novelraw Chapter 381: Wanting to Refuse but Welcoming Deborah, Alberto’s Dragon Sister
Chapter 381: Wanting to Refuse but Welcoming Deborah, Alberto’s Dragon Sister
Convergence Lands, Dragon Valley.
After a period of eating and recuperation, Garoth’s Dragon Pearl energy had already been fully replenished.
Because the injuries he sustained this time weren’t that severe and did not require him to fall into a sleep-like state to heal, he quickly regained his vigor.
Life level is certainly an important metric for measuring strength, but it is not absolute.
Looking back on the life-or-death battle with the Mad King Gorthax, and then comparing it to the Blue Dragon leader Heart of Thunder he had just slain, the latter had a slightly higher life level, yet the actual sense of oppression and danger it radiated was inferior to that of his frenzied red dragon father.
Compared to the red dragon father that Garoth had fought to the limit to defeat.
Heart of Thunder had, in order to grievously wound Garoth, sacrificed his own life reserves and, in a near-mutual-destruction manner, barely managed to expel his Dragon Pearl.
If it had been an all-out, no-holds-barred duel to the death, this blue dragon leader would not have been a match for the red dragon father.
Of course, in ordinary skirmishes, with the red dragon father’s chaotic mind, unless the frenzied flame had reached a certain level of influence, it would have been unlikely for Heart of Thunder to leave with the determination to survive.
Garoth’s ability to force Heart of Thunder into a desperate situation owed a great deal to an intelligence advantage.He knew the leader’s subtle weaknesses, used them to tear apart his dragon wings and lumbar vertebrae, and even if the opponent could partially elementize, his speed would be greatly reduced, making him unable to escape Garoth’s relentless pursuit.
“How strong are the rulers of the other regions?”
Garoth stared out across the vast wilderness, calculating in silence.
If those kings were only comparable in strength to the Blue Dragon leader, then seizing the title of Wilderness King would not be impossible; but if they all possessed power comparable to the red dragon father, then maintaining the status quo until Garoth’s life level increased again would be the wiser choice.
“Such a pity about that Duel Array Disk.”
Garoth couldn’t help but feel a tad nostalgic for the destroyed device, a small regret in his heart.
It was only a replica of some legendary item, but it was extremely useful.
Both of the times Garoth had poured everything into uncompromising deathmatches were witnessed by the Duel Array Disk.
Once he had been the BOSS besieged by numerous dragon hunters; another time he had dragged the red dragon father into the disk and flipped the script, treating him like the BOSS to be slain. In both instances, he had been the last one laughing.
Also, defeating a powerful enemy and completely killing a powerful enemy are two entirely different levels of difficulty.
Without the spatial lockdown of the Duel Array Disk, facing foes only slightly weaker than himself, like a Blue Dragon leader, and lacking sufficient intelligence support, it would be extremely difficult to ensure they could not escape.
A single mistake and they could slip away, leaving endless trouble.
Moreover, the scouts the tribes had dispatched, especially the large numbers of bird- and beast-eye informants, now formed an invisible net that spread across nearly the entire wilderness.
They continuously collected various pieces of intelligence, gradually completing portraits of the rulers of other regions.
Whether there would be war or peace in the future, knowing more could never hurt.
Suppressing the anger born of the frenzied flame in his mind, Garoth forced himself to calmly consider many matters.
After a while, he took a bucket of black oil from his spatial pouch.
He planned to drink this fuel as a beverage, using it to ignite the fuse for his upcoming intense physical training.
At that moment, the gold dragon Alberto nearby noticed his movements.
Curious, the gold dragon strode over and stared at the black oil bucket in Garoth’s hands with bright, burning eyes.
“Let me try some too.”
Alberto said, tone tinged with eagerness, “I’ve seen you drink this stuff more than once. Is it actually tasty?”
Garoth shot the metallic dragon a warning glance, but did not skimp.
He pulled out a small bucket of black oil from his space pouch, curled his tail around it, and casually handed it to Alberto.
The gold dragon took it, inhaled deeply as if preparing for a major experiment, then carefully tipped some black oil into his mouth.
The next moment, his expression changed drastically.
“Ugh! Ack! Ugh!”
Alberto immediately spat and stuck out his tongue, trying to clear every trace of oil. The muscles in his face twitched from the indescribable taste.
In fact, this wasn’t Alberto’s first time attempting to ingest black oil; previous attempts had also ended in inedibility. He suspected Garoth might be drinking some specially processed, improved version.
But after trying it himself, cruel reality proved otherwise: Garoth’s black oil differed little from the version in Alberto’s memory.
Only it was more concentrated, more stimulating, and far harder to swallow.
“Your poison, my honey.”
The red iron dragon calmly raised his own bucket of black oil, took a deep draught, and explained, “To me, it burns like fine wine. It better activates my body’s potential, making training far more effective.”
