The ground turned into scorched earth.
In the center of the debris-strewn ground, the Red-Iron Dragon walked a few steps lazily, then suddenly raised his head and said in a gloomy tone: "Little Red Dragon, where are you going?"
In mid-air.
Cahill, who was quietly flapping her wings, trying to retreat and distance herself from the Red-Iron Dragon, froze. She turned around stiffly and slowly landed on the ground.
Her mood was extremely tense at this moment.
The powerful Evil Dragon before her had saved her, but she wouldn't be naive enough to think he had acted purely to save her without asking for anything in return. His terrifyingly strong and rugged appearance was fiercer than any Dragon she had ever seen, and the pressure he brought to bear was even greater than the adult Blue Dragon she had encountered in her tribe.
She had no doubt.
If she were to anger him, being skinned and eaten alive on the spot was not impossible.
"Powerful—"
Cahill sniffed the air carefully, her gaze sweeping over Garros's body. She saw the sword-forest-like spines, the wing-tail that looked like a lethal weapon, the strong limbs that seemed cast from steel, and the features of both a Red Dragon and an Iron Dragon.
She hesitated for a moment, then lowered her Dragon head and said:
"—Red-Iron Dragon, thank you for your help. If this is your territory, please forgive my unintentional offense."
She lifted her Dragon wing, showing the wounds on her body, and said: "I was being hunted and had no other choice."
For a Young Dragon who was humble and knew her place.
Unless they were extremely chaotic and evil beings, large Evil Dragons generally wouldn't make things too difficult.
Red Dragon Cahill had a very irritable personality, but now was a time of life and death. When strength was completely insufficient to solve the problem, the wisdom of a Red Dragon began to take the high ground. In a few words, she explained the reason for her arrival here and asked for forgiveness for her possible unintentional offense.
Garros walked toward the Red Dragon with vigorous strides.
He strode forward. Although he controlled his steps and landed his claws calmly, the overwhelming pressure still gave Cahill the illusion that the earth was shaking.
His strong Dragon body, over sixteen meters long, seemed to grow taller with every step.
In Cahill's eyes, the approaching Red-Iron Dragon gradually became infinitely majestic, while she seemed increasingly insignificant, leaving her with no thoughts of resistance.
Finally.
The Red-Iron Dragon's body completely obscured the moonlight, and the shadow cast enveloped Cahill from head to toe.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sound of Dragon wings flapping in the sky and disturbing the airflow rang out continuously, but Cahill no longer cared about that. Her mind was entirely occupied by the Red-Iron Dragon in front of her, so when she came back to her senses, she was shocked to find that two more Dragons had appeared, landed on the ground, and surrounded her.
A Red Dragon with scales like red gems and a thick smell of sulfur in its breath.
An Iron Dragon clad in iron-colored metallic scales, with a cold expression and eyes that seemed to pierce through the soul.
Under the gaze of the three large Dragons, Red Dragon Cahill, feeling the intense danger to her life, subconsciously bared her teeth. She crouched low with her limbs tensed, her Dragon spine slightly arched, striking a posture ready to fight to the death at any moment.
"Heh, not very old, but quite the temper."
Red Dragon Samantha grinned and said: "Little thing, put away this meaningless defensive posture. If we wanted to kill you, you would already be dead."
The Cahill before her reminded her of her past self.
Just as covered in wounds.
Just as driven to a dead end while being hunted.
However, Red Dragon Samantha felt no empathy. Instead, because she had once been caught in the rain, seeing another Dragon with a similar experience now made her feel inexplicably satisfied.
Oh, so I wasn't the only one who had unspeakable experiences when I was weak.
She suddenly felt much better inside.
"Calm."
The Iron Dragon spat out two words simply. Spiritual energy brushed over Cahill's heart like a gentle breeze, blowing away her tension and fear, making her feel much calmer.
Immediately, Cahill's gaze wandered between the three Dragons.
A second later, she looked at the Red-Iron Dragon again.
Even though the two later Dragons were not weak in terms of pressure, it was clear who the backbone was. Even if the Red-Iron Dragon said nothing, he still firmly held the dominant position here.
"Bear with it, it will hurt a bit."
