Defeating the World with the Power of One Dragon!

Chapter 4: Mining

The Iron Dragon Mother glanced at the two foolish whelps staring blankly at each other. From Garoth's words and gaze, she understood his intentions clearly. However, the Iron Dragon Mother had no intention of intervening. Among her offspring, unless matters escalated to life-or-death situations, she wouldn't interfere with ordinary bullying or oppression.

Moreover, these two whelps spent their days eating her food and lazing around her territory without contributing anything useful. It was high time they did something productive. As for forcing whelps or young dragons to mine for her, the Iron Dragon Mother couldn't bring herself to do it. Despite her cruel nature, she adhered strictly to her own code of conduct. But if Garoth wanted to do it, that was perfectly reasonable.

"The problem is, your 'mining slaves' also live under my protection," the Iron Dragon Mother said, her eyes gleaming as she gently swayed her tail.

Under her piercing gaze, the red-iron hybrid young dragon immediately responded, "I'll provide you with an additional ten-pound lump of precious metal ore every month."

"Agreed." After a few seconds of silent consideration, the Iron Dragon Mother nodded in approval.

"Thank you, Mother. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."

"Go. Attend to your business."

Garoth turned and approached the two whelps, stopping abruptly before them. "Samantha, Gordon," he called out, narrowing his eyes at the Red Dragon Sister and Iron Dragon Brother. "Come with me."

Both dragons eyed him warily, refusing to move. "What do you want?" they demanded.

"To make you mine for me, of course," Garoth replied with a grin."Why should we?" The two whelps protested vehemently, finally realizing Garoth had meant them when he mentioned mining slaves earlier.

"Because I'm stronger than you." Before they could react, Garoth lunged at his siblings.

Boom! A mighty dragon charge sent the Iron Dragon Brother flying backward. Their colliding scales sparked like flint, but while Garoth's armor-like scales remained intact, his brother's scales cracked and shattered under the impact, sending him crashing into the metal-reinforced cave wall with a dull thud.

The Red Dragon Sister barely had time to react before Garoth pivoted, his bladed tail whistling through the air like a whip. Thwack! The powerful tail strike tore through her shoulder scales and sent her tumbling across the ground like a ragdoll.

"Either obey willingly, or I'll beat obedience into you," Garoth declared, looking down at his fallen siblings.

"You bastard! We'll show you what we're made of!" Enraged, the two whelps sprang up, their draconic resilience allowing them to shake off the earlier blows. With furious roars, the year-younger dragons attacked from both sides.

Normally, fighting two opponents with just a one-year age advantage would be difficult. But unlike Garoth, who had consciously trained to strengthen himself after realizing dragons weren't invincible in this dangerous world, his siblings had grown lazy like most whelps, believing their natural growth would eventually make them powerful.

"Let me teach you a lesson," Garoth chuckled, cracking his neck as he met their charge.

Thud! Thud! Thud! The sounds of brutal impacts echoed continuously. Within three short minutes, both whelps lay sprawled on their backs, seemingly unconscious, their bodies covered in bruises, scales missing in patches, teeth knocked loose, and horns bent out of shape.

Garoth, meanwhile, hadn't lost a single scale. The worst injury he sustained was a row of tiny tooth marks on his forearm from the Red Dragon Sister's desperate bite - her teeth barely penetrating his exceptionally thick scales without drawing blood before he grabbed her by the horns and pummeled her into submission.

"My dear Garoth, I look forward to your future performances," the Iron Dragon Mother said approvingly, flicking her tail with a crisp sound. In truth, she'd always admired this hybrid offspring - his natural talents surpassed normal dragons, and his relentless pursuit of strength showed great potential to become a truly fearsome dragon.

Admiration aside, she had no intention of supporting him for free. But now that Garoth was trading treasures for food and protection, she was happy to witness his growth. As for the two badly beaten whelps, she felt no pity - they should reflect on their own shortcomings.

"Thank you for your concern, Mother," Garoth replied before grabbing both siblings by their tails and dragging them out of the lair. The unconscious whelps were dead weight as he carried them through the air to the central lake of the crater and dropped them unceremoniously.

Splash! Splash! Water erupted in shimmering moonlit sprays. Garoth circled above, watching intently. Within seconds, two figures burst from the water like their tails were on fire, fleeing in opposite directions. With a powerful flap of his twelve-meter wingspan - twice his body length - Garoth shot through the air like a blade, his wing membranes producing a sharp whistling sound as their razor-edged metal sheen caught the moonlight.

Whoosh! He caught the Red Dragon Sister first, swinging her like a flail to smash into the fleeing Iron Dragon Brother. Crash! Both whelps tumbled to the ground in a cloud of dust and shattered rock.

"Still running? I'll give you a three-second head start next time," Garoth taunted as he landed before them. The thoroughly defeated siblings wore identical expressions of resignation, no longer daring to resist.

Garoth then led them to his usual training mountain. His keen sense for metal deposits had detected ore veins deep beneath the surface during his frequent visits here. Pointing to a spot, he ordered them to start digging.

With reluctant grumbles but fearing further punishment, the whelps began clawing at the rock. Crunch! Crunch! The sounds of dragon claws excavating stone filled the air as Garoth launched himself skyward repeatedly, folding his wings to free-fall back to earth in increasingly violent impacts that cratered the ground.

This extreme training method - "earth pounding" - carried serious risk of injury if miscalculated, something Garoth rarely attempted before. But the Iron Dragon Mother's impending "eviction" had made him acutely aware of the dangers he'd soon face alone, driving his desperate need for strength.

The two digging whelps couldn't comprehend Garoth's bizarre behavior as they toiled miserably. "Garoth's lost his mind," the Red Dragon Sister muttered after spitting out rock fragments. "He'll cripple himself eventually, and then we'll be free."

The Iron Dragon Brother butted his horns through a stubborn boulder before shaking off debris. "More than free," he growled. "We'll make him mine for us then, gathering our treasures!" The delightful fantasy of future revenge energized them, their claws digging faster with renewed vigor as they envisioned tormenting Garoth in turn.