Skepticism filled Alberto’s eyes.
“You’re not pulling my leg, are you?”
He couldn’t help questioning, “Black oil is an important energy source in alchemical industry, but I’ve never heard of it being directly edible, and you’re not one of those iron-forged alchemical golems.”
Garoth warned the gold dragon with another glare, his gaze indifferent.
“Dragon physiology varies between individuals. Some things can’t be forced.”
With that he produced nearly ten gemstones that shimmered with different hues.
Without hesitation or sentimentality, Garoth tossed the valuable gems into his mouth like ordinary snacks, swallowed them without chewing, then downed another large gulp of black oil with a gulp.
Black oil with gemstones, perfect.
“Phew—”
Hot flames burst from the red iron dragon’s nostrils and mouth at the same time, his breathing growing heavy. His scales seemed to shimmer faintly as a satisfied expression crept across his face.
On the other side, the gold dragon Alberto watched his heart ache.
Gemstones! Those shiny, beautiful gemstones!
He—Garoth—actually ate them!
Ignoring the gold dragon’s agonized look, Garoth flexed his body, lightly beat his wings, then launched himself straight into the sky, tearing through the heavens.
What was he doing?
Speed training? It didn’t quite look like it.
Alberto looked up at the black figure dancing wildly against the heavens.
To his surprise, after climbing to high altitude Garoth did not fly in a straight line at top speed nor spiral in wide arcs.
Instead, he began repeatedly and rapidly flapping his wings, sometimes using instantaneous bursts of flame to accelerate, executing one after another quick returns, lateral dodges, and swallow-like turns within a relatively confined airspace. Each change of direction was accompanied by the shriek of slicing wind and a short, dazzling burst of wing-flame, leaving fleeting trails across the snowy curtain of the high sky.
“So he’s training short-range agility.”
Alberto suddenly understood and immediately grasped Garoth’s intention, even venturing a guess at the reason.
“It seems in the fight with Heart of Thunder, Garoth suffered disadvantages in close-quarters tussles and nimble grappling, so now he’s specifically reinforcing that aspect.”
His guess was entirely correct.
Garoth had always examined and patched his own weak points.
The clash with the Blue Dragon leader made him realize that although his straight-line dashing speed was astonishing, in extremely small-radius turns, close-quarters maneuvering, and grappling agility, he still lagged behind species specialized in that domain.
This was a field worth investing effort into improving.
Of course, it must be made clear that Garoth’s perceived weakness was relative to the extremely agile opponents he benchmarked against.
In reality, his agility already far surpassed that of most creatures at his level.
If an enemy misjudged his movements as clumsy due to his bulky form, they would pay dearly.
But Garoth was evidently not satisfied; he sought complete, omnidirectional dominance and wanted this facet of his skill set elevated to top-tier standards.
As for how to further raise it, he believed the key lay in his Wings of the Celestial Comet.
Until now, his use of those wings had mainly relied on flame acceleration for straight-line dashes.
But if he could stabilize his control over the wing-flame—reach a level where it could be switched on and off instantaneously—his short-range agility would not be inferior to that of the Blue Dragon leader.
It was difficult, but Garoth embraced the challenge.
“Garoth is already so powerful, and his achievements at the young dragon stage are truly remarkable, yet he has never relaxed—he keeps striving,” Alberto reflected inwardly.
He felt no jealousy toward Garoth’s strength.
The reason was simple: this strength came from Garoth’s relentless effort and perseverance, not purely from talent.
Every time he discovered a shortcoming or weakness, this red iron dragon would immediately engage in targeted, grueling training day after day, gradually adapting and turning that shortcoming into an advantage.
It was through this process that he became ever stronger and more invincible.
Alberto believed that any dragon—even a White Dragon—who adopted such persistence would surely achieve extraordinary things.
“My agility needs improvement too.”
Suddenly interested, Alberto laughed loudly, “Ha ha, Garoth, I’ll join you for some fun!”
With that, his massive golden body leapt into the air and surged toward the black silhouette high above.
Garoth naturally would not refuse this living punching bag and sparring partner delivered on a silver platter; he met him head-on.
Soon a black and a gold giant dragon began to dance under the heavens.
Within a confined airspace they engaged in high-speed, dazzling maneuvers and fierce clashing.
The swirling snow acted like a curtain, repeatedly torn by razor-sharp wings and howling figures, then patched up again by sweeping winds.
But from any angle, it appeared to be the gold dragon taking a beating.
Under Garoth’s tempest-like onslaught, coupled with instantaneous wing-flame bursts and high-speed directional changes, Alberto resembled a huge spinning top, repeatedly lashed and hurled.
Heavy impacts thudded through the air, accompanied by the gold dragon’s muffled grunts.
Yet the gold dragon had persistence in his bones.
