Ashen Dragon

After nearly a month of recuperation, the Red Dragon's territory was thriving.

Under Ramp and the Great Goblin's command, the Goblins and Ogres had already piled up a simple stone fortress within the Giant Valley.

The city walls stood over five meters high, with watchtowers placed at higher terrain. Named "Rock Fortress" by the well-read Ramp.

This made the valley, already easy to defend and hard to attack, become even more indestructible. Even if a human formal army attacked, the Red Dragon was confident in keeping them out.

"Get to work, no slacking off!" A three-meter-tall Ogre shouted from the top of the watchtower, looking downward.

However, the wooden watchtower appeared so fragile under the Ogre's large and fat body that one could even hear the wood creak as if lamenting for the half-ton weight it bore.

"Heave ho!"

The Ogres lifted giant logs, laboriously transporting them upwards to serve as the framework of the Rock Fortress watchtowers.

As close relatives of Giants, Ogres had immense strength. Besides their greed and laziness, they were excellent laborers.

And the Goblins, already accustomed to building camps, worked in groups of over four hundred, cooperating with the immensely strong Ogres. Under the command of the intelligent Ramp, with an intelligence score of 17, and the leadership of the Great Goblin, building a simple fortress was relatively easy.

Beneath the five-meter-high city walls, a group of Goblins was swinging pickaxes, vigorously chiseling away at the rocks.

"Hurry up!"

"You're hitting my foot!"

As creatures known for their laziness, they often slack off. However, ever since an angry Ogre overseer had smashed a pretending-to-sleep Goblin into a pulp, such incidents had ceased.

After all, Ramp's "lessons" were just a momentary pain for the slow-witted Ogres, but for the Goblins, it meant a lifetime's end. They knew this well.

"Awooo—"

"What was that?"

The working Goblins all looked up, startled by the enormous shadows in the sky.

In the distance, several massive figures flew closer, like a giant black cloud—there were more than ten Bipedal Wyverns.

They merely felt the call of their dragon bloodline, gathering together to see if there was an existence worthy of their allegiance.

The largest among these Wyverns was over seven meters long, fierce and menacing, comparable in size to Cassius, though far slimmer than the Red Dragon.

Unlike the True Dragon, they had two scaled legs and a pair of sturdy wings instead of four limbs and two wings.

The Wyvern's tail was strong and ended with its most potent weapon: a venomous stinger.

This potent Wyvern toxin could incinerate the victim's heart and arteries, making hunters and adventurers often covet its venom for alchemical concoctions and weapon poisonings.

The Bipedal Wyverns landed, setting their front limbs on the ground, and pulled their wing membranes close to their bodies.

They descended, roaring.

Summoning the master of this place.

The nearby Goblins scrambled in panic, fearing being eaten or crushed by the Bipedal Wyverns, and fled in groups.

They were simply too weak, a slight motion from these powerful creatures could easily kill them.

Meanwhile, the Ogre Mage stood alert on the fortress walls, already beginning to construct a Fireball spell model.

The Chimera within the cliffside cave also became alert, its three heads displaying different expressions.

"Master, there's a group of Wyverns!"

"Roar!"

The Red Dragon flew out from the Giant's Mouth Cave, letting out a long, resonant roar, landing before the Wyvern group.

"Submit to me," Cassius said.

The Wyverns roared noisily, then bent their long necks, lowering their heads in submission.

However, the largest Wyvern among them, seeing the Red Dragon before it was only in its adolescent stage, comparable in size to itself, dared to let out a challenging roar.

Clearly, it was driven by the rare chance to become the leader.

A leadership challenge?

An ancient tradition among dragonkin.

The two would duel, and the victor would become the leader, while the defeated would be driven away.

But for a proud Pureblood Red Dragon, a lowly Bipedal Wyvern issuing such a challenge was an utmost insult.

If Cassius were a fully grown Red Dragon, he would have been so furious he'd be steaming with rage, eager to tear it apart.

"You made the worst choice," Cassius snarled, his anger focused on his smaller size—how much longer before he could make these creatures submit with a mere roar like an adult Red Dragon.

"And I will grant you—death!"

The Red Dragon flapped its wings and soared high, looking down at the Wyvern from above.

[Based on your strength, you can observe the following information]

Wyvern

Large dragon-type creature, unaligned

AC: 13 (natural armor)

Speed: 20 feet, flying 80 feet

Strength—19

Agility—10

Constitution—16

Intelligence—5

Perception—12

Charisma—6

Skill Proficiency: Perception +2, Hunting +4

Senses: Dark Vision 60 feet, Passive Perception 14

Language: Understands Draconic

Action Skills: Multi-Attack, Biting, Claw Attack, Stinging

Challenge Level: 6 (2300 XP)

Assessment: "Sometimes, travelers in the wild can look up to see Wyverns flying with prey in their clutches. These relatives of giant dragons also hunt within dense forests and caves. They are ruthless hunters, and their appearances often spread waves of panic along the borders of civilization."

The Wyvern on the ground arched its long neck slightly and lifted its fierce head, letting out a challenging hiss. The sound was hoarse, more like that of some kind of serpent.

"Hiss—"

Next, the massive Bipedal Wyvern spread its front limbs and took off, its strong tail swaying in the air, the sharp stinger on its end glinting coldly.

"Flame Breath!"

Before it could fully leave the ground, the Red Dragon spouted a scorching cone of flame from its mouth, aiming right at the Wyvern's body.

The Bipedal Wyvern hurriedly adjusted its body in mid-air, angling its wings to claw at the ground in an attempt to escape the attack, but it couldn't evade being hit by the blazing flames.

Its chest scales were charred black, the skin and flesh underneath scorched by the intense flames, leaving it in a miserable state.

"Awooo—"

The Wyvern let out a wail of pain, but it quickly supported itself with its front limbs and wobbled back into the air.

There wasn't much time left, for the Red Dragon's next breath was imminent, its throat already glowing with an orange-yellow light, like an erupting volcano.

"Boom—"

With another whoosh of flames raging through the air, another scorching stream of red flames descended from above, tracing the Wyvern's flight path.

The heat from the flames caused the nearby air to twist and tremble, leaving the Wyvern in terror.

All it could do was desperately flit about, dodging in the air with no means to counterattack.