Evolving by devouring from a young dragon

The shadows completely engulfed the cave entrance, and as soon as the deep, cold voice finished speaking, an invisible, immense pressure crashed down.

The adventurers trembled violently, their limbs frozen in place, unable to move even their fingertips.

They even forgot to pull the trigger of their magic guns. Faced with the immense pressure of the dragon, all thoughts of resistance were crushed, and they could only kneel there dumbfounded.

The muscular man's legs trembled, and he slammed his giant axe to the ground with a clang. He cried out in a trembling voice, "Dragon... Dragon's might... It's a dragon!"

The man in black armor wore a helmet, obscuring his expression, but his trembling body revealed his fear.

The shadows at the cave entrance grew thicker, and Auduin's figure appeared before them.

His dark golden vertical pupils swept over these tiny humans, and he spoke in a deep dragon language.

"The Crimson Mountains are my territory." He spoke slowly, each word carrying a soul-crushing pressure. "What are you looking for?"

The adventurer, clutching his instrument, collapsed to the ground, his fingers trembling as he pointed deeper into the cave: "Magic...magic crystals...and treasure..."

Alduin narrowed his dragon eyes, his gaze sweeping over the remaining fragments of magic crystals in the corner of the cave and the traces of the disturbed mine tunnels, and he instantly understood.

No wonder the goblin caravan was so late; it turns out that the Crimson Mountains had been turned upside down by humans, and the mineral veins had been disturbed, making them impossible to mine.

"Treasure?" Alduin chuckled, his dragon aura suddenly surging. "Everything here is mine."

Before he finished speaking, he opened his mouth and spat out a pale purple acid breath, which instantly corroded the cave walls, and the rocks crashed down.

The adventurers screamed and scattered in all directions, but were held down by the invisible dragon's might, and could only watch helplessly as the acidic breath swept in.

Auduin ignored these ants and slammed his massive dragon claw into the ground, causing the entire cave to tremble violently and the rubble to completely block the entrance.

He turned and flapped his wings, which stirred up a gale, and flew into the depths of the mountains.

Not long after he flew away, a figure in black robes quietly emerged from the depths of the dense forest outside the cave, a strange smile curling at the corner of his mouth beneath the mask.

"There really is... a dragon?"

Alduin arrived at the magic crystal mine deep in the mountains, a place that had not yet been discovered by human adventurers. However, the kobolds dared not venture out, so they sealed the entrance with boulders to prevent the magic crystal vein from being discovered.

They themselves, however, hide deep underground.

They rarely clash with humans and occasionally trade goods, but adventurers never think that way.

In the eyes of adventurers, even low-level kobold tribes hide treasures.

Therefore, in order to protect the magic crystal mine, Black Claw led the tribe to hide deep underground, waiting for the dragon's return.

Blackclaw knelt before Alduin, stammering as he explained.

After hearing all this, Alduin's dark golden vertical pupils flickered slightly, as if he were deep in thought.

The crimson faded, the environment recovered, attracting a large number of migrating monsters to this area, which is quite reasonable.

But why are there so many human adventurers?

Alduin's dragon eyes narrowed slightly.

Since he stepped into the Crimson Mountains, apart from the few adventurers in the caves, he has always seen scattered human figures along the way.

This was the first time he had ever seen such a large group of adventurers.

Do humans and dwarves want to expand their territory again?

The thought flashed through his mind.

The Crimson Mountains have never been set foot in by humans. They are rich in mineral veins and resources. Previously, due to their special environment, no one dared to approach them. Now that they have been restored to their former glory, it is no wonder that they have attracted greedy adventurers.

Thinking of this, a cold glint appeared in Auduin's dragon eyes, but it quickly vanished without a trace.

He had lived here for about two years and knew everything about the mountains.

The only valuable things in the Crimson Mountains are the magic crystal mines.

According to the Empire's regulations, it is a serious crime for ordinary people to mine ores without authorization, so those adventurers did not come for that reason.

This indicates that rumors were spread that there was treasure here, which attracted a large number of adventurers.

Having figured out the reason for the situation, Auduin breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, if the empire really wanted to expand its territory, then the magic crystal mines in the Crimson Mountains would be very difficult to mine.

He roughly estimated that with Xiong San and a group of low-level magical beasts mining, this magic crystal vein would be depleted in about ten years.

It's a pity that Xiong San is gone now.

Auduin's vertical pupils flickered slightly. Finding Xiong San would be easy, since given his personality, he wouldn't have gone far and would most likely have been wandering around the Crimson Mountains.

The most important thing now is to figure out how to drive away those adventurers and continue with my great cause.

……

Auduin withdrew his dragon might, his massive body disappearing into the shadows of the dense forest beside the mine.

He cannot directly reveal himself to slaughter adventurers. Once his identity as a dragon is exposed, it will inevitably attract the dragon-slaying legions of humans and dwarves. At that time, not only will mining magic crystals be impossible, but even the territory of the Rotten Swamp may be exposed.

His dark golden vertical pupils swept over the figures of adventurers moving through the mountains, and after a moment's thought, he had an idea.

Since they came looking for treasure, they will naturally leave once they find that there is no treasure here.

However, he had to hide the entrance to the mine to avoid being discovered.

He lowered his body and used his dragon claws to gently dig through the soil and gravel, completely covering up the original traces of the mine. Then he moved several giant rocks and piled them up to resemble a natural mountain wall.

Once all that's done, all you have to do is wait for the adventurers to realize they've gained nothing and leave on their own.

Although this wait may be long, it is but a fleeting moment for a dragon with a long lifespan.

And this is also the safest approach.

Alduin then leaped through the shadows, quickly reaching a rocky ledge high in the mountain range, emerging from the shadows within.

Soon, a month had passed.

Most adventurers left immediately, with only a small number continuing to explore, hoping to find treasure by luck, but all of this was in vain.

Meanwhile, Auduin also discovered Xiong San fast asleep in the forest next to the Crimson Mountains.

However, he did not disturb them. The most important thing right now was to wait for the adventurers from the Crimson Mountains to leave. Once this matter was settled, it wouldn't be too late to find this clumsy bear to do hard labor.

Alduin watched silently as the crowd went from agitation to disappointment, and then to leaving in twos and threes, his dark golden vertical pupils remaining completely calm.

Only after the last group of adventurers disappeared from the mountain pass did he flap his wings and land to reconfirm the safety of the mine.

He didn't notice that in the shadows of the distant treetops, a pair of eyes hidden behind a mask were taking in everything.

"This dragon is quite cautious; it's an interesting fellow."

"However, recovering the demon's corpse is the most urgent task right now. We can meet this little dragon again another time."

After saying that, his figure suddenly disappeared.