The biting cold wind, carrying heavy snowflakes, transformed Dragon Valley into a silent world draped in silver.
The Red-Silver Dragon Deborah sat steadily upon the watchtower of Burning Steel Fortress, her scales shimmering with a cold, beautiful radiance under the snowy light. The small and exquisite Faerie Dragon Vera was also there, waiting in readiness and listening intently.
"Listen closely, Vera."
Deborah's voice pierced through the wind and snow, carrying a hint of mischief as she asked, "A dwarf walked into a waist-deep river and ended up drowning. Why is that?"
The Faerie Dragon Vera immediately stopped flying and hovered in mid-air.
Her tiny claws supported her chin, her brow furrowed in deep thought.
After a few moments, her eyes lit up, and she performed a nimble somersault in the air before announcing the answer in a crisp voice.
"I know! It's because he slipped and choked on water! Or... there was a big fish in the river he woke up, and it got angry and knocked him unconscious!"
She was very satisfied with her answer and flapped her wings proudly.
The Red-Silver Dragon blinked her eyes, her snout twitching slightly as she corrected her, "Vera, those are two answers."
"No cutting corners. Think carefully and give me the most fitting single answer."
She raised a hooked toe and waved it in front of the Faerie Dragon.
The Faerie Dragon immediately puffed out her little chest and adopted a serious expression, saying, "One answer? No problem at all, it won't stump the witty Vera!"
She cleared her throat and spoke clearly, "The dwarf was first knocked unconscious by an angry big fish, and then he slipped onto the cold riverbed, which is why he drowned!"
After saying this, she nodded with satisfaction, as if the answer were seamless.
But how was this any different from before?
The Red-Silver Dragon rolled her eyes, but seeing Vera's expression, she didn't scold her. She only sighed softly, having grown accustomed to the little Faerie Dragon's unpredictable train of thought.
"Is it right? Deborah, am I right?"
Vera asked impatiently, her body almost pressing against the Red-Silver Dragon's snout.
Deborah slowly shook her head. "No, Vera. The reason is very simple—"
She paused, and only after seeing the Faerie Dragon perk up her ears did she reveal the answer.
"Because naturally short dwarves don't even reach other people's waists. Waist-deep water is already enough to submerge their heads."
The Faerie Dragon suddenly realized and tapped her little head. "Oh—! So that's why! The dwarf was too short!"
She let out a crisp exclamation, providing Deborah with plenty of emotional validation.
Deborah was very pleased with the Faerie Dragon's enlightened reaction. Her pleasant mood caused her tail to sway gently, sweeping a graceful arc through the air.
"Now it's your turn to ask a question."
she said.
The Faerie Dragon Vera didn't speak immediately.
Her little brain seemed to be performing an intense calculation. After pondering for a few seconds, she tossed out a seemingly simple question.
"Giants, as everyone knows, are many, many times larger than ordinary humans, right? So, Deborah, if there were a creature in the world called a Giant Dwarf..."
She drew out her tone, a cunning glint in her eyes, and asked:
"Do you think its body size would be larger or smaller than an ordinary person's?"
Deborah nodded without thinking. "Of course, a Giant Dwarf would certainly be much taller and larger than an ordinary human."
The moment the words left her mouth, the Red-Silver Dragon's heart sank.
She had answered too quickly, and now something felt off.
"Aha! Wrong! Deborah, you're wrong this time!"
The instant her voice faded, the Faerie Dragon Vera seemed to have seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She spun around excitedly, letting out a silvery laugh as she impatiently declared victory.
Mistakes like this from the Red-Silver Dragon Deborah were truly few and far between.
In the various riddles and brain teasers played with Vera, the Faerie Dragon was, more often than not, a perennial loser who returned in defeat.
However, although Vera lost time and again, she never tired of it. Every tiny victory was enough to make her jump for joy.
Fearing that Deborah might have a chance to retract or correct her answer, the Faerie Dragon immediately fired off the answer like a rapid-fire cannon.
"A Giant Dwarf—the name says 'Giant Dwarf'!"
