Alberto paced back and forth in front of the Red-Iron Dragon and Golden Dragon Natasha, with four pairs of winding, intersecting, crown-like dragon horns atop his head.
It was as if he was afraid the two of them wouldn't notice his horns.
"He is putting the theory of charm I mentioned into practice."
Garros looked thoughtful, a flash of understanding passing through his eyes.
He roughly guessed the motivation behind Alberto's actions.
Beside them, Nasha silently watched for a few seconds before ultimately failing to suppress her inner restlessness and speechlessness.
With an incredulous tone, she asked, "Alberto, what on earth are you trying to achieve by forcibly welding three pairs of fake dragon horns onto your head?"
At a glance, she could tell that the three extra pairs of dragon horns were not natural, but rather decorations fixed on after being smelted and shaped from some kind of magical metal.
They were exquisitely crafted and looked real enough to fool anyone.
But to a dragon as familiar with Alberto as her, it was still easy to distinguish that they were not naturally grown dragon horn structures.
"I don't understand what you're talking about."
Alberto shook his head and swayed, intentionally changing his angle.
"This is my innate trait, which only recently fully developed and took shape to reveal its true form."
His tone was incomparably serious as he said, "These four pairs of dragon horns, resembling a natural crown, are precisely the unique symbol of me, Alberto. They are my Dragon King's Crown, the sacred emblem that I was born destined to establish the great Golden Order!"
His words were resonant and filled with unquestionable confidence.
If one didn't know his background inside out, one might actually be bluffed by this appearance of his and take it for truth.
Nasha: "..."
She took several deep breaths of cold air in succession before barely suppressing the urge to immediately pounce and beat this guy up fiercely.
Of course, the primary reason among them was that she was currently in a state of exhaustion, and her physical stamina had not yet recovered.
Otherwise, she would never have exercised such restraint over her inner thoughts.
Garros's reaction, however, was completely different from Nasha's.
He felt no scorn; instead, a trace of appreciation flickered across his face.
He nodded slightly at Alberto and said in a steady voice, "Not a bad idea."
"As long as you yourself are strong enough, strong enough to make other creatures look up to you, then they are real. At that time, no one will question their authenticity, and they will become a part of your Legendary status."
Dragon horns had always been one of the most important characteristics of dragons.
How many dragon horns there were, exactly where they grew, whether they were straight and slender or winding and curved—these were crucial within the aesthetic standards of the Dragon Clan.
Garros's own dragon horn form was closer to that of a Red Dragon.
A pair of thick, backward-swept, sharp giant horns extended from the back of his head with a heart-palpitating arc. Overall, they presented a black-red color with a cold metallic texture, far surpassing ordinary Red Dragons in both length and thickness.
Centered around this main pair, many sharply protruding spines were distributed on both sides of his head, acting like natural secondary horns.
The overall shape was ferocious and majestic, filled with an unmasked sense of powerful coercion, fitting his own temperament.
However, to be fair, compared to Alberto's four pairs of dragon horns at this moment, which resembled a magnificent crown, it was indeed slightly inferior in terms of visual prominence and uniqueness.
Previously, when Alberto and Garros stood together,
undoubtedly, any onlooker's first glance would inevitably be attracted by Garros's rugged body filled with a sense of powerful beauty. Alberto would often be subconsciously ignored and regarded as an unknown golden dragon following behind the King of Molten Iron.
But now, the situation seemed to be somewhat different.
When Alberto appeared in the same frame with Garros again in his current image, after being struck by Garros's strong sense of presence, onlookers' gazes would inevitably be drawn to the prominent crown atop Alberto's head.
The impression of the "unknown golden dragon" would transform into "the golden dragon with four peculiar pairs of dragon horns."
From a certain perspective, his goal of enhancing his personal charm and recognition had indeed been achieved because of these extra decorations.
At the same time, after hearing Garros's words, Alberto cast a look at him that said "you're the one who really understands me."
Immediately afterward, he turned his gaze to Golden Dragon Natasha, emitting a disdainful soft snort from his nostrils.
"A mediocre dragon who cannot comprehend my greatness."
Alberto held his crown-wearing head high, his gaze disdainful as if looking down upon ants: "Nasha, rejoice. Being able to share a blood relation with me is the greatest honor of your life."
