Hours later, when Garon woke from his nap, he opened his eyes to the sight of a despondent red dragon.
It had been rampaging outside to vent its emotions but had gradually calmed down. Now, it lay sprawled at the edge of the lava pool, its face carrying a ponderous expression typical of dragonkind, occasionally glancing at Garon, seemingly lost in thought.
Upon seeing Garon open his eyes, the red dragon lifted its head slightly and then flopped down weakly.
In the lava pool, Garon turned his neck and gently flapped his wings, stirring streams of magma.
"This feels really nice."
Garon praised the lava pool before shifting his body and stepping out of it.
His dragon scales still carried some lava, which dripped to the ground as he moved, creating bright, eye-catching flames.
"Accept reality."
Garon looked down at the red dragon with a deep voice.
The red dragon shook its body and slowly stood up, also looking at Garon. There was a hint of reluctance in its gaze, but after a few seconds of hesitation, it sighed helplessly and bowed its noble dragon head to Garon.
"Under the witness of the Dragon Queen, I, Red Dragon Roel, will honor the agreement and pledge my loyalty to you for a hundred years."
Unable to resist this harsh reality, Roel decided to accept it.
It changed its attitude toward Garon, showing much more respect in both its expression and tone.
Garon nodded in satisfaction and said indifferently, "Roel, perhaps one day in the future, you will be glad that you lost to me today."
Red Dragon Roel remained silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
After a pause, it quietly asked Garon, "As your loyal follower, do I still need to return the wealth of the Moshia Kingdom?"
Loyal subjects are not required to surrender their wealth; what they possess belongs to them. Otherwise, given the greedy nature of evil dragons, they would rather die than pledge loyalty to another true dragon.
The situation with the two white dragon guards was different.
They had stolen from Garon first, so as a punishment, he had in turn plundered their treasure. If it had been a normal allegiance, they too would not need to surrender their accumulated wealth.
"Of course, one thing at a time."
"The treasures you acquired from other places, I will not ask you to give up a single coin, but what you took from the Moshia Kingdom, you must hand over to me without fail."
Garon gave the red dragon a look that broke its heart.
"Ah," Roel expressed gloomily.
Then, with a pained expression, it flew over the lava pool to the deeper treasure storage area of its lair to organize its wealth.
Before long, Roel returned, holding several large metal chests, which it placed before Garon.
Garon's eyes brightened as he opened each chest to inspect the contents.
Inside were heaps of gold coins and gems, their brilliance reflecting off the walls and floors, illuminating the entire dragon lair with the scent of money and treasure.
"It's all here."
Roel extended its dragon claw, its face written with reluctance. It turned its head away, unable to bear watching its treasures fall into the hands of another dragon, yet it couldn't help but sneak peeks at Garon's actions, perhaps hoping Garon would have a change of heart and leave some for it.
Observing its behavior, Garon chuckled softly and unhesitatingly stored the treasure chests in his spatial ring.
He was not an evil dragon, but he was still a dragon, and dragons do not lightly relinquish their treasures.
When the chests disappeared, the red dragon took a deep breath, unintentionally expelling sparks from its nostrils, its eyes momentarily losing their luster.
Garon turned his gaze toward the deeper parts of the dragon's lair.
There, a small mountain of treasures was accumulated.
Red Dragon Roel had amassed a lot of wealth.
Even after handing over the plundered gold from the Moshia Kingdom, its wealth still exceeded Garon's by a margin.
In the harsh and barren Arctic plains, it was difficult to acquire treasure.
Garon's first gold came from snatching it from a white dragoness. Although the white dragoness's savings seemed substantial to Garon at the time, they now appeared quite meager. After subsequent battles with human armies and the annihilation of the frost giant tribe, his treasury finally began to fill.
However, it still did not surpass Roel's.
In terms of the quantity and quality of magic stones, Roel could not match Garon, who owned a small gemstone vein.
But in other aspects, Garon could not compare to Roel.
The red dragon had been keen on making money, profiting from warfare for nearly a year.
It had maneuvered among several duchies, amassing considerable wealth
through various means, including but not limited to being hired, intimidation, robbery, and kicking others when they were down.
The Moshia Kingdom was just one of its victims.
Had it not been so, it would have taken at least until its mature years to accumulate a similar amount of wealth.
In peacetime, such actions by a red dragon would definitely have drawn the wrath and joint attacks of human warriors.
