Chapter 363 The Crimson Silver Dragon's Pity
The biting wind, carrying heavy snowflakes, transformed Dragon Valley into a silent, silver-clad world.
The crimson-silver dragon Deborah stood firmly on the watchtower of Burning Steel Fortress, its scales shimmering with a cool and beautiful light under the snow. The petite fairy dragon Vera was also there, standing guard and listening attentively.
"Vera, listen up."
Deborah's voice cut through the wind and snow, tinged with a hint of mischief, as she asked, "Why did a dwarf walk into a waist-deep river and drown?"
The fairy dragon Vera immediately stopped flying and hovered in mid-air.
She rested her chin on her small paws, her brows furrowed, deep in thought.
A few breaths later, her eyes lit up, and she excitedly did a nimble somersault in the air, crisply announcing the answer.
"I know! Because he slipped and choked on water! Or... there was a big fish in the river that he woke up, and it got angry and knocked him unconscious!"
She was very satisfied with her answer and flapped her wings triumphantly.
The crimson-silver dragon blinked, its snout twitching slightly, and corrected, "Vera, you have two answers."
"You can't take shortcuts. Think carefully and tell me the most appropriate answer."
She raised one of her hooked toes and waved it in front of the fairy dragon.
The fairy dragon immediately puffed out its little chest, put on a serious expression, and said, "An answer? Absolutely no problem, it won't stump the clever Vera!"
She cleared her throat and said in a clear, articulate voice, "The dwarf was first knocked unconscious by the angry fish, then slipped and fell to the bottom of the icy river, and that's how he drowned!"
After she finished speaking, she nodded in satisfaction, as if the answer was flawless.
But how is this different from before?
The Crimson Silver Dragon rolled her eyes, but seeing Vera's expression, she didn't scold her. She just sighed softly, already used to the little fairy dragon's unpredictable thought process.
"Am I right? Deborah, am I right?"
Vera pressed on impatiently, her body almost touching the tip of the Crimson Silver Dragon's nose.
Deborah slowly shook her head: "No, Vera, the reason is simple—"
She paused for a moment, and only when she saw the fairy dragon prick up its ears did she reveal the answer.
"Because dwarfs are naturally short, their height is less than the waist of others, and waist-deep river water is enough to submerge their heads."
The fairy dragon suddenly realized, slapping its little head: "Oh—! So that's how it is! It's because the dwarves are too short!"
Her crisp exclamation gave Deborah a great deal of emotional value.
Deborah was very pleased with the fairy dragon's enlightened reaction. Her pleasant mood made her tail sway gently, sweeping a graceful arc in the air.
"Now it's your turn to ask a question."
She said.
The fairy dragon Vera did not speak immediately.
Her little brain seemed to be engaged in intense calculations. After a few seconds of contemplation, she threw out a seemingly simple question.
"Giants, as everyone knows, are many, many times larger than ordinary humans, right? So, Deborah, what if there were creatures called giant dwarves in the world?"
She drew out the words, a sly glint in her eyes, and asked:
Do you think he is larger or smaller than the average person?
Deborah nodded without hesitation: "Of course, giant dwarves are definitely much taller than ordinary humans."
The moment the words left his mouth, the Crimson Silver Dragon's heart sank.
She answered too quickly, and now it feels a bit off.
"Aha! You're wrong, Deborah! You're wrong this time!"
The moment she finished speaking, the fairy dragon Vera seemed to have seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, excitedly spinning around and letting out a clear, bell-like laugh, eagerly declaring her victory.
The number of times that Crimson Silver Dragon Deborah has made such a mistake can be counted on one hand.
In various word puzzles and riddles games with Vera, the Fairy Dragon was almost always the undefeated champion.
However, despite her repeated defeats, Vera never tired of it, and every small victory was enough to make her cheer.
Fearing that Deborah might change her mind or correct herself, the fairy dragon immediately announced the answer in rapid succession.
“Giant dwarfs, they’re called ‘giant dwarfs’!”
"The key word is 'short'! He's even shorter than the average dwarf!"
After saying that, she triumphantly stretched out her little claws towards the Crimson Silver Dragon, beckoned with her finger, and her face was filled with the joy of victory.
"Vera, not bad. This time the question was very misleading. You've improved a lot."
Deborah praised.
She stretched out her paw and rubbed a gold coin that gleamed in the snowy light against her neck scales, then tossed it into Vera's happily outstretched little paw.
These are the rules of their game.
If Deborah wins, Vera doesn't have to pay; if Vera wins, she gets a shiny gold coin.
"Gold coins! Shiny gold coins!"
Vera, clutching her heavy, sparkling treasure, let out a joyful scream and flew around the massive body of the Crimson Silver Dragon.
This is how she expresses her joy.
A moment later, she carefully hid the gold coins in a secret attic in Burning Steel Castle that belonged to her.
Soon, she flew back to the lookout tower, hands on her hips, and made an ambitious declaration to Deborah:
"Deborah! Just you wait! I'm going to win all your wealth, one by one! Queen Vera's treasury is about to rise!"
She was full of confidence.
"Okay, let's continue."
