The Iron Dragon Mother glanced at the two foolish wyverns who were looking at each other in dismay. From Gallos's words and his gaze, she understood his intentions. However, she had no intention of stopping him.
Unless it involved life or death, she would not interfere in the struggles between her offspring, including ordinary bullying and oppression. Besides, those two wyverns spent their days eating and drinking her resources, wandering aimlessly around the territory without doing anything useful. It was about time they were put to work.
As for the idea of driving wyverns or young dragons to mine for her—the Iron Dragon Mother wouldn't do it herself. Despite her evil and cruel nature, she strictly followed the rules in her own heart. However, it was perfectly reasonable for Gallos to do it.
"The problem is, your 'mine slaves' also live under my protection," she noted.
The Iron Dragon Mother's eyes gleamed as she lightly swayed her tail. Under her watchful gaze, the young Red-Iron dragon immediately replied: "I will provide you with an additional ten pounds of precious metal ore every month."
"Deal," the Iron Dragon Mother agreed after a few seconds of silent deliberation.
"Thank you, Mother. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave."
"Go then, and do what you must."
Gallos turned and walked toward the two wyverns, stopping right in front of them. "Samantha, Gordon."
Calling out the names of the Red Dragon sister and the Iron Dragon brother, Gallos narrowed his eyes and said, "Come with me."
Both dragons looked wary and refused to move a muscle. "What do you want?" they asked.
"To have you mine for me, of course," Gallos grinned.
"By what right?!" the two wyverns rejected him fiercely. They finally realized that the "mine slaves" Gallos had mentioned earlier referred to them.
"By the right that I am stronger than you."
Before his voice had even faded, Gallos lunged at his siblings.
The Skirmish
CRASH!
With a massive dragon ram, he sent the Iron Dragon brother flying. When their scales collided, dense sparks flew. Gallos's scales were solid, not a single one falling off, while the Iron Dragon brother's scales cracked and a large chunk even broke away. His whole body slammed into the metallic cave wall with a dull thud.
The Red Dragon sister had just regained her senses when Gallos twisted his waist. His thick, long tail, covered in blade-like scales, whipped through the air with a piercing whistle.
BAM!
The dragon tail struck the Red Dragon sister's shoulder with massive force, tearing through a layer of scales instantly and sending her flying like a ragdoll.
"If you won't listen, I'll beat you until you do," Gallos said, lifting his chin and looking down at the two fallen wyverns.
Aside from some dust, his only "injury" was on his forearm, where the Red Dragon sister had bitten him viciously. But because Gallos's scales were exceptionally thick and hard, her teeth had merely grown sore from the effort. She had only managed to leave a row of tiny tooth marks on his scales without drawing a single drop of blood. There was still a layer of dragon skin beneath the scales that she hadn't even reached before Gallos grabbed her by the horns and gave her a thrashing.
"My dear Gallos, I look forward to your future performance."
The Iron Dragon Mother flicked her tail, producing a crisp snapping sound, indicating she was quite satisfied with Gallos's display. In truth, she had always admired him. This hybrid dragon possessed talent far beyond normal dragons, and his obsession with pursuing power gave him the potential to become a truly great, wicked dragon.
No Escape
The two wyverns' ferocity was finally triggered. Their resilient dragon bodies allowed them to act as if they were fine despite the previous attacks. With a roar, the two wyverns—both a year younger than Gallos—pounced from the left and right.
Under normal circumstances, a one-year age gap makes it difficult to win a two-on-one fight. However, unlike Gallos, the Red Dragon sister and Iron Dragon brother lacked the conscious drive to train themselves. Like most wyverns, they believed that simply growing up according to schedule would eventually make them local overlords, so they spent their time in lazy leisure.
Gallos, however, had realized that dragons were not the absolute masters of this world and that danger lurked everywhere. He had been intentionally training to strengthen himself.
"Heh, let me give you a lesson you won't forget."
Gallos cracked his neck and met the two wyverns head-on.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
A series of dull sounds of physical impact echoed continuously. Three minutes later, the two wyverns were lying spread-eagled on the ground, bellies up as if they had fainted. Their bodies were covered in marks from Gallos's beating; scales were missing from their faces, a few teeth were gone, and even their horns were bent.
As for Gallos, not a single scale had fallen off.
Gallos grabbed the tails of the Red Dragon sister and Iron Dragon brother and dragged them out of the mother's lair. They were dead weight, completely knocked out. He carried them by their tails and flew toward the lake in the center of the sinkhole.
SPLASH! SPLASH!
Water sprayed everywhere, the droplets glistening under the moonlight. Gallos circled in the air, his wings spread, staring at the water below. After about ten seconds, two figures bolted out of the water like their tails were on fire, flying in different directions in a desperate attempt to escape Gallos.
Gallos flapped his wings. Under the cold moonlight, his wings were long and wide, reaching a span of twelve meters—twice his body length. The wing membranes were incredibly tough, whistling through the air with edges as sharp as blades and a cold metallic luster.
The sound of his wings slicing the air was like a scream. In an instant, Gallos caught up to the Red Dragon sister, grabbed her tail, swung her around in a circle, and hurled her toward the fleeing Iron Dragon brother.
BOOM!
The two wyverns crashed to the ground together, kicking up rocks and dust as cracks spread through the earth.
"Still running? I even gave you a three-second head start."
Gallos folded his wings and landed in front of them. The two wyverns looked utterly defeated, no longer daring to defy him. Gallos then led them to the place where he usually exercised. His senses for metallic minerals were sharp, and because he came here often, he had sensed the presence of ores deep underground.