But now, with human nations too preoccupied with their own troubles and the red dragon keeping a measure of restraint, most chose to pay off the dragon to avert disaster. Some attempted to drive off or kill the red dragon, only to be turned to ashes themselves.
Noticing Garon's gaze, Roel tensed up, quickly positioning itself in front of Garon, and spoke with firm righteousness, "Although I pledge loyalty to you, according to the rules of allegiance among true dragons, a loyal follower can retain their wealth."
"If you think of laying a hand on my treasury, then I can break the oath!"
Red Dragon Roel reasoned sensibly.
Garon withdrew his gaze, his platinum dragon pupils reflecting Roel's anxious expression, and chuckled softly, "Rest assured, I not only won't take your things, on the contrary, I will give you an opportunity to become one of the wealthiest red dragons."
Roel was momentarily stunned, doubting what it had heard.
"To become wealthier?"
"You're not deceiving me?"
Roel looked suspicious.
Garon smiled lightly and explained, "I control a portal to a semi-plane of fire and lava, a quasi-elemental plane, where endless treasures lie buried beneath the scorched black lands flowing with magma."
"Red dragons are the true dragons most suited to thrive there."
"As long as you obey me well, you can gain unimaginable benefits from that semi-plane."
Garon noticed that although Roel had pledged loyalty due to the bet, its attitude was not entirely sincere. It would not disobey Garon's orders, but if it resisted inwardly, it might not put forth its best effort and just be a drag.
Therefore, Garon painted a big picture to motivate it.
This common capitalist tactic of control was something the red dragon could not resist.
Its pupils burst with light, and it breathed heavily, "Really? You truly have a portal to a quasi-elemental plane of fire and earth?"
It knew all too well what such a semi-plane represented.
Garon calmly nodded, "Of course, when the time is right, you will enter it with me."
"And then, turn it into a paradise belonging to the true dragons."
Roel's eyes brightened, and it couldn't help but fantasize about a dragon lair filled with fire attribute gems.
Seconds later, it came back to its senses, and under the influence of such enticing prospects, its gaze towards Garon became even more respectful.
"Truly worthy of the true dragon I serve, Roel salutes you."
Red Dragon Roel bowed again, its voice excited and expectant as it spoke.
However, it wasn't clear exactly who it was praising.
___________________
Read Ahead
Patreon.com/INNIT
Hours later, when Garon woke from his nap, he opened his eyes to the sight of a despondent red dragon.
It had been rampaging outside to vent its emotions but had gradually calmed down. Now, it lay sprawled at the edge of the lava pool, its face carrying a ponderous expression typical of dragonkind, occasionally glancing at Garon, seemingly lost in thought.
Upon seeing Garon open his eyes, the red dragon lifted its head slightly and then flopped down weakly.
In the lava pool, Garon turned his neck and gently flapped his wings, stirring streams of magma.
"This feels really nice."
Garon praised the lava pool before shifting his body and stepping out of it.
His dragon scales still carried some lava, which dripped to the ground as he moved, creating bright, eye-catching flames.
"Accept reality."
Garon looked down at the red dragon with a deep voice.
The red dragon shook its body and slowly stood up, also looking at Garon. There was a hint of reluctance in its gaze, but after a few seconds of hesitation, it sighed helplessly and bowed its noble dragon head to Garon.
"Under the witness of the Dragon Queen, I, Red Dragon Roel, will honor the agreement and pledge my loyalty to you for a hundred years."
Unable to resist this harsh reality, Roel decided to accept it.
It changed its attitude toward Garon, showing much more respect in both its expression and tone.
Garon nodded in satisfaction and said indifferently, "Roel, perhaps one day in the future, you will be glad that you lost to me today."
Red Dragon Roel remained silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
After a pause, it quietly asked Garon, "As your loyal follower, do I still need to return the wealth of the Moshia Kingdom?"
Loyal subjects are not required to surrender their wealth; what they possess belongs to them. Otherwise, given the greedy nature of evil dragons, they would rather die than pledge loyalty to another true dragon.
The situation with the two white dragon guards was different.
They had stolen from Garon first, so as a punishment, he had in turn plundered their treasure. If it had been a normal allegiance, they too would not need to surrender their accumulated wealth.
"Of course, one thing at a time."
"The treasures you acquired from other places, I will not ask you to give up a single coin, but what you took from the Moshia Kingdom, you must hand over to me without fail."
Garon gave the red dragon a look that broke its heart.
"Ah," Roel expressed gloomily.
Then, with a pained expression, it flew over the lava pool to the deeper treasure storage area of its lair to organize its wealth.
