Garros's dragon claws sank deep into the Gluttony Demon's chest, where he could clearly feel the thumping of its heart.
Karu's black-iron skin groaned under the heavy pressure, and a reluctant roar rumbled in his throat.
He opened his bloody maw and bit down hard on Garros's dragon arm with his shark-like teeth, only to have his gums ache from the shock of the scales, as if he had bitten into black iron.
He struggled frantically, trying to break free from Garros's suppression, but the dragon atop him was as heavy as a mountain. Those dragon claws didn't budge an inch; instead, as he struggled, they continued to press down inch by inch, crushing his sternum with a series of sickening cracks.
"I will give you two choices."
Garros lowered his head, his scorching breath smelling of sulfur and metal blowing into the Gluttony Demon's face. Simultaneously, his dragon wings slowly rose and spread out, their guillotine-like wing bones pressing against the Gluttony Demon's neck, carving a thin line of blood.
"The first choice is death."
Garros's gaze was cold, filled with a dangerous killing intent. "I will annihilate your clan, tear apart every one of your bones, and carve out your heart to display in my trophy room. My dragon heritage tells me that a Gluttony Demon's heart can survive on its own; it would be the perfect chance to verify that."
"The second choice is submission."
Garros's dragon claw pressed down on the Gluttony Demon's head, his voice low and deep. "Become my vassal and pledge your loyalty to me. Once you have earned enough merit, I shall grant you the dragon vein, turning you into a Dragon-vein Gluttony Demon. In the future, you will be able to devour even more powerful prey and never go hungry, and your clan will flourish under my wings."
The way Dragonkin recruit vassals can basically be summarized in four words.
—Coercion and inducement.
Pure coercion would only lead to a desperate struggle to the death, with no surrender.
Pure inducement would only be met with a sneer and indifference.
But when coercion and inducement are combined, it is simple, direct, brutal, and effective.
For the monster clans of the wilderness, survival is the most important thing. Only those sapient beings living in fertile lands and civilized nations would consider dignity and freedom.
The Gluttony Demon gradually stopped struggling.
Under the threat of death, his rage-filled mind cooled down considerably, and he finally realized that he was no match for Garros at all.
Even though his opponent had given up his aerial advantage and come down to the ground,
he was still beaten so badly he had no power to fight back.
Seven rounds of bombardment and a brutal beating had made the Bone-Chewing Clan and the Gluttony Demon recognize Garros's power.
Garros released the now-still Gluttony Demon and watched him quietly, waiting for an answer.
The Gluttony Demon stood up shakily, suddenly tore a piece of flesh from his own body with his sharp claws, and then dropped to one knee before Garros.
Holding it in both hands, he offered the bloody chunk of meat to Garros.
The Gluttony Demon said in a gruff voice, "Please consume my flesh and accept my loyalty."
Offering one's own flesh to the strong was the oldest Ritual of Loyalty among Ogre tribes. It was also recorded in the dragon heritage, and the flesh of a Gluttony Demon was not poisonous.
Garros took the flesh and swallowed it down.
Seeing this, the Gluttony Demon knelt completely before him and said, "My name is Karu, King of the Bone-Chewing Clan. From this moment on, I submit beneath your wings and become your vassal."
With the Clan Chief's submission,
the other Ogres also stopped resisting. Without objection, they all knelt around Garros and the Gluttony Demon, swearing their loyalty.
"Very well, rise."
"This will be the most correct decision you have ever made in your life."
Garros said.
His inducement was no empty promise; the Gluttony Demon had good talent and was worthy of a Dragon Vein Transformation, though not right now.
After pledging loyalty, they were no longer enemies.
The sense of threat radiating from Garros dissipated, and the atmosphere was no longer tense.
Karu scratched his scalp, unable to stop himself from salivating as he looked at Garros.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he plucked up his courage and said, "Dragon Lord, could I have a taste of you?"
"I don't expect flesh, um... You should shed your skin, right? Just give me a piece of your claw skin or foot skin to taste, and I'll be satisfied."
Karu's mind was entirely filled with eating, and he bluntly spoke his inner thoughts.
Garros said calmly, "I have no skin for you, but as for those explosive dragon scales from before, I can let you eat some more of those, provided you can stomach them."
Karu shook his head repeatedly.
Those Explosive Scales were not easy to digest.
Even with his Gluttony Talent, Karu still felt a burning pain in his stomach, a side effect of forcibly swallowing the Explosive Scales earlier; his digestive tract had sustained some damage.
"Lizardfolk, Gnolls, Grey-mane Werewolves."
"What is the current status of these three monster clans? You must have clashed with them during your expansion."
Garros asked.
The Gluttony Demon thought for a moment and grinned. "Lizardfolk tails are very tasty. Their territory was overrun by our clan, with most killed or wounded, and the rest fled in all directions. Gnoll meat is a bit gamey, and they run very fast; they abandoned their territory as soon as they saw our warriors approaching, so we only caught a few. We didn't encounter the Grey-mane Werewolves; they fled in advance."
Garros asked again, "Have you occupied Crescent Moon Valley and Crying Cliff?"
The Gluttony Demon shook his head. "Our numbers are limited. We left after eating the remaining food in those places; we didn't occupy them."
After questioning him for a while longer, Garros roughly understood the situation.
Because the Ogre clan had a limited number of members, their expansion was primarily a form of savage plundering and hunting for more food. They had no intention of seizing the territories of other biological clans.
Faced with their first wave of attacks, the Gnolls and Grey-mane Werewolves had fled.
However, given the cunning of the Gnolls and the value the Grey-mane Werewolves placed on their own territory, they would likely scout the situation afterward. Once they discovered the Ogres hadn't occupied the land, there was a high probability they would return.
The risk of wandering the wilderness and searching for new territory to relocate was too high.
Then there was the situation of the Scale-Earth Rift Road.
According to the Gluttony Demon, Caravans had initially arrived from time to time, 'delivering' a lot of food to them, but they became fewer and fewer later on.
It wasn't hard for Garros to figure out why.
Due to the Ogres' excessive and unplanned plundering, the Scale-Earth Rift Road had been marked as a high-risk route, so the number of Caravans passing through had decreased.
Not only that.
There might even be Garrison troops monitoring the situation of the Scale-Earth Rift Road, creating potential risks.
Thinking of this, Garros felt it was a hassle and wanted to give the Gluttony Demon another beating.
Their brainless expansion had disrupted his plan to establish a channel and stably obtain black oil.
But fate is ever-fickle; one never knows when variables and accidents will occur. The world does not revolve around Garros, and six years is enough time to change many things. It is difficult for everything to go smoothly.
Things being as they were,
Garros would find another way.
If a problem arose, he would find a way to solve it; there was no need to be troubled by it.
"If the Gnolls and Grey-mane Werewolves are still around... Crying Cliff is uncertain, but Crescent Moon Valley should have accumulated some black oil over the past few months."
He thought to himself.
Looking around, Garros saw the scorched earth left in shambles by his bombardment. Then, he withdrew his gaze and said to the Gluttony Demon Karu, "Rest and recover with your clansmen. I will be back soon."
After a pause, he added, "During this time, you are not allowed to plunder the trade routes again. Wait for my orders."
After giving the Bone-Chewing Clan some instructions,
Garros soared into the sky, streaking through the night toward Crescent Moon Valley.
He hadn't tasted it in over six years and missed the flavor of black oil immensely. He hoped some would be stored in Crescent Moon Valley.