The Red-Iron Dragon spoke suddenly.
Cahill blinked, slightly confused.
But the next second, she knew why the Red-Iron Dragon said that.
Red Dragon Samantha suddenly raised her sharp claws and grabbed at Cahill through the air.
Click, click, click!
The arrows stuck in her body suddenly trembled, covered in cracks under some mysterious force, and snapped with a click.
This sudden sharp pain made Cahill want to howl.
But she gritted her teeth, dug her claws into the ground, and forcibly held back.
"Who are you trying to impress with that toughness?"
Samantha cracked a wicked smile and clenched her claw again in the air.
Her Demonic Energy turned into a lightning-like form, spreading over the metal arrows stuck inside and outside Cahill's body.
Immediately after, a crisp breaking sound rang out inside Cahill's body, including the heavy arrow that had pierced her body completely, which shattered out of thin air. Then, under the guidance of Samantha's Demonic Energy, those fragments whooshed out along the wounds, bringing with them a stream of bright red, scalding Dragon blood.
Hiss! Awoo!
Under the pain from the inside out, Cahill finally couldn't help but look up and howl in pain.
Hearing this pleasant cry of pain, Samantha nodded with satisfaction.
After a few seconds, Cahill felt much lighter. Without the obstruction of those foreign objects, the powerful physical constitution of the Dragonkin began to exert itself, directly stabilizing her deteriorating condition.
In such a severely injured state.
For most biological species, without special treatment, the condition would continue to decline until death, and even if saved, some lingering injuries that would affect them for life would be unavoidable.
But for Dragonkin.
As long as they didn't die on the spot, after sleeping soundly for a period of time, they would be a fierce Dragon again upon waking, with no lingering injuries.
"Drink this."
Garros took out a bottle of red potion-like medicine and handed it to the Young Red Dragon.
This wasn't the Advanced medicine he had pilfered from the Red-Silver Dragon, just a potion made by the shaman warlocks within the tribe. It wasn't very Advanced, but it could more or less supplement her vital state.
Cahill silently took the red potion, then threw it into her mouth along with the bottle, chewed it up, and swallowed.
The medicine entered her stomach and immediately turned into a subtle warm current, making her feel much better, and her withered state improved a little.
After the trials of the wilderness, Cahill knew that there were no free gifts in this world.
Her mind was working clearer than ever. She was very certain that the Dragons before her had saved her and given her medicine, so they must want to get something from her.
However.
Judging by the gap between the two sides, no matter what the other party wanted to do, she was completely unable to resist, so she didn't put on a posture of resistance or vigilance anymore, just silently accepting what was given.
"What price do I need to pay?"
She said.
"Haha, a smart Red Dragon, although a bit worse than me." Samantha nodded sagely, then her expression closed up, becoming serious, and she said: "Little thing, one point you must be clear about now is—we saved your life."
"Do you have any objections to this?"
When asking the final question, the Red Dragon's pupils narrowed slightly, her tone became low and oppressive, and at the same time, she placed her claw on Cahill's shoulder, so heavy that her body swayed, almost prostrating on the ground.
"No."
Cahill said in a low voice.
"Louder, I didn't hear you clearly!"
"No objections! I am very clear that you saved me!"
"Very good."
Samantha nodded with satisfaction and patted the Young Red Dragon's shoulder.
Immediately after, the Iron Dragon's mature and cold voice rang out, saying methodically: "Since there are no objections, from now on, your life belongs to the Dragon Valley, belongs to the Molten Iron Tribe, and belongs to our Ignas Dragon Flight."
Do they want to exploit and order me around like a servant?
Then didn't I run away from the Blue Dragon tribe for nothing?!
After paying so many costs, tossing and turning, in the end, I still couldn't change my original fate.
Red Dragon Cahill showed resistance in her eyes.
Just then, the Red-Iron Dragon, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up. He asked: "What is your name?"
"Cahill."
The Young Red Dragon replied.
The Red-Iron Dragon looked down at the Young Dragon before him, and in a calm and low voice, slowly said: "Cahill, you will serve us for fifty years to repay this life-saving grace. When the time is up, whether you go or stay, the choice is yours."