The Borderlands, Dragon Valley.
It was now late at night. The news that the Poison Tail Tribe had pledged loyalty and submitted after some "persuasion" had reached the ears of the Red-Iron Dragon. The specific details had also been conveyed to Garros by Iron Dragon Sorog through their bloodline connection.
"Well done."
Garros did not skimp on praise, responding on a psychic level.
Ever since the Iron Dragon became a Psion, his thinking had become increasingly meticulous, and he handled matters more thoroughly. His role as the administrator of the Molten Iron Tribe had gradually become competent; he had practically become Garros's 'external brain.' Garros, not wanting to waste time on trivial matters, mostly left them for Solrog to handle.
"Just like before, break up the Poison Tail Tribe."
"Sort the snake-man warriors, Psions, and shamans into different battle groups based on their unique characteristics, and only keep the ordinary snake-men who possess no combat skills."
Garros instructed.
The Molten Iron Tribe was a collective that integrated multiple clans and tribes; there was no longer any distinction between clans within it.
The various battle groups were mixed based on characteristics, not race.
However, due to the vast differences in the habits of different creatures, it was difficult for them to live together normally outside of a military environment. Therefore, the ordinary tribespeople gathered in tribes named after their species, such as the Ogre tribe and the Centaur tribe, serving as logistics, population sources, and so on.
"Understood."
The Iron Dragon responded concisely, preparing to end the communication.
But just then, the Red-Iron Dragon's voice came through with a hint of teasing, curiously asking: "How was the snake-woman?"
Iron Dragon:...
Recalling the conversation with the snake-woman earlier, and his praise of the Red-Iron Dragon's will as unbreakable, like steel, and free from base interests, he was speechless for a moment and wished to retract his previous words.
Not answering this vulgar question, the Iron Dragon ended the conversation directly.
"Garros, come play a guessing game with me."
The Red-Silver Dragon's voice came from the side.
At this time, Garros had finished a round of training not long ago and was resting. He had intended to empty his mind and have some quiet time, but considering that the wealthy Metallic Dragon had just given him two Dragon Blood Potions, he could not neglect her too much.
"Alright, you go first."
Garros said.
The Red-Silver Dragon seemed to have been prepared for a long time. Without hesitation or delay, she immediately said:
"I am born in the depths of the earth, tempered by fire; I am dull in the darkness, and I shine when light touches me."
"Emperors set me in their crowns, poets praise me as the tears of eternity; those who touch me are either rich or noble, those who lose me are left with only sorrow."
After a pause, the Red-Silver Dragon asked expectantly: "—What am I?"
It was a straightforward riddle.
"A Gem."
Garros replied.
"That's it! Correct answer!"
The Red-Silver Dragon seemed to cheer, then spread her claws and reached out in front of Garros.
The Red-Iron Dragon blinked, confused, and asked: "Is something the matter?"
The Red-Silver Dragon snorted lightly and reminded him: "My gems, the gems you promised me, you still haven't given them to me."
Garros had once promised that during the great war, the Red-Silver Dragon would receive ten Magic Gems as a reward for guarding Dragon Valley.
"Oh."
The Red-Iron Dragon showed an expression of sudden realization and said: "Sorry, I forgot about that."
As he spoke, he took ten Magic Gems of various colors from his spatial ring, hesitated slightly, and then gritted his teeth and handed them to the Red-Silver Dragon.
Seeing the Red-Silver Dragon happily accept the gems.
Garros felt a sense of loss, but also a surge of pleasure and relief.
The loss of wealth made him instinctively feel heartache, but being able to give away ten gems at once meant that his training in resisting the allure of wealth was effective.
However, ten gems did not seem to be the limit.
He took a deep breath.
Garros trembled as he took out another gem and gave it to the Red-Silver Dragon: "Those were the promise; this one is a personal gift from me, a small token."
Before he could finish speaking, the Red-Silver Dragon curled her tail, took the gem away, and rubbed it against her cheek.
"Ah, what a beautiful little thing, I like it very much."
The Red-Silver Dragon made a sound of contentment and satisfaction.
Garros took several deep breaths, gradually calming his mind, slowly suppressing the urge to snatch them back. Once his thoughts were calm again, he asked: "Deborah, you should have many precious things; why are you still so obsessed with gems?"
Like the Dragon Blood Potions Deborah had given him earlier.
Although they didn't attract dragons like gems did, their true value certainly exceeded ten Magic Gems.
"It's different. My parents won't just give me treasure directly."
She blinked playfully and said: "Besides, the gems I earn myself are more beautiful. Teehee, especially the ones I earn from a half-breed Evil Dragon like you; they are even more beautiful."
Back when they were in front of her Metallic Dragon parents, Deborah had defended the Red-Iron Dragon, stubbornly claiming he was not evil.
But when the two were alone together.
She often called Garros an Evil Dragon.
This behavior seemed somewhat contradictory, but Garros did not mind and did not take it to heart, letting her use the term Evil Dragon for him.
