Under the Red Dragon

"We concede, but I have a condition." A voice, youthful yet remarkably deep, echoed as the awakened red dragon slowly emerged from the dark cave. The uneasy young dragons, as if finding their backbone, huddled closer to Caron on the right.

Caron murmured in Draconic, seemingly comforting the young dragons, calming their bewildered hearts.

Illuminated by the roaring firelight, and witnessed by the eyes of numerous ogres and humans, the red dragon appeared lithe and majestic. The bulging muscles of its chest and abdomen, coupled with its powerful legs, testified to its immense strength.

Compared to it, the other young dragons seemed epochs behind. Its nearly eight-meter-long body was covered in scarlet and gold scales that shimmered dazzlingly in the firelight, while its broad, fleshy wings were adorned with mysterious and profound patterns.

Unlike other red dragons, its head lacked bat-like appendages on its neck and ears. Instead, sleek lines sculpted a contour even the world's most skilled sculptor couldn't replicate, resembling a perfect fusion of gold and red dragon features. A pair of jagged and thick tricorn horns crowned its head. It was a powerful and perfect being. If the ogre giantess Fafnir represented beauty, then this dragon was a masterpiece of strength.

"Oh, I must have it! It is a work of art! The human world will descend into madness fighting over it!" The merchant Orsu breathed rapidly, his blood running hot. After receiving confirmation from the mage beside him, he trembled with excitement. "It's just a young dragon! My God, could this be a descendant of the legendary Dragon God? I will pay any price to obtain it."

Moreover, it seemed to be the leader of these young dragons. Orsu observed how the young dragons quieted down after the red dragon appeared, clearly indicating its high status and prestige among them.

A daring idea surged in his heart. He would give everything to protect this red dragon. As long as he could bind it to his side, the other young dragons, no matter who possessed them, would eventually heed his commands.

The giantess Fafnir, who had always appeared composed and languid, now stepped forward. This enigmatic giantess was a rare female ogre variant, a bloodline resurgence of the ogre's ancient demigod ancestor, the soul-devouring three-headed hydra Dicarithus. She possessed not only innate and powerful mental strength but also an exceptionally formidable talent.

Fafnir's bloodline granted her the soul-devouring talent of her ancient ancestor. Although not as powerful as the ancient demigod hydra, the talent, symbolized by the three heads of the ancient hydra representing birth, growth, and decay, allowed her to devour and assimilate the souls of three chosen subjects using her spiritual and soul power.

Once she devoured a soul, her soul would form a dominant-subordinate symbiotic relationship with it, like another head growing. The stronger the other party, the stronger she would become.

Her strength would also benefit the other party, while their weakness would hardly affect her own power. However, her death would cause the other party's life to vanish. Only when the other party fell into the silence of death would it bring her pain, making it extremely difficult to eliminate the lost soul, and her talent would also fade away with their death.

She was currently only in her adolescent stage, able to select only one person as the object of her talent's assimilation, not yet reaching her peak growth, let alone the point where she could use the final talent slot in her extreme old age like a dragon.

Therefore, she was extremely cautious about using her talent. Even Molgoth, who possessed giant-like atavistic blood within the ogre tribe, had not gained her favor. In her view, Molgoth, aside from his foolish brain, had a limited growth potential. Although he had reached his peak, he was far from capable of bearing her talent. She also knew that Molgoth had long coveted her.

Fafnir had originally favored the female red dragon. This red dragon was not only female, but its future growth potential far exceeded Molgoth's giant-like atavistic bloodline. Even a true giant would not be more advantageous than a red dragon.

However, the moment she saw Caron, she didn't need to make a choice at all. Her talent was spontaneously screaming, craving, and the red dragon before her was the best object to bear her talent. Such a gifted dragon, even the ancient demigod hydra Dicarithus would not refuse.

Molgoth was still roaring angrily, "What right do you have to negotiate terms, with just a few weak young dragons?" The six-meter-tall ogre tyrant looked down at the quiet Caron.

The dragon was only eight meters long including its tail, and standing on all fours, he didn't appear as tall as the ogre. However, he quietly looked past Molgoth, who was blocking his path, towards the giantess and the wizard in the ogre crowd, clearly indicating that he was not completely ignorant of what had been happening in the cave.

"Molgoth, hear his conditions!" Fafnir descended from the chaise lounge, her delicate, bare feet stepping on the rough ground.

The two-headed grand wizard also stopped, echoing the giantess's opinion. The situation was now completely under their control. These young dragons, unless they were stupid, would not rashly take flight and escape. At close range, no dragon could escape the ogre warriors' volley of spears.

Caron walked alone past the secretly angry Molgoth, while slowly approaching the giantess, saying, "We can sincerely submit, but we demand relatively equal status and a certain degree of freedom, and dragons must not be humiliated. In return, the dragons will voluntarily sign contracts with you and accept your commands."

Caron proposed this condition not out of arrogance. It was generally recognized that the worst way to utilize a dragon was to kill it. In the ogres' eyes, these young dragons were equally afraid of death.

"Stop, dragon, stay at this distance." The ogre wizard Sahei halted the dragon's steps. Even though Caron was trying to lull the ogres with the guise of negotiating, the cunning old wizard was still very cautious, stopping Caron about ten meters away from them.

"I agree to your conditions." Fafnir almost unhesitatingly agreed verbally after hearing the conditions. The conditions were not harsh, even overly simple. If the red dragon was willing to cooperate, then her talent of soul assimilation would proceed much more smoothly.

Orsu also nodded. The giantess's behavior was clever. Right now, they should temporarily stabilize these young dragons. Human cunning and wisdom allowed him to come up with a thousand ways to go back on their word later. Once the dragons fell into his hands, wouldn't he be able to dispose of them as he pleased?

"Very well, then next..." The red dragon slowly lowered its head, a gesture of submission. It took a deep breath, as if bracing itself for the words of surrender it was about to utter.

The ogres arrogantly prepared to accept the dragon's surrender. The cautious two-headed ogre wizard also felt a sense of elation. This was a dragon, representing the words powerful and noble. Although the old wizard regretted not being able to use the dragon's head as a trophy, he could later carve the dragon's image on his scepter, representing that he had once conquered a dragon.

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Only the mage behind the ogres, beside Orsu, suddenly remembered something, and the magic staff in his hand was about to glow with magical light. He shouted, "Not good, be careful of this damned dragon!" Those seasoned warriors subconsciously raised their shields to block Orsu.

Before the mage could finish his words, the red dragon, which had been lowering its head, suddenly raised its head. Its eyes, like two bright rubies, radiated shocking anger and killing intent. The unfinished words echoed through the canyon, "Receive my fury, you damned scum!"

Whoosh! Boiling flames transformed into a surging and violent conical breath, spewing from the dragon's mouth. Several unprepared ogre warriors instantly became human torches. Before their screams could even be uttered, its hind legs, which were stronger than its forelimbs, had already exerted force. The ubiquitous magic in the air swarmed in, easily lifting the dragon's body, tearing apart the ogres blocking its path, and pouncing towards the wizards.