"The focus is on the word 'dwarf'! He would only be even smaller than an ordinary dwarf!"
Having finished, she triumphantly extended her small claw toward the Red-Silver Dragon and curled her finger, her face brimming with the joy of victory.
"Not bad, Vera. This question was quite misleading. You've made a lot of progress."
Deborah praised.
She reached out a claw, rubbed out a gold coin that shimmered in the snowy light from near her neck scales, and tossed it into Vera's joyfully extended little claw.
This was the rule of their game.
If Deborah won, Vera paid nothing; if Vera won, she would receive a shiny gold coin.
"A gold coin! A shiny gold coin!"
Clutching the treasure that was heavy and bright to her, Vera let out a series of joyful screams, flying in rapid circles around the Red-Silver Dragon's massive body.
This was her way of expressing her joy.
A moment later, she carefully hid the gold coin in a secret attic of her own within Burning Steel Fortress.
Soon, she flew back to the watchtower in high spirits, hands on her little hips, and issued an ambitious declaration to Deborah:
"Deborah! Just you wait! I'm going to win away all your wealth, coin by coin! The treasury of Great King Vera is about to rise!"
She was full of confidence.
"Alright, let's continue."
The Red-Silver Dragon's expression turned serious as she adjusted her posture.
The previous mistake caused her to cast aside the last bit of her absent-mindedness. When she gave it her all, in the Domain she excelled in, Vera's hopes of winning were slim.
"This time the question is: A White Dragon..."
Deborah had just begun when her voice came to an abrupt halt.
She seemed to sense something and suddenly looked toward the distant horizon, her gaze piercing through the curtain of howling wind and snow.
In her field of vision, a burning meteor trailing a long tail of light was tearing through the snow at a terrifying speed, hurtling toward Dragon Valley.
With every passing second, the figure became clearer and more massive.
"It's Garros!"
The Red-Silver Dragon's heart first filled with joy, followed immediately by a surge of intense unease.
She noticed the shocking, bone-deep scars on the Red-Iron Dragon's body.
What made her heart turn cold was that the aura Garros emitted was completely different from before.
It was an aura mixed with rage, pain, and a certain indescribable evil.
"Waaah! An evil aura! Such a thick and terrifying evil aura!"
The Faerie Dragon Vera's reaction was even more exaggerated than Deborah's. She let out a short cry of alarm and ducked under the Red-Silver Dragon's right wing, which was as broad as a giant shield, only daring to peel back a tiny bit of the wing membrane to peek out with her little head.
"Is Garros completely dropping the act? Is he going to reveal his nature as a super Evil Dragon?!"
she exclaimed.
The King of Molten Iron circled once high in the sky, his massive silhouette casting a heavy shadow in the wind and snow.
Then, he suddenly tucked his scarred wings and plummeted rapidly, crashing directly onto an open space at the bottom of the valley amidst the excited cheers of many subordinates.
The Red-Iron Dragon's thick tail lashed irritably from side to side. Every strike against the ground plowed deep furrows into the hard, frozen earth, sending spiderweb-like cracks spreading in all directions.
"black oil! Gems! Flesh! Metal! Now! Immediately!"
Garros took a deep breath of the cold air and growled hoarsely, demanding his subordinates offer these things.
Cowing before this oppressive and violent aura, the subordinates immediately sprang into action, preparing everything according to their King's command.
Werewolves rushed toward the warehouse storing black oil crystals, Kobolds ran quickly to the ice cellar to drag out large chunks of frozen meat, and Ogres swiftly moved out the highest-grade metal ingots.
The entire Dragon Valley instantly fell into a state of tense and efficient activity.
At the same time, a slight tremor came from the ground.
The Red-Silver Dragon Deborah landed in front of Garros, staring at him with uncertainty and alarm.
"What happened?"
Her voice was filled with worry, her gaze locked onto Garros's terrible wounds. "Garros, your injuries are so severe they frighten me."
Although the thick evil aura on Garros made her uneasy, at this moment, she was more concerned about those horrific injuries.
