"Round three," Kael said, looking at him. "Want to go again?"
Grok lay in the mud, panting heavily.
He raised his head, looking at the red dragon who hadn't even spread his wings or breathed a single puff of dragon breath from start to finish, and suddenly laughed.
"...Ha... hahaha..."
Tears almost welled up from his laughter as he recalled the old priest's words:
"A dragon is a dragon. For weak races like us, the only thing we can do in this life is not to provoke them."
Back then, he was unconvinced, believing he was young, willing to strive, and talented—that as long as he trained hard, he would sooner or later become a powerhouse feared by all races.
Only today did he realize that some gaps could not be bridged by effort alone.
Grok pushed off the ground with both hands, climbing up with difficulty, and tottered over to stand before Kael.
Then, he dropped to one knee and lowered his head, which had never admitted defeat before.
"My Lord," he said in a hoarse voice. "I, Grok Broken-Tooth, have never bowed to anyone in my life. Today, I am humbled."
"I wish to follow you and become your vassal. Please accept me!"
Kael looked at the goblin kneeling on the ground and fell silent for a moment.
"I don't take vassals," he said.
Grok looked up abruptly, a look of complete bewilderment on his face.
"My Lord?"
Ever since arriving in this world, Kael had never intended to stay long in any one place.
His desire and plans for the future had always been singular, identical to his dream in his previous life:
To travel every mountain and river in the world, admire every landscape on earth, taste every delicacy from every nation, and then peacefully grow old.
In his past life, he hadn't been able to achieve this, and even his longing for his parents had turned into nothing more than void-like blessings.
In this life, if he could do it, he would give his all to fulfill it.
Vassals, whom most dragonkind would readily accept, were to him merely an obstacle.
Grok opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed his words, the light deep in his eyes dimming bit by bit.
Just a moment ago, he had thought meeting this red dragon was a favor of fate, an opportunity for the Broken-Tooth Tribe to rise.
Yet it turned out that this Lord didn't think anything of him at all.
"However..." Kael shifted his tone. "You could do some things for me."
A turn of events?! Grok's eyes lit up. "Please speak, My Lord!"
"You usually patrol in this forest, right?"
"Yes," Grok said. "The hunting grounds of the Broken-Tooth Tribe are at the edge of the Whispering Forest, right next to your territory."
"My kinsmen and I come out every day to patrol and see if there are any magical beasts or humans crossing the border."
"Keep an eye on the activity around the forest for me," Kael said.
"If strange humans approach, large herds of magical beasts migrate, or fellows from other tribes cross the boundary... note it all down and tell me regularly."
Grok froze for a moment. "My Lord... wants me to be your eyes?"
"You could say that," Kael said.
"Of course, I won't use you for free. As a reward, I'll give you something."
"What thing?"
"My blood."
Grok's breath hitched violently.
Dragon blood—that was a legendary treasure capable of causing bloodlines to undergo a transformation.
He had heard the old priest tell stories that in ancient times, some goblin tribes had received gifts from dragons and swallowed dragon blood.
From then on, they became strong and long-lived, eventually even growing dragon scales. Those tribes had once been capable subordinates of dragons.
Later, dragonkind declined, and dragon blood became something heard of only in legends.
"My Lord... are you serious?"
"I am a dragon of my word," Kael said.
"However, once you drink dragon blood, you won't be able to disobey my commands. Have you thought it through?"
"Grok Broken-Tooth is willing to go through fire and water for My Lord!" The goblin in front of him gazed at Kael with resolute eyes.
"Good!"
The red dragon raised his front claw and sliced an opening across his palm. Dark red dragon blood seeped out, scalding hot and carrying a searing aura.
"Open wide!"
Grok threw back his head and opened his mouth, allowing a single drop of dragon blood to fall into his throat.
At that moment, he felt as though he had swallowed a ball of fire.
That scorching heat burned down his throat into his internal organs. Blood boiled inside his blood vessels, and his skin felt as if it were about to burst open.
He curled up in agony, beastly growls issuing from his throat as a layer of red light burst from his body. His grey-green skin cracked and peeled away, only for new skin to grow back, faintly shimmering with dark red patterns.
On his chest and shoulders, several fingernail-sized dark red scales burst through his skin—hard, scalding hot, like red-hot iron plates.
Only after a long time did the severe pain slowly recede. The layer of red light on his body gradually vanished, and the scales that had grown across his body receded back under green skin.
Grok lay sprawled on the ground, panting heavily, feeling a power he had never experienced before surging through every limb and bone.
His eyes grew brighter, his sense of smell sharper, and he could even faintly feel the bloodline pull emanating from the red dragon before him.
He lowered his head to look at his hands, trembling slightly as he felt the swelling power:
"Th-This is... dragon blood?"
"A single drop of blood has a limit to what it can alter,"
Kael looked at the fellow in front of him who was so excited he could barely speak, and said:
"But these changes are enough to advance your bloodline another step."
"In the future, your strength, recovery rate, and magic resistance will all be a cut above ordinary goblins.
"As long as you don't die too early, you might even be able to go further."
Grok felt his eyes grow hot. He dropped directly to both knees and knocked his head heavily on the ground:
"Grok Broken-Tooth swears loyalty unto death to My Lord!"
"Get up," Kael said, then outlined his future arrangements.
"From now on, we'll meet periodically by that small river at the edge of the bushland."
"If something comes up, come directly. If nothing is happening, well... you only need to come once every ten days."
"Yes, My Lord."
"There is one more thing." Kael looked at him, his voice deepening.
"Do not tell anyone about me, including that priest of yours. I don't want any more goblins knowing that a dragon lives in this forest."
Grok remained silent for a moment, then nodded heavily. "Understood."
He understood that although the Lord before him had made a deal with him, it hadn't reached the point of trusting him yet. He had to use his own actions to earn that trust.
A drop of dragon blood in exchange for a pair of eyes.
From this day on, every subtle stir in the Whispering Forest would reach Kael's ears first.
With the restriction of dragon blood, Kael was not worried that Grok would betray him. Besides, a draconic bond naturally existed between dragons and dragonized creatures; although it could not transmit detailed information, a dragon could still summon them and sense their loyalty.
After parting ways, Kael spent another few days thoroughly inspecting the area where the bushland met the forest.
He scanned every suspicious cave and rock crevice with his Eyes of Starshine, recording every animal trail and water source.
The results satisfied him immensely: most creatures active in this area were First-Tier and Second-Tier magical beasts—iron-maned boars, grey-skinned wolves, giant-horned stags, rock-skin lizards... Occasionally, one or two solitary Third-Tier magical beasts passed through, but they never lingered in this area for long.
There were no traces of Mid-Tier or High-Tier magical beasts in this area.
This meant that the edge of this forest was safe enough for the three wyrmlings to hunt with a free hand without provoking existences they could not yet afford to mess with.
Kael established the boundaries of the hunting grounds: marked by the bushland, a circle extending half a shichen's flight distance into the forest would be their hunting area. Prey was abundant, threats were controllable, and it was close to the dragon lair.
"I really am a perfect adventurer!" Kael couldn't help boasting to himself.
Upon returning to the dragon lair, he shared the news with Carlos and Nora, explaining clearly to them the layout of the hunting grounds, which places had what kind of prey, and which areas needed to be bypassed.
Rate on N.U.
