Evolving by devouring from a young dragon

The main dragon's lair is located inside a dormant volcano at the deepest part of the Blackbars Swamp.

This place is shrouded in toxic sulfurous fumes year-round, and even high-level magical beasts dare not set foot here easily.

Alduin flapped his dragon wings and glided silently through the night sky.

His flight lacked the violent, air-tearing roar of a pure-blooded black dragon; instead, he resembled a shadow blending into the night, silently landing on the edge of the crater.

As you venture deeper into the winding stone passage, the temperature in the air rises sharply.

As Alduin stepped into the vast space at the very bottom of the dragon's lair, his vision opened up dramatically.

This is a huge, hollowed-out lava cave.

The surrounding rock walls are inlaid with glowing magic crystals of various sizes.

On the ground, piles of low-level magic gems, enchanted armor stripped from unfortunate adventurers, gleaming gold coins, and mountains of various high-level magical beast skeletons were piled up haphazardly.

"Alduin, the big boy who eats more than the Kodo Beast."

A hoarse voice came from the throne made of gold and silver treasures in the very center of the cave.

The owner of the voice was a colossal creature, twenty-six meters long, covered in dark green scales, resembling a mountain of flesh.

Spitating, toxic mist billowed from her nostrils, and her enormous vertical pupil gleamed with cunning and ruthlessness.

This is Alduin's mother, Onyxia, the true ruler of this swamp.

In the shadows beside her, a terrifying silhouette lurked, almost completely blending into the darkness.

This is a male dragon that is 23 meters long, with a slender body and exudes a suffocating aura of shadow magic.

Alduin's father, the assassin of the Shadowlands, the Shadow Dragon's father, the Night Fang.

These two evil creatures, standing at the top of the food chain, were staring coldly at Alduin, who had just entered.

"I salute you, my great mother and father."

Alduin lowered his head slightly, his tone calm and submissive, showing no sign of fear despite the two terrifying pressures.

In this dog-eat-dog family, even your own parents will look down on you if you show the slightest weakness.

"Let's skip this hypocritical dragon language."

The Black Dragon Maiden suddenly straightened up, her huge dragon wings half-spread, and a massive shadow instantly enveloped the entire cave.

She stared at Alduin's enormous size, which far exceeded that of a black dragon of his age and was comparable to that of an ordinary young man, and a hint of undisguised disdain flashed in her scarlet eyes.

"You're growing too fast, and you're eating too much! Look at you, you're only ten years old, and you're almost eating every single magical beast in the swamp that has any meat left!"

The Black Dragon Maiden roared violently, her sharp dragon claws scratching irritably at the gold coins scattered on the ground.

"What's worse, you don't even spare those hard, jagged pieces of ore! We are noble dragons, not those kobolds who only deserve to eat dirt underground!"

According to the cruel and selfish traditions of the five-colored dragons, when a young dragon grows large enough to threaten the nest's food reserves, or when the mother dragon deems the cost of raising it too high, she will ruthlessly expel it from the nest.

Moreover, Alduin's appetite is practically bottomless due to his [Devour Assimilate] talent.

"So, get out of my swamp before the sun rises tomorrow."

The Shadow Dragon Father poked his head out from the darkness and coldly added, "If you're still hanging around here by noon tomorrow, I don't mind using my Shadow Dragon Breath to teach you what it means to live independently."

This is the kind of family education a dragon receives: don't raise idle dragons, or they'll eat you out of house and home.

Hearing his parents' heartless verdict.

"Hiss!"

From the shadows in the corner came two suppressed, extremely gloating low laughs.

Karl, the pureblood shadow dragon who had just had his jaw smashed by Alduin's tail and was now hiding miserably behind a stalactite, and his twin sister, Lilith, the pureblood black dragon who was equally wicked.

The two baby dragons, only half the size of Alduin, were excitedly swishing their tails.

In their simple dragon brain circuits, as long as their monstrous older brother is driven away, all the food in the swamp will be theirs!

Karl, in particular, couldn't help but burst into laughter at the thought of Alduin wandering the wilderness like a stray dog, or even being blasted to death by the Eye of the Sky's magic cannons, temporarily forgetting the excruciating pain in his jaw.

"idiot."

Auduin sneered inwardly.

He had actually expected this day to come, after all, his food intake was indeed too exaggerated.

But he knew even better that now was definitely not the right time to leave the Black Barrier Swamp.

The outside world is filled with countless knights and floating cities who want to slay dragons. With his current armor thickness and acid strength, he would be a sitting duck if he went out.

He has to endure this for a while longer.

