Chapter 679: Adaptive Force

Fafnir nodded at her, then repeated, "Yes, it's a beating—or in other words, any behavior that comes close to death.

"If you survive eating a poisonous weed, you'll develop resistance to it. If you survive being bitten by a snake, you'll develop resistance to its venom. If you go without food or water for a long time, your body will adapt to that lifestyle. This is how dragons can live in deserts, deep seas, glaciers, swamps, and volcanoes.

"That's why I said this is how we dragons educate our children. Once injured and then healed, the body will become stronger than before. Whether it's humans or elves, they need hard 'training' to achieve this.

"The reason I'm so strong is because I was on the verge of death several times in my youth. My bones were broken more than a dozen times, my eyes were blinded, my liver was chopped up three times, and the scales on my body have been replaced more than once. The most serious battle was when I fought a hundred-headed sea beast to cover Heleqin's retreat. It ate my heart and liver alive, and tore off my wings. When I luckily survived, I became more than twice as strong as before.

"Compared to my time, the world is far more peaceful now. This generation of dragons has almost no experience battling monsters. If they suddenly encounter danger, it's almost fatal. As a result, the mighty dragons have been easily hunted to the point of near extinction by humans—oh, sorry. Sorry, Aiwass. I don't mean to say that humans are bad, I'm just saying... this situation was almost impossible in the past."

Fafna realized that her words seemed unkind to humans, so she politely apologized to Aiwass.

Aiwass shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, no, it's okay..."

Fafner was so polite, how could he dare to say anything? The ones being slaughtered to near extinction weren't humans...

To be honest, this was the first time he had heard that "dragons were almost hunted to extinction by humans." He was shocked and even found it a little unbelievable.

But then I thought about it, it does make sense.

The main reason is that they have the Silver Crown Dragon Pearl and Jade before them. Although they may not receive the power from the Huantiansi, and thus gain the power of the dragon through the transcendent act of "slaying the dragon", even so, materials such as dragon blood and dragon heart are still extremely valuable, and slaying the dragon can make them a "Dragon Slayer Hero" and gain huge prestige.

A hundred years ago, there were still many dragons in Avalon. Even Ligeia's former husband died while slaying a dragon.

Nowadays, rumors of dragons are almost non-existent in Avalon. If a dragon is reported somewhere—even a subdragon—it might attract 20 or 30 mercenary groups.

This was especially true of Xingbi. As a nation of ritualists and alchemists, they were extremely hungry for dragon materials. They would even dismantle a human, let alone a dragon.

From this perspective, Fafner's concerns about Rhine seem reasonable...

A weak and young dragon.

Even if they are not killed, they may be tamed or captured.

Especially considering his timid, obedient and friendly personality... To be honest, if little Rhine was not an acquaintance's child, Aiwass might also be moved if he saw him in the wild.

If the dragon is a wild wolf, then Rhine may not even be a husky - it even feels like he has been domesticated.

"...But, Cardinal Fafner, I have a question."

Aiwass asked with some confusion.

"Hmm? Go ahead."

"In a situation like this where a giant dragon is being hunted... you powerful dragons, are you just not going to do anything about it?"

Aiwass was certain that if the elves were captured and auctioned against their will, the Theocracy would definitely intervene.

"Oh, yes. We don't care."

Fafna nodded, her tone very calm, "Because this is the way to adapt—if you can't adapt to the environment, it means you are an eliminated individual. It is better to be destroyed.

"In fact, now that the dragon population has drastically decreased and is nearing the danger line, the fertility of the entire dragon race has increased more than tenfold. At the same time, the dragons' intelligence has also increased significantly... Now, young dragons like Rhine, and even younger dragons, can permanently transform into humans, elves, or other races.

The dragons' irritable, bellicose nature has also cooled considerably. The new generation of dragons is very friendly to almost all civilized races, and their learning abilities have further improved. Their appetites have also decreased, and their dragon forms have become much smaller as a result.

"You Avalonians probably think there are no dragons in Avalon anymore, right? But as far as I know, there are at least a hundred pure-blooded dragons active in Avalon. It's just that they are all hiding... Compared to the dragons of the old era who were good at plundering, the dragons of the new era are even better at hiding.