Before long, Roel returned, holding several large metal chests, which it placed before Garon.
Garon's eyes brightened as he opened each chest to inspect the contents.
Inside were heaps of gold coins and gems, their brilliance reflecting off the walls and floors, illuminating the entire dragon lair with the scent of money and treasure.
"It's all here."
Roel extended its dragon claw, its face written with reluctance. It turned its head away, unable to bear watching its treasures fall into the hands of another dragon, yet it couldn't help but sneak peeks at Garon's actions, perhaps hoping Garon would have a change of heart and leave some for it.
Observing its behavior, Garon chuckled softly and unhesitatingly stored the treasure chests in his spatial ring.
He was not an evil dragon, but he was still a dragon, and dragons do not lightly relinquish their treasures.
When the chests disappeared, the red dragon took a deep breath, unintentionally expelling sparks from its nostrils, its eyes momentarily losing their luster.
Garon turned his gaze toward the deeper parts of the dragon's lair.
There, a small mountain of treasures was accumulated.
Red Dragon Roel had amassed a lot of wealth.
Even after handing over the plundered gold from the Moshia Kingdom, its wealth still exceeded Garon's by a margin.
In the harsh and barren Arctic plains, it was difficult to acquire treasure.
Garon's first gold came from snatching it from a white dragoness. Although the white dragoness's savings seemed substantial to Garon at the time, they now appeared quite meager. After subsequent battles with human armies and the annihilation of the frost giant tribe, his treasury finally began to fill.
However, it still did not surpass Roel's.
In terms of the quantity and quality of magic stones, Roel could not match Garon, who owned a small gemstone vein.
But in other aspects, Garon could not compare to Roel.
The red dragon had been keen on making money, profiting from warfare for nearly a year.
It had maneuvered among several duchies, amassing considerable wealth
through various means, including but not limited to being hired, intimidation, robbery, and kicking others when they were down.
The Moshia Kingdom was just one of its victims.
Had it not been so, it would have taken at least until its mature years to accumulate a similar amount of wealth.
In peacetime, such actions by a red dragon would definitely have drawn the wrath and joint attacks of human warriors.
But now, with human nations too preoccupied with their own troubles and the red dragon keeping a measure of restraint, most chose to pay off the dragon to avert disaster. Some attempted to drive off or kill the red dragon, only to be turned to ashes themselves.
Noticing Garon's gaze, Roel tensed up, quickly positioning itself in front of Garon, and spoke with firm righteousness, "Although I pledge loyalty to you, according to the rules of allegiance among true dragons, a loyal follower can retain their wealth."
"If you think of laying a hand on my treasury, then I can break the oath!"
Red Dragon Roel reasoned sensibly.
Garon withdrew his gaze, his platinum dragon pupils reflecting Roel's anxious expression, and chuckled softly, "Rest assured, I not only won't take your things, on the contrary, I will give you an opportunity to become one of the wealthiest red dragons."
Roel was momentarily stunned, doubting what it had heard.
"To become wealthier?"
"You're not deceiving me?"
Roel looked suspicious.
Garon smiled lightly and explained, "I control a portal to a semi-plane of fire and lava, a quasi-elemental plane, where endless treasures lie buried beneath the scorched black lands flowing with magma."
"Red dragons are the true dragons most suited to thrive there."
"As long as you obey me well, you can gain unimaginable benefits from that semi-plane."
Garon noticed that although Roel had pledged loyalty due to the bet, its attitude was not entirely sincere. It would not disobey Garon's orders, but if it resisted inwardly, it might not put forth its best effort and just be a drag.
Therefore, Garon painted a big picture to motivate it.
This common capitalist tactic of control was something the red dragon could not resist.
Its pupils burst with light, and it breathed heavily, "Really? You truly have a portal to a quasi-elemental plane of fire and earth?"
It knew all too well what such a semi-plane represented.
Garon calmly nodded, "Of course, when the time is right, you will enter it with me."
"And then, turn it into a paradise belonging to the true dragons."
Roel's eyes brightened, and it couldn't help but fantasize about a dragon lair filled with fire attribute gems.
Seconds later, it came back to its senses, and under the influence of such enticing prospects, its gaze towards Garon became even more respectful.
"Truly worthy of the true dragon I serve, Roel salutes you."
Red Dragon Roel bowed again, its voice excited and expectant as it spoke.
However, it wasn't clear exactly who it was praising.
___________________
Read Ahead
Patreon.com/INNIT
