Translator: AnubisTL
Solgorn's pupils constricted into thin slits, and the muscles beneath his dragon scales twitched involuntarily.
"Ga-Ga-Garos?!"
He stared at the red-iron dragon towering several times his size, stammering out disbelieving syllables. Perhaps overwhelmed by shock, his voice turned shrill and piercing, like the howl of a lynx—utterly unlike the language of iron dragons.
Across from him, Garos tilted his chin in satisfaction, unfurling his massive Heavenly Comet Wings to cast a shadow that blotted out the sky, completely enveloping Solgorn.
"Ah, these sky-darkening wings... it seems they've grown on me after all. No wonder you couldn't see them on yourself."
A mocking smile played on his lips, a hint of amusement curving his mouth.
Iron Dragon Solgorn fell silent, his mouth opening and closing as if to speak, but ultimately finding no words to reply.
"Rise, my poor brother. I never imagined you would fall beneath an ogre."
Having satisfied his vanity with Solgorn's reaction, Garos decided to show mercy, refraining from excessive mockery and humiliation to preserve some dignity for his brother.
From the moment the ogre set foot on Gravel Beach, and the iron dragon ordered his familiars to retreat while fighting back, Garos had been silently circling in the sky, observing the battle below. The iron dragon, however, remained so focused on the battle that he failed to notice Garos's presence.
Garos observed the entire battle, clearly understanding the iron dragon's strategies.
It knew its familiar's strengths and the ogres' weaknesses, exploiting both through terrain and tactics. By amplifying its own advantages and exacerbating the enemy's disadvantages, it orchestrated a prolonged engagement between the weak hyena-men and kobolds against the ogres.
For a time, it even reversed the situation, turning its disadvantage into an advantage.
The greatest problem lay in the dragonkind's inherent nature.
While at a disadvantage, the iron dragon could think rationally and calmly. However, once it gained the upper hand, arrogance and hubris began to swell within it, clouding its judgment and leading it to make a fatal mistake: recklessly endangering itself, which ultimately led to its capture.
Had Solgorn suppressed his arrogance and maintained his composure throughout, patiently maneuvering and wearing down the enemy, the ogre forces would have suffered devastating losses, forcing Garos to reveal himself sooner.
However.
Even Garos himself couldn't completely suppress the negative emotions inherent in his evil dragon bloodline. It was understandable that Solgorn, similarly influenced, had faltered. In Garos's eyes, Solgorn's performance was still considered satisfactory.
"In managing territory and chosen, and in devising strategies, the iron dragon is a natural master."
"If I could have Solgorn follow me and assist in governing my territory, I could free myself from these trivial matters and focus entirely on strengthening myself."
This was Garos's plan.
When he first went to Gravel Beach and confirmed that the Iron King was Solgorn, his own brother, Garos didn't reveal himself. Instead, he sent his chosen to attack, partly to demonstrate his worthiness of being followed and partly to test Solgorn's abilities. Satisfying his vanity was merely a secondary motive, hardly worth mentioning.
Now, looking back,
Solgorn, though flawed, was generally useful. Moreover, as an eighteen-year-old juvenile dragon, he still had immense potential for growth.
The ogre mage dispelled the binding magic.
The chains restraining Solgorn were removed.
He weakly straightened his body, bared his fangs, and muttered in self-defense, "I was just careless for a moment. Besides, they outnumbered me, their weapons were superior, and my familiars were no match for them. I was overwhelmed."
Garos shook his head, cutting through the excuses. "No, it wasn't carelessness."
He bluntly pointed out Solgorn's fatal mistake.
"Your arrogance betrayed you."
"Deep down, you knew that Gluttony Demons are creatures on par with dragonkind, and that Dragon Blood Gluttons require cautious handling."
"Yet you arrogantly believed you could behead and kill it. After only a brief probing, you couldn't restrain yourself, only to have your recklessness seized upon, dragging you to the ground."
Garos spoke calmly, "You should be grateful you encountered me. Otherwise, your arrogance would have already led to your death."
Solgorn offered no rebuttal, for Garos spoke the truth, and he knew it well.
He understood he shouldn't be arrogant and had consciously tried to overcome this flaw. Yet sometimes, as the Dragon Blood surged through his veins, he forgot himself.
The juvenile iron dragon fell silent once more.
He shifted his body, the searing pain sharpening his senses.
Gazing at the imposing figure before him—so different from the cute, innocent brother he remembered from their two-year-old days—he asked, "Garos, did you come here deliberately to mock my foolishness and weakness? To humiliate me?"
Even as a young dragon, Solgorn had recognized that his brother possessed greater potential.
A true-blooded red-iron dragon, Garos's innate talent rivaled that of a gold dragon.
Solgorn had tried every trick to persuade Garos to join him, to survive together in the wilderness. But to his disappointment, Garos was too clever; even as a toddler, he saw through Solgorn's manipulations.
Solgorn had foreseen this outcome long ago.
If Garos didn't perish prematurely, he would likely surpass Solgorn in power—a rare acknowledgment for a dragon, given their inherent arrogance and self-importance.
What Solgorn hadn't anticipated was this:
Garos, still fourteen and not yet fully grown, had already surpassed him. His physique was terrifyingly powerful, and Solgorn felt a flicker of fear the moment he laid eyes on him.
This stark difference and the accompanying fear filled the Iron Dragon Solgorn with intense disappointment and resentment, far surpassing the bitterness of his defeat by the ogre.
Solgorn harbored grand ambitions and envisioned building a vast Dragon Empire. Yet the reality was that he now lay prostrate before his younger brother, unable to even defeat his chosen.
Garos slowly and calmly shook his head.
"Solgorn, my dear brother, this is not mockery, but a reminder."
He lowered his majestic head and gazed at the juvenile iron dragon. "You are the most intelligent, wise, and ambitious iron dragon I have ever known. We share the same blood, and I understand you well."
"A temporary setback will not discourage you, nor will victory cloud your judgment."
"You will learn from both triumphs and failures, extracting lessons from each."
"Only arrogance and self-conceit remain the greatest obstacles to your growth."
"But I've always believed you're different from the other dragons. You can overcome them, you can transcend yourself."
With each word Garos spoke, the juvenile iron dragon's gaze brightened slightly. Its lowered head gradually lifted, its tail swaying unconsciously.
It remained completely unaware that Garos's words were drawn from the Monarch Theory, motivational rhetoric used to recruit followers. In essence, it was similar to the tactics the iron dragon had once employed, only transforming negative suppression into positive guidance.
Finally, the red-iron dragon grinned at its brother, who lay prostrate in the mud, and extended a claw.
"Solgorn, my dear brother, I want you to stand by my side and help me build a glorious Dragon Empire, restoring the ancient glory of our clan. This is our shared dream, and we must achieve it together."
The juvenile iron dragon froze, startled.
It looked up at Garos, gazing at the face blurred by the backlight, save for the pair of eyes that shone with an inner radiance. A sudden, indescribable tremor ran through its heart.
It wasn't fear, nor was it nervousness.
This was a unique sensation, something beyond words, that left the iron dragon's mind utterly blank.
(End of the Chapter)
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