He gritted his teeth, endured being on the back foot, and occasionally seized opportunities to launch one or two fierce counterattacks, giving Garoth’s training a touch of thrill and challenge.
Against these sudden counters, Garoth tried to evade with body technique, doing his best to avoid allowing Alberto to touch him.
After all, his goal at the moment was to increase agility.
Beating the gold dragon like a drum was incidental, not the main objective.
Smack!
Garoth’s thick, powerful tail lashed Alberto’s shoulder, causing the massive body to spin uncontrollably in midair.
Just as Alberto barely steadied himself and angrily swung his claw in retaliation—
The wing-flame on Garoth’s wings surged and exploded. His figure vanished and, by a high-speed lateral shift, reappeared on the other side of Alberto, the gust from his wings attacking the gold dragon once more.
At the same time,
On the high watchtower of Scorchsteel Fortress, brass-silver dragon Deborah and faerie dragon Vira both lifted their heads, gazing up at the aerial contest.
“You should really thank Alberto for showing up,” the faerie dragon Vira said with a teasing laugh, “otherwise, if Garoth dragged you up there to torment, it would probably be you in trouble again.”
Brass-silver dragon Deborah remained silent, not responding.
Her slender tail swayed gently behind her, the subtle motion revealing little in the way of happiness.
The mischievous faerie dragon’s eyes spun, then she seemed to think of something fun and shivered slightly.
With a faint glow, she split into two: a pure white faerie dragon with a stern expression, and a pitch-black faerie dragon wearing a sly smile.
The two little faeries fluttered their wings, circled the brass-silver dragon, and finally landed lightly at the edges of her ears.
On the left,
the white faerie dragon, radiant with soft, holy light, lifted her head and adopted an unusually grave, solemn expression.
In a choir-like, clear, authoritative voice she declared, “My dear Deborah, you must remember the principles and bottom line of our metal dragon lineage. Always recognize the essential differences between you and those wicked dragons. You have a code of conduct to uphold—never act wantonly. This is the honor and dignity of the metal dragons!”
On the right, the black faerie dragon grinned, revealing two cute fangs and giggling.
In a voice as sweet as honey she whispered seductively into Deborah’s other ear, “My beautiful Deborah, why resist your true heart’s desire? Follow your instincts—bravely confess your true feelings to that red iron dragon! Otherwise, be careful other bad female dragons won’t beat you to it. You know there’s never a shortage of rivals around him.”
No sooner had she finished than the black and white faerie dragons glared at each other; where their eyes met it was as if invisible sparks flew.
“Idiot! Principles and dignity are more important!”
The white faerie dragon waved her tiny claw and retorted loudly.
“Moron! Facing your heart and pursuing happiness is more important!”
The black faerie dragon retorted, hands on hips, unyielding.
They glared again and instantly their low murmurs escalated into loud, incessant bickering, voices growing higher and speech faster.
“Order is fundamental!”
“Instinct is the source!”
“You’ll ruin her!”
“You’re shackling her!”
...The argument escalated rapidly, the two tiny figures colliding midair like fighting bulls—pulling wings, tugging tails, tangled together like two balls of yarn in a furious tussle.
“Vira, have you played enough? Aren’t you afraid you’ll actually split your mind if you keep this up?”
Deborah finally couldn’t hold back and reached out with a claw, sweeping both little faeries into her palm.
At that, the black-and-white faerie dragon forms blurred and fused, reforming into the multicolored Vira, who blinked innocently at Deborah.
“Oh dear, don’t be mad, Deborah. Just a joke to liven things up...”
The faerie dragon tried to poke her head out from between Deborah’s claw pads.
At that moment, a golden dragon silhouette plummeted straight down from high altitude.
With a heavy boom he crashed into the bottom of Dragon Valley, stirring up clouds of snow and dust.
Then Alberto, grimacing, crawled out of the pit he’d made.
He looked up at the still-vigorous figure in the sky and, being sensible, chose to stay on the ground rather than fly up and court misery.
“Alberto, why did you choose to remain in the Convergence Lands?”
The brass-silver dragon fluttered down and asked the gold dragon, “I recall your ambition was to establish a so-called Golden Order above the wilderness?”
............
Alberto was silent for a moment, seemingly weighing his words, and then chose to be forthright.
“I recently had the territory I worked hard to establish in the wilderness destroyed. I’m also approaching a sleep period, so I need a safe place to spend that time. I planned to stay here for a while.”
The faerie dragon Vira flitted to the gold dragon’s head and comforted him with encouraging words: “It’s okay, Alberto! If you lose a territory you can build it again!”
Hearing that heartening support, the gold dragon nodded earnestly.
“You’re right. I will rebuild it!”
The faerie dragon nodded vigorously and added, “Of course! Just like you challenging Garoth over and over—even though you fail repeatedly, you still get up again!”
