"What's that?" Muria looked down and noticed a pool of molten lava in the center of the underground chamber. Floating in the lava were two crimson eggs, absorbing its power. Flames visibly swirled around the eggs, forming a cloud of fire. Muria could sense that these two eggs held far more power than any of the others in the chamber.
"Dragon eggs," Ansol said flatly.
"These aren't Red Dragon eggs, and they don't seem like the ancestral Red Dragons either. They feel more like Dragon Kings, but they don't have that overpowering, dominant aura of a Dragon King," the Golden Dragoness said, sensing the eggs closely. She had once encountered a Dragon King that had achieved an epic status as a Red Dragon, and the feeling it gave her was completely different.
"These dragons are not from Erathia. They're from another world," Ansol reminded her, noticing that she was guessing in the wrong direction. Frustrated, the Golden Dragoness gave Ansol a solid punch on the back, producing a dull thud.
"Muria, I've told you about these dragons before. Can you guess which species these dragon eggs belong to?" Ansol turned to his son.
"Dragons that devour flames from another realm?" Muria pondered for a moment before recalling two dragons that had left a deep impression on him. "Flame King Dragon? Flame Empress Dragon?"
"Correct." Ansol nodded affirmatively when Muria guessed the species.
"I've heard of these dragons," the Golden Dragoness said, her eyes widening in surprise. If her memory served her right, these two dragons had fought alongside Archimonde, the Lord of the Wilds, during battles against the divine kingdoms. They were powerful dragons capable of waging war against gods.
"Those kinds of dragon eggs, and your father is able to give them to you? That's going too far! He helps you so much, but you won't even help Muria?" she exclaimed, irritated.
"These eggs won't become useful in battle until they're hatched and raised to a certain level. Think about how much I'll need to feed them before they're ready to fight," Ansol replied calmly.
"If you find it such a burden, why don't you just give them all to Muria?" the Golden Dragoness shot back immediately.
"That won't be necessary," Muria quickly interjected. While he was indeed tempted by the offer, he knew it wasn't practical. "I already have enough dragons to take care of. I don't need two more."
"Father, what do these eggs need to hatch?" Muria asked, attempting to steer the conversation away from his parents' banter.
"They're creatures born for slaughter, so they need to be fed with flesh and blood. Even now, while they're still in their eggs, they absorb blood," Ansol explained as he gazed at the thousands of eggs below. His eyes fell on the serpent Muria had bound. "Release your chains."
"Got it." Muria withdrew the Nebula Chains, and the serpent's healing accelerated immediately. It began to greedily absorb the surrounding elemental energy, and its severed heads began to grow back. Ansol, without hesitation, walked over to the serpent, picked it up, and dragged it to a nearby platform.
He drew his legendary weapon, *Ruin*, a spear forged entirely from legendary metals, and sliced open the serpent's body. Blood, thick with a powerful stench, flowed from the serpent and began to pool below, spreading toward the densely packed eggs.
"These eggs are absorbing the blood," Muria observed as the closest egg to the serpent's blood immediately started to drink it. A faint crimson glow enveloped the egg, and soon after, the egg began to shake, as if the creature inside was preparing to break free.
As more of the serpent's blood spread, even more eggs began to absorb it. One after another, the eggs started to quiver, showing signs that their inhabitants were ready to hatch.
"Crack!" Muria watched as the first egg, now infused with the serpent's blood, was torn open by a gleaming claw. A fierce creature ripped through the shell and shakily stood on its feet. The newly hatched beast let out a roar, and Muria got a good look at it. It stood nearly seven meters tall and measured about fifteen meters from head to tail.
The creature's scales gleamed like metal, and its claws and tail-blade looked razor-sharp. A crescent-shaped horn jutted from its head, shining with a cold, deadly light. It was clear that this creature was born for combat, capable of causing massive destruction from the moment of its birth.
The newly hatched monster scanned its surroundings warily but relaxed upon noticing Ansol. It seemed to have enough intelligence to realize that it was safe as long as Ansol was present.
The creature lowered its head and began eating the remains of its eggshell. After consuming it, its body swelled visibly, muscles growing more defined.
Not yet satisfied, the beast started licking up the serpent's blood that had pooled on the floor. It even approached the platform where the blood was flowing, drinking directly from the stream.
As the beast continued to drink, its body grew even larger, and its presence became increasingly menacing. Muria couldn't help but be amazed at its rapid growth.
Seeing the beast eyeing the still-regenerating serpent with a hungry gaze, Ansol casually sliced off a chunk of the serpent's flesh with his spear and tossed it to the creature.
Roaring with excitement, the beast snatched the chunk of meat, tearing it apart with a few bites before swallowing it. After ingesting the high-energy flesh, the creature's body underwent a dramatic transformation. Its muscles swelled, and its size doubled in a matter of moments.
While this first war beast continued to grow at a terrifying rate, the other blood-soaked eggs began to hatch as well. Each newly hatched creature quickly ate its egg and followed the first, emitting low growls to beg Ansol for food.
Without hesitation, Ansol cut off more chunks of flesh from the serpent, feeding them to the newly hatched beasts.
"Are these really living creatures?" Muria asked, shocked as he watched the monstrous beasts devouring the legendary serpent's flesh and growing rapidly in size and strength. "These are my grandfather's war beasts? They're not normal creatures."
Even Muria, who had been born with immense strength, had been weak and helpless as a newborn. Yet these beasts were combat-ready right from birth.
"These are war beasts that your grandfather created specifically for battle. They're designed to grow incredibly fast and are stronger, faster, and more durable than any creature of their level. But the trade-off is that they only live a tenth as long as ordinary creatures. Of course, most of them don't survive that long since they die in battle first," Ansol explained as he continued feeding the beasts.
"Are you planning to wait until all these eggs hatch before you set off?" the Golden Dragoness asked, unfazed by the monstrous creatures' roars. She had seen far worse in her long life.
"Of course not. After they hatch, I'll need to raise them and breed a second generation. These are just the seeds of my army. They're not ready for battle yet," Ansol replied.
The Golden Dragoness became intrigued by his plan. "If you manage to breed a second generation, remember to give some to Muria. Your father has been so stingy. Muria's out there trying to conquer worlds, and he didn't give him anything, unlike you, who received World Tree leaves, branches, war beast eggs, and even ancient dragon eggs."
"You misunderstand. My father went into a deep sleep after expending too much energy in an earlier battle. He had prepared these things for me in advance, which is why I have them. It's different for Muria. His progress has been so rapid that my father probably didn't anticipate it. But don't worry—when my father wakes up, everything meant for Muria will be his. He won't miss out," Ansol reassured her.
"When your father wakes up, Muria might already be traveling through the void," the Golden Dragoness said, rolling her eyes.
"I'll give Muria half of the war beasts I breed," Ansol offered.
"You said it! I've recorded your words, so no backing out later," the Golden Dragoness declared.
"You didn't need to. When have I ever gone back on my word?" Ansol responded confidently.
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