Faced with the terrifying murderous aura and expulsion order emanating from his parents, Alduin did not plead in fear like a normal young dragon, nor did he violently resist.

He simply folded his wings gracefully, sat steadily in place, and his scarlet vertical pupils gleamed.

"Mother, Father, your decision is incredibly wise, but at the same time, it means you are about to miss out on an immeasurable fortune." Alduin's voice was steady and alluring.

"wealth?"

These two words seemed to have triggered a magic switch.

The black dragon girl, who was still roaring, suddenly had her vertical pupils shrink to the size of pinpoints.

Shadow Dragon Father, hidden in the darkness, also poked half of his body out.

"What nonsense are you spouting? You're just a hybrid that does nothing but eat and sleep!"

Black Dragon Girl stared at him suspiciously.

"Please allow me to demonstrate my special ability, which you consider to be the ability to eat dirt."

Alduin slowly raised his right claw, its sharp fingertip, covered in a dark red metallic sheen, tapping lightly on the ground.

"Because I possess hybrid attributes of shadow and poison, my stomach acid can not only digest stones, but more importantly..."

He paused, then unleashed his trump card.

"My acid can perfectly refine and purify the magical gem-bearing minerals in the deepest part of the swamp without destroying the magical structure."

Upon hearing this, the two adult dragons' breathing became noticeably heavier.

There are indeed magic crystal mines deep in the Black Barrier Swamp, but they are buried deep under highly poisonous silt that even dragons avoid, and they contain a great deal of impurities.

A noble dragon would never become a miner for a few inferior stones.

"I can assure you that as long as you allow me to remain here and provide me with the flesh and blood of high-level magical beasts as an energy source on schedule..."

Alduin looked directly into his parents' eyes, which were gradually being filled with greed, and slowly offered his bargaining chip: "Every month, I will hand over eight... no, ten top-grade magic crystals that have been refined to the nest."

Top-grade magic crystal!

Ten!

A low growl escaped the Black Dragon Girl's throat, a sound typically made when she was extremely excited.

Her body even trembled slightly with excitement. Ten top-grade magic crystals were equivalent to a whole year's worth of profits from plundering human border cities, and without the risk of being targeted by the Eye of the Sky!

"That sounds like a lie, Alduin."

Shadow Dragon's father's cold voice rang out again, but the killing intent was gone; instead, it was filled with the shrewdness of a businessman.

"However, mining raw ore is an extremely dirty and physically demanding task. If you were to mine, I doubt you could guarantee the amount you could submit each month, would you?"

Dragon Father's subtext was clear: if you want to hire other low-level monsters in your territory to help you mine, you'll have to pay extra for their labor.

"Father, you are overthinking this."

Auduin smiled slightly.

He slowly turned his head, his vertical pupils locking onto his two pure-blooded younger siblings in the corner, who were in a state of extreme confusion.

"I certainly won't do the excavation myself."

Auduin's voice echoed through the empty cave.

"I happened to find two extremely energetic, idle, and utterly lacking in the good manners of a dragon in my territory, free laborers."

"I believe that with my personal supervision for twelve hours a day, their mining efficiency will definitely satisfy you."

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

In the corner, Karl and Lilith's gloating smiles froze on the dragon's face.

These two foolish pure-blooded dragon cubs were struck dumb, finally realizing who this damned half-blood brother was referring to as free labor!

"You...you monster! Half-blood!"

Karl let out a scream of extreme terror.

Sending a noble pure-blooded dragon to mine in the mud?

This is even more painful than killing them!

However, Alduin completely ignored this powerless rage. He simply watched his parents on the throne.

"make a deal."

Black Dragon Girl blurted it out almost without hesitation.

She didn't even glance at the two pure-blooded offspring in the corner who were in despair.

Faced with top-grade magic crystals, two stupid cubs who don't even know how to rob would become laborers in a black coal mine?

That's a perfect example of recycling waste!

"Very good, my dear son."

Shadow Dragon Father also retreated into the darkness, leaving behind a satisfied whisper.

"The contract is made. If you fail to deliver ten top-grade magic crystals next month, I will personally skin you alive."

Auduin bowed slightly. "As you wish."

He turned around and walked out of the cave with steady, powerful steps.

He paused briefly as he passed the stalactites where Karl and Lilith were hiding.

A shadow fell over the two trembling baby dragons.

Alduin crouched down, his sharp claws drawing sparks as they scraped across the rock, the sound soft yet chilling:

"If I don't see either of you in Mine No. 5 before sunrise tomorrow..."

"I will pluck your scales off one by one and stuff them down your throats. Remember, all of them."

Having said that, the hybrid dragon, strong as a monster, disappeared into the passage without looking back.