Under the Red Dragon

Not sure how many days had passed, but Karoon had long lost any precise sense of time. This was a habit formed since his birth; dragons didn't really need the concept of time—it wasn't useful to them.

These dragons were all chained by their limbs with specially prepared shackles, given only a fixed amount of food each day to keep them alive.

Even this meager ration was laced with potent potions by the mages, meant to suppress the dragons' magical bloodline and prevent them from going berserk on the ship.

Consequently, the dragons had very little room to move, and their bodies felt weak and limp when they did, so they could only huddle together. They buried their heads in their wings, like large cats curled up asleep.

Karoon was also dozing with his eyes closed, his head tucked under his folded wings.

Only Camide, the white dragon sleeping next to Karoon, was extremely restless, mumbling and grumbling, seemingly sucking on his own wingtip as if he were eating something delicious in his dreams.

The red dragon sighed helplessly and sank his consciousness into the heart-energy vortex.

Strands of complex or pure heart-force were swallowed and spat out by the runic cluster, then a few rare and barely perceptible bits of heart-energy were merged into the vortex.

Karoon noticed that the connection to the white dragon Germot had become exceptionally strong, and he drew the most individual heart-force from Germot.

Next were Camide and Kleinaya; these two dragons trusted Karoon immensely, especially Camide, who had placed his already limited intelligence in Karoon's hands. Perhaps the white dragon saw the red dragon as his external brain.

Then came the other young dragons and the centaur tribe, who provided Karoon with roughly the same amount of heart-force. The young dragons provided slightly more, but the heart-force from the centaur tribe was surprisingly increasing.

Finally, there were the kobold followers. Although numerous, each kobold provided very little heart-force, likely because their individual power was too weak.

Lastly, there was the ogre giant. This soul-devouring giant, now subdued by Karoon, had also established a weak connection with him, along with some heart-force from the ogres. It seemed the red dragon's actions had left a deep impression on these ogres.

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of leather soles touching the deck approached; it must be Will Clarence. These days, the human noble had been trying to persuade Karoon to sign a contract with him, coming over almost every day.

Karoon didn't want to pay him any attention. If he could, the red dragon would crush every bone in that human's body, then throw them on the prairie for the jackals to savor. 'Better not give me the chance,' the red dragon thought darkly.

Unexpectedly, it wasn't Will Clarence who arrived, but the smiling mage Hueser.

'Slit-eyes?' Karoon wanted to ignore him even more!

The mage gently squatted down in front of the motionless red dragon, patted the dragon's wings covered in fine red scales, and said with a smile, "Hey, young dragon, want to hear a story? A story about a dragon!"

"Not interested. Don't play these boring tricks in front of me, mage. I'm not one of those little kids who like to listen to stories," the red dragon said in a muffled voice.

Hueser didn't mind the red dragon's reaction. He smiled and began to tell the story as if talking to himself.

"A long time ago, in the glacial plains of the far north, there was a white dragon. It believed that most dragons only used their power instinctively, like a pig with strength. Swapping a pig's consciousness with a dragon's wouldn't make much difference."

"To escape this predicament, the white dragon began its pursuit of knowledge. First, it found a low-level mage and made a contract with him, promising to protect the mage's family for a generation in exchange for a portion of the mage's inheritance after his death."

Karoon's ears, hidden under his wings, had quietly perked up. Since he had nothing else to do, listening to the mage tell a story could be amusing.

The mage suddenly paused, smiled slightly, and continued, "This white dragon was very trustworthy. After guarding the mage's family for a full hundred years, it gained the mage's sincere trust. Thus, the white dragon obtained the mage's knowledge of how to touch the true corner of this world."

"After completing the first contract, the white dragon found a mid-level mage and made a similar contract, protecting the mage's family and receiving a portion of the mage's inheritance."

"Thus, thanks to the white dragon's good reputation, a legendary mage nearing the end of his life sought it out and made a contract with it. The legendary mage left the white dragon knowledge about the essence of power."

"All transcendent beings in the world have their own seed of power, and the dragons' seed of power is their evil dragon bloodline. In just a few hundred years, this white dragon used this knowledge to elevate its life essence beyond the threshold of legend."

Life essence beyond the threshold of legend? Although Karoon's own inheritance didn't contain information about this white dragon, he knew that the true dragon race's strength far exceeded the defined levels of power.

In terms of the transcendent level system, dragons generally exceeded the defined strength level by two ranks. The white dragon, being the lowest in the five-colored dragon species, would generally need to be an ancient or primeval dragon to possess legendary strength, meaning at least a thousand years old. Even then, the white dragon's bloodline often didn't support them crossing into legend.

But this white dragon used only a few hundred years to make its life essence surpass legend, making it more powerful and dangerous than those primeval dragons, and even more like a fantasy.

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Karoon's interest was piqued. He extended his head from under his wings, intending to listen to what the mage would say next.

Hueser's tone gradually intensified, "This white dragon even killed a legendary-level Titan after entering astral travel and was called 'Winter's Breath.' It possessed a destructive breath that brought winter to all life. And the legendary mage who created all this was from my series of mages. We call ourselves research mages!"

The air gradually solidified. After a long while, the mage, seeing the red dragon seemingly in a daze, couldn't help but wave his hand in front of the dragon's eyes. "Are you going to say something, young dragon!"

"What should I say?" Karoon was stunned, his mind still on what the mage had just said. The true aspect of the world—what he saw when triggering his limit perception should also belong to the true aspect of the world.

The slit-eyed mage Hueser opened his eyes wide, looking a bit frantic. "Young dragon, your talent is far stronger than that white dragon. You shouldn't be like those dragons, indulging in your bloodline. Follow me, I will help you, and you can help me. If you and I join forces, our future will be limitless!"

The red dragon swung his tail idly, not saying a word. This pie was not only huge but also tough to chew. Dragons are dragons, and Karoon is Karoon. What does Zhou's business have to do with me, Lu? Moreover, the situation wasn't clear yet. He should wait and see, not make a blind choice.

The dragon's silence represented a certain attitude. The mage's eyes narrowed again. He stood up and looked deeply at the red dragon. "There's a true dragon hidden in your eyes, young dragon. If you change your mind, I will help you!"