Although Muria was very curious about the human forces on the Dragon Peninsula, he didn't rush to deal with the situation. He still had to persuade the mother dragon in front of him to send her offspring to the dragon academy. After all, using forceful means with metallic dragons wouldn't work.
"Have you made a decision?" Muria asked softly, looking at the two mother dragons who were eagerly watching the young chromatic dragons cast spells. "I can assure you, if you send your offspring here, by the time they reach adulthood, they'll be vastly different from ordinary golden dragons. They'll be the elite among dragons. If I can train chromatic dragons to this level, imagine how much better I can do with your children. They have a higher starting point."
Muria spoke with confidence, not noticing that the three young golden dragons behind him were increasingly resentful in their gaze. They had already figured out what Muria intended. This seemingly gentle young man wanted them to study magic daily. He had promised to invite them over to play, but now they were expected to go to school instead.
This was unacceptable. They had already encountered the basics of magic and knew how boring and difficult it was to learn spells, most of which were obscure and hard to understand. They had only just begun learning first and second-level spells, and they were already frustrated. The thought of having to master even more advanced spells, as Muria suggested—graduating from the dragon academy required proficiency in all spells up to the sixth level, across all schools of magic—was overwhelming. Even their parents hadn't set such high standards.
"Your Highness, please understand, this is a significant decision that could affect my children's future. I need some time to think it over carefully."
After a moment of hesitation, the golden dragon Silva still didn't agree to Muria's request. She was tempted but had concerns about the composition of the academy's students. After all, they were mainly chromatic dragons, with only a few metallic dragons. The idea of her children studying alongside chromatic dragons was difficult to accept.
However, not sending her children to the academy also left her uneasy. The chromatic dragons she had seen were younger than her children but had mastered so many spells. In comparison, her children didn't measure up in terms of magical prowess. This was something she found hard to accept.
Yet, she knew she couldn't teach her children to that level. But if chromatic dragons could reach such heights here, surely her children could too, especially with the guidance of ancient dragons. This was an opportunity that any golden dragon would find hard to pass up. Although her family had an ancient dragon, he was often away, making it difficult for him to consistently teach his great-grandchildren. After all, the connection through blood was distant, and while he cared for them, it wasn't the same as teaching his own offspring.
"Taking time to consider is understandable." Muria nodded, not pressing further. He could tell that this mother dragon was already swayed and was confident she would eventually agree. To tip the scales further in his favor, Muria added another incentive.
"Establishing the academy was an idea I came up with recently. Initially, I focused on taming many chromatic dragons. But as I acquired more dragon eggs and hatchlings on this peninsula, I decided to create a new academy to concentrate on educating and taming the chromatic dragons. However, I thought it would be too narrow to have an academy just for chromatic dragons, so I decided to establish a true dragon academy instead.
You've come a bit early; the academy is still in its early stages. Believe me, having three ancient dragons teaching the young dragons isn't the end. I know many ancient dragons, and I've already sent invitations to them. I expect many will accept and join as teachers. When that happens, the academy will officially open. Before that, I hope you'll give it some serious thought."
"When do you plan to start classes?" The mention of an opening date caught Silva's attention, and she instinctively asked without noticing the linguistic trap Muria had set. He had never said that the academy wouldn't accept students after opening.
"The academy will officially open once I've swept through the entire peninsula," Muria replied smoothly. He had just decided on this timing. Conquering the Dragon Peninsula wouldn't happen in just a month or two—it could take three to five years at most or as little as six months. The timeline wasn't fixed, as Muria didn't know how many ancient dragons were hidden on this peninsula. However, no matter how many there were, he was confident in his ability to suppress them.
"If that's the timeline, my grandfather should be back by then. I'll discuss it with him."
"Your grandfather is that ancient golden dragon, correct?" Muria's eyes lit up at the mention of Silva's grandfather. He seemed like an excellent candidate for a teaching position.
The academy's faculty should primarily consist of dragons, ideally ancient dragons with millennia of experience, with a preference for metallic dragons. Gem dragons could also be considered, but bringing in chromatic dragons as teachers was another matter. It would be best to choose only a couple of well-behaved chromatic dragons, such as the ancient green dragon Fiona, for teaching roles. Inviting a large number of chromatic dragons to teach would be a mistake—most of them had spent their lives pillaging and would hardly be suitable educators for young dragons.
"Yes," Silva nodded in response to Muria's question.
"If I wanted to hire your grandfather as a teacher at the dragon academy, do you think he'd agree?" Muria asked eagerly.
"I'm not sure, but I'll talk to him about it."
"Such a hassle," Muria muttered, watching the golden dragons leave. He found it challenging to attract metallic dragons as students, but he knew that if he persisted, he would eventually succeed. Metallic dragons found it hard to refuse opportunities to make their offspring more exceptional, and their values were more aligned with humans.
...
After sending off the visiting golden dragons, Muria didn't rush to investigate the human forces the storm giants had discovered. The cities had been found, and those humans couldn't escape. Since the giants' expansion hadn't yet reached them, there was no hurry.
"Have we determined the resources in the lands we've conquered?" Muria asked upon returning to Wind King Castle. He looked down at the thousands of busy dragonborn below. These were servants Mia had carefully selected over decades, humans who had been exposed to Muria's aura and were utterly loyal to him. They were his subordinates, though they belonged to the lowest rank.
"Your Highness, we have compiled the data. However, these statistics are temporary, as the amount of resources increases with the giants' expansion."
The chief steward of Wind King Castle greeted Muria as he returned and, after Muria took his seat on the crystal throne, projected a screen showing various resources. These were the resources that had been temporarily discovered and surveyed.
The phrase "A phoenix does not settle in a treasureless land" could be extended—powerful creatures wouldn't reside in desolate places. Wherever powerful beings lived, there was something special about the area. Even if there was nothing special initially, the presence of such creatures would eventually cause unique changes to the environment.
For example, red dragons typically lived in areas rich in fire elements, ideal for fire mages or knights to train. This was just one instance.
The astonishing density of extraordinary beasts on the Dragon Peninsula indicated that the land was rich in extraordinary resources. Otherwise, it couldn't have produced such a large number of fierce beasts. In barren lands, even if some unique creatures emerged by chance, they would leave due to the lack of resources, unable to survive there.
Thus, as Muria's giant army conquered the land, they continuously discovered various special mineral veins, rare fruits, and elemental convergence points. These areas had a higher concentration of specific elements compared to the outside world, with single attributes that could accelerate the growth of creatures with matching attributes. These were the resources of the Dragon Peninsula.
As the giant army expanded its control, these resources were claimed under Muria's name. Muria had already decided to allocate some of these resources to the soon-to-be-established dragon academy, which would help accelerate the growth of the young dragons.
...
"Now tell me, where exactly is the human territory on this peninsula that you discovered? I'd like to take a look."
After clarifying the resources in his conquered lands, Muria's interest was piqued, and he inquired about the location of that juicy piece of meat. Yes, to Muria, the human territory discovered by the storm giants was a piece of meat that would eventually end up in his mouth.
He even hoped that this piece of meat would grow even larger so that he could enjoy it more when the time came.
Humans had cleared forests, leveled land, built cities, dug canals, and cultivated farmland on this land. While this indicated that human forces had begun to interfere with this secluded paradise, it also meant that a well-developed piece of land was waiting for Muria to take over. He could reap the benefits without the effort.
As for the possibility of not being able to reclaim it? That wasn't even a concern. Muria didn't believe that anyone could stand in his way now. There were no imperial powers on this continent, only three major human kingdoms. Muria didn't think that any of these vast kingdoms would bother to compete with dragons for territory.
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