The Crimson Silver Dragon's expression turned serious, and it adjusted its posture.
Her earlier mistake made her put away her last bit of distraction, and when she gave it her all, Vera's chances of winning in her area of expertise were slim.
"The question this time is: a white dragon..."
Deborah had just started speaking when her voice abruptly stopped.
As if sensing something, she suddenly looked up at the distant horizon, her gaze piercing through the howling wind and snow.
In the field of vision, a burning meteor with a long tail of light was tearing through the wind and snow at an alarming speed, hurtling towards Dragon Valley.
With each passing second, the figure became clearer and larger.
"It's Garus!"
The Crimson Silver Dragon was initially delighted, but then a strong sense of unease welled up within him.
She noticed the shocking, deep wounds on Hong Tielong's body.
What chilled her to the bone was that the aura emanating from Garus was completely different from usual.
It was an aura of rage, pain, and some indescribable evil.
"Whoa! An evil aura! A very strong and terrifying evil aura!"
Vera, the fairy dragon, reacted even more dramatically than Deborah. She let out a short gasp and then burrowed under the thick, shield-like right wing of the crimson silver dragon, only daring to pry open the edge of the wing membrane to reveal her small head.
"Is Galos finally dropping the pretense? Is he about to reveal his true nature as a super evil dragon?!"
She exclaimed.
The King of Molten Iron circled once in the high sky, its enormous figure casting a heavy shadow in the wind and snow.
Then, he abruptly folded his battered wings and plummeted, crashing into a clearing at the bottom of the valley amidst the excited cheers of his many relatives.
The red iron dragon's thick tail thrashed restlessly from side to side, each slap carving deep furrows into the hard frozen earth and creating spiderweb-like cracks that spread outwards.
"Black oil! Gems! Flesh and blood! Metal! Immediately! Right now!"
Galos took a deep breath of the cold air and growled hoarsely, demanding that his retinue offer these things.
The retinue, intimidated by the oppressive and violent atmosphere, immediately sprang into action, preparing according to the king's orders.
The werewolves rushed toward the warehouse storing black oil crystals, the kobolds ran quickly to the ice cellar and dragged out large chunks of frozen meat, and the ogres swiftly carried out the finest metal ingots.
The entire Dragon Valley instantly fell into a tense but efficient state of busy activity.
At the same time, a slight tremor came from the ground.
The crimson-silver dragon Deborah landed in front of Garus, staring at him with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.
What happened?
Her voice was filled with worry, her gaze fixed on Galos's terrible wounds: "Garos, your injuries are so severe that they alarm me."
Although the intense evil aura emanating from Garus made her uneasy, at this moment, she was more concerned about the terrible injuries.
As she spoke, Deborah did not hesitate at all, and took out an exquisite mithril box, inside which were neatly arranged more than a dozen thumb-sized crystals that looked like solidified blood diamonds.
These are all holy dragon potions made by the silver dragon father, Edley, and are excellent for treating serious injuries.
The Crimson Silver Dragon poured out all the potions from the box at once, one after another, and stuffed them into the huge, slightly open mouth of the Red Iron Dragon Garros, who was panting heavily.
The speed of the movement was so fast that it was as if they were not feeding someone an expensive magic potion, but filling the hole with the most ordinary pebbles.
As the last Holy Dragon Elixir disappeared into the Red Iron Dragon's mouth, a powerful yet gentle surge of life energy erupted within his body.
Those deep wounds, which exposed bone and were constantly oozing hot blood, stopped bleeding instantly.
Deep within the wound, bright red granulation tissue proliferated, intertwined, and stitched together at a visible speed, stabilizing his physical condition, preventing further deterioration of the injury, and beginning to slowly but steadily repair the trauma.
Galos felt a warm current flow through his body.
The intense pain and weakness subsided considerably, and the irritability and aggression also lessened somewhat.
"I was so stupid not to use any of the Dragon Potions, Dragonite Potions, and Cheek Potions I got from Deborah in the battle."
Galos's thoughts became clearer at this moment, and he recalled the preparations before the battle.
Adrian the Silver Dragon also studied potion-making, and his level was certainly not low, so the potions he concocted were exceptionally effective.
Thanks to Deborah's generosity, Garros had accumulated a batch of potions through her. If used in time during battle, they could provide him with at least a 10-20% boost, and he was also prepared to use the potions.
However, it was not suitable to use it at the beginning of the battle, and he wanted to wait for a more suitable time.
However, he was so enraged and mentally impaired by the madness that he completely forgot about the life-saving medicine.
"I'll tell you the details later, I need to eat now."
Galos's voice was still hoarse, but his tone had softened as he spoke.
By this time, the family members had already delivered the first batch of food.
A large quantity of pure black oil, shimmering magic gems, pieces of precious metal that had already been cut up, and high-quality beast meat that had just been thawed. The Iron King, whose body was extremely weak and depleted, said no more and immediately began to feast.
I'm so hungry.
Galos devoured the mountain of food with an almost frenzied speed.
The servants held their breath, not daring to utter a sound. Seeing the food rapidly dwindling, they quickened their pace, continuing to send in more and more to satisfy the terrifying appetite of the Iron King.