Such arrogant remarks made Nasha so angry that her dragon scales almost stood on end.
"Alberto, take back your crazy words right now!"
Nasha's eyes flashed with fierce light as she said, "Otherwise, I guarantee you, I will personally snap off those ridiculous fake dragon horns on your head one by one, and then make you swallow every single one of them without leaving a single fragment behind!"
Facing this naked threat, Alberto remained unmoved, maintaining a calm expression on his face.
"Heh, then come on."
He even used his claws to gracefully groom his dragon horns, his tone flat yet filled with provocation: "I'll give you plenty of time to recover, lest you lose and make excuses about lacking physical strength again."
Having said that, he spoke no more, directly turned around, and slowly walked away with steady and confident paces.
Leaving Nasha with only a back profile that seemed to carry invincibility and loneliness.
Seeing his fearless appearance, Nasha instead became somewhat suspicious and uncertain. Her anger subsided slightly, turning into contemplation.
"Did this guy find some new backing? Or is he purely bluffing?"
She doubted inwardly.
However, no matter what, after she rested a bit and recovered some stamina, she would definitely go and properly lecture Alberto. She had to beat some sense into his brain, regardless of what backing he had!
Watching Alberto's figure disappear, Garros did not make any further comments on the matter.
He instead looked at the still-furious Golden Dragon Natasha beside him and asked, "Both you and Alberto have stayed outside for a long time. Do your parents really not care?"
Nasha blinked her beautiful golden pupils and answered in a relaxed tone.
"It's fine."
She paused and added, "I have already obtained my parents' tacit approval."
Yes, tacit approval.
She unilaterally cut off frequent communication contacts, keeping Fubo Dragon Domain silent. To some extent, that could also be considered tacit approval.
As for the possibility of their parents coming personally to capture them, brother and sister, and drag them back, in her view, it was not high.
She was already an adult dragon, and Alberto was nearing adulthood. Metallic Dragon parents' desire for control over their adult offspring would decrease significantly.
Based on her understanding of her parents, unless something urgent happened, there was a high probability they wouldn't run over personally to catch dragons.
"That's good."
Garros looked at Nasha suspiciously for a few moments, detecting a hint of a guilty conscience from her drifting gaze, but ultimately did not continue to press the matter.
After a moment of silence, he changed the subject.
"Nasha, that set of armor equipment on you has quite outstanding performance. Is it your own?"
The golden dragon shook her head and calmly said, "That was equipment my father once used—it has a name called'Supreme Dragon Emperor Armor'."
Supreme Dragon Emperor Armor?
This name... Garros's mouth twitched imperceptibly, feeling somewhat difficult to evaluate.
Nasha clearly also knew that this name was overly domineering and leaked arrogance, even carrying a trace of embarrassment.
She wagged her tail somewhat sheepishly and explained helplessly, "This... my father, um, has a rather strong preference for this exaggerated naming style."
"He even loves to shout out the names of his skills with full Aura during battle, and the style is very exaggerated."
Garros was instantly enlightened.
All along, he had felt that Alberto's abnormal personality was purely an individual difference.
After getting to know Nasha, who was also somewhat abnormal, he began to suspect whether there were some familial genetic factors behind this.
Now, he felt he had found the root cause.
The old thing in Alberto's mouth probably wasn't the orthodox golden dragon image in worldly cognition.
The Red-Iron Dragon nodded and said, "Understood."
Pausing for a moment, he stopped beating around the bush and asked straightforwardly, "Can this set of Supreme... Dragon Emperor Armor be lent to me to try out? I want to experience its amplification effect firsthand."
Nasha acted very generously and readily replied, "No problem."
She wasn't worried that Garros would plot against this precious equipment.
After all, with his strength, if he really had such intentions, he would have had countless opportunities to forcibly plunder it long ago. There was no need to take such a huge detour, first guiding her martial arts and then building a good relationship, just to make her lower her guard and offer the armor.
The moment Nasha's voice fell,
Streams of golden light flew out from the gaps of her scales, rapidly condensing and deforming in the air into a large number of intricately structured armor components, and then accompanied by a crisp and neat clinking sound of metal fitting together, these components fit themselves tightly against Garros's body as if they possessed life!
