Border Area, Dragon Valley.

It is now deep night, and the news of the Poison Tail Tribe pledging loyalty after a series of strikes has reached the Red Iron Dragon’s ears. The details were conveyed to Galos by Iron Dragon Solrog through bloodline linkage.

"Well done."

Galos didn’t hesitate to praise, responding on a mental level.

Since the Iron Dragon became a Mind Mage, his thinking has grown more meticulous, his actions more comprehensive, and his role as governor of the Molten Iron Tribe has gradually become qualified, virtually becoming Galos’s ’external brain.’ He handles many tedious tasks that Galos is unwilling to waste time on.

"As before, disperse the Poison Tail Tribe."

"Assign the Snake-man Warriors, Mages, Shamans... to different battalions according to their characteristics, retaining only those ordinary Snakefolk without combat skills."

Galos instructed.

The Molten Iron Tribe is a collective of many clans, many tribes integrated together, with no internal clan distinctions anymore.

The various battalions are mixed according to characteristics rather than race.

However, due to the significant differences in the habits of different creatures, unless in army settings, they struggle to live together in normal circumstances. Ordinary clan members thus cluster in tribes named after species such as the Ogre Clan or Centaur Tribe, serving as logistics, population sources, and more.

"Understood."

Iron Dragon responded succinctly, preparing to end the communication.

But at this moment, the Red Iron Dragon’s teasing voice rang out, curiously asking, "How does the Snake Woman taste?"

Iron Dragon:......

Recalling the recent conversation with the Snake Woman, his firm and steel-like will praising the Red Iron Dragon’s transcendence from low tastes... he was left speechless and wanted to retract his words.

He did not answer this crude question and directly ended the conversation.

"Galos, come play a riddle game with me."

The voice of the Red Silver Dragon came from beside him.

At this moment, Galos had just finished a round of exercises not long ago and was resting. He initially wanted to empty his mind, but considering the Metal Dragon Rich Lady had given him two Dragon Blood Potions before, he couldn’t be too indifferent.

"Alright, you start."

Galos replied.

The Red Silver Dragon seemed prepared long ago and didn’t hesitate but said immediately:

"I am born from the depths of the earth, forged by fierce fire; I am dull in the dark, brilliant in the light."

"Kings place me in crowns, poets praise me as the eternal tear; those who touch me are either rich or noble, those who lose me are left with only sadness."

Pausing, the Red Silver Dragon eagerly asked, "—What am I?"

A straightforward riddle.

"Gemstone."

Galos replied.

"That’s right! Correct answer!"

The Red Silver Dragon seemed to cheer and then extended his paw in front of Galos.

The Red Iron Dragon blinked in confusion, asking, "What’s going on?"

The Red Silver Dragon huffed lightly, reminding him, "My gemstone, the gemstone you promised me, has not been given to me yet."

Galos once promised that during the war, the Red Silver Dragon guarding Dragon Valley would be rewarded with ten gemstones.

"Oh."

The Red Iron Dragon showed an expression of sudden realization, saying, "Sorry, I forgot before."

Saying this, he took out ten Magic Gemstones of various colors from the Spatial Ring, hesitated slightly, then gritted his teeth and handed them to the Red Silver Dragon.

Seeing the Red Silver Dragon joyfully accepting the gemstones.

Galos felt lost yet joyful.

The lack of wealth instinctively caused him heartache, but being able to give away ten gemstones in one go meant he had made progress in resisting the lure of wealth.

However, ten gemstones seemed not to be the limit.

Taking a deep breath.

Galos trembled slightly as he took out another gemstone and offered it to the Red Silver Dragon: "Those were promised, this one I autonomously give to you, as a small gift..."

Before finishing his sentence, the Red Silver Dragon wrapped his tail around the gemstone, rubbing it against his cheek.

"Ah, what a beautiful little thing, I like it very much."

The Red Silver Dragon uttered a contented and satisfied sound.

Galos took deep breaths several times to gradually calm his mind, suppressing the urge to snatch it back, stabilizing his thoughts, then asked, "Deborah, you should have many precious things, why are you still so obsessed with gemstones?"

Previously, Deborah had given him Dragon Blood Potions.

Although it doesn’t entice the Dragons like gemstones do, its real value surely exceeds ten Magic Gemstones.

"It’s different, parents don’t directly give me treasures."

She playfully blinked and said, "Besides, the gemstones I earn myself are more beautiful, especially those earned from a mixed-blood Evil Dragon like you."

When facing her Metal Dragon parents, Deborah staunchly defended the Red Iron Dragon, insisting he was not evil.

But when they were alone together.

She frequently referred to Galos as the Evil Dragon.

This behavior seemed somewhat contradictory, but Galos didn’t mind and let her call him Evil Dragon as she pleased.