After taking Garros's gems.
The Red-Silver Dragon condensed a fine, sparkling ice crystal bracelet, strung the gems together, and wore them directly on her wrist. As she turned her wrist, the gems refracted dazzling colors under the moonlight.
"Don't flaunt your wealth."
Garros reminded her: "Deborah, you are being too high-profile. Be careful of being robbed."
The Red-Silver Dragon hummed happily, stating a terrible thing in a simple tone: "Whoever dares to rob my gem bracelet, I will just beat them to death with my scales."
Immediately after, the Red-Silver Dragon, having gotten the gems, stopped playing the guessing game with Garros.
She waved her dragon wings, flew to a flower bush, and woke up the Fairy Dragon Vera, who was sleeping on a flower.
"Vera, Vera, check if my scales here are a bit faded?"
The Red-Silver Dragon extended her wrist, almost pressing it against the Fairy Dragon's face.
The Fairy Dragon rubbed her eyes in a daze.
"Your scales faded? Let me see."
When the Fairy Dragon saw the gems the Red-Silver Dragon was wearing, her voice stopped abruptly, and she zoomed over. However, the Red-Silver Dragon was quick-eyed and nimble-handed, grabbing her by the tail to prevent her from getting close to her gem bracelet.
Garros watched for a few moments, then withdrew his gaze from the showboating Red-Silver Dragon.
Immediately after, he took out an expensive Advanced Communication Stone and asked: "How are the preparations for the monastery in the Kingdom of Lothern coming along?"
A response came from the other side quickly.
"The basic framework has been set up; it won't take long to complete."
This voice belonged to the leader of the Gem Merchant Guild — Nick.
Since waking up, Garros had been in frequent contact with Nick, directing him to do things for him in the Federation.
Now, Nick rarely took personal charge of merchant shipping; that kind of trade was left to his former apprentice, Cole, while he mainly executed Garros's orders in the Federation.
"Take in those homeless orphans, give them a suitable environment, and let them learn the Dragon Posture."
Garros said.
More than a decade ago, Garros had instructed Nick to do things for him in the Federation, secretly establishing some associations to attract and recruit intelligent creatures who admired Dragonkin and were naturally drawn to dragons.
At the beginning, the Gem Merchant Guild invested some wealth to screen members.
But with subsequent development, the contributions from members alone were enough to maintain the operation of the associations, and the scale was still expanding.
Not only that.
After Garros got in touch with the Iron Dragon Gorton, he instructed Nick to purchase land in the Kingdom of Lothern, build a monastery, take in orphans and beggars, and have the Divine Dragon Monks recruited within the associations take charge of teaching, imparting knowledge and skills of the Divine Dragon path, and cultivating a sense of affinity towards Dragonkin.
At present, the young Divine Dragon apprentices could not provide help to Garros.
But this was an arrangement with an eye on the future.
Humans grew much faster than Dragonkin, and the Monk profession did not have harsh requirements for talent. As long as they were diligent and hardworking, and had the corresponding resources provided, their progress on the path of the Monk would certainly not be slow.
It would not take too long.
By the time Garros reached his youth, he might have a group of Divine Dragon Monks under his command, and they would be located in the southern hinterland, which could later become a fulcrum for him to extract profits from the Federation.
"Dragon Lord, the Divine Dragon Monks in the associations awakened by witnessing the combat posture of Dragonkin by chance."
"Just by learning the Dragon Posture, even with the guidance of Divine Dragon Monks, it is difficult for those children to qualify."
Nick replied.
"You don't need to worry about that."
"Soon, a dragon will go to contact the monastery, observe his posture, and comprehend the Profound Truth of the Dragon... With a real dragon as a mentor, qualifying as a Divine Dragon Monk will not be difficult."
Being able to invite a True Dragon to the Kingdom of Lothern?
Nick was somewhat surprised by Garros's vast Divine Ability, but not too surprised.
This call ended quickly.
As for the dragon Garros could invite — undoubtedly, it was the Iron Dragon Brother.
Gorton was not a caged beast in the Kingdom of Lothern.
He had a certain degree of freedom and also held a nominal noble title. Many of the citizens of the Kingdom of Lothern knew that an Iron Dragon was kept in the palace, and its status was higher than some nobles.
He was too lazy to go out and preferred the comfortable environment of the palace.
"It's just that—"
Thinking of Gorton's fat physique, Garros could not help but waver: "—Will there be any problems with the subsequent development of the Divine Dragon Monks who qualify by imitating Gorton's posture?"
"The Legacy mentioned that observing a dragon is helpful for qualifying for the Divine Dragon Sect, but the subsequent development has little to do with the dragon being observed. It should be fine, and there is no other way for now."
"...I hope it goes smoothly."
The Red-Iron Dragon collected his thoughts and, under the moonlight, began a new round of training, accumulating day and night, preparing to return to the Serel Wilderness.
PS: Requesting Power Stones.