Beneath the deep night sky, the twin moons watched the events below like silent eyes.
The battle between the eighteen-year-old Hybrid Dragon and the one-hundred-and-eighty-year-old adult Dragon ended with Garros beating the White Dragon until she rolled onto her belly to beg for mercy.
"Must we White Dragons forever carry the reputation of being the shame of Dragonkind, allowing other Dragons to insult us repeatedly?"
"Is there really no chance for a White Dragon to punch a Red Dragon or kick a Gold Dragon?"
"Other Dragons look down on me, and it just so happens that I am the most useless one."
White Dragon Tereshi seemed to have been beaten senseless, clutching her head with her claws and muttering to herself.
Hearing her words, Garros tilted his head slightly.
He felt that with his Adaptive Evolution talent, if he had been born a White Dragon, he might have been able to pull off a counterattack and achieve exactly what the White Dragon before him was saying.
For an ordinary White Dragon, it was basically impossible to stand on equal footing with a Red Dragon, let alone a Gold Dragon.
"My Red-Iron hybrid nature made me born with a level similar to that of a Gold Dragon."
"My evolution talent and my own training should allow me to rival those very few powerful Planar Dragons."
"At the age of a Young Dragon, it's only normal to be able to defeat an adult White Dragon."
Garros thought to himself, not feeling particularly proud of this victory. His mindset was calm; unlike before, he didn't subconsciously start to feel conceited due to the influence of Dragon instincts after defeating a powerful opponent.
In his Legacy instincts, he didn't even consider White Dragons to be the same species.
It was only because she was a White Dragon. If she were an adult Red Dragon, or even a Young Adult Red Dragon, the current Garros would likely need to reveal all his trump cards to contend with her. The gap between the two was almost like the difference between a cat and a tiger.
"White Dragon, what is your name?"
Garros asked, suppressing the Bloodline instinct to call her White Scale.
The White Dragon beneath him snapped out of it, feeling that the Red-Iron Dragon's gaze was very strange.
At times it was filled with contempt and discrimination, at others it was calm and restrained. It was full of contradictions and constantly shifting, making it impossible for the White Dragon to figure out his true thoughts for a moment.
However, not being called White Scale again gave her at least a small amount of comfort.
"Tereshi."
The White Dragon answered in a low voice.
"Now, it's time to talk about compensation."
Garros lifted the claws he had been using to pin the White Dragon down.
He pointed to the broken scales on his body and said, "You provoked this fight and smashed my precious dragon scales. This isn't something that can end with a simple plea for mercy. You need to pay the price for this."
There was no blood feud between them.
Garros had no intention of killing her.
In battles between Dragons, unless there is a deep and bitter hatred, it is rare for one to end the life of the other.
Most of the time, the victor demands compensation from the loser, which can include offering up wealth or swearing loyalty as a slave.
Feeling the pain that was present almost everywhere inside and outside her body, the White Dragon's chest heaved violently as she struggled to climb back up.
Her face was ashen, and her eyes were dull.
Just as Garros said, her sharp claws had indeed left some scars on him.
But by comparison, the White Dragon was in a wretched state.
Large areas of her scales were shattered, and she was covered in wounds left by Garros. Several of her bones were broken, and many of her claws were snapped off. She looked absolutely miserable.
What was even more tragic...
Was that the more heavily injured White Dragon had to compensate the perfectly fine Red-Iron Dragon instead.
And that was only secondary.
What was even worse and more devastating for the White Dragon...
Was that she, who was nearly a Mature Adult Dragon, had been completely crushed by a Young Dragon. She hadn't gained the slightest advantage throughout the entire fight, and she felt that the opponent hadn't even used his full strength, having stayed his claws.
But.
She had encountered a Red-Iron Hybrid Dragon as powerful as a monster, and she couldn't win even after giving it her all.
Since things had come to this, the White Dragon accepted her fate.
She lost her previous arrogant demeanor and showed the submissive posture of a defeated dog to the Young Dragon, saying, "I am willing to give up fifty percent of my wealth as the price for my offense."
Garros shook his head in silence.