“I believe with your unshakeable persistence you will ultimately achieve your great vision!”
Alberto’s eyes flickered with a trace of doubt.
He couldn’t immediately tell whether the faerie dragon sincerely praised him or was slyly mocking him.
But Deborah knew very well; Vira was indeed poking fun at him.
She didn’t expose it, only tilted her head slightly, wearing a puzzled expression, and continued, “So you intended to enter sleep right here in Dragon Valley. Why not consider returning to the dragon domains? That’s obviously safer and more comfortable.”
Alberto shook his head.
“I don’t want to go back to the dragon domains.”
He explained, “My parents’ control over me is too much. They endlessly lecture me on how to be a dragon, how to be a proper gold dragon. They have a perfect template for a gold dragon in their minds.”
“But I have my own ideas and path, and I don’t want to simply follow their stale sermons.”
“Being with them feels less free than being here.”
He paused, scanned the valley at the figures moving within, and continued, “There are certainly many wicked dragons around Garoth, but I have to admit I find them more interesting than some of the metal dragons in the dragon domains. Each dragon here... hmm, they’re more vivid, each with their own character and unique quirks.”
Is the fact you find wicked dragons more interesting not a sign that you have issues yourself?
Deborah silently thought.
Her main reason for liking Dragon Valley was because Garoth was here.
She didn’t feel particularly connected to the other wicked dragons and rarely interacted with them, mostly playing with the faerie dragon.
But Alberto seemed genuinely to find the other wicked dragons entertaining.
With that unique mindset, it was no wonder his parents’ control issues were off the charts, worried he might be corrupted.
“Oh, right, I just remembered something.”
Deborah looked at the gold dragon and said, “Alberto, didn’t you sneak out before the dragon domains were sealed? The domains have been unsealed for some time now. Wouldn’t your parents try to come and bring you back?”
Crack.
Something seemed to shatter inside Alberto’s head.
His expression immediately froze.
“I forgot about that.”
He said in a heavy tone.
The faerie dragon Vira still smiled, trying to comfort him lightly: “Oh, don’t be so nervous. How could your parents possibly know exactly where you are now? Unless—”
She lengthened the word mischievously, “Unless they had the foresight to secretly plant some locating spell on you, maybe hidden under a scale or fused into your blood.”
Alberto fell into deeper silence, his face growing unpleasant.
Deborah’s gaze on him softened with a hint of pity.
Given how protective metal dragon parents are about their offspring, it would be standard operating procedure to place some kind of tracking spell on their child.
Her own father had done something similar.
Alberto almost certainly had such a mark.
Sneaking out of the dragon domains before the sealing; trying to fight for dominance in the perilous wilderness; mixing with a large group of wicked dragons—
If his parents learned of these things, Alberto could foresee a merciless, escalating clash awaiting him, the intensity surpassing anything before.
“Heh... ha ha... I, Alberto, am destined to establish the immortal Golden Order!”
The gold dragon forced composure and pumped himself up with lofty words, “My parents who can’t comprehend my grand vision and steadfast will, and those brothers and sisters, are merely insignificant obstacles on my path!”
“I, Alberto, will never bow to them.”
“Unless they kill me outright on the spot, I will not obediently return to the dragon domains.”
Just as he finished speaking,
Thud!
A clear tremor ran through the ground.
The sudden change made the gold dragon shiver; his limbs weakened and he nearly collapsed.
Startled, he swung his head toward the source of the quake.
Oh— it turned out the one who had finished training and just landed was Garoth, not the parents he had feared.
Alberto exhaled a long breath, his tension easing slightly.
Garoth’s body still steamed with residual heat from his high-intensity agility training.
He turned his gaze to the brass-silver dragon beside him, hooked a sharp claw toward her, and said, “Deborah, come on, time to train together.”
Deborah twisted her body, adopting a posture ready to flee at any moment.
Sure enough, Garoth strode forward, scooped her up with strong arms, and turned toward the training field.
“Damn you, Garoth! Put me down!”
Deborah made a perfunctory struggle and voiced protest, but a faint smile betrayed her satisfaction.
Alberto snorted, then looked at the faerie dragon.
He asked, “Do those two always play like that?”
The faerie dragon shook her head, then with mock seriousness told a tall tale, “No, they normally act even more perverse. I’m ashamed to say it.”
Not long after,
Far away, in the Endless Sea, Vophal Dragon Domain.
“Nasha, take my old set of armor and the tracking device, go bring your brother back.”
In a vast and luxurious dragon palace, a deep and resonant voice said.
“If he refuses to come back?”
The female adult dragon named Nasha asked in a low voice.
“Then fight. Fight until that wayward son gives in.”
The deep voice replied.
“All right! I’m setting off now!”
With a sound of glee and impatience, the great dragon flew out of the palace, spiraled upward, and headed straight toward the Convergence Lands.