"Therefore, no matter what the environment, the dragons will not intervene. If they intervene too much, the dragon's ability to evolve will be distorted, and they will be unable to adapt to the environment properly."

"...Is this the Son of Adaptation?"

Aiwass murmured.

It was the first time he knew that the dragon had this "hidden function".

Adjust and adapt based on race...

If the giant is the embodiment of "power", the undead is the concentration of "dusk", and the monster is the embodiment of "beast", then the dragon is undoubtedly the spokesperson of the word "adaptation".

"...So, is this also the reason why Rhine is so timid?"

Aiwass looked at Rhine, thoughtfully: "Is it possible that... he is not suitable to be a warrior at all?"

Hearing this, Rhine's eyes lit up.

But Fafnir said firmly, "Impossible, because he is Rhine. Rhine Dragonflame—the son of a hero who inherited the legacy of Heleqin. I used my liver to lay his foundation, my spine to forge his weapons, and my scales to create his armor."

"Herchin once said that he wanted to make Rhine the strongest warrior in the world. The name Rhine was given by Heerchin before he left.

"I once thought this oath would never be fulfilled... but thankfully, you're here. Thank you, Aiwass. If the 'Warrior' couldn't return, then Rhine would never have become the 'Strongest Warrior'.

"Now, I am a fifth-level warrior, the strongest warrior in the world. There should be no one in this world more suitable to teach another warrior than me - and similarly, whoever surpasses me will be the strongest."

As she spoke, Fafner reached out and pulled Rhine back.

She was about to walk to the left when she suddenly thought of something.

"By the way, Aiwass..."

Fafna was about to say something, but after looking at them, she gave up: "Forget it, it's none of your business."

So she shook her head, looked at Siegfried beside her, and said, "Remember not to drink, Siegfried. The same applies to all three of you."

"Why?"

Siegfried asked subconsciously, and then he realized the difference between the three of them and Aiwass and his two companions - they were all elves.

He was very smart, so he immediately guessed what Fafna wanted to say: "Tears of Time?"

He was a little bit incredulous: "The part of the Tears of Time that Loki stole has not been found yet?"

"Even controlled flames are devout believers of the Candlelight and practitioners of the Way of Devotion. They are willing to sacrifice even their own lives for their goals... With such purity, it is impossible to target them through divine magic."

Fafner shook her head helplessly. "The good news is, we roughly know...they're going to use the [Tears of Time] to assassinate Gray. After all, with so many of us here, no matter how daring the assassin is, it's impossible to kill them face to face. So, just in case...it's best not to touch anything that could be ingested. I'll also go and warn Gray later."

"...Will there really be such chaos during the papal succession ceremony?"

Aiwass frowned.

Siegfried shook his head. "Perhaps only the Silver Crown Dragon and the Sand Clock would not want any trouble. Whether it's the Scaled and Feathered Lord, the Twin Mirrors, or the Snake Father, they all enjoy the unexpected surprises."

"As for Weizhe, Hubo, Hengwo, and Sizhu, I'm afraid they won't care."

"...Sizhu doesn't care either?"

Isabel on the side was a little surprised.

As an Avalonian, she was accustomed to the saying that Candlelight and the Silver Crown Dragon were the most just gods.

Fafna nodded. "Sizhu's nickname is 'Bright Father'. He gently affirms and encourages all 'altruistic' actions...

"Anyway, be careful."

She complained, "The magic mirror is still unusable, and we have no control over the situation. If only Loki were here..."

"The Controlled Fire is led by Loki."

Siegfried reminded.

The two cardinals each sighed, shook their heads worriedly, and walked back to their seats.

Aiwass looked at the wine in the glass, shook his head, raised it and drank it all.

Little Rhine's problem still needs to be solved. That child looks like he's about to break...

Aiwass thought.

But Fafner was too stubborn... Aiwass knew he had no chance of convincing her. Something like a "hero's last wish" carried too much weight, and it was practically impossible for anyone other than the person involved to deny it.

——Let’s wait until he “captures” Helechin, now the King of the Wild Hunt, into the Poké Ball, and then let him tell his wife in person.

The update is completed, an update of nearly 6,000 words!

Ask for leave tomorrow and send the leave application tomorrow!

(End of this chapter)