AI Model: gemini-3.1-flash-lite
As she spoke, Deborah did not hesitate in the slightest, taking out an exquisite mithril box. Inside, over a dozen thumb-sized crystals, resembling solidified blood diamonds, were neatly arranged.
These were the Holy Dragon Potions crafted by the Silver Dragon father Adrie, excellent for treating severe injuries.
The Red-Silver Dragon poured all the potions from the box out at once, stuffing them one by one into the huge dragon maw of the Red-Iron Dragon Garros, which was slightly open from his panting.
Her movements were so fast that it seemed as if she were not feeding him expensive potions, but rather stuffing him with the most ordinary pebbles.
When the last Holy Dragon Potion disappeared into the Red-Iron Dragon's mouth, a vast and gentle surge of life energy exploded within his body.
Those wounds, deep enough to expose bone and constantly seeping with scorching blood, instantly stopped bleeding.
Deep within the wounds, bright red granulation tissue proliferated, intertwined, and stitched together at a speed visible to the naked eye, stabilizing his physical condition, preventing further deterioration of his injuries, and beginning to slowly but firmly repair the trauma.
Garros felt a warm current surge throughout his entire body.
The intense pain and feeling of weakness receded like a tide, and the restlessness and brutality also lessened somewhat.
"The Might Dragon Potion, Swift Dragon Potion, and Intellect Dragon Potion I obtained from Deborah... I actually didn't use any of them during the battle; how foolish."
Garros's thoughts became a bit clearer at this moment, recalling his preparations before the battle.
The Silver Dragon Adrian also studied the path of a Potion Master, and his Rank was certainly not low; the potions he refined were exceptionally effective.
Because of Deborah's generosity, Garros had originally accumulated a batch through her. If he had used them in a timely manner during the battle, they could have provided him with at least a ten to twenty percent boost, and he had even prepared to use the potions.
However, it was not suitable to use them when the battle first began, and he had wanted to wait for a more appropriate moment.
But, influenced by the Frenzied Flame, he had fallen into a state of rage and diminished intelligence, completely casting these life-saving medicines to the back of his mind.
"I'll tell you more about it later; I need to eat now."
Garros's voice was still hoarse, but his tone had softened somewhat as he said this.
At this moment, the kin had already transported the first batch of food.
A large amount of pure black oil, glistening magic gemstones, pieces of pre-cut precious metals, and high-quality beast meat that had just been thawed. The extremely weak and depleted King of Molten Iron said no more and immediately began to feast.
He was too hungry.
Garros devoured the mountain of food with a speed that was almost insane, sweeping through it like a storm.
The kin held their breath, not daring to make a sound, watching the food diminish rapidly. They accelerated their movements, continuously delivering more, to satisfy the terrifying appetite of the King of Molten Iron at this moment.
Both the Red-Silver Dragon and the Faerie Dragon saw that Garros was in an urgent state of needing to replenish energy.
They did not disturb Garros, tacitly retreating to the side to wait quietly.
Time passed quietly amidst the howling wind and snow and the chewing and swallowing sounds of the Crimson Iron Giant Dragon.
The night grew deeper, and beneath the pitch-black sky, only the wind and snow were roaring; however, this natural roar could not drown out the sounds of the King of Molten Iron eating.
Unknowingly, an entire day passed by in silence.
When the second night shrouded Dragon Valley again, Garros had already consumed a massive amount of material far exceeding his own body weight.
The dim dragon jade core within his body finally lit up again with a faint but steady glow.
His originally dried-up and exhausted body became full again, with knotted muscle lines bulging beneath his scales.
Although there was still a considerable distance to his Peak state, the massive energy required time to be digested and absorbed. However, his current state was a world of difference compared to the heavily injured appearance he had when he first arrived at Dragon Valley.
"Tereshi, and the other little ones, are they not in Dragon Valley?"
Garros only then had the leisure to look around, discovering that apart from Deborah and Vera, he did not see the White Dragon Tereshi or the other young dragons in the valley.
"Tereshi has taken the little dragons for special training; she said that only the most biting blizzards can truly temper the hardest dragon scales."
Deborah replied.
"I have just experienced a fierce battle."
