After nearly a month of recuperation, the Red Dragon's territory was flourishing.
Under the command of Lang Pu and the Earth Goblin, the Goblins and Ogres had already erected a simple stone fortress in Giant Valley.
The city wall was over five meters high, and watchtowers were set up in higher terrain, named “Boulder Fortress” by Lang Pu, who had a wide range of reading interests.
This made the already easily defensible valley even more impregnable; even if the human regular army were to attack, the Red Dragon was confident he could keep them out.
“Work faster, no slacking!” The more than three-meter-tall Ogre stood on top of the watchtower, roaring down at those below.
However, the wooden watchtower appeared so fragile under the Ogre’s tall and fat body, one could even hear the wood creaking—as if lamenting the half-ton weight.
“Heave ho!”
The Ogres carried giant logs, laboriously hauling them up to serve as the framework for the Boulder Fortress’s watchtowers.
As close relatives of Giants, Ogres possess immense strength; besides being gluttonous and lazy, they are excellent laborers.
The Goblins, who already had a habit of building camps, with over four hundred Goblins, the immensely strong Ogres cooperating, and under the command of Lang Pu, whose intelligence was as high as 17, and the leadership of the Earth Goblin, building a simple fortress was relatively easy.
Below the five-meter-high city wall, a group of Goblins were swinging pickaxes, strenuously quarrying stone.
“Faster!”
“You hit my foot!”
As cunning and lazy creatures, they would often slack off, but since the last time an enraged Ogre overseer smashed a feigning Goblin into paste, such incidents had never occurred again.
After all, Lang Pu’s “beating” was only temporary pain for the dull-witted Ogres, but for the Goblins, it was the end of their lives; they were well aware of this.
“Owoo—”
“What is that?”
The Goblins, who were working, all looked up, startled by the huge shadow in the sky.
In the distance, several colossal figures flew in, like a massive dark cloud—there were more than ten Wyverns.
They simply felt the call of the Dragon bloodline within them, coming in droves to see if there was a being worthy enough for them to attach themselves to.
The largest of these Wyverns was even over seven meters long, baring its fangs and claws with quite a fierce demeanor; its size was even comparable to Ke Xiu Si, though far more slender than the Red Dragon.
And unlike true Dragons, they did not have four limbs and two wings, but rather two scaled legs and a pair of tough wings.
The Wyvern’s tail was strong and powerful, with its most potent weapon at the end: a highly venomous tail stinger.
The potent venom of these Wyverns could burn a victim’s heart and arteries and veins through backflowing blood—the Wyvern’s lethality often led hunters and adventurers to covet its venom, using it for alchemical concoctions and weapon poisoning.
The Wyvern’s forelegs clutched the ground, its wing membranes tightened behind it.
They landed, roaring.
Calling for the master of this place.
The nearby Goblins panicked, fearing being eaten or flattened by the Wyverns, and fled, calling their friends.
After all, they were too weak; even the slightest movement from those powerful creatures was enough to kill them.
Meanwhile, the Ogre Mage stood ready on the fortress wall, already beginning to construct a Fireball spell model.
The Chimera in the cliffside cave also became alert, its three heads displaying different expressions.
“Master, there’s a group of Wyverns!”
“Roar!”
The Red Dragon flew out of the Giant Mouth Cave, letting out a long, echoing roar, and descended before the Wyvern group.
“Submit to me (dragon language)”
Ke Xiu Si said.
The Wyverns all let out noisy roars, then bent their slender necks, lowering their heads in submission.
But the largest of those Wyverns, seeing that the Red Dragon before him was only in its juvenile stage, and his size was comparable to his own, chose to let out a defiant roar.
Clearly, he was blinded by this rare opportunity to become a leader.
A leadership challenge?
A long-standing tradition among Dragon-like creatures.
The two engage in a duel; the winning side becomes the leader of the group, while the losing side is driven out.
But for a proud pureblooded Red Dragon, a vile Wyvern initiating such a challenge was an immense humiliation.
If Ke Xiu Si were the original Red Dragon, he would probably have been so angry that steam would be coming out of his head, wishing he could tear him to shreds.
“You made the worst choice. (dragon language)”
Ke Xiu Si was also furious, but the focus of his anger was his own size—how much longer would it take before he could be like an adult Red Dragon, shaking his body and making these monsters bow down?
“And I shall grant you—death! (dragon language)”
The Red Dragon flapped his wings and soared high, looking down at the Wyvern from above him.
【Based on your strength, you can observe the following information】
Wyvern
Large Dragon, Unaligned
AC: 13 (Natural Armor)
Speed: 20 ft., fly 80 ft.
Strength—19
Dexterity—10
Constitution—16
Intelligence—5
Wisdom—12
Charisma—6
Skill Proficiencies: Perception +2, Hunting +4
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 14
Languages: Understands dragon language
Actions: Multiattack, Bite, Claw, Sting
Challenge Rating: 6 (2300 XP)
Description: “Sometimes, travelers in the wilderness look up and see the Wyvern’s wings as it flies with prey. These close relatives of Dragons also hunt in tangled forests and caves. They are cruel hunters, and their appearance in groups often causes waves of panic in civilized frontiers.”
On the ground, the Wyvern’s slender neck curved slightly, raising its ferocious head, letting out a defiant hiss; the sound was hoarse, more like a snake.
“Hiss hiss—”
Immediately after, this massive Wyvern also flapped its forelegs, taking to the air, its strong tail swaying in the air, and the sharp tail stinger on it glinting with a cold light.
“Fire Breath!”
However, before it could fully leave the ground, the Red Dragon spewed a scorching cone of fire from his mouth, heading straight for the Wyvern’s body.
The Wyvern hurriedly adjusted its body, tilting its wings in the air, attempting to claw the ground with its forelegs to escape the attack, but it still couldn't avoid being struck by the blazing flame breath.
More than half of the scales on its front chest were scorched black, and the flesh beneath was also damaged by the scorching flames, leaving it in a sorry state.
“Ow—”
The Wyvern let out a painful wail, but immediately after, it supported itself on the ground with its forelegs and took off again, swaying unsteadily.
Because it did not have much time left, as the Red Dragon’s next breath was about to come, an orange-yellow firelight already emanated from deep within his throat, like a volcano about to erupt.
“Boom—”
Another sound of flames burning the air was heard, and another crimson blaze descended from above, rushing along the Wyvern’s flight path.
This flame made the surrounding air hot and distorted, and also made the Wyvern feel extremely panicked.
It could only passively flap its wings desperately to escape, dodging and weaving in the air, with no means of counterattack.