In the blink of an eye, a magnificent and mighty golden armor was seamlessly worn on the Red-Iron Dragon's body.
The golden armor formed a sharp contrast with his black-red scale color, making him look even more majestic.
Strangely enough, this suit of armor perfectly fit Garros's robust physique, allowing him to wear it without any tightness or discomfort, moving as flexibly and freely as if it had grown from his own body.
It possessed a certain adaptive effect.
Garros carefully perceived it and did not detect any obvious amplification in strength, speed, or defense. The runes on the surface of the armor were dim, as if it were merely an exquisite decoration.
He turned his huge head and looked at the Golden Dragon with an inquiring gaze.
Natasha seemed to have expected this. She moved a little closer and lowered her voice, saying: "It requires a specific command phrase to fully activate."
Garros glanced at Natasha a couple of times.
He recalled, "I remember that in the previous battles, you didn't seem to shout any command phrase."
Golden Dragon Natasha shook her head slightly, a trace of imperceptible embarrassment appearing on her face, and whispered in explanation, "No, I actually shouted it, but every time I shouted, I habitually used a soundproofing Spell to block the sound."
After all, shouting such shameful lines in front of an opponent would truly damage her majestic image.
Garros was once again speechless, gaining a deeper understanding of the characteristics of the Golden Dragon Family.
Then, Natasha quietly told Garros the command phrase.
After being silent for a few seconds and digesting this slightly awkward information, Garros vibrated his wings and abruptly flew high into the sky. He took a deep breath, as if to roar out the pent-up frustration in his chest, and then growled accordingly.
"Beneath—the—vast—heavens! Above—the—boundless—earth! I—alone—am—supreme!"
The moment his voice fell, it was as if he had triggered some invisible switch.
Hum—!
The Unique Supreme Dragon Emperor Armor covering his body suddenly erupted with dazzling golden brilliance.
The runes on the surface of the armor lit up rapidly one after another.
The amplification magic arrays embedded everywhere in the armor were activated at the same moment, beginning to frantically absorb various elemental energies roaming in the surrounding air.
A majestic and vast power immediately surged out from all parts of the armor, like a flood with a breached dike, pouring into Garros's limbs and bones. He clearly felt that his strength, speed, Dragon Qi recovery... all aspects of his attributes were soaring at an astonishing magnitude.
Right now, he truly had the illusion of being supreme above all.
Under this all-around amplified state, perhaps he could twist off the Red Dragon Father's head in one life.
"To have such a huge amplification effect on me as well, this is truly a top-tier piece of equipment."
Garros's heart shook: "Unfortunately, it doesn't belong to me after all."
"However, borrowing this armor from Natasha when necessary shouldn't be a problem."
He did not covet this suddenly acquired power.
After initial adaptation and perception, he actively reined in his mind and slowly descended from the high altitude.
Subsequently, the magnificent golden armor, just like when it appeared, turned into streaks of light, detached from his body, re-converged into armor components, and flew back to Natasha's side to be put away by her.
"I thought you would enthusiastically experience this power for a while longer."
Natasha put away the Dragon Emperor Armor and said somewhat unexpectedly.
"It is an external object after all," Garros said. "When it is needed to achieve a specific goal, it is an excellent tool, but on ordinary days, I prefer to rely on the power gained through my own relentless tempering rather than these extra enhancements."
The armor he had Samantha custom-make was not for amplification, but rather to restrain himself.
"Well said."
Natasha nodded approvingly: "I actually rarely use it either, unless I encounter a truly tricky enemy."
"However, when it's time to use it, there's no need to hypocritically hide it."
As she spoke, her gaze cast towards the direction where Alberto had disappeared, the corners of her mouth curling into a cold-laced smile.
Time quietly passed. Although the thick clouds and flying snow obscured the sun and moon, through the subtle changes in the sky's light, one could still perceive that the night was slowly receding and dawn was approaching.
After a period of recuperation, Natasha felt that her physical strength had recovered about seventy or eighty percent.
That anger provoked by Alberto burned fiercely once again.
"It's time to go twist off all of that guy Alberto's fake dragon horns to use as ornaments!"
She grinned, revealing snow-white sharp teeth, and aggressively began searching for Alberto's trace.
