Chapter 197: Chapter 186: Swelling Ambitions

“Sixth?”

Red Silver Dragon Deborah was not pleased with this ranking. Her gaze swept over the kitten-like little one, and took advantage of an unguarded moment to blow a breath towards it.

Watching the Elf Dragon wobble in the gale-like breath, Red Silver Dragon contentedly squinted her eyes and said, “Little one, I should be second. Only Galos can be above me here.”

The arrogance of the Metallic Half-Blood Dragon boiled in her bloodline.

The Red Silver Dragon Deborah could allow Galos to overpower her, considering she’d been defeated by Galos more than once.

But other dragons ranked above her? She couldn’t agree.

The Elf Dragon flapped her butterfly-like wings, spinning several times before stabilizing her body.

“I have a name; you can call me Vera.”

“As for the order, it’s arranged by arrival.”

She loved to play, and instead of getting angry, she giggled and counted on her little claws, “Galos is first, Samantha second, I’m third…..”

“You came last, so you’re sixth.”

The Red Silver Dragon looked towards the White Dragon on the other side, who was eating roughly, “You mean the White Dragon ranks ahead of me?”

The Elf Dragon blinked.

She pondered aloud:

“Trish is fifth, but she is a ’captive’ of Galos, having been defeated by him and now working off her debt. She’s not a true member of Dragon Valley.”

Raising her head to look at the Red Silver Dragon, the Elf Dragon spoke in an encouraging tone, “Strictly speaking, you should be fifth! A step up in the ranking, happy now?”

The Red Silver Dragon was speechless.

She turned away indifferently, not wanting to join the Elf Dragon in discussing this topic.

This childlike ranking was clearly just for the Elf Dragon’s amusement, not worth taking seriously.

At this moment,

Red Dragon Samantha and White Dragon Trish finished eating and successively headed to where Galos was.

The two Evil Dragons simultaneously stared at the Metal Dragon with an unfriendly gaze.

Among the Five-Colored Dragons, Red Dragons and Silver Dragons have always been rivals, and if given the chance, the powerful and wicked Red Dragons love nothing more than enslaving Silver Dragons and repeatedly humiliating them.

As for the White Dragon.

Both White Dragons and Silver Dragons share a cold attribute and prefer similar habitats, often clashing in conflict, which typically ends with the White Dragon fleeing helplessly.

The silver dragon aura on the Red Silver Dragon.

Made Samantha and Trish simultaneously displeased.

However, Samantha, remembering past lessons, realized it was best to restrain her claws when she was weak, so she refrained from making brash remarks or provocative insults to the Red Silver Dragon.

Trish adhered to the ’king does not see king’ ideology regarding Silver Dragons.

But now facing each other, she decided to give the other a bit of face, not instigating a dispute.

The Red Silver Dragon looked at Samantha and suddenly spoke, her silver dragon eyes showing a hint of admiration, “You and Galos are siblings, aren’t you? No wonder you could answer my riddles; you’re very smart, different from the Red Dragons I’ve heard about.”

Even if she was cooperating with a Red Dragon to solve puzzles, she could be amicable.

Upon hearing Deborah’s praise, the hostility in the Red Dragon’s eyes diminished significantly.

This damned Metal Dragon actually said something nice?

The Red Dragon’s spikes slightly smoothed down, and she said, “You’re very impressive too; the riddles you designed were complex and exquisite. Besides me… and Galos, I can’t think of anyone who could answer them correctly.”

Even though she felt the riddles were simple at the time.

But faced with the Red Dragon’s self-praise and compliments, the Red Silver Dragon graciously nodded without refuting.

“Metal Dragon, are you from Red Maple Valley?”

White Dragon Trish asked.

The Red Silver Dragon did not even glance, nor did she offer a response, not wanting to engage with the White Scales.

The ignored White Dragon grunted in anger, heavily smashing the hard soil with her tail, voicing a harsh snort, deciding not to talk further with the Red Silver Dragon, inwardly cursing the Metal Dragon for her lack of tact.

“There’s only five dragons here.”

“Vera, are you counting wrong?”

The Red Silver Dragon scanned the dragons present and said.

“Not wrong! Solrog is in slumber; he’s fourth and came even later than me.” The Elf Dragon, insistent on order of arrival, emphasized.

At this moment.

The sunlight bathed the battle-scarred battlefield.

The followers of the Molten Iron Legion were piling the intact weapons and armor into iron hills.

The broken blades were also being gathered together.