After taking Galos’s gemstones.

The Red Silver Dragon conjured a finely crafted and shimmering ice crystal bracelet, stringing the gemstones together, then slipped it onto her wrist. As her wrist moved, each gemstone refracted dazzling light under the moonlight’s glow.

"Don’t flaunt your wealth."

Galos reminded, "Deborah, you’re being too flashy; be careful of getting robbed."

The Red Silver Dragon hummed happily, speaking of something terrifying in a simple tone: "Anyone who dares rob my gemstone bracelet, I’ll just kill them with my scales."

Immediately, the Red Silver Dragon who took the gemstones stopped playing riddles with Galos.

She flapped her Dragon Wings, flying to a patch of flowers, and woke the sleeping Elf Dragon Vera.

"Vera, Vera, come and see if my scales are fading a little?"

The Red Silver Dragon extended her wrist, nearly touching the Elf Dragon’s face.

The Elf Dragon groggily rubbed her eyes.

"Your scales are fading? Let me see...."

When the Elf Dragon saw the gemstones on the Red Silver Dragon, her voice abruptly stopped, then she darted over, only to be quickly grabbed by the tail by the Red Silver Dragon, preventing her from getting near the gemstone bracelet.

Galos took a few looks and withdrew his gaze from the bragging Red Silver Dragon.

He then took out an expensive High-Level Communication Stone and asked, "How is the Monastery preparation going in the Lotheren Kingdom?"

A response soon came through.

"The basic framework is already set up; it won’t take long to complete."

This voice came from the leader of the Gem Merchant Group — Nick.

Since awakening, Galos frequently contacted Nick, directing him to work on tasks for the Federation Country.

Currently, Nick seldom personally manages the merchant ship transportation, a task handed over to the former apprentice Cole, while he mainly carries out Galos’s orders within the Federation.

"Shelter those homeless orphans, provide them with a suitable environment, and let them learn the Dragon’s posture."

Galos instructed.

More than ten years ago, Galos had Nick perform tasks in the Federation for him, secretly establishing several societies, attracting intelligent creatures who admired and naturally yearned for the Dragon Race.

At the start, the Gem Merchant Group invested some wealth to screen members.

But as it developed, the society’s operation could be sustained with just the members’ contributions, and its scale kept growing.

Moreover. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

After getting in touch with Iron Dragon Gordon, Galos instructed Nick to purchase grounds in the Lotheren Kingdom, build a Monastery, shelter orphans and beggars, and let the previously recruited Divine Dragon Martial Monks within the society be responsible for teaching, imparting knowledge and skills of the Divine Dragon path, and fostering kinship with the Dragon Race.

Currently, the young Divine Dragon Apprentices cannot provide help to Galos.

But this is a setup aimed at the future.

Human growth rate far exceeds that of the Dragon Race, and the requirement for talent in the Martial Monk profession isn’t harsh. As long as one works diligently and has the appropriate resources provided, the progress on the martial monk path won’t be slow.

It won’t take long.

By the time Galos reaches his youth, he might have a batch of Divine Dragon Martial Monks capable of taking orders and stationed in the southern hinterlands, who can become his leverage to extract benefits from the Federation in the future.

"Dragon Lord, the Divine Dragon Martial Monks in the society awakened by witnessing the combat posture of the Dragon Race by chance."

"Relying solely on studying the Dragon’s posture, even with the guidance of Divine Dragon Martial Monks, those children find it difficult to secure positions."

Nick responded.

"You don’t need to worry about that."

"Soon a dragon will reach out to the Monastery, observe its posture, comprehend the essence of the Dragon... With a real dragon as a mentor, appointing as Divine Dragon Martial Monk won’t be difficult."

To invite a real dragon in the Lotheren Kingdom?

Nick was a bit surprised by Galos’s great influence but not too shocked.

The call ended quickly this time.

As for the dragon Galos could invite—without a doubt, it was Iron Dragon Gordon.

Gordon wasn’t a caged beast in the Lotheren Kingdom.

He had a degree of freedom and also held a nominal aristocratic title. Many citizens of the Lotheren Kingdom knew that a palace kept an Iron Dragon, whose status was higher than some nobles.

He himself didn’t like going out, preferring the comfortable palace environment.

"But—"

Thinking about Gordon’s hefty physique, Galos couldn’t help but feel a bit unsettled: "—will appointing Divine Dragon Martial Monks by mimicking Gordon’s posture not pose problems in their further development?"

"The heritage mentions that observing dragons helps with Divine Dragon Sect appointments, but further development is rarely related to the observed dragon, it should be fine, and there’s no alternative now."

"...Hope it goes smoothly."

The Red Iron Dragon composed himself and began a new round of training under the moonlight, accumulating day and night, in preparation for returning to the Sel Wilderness.

ps: Asking for votes