Sorog's pupils constricted violently into two thin lines, and the muscles beneath his dragon scales twitched involuntarily.
"Ga— Garros?!"
He stared at the Red-Iron Dragon before him, who was several sizes larger than himself, and squeezed out stuttering, disbelieving syllables from his throat.
Perhaps it was because he was too shocked.
As if he had been attacked, his voice was sharp and piercing, like the howl of a lynx, not the language of an Iron Dragon.
Opposite him, Garros raised his chin with satisfaction and spread his massive Wings of the Heavenly Comet, casting a shadow that seemed to blot out the sky, completely enveloping Sorog.
"Oh, these sky-blotting wings seem to have grown on me; no wonder they aren't visible on you."
He wore a faint smile, a hint of amusement curling the corners of his mouth.
The Iron Dragon Sorog fell silent, opening his mouth to speak but then hesitating, ultimately left speechless.
"Stand up, my poor elder brother."
"I didn't expect you to fall beneath the feet of Ogres."
His vanity having been satisfied by Sorog's reaction, Garros knew when to stop and didn't mock or insult him too much, leaving his brother some dignity and Face.
From the moment the Ogres stepped onto the Stony Beach and the Iron Dragon ordered his subordinates to counterattack while retreating...
Garros had been silently circling in the sky, watching the battle below; it was just that the Iron Dragon was so focused on the battlefield that he hadn't noticed his presence.
Garros had observed the entire process and saw the Iron Dragon's response strategy very clearly.
He was very aware of his subordinates' strengths and the Ogres' weaknesses, utilizing the traits of both sides and the terrain to play to his advantages and deepen the enemy's disadvantages, using strategic implementation to allow the weak Gnolls and Kobolds to contend with the Ogres.
For a time, he even reversed the situation, turning disadvantages into advantages.
The biggest problem lay in the nature of Dragonkin.
The Iron Dragon could think rationally and calmly when at a disadvantage; however, once he gained the upper hand, arrogance and conceit began to grow, clouding his judgment and ultimately leading him to make the wrong choice, risking himself only to be captured.
If Sorog could have suppressed his arrogant and conceited thoughts, maintained his calm and rationality throughout, and patiently worn them down...
The Ogre units would have suffered heavy losses, and Garros would have been forced to reveal himself sooner.
However.
Even Garros couldn't completely suppress the negative emotions within the Evil Dragon Bloodline, so it was understandable that Sorog was affected; his performance was considered passing in Garros's eyes.
"In terms of managing territories and subordinates, and planning strategies, Iron Dragons are natural Great Masters."
"By having Sorog follow me and assist in managing the territory, I can free myself from those trivial matters and focus more on my own training and strength."
This was Garros's thought.
When he first went to the Stony Beach and confirmed that the Iron King was Sorog, his own brother, Garros didn't directly acknowledge him. Instead, he sent his subordinates to attack, firstly as a show of force to prove he was worth following, and secondly to test Sorog's skills; satisfying his vanity was merely incidental and not worth mentioning.
As it appeared now.
Although Sorog had some flaws, he was overall quite useful, and he was currently only an eighteen-year-old Young Dragon with plenty of room for growth.
The Ogre Warlock released the binding Spells.
The chains wrapped around Sorog were also removed.
He weakly propped up his body, bared his fangs, and defended himself in a low voice: "I was just careless for a moment, and they were numerous and well-armed, while my subordinates were fragile. I was simply outnumbered."
Garros shook his head and exposed the truth directly: "No, it wasn't carelessness."
He pointed out the mistake Sorog had made bluntly.
"It was your arrogance that ruined you."
"Deep down, you know very well that Gluttonous Ogres are a species not inferior to Dragonkin, and a Dragon-vein Gluttony Demon needs to be treated with caution."
"But you still arrogantly believed you could decapitate and kill him. After only a little testing, you could no longer restrain yourself, only to have the opportunity seized and be dragged to the ground."
Garros said unhurriedly, "You should be glad that it was me you encountered."
"Otherwise, you would have already died from your arrogance."
Sorog did not refute this statement, because what Garros said was the truth, and he knew it clearly.
He knew he shouldn't be arrogant and was intentionally trying to overcome those emotions, but sometimes as the Dragon blood boiled within him, he forgot.
The young Iron Dragon fell silent once again.
He shook his body, the sharp pain making him more alert.
He looked at his imposing and majestic brother, who no longer looked as cute and tender as he did at two years old, and asked, "Garros, did you come here specifically to mock my stupidity and weakness, to make me feel ashamed?"
When Sorog was still a Young Dragon, he knew clearly that this brother of his had higher potential than himself.
A positive-hybrid Red-Iron Dragon had talent comparable to a Gold Dragon.
So he had tried every possible way, hoping to trick Garros into traveling with him and surviving in the wilderness together. But to his regret, Garros was too smart; even at one or two years old, Garros didn't fall for his rhetoric at all.
He had predicted it back then.
If Garros didn't die young, he would likely grow to a height even greater than his own—considering the arrogance and conceit of Dragonkin, realizing this was quite rare.
But what Sorog hadn't expected...
...was that Garros, not yet fourteen and not even in his juvenile stage, had already surpassed him. His physique looked terrifyingly strong; Sorog had even felt a hint of fear when he first saw him.
Because of this gap and the feeling of fear...
...the Iron Dragon Sorog felt a strong sense of loss and resentment, even more bitter than the taste of defeat by the Ogres.
He was full of ambition, with a grand blueprint in his heart to build a Dragonkin Empire, but the reality was that he was now prostrate before a brother younger than himself, having failed to even defeat his brother's subordinates.
Garros shook his head slowly and calmly.
"Sorog, my dear brother, this is not mockery, but a reminder."
He lowered his majestic head, gazing at the young Iron Dragon, and said, "You are the smartest, most intelligent, and most ambitious Iron Dragon I have ever seen. Similar Bloodlines flow within us; I understand you very well."
"A momentary failure will not discourage you, and victory will not make you lose your mind."
"You will summarize experiences and learn lessons from both wins and losses."
"Only arrogance and conceit are the greatest obstacles on your path to growth."
"But I have always firmly believed that you are different from other Dragons; you can overcome them, and you can surpass yourself."
As each sentence came from Garros's mouth...
...the young Iron Dragon's gaze brightened slightly, his lowered head lifted inch by inch, and his tail wagged unconsciously.
He didn't realize at all...
...that Garros's words were also the motivational rhetoric used for recruiting followers in 'the prince'. In essence, it was similar to his own rhetoric from before, only turning negative suppression into positive guidance.
Finally.
The Red-Iron Dragon grinned at his brother prostrate in the mud and extended a claw.
"Sorog, my dear brother, I hope you can stand by my side and build a magnificent Dragonkin Empire with me, to restore the ancient glory belonging to the Dragon Clan. This is our shared dream, and it should be realized by us together."
The young Iron Dragon was stunned.
He looked up at Garros, at that Face which was somewhat blurred because he was backlit, with only a pair of eyes shining brightly, and involuntarily felt a strong, indescribable palpitation.
It wasn't fear, nor was it nervousness.
It was an even more inexplicable and special feeling that made the Iron Dragon's mind go completely blank.