Evolving by devouring from a young dragon

Iron Bones' voice echoed in the crater, and the ten warriors behind him unconsciously gripped their weapons, their tired eyes rekindling with fighting spirit.

But it wasn't because they thought they could win, but because the chief was standing in front, and they couldn't back down.

The high shaman did not answer.

His bone staff pounded the ground, his cloudy eyes looked at Ironbone, then at Alduin, his lips moved but no sound came out.

Ironbone shifted his gaze from the Great Shaman to the corpse of the Salamander King.

His forty-meter-long body was grayish-white and stiff, his limbs outstretched, and his scales were covered with axe marks and arrow wounds, which he and his brothers had paid with their lives.

Then he saw the wound at the base of his left foreleg, the cut smooth and clean, the scales cut open like paper, revealing the dark red muscle and broken tendons inside.

It wasn't from an axe or a bone blade; it was a mark left by something he'd never seen before.

His gaze followed the wound upwards and fell upon the dark gold scale embedded in the Salamander King's right shoulder. The scale was small, only about the size of a palm, but it was embedded very deeply, with only one corner showing.

The dark golden luster flowed within the red glow of the magma, exactly like the dragon's tail.

He gripped the stone axe tightly and said, word by word, "On what grounds?"

Alduin lay there, chin resting on his front paws, his vertical pupils half-closed. He didn't stand up, spread his wings, or even adjust his posture.

His tail drooped to the ground, its tip tapping against the gravel intermittently.

He knew that the Emberfang Orcs were at their last gasp, so he wasn't in a hurry.

They cannot fight a war against themselves.

Alduin knew what they wanted and what they were willing to give up.

As for reaping the benefits without doing anything, or taking advantage of someone's misfortune...

This is called outsmarting the enemy...

Ironbone, seeing Alduin's nonchalant attitude, became even more enraged and raised his giant axe, pointing it at Alduin.

"boom--!!"

Three dark golden streaks of light shot out from the tip of the tail, grazed past Ironbone's ears, and embedded themselves in the rock wall behind him.

The rocks shattered and the air surged. A few strands of Ironbone's hair were cut off by the airflow and floated in the air. The two warriors behind him were shaken and staggered backward, while the young archer fell directly to the ground.

Auduin stood up and looked at him coldly.

Its massive, dark golden body stretched out from its crouching position, its wings half-open, its tail raised high, and the scales at the tip of its tail slightly parted, revealing a gleam ready to be unleashed.

His voice was deep and authoritative. "I hate it when people point weapons at me."

The expression on Tie Gu's face froze.

Alduin didn't look at him again; his vertical pupils shifted from Ironbone to the silent Great Shaman.

"I prefer talking to intelligent people," he said slowly.

The great shaman gripped his bone staff tightly.

"What do you want?" the high shaman asked, his voice hoarse yet calm.

Alduin tapped the ground lightly with the tip of its tail.

"That depends on what you can offer."

The great shaman remained silent for a moment, his cloudy eyes fixed on the corpse of the Salamander King.

The forty-meter-long body gleamed with a deathly gray luster in the red glow of the magma. The dark red on its scales had completely faded, leaving only cold, stiff, and fading remains.

But its value remains. No, for this dragon, its value has never been its scales and bones.

"What do you need a corpse for?" the high shaman asked. "Your territory is a swamp, not a volcano. The Salamander King's corpse is nothing more than a few tons of meat and bones to you. You have no shortage of meat; your swamp is full of prey. You also have no shortage of bones; your scales are much harder than the Salamander King's."

Auduin looked coldly at the high shaman.

He naturally wouldn't say that he wanted the corpse because he needed to devour it for his talent.

The Salamander King has been immersed in embers and lava for many years.

Once absorbed, one can gain significant fire resistance and even use ember magic.

But he won't tell anyone this secret.

"I don't need to explain what I need to you." Alduin's voice was calm, but the scales at the tip of his tail opened slightly, revealing a dark golden luster inside.

"We can exchange it for the corpse of another seventh-tier magical beast..."

The high shaman continued.

But Alduin simply shook his head, the meaning of which couldn't be clearer.

He couldn't possibly abandon the body unless there were more benefits to be gained.

"What are you hiding?" The high shaman spoke after a moment of silence. His voice was low, but every word was pronounced clearly.

Alduin's vertical pupils contracted slightly. "What are you testing?"

Their gazes met in the red glow of the lava, like two knives clashing together, silent yet sparks flying.

Iron Bone stood to the side, holding a stone axe, watching this scene.

His anger hadn't completely subsided, but he had learned to keep quiet. He had realized that the conversation between the dragon and the high shaman was not one he could interrupt.

"I wasn't testing you." The high shaman withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, and looked at the corpse of the Salamander King. "I was just wondering, why would a dragon that doesn't need to explain itself to anyone want to talk to us?"

Auduin did not speak.

"You can just rob it," the high shaman continued, his voice calm, as if stating a fact unrelated to himself.

"You're stronger than all of us. You can easily defeat the Salamander King, and you could kill us old, weak, and disabled people with a single slap. You don't need to negotiate; you just need to take it."

He raised his head, and there was something indescribable in his cloudy eyes.

"But you're here. You're lying there, you're waiting, you're talking to us."

His lips twitched slightly, it was hard to tell if it was a smile or something else.

Why?

A hint of interest curved Auduin's lips as he spoke calmly, "Shaman, you're a smart man; you should know what I want."

The high shaman fell silent.

He knew for certain that the dragon wanted their submission, wanted them to become his subjects.

He had lived for far too long, long enough that he had seen far too many forces that wanted the Emberfang Clan to submit.

The Urga clan in the south, the Frostwolf tribe in the north, and even a dragon flew over the Ash Highlands fifty years ago, uttering the words "Submit or perish" before flying away and never returning.

Those who wanted the Emberfang Orcs to submit all died, left, or had their teeth knocked out by their bones.

But the dragon in front of me is different; it is very shrewd.

The high shaman raised his head, his cloudy eyes looking at Auduin.

The dragon stood on the edge of the crater, its massive body blocking out half the sky, its vertical pupils half-closed, its tail swaying gently. Its posture was relaxed, almost arrogant.

But he has the means to do so.

The high shaman stood there, silent.

If they choose to submit, the totem fire will continue to burn, but they will be subservient to the dragon and enslaved for eternity; if they do not submit, the embers will be extinguished, and the faith they have guarded for generations will perish.

He was caught in a dilemma.