"Too little."
"I want all of your wealth," he said bluntly. "Remember, you started the fight. The loser gets nothing."
Upon hearing this greedy demand.
The White Dragon bared her teeth, feeling as if her heart were bleeding. Her dragon face contorted, and every scale on her body resisted. She said, "No! My wealth is my life. You might as well kill me!"
Garros scrutinized the White Dragon's intense reaction.
"An adult Dragon is still this emotional? Is there no restraint over your instincts at all?"
He remembered that although Iron Dragon Mother was also greedy for treasure, she could exercise a certain amount of restraint.
As their age and experience grow, and their horizons and expertise expand, Dragons gradually become more mature and can restrain their inherent desires.
But the White Dragon Tereshi before him was already close to being a Mature Adult Dragon.
In Garros's eyes, this reaction was anything but mature.
"Perhaps it's due to the racial difference."
"Not just in strength, but the intelligence of White Dragons is also the lowest among the Chromatic Dragons. They are more influenced by instinct; a juvenile White Dragon seems no different from a wild beast."
"This Tereshi isn't young, but she doesn't seem very bright."
Garros pondered to himself.
This was his first time encountering a White Dragon, so he wanted to understand them better.
The contents of the Legacy contained too many subjective and stereotypical views from his ancestors. Garros wouldn't fully believe certain perceptions within it; rather than relying entirely on the Legacy, he preferred to use it as a reference and learn for himself.
But for now.
In Garros's view, the stereotypes about White Dragons in the Legacy were justified and not without reason.
After a moment's thought, Garros narrowed his eyes and put on a fierce expression, saying, "Since you feel that wealth is more important than life, then I'll grant your wish. I'll let you guard your treasure as you go to meet Tiamat."
He reached out his dragon claw toward the White Dragon's neck.
The White Dragon shuddered, her tail going stiff.
Logically speaking, shouldn't they bargain first? He didn't even give her a chance to negotiate and was going straight for the kill?!
Hiss, this Red-Iron hybrid is truly too evil.
"Wait, wait!" White Dragon Tereshi hurriedly begged for mercy, saying, "I find it hard to part with my wealth, but I am willing to satisfy you in other ways."
Garros stopped.
The White Dragon's answer was exactly what he wanted.
Although she couldn't compare to Garros, in terms of pure strength, she was a level stronger than Samantha, Sorog, and all of his subordinates.
She was an adult Dragon, after all; Garros had needed to enter his Frenzied State to truly suppress her.
By subduing her, Dragon Valley would gain another member, and Garros would have more combat power under his command. More importantly, she could help Garros train and improve his Ice Resistance.
The silver frost ring he had obtained from the Copper Dragon before needed to be recharged after every use, and its effect wasn't intense enough.
It couldn't compare to an adult White Dragon.
White Dragon Tereshi thought Garros wanted wealth.
Little did she know, Garros had his sights set on her herself.
"Speak then. Besides wealth, what else do you have that I might covet?"
Garros asked, maintaining the upper hand.
The White Dragon stood up, her eyes flickering. Her slender tail reached out to coil around Garros's neck, but before it could even brush against him, it was slapped away by the Young Dragon's claw.
He said warily, "White Dragon, what are you trying to do?"
The White Dragon was slightly stunned, then she exhaled a cold breath, spread her wings, and arched her tail, showing off her curves and figure.
The White Dragon said, "I can bear a clutch of offspring for you."
Pausing for a moment, she added, "I haven't had a mate yet. As you know, the offspring from a female Dragon's first birth are the strongest. I can allow your Bloodline to continue."
Tereshi looked down on other White Dragons and had always suppressed her desires.
However, the Red-Iron Hybrid Dragon who had soundly defeated and humiliated her had instead triggered her attraction to the strong. That powerful and formidable body made her feel hot all over, and certain thoughts surged like a tide.
Offspring?
Heaven knows why the White Dragon thought that way.
"White Dragon, watch your behavior!"
Garros took a step back to avoid the White Dragon's body as she tried to press against him, refusing her in a heavy voice.