The next day, as evening fell, the city of Yinko shimmered brightly under the night sky.
From the bustling inner city to the poorest districts, lights were lit everywhere, enveloping the whole city in a brilliant glow that easily overshadowed the gentle moonlight from above, illuminating vast areas beneath the darkness of the night.
Meanwhile, a celebratory banquet, held to secure Garon's protection and to which many were invited, was underway as scheduled.
In a luxuriously decorated and atmospheric area, noble humans in opulent attire sat at tables, their expressions a mix of awe and faint fear as they watched the gigantic silver dragon.
The normally captivating dances of lithe dancers, twisting their supple waists enticingly in the center of the banquet, were largely ignored.
Almost all eyes were fixed on Garon.
Accustomed to the worshipful or fearful gazes from lesser beings, Garon remained expressionless and composed.
As for the red dragon Rohel, after spending over a day here and finding the lack of regard from Duke Thorn distasteful, he had returned to his lair in the Karol Mountains to tend to his treasures and kin.
Garon had informed him of his plans to leave the area.
Rohel had no objections.
With the allure of the Lava Half-Plane, he felt no attachment to his decades-long home.
At the banquet, Duke Thorn, with a smile, raised his glass to introduce Garon.
"Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of all the citizens of the MoSha Duchy, I toast to the great, merciful, and compassionate Eternal Dragon."
"To have the protection of the Eternal Dragon is the greatest honor since the founding of our duchy."
The attending nobles were visibly shaken as they looked towards Garon.
His massive dragon form, resembling a silver hillock with four majestic horns extending from his forehead and closely-set silver scales, merely sat there. His calm platinum gaze swept over the crowd, instilling a chill and awe in everyone present.
Garon returned Duke Thorn's look but remained noncommittal, neither accepting nor rejecting his words.
Nobles from other realms gathered their composure, exchanging wary glances, their eyes reflecting cautious alertness.
Noticing a hint of impatience in Garon's eyes, Duke Thorn inwardly flinched and quickly attempted to lighten the mood, saying, "I am delighted that you all could come. I won't take up much more of your time."
"Please enjoy the feast."
He clapped his hands, and a line of graceful, beautiful maids emerged.
A small portion of them carried exquisite platters towards the human nobles, the delicately prepared dishes filling the air with enticing aromas.
However, eighty percent of the attendants converged towards Garon.
Duke Thorn had prepared a feast fit for a dragon, served on platters as large as round tables, held up by maids who Garon noticed were magically enhanced to handle the weight.
Cheese magic steak, salt-baked crystal snails, and roasted lamb—these dishes filled Garon's nostrils with a mix of delicious scents, and he nodded almost imperceptibly in approval.
Duke Thorn seemed to understand the carnivorous preferences of dragons, with eight or nine out of ten dishes being meat, the rest being fragrant, juicy fruits, and a selection of drinks and wines.
Seeing that Garon was somewhat pleased, Duke Thorn wiped the sweat from his forehead.
With the protection of a true dragon, who had effortlessly subdued a mature red dragon, spies in MoSha Duchy had spread the news far and wide.
After probing conversations with leaders from other nations, Duke Thorn knew that the likelihood of MoSha becoming a vassal state had greatly decreased.
Almost every principality, upon learning of Garon's presence, had quashed their designs on MoSha Duchy.
Thanks to Garon's protection, the duchy could maintain its sovereignty.
Duke Thorn knew everything depended on Garon's disposition.
If he expressed dissatisfaction with MoSha, the watching nobles from other countries would likely change their strategies and continue plotting against the duchy.
Currently, MoSha had little reserve strength to deal with these greedy adversaries.
And just a few months ago, Duke Thorn had been one of them.
Now, he had to guard against being swallowed by his former peers.
This swift turn of events was beyond his own expectations.
Garon's attention shifted to the constant stream of delicacies being served.
He picked up a large plate, opened his mouth slightly, and swallowed what would be weeks' worth of food for a family of three.
However, Garon was somewhat dissatisfied.
The human-sized utensils were still too small to match his scale; he could eat a plateful in one bite, which wasn't particularly satisfying.
Duke Thorn, seeing Garon's slight frown, grew nervous and moved to explain.
Due to time constraints and a lack of experience
in preparing food for a dragon of his size, this situation had arisen.
Garon paid no heed to Duke Thorn.
The portions were not satisfying, but the food, meticulously cooked, was incomparable to anything Garon had previously tasted—rich in flavor and layered.
He thought for a moment, then a faint glow enveloped him, and he began to shrink.
This transformation caught everyone's attention.
Or rather, Garon's actions had been the focus of all the banquet's guests from the start.
In an instant, the twenty-meter-long silver dragon shrank into a three-meter-tall humanoid creature.
With four horns on his forehead and his body covered in fine scales, his hands resembled fearsome dragon claws.
"Hmm, this form is somewhat more comfortable."
The greater the change in form, the stronger the discomfort.
Garon pondered for a moment and decided to use another transformation spell.
With a flash of white light, the tall humanoid vanished.
In its place appeared a small true dragon over three meters long, appearing as if it was just a few weeks old.
Gone was his previous majestic and powerful form, replaced by something adorable and even slightly cute.
But no one dared look down upon this 'hatchling.'
Ordinary transformation spells couldn't achieve the freedom of form change that Garon managed.
But true dragons naturally mastered an advanced form of transformation spell that could morph into any creature smaller than themselves. The greater the difference between the original and target forms, the more challenging the transformation.
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