These scraps would be transported to the Sulfur Hills and reborn in the Alchemy Melting Furnace of the Red Dragon Samantha, to be smelted into new weapons and equipment.

The corpses of the Minotaurs and their mounts were not left to rot in the wilderness.

The corpses of the Minotaurs, Heavy Armor Rhino, and Mammoth were expertly skinned and deboned, with tendons hanging on makeshift smoke racks and fat stored in jars.

The wisdom to survive in the wild was etched into the genes of these creatures.

Every piece of meat would be air-dried into board-hard strips, every bone would be smashed to extract the last of the marrow oil.

They knew the hard-earned nature of food and would waste nothing.

Galos issued orders, having a portion of the followers stationed to occupy the Bloodhoof Clan’s territory.

From the previous battles, the Bloodhoof Clan’s land was battle-worn, but not entirely laid to waste, with many gaps in the wall-like enclosure, yet overall quite intact, the stone houses and various buildings within still standing in number.

The highest value lay in those totem poles.

The totem poles of the Bloodhoof Clan, accumulated and expanded through plunder, their wealth gained through trade across the Estonian River for precious magic materials like Star Silver and Magic Branch Wood, fashioned by Shamans over time, each was invaluable.

They were mostly damaged and destroyed.

However, handed to the warlocks and Shaman Corps of the Molten Iron Clan for research, they might be repairable; if not, smashing their cores for sale would also be a fine fortune.

Moreover.

The main camp of the Bloodhoof Clan was located in the Fertile Plain, an area not large, but unlike the barren Border Area, true to its name, lush with grass, with wild berry bushes seen amongst the birch forests, a territory carefully selected by the Bloodhoof Clan.

But from today onward, the Bloodhoof Clan territory would become a stronghold of the Molten Iron Clan.

The Fertile Plain would belong to the Molten Iron Clan as well.

“Elvira, Zakli, Jokic.”

Galos addressed the three Centaur leaders: “Your Centaur Tribe will take over the Bloodhoof Clan’s territory, each battle team will allocate some combat units to assist you.”

With their greater power unleashed when charging across plains, and grass as a staple in their diet, the Fertile Plain suited their management well.

Their previous location held no worth, being poorly situated, and could be forsaken directly.

In this war with the Bloodhoof Clan, the brave and battle-hardened Centaur performed outstandingly, charging at the forefront, proving their worth.

As of now.

The Centaur and Ogres are the two strongest tribes under the Molten Iron Clan, fostering them slightly can endlessly supply new blood for the Red Iron Riders and Hammer of Shattered Stars.

Additionally, there are resources like the Obsidian Mine, Heavy Armor Rhino Ranch, Original Iron Mine, and Thorny Beast Ranch.

They now all belong to the Molten Iron Clan.

Due to a more active approach here in the Border Area compared to the Sel Wilderness,

Dragon Valley, Fertile Plain, Sulfur Hills, Giant Ruins… the Molten Iron Clan’s banner gradually spread across the southwestern corner of the Border Area, and though newly arrived, its scale already surpassed that of the Sel Wilderness foundation.

“Iron Will casualty rate at forty percent.”

“Red Iron Riders casualty rate at twenty percent.”

“Hammer of Shattered Stars casualty rate at thirty percent.”

“Eye of Annihilation casualty rate at ten percent.”

“……”

At this moment, each battle team leader quietly reported the battle damages.

The war with the Bloodhoof Clan was not an overwhelming victory; fierce battles erupted in the middle, the Minotaurs were stubborn and resistant, and the Molten Iron Clan also suffered significant casualties, paying a certain price for it.

Galos was slightly silent, pondering.

Though victorious, the losses to the followers made the already limited manpower even more strained.

“With more strongholds and territories, the resource points needing garrisoning have also increased.”

“But the scale of the followers has not increased, rather it has decreased, making manpower slightly stretched to manage the current territory.”

Galos swept his gaze over the followers, pondering privately.

The war with the Bloodhoof Clan resulted in substantial losses among his followers, and besides slaves, there was no new blood, yet the territory had expanded significantly, thus it was a bit overwhelming to handle.

“Strike while the iron is hot, conquer some more clans to expand the scale of followers?”

The eyes of the Red Iron Dragon flashed, lost in thought.

The Border Area lacked organized strong armies, without any nations, only major clans and tribes, powerful beasts, and magical beasts. Upon arriving here, Galos’s ambition had slightly swelled.

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