Both the Crimson Silver Dragon and the Fairy Dragon could see that Garos was in dire need of replenishing his energy.
They didn't disturb Galus, and tacitly stepped aside to wait quietly.
Time slipped away quietly amidst the howling wind and snow and the sounds of the red-iron dragon chewing and swallowing.
As night deepened, only the howling wind and snow echoed under the dark sky. However, this natural roar could not drown out the sounds of the Iron King feeding.
Before you know it, the whole day has flown by in silence.
When the second night fell over Dragon Valley, Garos had already swallowed a massive amount of matter far exceeding his own weight.
The dim dragon jade core within his body finally regained its faint but steady light.
The body, which had been dry and withered, became full again, with bulging muscle lines rising beneath the scales.
Although he is still quite far from his peak condition, and the enormous energy requires time to digest and absorb, his current state is vastly different from when he was severely injured upon arriving at Dragon Valley.
"Therese, and the other little ones, aren't they in Dragon Valley?"
Only then did Garros have time to look around and find that apart from Deborah and Vera, he did not see the white dragon Therese or any other young dragons in the valley.
"Therese took the little dragons to undergo special training. She said that only the fiercest blizzards can truly forge the hardest dragon scales."
Deborah responded.
"I just went through a tough battle."
At this moment, Garus turned his gaze to the Crimson Silver Dragon, and under her watchful eye, he recounted what had happened in the wilderness in the most concise language possible.
He downplayed the tribe's conquest and expansion.
He focused on the discovery of Gorsas's dangerous presence, the setting of a trap to annihilate him, and the brutal final battle.
Opposite to Galos.
Looking at the evil dragon before her, who had personally ended her father's life and whose blood was stained with the blood of her own kind, the Crimson Silver Dragon Deborah showed no fear whatsoever.
On the contrary, a deep sense of pity welled up in her heart.
Having known Galos for decades, she knew that his nature was by no means cruel or tyrannical.
Reaching the point of patricide must have been a last resort.
Moreover, Deborah was not unaware of the rumors surrounding the Red Dragon Gorsas; she had heard of his terror and danger.
Having such a mad and evil father was a misfortune for Galus.
It would be a better outcome to be able to completely end it now, preventing ourselves and many more living beings from suffering greatly.
Perhaps Galos himself didn't feel much turmoil in his heart, but for Deborah, who was emotionally sensitive and rich, it was a different story when she tried to put herself in Galos's shoes and feel what he had gone through.
The sudden, suffocating heaviness almost made it hard for her to breathe.
Galos's world seemed to be shrouded in boundless malice, with only a very few warm lights existing.
At that moment, Deborah made a silent decision in her heart.
She wanted to be the brightest of the few lights, and nothing could change her mind, whether it was snow or flames ahead.
“Garos…”
The Crimson Silver Dragon slowly stepped forward, gently pressing its forehead against the Red Iron Dragon's scarred yet still hard and massive head.
"I can sense your profound weariness."
She said softly, "It's over, it's all over now."
"It's safe here. There are no more enemies or battles you need to face immediately."
"Go to sleep, relax and sleep. I will stay here and watch over you."
The fairy dragon Vera also peeked out from under the wings of the crimson-silver dragon, nodding her little head vigorously and loudly echoing, "Me too! Vera will also stand guard with Deborah!"
Hearing their firm yet warm words, Galos's nerves, which had been stretched to their limit like a bowstring, finally relaxed, and his irritability and violentness diminished significantly.
In this rare moment of peace, an overwhelming wave of sleepiness washed over me.
Hong Tielong's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, slowly drooping, and his eyes gradually lost focus.
He will fall into a deep sleep.
Although it doesn't reach the lengthy slumber required for the metamorphosis of dragon life, which often lasts for decades, this slumber will last at least several months in order to fully heal its injuries and digest the enormous energy and insights gained from this battle.
“Deborah, Vera…”
"I'm counting on you guys during this time."
Galos's voice was sleepy, and he managed a weak smile.
Then, he flapped his wings, his massive body took off, flew towards Burning Steel Fortress, returned to his palace, and slowly closed his eyes.
The energy you just ate will begin to be efficiently digested and absorbed.
Those scars will eventually become his battle marks, and the shattered scales will become even thicker.
Without a doubt, he will become even stronger after he awakens.
Whatever fails to kill Garus only makes him stronger.
Deborah, the Crimson Silver Dragon, and Vera, the Fairy Dragon, exchanged a glance, both seeing seriousness in each other's eyes; their lighthearted playfulness had long since vanished.
They also flew into the sky and guarded the vicinity of Burning Steel Fortress.
The creatures within the valley, whether they were the wyverns circling in the sky or the towering earth bears, were all on high alert, ready to protect their sleeping king.
Not long after, the white dragon Therese returned with a group of young dragons after training.
After learning what had happened, she canceled the subsequent training plan, giving the little dragons a rare vacation, and then joined the ranks of the guardians, waiting with the other dragons for the awakening of the Iron King.
(End of this chapter)
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