novelraw Chapter 122: Gordon's Troubles, Three Years Later
Chapter 122: Gordon's Troubles, Three Years Later
Lothrian Kingdom, Royal Court, Rear Garden.
The iron dragon Gordon lay on its back with its belly exposed, adorned with dazzling jewelry. Even its dragon horns had been meticulously carved and polished by craftsmen, engraved with narcissus-like patterns. Every scale on its body had been buffed and etched, each one gleaming like the finest obsidian without a single blemish. Numerous maids attended to the iron dragon on both sides, continuously bringing it various delicacies.
Roasted meats, rich stews, sweet fruits, delectable pastries... everything one could desire. Yet Gordon remained unhappy, lying listlessly and only occasionally opening its mouth to accept the food offered by the maids, staring mournfully at its own bulging belly. It felt fat as a hog - no, even fatter than a hog. The plump flesh threatened to spill between its scales, its belly forming ring upon ring of fat. Even the normally rigid facial plates of an iron dragon had grown pudgy with excess weight.
At ten meters long, Gordon's body surpassed even red dragons of the same age in size. In terms of sheer bulk, it nearly rivaled Garoth. The difference was that while Garoth's body rippled with steel-hard muscles, Gordon's form undulated with waves of fat whenever it crawled across the ground. Given dragons' notoriously efficient metabolisms, one could only wonder how much Gordon had to eat daily to reach this state.
After another hour of continuous eating, Gordon finally stopped, resolving to go on a diet.
"My dear Gordon, are you unhappy? You've been eating less these past few days - you've even slimmed down a bit," said a graceful young girl with a crystal crown, hurrying over with small steps, her face full of concern. The girl was Princess Elina, fourteen years old, the cherished jewel of the Lothrian king. Unlike her scheming siblings, Elina's innocent nature had won her both the king's favor and her siblings' affection. The young dragon Gordon had been her beloved companion since she was six.
"Hmm, Elina, I want to lose weight," Gordon grumbled.
"You're perfect just like this! Why lose weight?" Elina asked, puzzled, as she threw herself onto Gordon's belly, rubbing her cheek against it.
"I can barely fly anymore," Gordon complained, flapping its wings to create a gust of wind while its massive body remained firmly grounded.
"Don't worry, I'll have the court mages inscribe some flight-enhancing arrays on your wings," Elina said cheerfully. "Now be a good dragon and finish these last few cakes. I'll give you a sapphire as reward."Tempted by the promise of treasure and still not completely full, Gordon's eyes lit up. Soon it was devouring the last few delicious cakes.
"My luck is terrible," Gordon thought. "If I hadn't been brought here, I'd be roaming the wilderness with a powerful, majestic figure, ruling territories and expanding my domain." It missed its old life in the wilds deeply.
"I've scheduled the craftsmen," Elina said, tugging at Gordon's claw. "It's time for your claws and scales maintenance."
Gordon slowly rose and lumbered from the garden to its private chambers, where over a dozen craftsmen meticulously polished its claws and scales, removing dirt and debris before engraving beautiful patterns on its talons, horns, and scales - transforming the iron dragon into a magnificent work of art, its only flaw being excessive girth.
Meanwhile, in the Ser Wilderness, Clan of Molten Iron...
After two weeks of restorative sleep, the iron dragon Sorog had fully healed from its injuries and now worked enthusiastically on reorganizing the clan's structure.
First came the restructuring of warhosts. The Bonegnaw Clan was officially renamed the Starbreaker Maul, specializing in frontal assaults and defensive formations. Other warhosts similarly abandoned their old clan names, reorganizing based on specialization. The giant wolf riders, giant lizard cavalry, and hyena riders - all agile, mobile units - were consolidated into a single cavalry-focused warhost called the Crimson Iron Riders. Sorcerers and shamans formed the Annihilating Eye. The most numerous but less specialized warriors became the Iron Will.
After restructuring the warhosts, Sorog implemented more detailed rank systems, reward and punishment mechanisms, and promotion paths - giving its subordinates clear goals beyond mindless obedience, thereby increasing motivation. The iron dragon understood well the importance of ideology - true cohesion came not from shared clan names or systems, but from a powerful, awe-inspiring leader worthy of loyalty.
Temporarily appointing the ogre Ugor as chief craftsman, Sorog ordered statues of Garoth erected throughout the territories. It also tasked the more intelligent sorcerers among the various tribes with composing ballads praising Garoth's strength and wisdom, to be taught to the young so they might grow up hearing of Garoth's great deeds.
The ballads varied by tribe. For the ogres:
"Crash! The enemy's walls fall flat!
Sizzle! Dragonfire turns chiefs to ash!
Gnaw! Beneath charred skin - tasty fat!
The King's wings spread wind - meat-smell blows far!
Thud! Thud! Follow crimson wings!
Where feet tread - blood boils to soup!!"
Simple and brutal, filled with food imagery perfectly suited to the ogres' primal nature, these songs spread rapidly among them.
Regarding territory, Sorog implemented Garoth's earlier ideas - establishing guard posts at strategic highlands, passes, and thoroughfares. Using various clan strongholds as nodes, it connected them into a unified territory with appropriate forces stationed at key locations. Most importantly, the Serpentine Earth Rift...
Nick's merchant caravan returned, bringing more black oil and other needed resources while taking away high-quality purple copper ore from the symbiotic pools. Following the Molten Iron Clan's instructions, the richly rewarded caravan boasted of their profits, attracting bolder merchants. Though initially cautious, as merchants discovered the rift road free of monster attacks and the clans willing to trade normally, traffic increased steadily. The clans even cleared the rift road of dangerous magical beasts.
Thus the nearly abandoned Serpentine Earth Rift, once made desolate by ogre raids, gradually prospered again. A temporarily stable trade route formed between the Molten Iron Clan and civilized lands - raw ores, magical beast pelts and parts flowing south while black oil, armor, weapons, alchemical tools, and message stones traveled north to strengthen the growing clan.
With the Iron Chancellor handling administrative affairs, Garoth could focus entirely on training and evolution, enjoying ample black oil supplies and peaceful, stable days. Yet peaceful times seemed to pass more quickly - before anyone noticed, three years had slipped by. During this time, the territory flourished while the now seventeen-year-old Garoth officially became a Young Dragon.