At this moment, Garros turned his gaze toward the Red-Silver Dragon, and under her gaze, he recounted what had happened in the wilderness in as concise a language as possible.
He glossed over the conquest and expansion of the tribe.
He focused on recounting the discovery of the dangerous existence of Gorthax, the setting of the trap for the encirclement, and that tragic final battle.
Opposite Garros.
Looking at the Evil Dragon before her, who had personally ended his own father's life and was stained with the blood of his own kin, the Red-Silver Dragon Deborah had not a trace of fear in her eyes.
On the contrary, a deep sense of pity welled up in her heart.
Having known Garros for decades, she knew deep down that his nature was by no means cruel and tyrannical.
Reaching the point of patricide must have been a last resort.
Moreover, Deborah was not ignorant of the rumors regarding the Red Dragon Gorthax, and she had heard of his terror and danger.
Having such a crazy and evil father was a misfortune for Garros.
Now, being able to completely end him, avoiding harm to himself and even more living beings, was actually a better outcome.
Perhaps Garros himself did not feel much turmoil within, but for the emotionally delicate and rich Deborah, when she tried to put herself in Garros's position and feel everything he had experienced...
The suffocating sense of heaviness that rushed over her instantly made it almost difficult for her to breathe.
Garros's world seemed to be shrouded in boundless malice, with only extremely rare rays of warm light existing.
And at this moment, Deborah made a secret resolve in her heart.
She would be the brightest beam among those rare lights; no matter if there were wind and snow or flames ahead, nothing could change her mind.
"Garros..."
The Red-Silver Dragon slowly stepped forward a few paces, gently pressing her forehead against the Red-Iron Dragon's scarred yet still rigid and huge skull.
"I can feel your heavy exhaustion."
She whispered, "It's over, it's all over now."
"It is safe here; there are no more enemies you need to face immediately, no more battles to fight."
"Sleep, let go of your tense spirit and sleep; I will guard here, I will always guard you."
The Faerie Dragon Vera also poked her head out from under the Red-Silver Dragon's wing, nodding her little head vigorously, and chimed in loudly, "And me! Vera will also guard with Deborah!"
Listening to their firm and warm words, Garros's nerves, which were like a bowstring tightened to the limit, finally relaxed, and the feelings of restlessness and brutality significantly diminished at the same time.
In this rare peace, a mountain-toppling wave of sleepiness surged over him.
The Red-Iron Dragon's eyelids became heavier and heavier, slowly drooping, and his eyes gradually lost focus.
He was about to fall into a deep sleep.
Although it would not reach the level of the long Dragon Slumber that lasted for decades, which was required for the transformation of Dragonkin life, in order to thoroughly repair his injuries and digest the massive energy and insights brought by this battle, this deep sleep would last for at least several months.
"Deborah, Vera..."
"During this time... I'll leave it to you."
Garros's voice carried sleepiness; he barely twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a weary smile.
Subsequently, he flapped his wings, his massive body soaring into the air, flying toward the Burning Steel Fortress, returning to his sleeping quarters, and slowly closing his eyes.
The energy he had just replenished from eating would begin to be efficiently digested and absorbed.
Those scars would eventually become his battle-scarred patterns, and the scales that had been shattered would become even thicker.
Without a doubt, after he awakened, he would become even stronger.
Whatever does not kill Garros will eventually make him stronger.
The Red-Silver Dragon Deborah and the Faerie Dragon Vera exchanged a glance, both seeing the solemnity in each other's eyes; the lighthearted mood of playing had long since vanished.
They also flew into the sky, guarding near the Burning Steel Fortress.
The kin in the valley, whether it was the Wyverns circling in the sky or the large Earth Rampage Bears—all raised their spirits to the utmost, standing in strict readiness, guarding their sleeping king.
Not long after, the White Dragon Tereshi returned from training with a group of young dragons.
After learning what had happened, she also canceled the subsequent training plan, giving the little dragons a rare holiday, and then joined the Ranks of the guardians, waiting quietly with the other Dragon Clan for the King of Molten Iron to awaken.