Beneath the Ice Cliff Dragon Lair, in the bright and mild golden sunlight, Ugga Bonebreaker's face was alight with excitement, holding a humanoid creature in one hand.
Garon had already descended, his expression one of shock.
He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
But upon closer inspection, the two fearful faces of the humanoid creatures held by Ugga Bonebreaker were indeed two small human children, about six or seven years old, with an innocent and harmless appearance.
"Human children? How did they end up in the far northern ice plains?"
Garon was puzzled, but before he could think further, his expression brightened and his breathing became slightly heavier.
After the initial shock, his attention was drawn to the many magical items shimmering with elemental light.
Especially the fiery red staff at Ugga's waist, with its blindingly bright elemental light, and the thick fire element swirling around the crystal at the tip of the staff.
Within the crystal, clusters of flame-like liquid ascended, looking both beautiful and mysterious.
In addition, the rune-etched robes, delicate necklaces, bracelets, and boots worn by the two children were all magical items, wrapped in a faint elemental light.
At the same time, the two human children turned pale, looking up at Garon's large dragon form with a mixture of reverence and fear.
His dragon wings cast a shadow that enveloped both the ogre and the children.
The name of a dragon, even a six-year-old child would have heard of.
On the continent of Noa, adults liked to use the story of five-color evil dragons eating humans to warn children not to stay out at night.
Besides the evil dragons, there were also tales of good dragons traveling in human society, leaving behind stories that humans on the continent of Noa aspired to and feared like no other.
Garon extended his dragon claw, pointing at the fiery red staff.
Ugga Bonebreaker immediately released the two children, placing them on the cold snowy ground beside him, then lifted the fiery red staff with both hands, respectfully offering it to Garon.
Now, within the territory of a true dragon, these two small children, no matter what, couldn't escape and didn't need to be held any longer.
Garon glanced at the two human children, saying nothing.
Then, he shifted his gaze back to the fiery red staff and asked Ugga in Giant's tongue, "Where did you capture these two humans?"
Ugga Bonebreaker immediately recounted the events to Garon.
At the end, it licked its lips, as if remembering something, and said to Garon, "Master, human flesh is delicious, especially young children's. You should eat them quickly while they're fresh; if they freeze to death, they won't taste good."
Garon: "You've eaten humans?"
"No, no, Ugga heard it from the old ogres, who also heard it from even older ogres."
Ugga Bonebreaker shook its head awkwardly.
It's not easy to see humans in the far northern ice plains, where ordinary people could not survive the barren, harsh conditions.
Garon turned his head, toying with the fiery red staff, and looked at the two children.
The little girl, pale and tender with dense golden hair and skin like milk, was biting her lips tightly, not daring to say a word or meet Garon's gaze, trembling non-stop.
Meanwhile, the little boy next to her, upon noticing Garon's attention on the girl, stepped forward, protecting her behind him and defiantly looking up at Garon.
Garon paused, interestedly observing the little boy.
Platinum dragon eyes sharp and dangerous, when his focus was on the little boy, a natural aura of dragon's might spread out.
The terror of being targeted by a top predator felt like a mountain pressing down, causing the little boy's face to pale, sweating coldly in the dead of winter, gradually lowering his head.
Garon was pleased to retract this hint of dragon's might.
He disliked creatures that could be blown away with a single breath.
Courage?
The courage of the weak was worthless.
If he were to release all his dragon's might, it would directly cause their spirits to collapse; such courage was not worth mentioning.
"Where do you come from, and why are you in the far northern ice plains?" Garon asked, looking down at the two human children, speaking in the common tongue of Noa.
Because he had retracted his dragon's might, the somewhat strong-willed boy, overcoming his fear of the five-color evil dragon, looked up at Garon, his voice trembling, "If you must eat, eat me, but spare my sister. She's dumb and silly, not tasty at all."
The girl beside him remained motionless, as if frozen in shock, her pupils slightly dilated.
Though she was the older sibling, her temperament differed significantly from the boy's; or perhaps, her reaction was more typical of a normal human child faced with a large dragon.
Garon's voice deepened, calmly commanding, "Answer my question."
The dragon's voice, penetrating and powerful, made the boy's already pale face turn even whiter, like paper soaked in water, fragile and ready to crumble.
Then, as if remembering something important, the boy suddenly clenched his fists, flames seeming to burn in his eyes, and slowly began to relay what he knew to Garon.
Garon listened intently to the boy's narrative, his expression thoughtful.
The human kingdoms to the south were at war, and now the ripples of this conflict had extended even to the far northern ice plains.
"What are your names?" Garon asked.
"My name is Amos Tulip, and my sister is Lilith Tulip," Amos answered truthfully.
Garon remained silent, playing with the fiery red staff while contemplating how to deal with these two human children, descendants of high-ranking mages.
Meanwhile, Amos, though his voice was rough with fear, bravely initiated, "Respected true dragon, if you like my grandfather's staff, it is yours now."
Garon's gaze deepened, and he slightly bowed his head, stating, "You seem to be mistaken about one thing. It is already mine, including both of you."