However, a few minutes later, Natasha returned with an annoyed expression, cursing and swearing.
"Damned Alberto! What a coward! Spineless fellow!"
Turns out, after some searching and sensing, she discovered that Alberto had fallen into a deep slumber.
After provoking her last night, the place Alberto had strutted towards was precisely the prepared spot deep inside Dragon Valley for entering a deep slumber.
No matter how angry Natasha was, she wouldn't disturb his slumber.
Alberto had also aimed precisely at this point, deliberately provoking the dragon sister before his slumber, and then delightfully began his slumber.
"After he wakes up this time, I guarantee I will make him regret his words and actions today!"
Natasha vowed through gritted teeth.
Garros reminded her from the side: "Alberto's accumulation this time is profound."
"After waking up, his Life Level will most likely reach Rank 18. By then, even though he still won't be your match when you wear the Dragon Emperor Armor, he won't be easily suppressed at will anymore."
Here at Garros's place, Alberto had always played the role of a punching bag, defeated repeatedly.
But being able to persist under his hands, continuously getting injured and recovering, was itself an extraordinary tempering.
Coupled with the fact that Alberto himself had never slackened in his training, his physical strength and combat resilience had long surpassed Golden Dragons of the same rank.
This slumber can be described as a thick accumulation leading to a massive Breakthrough.
Once he wakes up, his strength will inevitably welcome a leap.
"His slumber will take at least several decades."
Natasha bared her teeth, a flash of firm light in her eyes: "During this period, I must also Breakthrough to Rank 18! And the very first moment he wakes up, I'll go rush in and pluck off his horns!"
The thought of staying here at Garros's place became even stronger.
Alberto could achieve such significant growth here, and she, Natasha, would not allow herself to fall behind.
After making up her mind, she looked at the Red-Iron Dragon beside her with burning eyes and said: "Garros, please train me more intensely! Aside from the previous martial combat exchanges and elemental sparring, I also want to undergo physical training!"
No matter what, she could not tolerate being surpassed by her stupid and arrogant younger brother.
"Very well."
Garros slowly nodded and agreed.
Time passed day by day.
In the Dragon Valley of The Borderlands, all Dragonkin, under Garros's influence, immersed themselves in various high-intensity training sessions. Their physical growth and strength-enhancement speeds were generally far beyond those of their peers growing up normally in the outside world.
Meanwhile, on the vast land of the Serel Wilderness...
The Molten Iron Tribe's rule over the Northwest Region became increasingly deep-rooted. The iron-like order brought efficient resource extraction and utilization, with various resources continuously transforming into nourishment to support the development of the tribe and The Dragon Flight.
At the same time, under the leadership of Blue Dragon Zolaya...
The regrouped Dominic Dragon Flight, with the support of several enfeoffed lords of the Molten Iron Tribe, steadily advanced and gradually brought the chaotic Central Region under its control as well.
At this point, the spearhead of the Molten Iron Tribe rested once again.
These two vast and resource-rich regions, the Northwest and the Central Region, were firmly grasped, and a new round of digestion, integration, and steady development began.
However, while the Molten Iron Tribe sought progress amidst stability, changes in other regions of the wilderness did not stop.
The Troll King led his subordinates to attack the Mushroom King's territory, but suffered a disastrous defeat. The Troll King died in battle within the Mushroom King's territory, and his subordinate creatures fled in all directions. Afterward, the Mushroom King's territory expanded towards the Southwest Region, and wherever it passed, thick fungal mats covered everything.
At this point, across the entire Serel Wilderness, only three regional kings who dominated their respective sides remained.
In the Northeast Region, the Mountain King tightly guarded his own territory, remaining put without moving troops.
The Mushroom King, having newly annexed the Southwest Region, saw its expansion momentum visibly slow down after achieving territorial growth.
The King of Molten Iron, who occupied the Northwest and Central Regions, was currently also satisfied with the massive resources provided by his existing territory.
After the rise of the Five Kings, the current pattern was called the Tripartition of the Wilderness.
The three regional kings lived in peace with one another. The chaotic warfare in the wilderness that had lasted for a long time came to an end, welcoming a long-overdue period of peace.
However, the wars in the Southern Kingdoms were becoming increasingly fierce.