was an unusually high number of dragons living here, the population of orcs was also exceptionally large, with pale orcs being the most common.
Muria speculated that this was mainly because the orcs and dragons had no conflicting interests over resources. In fact, they could coexist well, living together with dragons providing protection and orcs supplying the dragons.
[Previous setting: A subcontinent has a surface area roughly equal to Earth's total surface area, which is about 510 million square kilometers, or about 53 times the size of China.]
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