After furiously berating his kin, the red dragon, irked, glared at Garon, while its kin remained silent and terrified, unable to resist Garon's draconic might and thus of no use.
Realizing that he was outmatched in melee combat, the red dragon began to utter spells, attempting to use magic to turn the tide, unable to accept the fact that Garon had so easily bested him.
At the same time, Garon was no longer interested in prolonging the conflict.
As the red dragon started chanting spells, Garon silently recited his own, the tides of magical power surging within him.
A bursting fireball materialized in front of Garon within a few breaths, its dark red surface seething with dangerous, subdued glows.
The red dragon, watching the fireball, showed a look of astonishment.
Clearly, its spell-casting speed was much slower than Garon's; by the time Garon had fully formed the bursting fireball, the red dragon's spell was still not in sight.
Normally, true dragons rely mainly on their physical prowess in combat at their adult stage and know few advanced spells.
As a creature that loves destruction and embodies violence, the red dragon's spells were also from the school of Evocation. Seeing Garon's rapid construction of an evocation fireball, it felt a sinking feeling and hastened its chanting, agitated.
Garon watched the fireball, floating and slowly rotating in mid-air, then flashed a grin at the red dragon.
Whoosh!
Under Garon's control, the fireball traced a graceful arc through the air directly towards the red dragon, impacting it in an instant.
Boom!
The explosion resonated, sending shockwaves and flames billowing out, flipping the massive body of the red dragon through the air. It finally stopped after carving a deep trench dozens of meters long into the ground.
Thanks to its high resistance to fire damage, the flames and heat from the bursting fireball had little effect on the red dragon, which could bathe in magma.
However, the fireball's lethality stemmed from two main aspects: the explosive shockwave and the intense flames.
While the red dragon was immune to flames, the powerful shockwave shattered some of its scales and sent tremors through its muscles, causing a gut-wrenching discomfort throughout its organs.
The spell it had been preparing was interrupted midway, causing a backlash that aggravated its internal discomfort.
Lying sprawled on the ground, the red dragon breathed heavily, sparks accompanying each breath. It staggered to its feet, suffering from the magic backlash and internal shocks.
Warily eyeing Garon, the red dragon finally calmed its heated brain.
"You're not a silver dragon; what kind of dragon are you? You can use frost breath and fire spells; when did such a strange dragon appear around here?"
The red dragon had more interactions with silver dragons and, after the real confrontation, faintly realized that Garon was not a true silver dragon, so it asked directly.
Garon thought for a moment and replied, "I am of the same kind as you, a chromatic dragon."
This answer was technically not wrong.
The red dragon paused, then snorted flames through its nostrils, scoffing, "A dragon capable of using frost breath, are you the disgrace of the true dragons, like the white dragons?"
"Trying to fool me, I don't believe it. No white dragon looks like you."
"If you don't want to say, fine. What are you doing invading my territory without any reason?"
Dragons are highly variable creatures, and anomalous dragons aren't rare.
Some dragons believe that dragonkin are the result of degenerative mutations, thus unworthy of the dragon heritage.
The red dragon considered Garon an anomalous dragon, especially because of the four imposing horns that it envied—uncommon among ordinary true dragons—as well as the unusual pair of black scales embedded in his silver body.
A somewhat hot breeze blew by, and the red dragon idly slapped its tail, its expression guarded as it waited for Garon's response.
Unfazed, Garon's voice deepened, "The Duchy of Mosha is under my wing's protection, and yet you have repeatedly plundered its wealth and people while I was away. This is a provocation to me."
"I came here to have you return the wealth you've plundered from Mosha and to ensure that you cease troubling them in the future."
After agreeing to a tribute, as long as Mosha Duchy stood, it would continuously provide him with wealth.
Once Mosha Duchy became richer, Garon could increase the tribute fees.
He would not tolerate other dragons taking advantage of the situation.
The red dragon flicked its tail, its face full of doubt.
"What are you talking about? I've been raiding Mosha Duchy for half a year now, and I've never heard that these insignificant humans were
under the protection of a true dragon."
Half a year, indeed.
Mosha Duchy really did manage to find itself a powerful patron, Garon thought to himself.
The Duke of Thorns had informed him of the red dragon's general behavior; knowing that the red dragon originally helped in battles, but upon discovering the death of Mosha's high-ranking mages and its weakening power, it didn't hesitate to show its fangs and started looting under various pretexts.
When in a good mood, it raided; in a bad mood, it still raided.
Its reasons for demanding money were varied and exasperating, leaving the Duke of Thorns enraged and indignant.
Even merely flying over Mosha and being seen by its citizens was enough for the red dragon to charge a fee, claiming that observing the noble visage of a true dragon came at a cost.
Other absurd reasons like charging for sharing the air breathed by a dragon were commonplace.
However, given the circumstances, Mosha Duchy had no choice but to satisfy its demands, paying off the disaster to avoid worse outcomes.
The red dragon was not foolish; to prevent Mosha from being driven to desperation, it didn't ask for much each time, giving them time to recover.
A few raids might have been manageable, but the continuous exploitation accumulated significant wealth for the red dragon at Mosha's expense.
If they lacked sufficient strength, dealing with a malicious dragon would only lead to a fate similar to Mosha's.
"Now you've heard about it. Whether you knew before is irrelevant."
Garon's gaze narrowed, his tone unequivocal and firm.
The red dragon reassessed Garon for a few seconds, then gradually showed a look of realization.
It exhaled a few hot breaths, saying, "We're both true dragons. I understand why you've come. You took Mosha's money, hired by those humans to deal with me, right?"
It looked towards Mosha Duchy, huffing heavily.
"Humph, these frail, petty humans, always resorting to such methods."
Then, as if forgetting it had just been beaten, the red dragon looked at Garon with excitement and a smile, proposing, "As fellow true dragons, why not join forces and cleanse Mosha Duchy, plundering these lowly creatures' wealth completely?"
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